Teen Titans West #1: "I Left My Heart..."

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Teen Titans West
Issue #1: “I Left My Heart…”
Written by Brian Burchette
Cover by Brandon Herren
Edited by Mark Bowers

Editor’s Note: This story takes place after the story taking place in Teen Titans issues 34 to 36.

“When the lights go down in the city
And the sun shines on the bay…”
- Journey

Special Agent Brandon Juarez shivered in spite of himself as the Coast Guard cruiser sped across the water. The fog wasn’t as thick as it had been earlier that week, which was a good thing. The sun was just beginning to rise over the East, and when he turned to look behind him, he could see the hint of red just over the San Francisco skyline.

He pulled his jacket a little tighter as the boat made its way north-west, following the shoreline of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. He didn’t want this assignment, and had actually been hoping they would have given it to Steele instead, but no such luck. Seemed like he was always getting stuck with the abnormal missions lately.

He watched as the gray-haired gentleman in the uniform approached him, also wrapping himself in his jacket a little more to protect himself from the chilly sea spray that would occasionally spring up from the side of the boat.

“We should be approaching the coordinates in a couple of minutes, sir. My men and I are here at your disposal. Any orders before we go in?”

Juarez shook his head. “Just make sure they’re ready to hightail it out of here at the first sign of trouble. I’m impressed that the Coast Guard brought in the Flotilla Commander for this.”

“Well, to be honest,” the older man said, with a grin that gave his aging face a more weathered look, “I jumped at the chance. Had to do a lot of arguing to come out here, but the rumors about this place have been going on too long, and I’d be a fool not to see what’s fact and what’s fiction.”

“Well, if we’re lucky, Commander, it’ll all be fiction.”

They rode in silence the rest of the way, neither moving much, until they heard the engine kick back, and the boat began to slow down. It trolled the water as Commander Biggs and Agent Juarez scanned the coast line. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Biggs saw it – faintly – hidden in a cove. A small cave, hidden from the untrained eye, but obvious now due to the faint pulsating yellow light that was coming from inside of it, which was a dead giveaway.
He tapped Juarez on the shoulder and pointed. The Special Agent scanned in the direction and instantly saw it as well. “That’s it. Lower the raft, I’m going in for a closer look.”

“Not alone, you’re not,” Commander Biggs stated. He motioned for one of his men who hurried over. “This is Private Pyle, he’ll be accompanying you.”

Juarez wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but found no real reason to argue the point either. It made sense. Soon the two of them were off on the raft, Pyle in the rear, running the motor as they neared the mouth of the cavern.

He pulled up close to the jagged edge and both climbed up the small rocky wall, tying the boat to a large rock. Juarez took the lead, switching on his Magnum flashlight as they entered the pitch-black cave. They could hear the echoing of water as it dripped somewhere up ahead. After nearly a quarter of a mile, the tunnel seemed to turn sharply to the left. They followed it, moving slowly forward. As the made another sharp left, they saw the bright yellow glow coming from the end of the tunnel.

Juarez pulled his gun out, motioning for the National Guardsman to stay behind him, and they continued towards the light. As they got closer, they began to hear a small humming sound. It was a low sound, but it seemed to not only float through the cave itself, but in their minds as well.

“Sir, I think maybe we should report back.”

“Might not be a bad idea,” Juarez replied. “You head back and let them know that there is something definitely here. Have them contact both the D.E.O. and the F.B.I. They’re going to want to take a look at whatever this is; you’ll need to call in S.T.A.R. Labs while you’re at it.”

“What are you going to do, sir?”

“Go into the light. Now, move.”

Pyle snapped to attention. “Yes, sir!”

After watching the guardsman leave, the special agent turned back and proceeded the final few yards to where the strange yellow glow was coming from. He found himself in a large cavern, natural by the looks of it. It took him only a second to find out where the light was coming from.

It stood in the center of the room, over four feet tall and one foot wide, made out of some kind of metal that he did not recognize, yet which seemed vaguely familiar. It was as if he had read something about this in a report… long ago. He barely took two steps to approach it when he heard the bloodcurdling scream of Private Pyle echoing down the natural cavern.

