002

— how do you know me? —

March 21, 2021

THE EMPTY FEELING HAD YET TO LEAVE, OR EVEN EASE, JUST BREWING IN HER STOMACH. Too busy packing her bags, Hazel didn't notice Kory standing in the doorway. Kory watched Hazel toss a jumper aside and Kory sighed through her nose, knocking softly on the door softly. Hazel paused, her eyes meeting Kory's through the mirror. "We leave in fifteen," Kory relayed in a soft voice, a small smile on her face. Hazel hummed softly and zipped up her bag. "Listen I didn't mean-"

"You did though," Hazel interrupted. She grabbed her bags and walked past Kory, the edge of the duffle bag hitting Kory's arm. Gar glanced up at her as she passed him in the kitchen. He held his tongue and turned back to the drink in his hands.

An awkward and silent 4-hour flight later and the Titans landed in Gotham City. News vans and reporters crowding around the airport yelled for their attention and shouted questions at them. Kory and Dawn moved the others along, leading them down to the cars that took them to Wayne Manor.

Dick led them through the halls of Wayne Manor, pointing out the hall of spare rooms they could pick from, and the general layout of the house before leading them through a door disguised as a grandfather clock, he opened it showing the others the stairs down to the Batcave. Dick stepped down first, but Gar and Conner were right on his tail, chasing him into the cave, looking up the bats swarming through the top of the cave. Conner rushed to one of the glass displays shelfs, reading the small cards beside each piece. Gar looked around in awe, pointing out things that he had recognised to Hazel, notable the original piece of the first bat suit. Dawn coughed to catch their attention and they walked to stand beside Hazel, waiting for Dick to speak.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Dick said, crossing his arms. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

Kory chuckled softly, toying with her rings. "Nobody calls us under better circumstances," Kory hummed and Dawn nodded in agreement.

"I appreciate you for coming. But I should warn you, you're not in San Francisco," Dick warned. This city breeds a special class of criminals. People die here. Not just regular people. People like us." Hazel looked up at the glass case that housed Jason's suit. Hazel could see the red reflection of blood that stained the R price. "I don't wanna lose anybody else."

"We know what we're up against," Dawn spoke up. "You're family. We'd never let you do this alone." Dick smiled softly.

"Can we see the Batsuit?" Conner asked, raising his hand.

"No," Dick answered and put his hands in his back pockets.

"The Batmobile?" Conner asked again.

"Guys!" Kory snapped.

"What? He made me ask," Conner motioned to Gar who scoffed.

"I did not. Dick," Gar muttered.

Dick laughed softly and shook his head. "There'll be enough time for all of that, but right now we need to focus on the task at hand," Dick spoke up. "Word's out in Gotham that Batman's gone. News like that travels fast. So we'll have our hands full. Get some food. Get some rest. Could be a long night."

"Incoming call from Barbara Gordon," The automatic voice called.

"Think it's already started," Hazel said, crossing her arms. Dick took his phone out and turned away from the others. Conner and Gar ran off, searching deeper into the Batcave, laughing like kids at a carnival.

Hazel glanced up at Kory who quickly glanced away. Hazel couldn't tell if it was the guilt at yelling at Kory, or the crushing weight of Jason making her stomach churn, but she just nodded. "I'm gonna get some coffee."

Hazel walked past Dawn and Kory, rushing up the stairs. Hazel walked to the garage door, looking over the keys hanging next to it. Hazel smiled as she plucked the keys and red tag attached to it. She pulled the tag over reading the words for the red bike. Hazel chuckled and looked at a few other tags, reading the mess that was Jason's handwriting, for the black bike, for the old bike. Hazel shook her head and rushed through the garage, looking for Jason's red bike. She passed fancy cars and shiny motorbikes of every kind, but stopped at the end, the red Yamaha bike reflecting the lights of the fancy garage.

Hazel put a helmet on and raced out of the Manor, and down the long road back to the city. She weaved through cars and sideroads until stopping in front of an old rustic styled cafe. Hazel drove the bike to a back alley and jammed the tires with vines in hopes no one would steal it. She shoved the keys in her pocket and pulled the helmet off, fluffing her hair as she stepped through the cafe doors.

Handmade light bulbs hung from the ceiling, unfinished welding hung on the walls next to vines growing through the whole building, sprouting small purple flowers. Hazel smiled at stepped up to the small counter, a boy whose jaw was slightly unaligned and had dark chestnut hair, quickly whipped his hands and walked to her. "Hey, what can I get for you?" the young boy asked.

