The Next Generation

"Just don't press her on anything," Nightwing said. "If she wants to talk about something, she'll talk about it. Trying to get her to open up when she doesn't want to is more pointless than trying to bleed a rock. It won't happen."

A moment later, Cyborg shut the stove off and started dishing out the burgers onto toasted buns. "Dinner is served!" he declared, passing the food around. Beast Boy gave the burgers a long glare, then turned back to his own food and ate silently.

Raven didn't join them for a while, coming in when most were already finished or finishing up their last few bites. She came to the table in silence, grabbed a single burger, and then walked through a portal and disappeared, likely back to her own room to eat in peace. Sarah watched this curiously, but didn't get much time to think on it before Starfire was dragging her over to the couch to watch a movie with the others on the large screen. Before she knew it, she was under a blanket with Starfire, a big bowl of popcorn between them, and a movie playing for their enjoyment.

"Alright, I'll do my best to keep that in mind", Fade said as he looked over to Nightwing. He wanted to help Raven if he could, and if giving her space until she was ready was the answer than so be it. He would do what it took, even when it meant doing nothing. "If you ever feel like I'm pushing anything just let me know, you guys are cool and all but I don't know everything about you guys yet"

Fade quickly grabbed his own burger and happily ate it, loving Cyborg's cooking and specialty barbecue sauce. He continued to eat right up until Raven showed up. He was waiting to see if she'd stay but she quickly moved through a portal back to her own room. He gained the tiniest of frowns but did his best to conceal it. He didn't really wear his helmet while in the Titan Tower unless he was training intensely, so for the moment his face was revealed.

"I think I'm gonna head off and train for a while. I'll be in the gym in case any of you need me", Fade said as he got up and moved towards the gym that Nightwing had him use to train his body. Faust was still out there, and he needed to keep getting stronger if they were going to stop him. Last time thousands died, they couldn't afford to let that happen again. Fade needed to keep pushing.

Later that night, while most of the other Titans had gone to bed, Nightwing was busy pouring over the computer and going over the scanners again. He was looking for something, anything, that might help them locate Faust before he made another attack. They were there to protect the city, but so far they had failed twice now in stopping Faust. Thousands were worse than dead, their souls removed and being tormented for whatever purpose the evil sorcerer had. This was something that he could not live with. They had to stop Faust, and they had to do it quickly soon. He wouldn't accept a third failure.

It was at that time the security system tripped and set off a silent alarm. Nightwing pulled up the surveillance to the front of the tower to see that a familiar face had stopped by the tower, hopefully with some good news. Hitting the button for the intercom, he told the man to come right in and head up to the proper floor. Nightwing greeted him in the main lounge area.


"Lucius," he said, shaking the man's hand. "Long time. Did Bruce send you?"

"Oh yes," the man replied, taking a seat. "Mr. Wayne said that you had asked for some assistance. You must really be in a bind; I know how much you dislike having to ask him for help."

Nightwing folded his hands. "I wish it weren't the case, but Bruce has access to a lot more advanced tech than we do. I thought he might have something that we could use to stop Faust once and for all. This guy needs to be stopped, Lucius. You haven't seen the things he's done.. the people he's hurt."

Lucius picked up his briefcase and set it down on the table, flipping it open. "Well, when Mr. Wayne said that you were having trouble with magic, I thought of just the thing to do the trick. He had me build this for him in case any of the more magical Justice League members ever went rogue. You see, Mr. Wayne Wayne likes to have a plan for everything, no matter how unlikely."

"I know that all too well," Nightwing said quietly, watching as Lucius pulled out a small, round, flat device about the size of a baseball glove. "What is that?"

"This," he said, placing it on the table, "is what I call a Nullifier. When activated, it creates a wide ranged anti-magic field. Anyone within its range becomes unable to channel magic properly, effectively rendering them helpless."

Nightwing's eyebrows lifted. "Lucius, that's perfect. And brilliant."

Lucius chuckled. "I know, I know. There are some specific things you need to be aware of when using it, however. It only has enough juice for one use. After that, it needs to be charged up again. The power required to charge it to full capacity is fairly significant. Expensive, is what I'm getting at, so, try not to have to use it more then once. Also, the effect only lasts for sixty-three seconds. That's the amount of time you'll have to subdue Faust, though since, from what I hear, he relies fully on his magic, that shouldn't be too difficult."

