Teen Titans Roll Call
Robin, The Boy Wonder
Impulse, The Fastest Boy Alive
Wonder Girl, The Young Amazon
Damage, The Human Explosive
Omni, The Power Mimic
Risk, The Thrillseeker
Offspring, The Shapesifter
Apart they’re just sidekicks and illigitimate children; Together they’re the TEEN TITANS! Proteges of the Justice League, whippersnappers to the JSA, and all around annoyances to the Outsiders!
The Reverend and his wife stood on the covered bridge looking down into the icy water. The winter weather was getting worse and the winds were particularly brutal. In the Reverend’s hands was a small basket with a sleeping child inside, covered only by a blanket. The child appeared to a normal baby boy, completely unaware of the hand that fate was about to deal him.
“You can’t!” the woman yelled as she grabbed her husband’s hand. “That’s our baby!”
“He’s not our baby, he’s a freak of nature! A demon of hell!” the reverend yelled as he held the baby’s basket over the edge of the bridge. “And he must be destroyed. It is God’s will!”
“No!” the woman yelled, but it was too late. The man dropped the basket over the edge into the freezing river below, watching helplessly as it disappeared from sight.
“Now, let’s go,” the man said as he pulled his wife along. “Our real child is waiting for us.”
The Reverend pulled his wife from the bridge, unaware that the basket was floating up the river where it soon came to a stop in a snowy bank. By that time, the baby inside was crying. Not too far away, a homeless woman was making her way through the snow, when she heard the sounds of a child crying. A sound she never thought she’d hear again.
She found the basket and picked the baby up, noticing how the blanket he was wrapped in was covered in ice. She looked at the baby and smiled.
“Who on Earth would abandon such a sweet creature?” the woman asked as she carried him off into the increasingly worse storm...
Several Years Later
It was one of the warmest days in California history. People were wearing shorts, sandals and tank tops, some wearing even less. The masses were sweating, trying to keep themselves cool with large amounts of cold beverages, ice cream and dips in the ocean.
But not 17 year old Walker Sullivan. Besides his shaggy brown hair hanging down in his face, he was dressed head to toe in a heavy layer of winter clothing: two sweaters on top of a few t-shirts; briefs under boxers under long johns under sweatpants under blue jeans; three pairs of socks in snow boots and fingerless gloves under winter gloves. But the oddest thing of all about Walker Sullivan’s appearance...he wasn’t sweating one bit.
As he walked towards the town, people stopped to take notice of the boy, only seeing what appeared to be a crazy young man walking along, none of them even noticed the boy’s broken spirit. As he wandered down the sidewalk, no one dared to even to even try to make eye contact with him.
“Hey, moron, it’s 90 degrees out!” a man passing by shouted, followed soon by other comments, but Walker just brushed them off...until he stopped to watch a mother picking up her toddler and holding him. Seeing her touch his skin as she kissed his cheek.
As Walker looked around, he noticed more and more situations that were eating away at him. People kissing; people holding hands; touching each other, taking advantage of a gift they didn’t even realize they had.
A single tear rolled down Walker’s cheek, freezing as it broke off, falling to the ground. He fell to his knees and started sniffling like a lost child until a woman put a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you alright?” she asked as Walker jerked back.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” shouted Walker as he stood up, causing people to finally take notice, some of them actually laughing at his appearance. The anger and sadness finally became too much to bare as Walker pulled off his gloves. If he couldn’t feel the warmth of human contact...then no one would.
Further up the street, Seren, former inhabitant of the ocean, was trying to find a new source of water to keep hydrated. The beach had been far too crowded and ever since he’d been cursed with these human legs, he’d found his strength and ability to communicate with the creatures of the sea had been cut nearly in half. Otherwise he’d have forced the intruders out of the water.
He found that while he could breathe underwater, he could only survive under the ocean for so long. The same curse applied for above water. If he didn’t stay hydrated, he’d suffer the consequences as well. It was the worst of both worlds.
Dressed in an orange tank top, green shorts and a pair of sneakers, Seren made his way up the street as people rushed past him, trying to get away from the freak who had suddenly gone berserk. As Seren wandered closer, he found a chilling surprise...
