The Darkness Before Dawn

Resisting a sigh or snappy come-back she asked, "Could you send a bot squad down to Ilia's location for back-up? Just maybe one that could track heat sorces? It'd help a bit with the rebel-hunt." Her cloud gave one final blare of thunder then disapeared. "Just to be on the safe side you know?"

"My name is Coram." He said plainly. "Slade took me on as his apprentice just 30 minutes ago. He told me to find you, becuase you are to train me." Coram rolled his eyes. "But if you can't take down even one titan, I don't see how you can help me." Coram plopped down looking at her. "Can you think of a way?

"For the records, there was more then one of them." Ilia shot back. If the newguy thought it was a good idea to to start slapping their mistakes at them, he had a brand new story coming. "And as for finding them, i'm sure we'll find a way." She said, cold but confident.

Slade strongly considered calling the three back right now and sending an assin squad out to just be done with it. But for some reason, he found it infiniteley amusing that they wanted to continue the hunt despite failing twice in one night. "Very well, I will send a small squad. But be aware, Kamica- this is the last chance I'm giving you three." Slade said before he hung up.

"But-" She had somthiing else to say but he had hung up. "He just always has to have the last word..." Sighing again Kamica headed back to the hotel and saw someone with Ilia and Blade. "Well dang, you two replace me already?" She asked stroding over, "Who's this?"

"My name is Coram. I am Slades new apprentice." Coram said as he walked around. He was to have you three train but, you guys were busy so he sent me here to help." Coram turned around and looked at all three. "So how do we plan to find then?"

Blade took out her sword and aimed at Coram. "Listen, kid. First of all, I'm not his apprentice. I'm on his team. Second, the Titans are more slippery than you'd think. If you can't understand that, how experienced are you?" She inched a bit closer, keeping the blade aimed in his face. She glared, and made as if to attack him, before sheathing her sword.

"Just informing you." She scowled. "We'll find them the way we always do: They find us, we go after them. They escape, cycle begins again." Her words were sarcastic. She was in no mood to deal with rebel hunting and a new kid with an attitude.

"Okay, someone likes to scare the new guys." Kamica said rolling her eyes. Turning to Coram she said, "Ok Ms. Sharp-sword here is Blade, frosty-heart is Ilia. Slade's sending some bots, one with a heat tracker so we can hunt Hot-head down. Then I say we suround'em and take them down. Good? Or any other ideas?" She set her hands on her hips wondering if they even had ideas.

"Well havent you tryed surrounding them already? With all do respect to you, If a tactic doesnt work once, what makes you think it will work again?" Coram stood up. "I do have an idea. The Titans have yet to see me and no idea who I am. So why not send me in first and make it seem like I am on their side. Then when they let their guard down, I strike one and you guys come in when I give the signal?" Coram stood there wondering how they would react to his opinion

Kamica cocked her head to the side and looked at Coram. After a quite momment she said, "True, your plan could work, but Raven could problely tell if you were lying. But, if you were out cold we could use you for bait..." She laughed, "No worry, but hey you have a point. Sharpy, Frosty, what say you?"

"Raven is weak. She just teleported that whole group, and I poisoned her." Blade speculated, "She could detect you were lying, or she could be too weak to try. It's a big chance." She gave Coram a cold stare. "Not bad, newbie."

Ilia crossed her arms. "Call me the pessimist, but there's no way that could pass by Robin. They would have to be stupind to just welcome a total stranger with open arms. It's obvious we hate the newcomers to his group, so he saw them a spossible allies. But unless you can Convince Robin, it won't work." Ilia said in her dry voice. She unhinged her helmet/mask, and let her nearly white hair fall down, leting the right half fall over a plate over her right eye, seemingly bolted into her skull.

"It shouldnt be too hard. It took me all of 3 minutes to convince you guys I am part of your group. I am a pretty good liar, I may be able to persuade them." Coram turned Ilia. "All I need to do is lay low in their area and if at all they fall asleep or are extremely tired, I call you guys in. It's risky but its always worth a shot. Plus, If it doesn't work then I could always defend myself."

"Defend yourself!" Blade snorted, "What can you even do?" she inquired, still not liking this new guy. She also frowned at the fact he referred to them as a group. Sure, she had said herself it was a team mere seconds ago, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it. Whenever the question of why she followed Slade came up, it was quickly replaced with some other insignificant thought.

"I don't see the point of revealing my powers to you at the moment. My life is not in danger and we aren't exactly fighting at the moment." Coram snickered. "You will just have to wait and see what my powers are and how effectively the defend me."

"Well let's see. If we fail, we're dead meat. And your powers could help us with a plan." She sighed, man he was smart one second then somthing else the next. "So really, Coram, bud. What's your powers?"

