Teen Titans: Ashes and Blood

Tizmael couldn’t say she shared Loopers’ enthusiasm for the Pod ride but she kept her peace about it and dusted herself off; hefting her little rucksack up as she slipped her arms through the straps. “Dear Looper, don’t tell me this place frightens you” The demon teased her companion before gesturing for the other girl to follow.

Tizmael pulled her own communicator. “ Jotis, we’re out of the pod. Do you want us all to meet up and collaborate a plan? Or do you want us to just head in there blind---my Lord” The demon purred into the communicator, not caring how intimate and sultry she sounded over the public line.

Jotis was surprised to look at his communicator piping up, he took it from his belt and flipped it open. "What do you think, you little minx?! We'll all meet behind the gates. We all converge there, and for God's sake, don't get caught." He said with annoyance in his voice, clasping the communicator back to his belt.

"I hate her..."

---30 minutes later

The Titans crowded around the building's gate, peering inside with her pair of binoculars, Katana offered them to Jotis, who then took his time scanning around. Nothing about this building looked suspicious.

"So? You're the one who brought us here. What is this place?" Jotis asked handing the binoculars back to Katana. "I have no idea." She admitted. "So what makes you believe that this place has your friend?"

"The intel-"

"Why this place? Why though? Who cares what the intel says." Jotis seethed at Katana in a low growl, his patience growing thin. "Why this place in particular?"

Katana pulled out her sword and whispered to it. "Watashi ga shitte iru. Kare wa meiwakuna nda."

Jotis slapped his forehead and sighed.

"Can't judge a book buy its cover." Looper shrugged. The place seemed as normal as any chemical facility could get, but it did have a slightly ominous feel to her. "It can't hurt to check it out anyway, could it?" she suggested. "Shouldn't be too hard to sneak in, have a look around and get out without being spotted..."

Sparky narrowed his eyes at their surroundings. "Any idea of at least what we're up against at least? Leauge of assasins? Bane's cartel? Falcone's mob?" He asked Katana. Maybe it was his penchant for knowing everything he could, but he didn't want to be blindsided- being stealthy against a ninja was different then stealth against a normal dude, and so forth.
---
But Zero was less concerned. "Whoever it is, I doubt they're expecting anyone out here- I say we just rush in, snatch her friend, and rush out. Besides, every extra we spend out here is an extra second they could have to move her." Zero countered. He was anxious to get started, and knew that, as usual, time was NOT a rescource they usually had in abundance...

Tizmael had kept her peace for most of this rendezvous , but when Jotis didn’t get a direct answer from Katana she’d had about enough. Marching over to the Thanagarian, she grabbed his bicep and pulled him away, not waiting for him to comply or argue with her. Once she had him a few yards away she pulled him down by his arm and began to whisper. “Why are we trusting her? She hasn’t given us any straight answers about this place, not to mention I am truly skeptical about her mental stability, as you’ve noticed---” The demon gave a pause before shaking her head. “She keeps talking to her sword and referring to her husband. I believe she thinks the blade to be her betrothed”

Tiz released Jotis soon after and moved back towards the others, looking over her shoulder at him. “Food for thought M’Lord” With that said, the demon managed to rejoin the others in time to hear Zero, his idea was less than amusing. “Ah yes, rush in not knowing who is inside, who we could be fighting or how they deal with hostages. We rush in, get seen and they kill her. Brilliant plan” The demon scowled and crossed her arms, looking off to the facility; appraising it silently. “ I don’t know anything about this job---rushing in is NOT wise”

Zero grunted in disdain- where the rest of the team was growing to trust and befriend Tizmael, Zero was having a hard time warming up to her- he could never shake that almost nauseating feel he got the first time he sensed her emotions. True, he had grown to TRUST her to help on their missions, but he hadn't grown to much else beyond that. "You got any BETTER ideas? Every minute here is another minute we're NOT saving anyone." Zero growled. In retrospect he thought he might've been out of line, but at the moment it didn't cross his mind. "And maybe Karmy is onto something. At least send in a scout, if nothing else..." He suggesting, making a point to lessen his tone and keep his voice down this time....