"Thanks, Lucius," Nightwing said, shaking his hand again.

"It's Mr. Wayne you should be thanking."

Nightwing sighed. "Right... tell him I said thanks. It was good to see you."

"And you, too," Lucius said, packing up his briefcase. "Always happy to help."

At that moment, the alert alarm went off, the computer screen flickering to life and pulling up the map of the city. Nightwing knew what that meant. "And it looks like you got it here not a moment too soon."

After spending about two hours in the gym Fade decided that it was enough for today. He changed, went to his room, and quickly went to sleep right after that. It didn't take him long to fall asleep given that he had trained his body up until he could hardly move anymore. Thankfully working out this hard at least seemed to make him recover a bit faster as well, so that was a nice bonus.

Ever since he had trained his illusions it seemed like Fade had been able to dream in a much higher level of detail, he swore that it was just like Inception or something on that level. Sometimes he could tell that he was dreaming, and he could manipulate the landscape around him. It was a strange and yet powering sensation, Fade just wished that it would have worked that way in reality. To be able to change the landscape around them, that would have been a truly impressive feat. His illusions were fake, they were only meant to trick people.

Fade bolted out of his bed as a noise suddenly caused his dream world to disappear. The alarm! Faust! Danger! Those were the thoughts that ran through Fade's head before he got up and quickly threw on his uniform. Once he slipped on his helmet he quickly bolted it to the living room, the place that they always met at in order to communicate and formulate a plan.

"Is it him!?", Fade asked as he ran into the room.

"It's him" was all Nightwing said, as Fade came bursting into the living room. Someone was in a hurry, but then who could blame him?

One by one, the Titans plus Zatanna arrived, ready to get moving. Sarah and Starfire made their usual entrance, with the latter tugging the former through the door while she was still trying to put on the last half of her uniform. Just because it took two seconds for Starfire to slip into her purple straps doesn't mean it takes everyone two seconds to get dressed! When at last everyone was there, Nightwing went over the plan, introducing Lucius Fox and explaining the Nullifier.

"Anti-magic?" Zatanna said, giving the device a spiteful look. "I don't like the sound of that... perhaps I should remain behind."

"You're still coming," Nightwing informed. "If for some reason this thing doesn't work or we can't get the job done in time, you're the most valuable asset we have against this guy."

Sarah swallowed, afraid to ask her question. "Where... where is he attacking next?"

Nightwing paused, not answering right away. Eventually, he uttered, "Yankee Stadium."

It was eleven o'clock. Normally, baseball games were over by now, but today the Yankees played a double header, taking them well into the night. They were also playing the Red Sox. That meant the Stadium would be packed tight, fit to busting. More than fifty thousand people would be present at that game. Fifty thousand souls ripe for the plucking.

Fade listened toe the effect that the nullifier would be able to produce. Anti magic? That would be just perfect for taking the guy out! Last time they had been able to hurt him, and that was even when he had his magic to fight back with. Without it, he'd just be a walking target! Fade couldn't help but smile. Hopefully they'd finally be able to take this guy down, and no one else would have to spend their eternity tormented by him. Fade just hoped that it would work.

Upon hearing the location Fade's eyes widened. "Are you serious!? That BASTARD!", he said in an angered tone. Fade was a local to New York, so he couldn't help but get a little passionate about this game. Hell if he wasn't with the Titans he'd probably be at the game himself. Still, there'd be thousands of people there and plenty of kids as well. They had to take this guy down this time.

"Last time we did this he tricked us into going to the wrong location, are we certain that Yankee Stadium is really his target? I don't want him tricking us like he did last time"

Nightwing pulled up an image on the screen: it was the news. A breaking story was being covered, about an attack at Yankee Stadium. They were showing footage from the blimp circling overhead. In the center of the field stood Felix Faust, working his soul well, which had grown to monstrous proportions. People were already starting to collapse, players, fans, coaches, everyone. They didn't have a lot of time.

"We're sure," he said, then turning with Raven. "If he hasn't warded the area, we need you to take us in right now."

