Fan Fiction ❯ Rage Against The Machine ❯ All The Kids Aren't Alright ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Yeah, everything that’s owned by someone else, that ain’t mine. Rebelle, and RJ are though.

SO: A Titans fic. With a few OC’s that have a part in the plot, but aren’t anywhere near perfect. Still there? Good. Promise I’ll make this worth the trouble it was to click on and scroll through it. Any suggestions, comments, criticisms are welcome.

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“ What the hell took you so long to get home?! “

“ Chill mother, I had detention. “

“ Oh. Well you know dear, I worry. The city is dangerous for teenagers. “

“ Yeah, yeah. “

“ What did you do this time? “

“ History teacher told me I was the reason that teenagers are checked at the airport for hazardous material and hold up the lines for good decent people and well-behaved children. I told him to stow it in his overhead compartment. “

“ Rebelle Avalon! “

“ Uh oh...The full-name. Look, I’ll talk to you later mom! Gotta work on my homework and all! Goodbye! “

Shoving herself back against the door to her room, the less than average teenage girl from the City of Jump. Sighing slightly as she slid down the entrance to her sanctuary and sat down on her carpeted floor, one black sharpie decorated hand lifted to rake through black tendrils as a sigh escaped her lips. Brown eyes peeked out from under the curtain of black, and red and pink, and blue, and whatever other color she thought of it to piss her mother and school off with, towards the thigh-high stack of text books thrown into the living space previously. And of all the things she expected to come out of her mouth, a chuckle was the last thing.” Damn...Jump City sucks...”

And unless you were a Teen Titan or reasonably successful or well-paid villain or over the age of 21, Jump City life did suck. Standing up finally, the less than average teenage girl moved over toward her bed and flopped upon it to contemplate her existence in the great scheme of things. As teenagers tended to do from time to time when things began to suck more than they usually did.

As she had established earlier, Jump City sucked. Now being a teenager, you’d already be familiar with life sucking at certain points. At that particular age, there were definite points where you were very sure the whole world was against you and you having any kind of happiness. Hormones, school, social lives, or lack there of, special events and developing a sense of personality, definitely had a hand in making your life hell. But given the unique problems that Jump City seemed to be plagued by, there were extra additions.

Sneering slightly as she thought of the other things she had to deal with living in this city, the unaverage girl reached over and pressed the power button on her stereo. Shuffling through the discs, her other hand adjusts the bass for the type of music she was planning on listening to. Mulling over her life and what was going wrong with it always left her being annoyed enough to try and blow out the windows of her room with music.

Finally, after considering it for a few seconds, the girl dressed in black chose a CD. Cycling through the songs with break-neck speed, her dark-skinned, sharpie decorated hand stopped on the second to last track. Hitching up her jeans to keep them from sliding off her, she always did hate belts, she turned the volume up all the way and flopped onto her bed in the same place.

“ I’m not okay...”

Her mother would be in there soon. To talk about her getting detention. For she was called the second her daughter had started to be an upstart in the class. Not that she was a bad student. Nor did she consider herself to be a juvenile. The school system was just scary about teenagers and those that went against the rules and class order. It was true, she wasn’t supposed to insult the teachers like that, but what was she supposed to do? He was badmouthing all teens. There was one thing she couldn’t put up with, and it was someone insulting her and standing there to take it. She thought she had been polite. She had told the man that she did not agree with what he was saying. It wasn’t her fault at all that he blew it. She was being considerate, polite, kind, courteous and all that other Girl Scout crap that fed them as children. She even offered to get him to his car in the parking lot after school. By way of her foot and the window, but it was only after he questioned her education and career plans, and whether or not she would attend a jail by the time she was 30.

“ I’m not okay...”