Ilia squinted. "We only- ONLY- let you in because we were told by Slade beforehand- if you were a stranger and approached us, I doubt there would be enough left of you to put in a ziplock baggie by now." She seethed, but tried ot hear out the plan, long winded threats not being her thing.

Coram smirked at Ilia. "I could have been lieing." He began laughing as he looke at Kamica. "Fine I will reveal my powers to you." He pulled out his Dual Blades and became silent. It seemed as though parts of his body began to separate. As the separated parts began to take form Coram open his eyes and watched them take shape. "I am a summoner as you can see." The two summoned creatures took on the body of Coram but had the heads of praying Mantises. "Each one that I summon has a Third of my actual power. They know everything I know and only obey me."

"Well now, was that so hard?" She asked, sorta but not truely impressed. "Ok so why not just have Bugg-be here sommon up an army and we'll take them down the easy way? As in the way I always like."

"I can only summon 10 warriors every 30 minutes and each one has a time limit of which it can stay up. Each bug individually can stay up for 2 hours." Coram began to rub his head. "Even with my power, I still say we try a different tactic other than surrounding and attacking."

Blade cleared her throat. She noted Coram's limits, and would keep it in mind should he...go against them. For now, she would propose a plan of her own.

"Divide and conquer. Together, they're trouble. Alone, anybody could take them." She began listing on her fingers, "Hotspot, just frost him, princess. Robin, take away his toys. Raven, I don't think she's good at hand to hand. She threw drawers at me rather than punch me. Miss disappear, take her gun. Dog girl, I'll poison the dogs." She held out her hand. Five. "Of course, easier said than done."

[I need some heroes to start posting.]

[*sigh* am I the only one smelling something dying, as usual?]

Robin woke up he didn't know where he was, this had begun to become a norm for the past several years, and there was always a legitimate explanation for it. He saw only one with him. "Specter?" Robin asked his eyes out of focus. "So you did watch my show." Alaska snorted. "Beast Boy did. A lot, I'm sure he would have been excited to meet you." Robin said weakly shifting about. "Where are we? Where's everyone else? Raven? Hotspot..?" He continued to ask. "Speaking of Beast Boy, we got attacked, you passed out I phased out and rescued your poor ass. Twice in one day. You owe me Bat Boy." Alaska said tiredly.

"Where are we?"
"Safe."
"That doesn't answer my question. Where are we?"
"We're at my place. Somewhere where owners don't rat on us."
"Owners?"
"Apparently the landlord didn't like our company and sent his jolly crew to nab us. So what I know."
"I'm getting out of here.. Gotta search for Raven. Make sure she's okay.."
"You got shot in your f*cking chest dude you're immobile for at least a month."
"Two days."
"A month."
"I can rehabilitate in two days."
"Not at the rate you're recovering."
"I can handle it."
"No you can't. If you want to jump into action in two days, you'll reopen your wounds and it'll take even longer! We have to fight fire with fire."
"You're talking about guns?"
"If we can nab a sniper rifle yes. Nothing else."
"I don't like guns."
"You know of any other way to pick off troopers without reopening those 9mm holes?"
"What are you a doctor?"
"A biologist. I studied human anatomy."
"Two-"
"Shut up! Do you want to save your friends where ever the hell they are?"
"Specter... Why did you save me?"

Alaska took a step back. Sweat rolled down her forehead. "Because.."
"Because why?"
"Because you're in trouble."
"They could have used your help."
"You needed it more."
"Why's that?"
"You were bleeding out. I had to patch you up again."

Robin looked at her curiously, he checked his chest, felt along the wounds. Stitches.

[thnx mersee *3*]

Hotspot hauled his sorry carcass off of the grass, still swatting that same damn mosquito away. "Guh...... we ought to find Robin and the others." He said, noticing nobody else was around but him and Raven.

These past few years had been trouble, and nothing but. And nobody knew this better then Hotspot- from rebellion to rebellion, watching friends, comrades, turn 180 afainst their once heroic ideals...... it was truly a thing of frustration.

But things were different now- by a stroke of luck, he had found not only Robin and Raven, the two people Slade practicaly would sell his soul to get, but other fighters as well. Maybe things were looking up?

Maybe he was putting the final nail in his coffin? Oh, who knew.


Ilia tussled her bangs. You say it like it'll be easy. Let's not forget, we ain't dealing with punks here. Even Slade himself has tried before to go after these punks." She seethed, an eerie calm in her voice.

(Hope you don't mind Ann jumpin' in.)

"Eep!" A yelp escaped Annesthetize's lips as she waited for daylight in the warehouse. Sleep was hardly ever an option, so she had stayed awake for awhile now. A moving shadow, the sound of voices and bodies collapsing came from outside. She gulped away her fears and, eyes frantically making a route through the dark, made it to the door. She poked her head out and gasped.

"Y-you two! What happened? You were fighting and..." the girl stammered, dumbfounded at her luck of the two appearing there.