Raven swallowed. Fifty thousand suffering souls... it would likely make her soul self burst in a way she'd never experienced. But she had no choice; they needed to save these people, and Faust needed to be stopped. "It's not warded... he likely can't while managing a soul well that large. I'll take us..."

Without further discussion, Raven created a portal for them to travel through. They needed no invitation, heading straight through it and coming out the other side right in front of home plate. Faust and the soul well were just sixty and six inches away, on the pitcher's mound. The moment everyone was through, the portal closed and Raven full on collapsed, holding her head and screaming. Thousands of tortured voices echoed in her head, driving her mad. She didn't know how long she could withstand the pure agony.

"Oh.......yeah that looks accurate", Fade said as the image from the news came up to reveal that Faust and the Soul Well were truly there. At least they didn't have to worry about checking ten places at once. He was surprised though, it seemed like Faust was really putting his eggs into one basket this time around. Perhaps he believed that he had formulated a strategy around the Titans that would help him to be victorious even against all of them.

Fade looked over towards Raven as she seemed hesitant to make the portal to go in. He couldn't blame her. This was going to be an even larger amount of people than before, a group this large might just kill her! Last time she was bleeding out of the pure agony. "Don't worry, we'll end the fight quickly", he said with a nod towards her. It probably wasn't the greatest comfort, but he hoped it helped a tiny amount.

Within a minute the portal was open and they appeared at Yankee Stadium, watching the chaos unfold as Faust tried to steal the souls of every person in the area. Fade turned his head sharply as Raven was down and screaming in pain. Shit, she wasn't going to be able to help in the fight and if they didn't destroy the well soon who knew what kind of damage she'd take? They had to stop this soon.

Fade turned his gaze towards Faust. By now the sorcerer had already experienced several of Fade's tricks. He'd have to try to shake things up. Fade made an image of Zatanna once again speaking the magic words and summoning the ball of lightning that had hurt Faust so badly last time. Fade just needed to distract him until they were able to activate the nullifier. Every second counted.

"Attack me all you want, Titans," Faust growled. Several large cuts that were only half healed slashed across his face, likely the result of their previous encounter. "I've taken preparations this time! No attack you can muster will break the shield I've placed around my soul well!" And that pretty much did it for Fade's plan. If Faust wasn't worried about any attack, he wasn't going to flinch at anything that came his way, illusion or not.

Fortunately, their plan wasn't to attack him outright, at least not yet. Nightwing held the Nullifer out, hit the switch, and dropped it on the ground. Three seconds later, the device beeped and gave off what could only be described as the most annoying high pitched ringing sound ever conceived. Hell, if it didn't cancel out Faust's magic, it would kill him by making him bleed out through his ears. The ringing sound only lasted five seconds or so, though. Then, everything went silent. That, and Faust's soul well suddenly flickered out and died.

"What?!" Faust shouted, looking at the dirt where the soul well had been just a moment before. he tried to cast another one, holding out his hands. Nothing happened. "My magic! What's wrong with my magic?! What did you do?!"

"It's over, Faust," Nightwing said. "Your evil ends here. It ends now!"

Then, before Faust could even react, a full powered starbolt hit him dead center in the chest and sent him flying back out into center field, where he landed hard. Slowly, very slowly, he started to move, trying to get upright.

Nullifer time remaining: Forty-five seconds.

Fade narrowed his eyes as he heard that Faust had case an entire shield around himself and his soul well. Shit, if he wasn't worried about any attack than he wasn't going to flinch at any illusion or real attack. Fade didn't even bother finishing the illusions, instead he decided to wait and let their plan slip into motion. He turned towards Nightwing, ready to see just how this nullifier was going to work. If it didn't work, they were going to be in quite a lot of trouble.

At the high pitch sound Fade covered his ears, or at least tried to before realizing that he was wearing a helmet. He waited the five seconds until it stopped, watching as something flickered around the soul well and eventually leading it to die out. Fade just grinned as he saw the look on Faust's face. Pay back time.

He watched as the starbolt launched right into Faust and seemed to deal full damage, the guy could barely even more it looked like he was in so much pain. He waited till Faust started to get up before he pulled out his net gun and shot it at the sorcerer. No sense in waiting to take this guy down. Might as well immobilize him.

