Fan Fiction ❯ Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You ❯ Covert Operations and Sneaky Stuff ( Chapter 2 )

Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You

 

Chapter Two

“Covert Operations and Sneaky Stuff”

 

 

Disclaimer: (I'm so forgetful!) The Teen Titans, Batman and all the other Characters from the DC Comics/Animated Universe are not mine, and I'm making no money out of using them. My only profit is writing experience and reviews. Title (“Anything, Anytime, Anywhere”) belongs to Mr. Jimmy Buffett, and I do recommend the song as being awesome.

 

A/N: A huge thank you to Purplelllama from Mediaminer who left the very first review and a very generous story rating; another big thanks to Sbf2009 from Mediaminer who also left me a wonderful review and a generous story rating. You two are awesome and you have no clue how happy it made me to see some reviews and the added bonus of your generous story ratings. I was blown away to see thirty-five visits on the stat counter. Thirty five visits and two reviews in less than twenty-four hours; now that's something that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and accomplished. So thanks to everyone who can and took a look. Of course the biggest thanks to the reviewers I already mentioned; I'm dedicating this chapter to the two of you. I hope you all enjoy reading it.

 

Oh, and sorry for the end of Chapter One being all in bold for those reading on Mediaminer. I have no clue how that happened; hopefully this one won't do that.

 

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

 

Just as breakfast seemed to be custom tailored for the Titans, their rooms aboard the ship were much the same. After breakfast Shady lead them all into a lined hallway and took each Titan to his or her individual room; which seemed to be copies of their rooms from the tower. Robin's was complete with a wide selection of research material, training gear and a picture of Starfire that Shady had set beside the bed on a whim. Raven's room had been crammed with a selection of spell books and dangerous looking artifacts that rivaled the collection she actually kept at home. Cyborg, Beast Boy and especially Starfire's rooms were all much the same; they had everything the Titan's could possibly want and then some. Eliminating the need for the Titan's to leave their rooms at all - which made at least two of the Titan's suspicious at once.

 

Bruce Wayne had vanished just as quickly as he'd come. As soon as he'd cleared his plate and said a few quick goodbyes he'd left the dining room and gone to his own room; which was presumably somewhere close to the Titan's rooms but none of them, save Shady, could know for sure. Once the Titans had been escorted to their separate rooms the strange servant of Tamaran's royal family asked them all if they needed anything, though he was only doing so because he had too, and once they'd all confirmed they didn't he was gone to his own dark corner for his own dark deeds.

 

Raven hadn't been in her room long; only long enough to verify two things. One, Shady was busy with his deeds and he'd be out of her hair for a while; and two that she'd disabled all those irritating listening devices that had been left in her “perfect room”. Raven quickly made her way to the door but found that for once she'd been beaten to the punch. Robin was halfway inside the room before she'd even reached it.

“So I'm not the only one suspicious of this whole thing?” Raven's sarcasm flowed impeccably.

 

“There's no way Shady could have prepared everything this perfectly unless he'd been spying on us. And there's no reason for him too.” Robin responded in his usual manner.

“No reason other than to keep us in our rooms when he's not watching us.”

 

“Exactly.” Robin's eyes were darting around the room, but Raven quickly informed him that she'd already disabled the bugs and micro cameras that had not only been implanted all over as they'd guessed; but had been hidden in a fairly-professional manner.

 

“Why would Shady want to keep constant watch on all of us?” Robin wondered aloud as he looked down at the broken cameras. They were impressively well hidden and well made; which wasn't a big confidence boost.

 

“Either he's a really unpicky peeping tom, or we're heading right into a trap.” Raven replied.

 

Robin wasn't sure if he was more annoyed or amused by Raven's sarcasm right now; but it didn't matter. The Titan's were in a bad situation anyway you look at it. For all his knowledge, Cyborg couldn't learn how to fly this ship without some help; and if Shady was leading them into a trap that meant they were stuck on a one-way course. They needed Shady if they didn't want to wind up floating through space helplessly; but if they didn't stop him now they'd be walking right into a trap.

 

“I'll go find him.” Raven announced, breaking Robin's train of thought. “There's no need to tell the others either, it would only create more problems until we have proof.”

