Teen Titans: Ashes and Blood

"I did not break in." Katana protested, "I have the code. I have all the codes." This sort of phrase was interesting for Jotis, he was interested in knowing just who else had the codes to the Tower. First Tizmael, now this... Katana? Yet, what she wanted was more important at the immediate moment, who pointed at the computer screen. "My friend is in need. She has been captured and I have rocated her somewhere in this city. From what my source tells me, I cannot do this alone. And my husband-..." She said drawing her blade, which made Jotis tense, "he doesn't believe I am skilled enough for this. Still, the nail that sticks up will be hammered down... as far as old Japanese proverbs go."

Was she... talking to her sword?

Sparky initially wrinkled his brow in disaproval- between him and Cyborg, the mainframe was locked down with firewalls and security protocols that had very, VERY few equalls, and that someone just waltzed in with the passwords, which he routinely changed, was more then cause for concern as far as he was aware. However, he beleived she was being genuine about her needs. Besides, she could've done a LOT of damage with those acess codes.

"So your friend is kidnapped and whatnot, huh?" He repeated. "What happened exactly?" He asked curiously. Katana seemed pretty capable, he doubted she would've come to them unless it was a pretty major issue...
---
Zero listened closely for what Katana had to say as he dissapated the force sphere he had initially formed in his hand. He raised an eyebrow curiously as she seemed to... chat... with her sword, but it was no biggie- the past month or so with the titans, he'd seen stranger things with THIS crowd.

"What? No. Shut up. Anata ga nani o i~tsu teru no ka knwo wa arimasen. Sore wa Thanagariandesu. Kare wa shi no tenshide wa arimasen." She spoke to her sword and put it back. "I appologize. My husband is brash." The word Thanagarian stuck out to Jotis, he didn't know what she said, but she was talking about him.  She straightened her back and almost blushed, but now was a time to get serious.

"My friend Emily was taken. She has been one of my only normal friends in the United States, I don't know for what purpose she was kidnapped, but friends of the Outsiders are never safe. We tracked her down here, and I insisted going on by myself since the rest of my team is currently on a very special case involving a shift of power amongst Gotham." Katana wasn't usually this winded in conversation, but she needed to be to explain herself. Sure, she technically broke into the tower, and she did need their resources, and possibly their manpower.

Tizmael stayed out of view, standing off in the hallway listening and watching the exchange with muted disdain. Not for any particular hatred of an individual, but Katana’s presence was a threat. She knew the Titans better than any of Tiz’ current teammates, and that threatened the delicate balance the demon had been cultivating this last month.

It would be ok, she assured herself, Katana might know a few things but surely she would not get confrontational about Tizmael’s presence when she went through all this trouble for something more important. The Demon would wait till it was necessary to reveal herself, for now she would listen and let the others ask the questions.

Katana's eyes widened, she looked down and patted on her sword several more times.

"Nani ga? Ano... Mattaku akuma no sonzai wa arimasen."

Jotis didn't know what to do, her constant talking to her sword in Japanese was confusing at best, he wanted to ask about it but at the same time he felt that if he did he would only get some strange response.

"Do you have any credentials?" Jotis asked, to which Katana quickly prompted with pulling out a communicator with a T engraved on it. "My boss told me to show you this. I understand Robin away?"

Well, there was no denying it, she had to have known the Titans somehow. "Yeah, he is. Who is your boss anyway?"

"He goes by, The Batman."

Sparky raised an eyebrow curiously- in this day and age, you'd have to be from another planet to not know who Batman was, so the fact that Katana was using him as a reference was surely nothing to sniff at. He was impressed, but not awestruck. "So, you're friend is here, in the city...? Do you have any idea of where in the city, or who in the city would have reason to go after her?" He inquired. The city was far too big to just go around and search the old fashion way without some kind of heading. But he genuinely wanted to help- he could easily go into public cameras and such and possibly find something, but without at least SOME kind of lead, it could take forever to come up with any kind of trace that way either...

Batman? Who the hell is Batman? Jotis was confused but by everyone else's expression they seemed like they knew the guy. Was he important or something?

"I was just about to use your mainframe to search that information. I have no idea who would want to kidnap her. She's a simple bank teller." Katana explained turning from the Titans and began furiously typing on the computer.

