* DISCLAIMER * This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction involving characters created and owned by DC Comics. * WRITTEN BY * Samy Merchi * ARCHIVED AT * http://mash.yok.utu.fi/corona.html * INSPIRED BY * * STARRING * NIGHTWING! FLASH! TEMPEST! TROIA! ARSENAL! STARFIRE! CYBORG! DAMAGE! ARGENT! JESSE QUICK! * THE TITANS * in ************************* * ALL IN A NIGHT'S WORK * ************************* * CONTINUITY * This story takes place after TITANS #5. *** "Hurry up, Annie! Water's risin'!" "I'm tryin', I'm tryin'!" "HEY! What are those kids doing there??" fireperson Theresa O'Keefe shouted as the vicious winds blew and buffeted around Chester County, Pennsylvania, blowing leaves off trees and biting harsh cold rain against your face. It was a storm, and a bad one. "We're tryin' ta save Mr Fluppy!" the boy shouted in anguish. "Someone help us!!" He started sobbing as the entire doghouse was underwater already, watching in panic as his sister tried to reach in and untie the dog's leash before the poor furry creature drowned under the several feet of water flooding the town. "Damn!" Theresa shouted, and jumped over the barricades, starting to wade forward in the water towards the yard where the kids and the dog house were, her heart racing as she tried to make it in time. Suddenly, first Annie, and then her brother a few eyeblinks later, were pulled under by the dark chaotic waters. "NO!" Theresa shouted, and tried to move faster in the water that was growing deeper by the minute, sloshing violently thru the heavy liquid, getting soaked and not caring. "Theresa!" "Theresa!" Her name was called several times, before she snapped to reality and noticed two other firemen holding her in place, preventing her from going any deeper into the water. "There's nothing you can do", the other fireman whispered, biting his bottom lip grimly. *** Underwater, brother and sister fought in vain against the overwhelming waters, strong enough to break stone and bend metal, certainly strong enough to keep two children in its clutches long enough that it didn't matter anymore. Didn't mean they didn't fight. Did mean it wouldn't make a difference. *** Above the surface of the water, the storm was lessening somewhat, but the rain was still pouring down, whipped about madly by the winds, and the currents in the flooded areas kept wreaking havoc and claiming everything that wasn't nailed down. Everything was being disrupted... *** ...by a TEMPEST. "GOT YOU!" Garth of Shayeris shouted as he cut a swath underwater like a torpedo, grabbing Annie and her brother by the backs of their shirts, and heading for the surface. If the kids were still alive, they needed air, FAST. Neither of them was moving, both of them were limp and unresponsive to his touch. The water exploded as Tempest of the Titans shot to the surface, using strong water currents to propel himself into the air so he landed right onto the bridge underneath which a major storm current frothed. "These kids need help!" he shouted, holding one child on each arm as he ran towards a triage tent where some first aid shelters had been set up. "We'll take them", a paramedic said as he and several colleagues rushed over, accepting the children from a tense, wide-eyed and obviously worried Garth. "Thank you", he nodded to the superhero before rushing off with the children and the other paramedics, leaving Garth standing alone, in the cold wind and rain, red lights from fire trucks and ambulances parked nearby illuminating the sight that could be from a war-demolished zone. Homeless people, injured people, people separated from their families and crying helplessly as they didn't know if their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, lovers, friends were dead or alive, maybe somewhere trapped in by water and nobody could help -- "Tempest." Calm voice. Sharp. In control. Garth glanced over his shoulder at Nightwing, and took a deep breath, brushing the back of his hand over an eye briefly before nodding to his old friend. "Yeah?" "I know how you feel, but we can't afford to rest", Nightwing said. "No matter how tired we are, no matter how much we hurt from all of this, there are people out there who are even more tired, even more hurt, even more scared. We have the power to help them. It's our responsibility." Tempest nodded weakly. "I know", he said and took a deep breath. "You're right, of course. Thanks for the pep talk." He glanced towards the edge of the bridge, and the frothing waters underneath. "Want me to just go?" "Yes", Nightwing nodded. "Do your best. Try to use your powers to freeze water in crucial places to form barricades, maybe try to slow the currents down