The sound was so primal that it made his blood turn cold. He pulled his gun and swung around, only to be facing a man whose uniform locked everything into place. Now he understood, at least a little.

“I’m Special Agent Brandon Juarez with the D.E.O. Stay right where you are until…”

They were the last words he would ever say as the heavy weapon smashed into the side of his face, crushing his skull and ending his life instantly.

*******

“Mal Duncan, you get back here right now!” Karen Beecher screamed at the young man as he ran across the Golden Gate Park lawn, large grin firmly planted on his face, and her make-up case under his arm.

When he saw that she wasn’t running, or grinning, he stopped. Panting, he slowly walked back towards her. He could tell she was angry with him, but it was alright. He found her even sexier when she was mad.

“Aw, you don’t need this, anyways. You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever met, with or without make-up.”

“Give it back or I swear I’ll…” She never finished the sentence as the ground underneath them began to shake, knocking them both onto the ground.

“Earthquake,” Mal yelled.

People in the park were beginning to take off, some screaming, but most of them calm; that was, until the Earth erupted and a large reptilian creature emerged from the ground.

“Not an earthquake,” Mal said as the sight of the creature stopped him in his tracks. “Really not an earthquake,” he said with more emphasis as the golden-hued creature, that measured the length of at least one football field, took off running towards him.

Now people were running for their lives, the screams increasing. So much chaos ensued that nobody noticed Karen Beecher as she slipped behind some bushes, only to appear again in the black-and-yellow costume of the heroine known as Bumblebee. She immediately took flight, chasing after the creature that was barreling down on her boyfriend.

Using the weapons built into her suit, she fired a power blast from her gloved hands, only to see the creature shrug it off without even glancing back. With a determined look, she forced her wings to move faster, flying ahead of the creature, nearly getting into its face. As she swooped down to grab Mal, she brought her wings together, causing a sonic blast that shattered several trees around her; it also sent the creature reeling backwards.
“You could have stepped out of the way,” she chided him as she dropped him off.

“That thing was big,” was his only reply, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open.

“Stay here,” she ordered as she took back to the air, noticing that the creature was already up and moving again. It was heading towards the bay; on a direct path toward the Presidio. She fired another blast from her gloves, but, again, it did no good. She had to stop it before it got out of the park, but she wasn’t sure she had the power to do it alone.

*******

She had spent her days, for the last few months, in one of the most famous neighborhoods of San Francisco. In the nineteen-sixties it was the epicenter of the counter-culture movement. This was the place where “flower power” started, and the phrase Turn on, tune in, drop out became not only a cry for those protesting a war that should never have been, but also a demand for change in the whole country.

Now, as Lilith Clay walked the streets, looking into the small shops that were privately owned - refreshing from the chain stores in the rest of the city - she found herself stepping around young kids with used needles tossed negligently beside them. There were still some of the older generation around, still clinging to the belief that they’d held forty-some years ago, but it was obvious to her how the two cultures seemed to reflect such different times, yet both times painful and full of despair.

Or perhaps, she had thought to herself, it was just her own feelings of desperation that she was transferring onto this famous part of the city. She had run here to lose herself after the horrible incident in Las Vegas, over a year ago; after being used by the one who called himself The Overmaster^*. Lilith had teleported away with the villain who had opened her eyes to the power that was within her; placing him in a cell in Blackgate, where he would never bother anyone again. Then she had come here, to not only hide, but to seek some kind of inner peace; over a year later, and she was still searching.

Her past was a mystery to her. It was as if she had awoken one day to find herself a young adult, wandering the streets of Dallas. She had no idea where she had come from or where she had been. It wasn’t until the one called Overmaster had taken her in, that she’d even known of the power that she wielded.

She passed a young man, his hand out begging but too high on drugs to actually mutter any words, and as she looked into his eyes, the image appeared in her head.

She was standing atop a mountain, on a world not like this one. Lilith was once again wearing the costume of Omen, her hood covering her head, but she was not alone. She was surrounded by others just like her; all of them garbed in colorful costumes, all of them screaming a name: Monarch![/b]

“Hey, lady, you okay?”

