020

— the storm that was promised —

UNCONSCIOUS BODIES WERE SCATTERED THROUGH THE MANOR, TAKEN DOWN IN MOMENTS BY RED HOOD AND VENOM. Jason led Hazel higher and further through the halls and up the stairs. They stopped at a corner, Jason peaking out, checking over the hallway. He nodded at Hazel and they stepped out into the hall, stopping as Gar stumbled around the corner, staring down the hall.

Jason raised his hands in defence, "Hey, Dick sent me, okay? I'm on your side," Jason promised, noticing Gar stumble backwards. Footsteps raced down the hall and Hazel spun, flashing a bright light and Jason spun, a shot leaving his signature handgun.

Hazell watched the man crumple and she turned to Jason, "Nice shot."

Jason slotted the sun away and smiled, "Thank you Sunshine."

They turned back to Gar and he smiled, "Thanks."

Jason nodded and looked back down the hall, "You two set up the router, I got the hall," Jason ordered.

"Shout if you need us," Hazel called, jogging to Gar and turning to the wall, looking at the router. Gar walked towards her, still stumbling slightly. Hazel grabbed him, leading him toward the wall to lean against. "I got this, take a minute," Hazel insisted, taking the drive from him. Hazel tapped her comms and slid the drive in place. "Venom here, at the main frame."

"Okay, I need you to connect the router to the Wayne Manor mainframe, slide the security panel cover straight up. It should come right off," Dick instructed, pausing to give Hazel time to slide the panel up and toss it aside.

"You should've told me about Jason," Gar muttered, his comms still connected.

"Would you have gone inside if I had?" Dick questioned.

"You still should've told me," Gar muttered. "Both of you."

Hazel sighed, hanging her head and trying to ignore the tug at her heart at Gar's cracking voice. Hazel shook her head and tapped her fingers against the router, "I got it," Hazel relayed.

"Okay, hold on. You're not done yet," Dick ordered. Dicks next words cut off as shots echoed from the hall.

"Sunshine!" Jason shouted. Hazel cursed and ran back out into the hall, kicking down one of seven men Jason was holding back, two already on the ground. Jason started to fire into the hall, the bullets piercing the GCPD body armour. Hazel sent beams of light down the hall, burning the walls and the men standing closest to them.

The last man turned to the pair but before either could react Gar ran forward, jumping up and kicking his feet into the man's chest, throwing him down the hall. Gar landed on his back, but he quickly kicked himself up, standing between the pair as they made sure the hall was clear. "Nice kick man," Jason huffed, catching his breath but he still smiled at Gar.

"I learn from the best," Gar said quickly, knocking Hazel's arm softly before running back to the router, trying to reach Dick again. Jason smiled snidely at Hazel and she slapped him, rushing back to Gar.

Gar tapped his earpiece in annoyance, waiting for someone to answer him. "Haze, Gar, it's Tim. Dick left," Tim relayed, and Gar and Hazel looked at each other, their eyebrows furrowing. "He said cut the red wire."

"What?" Gar squeaked, his eyes widening in shock, "No, you never cut the red wire."

"Yeah but that's the point," Hazel said with a small laugh. "Bruce Wayne is a paranoid man, of course he'd make it the red wire." Gar handed her the small pocketknife he had brought with him and she grabbed the small exposed red wire. Hazel quickly cut it, waiting a moment to see if anything happened, and when there wasn't, she plugged the small device in.

"What's happening?" Tim questioned.

Gar and Hazel stared at the router waiting for the machine to respond, then the Wayne Enterprises logo loaded in. Gar cheered and dropped his head onto Hazel's shoulder in relief, laughing to himself. "We're in," Hazel said with a smile. A security question popped up and Hazel cursed, tapping Gar's arm. "Gar, Tim."

"What?"

"There's a security question," Hazel muttered. Gar lifted his head, looking over Hazel's shoulder.

Gar stepped around Hazel, his eyebrows creasing as he read the "What's the name of the one who got away?" Gar read aloud, turning his attention to Hazel. She shrugged softly and Gar turned back to the router, tapping his fingers against the wall. "Joker." He typed it in and it displayed access denied. "Riddler." He did the same and got the same result.

