007
— the bones in the red —

HER FOOTSTEPS ECHOED THROUGH THE EMPTY HALL, ECHOING OFF THE SHINY STONE WALLS. Golden streams of lights ran through the roof, flowing over the air like the light was chasing itself. The hall seemed to run along forever, completely bare, only remnants of the intricate swirled designs of the stone pillars and tall stairs.

The only thing that sat out of place was the enormous throne made of golden crystals, branches sprouting through and between the coloured stones, blooming flowers and vines that grew up the long walls toward the roof. Curtains made of the finest gold fabric covered the large windows, stopping any light from creeping into the dark hall. It was enormous, towing over Hazel easily, and then stretching even higher than that that. It was entirely fantastical, defying all odds and sprouting from the ground.

Hazel stepped out carefully, the soft thud of her steps echoing through the grand hall. She took a deep breath and headed towards the throne, slowly making her way up the sleek marble stairs, moving closer to the grand chair. She stepped onto the stone platform holding the throne, her eyes wandering from the dark shadows the roof casted, down the trail of vines, over the crystals and flowers and to the crown left on the centre of the throne.

It wasn't a thin crown that would sit neatly atop of a royal's head, but rather a large golden headdress, designed to look like the skull of an alien creature, blue and purple feathers sprouting from the back of the skull, crystals and gold detailing twisting through the headpiece and trailing down like a long cloak. Hazel reached out, her fingers barely grazing one of the feathers when red light consumed her skin.

April 10, 2021

Thick smoke filled her lungs, the terrible smell of cannabis floating through the cold morning air, but it didn't bother her. Hazel leaned against the side of the RV, her eyes scanning the edge of the woods where Dick had driven out to, trying to stay as out of sight as possible from the witch. Hazel looked at her palms, the faintest trace of red light glowing beneath her skin. She set the joint between her lips and traced her palm with the tip of her finger. Her skin immediately ignited a bright red and sent shocks of red light firing from her skin. 

Hazel cursed and shook her hand out before taking the joint out of her mouth. The door to the RV opened and Hazel looked up at Kory. Hazel cursed under her breath, taking a final drag before rolling the joint in on itself, effectively putting it out. She shoved the remnants into her pocket and smiled through tight lips as Kory, "I tried not to wake anyone."

"You didn't," Kory said with a nod, walking to Hazel's side. "But everyone else is up now, thought I'd come grab you before we started talking seriously. Terran's currently fussing over what cereal to give Rachel." Hazel nodded, kicking herself off the RV.

"You okay?" Kory asked, "You seem jumpy."

"I'll be fine," Hazel said with a nod. "We have bigger issues right now." Kory's eyebrows turned down, but she ultimately nodded,s and they both jumped back inside the RV, crowding around the table like everyone else.

Rachel was halfway through her bowl of cereal, Terran sitting as close as humanly possible, when Dick took a deep breath through his nose. Rachel's hands froze and she stared up at Dick. "Are you sure you're okay?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, I just— I feel empty," Rachel nodded, her voice soft. "Like there's something, you know, missing. But it— it's so big that I can't feel it all at once."

Dick nodded softly and crossed his arms over his chest, "I want you to rest. Okay?" Dick ordered, keeping his voice soft. "We don't know what happened to you, and until we do—"

"It's my soul-self," Rachel cut in. "It's just gone."

"How can your soul be gone?" Gar asked, looking up at Rachel.

"It's not a soul per se," Terran corrected.

"It's the part that ties power to a body," Hazel went on. "God's call it rik'krtie." Rachel nodded in confirmation and picked up her spoon again, digging into her breakfast.

Conner sighed and moved to lean against the cabinets by Hazel. "Who the hell was that?" Conner spoke up, his voice loud as he stared at his hands. "She just took us all out. It's like, we didn't stand a chance."

"Look, we're all here, okay?" Dick said sternly. "We're all alive. That's all that matters. Whatever Hazel did drove her off."

"I hit her," Hazel explained, dropping her hands to her sides. "Pretty sure I burnt her face."

"You used a lot of power," Gar's voice trembled as he spoke up, catching Hazel's attention.

Hazel shrugged, "I just had the room to make the explosion." Cole furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Hazel. She just sighed and pressed her hands behind her, pushing herself up. "Point is, she's not invincible. So, we find her and how she fights, her powers."

"And the next time we see her, we're gonna be ready," Dick said in agreement. "Terran, Hazel, Gar, stay here. Keep an eye on Rachel." The three nodded and Rachel turned to Terran with a smile. "Tim, I want you back at S.T.A.R. Labs. Cole, go with him."

"Why?" Tim questioned.

"'Cause you almost died last night. I can't risk losing you," Dick reasoned.

