Fan Fiction ❯ From the Ashes ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Okay here is the part of the story that nobody really likes but we all have to do the infamous disclaimer. I do not own the Teen Titans or any other characters I may happen to use in the course of this fanfiction so you cannot sue me for saying that I do or anything like that. I do however own my own characters and storyline and I would be very happy if you would not steal those from me.

I have just gotten into the Teen Titans show recently so I have only seen the later episodes and have missed many of the early ones. I have done some research on the Internet to try and make up for that but I will probably make some things up. Just tell me if anything I say is wrong and I'll go back and fix it later. I have fixed the problem with Robin's alterego name so it is fixed for everyone.

This story takes place ten years after the Teen Titans show takes place so all of the members are now in their early twenties. Warning: It will be a dark fanfiction so that does mean there will be some more mature topics discussed in this fanfiction to watch out for. If you are not comfortable with that than please do not read because I do not want to offend anybody. Anyway please read and review my story because it can only make me better and if anybody does not like my story than I probably won't continue with this.

From the Ashes

Chapter 1

A chill wind blew through the chinks of stone, causing a wail that sounded like the call of the dead. The huge pile of rubble was all that remained of what used to be one of the greatest buildings in the entire city, the Titan Tower. What was left of the building had long ago been picked over by scavengers, taking away everything that could be of value, but the pile was still immense.

Part of the pile started to bulge out, small stones and dirt sliding to the side. There was a small pause before the head of a cloaked person forced its way through the rubble and into the night air. A quick glance from side to side seemed to tell the figure whatever it wanted and the rest of the person's body forced its way out of the ground.

The figure was dressed in a long black trench coat, cinched around it's waist with another strip of cloth, leaving lower part to flap in the air behind him like a pair of black wings. If a person looked carefully they could pick out the rough and pitted surface of well-worn body armor underneath the cloak and a belt with several compartments for weapons and tools. The hood of the cloak obscured most of the man's head in shadows but his black eyes were visible.

The man knelt down beside the tunnel he had just emerged from. He set to work quickly hiding the entrance to the tunnel and by the time he stood up even a person who knew where the tunnel had been would have a problem finding it. Water barely rippled as he walked through the shallow water towards the lights of the city.

*****

A woman screamed; her shrill voice carried out to the people on the street where people ignored it and walked quickly past the alley. It wasn't a good idea for somebody to bother Silas's soldiers when they were in the middle of their fun. The scream was cut off when a heavy fist smashed her to the ground, blood splashed across the alley wall from her mouth.

"If you shut up you just might like this." Said the man that had just hit the woman. He was dressed in the black uniform of one of Slade's soldiers, a fancy, golden S above his heart and the silver starburst symbol of a Lieutenant. A semiautomatic pistol and a taser were strapped onto his waist. Another soldier stood behind him over the form of the woman's boyfriend, a sparking taser in the man's hand. He had stood in the way of what the soldiers had wanted; he might survive.

A wracking sob shook the woman's slim frame and she tried to push herself against the wall to try and get away from the man; he simply chuckled and started to work on taking off his gun belt. He had succeeded in undoing the buckle when the sound of flesh hitting flesh and the sound of breaking bone stopped him.

"What in the hell are you doing Joe?" Asked the soldier.

"It isn't Joe." Said a clam voice behind the lieutenant. A feeling like ice filled his entire body and his breath caught in his throat; turning he drew his gun. Only the sight of his partner and the boyfriend met his eyes. His partner now lay on the ground, blood was running from a deep gash on his forehead and his arm was twisted in an angle that no bone was made to be at.

There was a swish of air above him and the soldier realized what had happened and started to turn. A thin, metal staff hit his gun hand and the gun spun off into the air. The staff spun up after the contact, catching the soldier underneath the chin and forcing his head up; the pressure increased and slammed the soldier up against the wall. A black hooded face filled his vision and the black orbs met his own.

The lieutenant had been in two different wars and had been frightening almost continuously for nearly twenty years. He had charged straight at machine guns and had seen horrifying things that only war could bring, but nothing scared him worse than those eyes. They promised death.

"You are one of Slade's soldier's and for that you must die." The voice was slow and soft.

"No." Gasped the soldier. The hooded figure twisted his hand, each in a different direction, and a spring thrust a spike out of the tip of the staff. Metal slid out of the soldier's throat and he slipped to the ground.

"It's Nightwing." Joe yelled frantically into his walkie-talkie. The figure turned, his coat swishing out behind him, and spun his staff so that the spike was pointing down at the ground. Steel flashed in the moonlight as he brought the weapon up and down, quieting the man forever. Sirens broke through the night and the figure looked up. A quick smile worked its way across his face before Nightwing went out into the night to hunt.

*****

Raven pushed a lock o her short purple hair back behind her ear, as she leaned back against the wall, and shoved her hands deep into her pockets. She had left behind her usual black cloak and leotard for jeans and a tee shirt but like her normal outfit the street clothes were black. The dark haired girl hadn't changed much over the years since she had been in the Teen Titans; just now barely topping five feet tall, however her figure had definitely gotten more feminine.

