Fan Fiction ❯ Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You ❯ Dougs Adventure Ends, Life On Tamaran Begins ( Chapter 7 )

Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You

 

Chapter Seven

“Doug's Adventure Ends, Life On Tamaran Begins”

 

 

A/N: First of all, thank you all for your feedback as always. It's a great encouragement and it keeps the story going. Today I have to address a few questions Brogramn asks me in his last review. Well, I don't have too; but I'm going too. -Snickers- Firstly dude, don't sweat the not reviewing each chapter. I know I'm a little over-obsessed with asking for reviews, and in all honesty I feel lucky anytime gives me even one. The mere fact that you have left two different reviews is a wonderful feeling on it's own.

Anyway, onto the questions before these notes get too long.

My preference on battles? I'm a big fan of oriental combat too. Not in all cases, but in the majority of them. As for weapons, I like edged-weapon battles. Swords, Knives, Daggers; pointy things that require close-quarters combat.

Anyway, onto the show!

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

Doug Miller had long since lost track of time. He was unaware of the fact that the Titan's had left well over twenty-four hours ago, and that right now they were in the middle of a life-or-death struggle against a powerful assassin. He didn't know if Red X would be willing to help him in his current situation; of if the master thief was even still present at Titan's Tower. His mind was in a state of confusion, trying to think of a million things at once and being unable to focus on a single one of them. Really, when broken down, Doug knew only two things for sure. One, he was in a stolen superhero car being chased by one of the most infamous criminal masterminds of all time. And the second, his best - and probably only - chance for survival was getting to Titan's Tower.

 

The purple van that contained the Clown Prince of Crime, his equally notorious assistant and on-again off-again romantic interest Harley Quinn; and the three-person villain team still referred to as “The Hive Kids” despite the fall of Brother Blood's academy, was nowhere to be seen on Doug's mirrors.

 

That didn't mean they weren't still behind him. It was always possible that Doug had lost them, or that they had given up. Still, when you have someone like the Joker vowing to kill you chances aren't something you take very often. Add being a panicked thirteen-year-old who finally realized he was in way over his head to the mix; and you have a receipt for nothing short of one big disaster.

However, much to Doug's still-holding luck, the purple van did not catch up with him. He was able to speed across the bridge and back into the garage of the T-shaped superhero home without as much as a single bullet being fired, or any sighting of his enemies. This would have worried someone like Robin; who knew that the Joker didn't just give up. Any real superhero would have gladly faced the overwhelming odds rather than take the chance that the villains would stay in the city and wreck havoc on innocent people or the police; neither of whom had even the slightest chance. Doug realized this too; and that's when he knew he was not now, or ever would be, a Teen Titan. He would never join the Justice League or form one of his own. He'd never have a cool name like “Batman”, “Superman” or “Green Lantern” (although Doug had never thought being named after a colored lamp was that cool anyway). The point was he was mild-mannered paperboy Doug Miller; and he was finally okay with that.

 

He sat in the T-Car in the garage as this hit him so powerfully, and for a moment he ceased to worry. He merely dreamed of going back to his paper-route, collecting his weekly salary, sneaking off to the comic book shop for his fix, and then going home and having lunch in front of the TV with his mother. The dream was ended when Red X's voice awoke him.

“Back so soon kid? Hope you didn't cause too much trouble.”

Doug snapped awake, and the memories came flooding back to him. Turning in the drivers seat he saw X at the side of the door, his expression hidden behind the mask but a definite questioning in his eyes. Doug however was not looking at the master thief. He was looking at what Red X represented; hope. Hope that he might just make it through this whole ordeal with his life. Hope that he might just be able to sit and watch TV with his mother again.

 

“I'm sorry! I'm no superhero, I never was! I shouldn't have ever snuck inside and I shouldn't have let you inside and I shouldn't have let you hijack the car for me, but now I need help! We've gotta fix this mess!”

Red X seemed amused in his reply. “I figured you'd make a mess. What happened, you smash into a stop sign or something?”