And just like that, Faust was wrapped up like a Christmas package waiting to be delivered. He would have thrashed around trying to escape the infernal metal netting, but he was in too much pain to do much of anything except groan helplessly. With plenty of time left to spare, the Titans surrounded him, looking down in triumph as their foe had been defeated at last. he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else now... at least not for another twenty-three seconds.

Fortunately, Zatanna had it covered. "Bind his hands with these," she said, handing Nightwing a pair of fancy shackles. "I was given them by Dr. Fate when I was looking for a way to stop his magic. They'll prevent him from channeling anything more than simple parlor tricks."

And just like that, Faust had been effectively neutralized, awaiting justice for his crimes. It was amazing how easy that had been when he couldn't use his magic. In fact, it was just unfair, being so vastly outnumbered like that. Not that anyone was complaining, of course.

"I will take him back to the Sentinels of Magic," Zatanna said. "He will be judged for his crimes, and his fate will be determined."

A moment later, Raven started to stand up, her tortured mind now at ease. The souls that were being absorbed had been freed and returned to their bodies, before they could be destroyed and made into soulless husks like the others. While this should have made her happy, she looked terrified. With no distractions now, that same presence she had sensed before, only to disregard as a mental hallucination, was stronger and clearer than ever.

"Raven, are you alright?" Beast Boy asked, waving his hand in front of her face. She didn't even blink. "You look like you see a ghost."

"It cannot be... he cannot be here!" Raven suddenly looked upwards.

A dark figure plummeted from the top of the stadium towards the center of the field, where they were standing. Seconds later, the figure landed with a thunderous crash in a crouch. The figure slowly straightened himself, seemingly unaffected by a drop that would have killed normal people.

"Titans," he said, in a cold, calculating voice, "It has been so long."

At this point, Raven was cowering on her knees, something about this man terrifying her. She had been through too many horrifying things as a result of this person, just the sight of him made her want to curl up into a ball and retreat back into her mind, where she was safe. Then again, she might not even be safe there for long. "No! Stay back! Haven't you tormented me enough?!"

The man smiled. "Ah, Raven... how lovely to see you, my bride."

"Holy fuck on a stick," Cyborg said, in about as much shock as everyone else, except maybe Neal and Sarah, who had no idea who it was. "I thought he was dead."

Nightwing took a step forward, shielding Raven from the man's gaze. He said only one word: "Blood."

Well, that went down much easier than anyone had anticipated. It was amazing how weak someone could be when they had their trump card removed. Without being able to use magic Faust was just as powerless as they were the first time that they had run into one another. The tide had changed, and now he was the one that was going to go to prison for who even knew how long. He hoped that whoever watched over his cell would do a bit of a better job this time. Fade really hoped that he'd never have to see this guy's face again.

The cuffs were put on, apparently special ones that would stop him from using more of his powerful magic. Fade couldn't help but smile when Zatanna referred to them as parlor tricks, considering that was what Faust kept calling Neal's ability that entire time they were fighting. Fade had to bet that he'd like to be able to use one of those tricks right now.

His head sharply turned as Raven seemed to turn into freak out mode. Something was bothering her, she sensed the presence of someone that she didn't want to encounter. She looked more terrified than Fade had ever seen her, and that wasn't a very good thing for Raven. She never got scared, not from anything. Even with all this suffering she had endured the past few days she rarely lost her cool. What was pushing her like this?

It was than that the new figure appeared, someone by the name of Blood. He definitely looked like someone that you could be intimidated by, but Fade had no idea who on earth this guy was. He was speaking like he knew all of them, and did he just call Raven his bride!? What was going on here? "Does.......anyone else wanna fill me in?"

Sarah was just as confused as Neal, glancing back and forth between the new arrival and the rest of the Titans. She had taken a defensive stance, wondering what she should be doing. She didn't know whether she could wait, or just attack this guy already. From Raven's reactions, she doubted that this man was friendly by any means.

"Ah, I see a few here who I haven't yet met," the man called Blood stated. He held one arm across his chest and gave a formal bow. "Allow me to introduce myself, then. I am Brother Blood, head of the Cult of Blood, and husband to our dearest Raven."