A small patrol of Slade's soldiers walked around the corner onto the street and Raven's eyes calmly followed them down the street. Raven moved her hand behind her back and the tell tale dark glow surrounded her hand, but the patrol walked past without noticing her and the dark spell caster let the glow fade. Raven wished that there were something that she could do about Slade's soldiers, walking around like they owned the city and taking advantage of whoever they wanted to. Anger flared up within the young woman and a streetlight above the soldiers blew, showering them with shards of broken glass.

Raven clamped down on her anger, furious with herself that she had lost control, but it was already too late. The soldiers had formed into a small circle and they had all drawn their pistols. One of the soldiers had slid what looked like a red visor over his eyes and was scanning the people in the street; the people understood what was happening and the streets were already clearing. The visors were especially made to find people with special powers and when they found them that meant that a gun battle was about to ensue on the streets. No one was going to get in the way of that if they could help.

Raven held her position at the wall. The patrol would find her before she could get out of the way anyway and this way the people on the street wouldn't be in danger for stray gunshots. A movement above the soldiers drew her attention. A dark clad figure already in the air, his legs above his head, and his entire body twisting to bring his feet to the ground. Both of his feet kicked out catching two soldiers of the patrol in their chins and flinging them through the air. He hit the ground running and a stiff finger jab sent another of the soldier's to the ground with a crushed windpipe.

He was out of the group before the patrol had even realized what had happened. But they were quickly getting over that shock and two of them were already turning with their guns firing. Bullets whizzed around the figure, one even putting a hole in his wide flying cloak, as the figure jumped and spun in midair launching something through the air.

Raven's eyes widened as she recognized the design of the things; they were Bird-a-Rangs, heavily modified, but there was no denying the distinctive shape. The Bird-a-Rangs sunk deep into the chests of the two soldiers, killing them both. However, the last standing guard had taken Robin's distraction to his advantage and drawn a bead on the young hero. Fire leapt from the muzzle of the gun and the bullet struck Robin in the chest, though Raven could see sparks fly up as the bullet struck his armor so she was sure he was okay. Even though it didn't kill him the force of the bullet still made him stagger backwards.

Both of her hands came up above Raven's head and black energy crackled around her hands and from her eyes. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Black light formed around the man's clothes and he started to try and brush it off, not understanding what it really was. All he had time to do was yell before Raven's power had picked him up and thrown him through the air, hitting a wall head first with a sickening crack.

The dark haired woman nodded with a grim sense of satisfaction and she turned back to face her old friend. Robin was facing away from her, over the dead and unconscious members of the patrol.

"Robin." Raven had to fight hard to keep her emotions under control.

"My name is Nightwing. Robin has been dead ever since Slade killed hi ten years ago.' He didn't even bother to turn and face Raven but just walked away, and she didn't follow him.

"Starfire is going to want to know about this."

*****

Nightwing moved slowly through the waist deep water, his eyes scanning the area to make sure that nothing was following him. He could already see the spherical bodies of Slade's hunter robots already in the air but he was pretty sure that none would come over here; after all who was going to check the ruins of what used to be a huge building. It only took him a couple of minutes to find and clear his tunnel, climb into it feet first, and then hide the tunnel again. Dirt pressed in on the cloaked figure and he could barely force his way down the tight tunnel.

Nightwing didn't mind the uncomfortable circumstances, however, using the animal like qualities of his life to push away the emotions that constantly struggled inside of him. After several yards the tight tunnel stated to spread out into a small chamber. He emerged fully into the chamber and reached down to his waist, flicking on a small light that filled the room with a low, blue glow. Two large concrete slabs had fallen against each other to form the makeshift chamber in the rubble, and Nighthawk had reinforced the room even more with what had once been the steel girders in the Titan Tower. Besides a small worktable in the room and a beaten army cot there weren't any other things in the small room.

He undid the clasp on his cloak and the heavy clothing fell to the ground where he just left it. Nightwing reached up to where the bullet had impacted into his chest and pulled the broken projectile out of the small hole that it had made. There didn't seem to be any permanent damage but he was pretty sure that he would be sore tomorrow.

He just shrugged the pain away, after fighting for six years he was used to it, and removed his armor and equipment. The cot creaked underneath him as he lay down and he reached over and turned off the small light on his equipment belt, sending him into darkness. Black eyes sank shut but sleep would not come to the young man; his mind could not thinking of his meeting with Raven again.

He hadn't seen or heard from any of the Teen Titans since he had left the city ten years ago. Then he had begun to hear of Slade's growing power, when he had come back to the city to find the Titan Tower in ruins, Slade having destroyed it, and the city under his complete control. Slade had then begun the purge of anybody with powers. Normal people were already scared of people with powers, even when they were helping them, and it didn't take much negotiation for the leader's of the biggest countries in the world to let him handle the problem. With his power dampeners and hunter robots he had done remarkably well, killing every superhero that he could, while gathering the super villains under him.

When he was done the leaders of the free world were indebt to him and he had launched his attack. It had taken nearly a year for anybody to put up an effective resistance but by that time more than half of the world was under Slade's iron grip. So Robin had changed his name to Nightwing and begun his attacks on Slade's operations.

He had missed is old friends but he had stayed away from them … for reasons of his own. Raven's calm demeanor at all times, Beast Boy's crazy antics and funny jokes, the strength and stability of Cyborg, and Starfire … Nighthawk pushed away those memories, hiding them behind a wall of anger, and turned over onto his side. The young man slowly fell asleep.