 

Robin nodded in agreement. “I'll find Bruce; he's suspicious of everyone anyway so he'll have noticed by now.”

 

Robin turned to the door but Raven's hand on his should stopped him.

 

“I'm sorry.” She whispered quickly before releasing his shoulder and floating out of the room. Robin wasted no time in following her exit, a small sigh the only sign that he'd heard her at all.

 

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

 

Shady sighed. Couldn't the Titans at least wait for them to be on Tamaran to start figuring things out?

 

Oh well, no point in changing the plan now. If they caught him before they reached Tamaran, he'd just force them to kill him. Better than being caught on Tamaran and facing the King's temper when he learned that his trusted Shady was a spy and thief. And it was ten thousand times better than failing and then trying to face - or run from - his boss. No, Shady wouldn't consider failure an option until it happened. It was just too unpleasant to be bothered with yet.

 

Shady shook his head, which was currently missing the usual fedora-style hat, and decided to just have a drink. He knew he wasn't getting out of this alive, and part of him was tempted to do something nuts before he went. He could have warned Starfire and her friends; but a hero's demise wasn't his style. He could sneak down into the engine room and destroy the ship, killing them all in fire and death; but that required courage and Shady lacked in that too.

 

Ah, who was he kidding? Shady knew how this was going to end. He was going to do his job, get the kids in the trails, and then stand back and watch them die. And if by some miracle, some odd twist of fate or divine intervention they managed to survive; well if that happened then maybe Shady would finally have his way out.

 

But hope wasn't his thing either. Hope, courage, heroics; those things belonged to other lifeforms. Shadarias was lies, cowardice and a love of booze. Why deny it? And on that note Shady headed over to his stash of the strongest liquor Tamaran had to offer.

 

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

 

The empty T shaped tower was still standing, and the city called Jump was still peaceful on the surface. Its heroes and protectors hadn't been gone long at all, and in all truth most of the city's scum hadn't noticed. However there was someone who noticed. There was someone who'd seen them leave this morning, and who knew the Tower was sitting helpless and defenseless with nothing but the security systems standing between him and all of the secrets of the Teen Titans.

And that person was Doug Miller, the thirteen-year-old who delivered the daily paper to Titan's Tower. Doug had stricken up a friendship with Beast Boy when it had been revealed that they could both memorize TV Guide schedules in minutes flat; and eventually Beast Boy had let it slip that there were ways into Titan's Tower without memorizing the complicated security shut-down codes. Ways that had in fact been made especially for Beast Boy, since he simply couldn't remember anything with that many numbers in it unless it revolved around TV in some way.

 

Now Doug was not a fool. He knew that Supervillians would love to get inside the tower; and he knew that it could cost innocent lives if he somehow let one in. He also knew that if he got caught both he and Beast Boy would be in severe trouble with the other Titans, and he didn't want that.

 

But he was a thirteen-year-old paperboy with a chance to play with superhero stuff; and resisting temptation like that was out of the question for him.

 

And so Doug, pale, skinny and dressed out in a simple black khaki & white T-shirt combo, the red baseball cap stereotypically in place; snuck into Titan's Tower at about the same time Raven and Robin were hatching their own covert operations on the ship. And he was successful in sneaking past the security systems; just as Beast Boy had assured him he would be. The air-tight security that protected the Titan's home base was still in place. Doug had used an old secret passageway from the training field.

 

And he'd left the secret passageway's entrance standing wide open; which worked out wonderfully for the person watching Doug since their job just became a lot easier.

 

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

 

Raven had been victorious in finding Shady's room. The alien hadn't bothered to hide it; but he hadn't pointed it out either. Raven simply needed to slip inside and find the odd messenger sprawled out on the floor, sleeping soundly with a bottle of alcohol in his hand to know she was in the right place; and in it at the right time.

 

Shady's room wasn't what she'd expected, though in honesty she didn't know what to expect. Each of their rooms had been custom-tailored to remind them of home, and if that was the case for Shady than he came from a very bleak home. The room was completely empty; save only a bed, a liquor cabinet, and an extremely-advanced looking computer system in the corner.