Ever since the HIVE academy came up and the Teen Titans had to stop disturbances, the adult population had turned on the teenage population. Rules were invoked. Restrictions placed. Punishments enforced. And tolerance kicked down to zero. In order to prevent anymore teens from turning into problems and destructive forces the schools cut down on creativity and adolescent pranks. Things that were once considered what kids did were just unacceptable. Like what she had done, while it warranted detention for speaking to a teacher like that, it didn’t warrant her being held after-school everyday this week and the next and having to talk to the police. To be warned that if she became violent they would not have any compassion in her capture and sentence. Treated like she had done some grave offence. Like she was supposed to just sit there and take it, be quiet and follow the rules to the letter to keep the order of things from being disrupted.

“ I’m not okay...”

But she wasn’t like that. A lot of teenagers weren’t like that. Oh, there were those, eager to please, rich so they got a little leeway, those that didn’t naturally cause trouble in the first place, and those that took it so they wouldn’t get in the trouble she did. Everything had changed just because people were afraid, angry and upset. All of them, blamed teenagers. They feared any form of disruption to be a give-way to another powerhouse that would take the city apart. So resistance had to be stopped. While she was all-for the preservation of the city, being suppressed was not something that teenagers responded to. Especially not her, named after the stage that all people went through at one point in their life. Apparently her mother was some type of hippie when it came her turn.

Rebella Honeysuckle Avalon.

“ I’m not okay...”

And God, she hated her middle name. Her brother used to love taunting her over it. That she was anything like a flower or hippie. Her mother used to love dressing her up in bright colors and doing her hair up in pleasant little girl things. Bows, ribbons and the like. It saddened her to see her only girl covered her hair with a bandanna or color it seven different ways from normal. Her father, well, he wasn’t around all that much to take notice of his daughters habits and mannerisms. Not that she blamed him. Being a paramedic in Jump City was a 24/7 job. Public service jobs were more and more dangerous, given they were often in the danger zone of a battle at any given time. And her father went straight to the trouble. Willingly. Just to help out other people who may or may not have done the same thing for them.

Jump City living was not as glorious as it looked on TV after the Titans stopped some crime. Villains still went to jail. Buildings were rebuilt. Lives resumed. But the dead stayed dead.

Yeah, my brother ain’t coming back to go to work and see the new design of the library...

“ I’m nooooot oooooookay! I’m not ooookaaaayyyy! “

But she wasn’t bitter. Not at all. Her family knew that what the men did was dangerous. Her brother a paramedic with her father. He had died doing what he loved to do, and saving someone’s life so they had the chance to do the same thing. Honestly, there were worst ways to die. And worst things than death. She didn’t blame her father, who was tending to the fallen police force, she didn’t blame the police force, who despite their best efforts just weren’t equipped to deal with all the threats, a bit bitter because of it. Nor did she blame the Titans, who were trying to stop the destruction of the city and saving as many people as they could without getting hurt themselves. She didn’t even blame Slade. Who...really was the only one that deserved any blame in the matter at all. She didn’t blame any of them. After all, they couldn’t help it, that was how the machine worked. Didn’t harbor any ill feelings, well maybe for the police. It seemed since they couldn’t handle the danger of mutants, aliens, gifted and destructive teens and people, they assured themselves of their authority by cracking down on the normal teenagers. Most of them were downright mean.

Annoyed that they were being shown up by kids when they were grown adults. They had strictly enforced a 9:00pm curfew for anyone under the age of 25. The youth of the city claimed the restriction unfair. But the authorities simply said it was for the safety of all. And adults agreed. And that was that. It was for everyone’s safety.

“ You wear me ooooouuuuuttttt...”

But what are we supposed to do in the meantime? It’s not our fault. We’re not all bad. We’re just normal kids...We’re supposed to be having the time of our lives. Getting drunk, having sex, tearin’ shit up and throwing down. Everything they tell us not to do, and they’ve done themselves! Dude...Jump City is way out of line...