"Hi, can I just get a hazelnut latte?" Hazel requested, taking out a small handful of coins and slotting them in the tip jar.

"Yeah, course. Thanks," The boy smiled, turning to the coffee machine. Hazel looked over the small pot plant next to the tip jar, the flower had started to drop and Hazel smiled sadly. She waved her hand, the flower rising back to life. A gasp made her head turn, a young girl staring at Hazel and she smiled. It only took him a few minutes before the boy walked back to Hazel.

"Fast," Hazel commented with a smile. "Can I grab a card? I feel like I'll be in here a fair bit."

"Yeah absolutely," The boy smiled. Hazel paid for the coffee and took the card. "Wait, let me sign one now. First time special," The boy smiled. He reached for the card and his finger brushed against Hazel's.

Both of their eyes went a bright green and words echoed through their heads. Hazel's stomach twisted as she stared at the boy. The boy ripped his hand back, panting slightly, as his hand tried to cover his eyes. "Sorry, I don't know what that was." Hazel blinked her eyes and the colour disappeared.

"Did you-?"

"Enjoy your coffee, Hazel," The boy nodded before slipping away.

Hazel took the coffee and walked from the shop. She looked over her shoulder, back inside the shop. "How'd you know my name?" Hazel murmured.

Hazel finished her coffee and stopped a small drug deal before racing back to the Manor. Hazel parked the bike by the front, carrying the helmet with her as she pushed the door open. She straightened her hair out, sighing as she quickly made her way down the small stairs to the living room. "Thought you ditched the Titan's again," Hank called. Hazel looked up, smiling at Hank standing in the living room.

Hazel tossed the helmet on the couch and ran at Hank, hugging him tightly. "Holy shit," Hazel cursed, smiling to herself. "I didn't know you were coming. Why didn't you call? Or text?"

Hazel stepped back and Hank shrugged. "It was a last minute decision." Hank sighed softly and sat on the couch, Hazel pausing for a moment before she sat beside him. "I'm sorry about Jason." Hazel sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "He was a little shit but I know how much you cared about him. If there's anything I can do, tell me. Okay kiddo?"

Hazel nodded, spinning the rings on her fingers, her eyes fixated on the slim cool metal. "It's just... I can't believe he's gone. I thought after losing my mom, maybe... I don't know." Hazel dragged a hand down her face, sighing from deep in her chest.

"I know how much it hurts Haze," Hank said softly, and Hazel nodded. "It's hard to wrap your head around. What else?"

Hazel sucked a breath through her teeth, "I talked to him every day since he left San Francisco. The only time I didn't was... well." Hazel trailed off and Hank nodded. "I didn't really think about it until I got here, just... never being able to talk to him again."

Hank nodded, "Yeah, it's gonna suck for a bit but it'll get easier. You know that." Hank paused for a moment. "When I lost Donny, I completely lost myself. I couldn't talk about it; I couldn't think about it. I drank and drank until I was numb." Hank draped his arm around Hazel. Hazel sighed and leant into Hank's side. "But you're strong Haze, the fact you can sit here and talk about it."

"Doesn't make it easier," Hazel mumbled.

"It never does."

March 22, 2021

Hazel barely slept that night, too consumed with the thoughts of the boy from the coffee shop. She knew nothing of him, or about him, yet somehow, he knew her name. She didn't even give him her name for the order, but he still knew it. He could be her brother CADMUS told her about, but she had spent months reaching out to whoever would listen. It had been two years with no answer but why did she feel the need to find him again.

Before she knew it she was walking through the streets of Gotham, following the orange pendant's power. She walked to the perimeter of a highschool and shook her head. If the pendant had led her to this boy, or her brother, she would never find him in the mess of students rushing through the gates.

She turned to leave but came face to face with the boy from the coffee shop. Hazel sighed softly as she noticed a couple people whispering. Of course she was noticed, the news wasn't exactly subtle about the Titans arrival. The boy fumbled with the strap of his bag. "Am I in trouble?" He questioned.

Hazel glanced at the taller boy beside him and motioned him away. The boy quickly rushed past Hazel, leaving her standing with her maybe brother. "You're not in trouble, but I do need to talk to you," Hazel said, putting her hands in her pockets. "Can you ditch? I'll shout the coffee."

The boy nodded and they walked to a sleek modern cafe just down the road. Hazel ordered for them before walking back to the small table and sat across from the boy. Hazel smiled, "What's your name?"