 

Doug shook his head. “No, but I did blow up a gas station and now the Joker wants to shoot me.”

 

There was a moment's silence following these words as Red X worked out what it all meant. It sounded more like sarcasm, but that didn't seem right. The kid had not been sarcastic before, and his eyes had a blend of hope of fear that can only be found in the eyes of someone serious. Which lead to a million questions (“You blew up a gas station?” “Joker? As in the Joker?”) However, none of these questions would be asked or answered; at least not directly.

 

The silence that had been hanging over the Tower was broken. A whirling sound had reached the ears of both occupants of the garage, and it was coming closer. The entire process took only seconds and neither of them recognized what the sound was until the actual explosion. The entrance to the garage had closed automatically behind Doug when he had driven it; and now it exploded, shattering shards of metal and bursts of flames in every direction around the impact zone.

 

“See Harley, I told you keeping a rocket launcher under the seat was a good idea.” Joker's insane laugh mixed with his words from the other side of the smoking garage door and as Red X heard them, he knew what was happening. Perhaps not the whole story, he still couldn't imagine how such a deadly supervillian had crossed paths with a joyriding paperboy - but he was sure it was all his fault.

He also knew what he was about to do, and he hated it.

 

“Kid, go upstairs, find a bedroom, and lock yourself inside.” Red X ordered as he flicked his wrist across his belt and wound up holding a scarlet x-shaped throwing star between each of his fingers.

 

“W-What are you gonna do?” Doug asked, now frightened.

 

“Remind myself why I hate playing the hero.”

 

As Doug followed these orders, and Red X began to implement a quickly made plan the villains had reached the door and were ready to head inside. Joker just had a few last things to prepare.

“Alright, has anyone ever been inside this dump before?” Joker asked the ring of wrongdoers that had gathered around him. Harley had brought a large military-type sack over and laid it on the ground in the middle of the five of them beforehand.

 

“We have.” Jinx responded on behalf of the Hive Children, who had long ago kicked the Titan's out of their home and taken it over. However, their memories of the inner layout had all diminished since then.

 

“Good, then you can go first.” Joker smiled at the children; it was not a request. The hive kids all began to move forward towards the hole in the garage, which had finally stopped smoking, when Joker stopped them again.

“We'll be in as soon as I get my gun ready, so I've got your back. Though if you screw this up like you did before I'll shoot you myself; okay?”

 

The inside of the garage was now completely still and very quiet. Aside from the vehicles, tools, and various projects, that Cyborg had been working on before he had left the only new additions were the hole in the door and the debris on the ground. However, as the hive children climbed their way inside things changed very quickly.

 

Jinx casts her eyes around the room. The Hive Kids were now moving into the garage and spreading out. She took the middle with Mammoth on her left and Gizmo on her right. They were still close enough together that they could be called a group, but each was beginning to wander away into the open. Jinx scanned all of the ground in front of her and swept the ceiling too. Nothing. No sign of anyone. A quick glance at either of her companions told her that they had seen no one either.

 

“Well?” The Joker was now in the garage, Harley at his side. The first noticeable difference was his appearance. An old army helmet, perhaps to join the other addition to his wardrobe, now covered his hair. A chain of heavy gold bullets was strung across his chest and shoulders like Rambo, and he held an AK-47 in his arms with an almost fatherly affection. It was still hard to tell just how seriously he was taking this `Find-and-kill-the-kid' agenda; but it was easy to see that playtime was over. Harley was the same as she'd been in the car; aside from the fact she was now carrying the army surplus bag over her shoulder; the same army surplus bag that had contained the assault rifle, bullet belt and hat. Judging from the bulges still present in the sides of the bag, it still had some surprises left.

 

“Garage is clear.” Jinx said, eyeing the Joker's new look and trying hard not to think about it. “He must be in the Tower.”

 

“Probably hiding under the bed like a little coward.” Mammoth laughed. “He knew I'd be coming for him and -”

 

“Shh.” Joker suddenly silenced the younger criminal and listened. His face was blank - or at least as blank as he could physically make it - however that was mute. The grin was even wider than it's natural state after a few seconds of silence; the predator had found his prey.