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

“ Rebelle! Turn that music down! I want to talk to you! “

Sighing and using the remote to turn down her tunes, the teenager sat up to yell back. “ We don’t need to talk! Just listen to me! I really mean this, I’m okay! Trust me! “

I’m noooot oookaaay! I’m not okay! I’m not okay! I’m not o-fuckin’-kay! I’m not okay! I’m not okay! Okay!

Sneering slightly, as her friend the music turned against her; completely turning her words around against her, “ You know what, that’s enough of that. “ Viciously pressing the power button once again, she pushed up from the bed and over towards her window. Sighing and pressing her forehead to the glass, she watched the sun sink into the bay behind the bridge and ever-present Titan Tower.

More annoyed by the silence of the room and her father’s promise of just another teenage phase to her mother outside her door, she turned the stereo right back on. The musical stylings of one of her favored bands flooded the room immediately. Closing her eyes and dropping the remote on the floor, she slumped in her place. She was getting another headache. It was like, the 15th one this month. One of these days she was going to have to take a vacation from being herself and this city or she was positive her brain was going to hard boil in her skull. The first one she had gotten had been so bad, she couldn’t even get out of bed. Even the sound of her beloved music was too much. By the time the tenth one came around, she had gotten used to the pain. And needed the sounds to distract herself from the pain.

“ Drown your fears in alcohol...Everybody spills and falls...Choke on every dream you ever...had...” The hand that had been holding the remote moved up to press itself against the glass. Her breath fogged the surface as she whispered the song along with the lead singer. The cool surface doing a little to ease the pain along with the soft voice. “ Drown yourself in alcohol. Everybody spills and falls. Choke on every dream you ever...”

Unbeknownst to her, the window was cracking underneath her fingertips and directly in front of her mouth. Small little cracks spider-webbed out from a pseudo point of impact. Her temples were still throbbing, so she raised her voice a little; trying to escape the pain in the music.

“ Keep yourself in six degrees...no one ever comforts me...Why should they bother...when I’m...alone and I’m so damn bored...I am so bored. I am so bored....I am so...No! No! No! No! BORED! “

The glass fractured further as her voice rose, then bent outwards. And with her yell, the entire pane broke into a shower of shimmering pieces. Rebelle shoved herself away from the damaged window forcefully. Blinking a few times, she carefully stuck her head through the hole where the glass used to be to see if what her eyes were telling her brain was really true. And it was.

“ Great. Mom’s been accusing me for weeks of trying to blow out something with my stereo and this is just the kind of thing she’ll twist against me in an argument! “ Huffing indignantly, she turned her back on it and threw herself on her bed. The bottom part of the window that had survived breaking just after she finished speaking. More annoyed than anything else, she buried her head in a pillow. “ CRIPES! “

Only to have the accessory fly out of her hands and into the wall. Like it had been shot out of a cannon. Blinking once again, she looked at the pillow imbedded in the wall and back at the window. “ Okay...Either I’ve got ghosties, or something weird as hell is going on...”

Rebelle sat perfectly still and in silence, listening around herself for something else, anything else to happen. She was still for about 45 seconds before she decided that whatever had just happened must have been the stress of the day getting to her. “ I obviously don’t have my music up loud enough. “

Getting up from the bed and retrieving her pillow and stereo remote, the unaverage girl walked over to her stereo and set it to another CD. Leaning back against it as she set it to play random tracks, the pillow in her arms was hugged to her chest. Breaking the window, she believed, the pillow flying across the room, she did not. Maybe she just got pissed and threw it and didn’t realize it.

Yeah. That’s more logical. Don’t be stupid rebel girl...

“ Load up on guns...bring your friends...it’s fun to lose and to pretend...” Continuing to sing out her stress, Rebelle walked to the middle of her room to get into the music with plenty of space. She planned on jumping and yelling to the burned CD in the laser’s sight. “ She’s overboard, self-assured. Oh no, I know the dirty word...”