Katana shook her head, "Hai, watashi wa kare ga amarini mo bakada to omou." She whispered. "I don't think Falcone would be behind Emily's kidnapping, Sparky-San. For one, his base of operations never leave Gotham City, he isn't known for kidnapping, and he's been dead for years." She crouched down and peered into the facility.

Jotis let Tizmael's words sink in. He was going to have a talk with Katana, but first, upon returning to the group he smacked Zero across the head. "Are you mad?" He asked his teeth clenching, in a seething angry whisper. "Imagine kicking those doors in, guns ablaze, and a bunch of innocent people are just working; doing their job. Do you realize how unprofessional that would be? We don't know what's in there, all we have to go on is that woman's word." He said stabbing a pointing finger at Katana. "But--" She began to protest. "No, I'm going to deal with you later." He said almost ready to draw his sword to her neck. Yet he directed his anger back at Zero.

This was a form of training, it was chastisement, but it made sense as well. Once they inevitably part ways, would Zero act like this on his own? He was determined not to let him walk away from the Titans while he still had the urge to kick in every door that he thought was suspicious.

"We need hard evidence before we do anything irrational," Jotis explained "which is why I'm sending in Tiz."

The group collectively looked at their leader, this had to have been the first thing he had trusted her with in a mission. "She broke into the tower without anyone noticing, and only revealed herself when she wanted. Whereas we knew the exact moment when Katana broke in." Jotis crossed his arms and looked down at the little demon. "Go in and report what you see."

Zero rubbed the spot where Jotis had just smacked him, in a profound level of embarassment. "Take it with a grain of salt dude, at least you thought of SOMETHING, even if it was something bad." Sparky whispered quietly back to Zero. Of course sparky knew it was a DUMB idea, but at least he was thinking of ideas in the first place. Zero did little more then nod and withdraw a few steps back from the group after Jotis made his announcement, emotionally about half an inch tall...
---
Sparky darkly found Jotis lashing out at the team almost comical- between swatting around Zero, threatening Katana, and putting an important scouting mission the hands of Tiz, the person on the team Jotis probably trusted least of all, he had to fight very hard against the urge to indulge in a cruel chuckle. Lucky for him he was wearing a mask. Realizing that him and Karmy were the only ones that- for now- were under the radar, he slid next to her. "We haven't even STARTED and this thing is already going amusingly." He observed, trying to start up some simple smalltalk as they waited for Tiz....

"Seriously, but I do get why Jotis is doing this." Looper whispered back. While she wanted to believe that Katana was telling the truth, she hadn't really given them a lot of information to honestly trust her. In a situation liek this, Jotis was right to be cautious. "What're the rest of us going to do while we wait for Tiz? What if she needs back up if she gets into trouble?"

Tizmael was a bit taken aback by Jotis decision to send her in first, but she did not let that show; instead she shrugged and adjusted the straps of her rucksack so that they were tighter. She certainly didn’t want it falling off while she was sneaking around.


Tiz grinned over at Looper, cocking her head impishly and giving a big stretch; is if preparing for her journey into the buildings. “That’s what communicators are for dear.I am sure you’ll find something to amuse yourselves with at any rate”

"We'll see you on the other side, we can formulate a plan of action from Tiz's report. We'll hear from you soon. Looper, Zero, and Sparky, go and steak the area out, find other entrances or weak spots in the building's architecture. Do not advance in the building without my command." Jotis nodded, his arms still crossed he turned his head to Katana.

Katana impishly held her sword as if she was seeking comfort instead of winding for an attack.