Raven hesitated. If Shady was a spy then there was two places she could find evidence in; and she now had access to both. Either way was a high risk; but she already knew which she'd have to choose. It was tempting to try to access the computer since a successful hacking and cracking would yield undeniable proof of Shady's intentions and would do it quickly - but Raven's experience with computers wouldn't be enough to break into the systems Shady had; she'd be lucky to even turn it on right in all honesty. The other way was much more dangerous, but it was something she knew she could do. While the only proof yielded this way would be her word against Shady's, the other Titans would believe Raven over him.

 

It would then be a matter of convincing Starfire's parents to believe her.

 

After confirming Shady's drunken stupor one final time, Raven propped the colorless creature up against the wall and then proceeded to lower her hood. It'd help if his eyes were open for this, but she could manage. Reaching out her hand Raven closed her own eyelids for a moment as her fingers brushed his forehead; and then her eyes shot open, completely white and glazed over.

 

Shady's mind was now her very dangerous toy.

 

Raven blinked a few times as she took in her new surroundings. Of course her body was still in the same place it had just been; but her “Soul Self”, as the elders on Azarath had called it, was now inside the void of Shady's mind. Unlike the trips she made into her own mind's astral plane, Shady's brain seemed organized - to say the least.

Raven stood at the end of a long, white hallway. On either side were black doors that lead all the different things that made up Shady's mind. Thoughts, Ideas, Events; Past and Present, all of it was here and ready for the reading. Raven merely needed to find what she wanted - before Shady's hangover kicked in and he woke up.

 

Floating forward Raven wound up outside one of the tidy black doors and noticed the label on it. Things were looking up; Shady's organizational skills were amazing. This door was labeled “childhood” and Raven passed it by. The next was “first times” and while it could yield some valuable information, such as the first time he betrayed his boss, it could also waste a lot of time with things Raven was sure would cause her nightmares. Marking the location of the door in her memory as a backup, the Titan moved on.

 

And then she found what seemed too good to be true. A door labeled “The Boss” was staring her in the face and her hand wasted no time in latching onto the doorknob and giving it a good squeeze. Unfortunately for Raven the doorknob didn't take kindly to being squeezed and she was electrocuted and thrown backwards. As is usually the case, the door that seemed too good to be true was just that.

 

Shady's mind had some security after all, it seemed. It could always have been from Shady waking up and using his will-power to reject Raven's soul-self and her touch; but the odds were against that. She doubted Shady realized how well guarded this portion of his mind was himself. Which raised an even more dangerous question; if Shady wasn't guarding this door, what was?

 

“You should leave here now.” Her answer - a voice that seemed to echo from the other side of the door - spoke.

 

“And if I don't?” Raven questioned as she pulled herself off the ground. Her usual sarcasm was toned down, but still in place.

 

“Find out.”

 

The reply was harsh, stone-cold and dead-serious. Raven didn't need to be told twice and she wasn't bold enough to enter that door. She knew full well how important it was that she gain access to whatever was behind the door; but she was of no help to anyone dead, and there was no doubt she was on the verge of ending up that way.

 

And like that Raven backed up without another word and pulled herself out of Shady's mind. The next thing she knew she was standing with her fingers still brushing Shady's head. She stumbled backwards and landed on her rear with a thud. That wasn't really so bad, but Shady's unconscious form fell forward as well and the irritating alien landed with a loud clunk just inches short of her lap. And in fate's classic way of topping her day off, Shady began to stir and make sputtering noises; an indication that he was waking up.

 

“Beautiful.” Raven's tired sarcasm whispered before she floated upwards and then out of the wall before Shady could catch her. Raven was triumphant in returning to her own room without any further incident and she did know at least one thing for absolute, one hundred percent certainty.

 

Next time she'd try her luck with the computer.

 

Unfortunately someone had seen her exit Shady's room. And Beast Boy was well known for jumping to the wrong conclusions.

 

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

 

Away from Raven's covert mission into Shady's room and the confusing mind beyond, Away from Robin's rendezvous with the Dark Knight that was occurring simultaneously; there was Doug Miller. He'd broken into Titan's Tower, following old advice from his buddy Beast Boy, and despite warning from both his mother and his green-skinned chum; he'd followed his thirteen-year-old instinct and made every mistake he could.