Her pillow haphazardly tossed aside, Rebelle grabbed her unplugged black guitar and played along with the music. “ WITH THE LIGHTS OUT! IT’S LESS DANGEROUS! HERE WE ARE NOW! ENTERTAIN US! I FEEL STUPID! AND CONTAGIOUS! HERE WE ARE NOW! ENTERTAIN US! “

She was jumping and yelling along with the voice of the dead rock star when she was shocked out of her musical euphoria by the sound of her bookshelf in the corner falling over on itself. Brown eyes widened in surprise in the sight they had missed having been shut to throw herself into the music.

Her room...was in shambles.

It looked like someone had staged a massive fight scene in her bedroom. Her bookshelf was over on it’s front and broken into so many pieces. Her bed had been thrown against the wall on its side. Her books, papers, pens, pencils and immense stacks of CDs were impaled in the wall by their sides and points. Her posters were torn. Her clothes were absolutely everywhere. And her stereo was busted up, slowing to a stop in its warped voice. Her dresser was splintered and the mirror on it was shattered into pieces. Her Game Station was crushed underneath the body of her bookshelf, along with her little TV she used to play it on and watch things.

“ My...my room...” Her guitar hung loosely around her neck as she carefully stepped over to the remains of the mirror. Cautiously putting her hand out to touch the cracked and incomplete surface, she shuddered in realization that this had all really just happened. Everything she owned was utterly destroyed.

“ Jesus...” As soon as she said that word, the rest of the mirror cracked and fell apart. It startled her so much, she screamed and backed up. But as soon as she did that, her dresser completely collapsed. Again, she screamed. This time the shelves holding up her stereo fell into a pile of wood and metal and plastic. She screamed one more time, and it made her ceiling fan crash down. Every time she screamed something destroyed itself.

Either the city’s on a fault line or I’m crackin’ up. I gotta get outta here!

Not stopping to remove her guitar from around her shoulders, the spooked teenager shoved her way through the broken window, getting plenty cut up in the process and tore off down the street.

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“ Nah, nah, HELL NO! Back up! “

“ You wish! Get out of my lane! “

“ Get thee behind me, Green Bean! MY track! “

“ Dude! That’s not cool! Take this! “

“ Hey! HEY! Don’t make me come over there! “

An unusual day in Titan Tower. Unusual because nothing had happened yet. While Beast Boy and Cyborg were taking it easy, with the explanation that maybe the bad guys were taking a day off too. Starfire deemed it a joyous occasion and set to work making a “ Happy Friendship Celebratory Blorthog! ^_^!! “

Robin and Raven went into hiding in their rooms.

Robin was locked in his studies and least favorite obsession. The capture of Slade. The psychotic genius had been silent for far too long. Granted he had just gotten his body back. And was no doubt tired from the ordeal with Trigon. Whether he liked to admit it or not, Slade had helped. He was integral to the defeat of Raven’s father. And for that he was entitled for a day off. But he wasn’t likely to take advantage of one. He didn’t doubt that the HIVE members had days off, and Johnny Rancid and the like, they took days off. But Slade did not. He knew, because he didn’t take days off. No matter how much he immersed himself in training or exercise or attempted fun, he could still feel his presence out there. Like a thorn in his mental side. And no matter how he twisted, it was still there.

They didn’t understand, they tried and they were there for him, but the others couldn’t quite get what he was feeling. Well, except Raven. But she didn’t have a choice. If he didn’t remember and let his thoughts get out of control or got too angry. There would be that tell-tale knock at his door. The first few times, he had been upset. Claiming that she was invading his thoughts. But Raven, cooly, always cooly, countered with him thinking too loud and practically throwing the emotions and thoughts at her. To which he was forced to sheepishly apologize and promise to keep it down. If it had been anyone else, he was sure they would have offered to talk to him about it. But Raven, awkwardly patted his shoulder and went back to her room.