The UCLA Campus
The crime scene was taped off late that morning, hours after the bodies had been discovered. Three college students had been beaten brutally and left for dead the previous evening. It wasn’t even much a battle. Whoever beat the three students was obviously far too much for them.
“This wasn’t just a random beating,” the police chief said as the stretchers were taken to the ambulance. “Whoever did this took these kids apart like they were rag dolls.”
“Officer, I think these were the guys responsible for a gay bashing yesterday afternoon,” said Terry Berg as he held out his pen pad. “Any confirmation on this?”
“We’re investigating all leads,” the chief said to the young man, “but we ask that if anyone has any information to this crime, please call the LAPD immediately.”
“And if these aren’t the guys who did yesterday’s crime?” asked Terry. “Should anyone with information come forward on that case, or does it not matter anymore?”
“This interview is over,” the man said as he walked away.
“Like hell,” muttered Terry as he wrote down a few more notes before returning to his office.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Tim as he held an ice pack to his head as he leaned back on Grant and Cameron’s couch. “I tracked down the guys who did it, I was about to take them down and force a confession--then something hit me and I was out like a light.”
“Do you think it was Bart?” asked Cassie as she brought Tim a fresh ice pack. “He seemed pretty upset about his roommate being attacked.”
“It wasn’t,” replied Cody Driscoll, the newest Titan known as Risk. “I was with Bart all afternoon at the hospital. He never left the guy’s side and, if he did, it wasn’t at the time you said you were attacked. At that point, he was sleeping in a chair next to the bed. I left him there and headed home.”
“Is Cody awake?” asked Grant as he flipped through the news channels.
“In and out of consciousness because of the sedatives, but outside of a few broken bones and bruises the dude’s going to be out of there in a few days,” replied Cody as he sat next to Tim on the couch. “Whoever did this, it wasn’t Bart.”
“And it wasn’t one of us,” added Tim as he looked around. “I think we might have a new player on campus. I was trained by the best. No one outside of a few people could get the jump on me and none of them would give a rat’s ass about a trio of scum like that to travel all the way out here for this.”
“Guys, check it out,” said Grant as he stopped on the local news.
“The city’s become a winter wonderland as a metahuman with powerful ice manipulation powers is attacking everything in sight,” the reporter said, dressed for winter weather. “So far no one can get close enough to the young man to try stop the devastation as--”
The picture started to go light with snow as the channel was knocked off the air. Tim looked around. “Grant, Cassie, Cody, let’s roll. Luke, you and Cam go stay with Bart and make sure he stays out of trouble until we sort through this.”
Luke and Cam saluted as they rushed out the door.
The Titans suited up and headed out, finding downtown Los Angeles was now covered in snow and ice. Everything had literally come to a standstill as the group looked around.
“I guess hell finally has frozen over,” Risk muttered as they walked along.
“One person caused this?” Wonder Girl asked as they moved forward.
“You’d be amazed at how much damage one person can do when driven to it,” Robin replied as he stayed ahead of them.
Cody Wyatt opened his eyes as he laid in his hospital bed, seeing Bart sleeping in the chair next to him. He reached his bandaged wrist over and put it on Bart’s arm.
“You didn’t have to stay,” Cody whispered as Bart opened his eyes.
“No, but I wanted to,” replied Bart as he smiled down at Cody. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I got caught in the middle of a three-way between Rosie O’Donnell, Lisa Lampanelli and Dom Deluise,” replied Cody as Bart laughed.
Cam and Luke appeared in the doorway, holding ‘Get Well Soon’ gifts; several, in fact, with more out in the hallway.
“We came to see if your roommate was feeling better,” said Cam as he tried pulling an overstuffed teddy bear through the door.
Bart moved a strand of hair out of Cody’s eyes, looking down into them. It was time to tell his friends the truth about everything. “Cody’s not my roommate.”
“Bart--” Cody started to say as Bart looked over at his friends.
“He’s my--”
The wind started picking up at the four Titans made their way to the heart of the blizzard that was overtaking the city.
“This guy’s pretty strong,” shouted Damage above the sounds of the strong winds that were blowing against them. “Do you think he’s one of the JLA’s rogues?”