"Cole, uh Cole Jeremy Martin," he said sheepishly, his hands toying with the frays in his ripped jeans.

"How old are you Cole?"

"18."

Hazel sighed and looked around, "How long have you known you were special?" Cole's eyes widened and Hazel smiled. "I haven't been stalking you or anything like that, but you knew my name when I didn't tell you."

Cole stammered softly, "I didn't mean-"

"I don't need you to apologise, early on I didn't know what I was doing either," Hazel said. A woman walked to them, setting their drinks down. Hazel thanked her, sipping from her drink as the woman stepped away. Cole grabbed his own drink and pulled it closer, keeping his gaze down. "You're a telepath aren't you?"

Cole looked around, his hands spinning the cup. "Can I trust you?"

Hazel pushed her mug aside and held her hand out, "See for yourself." Cole watched her for a moment before grabbing Hazel's hand, his eyes lightning up a deep red. Hazel watched Cole's red eyes, if she hadn't told him to go searching through her mind, she wouldn't have known at all.

Cole took his hand back, blinking quickly and forcing his eyes back to normal. His eyes flickered over her face, something in his eyes Hazel couldn't quite decipher. He rubbed his hands nervously and cleared his throat, "I felt your pain yesterday."

Hazel took her hand back, her jaw clenching. "Sorry."

"Venom, uh, Hazel," Cole stammered, and Hazel chuckled. "I know you're searching for someone. And to be perfectly honest, I do not like to, nor am I good at picking around peoples' minds so I can't tell you if I'm the person you're looking for or not." Hazel nodded and sipped on her coffee.

"How about you spend the day with me?" Haze offered, leaning closer. Cole furrowed his eyebrows, and tilted his head at Hazel in confusion. "Answer some questions, question me. At the very least, you might not be the person I'm looking for, but maybe I could tell you some more about your powers."

Cole sighed and leant back in his chair. "My moms already gonna kill me for being late." He tapped his foot and looked around. He turned back to Hazel and smiled, "Sure."

Cole showed Hazel around Gotham, answering her questions about how long he's had his powers, what he can do, and who knows, and in turn she answered his questions about being a Titan. He was obviously upset about not being told who Batman really was, but he ultimately understood.

Cole led Hazel out to a small lake, a bridge connecting both ends. "It's far enough from the rough parts of Gotham it stays intact," Cole explained looking around the soft greenery around them, the bright flowers standing out of the darker bushes. "One of the better things in Gotham."

They walked to the bridge, the vines that had started to weave up the sides had started to wither and crumple. Cole and Hazel both raised their hands but stopped quickly. "Uh, you go," Hazel insisted, lowering her hand. Cole smiled and flicked his fingers, the vines regaining their life and sprouted flowers. Hazel looked up at Cole, the same glowing green in his eyes, which he quickly shook away.

"I can't do a lot more than that," Cole said, sliding his hands back into his pockets.

"It's impressive," Hazel said smiling.

They walked to the centre of the bridge, stopping to lean on the railing. The thick trees that surrounded the land had parted to reveal the looming Gotham City. The sounds of the city, muffled by the distance filled their ears.

"Is there anything else?" Hazel asked.

"Uh, take a step back," Cole ordered and Hazel stepped back watching his eyes glow a bright purple. Cole rubbed his hands together and a bright purple lighting bounced around his hands, dancing between his fingers and attached to the bronze metal railing. Hazel glanced at Cole before stepping forward, her eyes glowing a teal blue. A soft blue danced around her fingers as she reached for the lighting. Cole watched her cautiously as the lightning attached to her fingers, the lightning glowing blue.

Hazel's phone rang making them jump, the annoying ringing cutting the silence. Cole shook his hands out and Hazel quickly apologised as she answered Gar's call. "Hey, Gar what's up?"

"A bank is being robbed, but they're parents of the kids this red hood dude kidnapped," Gar said quickly.

Hazel sighed, her chest tightening. "Fuck me... I'm 15 minutes out," Hazel said quickly. Gar told her to hurry before hanging up. Hazel turned back to Cole whose eyes creased in worry. "I have to go, I'm so sorry."

"Something's wrong isn't it?" Cole questioned and Hazel nodded. "Here, give me your phone. Hazel handed him the phone, and Cole quickly added himself to her phone. "Text me when you can," Cole encouraged.

"Definitely, sorry to pull you out of school," Hazel apologised before running off, jogging back to the street where they left their bikes. Hazel kicked the stand up and sped back to Wayne Manor.

— rage —