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Which was where Raven was now. Sitting on her bed and reading a book; a slow trance song drowning out the sounds her door failed to block. She had finished meditating and did not want to go into the living room to deal with that of her over competitive teammates. They meant well, they were good people, but sometimes they were just too much. She could only take them in small doses.

Though her tolerance of them had gone up. After all, they had fought for her against her tyrant of a male DNA donor. They fought hard and long to last for as long as it took for Robin to get to her. And even Slade had helped. That part really surprised her. Though given that if they had failed he would have been next. They next time they fought, she wouldn’t hit him into something and out the other side. Just into it.

Boy Wonder would probably go rouge and take him on himself enough for the rest of the team. Robin was the only one Slade really wanted to fight anyway. They got lucky shots in and damaged him enough, but he was still more dangerous to them.

Amazing...we’re the ones with powers, but humans with training and gadgets are the ones that cause the most damage in a fight. I almost feel like laughing...

But that would get everyone’s attention. They would come running and inquire about the strange noise that sounded like laughter in her room. Once she told them it was nothing, the invitations for friendly things would come. And she was not up for that.

Besides, Starfire was cooking, and that was a good sign that it was safer for her, her stomach, and taste buds to stay put. Hopefully there wouldn’t be an emergency and they’d have to leave. Then come back. And she’d have to deal with that...mystery mess-concoction.

“ Should have had her cook for my father...That’d send him running...”

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RebelleWithoutACause: I need help.

TeenSpiritScented: Do you have any idea what time it is? >\

RebelleWithoutACause: I don’t care! >O Something’s wrong with me!

TeenSpiritScented: No shit. Messaging me all hours of the night. =\

RebelleWithoutACause: Stop whining. >O! I’m telling you something is seriously wrong with me. My whole room is totally destroyed!

TeenSpiritScented: Who pissed you off now? XD

RebelleWithoutACause: You never mind! >_> Just get to the parking lot PDQ. My phone ain’t all charged up to be doing all this talking. I might not be able to go home.

TeenSpiritScented: Fine, fine.

RebelleWithoutACause: And bring a tablet and a pen!

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Derrick “ RJ “ Smith never claimed to like Jump City. He was born here like the rest of the natives. He grew here. And he lived under the restrictions. He was one of those types of kids that pushed just enough to avoid serious trouble. At least, he used to be. Now he’d had 2 talks from the police. And a warning that a jail cell would be his home for a whole day if he was intent on causing trouble again.

He, like the majority of the underage population, didn’t like the way things were. But there was nothing he could do. Any kind of teenage movement would be seen as hostile. They weren’t allowed to be normal anymore. They used to hear about things they did and other schools did, but not anymore. No one did anything remotely rebellious. Except for those bad guys they saw on TV, tearing the city up.

He was one of the older “ kids “; a few years shy of being legal to do the things. But he remembered when Jump City didn’t used to be this way. When things were...relatively normal. (No place could have battles in the streets more than twice a week and be called completely normal.) It was why he hung out with younger kids more often than not. In this city, there weren’t very many kids that wanted to be around adults. And most of the adults didn’t want to be around kids either. They’re own or otherwise. The only ones spared were the littlest ones. And only because they didn’t have a clue what was going on. But troublemakers like Gizmo were quickly turning the eye of restriction their way.

Sighing slightly, as he tugged up his sweat pants, RJ pulled on a band shirt and grabbed his keys; checking his wallet once to make sure he had his fake ID in case he got stopped. Rebelle sounded like she was in trouble. He’d known the girl since he graduated from high school 2 years ago. He knew then when he saw her being escorted down the hall by real police men to the principal’s office for arguing with a teacher, that she was something special. He smirked at the memory and tossed a pen and tablet into the passenger’s side. There were only a few kids that let themselves get in that much trouble. She was one of them, and there were about 8 more of them. Even with the death of her brother from a battle between the Titans and one of the many ill-wishing members of the city, if anyone should be behind the police for what they did, it should be her. Though she harbored no hard feelings from the situation at all. Just tipped her hat to the sky and wished her brother luck repairing angels in heaven. And every once and a while said something about “ the machine “.