“Doubt it!” replied Robin as he tried to see his way through the storm. “Captain Cold, Killer Frost, Mr. Freeze, this doesn’t fit any of their MO!”
“I see him!” said Wonder Girl as she spotted Walker in the middle of the blizzard. He was on his knees, having stripped off all the layers of his clothing except for his long-johns and one of his t-shirts. “He’s cute!”
“What?” asked Robin, having actually heard her loud and clear.
As Walker looked up, seeing the Titans approaching, his eyes frosted over even more as the winds grew more intense.
“So much for the stealth approach!” shouted Robin as the Titans started to hold onto whatever they could to keep from blowing away.
“Leave. Me. ALONE!” angrily shouted Walker as he poured all of his energy into the devastation.
Wonder Girl tried to fly towards him, using all of her strength to not be blown back.
“Hera... give me strength!” begged the young Amazon as she reached for her golden lasso. It wasn’t as powerful as her mentor’s, but it was still strong enough to anchor her waist to a light pole.
“We need to cover her!” said Robin as Damage and Risk nodded. The two Titans tried to make their way toward Walker to help Wonder Girl as the winds became even more powerful.
“How’s your pitching arm!” shouted Risk as he looked at Damage.
Wonder Girl, falling backwards after being knocked back, was caught by Robin’s hand as the two tried making their way back to Walker.
Damage used all of his strength to swing Risk around, hopefully gaining enough force to launch him into the wind without him flying back. He finally let go as Risk flew towards Walker, getting caught in the whirlwind, swinging him around.
“SHIIIITTTT!” shouted Risk as he finally grabbed a light pole and swung around, back at Walker, finally tackling him. “Got him! What the--”
Walker head-butted Risk by flinging his head back, forcing the Titan to let him go. Before he could recover and rush forward, Walker held out his hand and iced the ground under Risk, causing him to slide into the wall behind them.
Before Robin could stop them, Wonder Girl and Damage rushed past, or at least tried with the winds blowing them back. As Robin watched, he noticed something moving in the alley. As he got closer, he saw that it was Seren, who was freezing.
“What are you doing here?” asked Robin as he took off his cape and draped it around Seren’s shoulders. Luckily his costume was warm enough to keep him from freezing, although he didn’t know if it could in these temperatures for too much longer.
“Freezing my gills off,” replied Seren, feeling a bit warmer from the insulated cape. “Well, if I had gills anymore.”
“Stay put,” said Robin as he pulled out his bo staff. “I’ll--”
It was then that Damage and Wonder Girl blew past him, crashing into a parked car. Seren sighed as he pulled out his makeshift trident.
“I shall assist you,” said Seren as he looked over at Walker. “If only to end this damnable weather.”
Cameron and Luke just sat there, staring at Bart and Cody. The silence had lasted a good twenty minutes before Luke finally spoke up. “So, um, how does that work...exactly?”
Walker stood up on the ice and snow covered sidewalk as Robin and Seren approached. The wind was blowing through his almost shoulder length brown hair as he watched the two come towards him.
“You don’t have to do this,” said Robin said as he held his bo staff. “We can help you.”
“Help me?” replied Walker as he looked at his hands. “I can’t touch anyone or anything without it turning to solid ice. I can’t feel the warmth of someone’s skin against mine. You can’t help me.”
A blast of icy energy shot out of Walker’s hand as Robin jumped out of the way. Further blasts continued as Robin used his staff to pounce up and over the ice, trying to make his way towards Walker.
“There are people who can help you!” shouted Robin as he attempted to get closer. “You can be helped!”
“You’re lying!” replied Walker as he blasted Robin’s boot, causing it to be covered in a solid block of ice, trapping him. “You’re just like everyone else!”
“All humans are alike to me, as well,” Seren told him as he hit Walker with his trident, sending him flying into the wall. “But that doesn’t mean I want to kill them all. I’m cursed as well, but I’m not going on a homicidal rage over it.”
Walker tried to stand up as Seren swung his trident again, knocking Walker back into the snow. Another swing and Walker was on his back.
“Your curse can also be a gift,” said Seren as he looked down at Walker, holding the pointy tip at Walker’s throat. “I’ve been using my time among the humans to try to learn more about this strange new world. A lot of it bores me, but there are some...interesting aspects to it as well. There are these fascinating delicacies called choc-o-diles.”