 

At least that's what Joker thought.

 

The following happened so fast that no one really saw everything. It started with Joker spinning around and opening fire on the western edge of the room; which prompted Red X to move as fast as he could towards the east. X jumped, dodged, rolled and used the T-Car as cover during his trip to avoid being shot. Finally, the AK clicked and Joker let out a slew of cursing as he worked as fast as he could to reload; but he was too slow. X ran forward and flicked his wrist, sending his trademark explosive flying on a one-way trip directly into the bulging army surplus bag Harley was still holding.

 

“Mr. J! We've got a problem!” The she-clown screamed and Joker was forced to drop both his assault rifle and the new clip he'd almost finished loading in order to grab the bag and toss it out the hole he'd made earlier. Joker had not expected the bag to make it all the way into the backseat of his prized purple van; but it did, and the next explosion in the ever-growing series of them was the biggest yet.

 

“I really hope you remembered to pay your insurance.” Red X's cutting sarcasm flowed like wine, and the Joker shook with fury. A moment later, the Joker had recollected his weapon and armed it; but X was already on his way out of the garage and into the rest of Titan's Tower. Instead of wasting ammo, the Joker let out his frustration by screamed loudly and slamming the butt of the Russian weapon on the ground.

 

“That was Red X!” Jinx announced. “Brother Blood offered him a scholarship to the academy but X turned him down. At least that was the rumor. Wonder what he's doing here?” There was a tone in Jinx's voice halfway between admiration and irritation.

 

“I don't care.” Joker replied very slowly, trying to contain his mounting frustration. “All I know is that someone in a tattered cape with fancy gadgets just made me lose a very valuable van; and that's something I just hate. So I'm going to follow him now, and I'm going to kill him, that kid, and anybody else I feel like killing. Anybody object?”

 

Nobody would have argued with him, and if they had, they wouldn't have lived very long. So without another word the Joker ran after Red X and the others ran after the Joker.

Red X had now made it into the superhero's living room and he wasn't about to waste time. He'd gotten the upper hand before due to the element of surprise. However, without that as his edge he was unarmed, outgunned and in one of the worst situations he'd been in since he ceased to be just another thief and became the second person to wear his suit. Making sure he had his throwing-stars, the non-explosive kind this time, X wasted no time in finding and furnishing his new hiding place.

 

The Joker was the first one in the room and the first one back into the hallway. As soon as he'd seen the living quarters of the Titan's he knew round two was about to begin. Before the toxic accident that created the monster he was now, the Joker had been another kind of monster. A killer and one of the best Gotham had to offer. Leaning against the wall with the assault rifle still in his hand and the same bloodthirsty look leering out from behind the demented white face, he turned to Harley and the Kids and spoke.

 

“Alright, he's in there. So someone go in a lure him out.”

 

Harley's pale face remained the same, although she clearly took a step to the side to indicate that she would not be that someone. Joker had been speaking to the HIVE Children indirectly anyway; but when your boss is the Joker it is best to just avoid chances no matter how slim they made be.

 

Without arguing Jinx, Mammoth and Gizmo made their way into the living room. Jinx in the middle, Gizmo at her right and Mammoth on the left; it was much the same as back in the garage. This difference was this time they split up completely and with added speed. Jinx was checking the yellow couch for hiding spots while Gizmo tore apart the kitchen area and Mammoth lifted the TV in a lame attempt to pretend as if he was doing anything more than watching his own back. They were separate enough that neither the hiding Red X or the impatient Joker could attack all of them at once; and none of them really had enough loyalty to care which one was attacked as long as it wasn't them.