As he drove up to the street she lived on, he kept an eye out for the parking lot at the other end of the road and her familiar figure. There were people he knew that didn’t take their loved ones dying the way she did. Some of them blamed the Titans, but not out loud. Some of them blamed the police. Most of them blamed teenagers. There were a few of them that actually blamed the bad guys. Not all the adults in the city thought ill of teenagers. Just all the ones who had enough power to matter. That was, all the teenagers but the Titans. At least to their faces. Whether they liked it or not, they were the only ones that could handle the threats to the city. And they’d do well not to piss them off. RJ envied the super heros sometimes. At least they could come and go as they pleased. He snorted and turned on his turn signal. “ I’d gladly take on a few robots and mutants to be able to go to a fuckin’ concert and be able to drive around at night without getting carded...”

There she was, pacing around the parking lot like an anti-social alcoholic standing in the hall debating on whether or not to go into an AA meeting. Setting the car in park and killing the engine, he grabbed the items she requested and got out.

“ Alright rebel girl, what’s all this about? And why don’t you have any other friends you can call to deal with your little teenage dramas? “

That comment earned him a sour look. He snerked and tossed her the tablet and pen. “ What’s all this about? Cat got your tongue? I’ve never seen you this quiet. Even when you sleep, you make more noise. “

She answered that by jumping up on the hood of his car and sitting Indian style, then set to work writing something with determination. RJ rubbed the back of his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets to watch her. It took a few minutes, but she held up the tablet before he could further inquire what she was doing.

“ First of all, shut up. Heh...You and that mouth girl. Let’s see...I was singing in my room, and my window broke. Then I screamed into my pillow and it flew into the wall. I thought I was just feeling the stress of the day and just changed to some more music. I started singing and playing on my guitar. I was just jumping around and singing, but when I opened my eyes, the whole place looked like a fight scene from a John Woo movie. Hey, those movies are pretty good. You see the last one? “

Rebelle rolled her eyes and reached up to slap the back of his head. But RJ ducked and snatched the tablet to finish reading. “ Okay! Okay! I get it. Keep reading. Umm...Where was I? Oh yeah, everything was busted up. Like the freakin’ Titans and some mutant had waged war in my room. Then every time I opened my mouth, something fell, broke, crashed or just destroyed itself. So I got out of there and...” And that’s where it ended.

RJ made a faint ‘ hmm ‘ noise and handed the pad back. At least it explained why she was wearing her electric guitar without the case nearby. And the blood on her hands and jeans. Though he lived in Jump City and was well aware of the things that could and did happen, all of them not normal. Something like this wasn’t swallowed easily. He gave her a dubious look and tossed the pad back. “ That doesn’t explain why you’re not talking. And while I do know first hand that mouth of yours is a weapon of mass destruction, I don’t get how your whole room was annihilated. “

She made a growling noise and yanked her guitar over her head to set on the hood of his car while she slid off. Grabbing him by his wrist, Rebelle forcibly tugged him over to the other end of the parking lot. RJ blinked a few times and walked behind her. She didn’t stop until she got to the stop sign at the very end of the street. Then she released him and pushed him to stand behind her.

“ You mean to tell me that you’ve lived in this city this long and you don’t believe something like this could happen to someone? You’re older than anyone and you’re doubting me?! You were there when that damn walking cement block sat on our school, and you don’t believe me?! Ain’t that a bitch?! “

By the time she finished speaking, the sign had bent over backwards and flown off the post it was on; to land in the street. RJ blinked. Once, twice, three times. Then he looked at Rebelle, who still had her back to him.

“ I don’t believe what I just seen...”

“ What the fuck–?! “ She whirled on him, but as soon as she did, RJ got just the proof he needed. He was sent flying backwards. To land on the unforgiving cement on his lower back.