Lilith turned to find a young skateboarder, a look of concern etched into his face. The vision had come upon her so fast, that it had brought her to her knees right there on the sidewalk.

“I believe so, thank you,” she said as she tried to smile up at him. He helped her up before skating away. The images played back in her mind. What did they mean? As she contemplated them, she felt the ground beneath her shake; then the commotion from somewhere in Golden Gate Park. People began to scream and she could sense the raw fear coming from the crowds. Instinctively, she headed in that direction.

^* See the Birds of Prey mini-series for the full story of Overmaster and Lilith

*******

Cody Driscol never believed in fate. Growing up in a one bedroom trailer with his mother in Colorado, Cody learned rather quickly that if you wanted to get anywhere in life, you had to make your own fate happen. When his mother had died suddenly of a brain aneurysm - the same thing, ironically, that his father had died of when he was six months old - he took it upon himself, at the young age of sixteen, to make his own destiny.

It was also around that time that his body began to change, in more ways than what was considered normal. Unknown powers had begun to manifest themselves. He found that he was faster, and stronger than the average sixteen-year-old. When he took off after his mother’s death, he survived by petty theft, just enough to keep him alive. As he made his way to New York City, he worked odd jobs to make money. Just outside of Wapakoneta, Ohio, his life changed again. The life he once believed in came crashing down around him in a farmer’s field on a clear spring night.

When he did finally make it to New York, it was to suddenly find himself in the middle of a battle with some kind of aliens that were after one of the Teen Titans. He helped with that battle, using his powers to save the female in question. Her name was Starfire; she had a really huge… heart.^*

The problem was, after that incident, he needed to get away from New York, from that “hero” scene; especially with aliens all over the place. It wasn’t safe. So he hitched across country again until he wound up here, in San Francisco.

Cody hadn’t even been in the city six hours when he was in Golden Gate Park as the monster suddenly came up from the ground and began to go on its rampage. His jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he saw the girl, Bumblebee, flying after it. She had been in New York during that alien mess. Cody Driscol sighed as he ran towards the situation; perhaps there was something to that fate thing after all.

^* See Teen Titans Annual #1 for the full story

*******

“Hank, I think we need to find you some help,” Hank Hall’s brother, Don, said, as he paced the hotel room. “You haven’t been yourself since… well… since everything changed for us.”

“I’m fine.” Hank snapped as he lay on the bed. He was lying, of course. He was far from fine; the voice that had been in his head, the one that he had eventually fought off right after becoming the person called Hawk, was beginning to whisper to him again. That same name, over and over.

“No, you’re not. You can’t hide it from me. I’m your brother, and I know when you’re in pain, or troubled, and right now I sense a little bit of both. Maybe we should go see a specialist of some sort?”

“What kind of specialist could we get for our problem? It’s not like we can complain about our bosses; two-thirds of the psychiatric community would lock us up on the spot.”

Don hesitated for a second, afraid to say it. “I was thinking more along the lines of maybe… Zatanna. You know, she has connections with all that weird magical stuff, and if we are supposed to be the agents for the Lords of Order and Chaos, then doesn’t it hold that they’ve not only changed us physically, but psychologically as well. If anyone would understand that it would be her, or someone like her.”

“I don’t want anyone prying into my head!” Hank screamed out, then rolled over on his bed to face away from his brother.

They both heard the distant rumble from below and Don looked out of the window. “Monster…” he muttered.

Hank jumped up, his face becoming red with anger. “Call me that again.”

His brother shook his head and pointed downward at their view of Golden Gate Park, “No… monster.”

Hank walked up to his brother and they both observed the reptilian creature as it plowed through the park, scattering people along the way, and a bizarrely-dressed person flying around it as it obviously headed away from the park and towards the streets… and the Presidio.

“Come on, let’s go,” Hank shouted as both of them shimmered for a moment before the costumes of Hawk and Dove appeared on them. As Don ran for the door he heard the smashing of a window and looked to see that his brother had dove right through the glass and was already flying towards the battle.