 

Jinx was the least loyal of them all. If she had her way, she would be out of here and the Joker could eliminate Gizmo and Mammoth for all she cared. They were merely an inconvenient means to and end. Mammoth's ability to be stumped by even the simplest of tasks that required brains rather than bronze, and Gizmo's constant whining and lack of vision past “Let's build something that helps up steal stuff” - she didn't know who annoyed her worst. However, she was not strong enough to make it on her own as a supervillian - yet - and she did not have an entire academy of students to choose from as allies anymore so it looked like she would have to keep them alive too.

 

Gizmo's feelings were similar. He did not like the people he was with either; but he didn't want to be on his own as a supervillian. He wanted to have an army of followers - robotic followers. Robots always did what they were told, when they were told, and how they were told. Robots did not say “No”. Robots did not have faults. Robots did not keep you up until five am snoring like Mammoth. Robots were perfect.

 

As for Mammoth, he was clueless.

 

However, the Hive Children's search of the living room would be a wasted effort. Red X was currently pressed against the side of the wall behind the staircase waiting for a chance to strike from this hallway. The truth was he was worried. This'd be the last stand and he was outmatched. The HIVE weren't a big concern, he'd handled all five Titan's alone and they were much stronger in every respect. However add the Joker and Harley Quinn and you had one-against-five on a different scale.

 

“I have a plan.” A tiny voice spoke softly. X's eyes shot to his right to see Doug Miller pressed against the other wall, a huge grin on his face and an old leather-bound book in his hands.

“You just don't give up, do you kid?” X smirked softly. They had to whisper to keep from being heard as the search of the room below them continued and the sounds of Joker's impatience grew more noticeable.

 

“I did just like you said X. I went into the first room I could find and I hid like a kid should; but then I found this.”

 

Doug held up the aged book for inspection. Black, faded-and-torn and well worn by weather and age was an old leather-bound book with golden trim. Red X said the first thing that popped into his head.

 

“You were hiding in the Goth chick's room, weren't you Shorty?”

 

Doug nodded with a mischievous grin. “I'm not sure what it does, or if we can use it, or if we should even open it; but I know one way to find out.”

 

“Hold on.” X shook his head. “I have a plan.”

 

Back inside the main room the Joker and his posse had gathered around in a semi-circle. None of them stood close enough together that a single attack could take them all out; yet they stayed near each other as well. The entire room had been searched and Joker had finally reached his breaking point.

“Alright Harley, time for plan B.” He said in an irritated voice. Harley suddenly became very still and very nervous. She shifted the weight of her body onto one leg and began to rub the back of her neck; which caused Joker's right eyebrow to lift with a dangerous anticipation.

 

“Uh, Mr. J, the explosives are all gone. How can we do Plan B?”

 

Mammoth was the one who asked. “What's plan B?”

 

“Damn you people! My van's gone, my explosives are gone, I've been made to look like a fool by some idiot kid and then by this Red-Y freak, and now I can't even blow this Godforsaken tower into rubble and kill everything inside? Is there anything else I should know before I start shooting people?”

 

“Yeah, the name's Red X not Y; you smiling circus reject.” Red X shouted as he leapt out from behind the stairs. The Joker raised his AK-47 and began to blast away, causing the HIVE Children to scream and run (he'd not given them time to move, but Jinx had been the only one in immediate danger and other than her hair she'd avoided the bullets) and causing Red X to dive to the side of stairs. A few bullets came close, some even sliced across his black suit and through the sides of the pale skin beneath; but he'd be okay. The important thing was he threw the book.

 

The book Doug had found soared straight at its target. Joker didn't even realize what it was, although he did shot it a few times. The bullets merely added to the damaged look and veer it slightly off course. It was too fast of a pace for the book to miss its target; which was Joker's forehead. The Clown Prince stumbled backwards for a minute and stopped shooting. He looked down at the floor where the book lay open on its spine and he began to laugh in his most insane laugh ever.

 

“A book? That's your big final attempt to beat me? Throwing a book at me? Oh thank you kids, I needed a good - Dammit.”

 

The swearing had begun when the pages of the book started blowing without wind. The room was suddenly cut off from the light although the windows were still open and outside the sun still blazed with all its glory. Then the book itself floated into the air and turned upside down; the pages stopped flipping and from the direct center of the book a large black glob of liquid began to fall down like a giant raindrop; which began to take shape.