Sparky had a feleing Jotis's request was more of a 'you kids scram while the grown ups talk' kind of thing when he noticed the look he gave Katana, but Sparky figured it best if they left regardless. Besides, it probably was a good idea to probe around the building in the first place. "Let's go you two, let's go on a steakout." He declared as he snatched the pair by their outfits and proceeded to haul the two away with him...
---
Zero let sparky haul them out of earshot before he shrugged out of Sparky's grip. "So we just probe the joint now, right?" Zero re stated. "Scan the perimiter, look for easy entrances, talk about our personal lives, crap like that." Sparky replied sacastically. He crouched behind a particularly large tree as he popped open a touchscreen panel on his arm, no doubt about to hack into the building's layout. "On the subject, tell me about you two. And I don't mean like persoal history, I mean you TWO." Sparky requested, twirling two fingers for emphasis...

"Good luck, Tiz!" Looper had shouted as Sparky led them away. "Be careful." She knew that Tizmael could very well take care of herself, but she couldn't help but worry. After all, they weren't entirely sure what they had gotten themselves into with this Katana woman. With her hesitate to give them all the information they needed, things could take a turn for the worst at any moment.

Pulling her self out of his grip, she leaned against the tree that they were parked underneath. She cocked her head at the question. "What do you mean? He's my best friend." she didn't see what Sparky was getting at. Zero was the man she trusted with her life, especially since they were oth in the same boat when it came to their condition. "We've been together for as long as I can remember. And maybe even before that for all we know."

Tiz didn’t turn around when Looper yelled after her; as a matter of fact she walked faster and soon came open an external air vent that was blowing out stale, warm air. Quickly, the demon pried the vent cover off the wall, careful not to damage it before climbing into the dusty opening. Inside was dark, but she could easily see; her small stature allowed her to turn around in the vent and place the cover back into place to conceal that someone had entered the opening. The demon gave a heavy sigh and turned around again, proceeding down the long winding vent shaft into the belly of the building.


She crawled through the vents heading eastwards, when the air grew warmer she followed it; checking her communicator every so often to make sure there was nothing obstructing her signal. Soon, the darkness of the vents gave way to light at the end of the tunnel, and the surface of the mental vents became less moist. She was fast approaching an internal vent opening.


Tizmael pinched her tongue between her teeth as she slowed down and took more care with how she crawled lest she accidentally alert anyone within the building to her presence. Eventually the demon made it to the opening and peered down into the room within.


It was dim; the lights that were on, were old and flickered every now and the. The placed looked like a mess, which led Tiz to deduce that whoever the current tenants were, they had not been there for very long. There were signs of life, small tables with cans and cards scattered across the surface, chairs set about to imply the presence of a few people. People; Tiz noticed, who were currently leaving the area. The demon narrowed her eyes as she listened to what they were saying but couldn’t quite make out the particulars.


The room was large, the bottom floor was covered in smaller compartments that were lined with cell doors, most of them seemed empty. Stairways led up from this bottom floor towards walkways that lined the rooms perimeter; on one side a room with a large observation window and what appeared to be a man sitting at a control panel sat. Much like herself, this man had full view of all the going ons in the room.

At one side of the room loomed a large freight elevator, it’s heavy doors were closed tight; possibly only able to be opened by a button in the control room. Tizmael felt a sense of discomfort as it seemed something large and lumbering stood vigil at the elevator door. It was too far away to fully make out, but it was big enough to notice and that did not bode well.

Tizmael slid back further in the vent to obscure her voice as she pulled out her communicator to finally report.

Jotis didn't have any time to react to Looper's yell. Was it not clear they were on a reconnaissance mission? Why would she shout? When everyone was keeping their voices low, Jotis had to stop and think what prompted her to grab the attention of whatever was inside of the building. Well, whoever was in there, they were about to find out. He wanted to yell back at her, scream at her, but that would have only been more counter productive as the doors to the gate were opened up and out stepped several men in official uniforms with automatic rifles, emerging from the shadows. He stood back, out of their direct line of sight with Katana. He had begun to question Robin's choice in replacement Titans.