“Great, who’s going to pay for that,” Don muttered as he took off, following his brother.

*******

Bumblebee was getting nowhere with her blasts, and the sonic disrupter in her antennae was causing the creature very little damage as well. It was if the monster was adapting to the pain. She was also getting the feeling that this thing was actually on a mission. It was being driven by something or someone.

“Well, let’s see what happens when I go in for a closer target,” she said out loud as her wings carried her onto the monster’s back. Although scaly, it also felt slimy, even with her gloves on, as she landed on its neck. Bumblebee’s arrival did startle the creature enough for it to stop just as it was leaving the park, smashing into several parked cars along Fulton Street. People who saw the creature shrieked and began to run.

“Why do I feel like I’m in a bad Japanese monster movie?” Bumblebee said out loud as she searched for something on its head that could resemble ears. She found nothing as she tried to hang on while it thrashed back and forth, trying to shake her off.

“Well, your lips are moving in synch with your voice, so that’s a good sign,” came another voice in reply.

She looked around to where the voice was coming from and, to her amazement, she saw the young man she had met in New York City, leaping out from one of the trees that ran along the edge of the park.

“Move!” Risk shouted and she barely had time to take to the sky as he came down hard on the creature, his fists slamming into the back of its neck.

It wailed for the first time as it was slammed into the pavement. It reacted on instinct, its tail flying around, striking Risk full on, causing him to fly several yards back, slamming his body into a parked car. It took off across Fulton Street in a straight line, heading for the tall, thin homes that ran along the other side of the street.

“Don’t let it destroy the buildings!” Bumblebee shouted as she swooped down again, flying in front of it in hopes of diverting its attention; unsuccessfully.

At that moment, Karen had no idea what to do. Risk was shaking off the blow still, and her powers seemed to be ineffectual. People were running everywhere, becoming more endangered in their panic. She froze… for the first time in her short career, she froze.

It was at that moment that the monster, still lumbering across the street, was suddenly tackled and flipped onto its back by another person in a red and white costume. Before she could react to that, she saw a second young man in blue and white, grabbing people out of the way and moving them back into the park.

“I’ll be right with you, Hawk,” Don Hall shouted as he continued to herd people away from the danger.

“Don’t worry about me, Dove, just get these people to safety. This thing ain’t as tough as it thinks it is.” The words had barely left his mouth when the monster’s head swung around faster than he thought possible and its gaping mouth caught him around the waist.

He screamed in pain just as Risk leapt on top of the monster’s stomach, running up the scaly underside and onto its neck.

“HAWK!” his brother shouted, witnessing his brother cry out in pain as it closed its teeth around the hero. “Oh god, no!” he cried out. Still, he was unable to stop himself from continuing to rescue the people. He didn’t want to do it, but the compulsion to aid the frightened was overwhelming.

“Go, Don Hall. Go and aid your brother. I will handle the crowd.”

He turned to see a woman in a red robe, the hood pulled up and over her face, standing directly behind her. “I can control the crowd, just go,” she said again, then turned from him and seemed to go into a trance.

As Dove took off to help his brother, he couldn’t help but notice the crowd was beginning to calm down as they made their way quickly towards the park, but no longer rushing around in a blind panic.

Dove ran at the creature, watching in awe as the young blond man had made it up to the mouth of the monster and began to pry its jaws open with his hands. He could see the pain and the rage in his brother’s face. He witnessed his brother start pounding on the creature’s nose as Dove grabbed for the thrashing tail, hoping he was strong enough to keep the thing on its back for as long as possible.

“Don’t know who you are, pal,” Risk said as he strained to get the mouth of the creature open, “but getting yourself eaten by a giant lizard is not the smartest thing to do.”

“I don’t need… your… help,” Hawk gasped out as he felt the pressure of the teeth let up a bit.

“I’m guessing you do,” Risk countered, his arms shaking from the strain as the monster continued to struggle.

Hovering above them, Bumblebee saw the opening and got an idea. She dived towards the creature’s head, her gloves out in front of her. “Get ready,” she screamed at the guy in the red and white costume.