 

The shape was that of a young woman, and quickly what had looked like a black drop of rain had become an exact duplicate of Raven. The moment the Raven who'd just emerged from the book had finished forming, her eyes opened and she looked directly at the supervillians in front of her.

 

“I keep this book in my room. You opened this book. Therefore you are now, or have been in my room.” `Raven' spoke in a dangerous voice. “No one should ever go in my room. And now you're going to see why.”

 

Back at the top of the stairs Doug and Red X had noticed the changes. The lack of lights, the loud creepy voice they could both place as Raven's, and the sudden ceasing of all wind in the tower. Now that changed. There was a sound like an explosion in the living room and then the sounds of the Joker, Harley and the HIVE Children screaming in terror. Wind was defiantly blowing once again and it sounded like thunder may be clashing too; however both of them had seen Raiders of the Lost Ark one too many times and resisted the temptation to look.

 

Finally the sounds died down and the light and normal-breeze returned to the tower. Doug was petrified to see what state the living area was left in (he still hadn't forgotten the Titan's impending return; he'd just been preoccupied with saving his skin first) and Red X seemed hesitant to test his reflexes against the Russian-made machine gun.

 

“Well, ready to see if it worked?” X asked.

“Eh, it beats just sitting here I guess.” Doug answered.

 

They stood, turned around and headed down the staircase; and they were surprised at how little had actually happened. “Raven” was gone and the book was lying on the coffee table closed. The windows were not shattered and aside from the five bodies on the ground the room actually looked exactly as it had before. Not just before the incident; but before Doug had entered the tower. Everything was spotlessly clean, unbroken and put away in its proper place. The only indication that anything had happened at all was the five unconscious supervillians who were lying on their backs with looks of sheer horror on their face.

 

“What happened!?” Doug squealed. “It's like, everything worked out! Literally! The tower's fixed, the bad guys are stopped, it's like -“”

“Shut up kid! Never question a good thing. Now I have a plan. You go home to your mother and watch TV. I'll take the supervillians, drop them off at the police station, and then go back to metropolis and reunite with a redheaded friend of mine. Sound good to you?”

 

Red X's plan sounded more than good to Doug; it sounded like a blessing sent straight from God himself. And that's exactly what they did.

 

Red X played the hero one last time, keeping his word on taking the villains to the cops despite his own outstanding warrants on his way out of the city. He didn't just walk up to the local PD; but he did wrap the gang of villains in one of the large red nets his suit could produce and drop the gaggle of bad guys off outside the police department. After that he headed towards Metropolis the fastest way possible; vowing that this time his vacation from Jump City would last a long, long time.

 

As for Doug Miller; well he had his grand adventure. In the end he had turned out to be a hero after all not because he had cool gadgets or a sweet-ride, but because he'd simply used a combination of common sense and luck. However that was the end of his superhero days. He went home, hugged his mother, and then asked her if they could watch The Price Is Right together; which they did. He'd gotten to live his dream, only for a few hours, but that was enough. Now plain-old-paperboy Doug seemed pretty sweet.

 

Although he did save one bird-a-rang under his pillow; just in case.

 

Doug Miller may be back to his usual routine - but the Teen Titan's adventure was still far from over.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

The entire group was gathered in the cockpit of the metallic starship. No one was really flying it; apparently it had been on autopilot for the entire trip and presumably it could land the same way; Cyborg was standing by though, just in case. The rest of the Titans were gathered in small groups throughout the room, each of them preoccupied with something but mainly watching as Tamaran came closer and closer with each passing moment.

 

Robin and Starfire stood shoulder to shoulder, both quiet as mice and both thinking of their futures that lay intertwined before them. Raven was leaning against the wall, Beast Boy hovering close to her. Raven was thinking about a lot of things, Beast Boy, Tamaran, Her Father - while Beast Boy in all honesty was just feeling grateful they'd be off this ship soon. Perhaps things would be less confusing on the ground - or maybe he just felt like a dog that'd been in a car too long. Batman was standing in the back, the assassin with him. The assassin was still on his knees and hadn't made any further escape attempts, but the Dark Knight had him tied with nearly unbreakable wire and was holding onto his arm as well.