“ Agh! “ He looked like something out of a cartoon with his legs in the air and his arms spread out underneath him. Then he flopped forward and oriented himself. One hand rubbed his back, the other his neck. “ Jesus...Watch that will you? “

Rebelled clapped her hands over her mouth, but she kept her distance until he stood up. RJ gingerly stood up, stumbling back a few steps before he walked over to his car. The one responsible for his pain trailing behind him. Both of them hopped up on the hood, Rebelle careful of her guitar, and leaned back.

“ I don’t believe it. But–!! “ RJ was quick to put his hands up in placating gesture, as as soon she heard those words the dangerous girl shot up ready to give him proof again. He sighed when she laid back down and continued, “ I guess I don’t have much of a choice. So...what? Does this mean you have powers now? “

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the pad again. “ DUH! “

RJ chuckled and raised his blue eyes to the stars. “ So...what are you gonna do? You gonna join the Titans now? Become a super heroine? Or...would you rather join HIVE and become a force of destruction to our fine and fair city? “

Rebelle blinked and sat back on the car to join him in stargazing. She hadn’t thought about that. She had just calmed down from finding out that she had caused all that damage with her mouth. Planning ahead was not something she was good at. Her idea of planning ahead was pre-ordering a video game before it came out. The unaverage girl shrugged her shoulders, then wrote something else. “ I haven’t gotten that far yet...”

RJ snorted. “ I might have known. Whatever you’re going to do, you’d better do it fast. People know you stop talking, they’ll ask why. As soon as you open your mouth, someone’s gonna panic. Then it’s...” He made an exaggerated sound of a jail cell door closing and clapped his hands. “ Lockdown.”

She winced at the thought of such a terrible thing. But he was right. She was going to need to figure out something. Some way to control those powers of hers.

Once upon a time, she had been in one of her bad moods and annoyed at the adult population again, and she’d wished she could be a Titan for a day. Just one day. She had figured out just what she would do. It had been a little bit of time after her brother had been killed. She’d blamed nothing and no one but the machine. She decided that she’d use her wonderful powers to destroy the machine and save the city. Then her temper had calmed, and she’d trashed the whole idea. Wrote it off as hormones and a really bad day.

But now...now. She actually had powers. Now, she could do something. Sitting upright as the idea started to come back to her, Rebelle started writing again. Nudging RJ, who had been about to fall back asleep, when she was done. “ Dude, I can finally do it now. I can beat the machine. I can beat the machine and free everyone! “

Now, RJ, didn’t pretend to understand her ramblings about “ the machine “. But he did know that she believed what she was talking about it. And in some twisted sense of logic, it did seem impermeable. Though, he just wrote it off to her being young, her wild imagination and common sense. The girl had been pissed off about her week when she made the phone call and ranted to him about it. “ I don’t know about that Rebelle...”

She scribbled again and held up the pad. “ C’mon man! This is my chance! We knew sooner or later something had to happen to change the way things have been. And this is it! We can fix this fuck-up of a city and make it right for everyone! Not just the adults, and not just the teens. If it goes right, I could save the world! “

RJ shook his head. “ Think about this kid, if it’s such an ingenious plan, why wouldn’t the Titans have thought of it first. “

She twitched and threw herself back on the car; purposely facing the sky so she wouldn’t hurt anything with her voice. “ Because they’re a part of it too. They’re part of the machine. They’re half of the power source, you know that. “

“ I still think you’ve seen The Matrix one too many times...”

“ It’s not my imagination getting the best of me, dammit! Andrew explained it to me once before he went out with dad. “

“ Alright, alright. Say you could beat the machine. How? You can’t even talk without taking something out! “

“ I...I’ll...I’ll get someone to help me. “

“ Thought you said the Titans were part of it? “

“ They are. I’m not going to them. There’s no way for me to explain myself and my situation. The only way to get their attention is to catch them while they’re out and about. Or cause enough trouble for them to come find me. Either way, I still have to talk, and they’ll be attacked inadvertently, then come at me. I’ll be imprisoned and the machine starts all over again! “

 He chuckled. “ There’s HIVE. “

“ There’s also a way to put my head through the wall, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna. “

The chuckle turned to laughter. “ Alright, alright. You could go to the mayor.”