"Dude, seriously, get a hobby," Beast Boy said, staring the guy down. "We all know that marriage isn't legally recognized on earth."

Brother Blood straightened himself, glaring back. "That may be, but I can assure you that it will be soon enough. Now, if you will all be so kind as to stand aside so I may take my bride to be at my side, where she belongs. I have many important matters to attend to. All those souls Faust stole for me are growing restless."

The Titans all stepped forward, forming a tighter shield in front of Raven. "For you?" Nightwing said, narrowing his eyes. "You two were working together? Then that's how you're alive... Faust resurrected your soul didn't he? What did you promise him in return?"

"Unlimited power under the rule of my lord, of course," Brother Blood stated plainly. "But I can see now that Faust has outlived his purpose, and his services are no longer required."

At this notion, Faust started thrashing around angrily in the net. "You bastard! You dare double cross the greatest sorcerer in the world? I raised you from the eighth circle of hell, you two faced asshole!"

Brother Blood glanced back at Faust, frowned, and then delivered a punch with such force that it snapped the sorcerer's neck to the side and snapped it. Sarah felt her insides knot p at the disgusting sight, while Starfire let out a gasp of surprise, covering her mouth with her hands.

"He never did know when to shut up..." Blood muttered, turning his attention back to the Titans. "Now, I believe I said to step aside."

Wow, this was a lot of information to take it at once. Fade almost felt like his head was going to spin right off with all this new information that he was being given. From what he had gathered this guy's name was Brother Blood and he was the leader of some cult, along with that he was also supposedly married to Raven. Fade was certain that was a whole story on its own. He'd have to ask for more information after they defeated this guy. Whoever he was, the Titans didn't like him and that made him an enemy to Fade. He also took a defensive stance like Sarah did, not certain if this guy was going to act or not.

Fade turned his head to Faust as it was revealed that the sorcerer was the cause of Blood coming back. They had been working together, so was Blood the reason that Faust was so much more powerful than last time? Raven and Zatanna mentioned that he had lived through things that should have killed him, so Fade assumed that Blood must have made Faust stronger somehow. What Fade wasn't prepared for was the cruel way in which Faust was executed, a punch so powerful that it broke the man's neck.

Fade just stared at the body, as if in shock. Despite how many dreams and illusions he had created where Faust was killed nothing had prepared him for what had really taken place. That was the difference between dreams and reality, dreams disappeared but reality never changed.

As Blood turned his attention back to the Titans Fade decided to act. He illusioned a column of fire from the ground that was heading straight for Blood. Faust might have informed Blood about his powers, but Fade had to hope that wasn't the case.

Brother Blood didn't flinch. He did, however, smirk slightly at the attempt. "Ah, a fellow psychokinetic. How quaint." Narrowing his eyes, he turned the illusion around and reflected it back onto its caster. His mental prowess was even beyond that of Raven; he could not be fooled in such ways.

Nightwing was the next to react, lunging int with his batons and unleashing a flurry of wild blows. Blood didn't even appear to be trying to move, making his dodges look effortless as he casually sidestepped and ducked. He countered by catching Nightwing's arm, twisting it back out of place, and kicking the Titan through the air.

Starfire and Sarah both converged on him at once, firing starbolts and energy beams while closing the distance. Blood again weaved through the attacks, until they got in range. He caught Starfire's arm, whirled her over his head, and slammed her into the ground. Sarah thought she had him with his attention distracted, but she was wrong. She met Blood's outstretched boot, colliding with it as he kicked her away.

Cyborg fired a sonic blast at him, but in the blink of an eye Blood was suddenly behind him. He swung around, but struck air. Brother Blood thrust his hand through Cyborg's left side, ripping through machine parts and circuitry. Motor oil spewed out onto the ground as Blood kicked him away, just in time to whirl around and deliver a thunderous punch to a charging Beast Boy, in the form of an rhino. The green rhino teetered and crashed into the dirt, forming back into human form, knocked for quite a loop.

And then Zatanna attempted to hit him with a rapid series of lightning balls. He dodged these too, winding up in front of the woman and striking her in the kidney. This caused Zatanna to double over to her knees, dry heaving as the strike caused her gag reflex to take hold.

