Teen Titans

All Mary McGinnis wanted to do that that day was take out some money to run errands. She still had to pick up dinner, the drycleaning, and pick up her oldest boy from soccer practice. All in a day's work for a single mother of two.

But fate had other plans for not only her, but the rest of the people who were in the bank that day. Two men had come in, wanting all the cash. The tellers gave them what they wanted, but were shot down in cold blood without cause. Then they turned their guns on the rest of the customers.

There was no warrant for the slaughter, no just cause. The people begged, the ones with young children especially, but their cries went unheard when the robbers fired their guns.

The robbers, not wanting any witnesses, only left one person standing, and that's because he was hidden by his mother during the slaughter in the open door of the ATM, which had just big enough for a small child to fit into. The little boy was forced to watch as six people, including his own mother, had been gunned down.

There were no survivors beyond the child by the time the Teen Titans showed up. Risk, Damage, and Wonder Girl arrived after hearing it over the police scanner Robin kept in his dorm room, not expecting to find the horror that they walked into. It took everything they had for the three heroes to not throw up at the carnage.

Wonder Girl was the first to comfort the child when he revealed himself, while Risk and Damage looked around for clues, quickly getting a look at the security camera footage, then determining which way the getaway vehicle was headed. The boys told Wonder Girl to stay with the child until the police showed up so he wouldn't be alone.

Damage looked in the direction the tread marks, which revealed where the getaway car was headed, and two two quickly took off. Risk had jumped and climbed to the top of a nearby roof and started bounding across rooftops, while Damage had used his new modified motorcycle to pursue the car as the two kept constant contact through Oracle.

Risk had managed to get far ahead of Damage as he spotted the car driving wildly down the road, trying to evade the police. He notified Damage and rushed after, his adrenaline pumping at an all time high.

Seeing that little boy's face as he looked at his lifeless mother fueled Cody Driscoll's rage. He knew what it was like to lose a parent, having just lost his own mother after Titans West had disbanded. He wouldn't wish that pain on anyone.

The car had just reached the city limits, having evaded the police, who were on a budget crunch because of high gas prices and were already past their limit on gas for the cruisers, leaving them with just simple motorcycles.

Risk saw his chance and leaped off of the building, landing right on the hood of the car, smiling. He'd never tried a jump from that far up, and was impressed with himself. Now all he had to do was keep the robbers from shaking him off of the hood as they drove wildly on the street to do so.

Damage kept in pursuit on his motorcyle, his left hand charging with a blue energy. He used an energy bolt from his hand and shot out the rear tire, causing the car to swerve even more. That's when Risk made his move as well, and punched the windshield, making a large crack.

The car ran off the road, onto a grassy field, throwing Risk off as it came to a stop. The robbers got out with the bags full of money as Damage jumped off his bike, ready to charge in. The robbers pulled out their guns as the two Titans smirked at each other. They lept out of the way as the bullets flew toward them, neither of them getting anywhere close to being hit.

Damage and Risk both tackled the robbers, punching them, wanting to take the fight out of them before the cops showed up. Risk especially was getting his fair share of pleasure from beating the robber, but he knew he couldn't bring himself to kill another human being. He'd already been through that, having taken two lives before, he wasn't going back down that path.

Damage had to help Risk up as the police were finally catching up to them. As they were getting ready to leave, Risk noticed the money the bank robber's had stolen, which had fallen out onto the ground... which had all been ruined by exploding dye packs. Half a dozen lives were destroyed, and all for money that was no longer any good to anyone.

Wonder Girl arrived just as the cops were parking their one gassed up cruiser, having made sure the little boy had been taken care of. She expressed regret that she couldn't have gotten a few hits in as the trio returned back to the UCLA campus...

The office of Terry Berg

"And the kid was just taken to an orphanage?" Terry asked as he wrote down the information, having contacted his friend at the LAPD. "Thanks, I appreciate this."

Terry had spent all afternoon tracking this story, wanting to have it in the college paper by tomorrow morning's printing. But first he needed to have all of his facts straight. A good reporter never skimped on the details, and Terry Berg wanted to be a GREAT reporter.

Terry grabbed his jacket and went to get another story for his paper...

"A bag of money," Risk said with a slight laugh as his rage continued to build, "Six people dead over a fucking bag of paper!"

Risk punched his right hand through the wall in anger as his friends watched.

"There was nothing any of us could do," Robin said as the team sat in Grant and Cameron's dorm room.

"A master detective, a speedster, a shapeshifter, a girl who can lift tanks, plus the rest of us, and we couldn't keep a little kid from losing his mother?" Risk asked as he looked at Robin.

"Stuff happens, we deal and we move on," Robin told him truthfully, "I feel bad for the families of those people, too, but that's why we have to work even harder to prevent stuff like this from happening the next time."

"You don't get it, Rob," Risk said as he turned to face the Boy Wonder, "The kid watched his mom die. Do you have any idea what kind of an effect that has on a kid?"

"I know someone who does," Robin replied, "Is this because of what happened with your mom?"