Rebelle sat up and swatted him. “ You know damn good and well– “

THUD!

“ Ow! Dammit! “

She sweatdropped and laid flat again. “ Sorry. Maybe you should stay down there...”

Without another word, RJ up righted himself and leaned back against his front left tire. “ Guh...Damn loudmouth. So what are you going to do? You wanna end up like that Plasma dude? Suspended in a chamber for the rest of your life? “

“ Hell no...I’ll think of something. “

“ Hm...What about that other guy? The one that causes all the trouble by himself. What’s his fuck–Glade? “

She swatted him with the tablet. “ Glade is a household product making company. Slade is a criminal mastermind. And he’s part of the machine too. “

“ But he’s part of it that won’t attack you. If he’s that smart, maybe he could help. “

“ Oh yeah, that’s right. Some genius bad guy is going to, out of the goodness of his heart, help me control my powers and beat the machine, save the city while asking for nothing in return. Yeah, that’s gonna happen. “

He sweatdropped. “ Well, when you say it like that, it sounds negative. “ RJ sighed and closed his eyes, “ Maybe you should focus on one thing at a time. You’re just a kid you know. If you can’t control that mouth of yours, you’ve got no hope of beating your machine. “

Rebelle snorted and crossed one leg over the over. “ Even if I were to consider getting him to help, why the hell would he help me? And how would I get his attention? He ain’t exactly listed in the phone book. “

He rose a finger up and wagged it at her. “ Hey, you’re a mutant now. Did you think everything would be like it is on TV? You’ve got some hard work ahead of you. Even the X-Men have to train. And if it were easy to come in contact with him, the Titans would have probably caught him by now. “

“ Shut up down there. You’re making me self-conscious. Um...Let’s see...He’s a bad guy, right? They only do things when they benefit them. Otherwise, what’s the point, right? “

RJ shrugged. “ Last time I checked, he didn’t have a good Samaritan complex. “

“ If I could prove myself a very beneficial asset to him, he’d have to pay attention to me. And good deeds do go unnoticed unless you’re a Titan. But becoming a Titan is out. I don’t play well with others, and there’s no way to get their attentions properly. “

“ I see those gears spinning, what are you planning rebel girl...? “

Her hand was writing before Rebelle had completely thought of what she was going to do. “ I’m going to call Slade. And I’m going to get these powers under control. The Titans might get in the way, but what I do, I do for them and everyone else. If I have to go through them to get to the machine, I’ll do it. “

RJ pushed against the side of the car to stand up. “ You sound serious...”

“ I am serious Radio Junkie. Call everyone you know that’s sick of the city being the way it is and is ready to do something about it. “ She slid off the side of the car and opened the door to the passenger’s side. “ We need to back to your place, the police will be making their rounds soon. “

“ My place? “ He blinked, “ Aren’t you going home? Don’t you have school tomorrow? “

Her mouth opened to speak, but she shut it quickly and wrote instead. “ I’ve got more important things to do than sit in a class and watch it fall down around me. I can’t go home again. We’ve got to get started on this now. From what I’ve seen in movies and books, this is just the beginning. I might end up like Carrie if I wait for school to end to do this. “

Sighing in defeat, RJ slid in and shut the door behind himself. There were only so many things you could do when Rebelle got something in her head. Either lead, follow, or get the fuck out the way...

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SO: I realize so far, the Titans weren’t much in this, but they’ll be more involved in the second chapter. There were a few things I needed to get out of the way first. And don’t worry, neither Rebelle, nor RJ will be paired up with any of the Titans.