Arachnid: Noir

Kicking Bad Guy Butt

     Stephen woke from his slumber. The alarm was silent but he was being shaken by a hand. 

      "Steve, Stephen wake up." It was Jay. "Grandpa's here." Stephen stirred from his bed. His Grandpa was coming over today. He got up out of bed and put his shirt on. He walked downstairs to the dining room. There, sitting in a chair near the head of the table, was an elderly man sitting next to May.

     "Hey, Grandpa." Stephen said sneaking up behind him and giving a hug.

     "Hey, Stephen. How are you doing?" he smiled at Stephen. He left into the kitchen to get breakfast and came back with a bagel, cream cheese, and a butter knife. He took the bagel and started to spread the cream cheese over the it.

     "So tell me a little bit about youor life around here Stephen." asked his grandpa. Stephen looked at his bagel.

     "There's not much to tell, really."

    His granpa grunted as he sipped his coffee cup. Jay came into the room with a coat.

"Well, I'd like to stay and talk, but I got a really important assignment to carry out. This Arachnid character has been put on my list. I'm leading the force to bring in this masked vigilante..." Jay tucked up his collar.

     "So have you caught this spider-guy yet?" Grandpa asked.

     "No, but we will. This guy wears a mask like an outlaw." Jay said.

     "I think he's trying to do something the police can't..." Stephen began.

     "Can't? We're trained to do things we can't do." Jay said to his adoptive son. Grandpa raised his eyebrows at his son. Jay gave a distorted smile and rolled his eyes."Ok, we're recruiting the Teen Titans on our crusade to catch this guy." 

     Stephen's heart stopped. The Teen Titans?! He swallowed his bagel. He coughed and took another bite,  hands shaking and heart racing. This is more serious than he thought. 

     "I mean this is incredible. This guy can jump off walls and shoot webs out of his wrists..." Jay began to explain exploits when a noise was heard.

     "Grandpaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Grace came running up to her grandfather and hugged her.

     "Oh, who's this? Who are you?" He began to tickle Grace. She began to scream and laugh altogether. Grandpa laughed as he set her down.  Sttephen swallowed his bagel. He began to run upstairs. He entered his room and looked into his closet. He pulled out his black case. Inside was his suit.  Was this the life he wanted?

    Yes, it was. Crime was a thrill on the city streets. He was going to defend them and maybe get a few pointers with the police. He threw on his suit and shot out the window.

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     "We'd be more than generous to reward you for helping to take this guy out." Jay said. Robin stood in front of his team.

     "I'd have to discuss this with my team. They may not be so wholeheartedly devoted to it." Robin told him. Jay gave him a look as if to say 'Are you for real?'

      "However...." Robin smiled as if to call him over into a corner. Jay understood.

     "Let's take this down the hall." Robin walked down the hall. The reached the quarters and began to talk. Raven raised an eyebrow. She didn't like it, and Robin wasn't being himself. 

     "Listen, Mr. Kyle. I'm not one to be bought, but listen to me when I say I will do everything in my power to stop-" Robin began to talk.

     "I think we can cut the act, Robin. Let's face it. If this Arachnid was to invade your town and somehow trick the people into believing he was somewhat a better hero then what he really was, maybe, just maybe, he might be strong enough to steal your thunder. Then POOF, no more Teen Titans. No more Robin." Jay smiled. Robin frowned. This was a hard choice. His thunder or his virtue. Then his head snapped up.