"Now then, where was I?" he said, surveying the defeated Titans. He walked over to Raven, lifted her up by the front of her shirt, and caressed her cheek. She stared back at him, terror in her eyes. "Shall we go, my sweet?"

Fade just blinked as Blood was able to send his illusion back at him. He didn't even realize that kind of thing was possible. Dispelling by Faust he could understand, but taking control and manipulating it from another? Fade clearly still needed to work on his technique if he was going to be a match for these more powerful heroes. He didn't know how strong Blood was, after all he only killed Faust after he had been restrained. Perhaps he wasn't as powerful?

Well, that thought was a waste one. Fade watched as Blood single handedly took out every single person on the team, defeating them all with practically one blow each. He had never seen such strength, not even from Faust. It made his eyes widen in fear as his heart began to race. They were all down, Sarah, Starfire, Beast Boy, every single one of them! That was of course except for him and Raven.

Fade had no idea what possessed him to do something so stupid, but as he saw her touch Raven something inside of Fade just snapped. He dashed forward, aiming to do a full fledged tackle right into Brother blood himself. It was a dumb and terrible idea, but Fade was willing to do anything to get his hands off of Raven.

And a stupid idea it proved to be. Neal's tackle didn't actually move Brother Blood as intended; rather, it would be more like running into a brick wall. Blood merely moved his eyes to glance at the not so unstoppable force as it rammed into, as it were, the immovable object. "That's always been the problem with you Titans," he growled, his voice taking on a deeper, more menacing tone. "You never know... when to quit!"

Brother Blood turned to face Neal, winding up a leg and punting the man as hard as he could. At last with everyone taken care of, he could be on his way. "It's out of sheer morbid fascination with all of you that I don't kill you," he said, gazing over the fallen Titans. "Do take time to contemplate this defeat, though, and perhaps reconsider your opposition to me. In due time, a new lord will rule over this world, and you will either find yourselves in His service, or in his way. And He destroys everything in his way."

With that sentence finished, a large blood bubble rose up from the ground, enveloped Brother Blood and Raven, then fell to the ground in a simple bloody pool. Both were gone, nowhere to be found.

Well, that didn't work anywhere near as well as Fade had hoped.......and he hadn't been very hopeful to begin with! Fade slammed against Blood, not even making the man flinch. What kind of strength did he have? He thought that he was a similar mind warrior like himself, how could Blood be THIS strong!? Fade only had time to make a quick sound of surprise before the foot knocked him all the way back and into a nearby wall. He slumped to the ground, not even able to move after such a blow affected him.

Fade looked up weakly as Blood made his final speech. Was everything he said true? Could he really take over the world? How was he this powerful when he had already died once!? He tried to stand up as the blood formed around him and Raven, only to have it drop and have them both vanish with it. Fade just stared, he had really taken her. They were both gone just like that!

He slowly pushed himself up the wall, breathing deeply as the pain in his chest didn't leave. He wouldn't be surprised if some of his ribs were broken from that blow.

"Raven!" Starfire shouted, as the two disappeared. She crawled up onto her hands and knees, trying to recover from the astoundingly powerful blow she had received. "She is gone!"

Sarah, too, was still trying to come back to her senses. The entire world seemed to be spinning, until finally she came to a sitting position and shook it off. She didn't even realize that Raven was gone until Starfire said anything. "What happened?" she asked, holding her head.

"Bastard kicked our asses, that's what happened," Cyborg muttered, on one knee as he inspected the damage to his system. "Shit, this is going to take a week to repair. I'm no good like this. And Beast Boy's out cold, damn it, someone splash some water on him or something."

Nightwing was busy popping his arm back into its socket, finishing with a pained grunt. "I don't remember Blood being this strong."

"It must... be all the souls," Zatanna wheezed, finally managing to talk again. "All those souls Faust stole for him, he must be using their power to enhance his own."

Fade listened to everyone recover, hearing their exchanges and glancing back at the spot that Blood and Raven had disappeared from. He pushed himself off of the wall and slowly moved over to everyone else, still clutching at his stomach as he the pain wouldn't subside. "That's pretty much the summary", Fade said as he listened to Cyborg tell the whole story to everyone there. They had all been slapped silly by an enemy they didn't even realize that they were fighting. Faust was dead, Blood had Raven, and now he had all the souls that Faust had as well.