"What was that noise?" Jotis could hear the men say to each other. "Was someone shouting? Scan the area, we may have intruders nearby." They began cocking their guns and checking their gear, flipping on flashlights. A high pitch buzz was emitted from something, Jotis wasn't sure what it was, but it could have been anything from a bomb arming, to night vision goggles being activated. "Could be nothing." One said to another, "Stay vigilant." Warned what seemed to be the leader of the outfit.

Great, he didn't know who he was up against, and if they deserved a beating or not. He only had Katana's word to go on, and he couldn't exactly question her now. Not with men waving deadly assault rifles that could fire a thousand high caliber rounds per minute at least. Jotis had been shot at before, but only with small arms, and even then not at this close of a range, and wasn't sure how he'd handle their firepower. He did notice a glint in his eye as Katana drew her sword. Realizing he had his own drawn to the ready, Jotis crouched down to her level, finger on shushed lips.

"Non-lethal." He told her. Katana nodded in an understanding way.

Zero also didn't quite get sparky's angle at first. "Of course, the two of us have were all we had until we joined the titans. And even then, she means more t-" Zero was suddenly stopped when Sparky held up a hand to shush him. "Hold that thought." Sparky stated, his voice now a severe whisper. He wordlessly pointed off in the direction where they had just come from, as he could juuuuuuust barely make out the sweeping light of flashlights in the night. "Damn, that's about where we left Jotis." Zero observed quietly, concern in his voice.

Sparky bit his lip in thought. On the one hand, Jotis would call if he needed backup. On the other, he could be in some kind of trouble and COULDN'T call. Should he tell Karmy and Zero to go back and check it out? Should they just let it go and continue their mission?

After stewing it over in his mind, Sparky knew that Jotis would flip his feathers if they ignored his orders and jeapordized the mission over some perceived threat, even if it was just by sending the two of them back while he carried on himself. "Just keep on with what we were told, that could be anything. But keep your eyes peeled." He stated, the download of the schematics just about finished.

"I don't like this waiting stuff... Jo could be in trouble for all we know." Zero stated in a whisper to Looper, but he knew Sparky had a point- that could be the gardener for all they knew, really. He continuously scanned their surrounding from their cover though, searching for any kind of sign as to who was in the woods with them now....

It had taken her a few minutes to see what she had done wrong, but Looper eventually saw how badly she had screwed up. She quietly tapped her knuckles on her forehead as hard as she could while repeatedly calling herself stupid in her mind. After a month of training with Jotis, she thought she had gotten over her mishaps. But looks like she still had a few quirks to work out.

Dreading the ear full she was going to get from their fearless leader later, she looked back at her two companions. "They very well could be after my little stunt..." she said in the lowest voice possible. "He'd want us to continue with the mission, but maybe one of us could go back."

As his wrist- top flashed to show that the download of the schematics was complete, Sparky scratched his head in thought. He realized he probably SHOULD let the two of them go to check on Jotis- if he didn't need help he'd just send them back, and if he did then they'd be there to give him a hand. "If you two want to, go ahead and take a look, i'll carry on myself." Sparky relayed. "But be CAREFUL- we don't know much about who or what we're up against, so be safe." Sparky cautioned. Over the past few months he'd warmed up to the two, and the last thing he wanted was to see them get hurt.

Or chewed out.
---
Zero breathed a sigh of releif to be up and moving and DOING something, but his mind was a mixed bag of concerns- Concern about leaving Sparky by himself. Concern about what they could be walking into. Concern about if Jotis and Katana were ok. And, most importantly to him, concern about how hard it seemed Looper was taking it all. "Don't sweat it, we'll be niiiiice and quiet." Zero quietly re- assured Sparky. He then turned to Looper. "And don't be so hard on yourself, like sparkles here said, it could be anything." Zero explained with a friendly smile, trying his best to re- assure her. "Sparkles...? I've been reduced to SPARKLES...?!" Sparky hissed in a whisper with an irritated tone. But Zero ignored his complaint. "C'mon, let's check it out." Zero stated quietly, slowly starting to meander back the way they came, as carefully and quietly as he could, waving for Looper to follow him...

