007
- i'm sorry, kid -
HAZEL MOVED QUIETLY AROUND THE KITCHEN, HER MIND BUSY WITH THE DISHES SHE DIDN'T NOTICE TERRAN SIT BESIDE GAR. Hazel turned back to Gar, sliding him the coffee beans and brewer. Terran smiled up at Hazel and Hazel grabbed another coffee cup for Terran.
"Any luck finding your boy?" Rose asked, nudging Terran with her boot.
Terran glanced between Hazel and Gar, her lips pulling into a tight smile."Uh, Dick and the team are still searching," she answered quickly, setting the filter paper in the brewer. "They're probably in the tunnels by now," Terran shrugged.
It was silent for a moment until Rose began to search through the cereal jars. "Do you guys have any cereal not made for old people? I mean, who eats Wheaty Bits anyways?" Rose complained, lifting the glass container.
Gar scoffed and shook his head, "I can't believe you."
"What?" Rose shrugged, setting the food down again.
"You don't even care."
"I got ripped from my sleep in the middle of the night. Excuse me if I wanted a midnight snack," Rose complained.
Hazel rolled her eyes, her patience with Rose's uncaring attitude growing thin. "Could you just... at least pretend to act like a decent person?" Hazel snapped. "You could at least try helping. Or piss off at least."
"And how would you like me to help sunshine?" Rose snapped. "Hanging in front of a computer with Poison Ivy and emo girl, or would you prefer I hang out with you and your boy toy?"
Hazel scoffed, chuckling softly. "Boy toy?"
"What? You're saying he doesn't like you or you don't like him?"
Hazel pushed her seat out and stood, the stool toppling over. Hazel's eyes grew a bright green as she glared at Rose. "I dare you to say that again-"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Terran called, running around to Hazel and grabbing her arm. "She ain't worth it."
"Listen," Rose called, in a softer tone and Hazel picked up her chair to sit again. "I'm sorry Robin 2.0 is missing or whatever. But he did this to himself. So don't project your guilt on me, Icarus. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to go ham on some Cinnamon Corn Puffs and chill."
Gar scoffed and stormed off. Terran smiled and turned to face Rose, "I really just, do not like you." Terran clicked her fingers and a loud bang went off, exploding the jars of cereal all over Rose making her squeal slightly. She scrambled back, slipping off the edge of the counter, landing on her ass. Hazel chuckled softly and Terran brushed her hair back. "Enjoy your cereal," Terran cooed, before leading her and Hazel out.
"What the hell is that stuff?" Hazel asked as they walked down the hall.
"It's uhh..." Terran trailed off as she held up her hands. "I can focus on sound and project it. It's a... little bit destructive."
Hazel laughed, "Oh I noticed." Hazel glanced down the hall and nudged Terran's shoulder. "C'mon." Terran followed Hazel to the training room. Hazel tossed her sweater aside and grabbed the standing heavy bags.
"Are you training me right now?"
Hazel turned to Terran, her eyes widening. "Oh my god I'm turning into Dick Grayson." Terran laughed at her and tossed her jacket aside to join Hazel's jumper. "Okay, but just humour me." Hazel grabbed the gravy bag to the centre of the room and slapped it. "Your sound blasts are explosive, like a bomb. We need to make them follow a set target."
"Like a bullet."
Hazel nodded and ran to stand by Terran. "Whenever you're ready."
Terran sucked a deep breath through her teeth. "I need you to talk. It's easier to focus on one sound then pick one that's constant." Hazel nodded and started to ramble about a book series she had started reading. Terran focussed on the low tones of Hazel's voice, her hands starting to shake as the vibrations moved through her body.
The vibrations reached her finger tips and she threw her hand out. A bright lights pored from Terran's body and to her hand and shot at the heavy bag. The bright light knocked the bag to the floor, and it barreled through a rack of wooden swords. The rest of the light bounced off the bag and spread out to knock over wooden training beams.
Hazel jumped back in surprise and Terran's eyes widened as yet another rack of training equipment fell. Terran turned back to Hazel, her heart beating. "Hazel I'm-"
"That was cool as fuck!" Hazel shouted, grabbing Terran's shoulder and shaking her. Terran cracked a smile and laughed at Hazel. "Help me set it up again."
Terran had broken three wooden racks, exploded two heavy bags and had blasted Hazel across the room. Her light managed to absorb the sound blast but Hazel still crashed into the pile of broken wood and sand. "Shit! Haze, you okay?" Terran rushed to pull Hazel to her feet.
Hazel kicked off a broken piece of wood that had torn through her jeans before chuckling softly. "That was strangely exhilarating," Hazel huffed, pushing her hair back. Terran laughed and slapped Hazel's arm. "I'm good."
"Can we not do that again?" Terran questioned, shaking the jitters from her arms.
"For now," Hazel laughed. "Cause that was fun as hell."
A knock sounded off the wood lining of the doors and both girls looked up. "Hey, can you guys give us a moment?" Dick questioned the other Titans standing behind him.