"So I'm off the team," Tim scoffed, glancing up at Cole who stood beside him.

"No. You start your Robin training today," Dick explained and a small smile grew on Tim's face. "You're gonna finally learn how to use that Bo staff." Tim nodded softly, his smile growing. "Conner, Cole, I want you to go with him as well, see if you can find any similar attacks. Kory and I have an errand to run."

"We do?" Kory questioned.

"We're gonna go meet someone," Dick explained, walking on. "Someone who can help us." Kory glanced back at the others and nodded. Conner jumped up and chased after Dick.

Cole sighed and grabbed his jacket. "Come on Tim," Cole said, knocking his shoulder. "Grab your jacket."

"Are we taking the Porsche?" Tim said in excitement.

Cole grabbed his keys and flipped them in his hand, "My bike." Tim grabbed his jacket and chased after Cole.

"I'll be back," Hazel uttered, stepping around Gar and chasing Cole out of the RV. "Cole! Hey, wait a sec."

Cole pulled his bike off of the rack on the back of the RV and handed Tim the keys. "Put the keys in, turn the engine on to let it warm up," Cole said to Tim. Cole walked to Hazel, sighing as he put his hands in his pockets. "I had the room to make the explosion," Cole recited. "Why are you lying?"

"Because Rachel just lost her powers and there's a witch out to get us," Hazel huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Cole tilted his head slightly, raising his eyebrows. "My skin's burning but I'm fine."

Cole sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. "I'll talk to Kruger, see if she knows anything," Cole said with a nod.

"And another thing," Hazel said quickly. "I had a dream, saw a crown headpiece thing, like crystals built into a gold skull. I saw the feathers in Kruger's Veman museum. Can you just see if she knows anything about it?"

Cole nodded, his eyes flashing red as he searched for the dream in Hazel's mind, memorising the golden headpiece. "I'll see what I can find. Stay safe."

Hazel nodded, "You too." Cole spun, walking over to his bike, taking his helmet from Tim who wore a spare. Cole nodded at Conner, and he zipped away, Dick following in the Porsche. Tim waved to Hazel as he sat behind Cole before he sped off as well, disappearing down the dirt road.

Hazel turned, jumping back into the RV, walking over to Terran messing around in the kitchen. "Good, help me make pancakes," Terran ordered, looking up at Hazel.

❁

COLE LEANED AGAINST ONE OF THE WHITE DESKS AS HE WATCHED TIM AND CONNER STAND A METRE APART. Conner and Tim were connected to the VR training system as Bernard watched the computers, making small teasing jokes as he did. Tim spun the bo staff before striking at Conner a number of times, but the staff simply bounced off his shoulders. Conner sighed to himself and turned to Cole and Bernard, who stood with his notebook. "I'm supposed to fight back or. . ." Conner asked, the visor still covering his head.

"No, just let him tire himself out," Bernard ordered and Cole moved to stand beside him, looking at the notes he was writing. "Then we can actually get started." Tim spun the staff and slammed it into Conner's shoulder.

Cole laughed and crossed his arm, watching Tim slam the staff against Conner who stood still as a tree. After an astonishing fifteen minutes, Tim had sufficiently tired himself out, pulling the visor from his head to wipe the sweat away. "Cole, can you put these on Tim's nerve points?" Bernard asked, handing Cole four sensor patches.

Cole pushed himself off the table and wandered over to Tim, "Tim, can you take your shirt off?"

Tim's eyes shot up, "What?"

Cole stammered, heat rising to his cheeks. "To uh, put the patches on," Cole explained, nervously tapping the patches against his hand. "They'll make fighting in VR feel more real." Tim nodded and pulled the visor off and set it aside with his staff. Tim pulled his shirt off and Cole glanced at his skin before turning his head away, his heart beating faster.

Tim, now shirtless, cleared his throat to get Cole's attention. Cole then turned around to face him. He took the patches and placed one on both of his pecks. He moved lower and placed another two on either side of his torso. Cole nodded and ran his hand through his hair, trying to calm his breath. "All done."

"Meaning I'll feel the hits," Tim muttered, his hands pressing down the edges of the white patches.

"Seriously?" Conner laughed and the boys turned their heads to him. "You're scared of a little pain?"

"I'm not scared," Tim scoffed.

"Yeah, you are," Conner said, nodding. His eyes went blue, and he stared down at Tim. "Your heart rate's 174— Oh, 178."

"I—"

"Tim, relax," Bernard ordered, looking up from the computer and then over to Conner. "Conner, stop looking inside of people."

"He's no help to the team if he can't suck it up," Conner shrugged.

"He's not scared of getting hit," Bernard laughed, glancing at Cole. Cole pushed his hair back and looked down at his shoes. "Boys," Bernard called his eyes back on the computer. There was a break-in at the MPD evidence warehouse. And two people are dead."