And then the radio broke the silence. It wasn't the fancy swirling crystal ball of the other room; just a basic two-way, but it managed to get a jump out of nearly everyone just the same.

 

“Attention this is King Myand'r of Tamaran; no new problems I hope?” The King's voice floated into the room.

 

“Oh you've missed a lot, sir.” Robin answered. “But we're all alive and well. Though I think I speak for everyone when I say you should prepare a very good jail and some even better beds.”

 

There was a moment's silence and then Starfire's father returned once more. “Already finished lad. After Shadarias's betrayal I decided not to use the regular palace. You'll all be staying at the Royal Military Base. There's an entire palace in the middle with an entire second floor of nothing but bedrooms; and the finest interrogation and holding facility on the planet. The autopilot will take you straight in; I'll see you soon and if you'd like explanations can wait for the morning.”

 

No one could argue there, and no one said anything more than “thank you” to Myand'r over the radio. So they relaxed once again, back to the way they had been. By now the ship had already entered the atmosphere of Starfire's home world and they'd begun their final approach. It was looking down that they saw the King had not exaggerated on this being the biggest military base on Tamaran.

 

The land around the base was barren and dry; a total desert and the result of a war. Many years ago the Prince's tent alone had survived during the power-struggle after he and his brothers went to combat, and the base had been built on the very spot where the tent once stood. Then came the outer wall - which was merely an enormous square wall made of stone and metal. The only entrance was the front gate, which had two small guard posts next to it. Four watchtowers were located on each of the corners and Robin could count at least four Tamaranian Soldiers patrolling back and forth on each side.

 

Inside is where it really got impressive. The dead center of the complex was a two-story palace; not the tallest of building but an impressive sight for anyone to behold and no one doubted its rich royal history. To the left of the palace's entrance was what looked like a large bunker - and in fact it was. The bunker housed all of the base's military personnel as well as the staff for the palace. On the right of the palace was a second building almost identical to the bunker; but rather than storing people it stored supplies. Food, vehicles and weaponry could all be found inside. Directly behind the palace was a long dome-shaped building. None of them (except Starfire who had been here before) knew it now, but that dome was a training center. Normally it was used by the military; but it would also serve as home to any physical training Robin and Starfire wanted before the Trails. The final building was to the right of the training center and it sat by itself, surrounded by its own fence - this one high security and filled with enough electricity to turn a human being into dust with just one touch. The building was an interrogation chamber for prisoners; and it would be home to the “glassy assassin”, as the would-be killed was now being called.

 

The starship floated down gracefully past the base's security and landed just outside the palace without a hitch. The large metallic door slid open and the ram extended down on its own, stopping just at the feet of King Myand'r and Queen Luand'r. Quickly there were three Tamaranian Soldiers standing on either side of the ramp unarmed; but all of them squeezing their fist the way Starfire did when she was taking caution.

 

However, the military protocol ended the moment Starfire appeared at the top of the ramp. She took one look at her parents and launched herself at full speed with one of her trademark squeals into her father's arms. Robin had of course been beside her; but he wasn't complaining. In honesty he was curious to see if the King had the strength to survive one of Starfire's bone-breakers. She changed to her mother soon afterwards and that allowed the King time to wave down the soldiers beside the ramp (who seemed to vanish they left so fast) before he stepped up to the bottom to greet Robin and the rest of the Titan's, who had now appeared.

 

“It is good to meet you in person, Master Robin.” The King said, extending his hand and keeping his voice somewhere between Royal Monarch and Girlfriend's-Dad.

Robin wasted no time in taking the hand and he tried his hardest to match the King's grip. He failed, of course, because Myand'r was even stronger than Starfire and no human could have met his might - but the King seemed please by the tired boy's effort and rewarded him with a smile.