"Fuck me," Hazel cursed, pulling at the roots of her hair. "Tim? One more shot. You got anything for me?"

Time paused for a moment, "Try Selina Kyle."

Hazel eyebrows creased, remembering the name from one of Tim's detective boards. "That Selina?" Hazel questioned.

"That Selina," Tim repeated.

"Who's that?" Gar questioned, moving aside as Hazel began to type the name Selina Kyle into the security code.

They waited for a moment as the security system checked the password. Then a beep sounded, quickly followed by an automatic voice saying welcome. Gar threw his arms up in victory and Hazel sighed in relief, her head dropping against the wall. "Wait," Gar said, dropping his arms and Hazel turned to face him, "Who's Selina Kyle?"

Hazel smiled, and turned the hall walking toward Jason who was leaning against the wall, "Hey Jay, did y'know Bruce has Selina Kyle as his security code?"

"He's got the Cat as his password?" Jason scoffed, kicking himself off the wall.

"Man needs to take a hint," Hazel teased, as they raced down the stairs. Hazel, Gar and Jason stepped into the living room, Nightwing standing over a dozen unconscious GCPD officers. Dick looked back at them and nodded. He looked up at the camera in the corner of the room, disguised in a book, and gave a small salute. Gar and Jason walked beside Dick, Gar giving a wink and a wave as Jason flipped him off.

Hazel pulled up a chair, pushing it against the wall. She stood on the chair and pushed the book aside, smiling at the camera, Crane watching it all happen in front of him. Hazel grabbed the camera and smashed it apart with her light. Hazel jumped off the chair and Dick shook his head, laughing softly. "Inside," Dick said, nodding his head, "Let's go."

"No," Jason said quickly, shaking his head. They paused for a moment, but Dick nodded Gar along, motioning him toward the clock entrance to the Batcave. Jason stared at Dick, but his eyes flickered back to Hazel as Dick stepped toward him. "This is a Titan's job. He knows I turned on him, and that's enough for me. You guys finish it."

Dick sighed softly and looked down at Jason, "You sure?" Dick questioned.

He nodded softly, "And tell the others I'm sorry, for everything."

"Thank you, Jason," Dick said with a nod.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jason muttered, glancing behind him. "I was never here."

Dick turned back to Hazel as she watched him jog down the hall. Dick gave her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder softly. "We still got a job to do," Dick said softly, and she nodded, turning back to the clock door. The door slammed open and they spun to look at Tim burst through the front door running toward them. He stopped beside Gar, his shoes making a small squeak along the floor.

The clock door ticked as Gar pulled it open, revealing the stairway downstairs into the caves. Tim stared down the stairs for a moment, his smile growing each second. Dick and Gar stepped down first. Hazel knocked Tim's arm softly and motioned him down, "After you." Tim grinned and raced down the stairs, catching up to Gar, Hazel steps behind.

Terran and Cole walked side by side, spreading vines sprouting lavender flowers to weave through the streets of Gotham, waiting for the rain to spread the pollen, Kory and Komand'r leading the way. They reached the centre of Gotham, a large oval shaped garden, but just as most of Goatham, it was covered in dead bodies.

Kory looked at the Lazarus magic trapped inside the blue orb and took a deep breath. "Okay. We have one chance at this," Kory spoke up, looking back at the others than up towards the sky. Kory huffed and launched the magic high into clouds, the bright purple power spreading across the sky. It cracked and exploded, covering the sky in dark purple clouds. It spun as the wind sped up with the help of Conner's ice breath.

"Oh, no. I knew we forgot about something," Kory muttered as the thunder grew louder.

Blackfire shook her head softly, looking between her sister and the storm, "What?"

A lightning strike cracked at their feet, sparks of lightning bouncing across the ground. The Titans jumped back; another round of lightning jumped from the sky. "The Lazarus Pit isn't gonna do much good if we burn the city to the ground," Kory said, her eyes scanning the clouds.