Cole furrowed his eyebrows. "What got stolen?" Tim asked.

Conner glanced at the computer screen, "Forty gallons of blood."

❁

Hazel placed the last of the pancake topping on the table as Terran finished cooking, Rachel watching them closely. Gar sat a glass jug of juice on the table when his head snapped up, his eyes staring off at nothing. He wiped his eyes, glancing back at Hazel who watched him. "I'm gonna get some air," Gar muttered before stepping out the door.

Hazel watched him leave before squeezing Rachel's shoulder. "Take it easy," Hazel said softly before following Gar. "Don't set the kitchen on fire Te."

Terran mocked Hazel under her breath as she flipped a pancake. She set it on a plate with two others and slid it in front of Rachel, joining the syrups and the fruit she grew. Rachel leaned close and inhaled the smell, the sugar Terran had already sprinkled on top making it smell sweeter. "Oh, my God," Rachel cursed and Terran laughed, turning back to the ones she set aside for herself. "Te, these. . . If I thought you were a good cook in themyscira, this is—"

Rachel cut herself off and grabbed the chopped strawberries. "Maybe eat them before praising my cooking," Terran said with a laugh before sitting next to Rachel again.

Rachel rolled her eyes and cut off a large bite. "Oh, yeah," Rachel mumbled as she cut more of the pancake off.

"So you're feeling a bit better then?" Terran asked, turning to face her.

"Yeah, 'cause—" Rachel swallowed the pancake and looked up at Terran. "At first I was feeling empty, but now I just feel light. Like—" Rachel reached over and grabbed the maple syrup. "I'm smelling this maple syrup," Rachel said as she smelled the sweet liquid. "And I—I'm just smelling this maple syrup, without the pain of everyone, like, flowing through me, all the time. It's—" Rachel took a large sip from the bottle before hitting Terran's shoulder lightly. "Is this what life is like for you? Without having people's troubles, just like brushing through you every second of every day?"

Terran's smile faded as she shifted her attention to the juice. "You would have to ask someone else," Terran muttered, reaching for the drink to pour them both a glass. "I may not feel everyone's pain but, dead people, am I right?" Terran chuckled gently while Rachel let out a small, sorrowful smile and rested her head on Terran's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Te," Rachel muttered.

"No, no way," Terran said softly, moving her chin to rest on top of Rachel's head. "All the shit that comes with my powers, I'm used to it. But it hurts and yours does too. So, if you feel good, there's nothing wrong with that."

Rachel lifted her head, her eyes meeting Terran's. "I think I like it," Rachel said softly.

Terran raised her eyebrows slightly, "The food? I'd hope so."

Rachel laughed softly and shook her head. "No, no. Not having powers. Is that a terrible thing to say?"

"No. Why is that a terrible thing?"

"I don't know. I just feel like I've got a responsibility, as, like, a Titan. I— But this is what living a normal life is like." Rachel shrugged and turned back to her food.

"It's not your responsibility, Titan or not." Terran reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair away from Rachel's face. "You can have power and choose to use it or not, but it's not your responsibility to save people. It's your choice, not your responsibility."

Gar and Hazel sat together on a broken log, looking out at the green forest, birds flying between the trees. Gar's head whipped to the side and looked out at nothing. Hazel watched him closely, his eyes spacing out. "You okay?" Hazel asked, placing her hand on his shoulder and Gar turned back to her. "You're kinda jumpy."

Gar looked away from Hazel and took a breath. "I need to tell you something." Hazel slid her hand off Gar's shoulder and he ran his hands through his hair. "When I was getting this new suit, I tried to transform, and something went wrong. But I saw this place. It was like a desert and in the centre of it all was a massive tree with animal bones on the branches. When I transformed back, Dick said I turned into a bunch of different animals, like an armadillo and a velociraptor. But I don't remember ever turning into a dinosaur. I don't remember anything."

Hazel raised her eyebrows in surprise and turned back to the trees. "Christ Gar. Are you okay?"

He nodded softly, but his hands stayed clenched. "I wanted to ask a favour, and it's a crap thing to ask—"

"No, no," Hazel said quickly. "If I can help. . ."

"Ever since we got to Metropolis, strange things have been happening to me," Gar started.

Hazel raised her eyebrow, "Stranger than seeing a place with a bone tree?"

"At first I thought they were just hallucinations. I would get flashes of that weird place. I'm in a world surrounded by red, there was this woman, she told me to listen, and I heard screaming animals, right before the slaughterhouse, and I. . ." Gar gestured vaguely before taking a deep breath. "And then yesterday, before the attack, in the woods, I heard voices. They called me skinwalker, and they kept saying, join us."