"If it were my guess, I'm thinking it's the League of Assassins. But I can't be sure." She continued bringing up what she had prior to the Titans interrupting.

Being able to work under one of THE Batmans employees was just as almost exciting as working under the the Dark Knight himself. Maybe if they helped Katana with this mission, she'd put in a good word for them down in Gotham. Eagerly listening to the heroines every word, she couldn't help but notice something. "Do you have a picture of Emily?" she piped up from behind the boys. "Just so we know who to look for. It may be possible that we might've seen her around the city?"

Katana brought up a profile in the computer screen, it premiered a curly haired red head with a long face and a crooked smile, her name was displayed below Emily: Briggs. It seemed to be the ID for Gotham National, where she worked.

"I doubt whoever took her would be as thick as to let her out in public. She must be in the outskirts of the city lines. Activity in the mountains support my theory." She said zooming in on several buildings right outside of town."Armored trucks moving in and out? Very suspicious." She nodded to herself almost as self approval.

"Armored trucks moving around a hidden compound in the mountains? Why not just put out a sign that says 'We are up to no good' and be done with it?" Zero joked as he zipped his jacket up and slapped his goggles over his eyes. Even after about a month, he still could smell the hideous smell of Plasmus ever so slightly. "We headed out, boss?" Zero asked Jotis, turning in the direction of the pods....

Jotis returned his sword to his sheath, "It looks like we don't have a choice. Sparky, relay that location on our communicators and we can get moving." Jotis said turning to look at his team. He noticed that Tizmael was missing, possibly still asleep? He was uneasy and still didn't trust her, even though more than a month had past and they had their fair share of team work, but they also had their fair share of disagreements.

"Wait. Where's Tiz?"

Tizmael stood in silence and continued to listen, she scuffed the floor casually with her hoof; absorbing the information that was being tossed around. She even craned her neck to see the image of the abductee so that she would be privy to that knowledge.

When the Thanagarian mentioned her she cursed under her breath and labeled him an oaf once again before walking out of the shadows, smiling pleasantly though her eyes blazed and pinned Katana with a narrowed look. “I’m here, I was listening. Don’t worry I heard the whole thing”

The demon kept her posture stiff and dominant, crinkling her nose as she moved into the room and walked over to her teammates. As long as she was surrounded by allies, the threat that Katana offered was lessened.

"Ah. Akuma ga arimasu." Katana muttered as Tizmael stepped out of the shadows. "I wasn't worried about you listening." Jotis remarked, obviously more in defense of the Tower. The whole team could tell he was still bitter about her being around.

"Well let's not waste any more time, I've heard enough." Jotis said affirming the information Katana had revealed through the flash drive. "Let's head over to the pods, team. Titans, Go!"

Zero's sighed audibly when he heard the word 'Pods'. Over a month, and he still couldn't get used to being blasted around in the things. He actually had been trying to learn how to use his powers to induce flying, but so far no luck. YET. But he nonetheless followed the rest of the team over to the pods, taking his usual position over by Karmy and Sparky....
---
Sparky didn't quite understand what Tizmael was trying to accomplish. If she DIDN'T want to look like she was hiding something, she was going about it all wrong if she slunk off when a newcomer came a- knocking. But then again, he found his attention span for the subject rapidly shortening, and he wordlessly joined the others over by the pods...

Looper perked up when the pods were mentioned, that being her favorite part of going on missions. Well, besides the whole kicking ass and saving the city of course. But, while she loved Zero and had started to develop a great friendship with Sparky, she thought it was high time that she started to get closer with the only other female on the team.

Instead of joining the boys, she strode over to Tizmael and looped arms with her. "Come on, Tizzy!" she grinned at the little spit fire. "Can we ride together this time?" she felt that Tizmael was always a little out of the group and she hated to see one of her friends that way.

The team filed into the Pod Room, Jotis saw Katana rubbing her hands against a pod, almost as if she was unsure of how to operate it. "Katana, you're with me. Tiz go with Looper, Zero with Sparky." Jotis said trying to just get organized with the whole troop or people scattering about.

He stepped in the pod as the door shut closed and a padded seat belt came down their heads and rested amongst their shoulders. The mechanical voice advised them to keep their hands by their sides. "Ever been in one of these before?" Jotis asked seeming to just get some small talk out of the way. "Many times." She said pointing behind him which displayed a Wayne Tech insignia.