"Uh, sure, yeah." Hazel looked at Terran and nodded her on. "I'll grab our stuff." Terran slipped past the other and Hazel quickly grabbed their jackets. Hazel jogged past the Titans, pausing to greet Kory before walking down the hall back to the kitchen.
"Did they kick you out of the training room?" Rachel asked, her hands grasping her cup. Terran had pulled out a stool to sit by Rachel and slowly watched the coffee drip.
"Yeah," Hazel nodded, tossing Terran her coat.
"It's bad. I can tell," Rachel started, looking at Gar who had his back turned to her. "They don't think we can handle hearing the truth."
"I know a way to find out," Gar mumbled. Gar looked up at Hazel before starting to make his way down the hall. Hazel sighed through her nose before chasing after Gar. The others followed close behind them to the control room. Gar tapped a few buttons on the keypad and the camera in the training room appeared on the screen.
"So there's cameras in every room," Rose questioned, pacing around the room.
"Blame the guy that built this place," Hazel sighed and Rose turned to her. "Creepy dude.". Rachel leaned against the desk and Terran slid into the seat beside Gar.
"So where's the sound?" Rose asked, leaning over the top of the control panel.
"Yeah, I- I don't feel comfortable doing this," Gar sighed, playing with the cuffs of his jacket. "It feels sketchy."
"Wasn't this your idea?" Terran asked, turning to Gar.
"Aren't you tired of being lied to?" Rose added, walking around the control panel.
"Dick isn't lying to us," Rachel defended. "He doesn't want us to get involved. He's protecting us."
"How does being kept in the dark make any of us safer?" Rose snapped, pausing at the doorway. "They're hiding something. And I want to know what it is. Don't you?"
Rose looked at Hazel and raised her eyebrow. Haze grabbed Gar's chair and slid him back. "Haze-" Hazel pressed a few buttons and the speakers played the sound from the control room. Rachel slapped her arm and Hazel simply shrugged and moved to stand beside Rose again.
"Why don't we find this guy and neutralise him?" Kory questioned.
"It's not that easy," Donna said with a scoff. "We barely survived his last attack."
"Look, Jason is hurt, alone, scared," Hank started, his voice shaking as he spoke. "And I... We all know what that feels like. Bottom line is, he's one of us and she's not. So handing her over, if it saves his life, I don't know about you, but I can sleep a little better at night knowing I did the right thing!"
Silence fell over the group, the old friends debating the importance of two kids' lives making everyone feel queasy.
"You good with this, Grayson?" Kory snapped, looking at Dick. "Dick?"
"Just give me a second," Dick sighed when he didn't answer Kory.
"Don't listen to 'em," Rachel insisted. "They are just upset."
"Rachel's right, it's just talk-" Gar added.
"Quiet," Rose ordered. "I want to hear." Hazel's eyes drifted over Rose, the way she tried not to grind her jaw, the way her fingers picked at her cuffs and the soft, nervous bouncing of her leg. Rose looked up and Hazel slowly turned her head.
"She's just a kid," Dawn argued.
"Deathstroke's kid," Donna countered. Dawn turned to her and Donna sighed softly. "Let's be honest. The further away from us she gets, the safer she's gonna be."
"If we leave her out there alone, Deathstroke will hunt her down," Dawn went on.
"Or worse, we lose leverage over Deathstroke once he finds out she's in the wind," Dick countered.
Dawn scoffed and shook her head, "We've gone down this path before and we all know how that ended. We're not using Deathstroke's kid to get to him again."
Hank paced slightly. "Fuck it. I'll take her there myself," Hank sighed. "Good luck trying to stop me." Hank turned and tried to step away.
"The hall leads straight out," Hazel whispered to Rose, turning her back on the others. "Take the second right and you'll be at the elevator. They'll try to stop you so you have to be quick." Rose furrowed her eyebrows, but turned and slipped quietly down the hall. Hazel stepped back to Terran, resting her hand on the chair.
"Wait... have you lost your mind?" Kory snapped. "You're all turning into monsters instead of trying to figure out how to fight one."
"Thank God for Kory," Rachel sighed, smiling slightly.
"She doesn't even know Rose," Gar reminded.
Rachel looked over her shoulder, squinting when she noticed the girl's absence. "Rose?" Rachel questioned.
The others turned, looking over the empty hall. "Shit!" Gar cursed, springing to his feet and running down the hall. Rachel stood and chased after Gar, but turned down a different hall, trying to catch up with Rachel.
Terran stood, walking closer to the hall but stopped and turned to Hazel. "You let her go," Terran realised.
Hazel sighed and leant against the side of the desk. "They don't get to choose if Rose lives or dies," Hazel huffed. "They don't get to treat her like a piece on a chessboard. Dick's too focused on using her as leverage; he's forgetting she's a person."