"She died before I could get to her and say goodbye," Risk told him, "She died alone in a hospital, when I was supposed to be taking care of her."

Wonder Girl put a hand on his shoulder, "And then the DEO grabbed you when you went to her funeral."

"Bastards didn't even let me say my final peace," Risk whispered as he stared at the ground. "Just like that kid's probably not going to get to say his."

Terry had been following the story all afternoon, getting every scrap of information that he could. The Teen Titans had stopped the robbers, but six people had been killed anyway, leaving only a small child to witness the slaughter.

He made some calls and learned the boy and his older brother were going to be taken to an orphanage in the city until a family member could be located to take them in. The youngest boy was only six years old, and Terry knew better than to push a kid that young for information on a tragedy like this. He wasn't going to be one of those reporters who'd get his story at the expense of another human's suffering.

That's when he saw the news van from the news station heading in the direction of the orphanage.

"Bastards," Terry said to himself, realizing that while he was trying to keep his journalistic integrity, others weren't. He had to think fast as the sun was starting to set.

"There's nothing else we can do," Robin told the group as he headed toward the window to do his rounds, "The robbers were caught and the kid's in a safe place, so-"

Robin looked out the window at the sight that greeted him in the orange sky, "O....kaaayyy."

A giant 'R' was shining up into the darkening sky.

Terry, having rigged a search light and tearing his outer shirt into an 'R' shape to shine upward, leaving him in a white t-shirt, waited patiently to see if The Boy Wonder would show.

Sure enough, minutes later, Robin arrived, being carried by Wonder Girl. Risk would be on his way minutes after.

"What's going on?" Robin asked, noting Terry's ingenuity.

"That," Terry told him as he pointed down to the street below where the reporters were gathering, waiting for the orphaned boys to arrive to interrogate them, "Those kids that were orphaned in the bank robbery are coming, and-"

"We're not bodyguards," Robin told Terry firmly.

"No, but you're heroes," Terry stated as he stared down into the street, "I know you guys couldn't save the day completely, but... those kids have suffered enough."

Robin looked over at Wonder Girl.

"Let's do it."

The van pulled up to the orphanage as the reporters and paparazzi were waiting, cameras ready to take pictures. Seconds later, the doors opened up, and two figures hidden under a blanket walked out, heading toward the door. The reporters started taking pictures, shouting questions, wanting their story from the sole eyewitness.

Once the two kids and the escorts were inside, the boys took the blanket off. Cameron took off the dark haired wig as the younger boy started morphing until he was in the original shape of Luke.

"How long do we have to do this?" Luke asked.

"Until Robin says it's safe to leave," Cameron said as he put the wig back on, "Get back into character. We can't change back until we get the call."

Across the street, Wonder Girl held the sleeping boy in her arms, his older brother also asleep from a non toxic sleeping gas from Robin's utility belt.

"I made a call to a... friend," Robin told them, hating having to call Bruce, but it was an emergency, "Someone will meet us and we'll have the kids taken to a foster home in Metropolis until a relative can be found to take them in."

"Thanks," Terry told the Titans with a smile, "It's good to know there's some decent folks in this town."

"I know," Robin replied, "I'm looking at one."

The two shook hands as Risk looked down at the sleeping boy in Wonder Girl's arms. He hoped these kids would be able to pick up their lives after this. The last thing he wanted was for them to turn out like he did. Alone, hurt, bitter at the world. Risk wanted to do his part to make sure no child ever turned out like him.

Several Days Later

The McGinnis boys were staying in a foster home in Metropolis. Their father, who'd long been absent in their lives, would be coming to pick them up in a few days. Little Matt McGinnis laid on his bed, watching his big brother staring out the window.

"What'cha thinkin' 'bout?" The boy asked.

"The Teen Titans," 15 year old Terry McGinnis told him, "I'm gonna be one of them someday."

"I can't believe you talked us into this," Impulse said as he walked with Robin, Wonder Girl, and Damage towards the office of the college paper, "Since when do you give interviews?"

"Since we need to be more in touch with the public," Robin replied as they saw Terry was interviewing people for his newest piece on the Titans, "The people need to feel safe with us around."

"Alright, thanks," Terry said as he wrote down the last few comments of the people who were passing by. He saw the Titans approaching and smiled, "Hey, guys, thanks for coming. I want to tell the world about the bravery of the Teen Titans."

Wonder Girl smiled as she looked Terry over. Maybe she could get a date out of this,"Well, just remember to stay truthful to the story, and-"

"The Titans are losers!" A voice shouted suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Impulse asked as he looked around.

"You heard me," The voice replied as the crowd made way for the person coming through, "The Teen Titans are losers and a danger to everyone around them."

"Hey, buddy, what gives you the right to say that?" Terry asked as he got his pen ready.

"Because," A young man said as he revealed himself. The teenage boy was wearing a red and black outfit, while sitting in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. Grover Adams looked at the three Titans bitterly, "Those three are the one ones who put me in this wheelchair."

To Be Continued...

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