or divert them to safer waters. DON'T freeze any waters unless you've checked there aren't any people there, I don't want any stupid mistakes --" "I'm not an amateur", Garth gave a slight smile. "Trust me, I can --" He hesitated a moment, and lowered his eyes. "It's so *much* --" "I know", Nightwing said, placing a hand onto Tempest's shoulder. "The sooner we get to work, the less it'll be." He took Garth's hand into his and squeezed it tightly. "Good luck." "Thanks", Tempest replied, and then ran over to the edge of the bridge, climbing up onto the railing and leaping off into the waters underneath, disappearing into the dark swirls and vanishing from sight as if he was never going to be seen again. Nightwing didn't let his eyes linger on the sight. He was too much of a professional. "Cyborg!" he shouted into the microphone at his mouth, putting a hand over his ear to hear the receiver better. "Gimme a sit-rep!" *** "It's bad, Nightwing", the gold-skinned man replied, standing near a newsvan and keeping himself appraised of all the latest events and developments. "The storm's dying down, but there's still tons of water coming down, and the Crum Creek Valley reservoir thirty miles away is overflowing, and the dam's cracking -- if the dam gets worse, we could be in for a lot of trouble!" *** "Gotcha!" Nightwing shouted and quickly ran thru a list of possible approaches in his mind, considering several and discarding more than that. A few seconds later, he said, "Tempest is busy, I need a line on Argent!" *** "That's it! Don't rush, take time to reinforce it!" Arsenal shouted from atop a van that was half underwater. "The bigger and stronger it is, the easier a time you'll have pushing it against the water masses!" The silver-skinned Argent nodded in understanding, and her forehead furrowed in concentration as the silvery energy she projected from her hands fastened to lampposts, nearby buildings, half-drowned vehicles, anything that could serve as leverage. The energy field fixed itself in place, thickened, serving as a solid dam against the onrush of water onto the streets. "Hang on!" Arsenal called out, and then pressed a hand over his ear to hear the transmission better. "WHAT? You WHAT?" he then shouted. "Hey, man, I've got a crisis situation on hand here, too! I can't spare Argent, she's -- what? Hey, I've got her holding up a dam here too! I can't --" ZZZZIIPPPP Arsenal blinked as a flash of red and gold streaked thru the area and when it was gone an eyeblink later, so was Argent. And so was the energy field she had been creating. "Aw, great!" Roy Harper growled as held-back water masses rushed to the streets. "Thanks a %$£&ing lot, Wally!" *** "Here she is, Nightwing", the red and gold streak said as it screeched to a stop atop the bridge where Nightwing was helping the triage tents be set up. "Great, thanks, Jesse", Nightwing said, turning away from the tents and towards his two teammates. "We've got a crisis, thirty miles off. Dam cracking. We need to bulk it up, and keep it holding up until repair crews can do their work. I know it'll be a lot of work and it's been a hard night, but --" "We get it, Nightwing", Jesse Quick said, and glanced to both sides of the bridge, before returning her eyes to the Titans' leader. "Where is it?" "Here", Nightwing said, pulling a map from one of the compartments in his gauntlet and handing it over. "X marks the spot", he said, unable to restrain a slight smile. "I marked the dam on the map, and I also marked the best route for you to travel by land, taking into account the present flood reports that were available to --" ZZZZIIPPPP "Hnh", Nightwing said, quirking an eyebrow as he stood alone again. But again, only for a moment, before he rushed back towards the tents again to help out the overtaxed official rescue workers with his body, while his mind kept working with his team, coming up with ways upon ways of how to best utilize the Titans' talents in a crisis like this. "Flash, I've got a sugg--" Then, he stopped, and swallowed. He walked over to the paramedics, and looked at little Annie lying on a stretcher, pale. Behind the solid white lenses of his black bird-shaped mask, his eyes squeezed shut and a little tear came to the corner of his eye as a blanket was pulled over the little girl's face. *** FIVE HOURS LATER *** Sun rose. The storm was over, and the waters were settling down. They were still high, but they were mostly calm by now. There was only the slightest of breeze, and the air was clear and without rain. The first rays of sun's gold glittered off the waters everywhere. Damage was sitting in a tent, bags under his eyes from staying up all night, as he was watching over