"Keep us updated if anything major comes up and we'll do the same." Looper whispered to Sparky before following Zero. Treading quietly behind her best friend, she couldn't help but wonder what he was going to say before they were interrupted. Probably along the lines of what she had said, but maybe something else. "So uhm..." she asked him quietly. "What were you going to say back there?"

The guards were still wandering around the interiors of the gates, Katana had her hand resting on Jotis' shoulder, he looked back at her and mouthed "disarm them," she again nodded in understanding. Still pressed against the gate of the wall, he could see several lights fall in front of them. However many of them were now coming out, they were just about to show themselves. They continued to chatter softly as their voices and footsteps grew louder. Jotis could not only feel his own heart beat, but Katana's as well.

Then coming to view, he saw Zero and Looper coming back their way. He wasn't sure if they could see him, but he held up his hand in urgency to tell them to hold back. He wasn't sure if he was getting through to them as they kept creeping up to the gate's entrance. Jotis saw the first gun peek out into view, taking no chances he shot his sword through the rifle's barrel, it cause the stunned guard to drop his arms, but the strap still dangled around his neck.

"Watch it!" He warned his unit. The sword still stabbing through the gun and Jotis pulled forward, lurching the guard out, he fell on the ground. Two other guards, armed filed out, one dropped down to help their partner back up, and the other to check out what the problem was.

Katana hoisted herself up from the Thanagarian's shoulders and jumped off of him landing on the second guard who had just spotted the two intruders. Jotis weaved past Katana and spread his wings as he used the blunt of his sword and smacked the guard checking up on the other who landed on the floor. The sword's Nth metal sparked at contact and effectively knocked the grunt out cold.

Their leader came out with his sights trained on Katana who was kneeling down on the guard's neck. Right before he fired on the assassin, "Rikai!!" Katana shot forth and slashed at his chest which housed a grenade that exploded immediately. A wave blasted and everyone dropped to their feet. The leader had been knocked out and Katana was getting up from the blast.

How the hell did Katana know that was a concussion grenade?

Zero slowed his pace when he heard Looper's question. "I guess.... I guess what I was going to say that, well, you mean more to me than.... anything, really." Zero confessed. He was secretly glad it was dark, so she couldn't see him blushing like a dork. "I mean, if we hadn't found each other, I'd probably still be walking in some clueless circle somewhere. You gave me a purpose, something to DO with my life, someone to BE." He explained, realizing he had dropped back to walking almost shoulder-to-shoulder with her....

And then he saw Jotis waving about, trying to halt them. He Barely had time to acnowledge Jotis's request before things got fast. Guns were getting sliced, Katana was hopping off of people, Jotis was knocking people out with his word. And, to top it all off, a grenade went off. "Well, they know we're here NOW." Zero observed. Seeing little point in keeping quiet after a grenade went off, his hand flared up a bright blue, looking for someone that needed a crash course in getting their behind kicked...
---
Sparky heard the explosion as he downloaded the building schematics to everyone's communicators for good measure. 'Whelp, we can flush that whole 'stealth' angle right down the toilet...' Sparky thought in his mind. But maybe this would be an advantage- with things blowing up and fighting going on out front, hopefully people would be leaving their posts to go check it out. He resumed where he had left off, scouring and investigating the outside of the building, keeping a sharp eye peeled for the most vulnerable entrance he could find as he kept silent as a ghost....

For some people, when their heart skips a beat, it could've been triggered by several things. Falling out of bed while they're half asleep or being startled by a bird smacking into their window or a child dropping their favorite vase. There was even a case in New York of a man, who was wearing a heart monitor at the time, whose heart skipped a beat when a very beautiful woman walked into the room. In Loopers case, hers missed that one beat when she was hit by a realization.

Was this love?

Marching through the brush while on a dangerous mission probably wasn't the most ideal place for her to come to this, but no one can really help it when happens.