When Looper linked their arms Tizmael just smiled and nodded. “Sure why not, probably much more entertaining of a ride without a sulky fake-angel” The demon patted Looper’s hand and led her over to the pods. “Funny how he’s shouting orders when we’re already doing it on our own”


The demon leaned in and whispered to Looper, looking rather wicked as she gossiped. “Someone’s desperate for control” Tiz snickered, shoulders shaking as she opened the pod and released Looper so she could climb in first.

"Ugh I know.." Looper groaned. "I know he's out leader and everything, but he just needs to get a grip and relax." she complained in a low voice. Even though she was whining, she knew deep down that what Jotis was doing was for the better of the team. All that training and conditioning was helping, Looper had never been so in shape of her life. Still didn't mean she loved waking up at the crack of dawn.

"Whelp, looks like it's you and me." Sparky observed as him and Zero clamored into their pod. Zero slouched over ever so slightly. "Oh come on, just because you're stuck with me instead of being in a small, enclosed space with your girl with no witnesses...." Sparky joked, which got a devilish look from Zero. "You just hush, lest I slip to Jotis that I found your spycameras in the girl's shower." He quipped. The two had developed a friendship as of late. Which meant they had learned how to devil each other....

Inside Jotis' pod, it was quiet between the assassin and the Thanagarian at least. The mechanical voice counted down, Jotis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hated this part. Katana sat there quiet and stoic. Not really looking at Jotis, not really looking at anything. Then they blasted off.

Whereas Zero looked like he was getting punched in the gonads, Sparky seemed to be ENJOYING the ride. "Come on, this is a LITTLE bit of fun, right?!" Sparky asked as the pod rocketed along. Of course, as Zero's face turned green, Sparky figured on his own that he wasn't, and just decided to enjoy the ride himself...

Jotis and Katana were the first ones out. The door opened up and the two stepped out. Peering out into the distance, they were about a half a mile's walk to the buildings that Katana claimed were abandoned. They seemed like chemical facilities with smoke stacks built away from the city, as to defer any environmentalists extremists who worried about Jump City's health. There was a station that was built on the sides of the plant, and there was no name in neon lights above.

Jotis decided to take advantage of the time he and Katana had alone to give her a warning about working with him and his team. "I have a hard time trusting people," he began almost as if he was admitting a weakness to her "I especially don't trust Tiz. So I'll be keeping a good eye on you. If this is a trap, I want you to know that I'm going to kill you."

Katana looked over to Jotis, he gave her a serious look, and she returned the favor. "I understand." Katana responded, "But I am more focused on saving my friend, you won't have a probrem with me." She said drawing her sword, and gazing upon the facility. "There's an old Japanese proverb, I'm sure you've heard of it... Sawaranu kami ni tatari nashi."

"No... I haven't." Jotis said looking slightly confused.

The serious look never left Katana as she explained it, "It means: let sleeping dogs lie."

Zero and Sparky clamored out of their pod, and took a quick look at their surroundings. "Hm, abandoned facotry, kidnapping, dead of night.... yup, looks like an evil lair to me." Zero mused, gazing at the buildings off in the distance. "All we need now is goons roaming the perimeter, and we'll be set to go." Sparky replied, the two of them moving away from the pod and towards the buildings as stealthily as possible. "Hey, Jo, we're here, what's the plan?" Zero asked over his communicator, wondering how they ought to go about their mission...

Their leader chose to remain skeptical. "It could just be a normal facility for all we know. Nuclear plants are away from the city for a reason." He remarked, look along the sides, everything seemed normal, but Katana continued to be suspicious of the buildings.

"But they're armored trucks, Hawkboy." Katana protested, in which Jotis only starred at her. "Don't call me Hawkboy." He muttered to her, an eye twitching. "And they could be carrying expensive chemicals inside. Who knows what's in there?"

"Right, who knows?" Katana said bending forward and resting her forearms on her knee toward the buildings.

Once they had landed and the hatch popped open, Looper hopped out first. "I will never ever get tired of that trip." she smirked at her companion. This time had been much better, especially since she had traveled with a smaller teammate rather than two much bigger ones. Stretching out her arms, she started to get a good look around their surroundings. "Damn, this place just screams horror movie."