"Well that's just great, he's even stronger than last time", Fade said in an annoyed tone. He couldn't help it, they had their asses handed to them and one of their own was taken and they couldn't even scratch the dude. How were they supposed to stop him?! How would they save Raven?

"Nightwing.............what now?"

"Now, we find a way to stop Blood," Nightwing said, taking a moment to gt his breath back before standing up. He pulled out his communicator, which also apparently doubled as a scanner. "I wasn't trying to hit Brother Blood when I attacked; I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to. Instead, I planted a tracking device on him. We'll be able to find him wherever he goes."

"But how are we supposed to stop him?" Sarah questioned. "He just obliterated us in seconds, and at least two of us are out of commission."

Nightwing looked over at the damaged Cyborg, and at the still unconscious Beast Boy. "You're right, Nova. We're going to need some help. I know who to ask... I just hope they're available." Resetting the communicator, he pressed the button and brought it to his lips. "Wally, Wally, you there? Can you read me?"

A couple minutes went by, until finally static hissed on the communicator and a voice replied. "Read you loud and clear, Dick. What's going on? Been a while since you called me on this old thing."

"We have a situation," Nightwing said. "It's Brother Blood... he's back, and he's taken Raven. I don't know what he plans to do with her, but with the amount of souls he's stolen, I have a bad hunch."

There was a pause, until the man's voice reappeared a moment later. "You mean..."

"Yeah," Nightwing replied. "As a former Titan, I'm officially requesting your help."

"Brother Blood, huh? Doesn't sound good, that's for sure. You know I'm always there to back up my friends."

Nightwing smiled. "Awesome, good to have you on board, Wally. We're at Yankee Stadium right now. How soon can you be..." Suddenly, Nightwing turned around to see the person he'd just been talking to standing behind him. "...here?"

"Before you even finish your sentence," he said, giving a thumbs up. He turned to Nova and Fade, the two newest Titans. "I see some new faces. Nice to meet the two of you. Name's Wally West, but you can just call me The Flash."

Find a way to stop Blood, why didn't Fade think of that sooner? He had to admit that despite Nightwing's confidence he wasn't feeling too much of it this time around, Blood had just wiped them out in seconds and now they were down three members of the Titans. They were outmatched when they were all there, how was Sarah, Starfire, Nightwing, and Fade supposed to stop Blood on their won? Apparently the answer was that they weren't.

Fade raised an eyebrow as Nightwing mentioned that he placed a tracker on Blood, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to do much damage. Smart, now they could at least find where he was as long as he wasn't somewhere that would block or trap the signal. And of course assuming that he didn't realize that he'd been bugged in the first place. It was a lot of hoping, but that was all they had right now. Fade waited as Nightwing made his call to someone. Who was Wally?

His answer was soon answered as a very familiar name came up as the man showed up. Of course, just seeing how fast he showed up probably hinted to Fade and Sarah just who this guy was. After all, very few people were that fast. "Oh my gosh............you're The Flash!", Fade said despite the fact that Wally just introduced himself. He stuck out his hand for Wally to shake if he wanted. "I'm Fade"

"Yeah, that's me," Flash said, shaking Neal's hand. "Try not to sound too much like a fan, though. We're working together, after all. Equals, as far as I'm concerned."

Sarah blinked stupidly for a second, before coming to her senses and offering her hand as well. "I-I've heard of you. Fastest man alive, right? Oh, and I'm Sarah. Er, Nova. Call me whatever you want."

Flash chuckled and shook her hand. "A pleasure, Nova, Fade. Always like to see the old family keep on growing."

The other Titans took a moment to greet The Flash too, shaking hands and catching up briefly. "Oh, it is so good to see you again, Wally," Starfire said with a big smile. "How are things at Central City?"

"Couldn't be better," he responded. "Crime's down fifty-seven percent, best it's been in ages. But, there's more important things right now. Sounds like Brother Blood needs a serious ass whooping. We ready to roll or what?"