Hawk looked up to see the woman flying towards him, her hands beginning to glow. His eyes widened. “Don’t do it. You don’t have the shot.”

Risk looked up and saw her heading towards them. “She’s got the shot, just don’t move a muscle.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Hawk snapped at him.

“Oh, you are a piece of work,” Risk replied as he took a deep breath, muscles straining, and pried open the monster’s mouth even more. He cried out from the exertion, but it was just enough strength to open the gapping maw just wide enough.

Karen Beecher came in low and fired her blasts. The energy bolts barely missed Hawk’s head and struck the inside of the creature’s mouth. It cried out in pain, a cry like none they’d ever heard before, and, in doing so, released Hawk, who fell to the ground, bleeding.

Bumblebee fired again, straight down into the thing’s throat, while Risk released his grip on the mouth and went for his own tactic. He brought his fists down into one of the creature’s eyes and its scream was nearly deafening. It struggled to get up, finally able to swing its tail; causing it to throw Dove clear.

It then rolled back onto its four feet. Risk leapt into the air to get out of the way, jumping straight up. As soon as the monster was able to get its bearings, a set of wings suddenly appeared out of its back. It took off into the air as Risk came back down; landing on the creature’s back and rolling down towards the tail, the wind knocked out of him.

He was just barely able to grab onto the tail as the thing left the ground and flew into the air. Bumblebee, Dove, and the hooded woman watched in horror as it took off for the Golden Gate Bridge.

“We’re in over our heads,” Karen muttered.

“I’m going to kick that thing’s ass,” the voice of Hawk said as he stumbled up to them, his hand covering a spot where blood was seeping between his fingers. Then he fell over, unconscious.

*******

Cody was holding on for dear life, and he knew it. The creature was now flying over the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge; he could see the island of Alcatraz in the distance, and the tiny ferry that was carrying tourists to its destination. From high above, it all looked like little play toys. This was not the way he had planned on spending his day.

“Need a hand?” the voice of Bumblebee said as she soared by him.

“I have no idea where this thing is going, but it is very determined to get there.”

“No problem, I think we’ve just received the extra power we need. Better give me your hand; we might not want to be around this thing in the next ten seconds.”

Risk looked around, confused at the comment, until he saw the large military-looking boat right below them. He decided she was probably right and let go of the tail, holding out his hand for her to grab.

Karen grabbed it effortlessly, but the extra weight was a bit much on her wings, and they began to slowly head towards the boat. As they did, a high-powered energy blast was released from the ship, striking the monster who let out a shriek and plummeted into the water.

Bumblebee and Risk landed with a rather large thud onto the boat. They were quickly joined by the young woman in the red costume.

“Where are we?” Risk asked, looking around.

“On board the boat that just saved your life,” Karen replied. “We were all transported here by her,” she said, pointing to the mysterious woman.

“Why? How did you know these people would help us? And who the hell are you, anyway?”

The red hood came down, revealing a beautiful face, and the mysterious redhead introduced herself, “The name’s Lilith Clay, but I’m also known as Omen. During your battle, I searched for help with my mind, only to find someone in the vicinity that would do just that.”

“Who?” Risk asked, cautiously.

“Someone who just happened to be in the neighborhood,” the voice of Roy Harper said as he strutted across the deck of the boat, followed closely by Dove.

“Speedy? This is a big coincidence,” Bumblebee said with a cautious tone in her voice.

“Well, to be honest, I’m on official business for Checkmate, and that creature may be a piece of the puzzle.”

“Do you know what it is, or where it came from?” Karen asked.

“Obviously it’s not from this world. Nothing in the Checkmate databanks on anything like it, but we’ll bring it up from the bay and see what we can find out.”

The boat suddenly rocked, as a large wave hit the side of it.

“I don’t think you have to worry about bringing it up out of the bay,” Dove said, pointing to the middle of the bay.

The creature had grown four times larger, now rising above the water and towering above them.

A still-injured Hawk came up from below in time to see it. “What the hell did you do to it?” he barked.

They all stared at the massive creature now towering high above them. Speedy scratched his head. “Far as I can figure, we just added water.”

To Be Continued


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