 

And he loved it.

 

Doug was still dressed the same; black slacks, white shirt, red ball cap - he had added the utility belt and eye-mask he'd happened to “find” while “accidentally” stumbling into Robin's room. He may have made a mess in Robin's room while he was in there, but he could clean up the room later, long before the Titan's returned.

 

Of course Doug never would have cleaned up the room; but he'd never get the chance too either. He'd completely forgotten his first and gravest mistake - leaving the secret passage open. Doug Miller was not alone in Titan's Tower, and he was not safe.

 

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

 

Raven hadn't been back in her room long when the door opened. Inside stepped Robin and a fully-suited up Bruce Wayne. Any surprise she had at their arrival was kept hidden along with her disappointment in her earlier failure.

 

“Shady's leading us into a trap; but I've got no proof.” Raven announced without much enthusiasm.

“I do.” Batman replied; and Raven's zeal about the whole thing suddenly returned, as did her confusion.

 

“I told you he's more suspicious than the both of us.” Robin took it upon himself to give the long-awaited explanation. “Bruce and I got there just as Shady was waking up from what I'm guessing was a hangover, and probably some of your handiwork.”

 

Raven allowed a nod. “Naturally. Go on.”

 

“He was half-unconscious anyway, so we helped him get back to sleep.” Robin indicated with his fist in the air. Batman picked up the story without missing a beat.

 

“From there I just had to get into his computer. It's advanced alien technology; but still kid's stuff next to the Batcave.” Bruce reached down to the trademark yellow-belt and extracted a small white envelope. Raven recognized it as a CD and knew the proof of Shady's conspiracy was safe, sound and in their hands.

 

“So what's the story?” Raven asked, hoping their newfound luck would hold.

 

Much to Raven's annoyance, their newfound luck didn't hold. Robin shook his head. “There weren't any details on the trap; only that it has something to do with the trails. I'd assume Starfire and I are the targets, but . . .”

 

Batman cut him off. “All we need to know for now is whether we're taking Shady down now or later on Tamaran. And that's your call Robin.”

 

Robin looked down and shook his head. “Let's play this out a little longer. We have Shady, but we still don't know who he's working for. And our best - and only - chance to get find out is on Tamaran.”

 

Raven's voice was quiet again. “And you're willing to take the risk? Your life, Starfire, everything?”

 

Robin grinned weakly. “Goes with the job.”

 

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

 

Honestly, this was too easy.

 

Slade was stunned as he flicked his single-eye from screen to screen, watching it all unfold. The events on Tamaran, the Starship, Titan's Tower; all of it connected here before him on a series of television and computer feeds. The Mastermind of the events sat in a tall-backed chair, his grip on the handles tightening with his rising temper as he saw just how much he'd overestimated his opponents. He could see everything that was happening and it was mostly a disappointment.

 

Shady's failure was to be anticipated; Slade had expected the Titan's to figure him out quickly. The fact that it had taken so long; and that Batman had been needed to uncover the plan this quickly was an extra displeasure for the one-eyed fiend since he had hoped for some challenge in all of this. No, not hoped; demanded. Robin and Raven had disappointed him before; but surely the Dark Knight of Gotham could do better than to walk so blindly into Slade's open arms?

 

Slade's fury was taken out, once again, on the armrest of his chair. It would break soon. However he was quick to regain his composure. It wasn't all bad news. His plan was moving forward much better than he'd expected; which was excellent even if it vexed him. As long as the Titans arrived and remained on Tamaran - as long as the Trails took place - things would be fine. Exasperating and infuriating from the looks of it, but fine.

 

And as much as it haunted him to admit it, he needed the ending to go his way. Failure was not an option for Slade Wilson; not this time.

 

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

 

A/N: Well that's all for now. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions on the events and revelations.

I do hope I'm not making it too confusing to follow. I mention this because I was a bit confused writing this one and while it's probably just my easily-confused nature I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

Until next time, thanks for reading, some feedback will make me smile, and I wish you all good luck in whatever you do.

- Brandon Rice