"Oh okay, okay!" Cole said, shaking out his hands, stepping forward, making space between him and the Titans.

"Cole! Cole, what are you doing?!" Kory shouted, trying to run forward but the lightning sapped in front of her feet.

He shushed them, holding his hand out. Cole took a deep breath and flexed his fingers, then the lightning raced toward him. He groaned as it hit his body, stumbling back at the power running through his body. He steadied his feet and let the lightning attach to his body and run down his body.

He looked back at Terran and gave her a thumbs up.

Conner sped back to the others, standing beside Komand'r as they watched Cole absorb the lightning giving way to the purple rain. The rain splashed against the concrete and Rachel scrambled to pull her hood on. Terran raised her hands, absorbing the rain into the flowers and dispersing the pollen. Rachel smiled at her and held Terran's jacket over her head, blocking her from the rain. Cole looked around and released his grip on the lightning as the clouds settled.

The people around them stirred and groaned as they stretched out their bodies, life returning to them. Kory looked around with a large smile growing and Komand'r laughed as the rain hit her skin, her head turned up to feel the rain. They started to walk around, helping people to their feet, making sure they were okay before letting them go on their way.

A, old, sleek styled grey car cut through the crowds, beeping quickly. A man stumbled out one he parked, his body covered in a beekeeper-like suit, his arms waving wildly as he called after Conner. "Artie?" Conner questioned with a laugh, his eyebrows furrowed.

He walked towards Artie, who started to ramble, his voice muffled by the mask, "I was driving around, I was looking for you guys, but I just figured that everything was okay-" Conner reached out and pulled the mask off. Artie blinked and shook his hair, smiling up at Conner. "Oh. Thanks. God, these things are very stuffy. I came as soon as I got your call. It's a brilliant plan."

Komand'r walked to Conner's side, her face turned down in a scowl, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Artie looked up at her and smiled, "I am here to make this day amazing. What if I told you that there was still a way to make your dreams come true?"

Donna shook her head softly and looked back at Kory. "Who is this dude?" She called.

Artie stuttered as he took in the new faces, his eyes widening. "You're Donna Troy! You're Raven! Toxin! And the new guy, Poison!" Cole and Terran laughed softly as Artie smiled, his arms shaking with joy as he laughed and grinned. "Oh, my God, this is... uh you guys mind if I get a selfie? Yeah. I told you this day was going to be amazing!" Artie shouted, smiling at Conner.

Dick led the way to the Batcave, stopping in the entrance as they watched Crane fumble and swear as the detonate button he was slamming his hand against did nothing. Dick laughed softly and Crane spun around, tripping over the chair as he stared at the Titans. "Let me introduce you to this thing called karma," Hazel said, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall.

Dick shrugged and took a step closer, "I asked Barbra to set up a duplicate screen. You didn't detonate anything." Crane's face dropped and he took another step back. "What's the matter? All your clever hopes and dreams just expire?"

Dick looked over the cave, "Hey, Tim," Dick looked over his shoulder. "You always wanted to see the Batcave. Well, here it is. What do you think?"

Tim looked over the cave just as Dick did and shrugged, "I think it's a little crowded."

"I agree," Gar said with a soft chuckle.

Hazel motioned Tim forwards, "Honours yours."

Tim stepped forward, stopping in front of Crane. Crane flicked out the fabric of his ill-fitting suit, scoffing at Tim, "And who are you supposed to be, huh?"

"My name is Tim Drake," Tim started, glaring at Crane, "You tried to kill my family. You failed." Tim swung his fist out, sending a hard shot to Crane's cheekbone. Crane tumbled, hitting the Bat Computer and chair before falling slamming into the floor. "That's for Gotham, bitch," Tim huffed, shaking out his hand.

"Nice left hook," Hazel smiled.

Dick smiled and looked back at Hazel, shaking his head. "Barbara, tell me something good," Dick ordered, his eyes moving to the computer.

The computer dinged, "Playing Tell Me Something Good-"

"No."

"-By Rufus and Chaka Khan."

Gar cracked a smile and started to laugh. "That works," Dick sighed.

— rage —