"Almost," Nightwing said, adjusting his communicator a bit. "One more call to make. If she wants in, we're going to need you to make a quick pick up."

"Not a problem," Flash said, crossing his arms. "Just need a where."

Nightwing pressed the communicator and spoke into it. "Donna. Donna, can you hear me? This is Nightwing, please respond."

Several minutes went by before the communicator hissed back to life. "This is Donna. Go ahead, Nightwing."

"Good to hear your voice," Nightwing said with a smile. He took a moment to briefly explain the situation, asking the woman for her help.

"Of course," came the earnest reply. "I always help my family. I can be there shortly."

"We'll get you here even faster, just hang tight," Nightwing said. "Wally's on his way."

The Flash suddenly disappeared, moving faster than the naked eye could follow. About fifteen seconds ticked by before he suddenly returned, carrying someone with him. He set her down, and she stood tall, with a strong demeanor.

Starfire practically squeed with excitement, lunging forward to embrace the woman in a friendly hug. "Donna! It is so good to see you again!"

The woman called Donna chuckled, hugging the excited Tamaranian in return. "It is good to see you as well, Kori."

Sarah blinked in shock as she watched the newcomer. Was that... who she thought it was? The outfit was similar... but different, as was the overall appearance. It had been some time since she had seen the iconic heroine in the news, maybe she had somehow changed?

"Are you..." she started to say, only to be cut off mid sentence.

"I am," the woman stated, turning her attention to Sarah and Neal. "The second, though, after my sister, Princess Diana of the Amazons, was killed in action. My name is Donna Troy, and I am Wonder Woman."

Fade let out a bit of a laugh as he realized how foolish he probably sounded. "Sorry, guess I just heard about you so much and got surprised when I realized that it was you. Didn't have any time to prepare I guess", he said knowing that it was a weak excuse. But come on man! IT was the Flash! How could you be prepared for something like that without any sort of warning!? He just decided to stay quiet for the time being, thankfully his mask would at least hide his excitement as long as he didn't talk.

It was only than that Nightwing decided to make a second call, but to who this time? Fade waited as Flash dashed away only to bring someone that looked familiar to him, was that really who he thought it was? As she decided to confirm it Fade couldn't help but have wide eyes, thankfully hidden beneath his mask. He gave a nod towards her. "Pleasure to meet you Wonder Woman, I'm Fade", he said with a small nod.

He would've said more, but he didn't think that he'd be able to hold in that kind of excitement. These were two of the top superheroes in the Justice League after all! Only like Batman and Superman topped them!

Sarah felt her insides bubbling up with a new urge of excitement and hope. Wonder Woman was someone she had looked up to as just a kid. A strong, confident, beautiful heroine that served as a role model to her throughout her life. Granted, this was not the original Wonder Woman, but Donna carried the title well in honor to her fallen sister, and looked and felt like every bit the part. Sarah never thought she'd ever actually meet Wonder Woman, let alone become a hero and fight alongside her. This was more than just a dream come true.

"An honor to meet you," she said quickly, grasping one of Donna's hands with both of hers and shaking earnestly. "I really mean that. I'm Sarah. Nova. Whatever you want to call me."

Donna merely smiled at the awestruck girl and shook her hand in return. "The honor is all mine, Nova. You have the presence of someone who will become a great hero. You as well, Fade."

"Alright, so are we ready to get this show on the road or what?" Flash asked, hands on his hips.

Nightwing nodded. "Ready as we'll ever be. Cyborg, I want you to stay behind with Beast Boy. When he wakes up, fill him in on what's going on. Wait for the ambulances to arrive and assist however you can. There's still a stadium full of unconscious people here."

"I'm on it, Boss Man," Cyborg affirmed. Despite the damage to his system, he still seemed capable of simple tasks. "You just bring Raven back safe. And stop that bastard."

"Alright, Nova, Starfire, Donna," Nightwing said, "I'm giving you the coordinates for Blood's signal. Fly yourselves there and rendezvous with us; we'll be waiting. Wally, still think you can carry a couple extra?"

Flash cracked his neck side to side, then his knuckles, stretched out his arms, then his legs, his back, and finally hopped up and down on the balls of his feet. "You know it. You and Fade hop aboard, and prepare for the ride of your lives."