"Join other skinwalkers?" Hazel asked and Gar shrugged. "There are a few types of skinwalkers. Well, Alien type of stuff. . ."

"I was thinking the earth kind," Gar said and Hazel laughed softly. "In Navajo culture, skinwalkers are shape shifters that can change into animals."

"Do you think they're talking to that side of you?"

"I think they're trying to tell me something about her," Gar answered. "The witch that attacked us. If I can just get them to talk to me again. Maybe they could help us take her down. So. . . I know you can connect to nature, and in Gotham you connected to the animal side of me," Gar said, his leg bouncing slightly. "Do you think you could find the connection between me and the. . . tree? Maybe get us talking."

Hazel stood and brushed the dirt off of her bleach-stained jeans and turned back to Gar. "Let's find out." Hazel held her hand out and Gar took it, letting Hazel pull him to his feet.

❁

THE WIND BLEW THROUGH THE TREES, BLOWING LEAVES FROM THE GROUND. Hazel and Gar walked shoulder to shoulder though the woods, Hazel's eyes wandered the bushes and Gar tried to keep his eyes forward, but he couldn't help but look at Haze every now and then. "I can feel you staring, Gar," Hazel said, her eyes flicking up to Gar.

"What did Cole mean, he said you were lying?" Gar said through breath.

Hazel chuckled softly, "You were listening in on our conversation?"

"Hazel. . ." Gar stopped with a sigh. Hazel shuffled to a stop and looked back at him.

"There's something happening to my powers," Hazel admitted, shoving her hands in her pockets. "But Vema's number one researcher is looking into it."

Gar started to walk again, and Hazel quickly followed him, "What do you mean something?"

Hazel shrugged softly, "My body is struggling to hold my light, I'm letting out solar flares. That's what happened with the witch, because my powers had been held back because of— well, ya know being arrested. My powers flared up a little." Gar nodded and his eyes drifted away.

"I'm sorry," Gar said suddenly and Hazel turned to look at him. "For not coming to see you when you were arrested."

Hazel smiled softly and moved to stand closer, their shoulders touching. "It's okay Gar," Hazel said softly. "It's not like it's the first time."

Gar nodded, shaking his hands nervously. "They wouldn't let me, Kory and Dick. Said I'd go beast mode," Gar laughed making Hazel chuckle. "When they got back, Kory said what Cole saw made her stomach churn."

"Yeah," Hazel said, nodding her head. "Wasn't exactly a joyride."

"Was it that bad?"

Hazel shrugged softly. Was it that bad? Yes, it felt like her body was being pulled from life itself. But she couldn't tell him that, it would make him worry. "Collar, straight jacket and lotta drugs." Hazel looked back at Gar and smiled. "Yeah, you probably would've gone Beast mode." Gar nodded but he let his head drop slightly. "Hey. It's over, no more annoying government arrests." Gar nodded, smiling softly.

Something in the air suddenly shifted. Gar growled softly and Hazel's eyes lit up. "Did you feel that?" Gar asked, stepping past Hazel, his hand moving in front of her on instinct.

"Yeah, but I— I can't tell from where," Hazel muttered, looking around the woods, a strange feeling running up her bones.

"Look," Gar called, looking up. Hazel walked to his side, following his eyes. "The sky."

Hazel glanced at Gar before backing up at the grey sky. "I don't see anything," Hazel said.

Gar furrowed his eyebrows and Hazel shrugged. Gar looked around before finally glancing at her hand, his fingers just brushing hers. "Here," Gar said. He took Hazel's hand, their fingers intertwining. She traced her thumb along his skin and let a twisting green light run over their skin, enhancing the buzzing feeling of his hand in hers. Hazel squeezed his hand tighter, connecting them both and slowly, the world turned a bright red. "How about now?"

Hazel nodded softly, her eyes jumping around. The chilling grey sky had completely vanished, the clouds clearing the way to a blood red sky, beams of bright orange shining across the sky from the burning sun. "Yeah, I see it."

"I'll take you back, and come out on my own," Gar said, trying to turn back.

"What? Why?" Hazel said, tugging his hand and turning him back around.

Gar bit his cheek and stepped closer, toying with Hazel's fingers, distracting himself. "Last night, I heard you having a nightmare," Gar said softly and Hazel let out a soft breath. "I know the nightmares mess with your powers, and you didn't sleep. I don't wanna drag you out here just to be the reason you get hurt."

She couldn't help but smile at him, but her eyes shot to the ground as she cleared her throat. "I appreciate that, but," Hazel squeezed Gar's hands and his eyes moved up to her face. "I have been having nightmares for years Gar, I've got that handled." Hazel looked down at their hands and tugged his hands slightly. "We're doing this together."

Gar nodded and they walked up the hill.

— rapture —