As they trudged on, she looked up Zero. It was a rare sight to see him without his goggles, she had almost forgotten what color they were. The moonlight that peeked through the branches would illuminate their rich blue color with a slight twinkle here and there. As if he held the very night sky in his gaze.

Biting the corner of her lower lip, she looked down at the ground. There was a strange feeling in her chest, a sort of tugging sensation that she had never felt before. In fact, she was sure she had never felt this before, not even in the life before this one. It was just something that one could never forget, right? Is this was love feels like? It felt unnatural to the very young hero, she couldn't understand it.

The sound of the scuffle brought her out of her thoughts and she realized they had already reached their destination. Quickly shaking away the thoughts for now, she whipped out her batons and rushed up next to Zero, ready for battle.

A guard was trailing behind Sparky, the flashes of light that had been emitted from the teen's compact captured his attention. What was the kid doing? He decided to keep low until he found the right time to strike. Wait.. now what were they doing? They're splitting up? Excellent! The guard quietly jogged over to the unsuspected teen and cocked his rifle back when he was point blank to Sparky.

"Stop right there." He ordered, as he trained his gun on Sparky's head. One hand holding the automatic, the other using to pat down the frozen teen. He wondered what was going on in his mind right now, as he found the kid's communicator and unclipped it from his belt. "Teen Titans, huh? You guys are branching out or something?" He asked as if it was to say don't be shy, I don't bite.


-


Jotis looked over to Zero and Looper approaching as he and Katana made quick work of the guards, he wish they hadn't, because he couldn't hold in his anger any longer "Too late." his white knuckles had color flow back into them. His burning senses told him not to yell in case there were more guards prowling about. Still, he needed to get his anger out, something to relieve himself of his stress if anything. Jotis discarded his blade, stood not two feet from the Titans, and grabbed couple by the fronts of their shirts and lifted them off the ground, an enraged grimace spread across his face, his red hot fists shaking from the adrenaline. Sneering he brought them closer so he could whisper to them in a shaking heated voice; "We are going to discuss this later, until then you both do exactly what I say." He dropped the two on their butt and turned from them "Until then, don't even breathe without my permission."

Walking up to Katana, he was about to say something to her when it hit him, he turned back to Zero and Looper.

"Where's Sparky?"


-


The Guard seeing that he had stripped Sparky down of anything useful, used the butt of his gun to knock Sparky on the head. When he dropped to the floor, the Guard bent over and picked him up. "Got one of the intruders. Maybe he can give us some intel on the others. Heading back now." he spoke through a comlink in his ear.

'Well f*ck....' Sparky thought as the gaurd releived him of his instruments at gunpoint. He considered just disarming the guy and KO-ing him. He didn't seem exceptionally strong, and there were far more instruments embeded in his suit then just the obvious ones. Maybe...

But he had no time to enact any sort of escape or knockout before he felt the butt of the gun crash down on his head. As he slumped down into the bliss of unconciousness, a small clip dislodged from his belt that had previously held his communicator to his hip. The dark green coloration hid it well in the grass to all but the closest inspection...
---
Zero could feel his insides twist into a pretzel. As if he wasn't in enough trouble witht he boss already, now Jotis looked like he was going to EAT them he was so furious. "Sparky said he'd finish up charting the exterior of the building by himself- he sent us to go make sure you were ok when he saw the lights." Zero explained as hurried as he could, not wanting to stretch Jotis's patience any longer then he needed. Zero got up and dusted himself off of the groud, stretching out a hand to Karmy to help her up to her feet as well. Like when they first met, he kept himself between Karmy and Jotis, opting to take the brunt of whatever Jotis's reaction would be next. And if the seeting volcano of emotions he was reading coming from Jotis was any indicator, he had a feeling that this was NOT going to be pretty....

Looper took his hand and helped pull herself up, giving him a nervous grin. The wrath of Jotis was a thing of nightmares, but she knew it was for the greater good of the team, even though it didn't seem like it at the moment. "One of us could go back and check on him if you want.." she offered. "Or we could give him a call." she unclipped her own communicator.