“I like choc-o-diles, too,” replied Walker as Seren kicked the teen’s gloves over to him. Seren retracted his trident and helped Walker stand up as soon as his gloves were on. “If you wish, we can explore this strange world together. I’m in need of someone who can provide me with hydration, and your powers could prove of use to me. And perhaps I can aid you in learning to control your powers.”
“What, you mean like...friends?” asked Walker as he looked up at Seren.
“Don’t press your luck,” replied Seren as the cold winds started dying down and the sun once again began to shine over the city. “But perhaps...within time.”
The Titans stood up as Robin freed himself from the ice. As the group surrounded Walker, Seren held them back.
“I believe I’ve solved your problem,” said Seren as he looked at them. “You can all bow before me now.”
“Yeah, right,” Risk said as he looked at Walker. “So, you ready to be carted off to the local precinct?”
“He’s not going anywhere with you,” Seren told the Titans. “He’s coming with me.”
“Oh, no freakin’ way,” replied Damage as Robin got between him and Seren. “This loon’s just iced over half the city. He’s too unstable to--”
“I think Seren’s right,” said Robin as he looked at Damage. “He was the one who got through to this kid. He saved our butts, so I say we give him a chance.”
Robin looked at Seren. “But only one chance, understand? The next time this happens, he gets put away.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” laughed Risk as he looked over at Robin. “Why are you trusting Frosty here to this guy?”
“Because I think Seren can handle it,” replied Robin as he looked at the others. “Now come on, we’ve got a mystery on campus to solve.”
As he turned to walk away, he looked at Seren. “Don’t let me down. I’m trusting you to keep this guy in check.”
Robin handed Seren a Titans communicator. “For emergencies.”
As the Titans left, Seren looked at Walker. “Come, you can help me reclaim my ocean.”
The UCLA Campus
Robin looked over the scene, finding nothing as the others searched the rest of the area.
“Nothing,” said Robin with a sigh. “Not even a single shred of evidence.”
“Maybe those guys got a look at him,” Wonder Girl said as she floated in the air next to Robin. “I mean, provided they didn’t have the sense knocked completely out of them.”
“Already questioned them,” replied Robin as he kneeled down and looked at the bootprint in the dirt. “Said all they saw was a blur. They were out before they knew what hit them.”
“Look, these dirt bags got what came to them, so why are we even trying to the guy that did the job we should have in the first place?” asked Risk as he leaned back against a tree. “Let’s just drop this, because frankly, this guy’s a hero in my book.”
“He’s no better than the guys who beat Cody up,” said Robin as he faced Risk. “The next time, this guy could probably kill someone. And I’m not waiting around for that to happen.”
“All right, all right,” Risk told him with a smirk. “What’s got your cape in a bunch? Ever since we found out Bart’s roommate you’ve been… Wait, is this striking a little too close to home for you?”
“Excuse me?” asked Robin as he raised an eyebrow.
“Are you...into guys?” asked Risk, trying not to laugh.
“NO!” shouted Robin as Damage and Wonder Girl came close. “I’m not, but-- Look,let’s just drop this. Let’s go check up on Bart.”
As they started walking away, Damage nudged Risk in the arm. “Dude, do you think he’s--”
“Totally,” replied Risk as they headed back to their dorm room.
S.T.A.R. Labs
Inertia was sitting in a cell that was specially designed to counteract his powers. He couldn’t vibrate through the wall or shatter glass. All he could do was bounce off the walls, trying to find a weakness. There had to be a weakness. He had to get out of this place and finish his quest to destroy his cousin.
Are you still looking for a way to escape?
“Who said that?” asked Inertia as he looked around.
I did. I’m contacting you from a place that’s not far from you, Inertia. And I can help you get your revenge. I can help you destroy your enemies.
“Who are you?” asked Inertia as he sat down.
A friend. All I ask in return for helping you to escape is to help me escape as well. Do we have a deal?
“I’m probably going to regret this, but...okay,” said Inertia as he stood up.
Several miles away, another incarcerated villain smiled to himself. Soon he’d be free, and then the world would belong to Bedlam.
The End...
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