 

Starfire didn't feel like waiting any longer to introduce her family to her friends, and so she pulled her mother over to each of them in turn and began speaking and moving so fast that no one even pretended to keep up - except the queen herself who was matching Starfire's every word with her equally fast-paced speech. The queen was also every bit as curious about new things as her daughter and inspected every aspect of the Titan's from tugging at Raven's cape to admiring Cyborg's arm-cannon.

 

Batman however was spared from any of this; he and the assassin still in his custody had maneuvered their way past everyone else and off to the right of the ship where they now stood with Galfore. An unspoken seed of respect had been planted during the CommSphere conversation and it seemed to be growing now that the two were together in person. Clearly they knew they had much in common; but for now their focus was on the killer.

 

“Do you know what he is?” Batman asked.

 

“Yes, he comes from a planet much like this one. They have a long history of war; but there is a Ninja's war and they fight it well. They are trained to eliminate as many enemies as they can and to take they always take their own lives rather than spend a moment in custody. My impression of those aboard the ship grows by leaps at this news.”

 

Batman nodded. “It wasn't easy, but these things never are. You and I have a lot we need to discuss.”

“I agree, however now is not the time. After this fiend had been locked away, and once the youngster are situated I shall meet you on the main security wall overlooking the front entrance.”

“I'm looking forward to it.” The Dark Knight responded. He released the assassin over to Galfore now, who quickly took to the skies with him and flew off in the direction of the interrogation compound. By the time Bruce had rejoined the group they were standing inside the main hallway of the palace; looking amazed.

 

The floors were made of a rich white marble, as were the pillars that supported the room. Only four hallways were visible in the entire first floor and the King was now explaining each of them. The one closest to the entrance on the right lead to the dining room, while the further hall on the right went to the kitchen. The close hall on the left was a direct line to a library and the further left hall was a lounge. The King must have decided to save the actual touring of those rooms for later; for he was now pointing out the twin staircases that could be found in the bottom right and top left corners of the room; and he was now leading them towards the closest of the two. The only hallway he'd failed to point out was the single hallway on the far wall; which lead to the Throne Room and Royal Bedroom; but none of them had any business or desire to be in there anyway.

 

The second floor was very different from the first; it was just a long square hallway. There was no middle; merely a giant gap that showed the floor they'd just left. Along the walls of the gap were a total of six bedrooms and two bathrooms. From the lower right-hand corner, where they were now, were three bedrooms with a bathroom in the upper corner. It was the opposite on the left side where the bedrooms began in the upper corner and the bath was on the lower side of the square. The King led each of them to their rooms as they passed. Walking upward from their current position they said goodbye to Batman first, then Starfire (she and Robin embraced and she hugged her parents too), and finally Beast Boy (he looked at Raven as if hopeful for a hug; and she narrowed her eyes in response.) They continued on, passed the bathroom and went left down the furthest hallway. Two smaller hallways went off of this one, and the King quickly explained that they were a green house and a armory; neither of which were really that important at this point. When they reached the corner they turned the hall once again and began dropping people off. This time Raven took the upper right-hand corner, Robin the middle and Cyborg the final room. The rooms had been prepared ahead of time; just like the ship - although it had been Galfore who'd done it and shoe-worms were not included.

 

And that was that. With everyone safe and in their bedrooms, the King and Queen retired to the throne room satisfied; Galfore headed off to prepare for his meeting with Bruce Wayne; and everything seemed to have gone right for once. Everyone had agreed on the need for sleep, so naturally they'd all be going straight to bed and sleeping; right?

 

Of course they wouldn't.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

A/N: Well, that's it. Doug's adventure is official over and the Titan's have all arrived and been tucked into bed. They won't stay there long - in fact I'm planning a treat for the Beast Boy/Raven fans for the next chapter. Anyway, as always I'm going to do the review-begging thing now. Wait, I suppose I just did.

 

More coming soon!

 

- Golden-Sama (Brandon Rice)