Terran looked over Hazel's face before nodding softly. "Okay. Let's go at least pretend to be helpful then." Hazel laughed softly at Terran and pushed herself off the desk. Terran and Hazel leisurely wandered the halls until a familiar gurgling sound echoed throughout the hals. "I heard that the other night," Terran recognized.
The gurgling of the dark magic made Hazel's eyes widened. "That's Rachel," Hazel mumbled and the two ran after the sound.
They skidded out of the hall, stumbling into the large open living area. Rachel slammed Rose into the ground, her eyes and diamond lit up once again with her power flowing out of her like wings. "Rachel no!" Hazel shouted but Rachel gripped Rose by her throat and threw her against the side of the kitchen counter, snapping her spine with a horrendous crack.
Rachel stood and faced the girls, her dark magic continuing to pour from her back like wings. Terran took a breath and a bright blue light swirled at her chest and shot Rachel away. Rachel tumbled across the room, slamming against the dining room chairs.
Hazel looked between Terran and Rachel before rushing to Rose. "Rose!" Hazel called, dropping next to her. Rose's bones were broken at nearly every joint, her jaw cracked to the side and even her fingers were twisted. Hazel cursed, trying her best not to touch her and cause any more pain. Rachel groaned as she pushed herself up just as the others ran in. Rachel stepped out and looked over Rose's body, her hands beginning to shake. Rachel stuttered and ran off, Kory following her, calling her name.
Hank stepped closer. "I'm sorry, kid," Hank mumbled, Dawn at his side.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Gar muttered his eyes on Rose's body.
Terran tilted her head and her eyes went green. "No, no. Something's wrong, I can't feel her," Terran spoke up, stepping closer.
Hazel furrowed her brows at her sister before turning back to Rose. Hazel waved her hand across Rose's head and her eyes widened. "I can," Hazel whispered and the colour left her eyes. "She's alive."
Rose's fingers on her right hand straightened out with a crack and Hazel shuffled back. Rose's legs twitched and her right arm started to reform with harsh snapping. Hank lunged forward and pulled Hazel to her feet, avoiding Rose's legs that snapped backwards. Her legs spun around and then out and her hands slammed against the floor. Her body flipped slightly as her spine clicked into place, her head snapped to the side, and her jaw clicked back. Rose's eyes shot open for a second before fluttering closed again.
Dick and Hank acted quickly, taking her to the infirmary, Donna and Dawn following close behind. Gar turned and stepped back, "I'm just gonna get some air."
Terran turned to Hazel who still had her eyes still on where Rose's body was. "I'm... I'm gonna go vomit. I'll be back," Terran nodded and ran to the bathroom.
Hazel brought her hands up to squeeze her shoulders, the sound of cracking bones echoing through her mind. Hazel groaned as she remembered the pain of her ribs snapping when Trigon had possessed Jason and he snapped her bones. Hazel released her shoulders and walked to the kitchen, digging through the bottom cabinets and pulled out a half finished bottle of single malt whiskey.
"Absolutely not," Hank said, making Hazel jump. He grabbed the bottle and rounded the kitchen island to sit across from her. He set the bottle aside and leaned on his elbows. "You alright?"
"Well, she didn't die so she's doing better than me," Hazel mumbled, her knuckles tapping against the kitchen counter top. "Can I have that back now?"
"Nope," Hank huffed. "What freaked you out about that?"
"I didn't freak out."
"You froze."
Hazel huffed in annoyance, her hand nearly slamming against the counter. "The bones," Hazel muttered. "I couldn't- I... It felt-" Hazel stopped, her knuckles pressing into her eyes as she tried to steady her breathing. Hank waited, stopping his own tapping hands so he didn't distract her. Hazel straighted, "It felt like my bones were snapping again. Like I felt that pain again."
Hank sighed and nodded. "It's not getting easier," Hazel muttered. "I thought it would."
"It's been less than a month since you've visited, three months since it happened," Hank recalled and Hazel nodded. "I'd be more concerned if you had gotten over it by now." Hazel laughed and shook her head. "What else has been happening?"
Hazel hummed, her mind deep in thought as she tried to remember what and what she hadn't messaged Hank about yet. "Mm, do you remember when I was telling you about Gar and Jay?" Hazel asked, keeping her voice low and Hank nodded. "Went south. But it's also why Gar's so adamant about finding Jason."
Hanks eyebrows raised in surprise, "He tell you that?"
"No but I have eyes," Hazel said, chuckling with no real humour behind it.
"Any progress with Rachel?" Hazel shook her head and Hank hummed. "What about you and Gar?"
"He... He can be too caring sometimes- and that makes him great obviously," Hazel said quickly, shooing away any negative connotations. "You know what I mean? He just gets into his own head. We were talking and he said he felt guilty about the whole killing me thing, and he just kinda... stepped back for a while. But after tonight, hopefully, we're good again. I think... I hope."
Hank raised an eyebrow, "You hope?"
"Shut the fuck up," Hazel huffed, throwing a teabag at Hank.
- pain -