Argent who was lying in his lap, passed out from the exhaustion of having held the dam together until the repair crews could pull things together. Arsenal was flapping his big mouth at Jesse Quick, telling her how she had put dozens of people at risk by stealing Argent away, and Jesse was defending herself by saying that *thousands* would have been endangered if she hadn't done what she had done. Arsenal being who he was though, logic didn't penetrate his wounded macho ego very well. Starfire was standing off to the side, dried tears staining her cheeks, and Troia's arms around her, comforting her, even as she comforted Donna in return by hugging her back. Flash and Cyborg were being interviewed by a pair of reporters. Wally did most of the talking, and Cyborg let him, only stepping in to make corrections when Wally got something blatantly wrong. Tempest was sitting on the railing of the bridge, watching the sunrise with a faintly serene expression on his face. As he heard the footsteps behind him, he knew who it was, and why he was there. "She didn't make it, did she?" he said softly. "I'm sorry", Nightwing murmured softly, placing a hand onto Garth's shoulder as he sat down beside the Atlantean on the railing, looking towards the sunrise. "It's a new day", Garth said quietly. Nightwing nodded, and stayed silent for a few moments. "It's over", he finally said. "This one is", Garth pointed out, and then quietly placed a hand over his eyes. He stayed motionless like that for long moments, almost a minute, before a sob made his shoulders shake. "If I had been a few seconds faster -- if I had looked in that area sooner -- if I had --" He stopped, and another sob escaped him. Nightwing let Garth trail off by himself, rather than interrupt him. Then, when Tempest was done, Dick spoke. "Or, you could've been a few seconds slower -- looked in that area later. They *both* could've died." Garth's expression contorted in pain for a few moments, and a few tears ran down his cheeks. "They were trying to save their *dog*!" he gasped with a constricted throat. "They were *children*! They hadn't done anything *wrong*!" He took a few quick shallow breaths as tears began to run more freely. "The fireman I spoke with -- she knows the family -- their mother has just recovered from a bout with alcoholism. If she goes back into the bottle -- it's *my fault*!" "No, it's *not*", Nightwing said affectionately, and leaned a bit closer, putting his arms around Tempest, who lay his head onto Dick's chest and sobbed uncontrollably. "It's okay, Garth", he whispered. "You didn't do anything wrong tonight. And neither did they. Sometimes there just *is* no right choice. We're damned if we do, damned if we don't. They tried to save their dog, and failed. We tried to save a lot of people tonight, and we failed at that." He took a deep breath, and then slipped off the railing, taking Tempest's hand in his and leading him towards one of the first aid tents. "But we also saved a lot of people tonight. If we hadn't been here tonight, more lives would've been lost. Both of them would've died. We made a difference, Tempest. That's why we restarted the Titans. To protect the children of the world. And that's just what you did tonight. You saved one boy who would've died otherwise." He pointed towards a boy, sleeping on a cot underneath a blanket. "That boy." Garth swallowed, and turned away. "I can't -- I *can't* face him!" he said in anguish. "I *can't*!" "But I can", a new voice spoke, and the two Titans turned towards it to see a middle-aged woman. "Because of you", he spoke to Garth, "I still have my son." She bit her lip, as moisture glimmered in her eyes. "I've lost a lot this night. Because of you, I didn't lose it all. I still have a reason to live." Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she placed her hands onto Garth's cheeks. "I can never thank you enough." "And I can never apologize enough", Garth sobbed, putting her arms around the woman and hugging her tightly as his body shook with the tears. "I'm so sorry! I'm so *sorry* --!" Nightwing turned away, and quietly walked off. Garth would heal. He knew this. So would the town. So would most, if not all the people who survived until dawn. It was over. The healing process was beginning. He took a deep breath, and brushed some moisture off his cheeks. "Hey." "Hey yourself, Arsenal", Nightwing answered, sniffling back the tears and putting up the brave front. "You okay?" "Yeah, amigo", the marksman replied, flipping a coin into the air for want of something better to do with his hands. "Question is, are you?" "You know", Nightwing said quietly, "I told Garth he shouldn't blame himself for every mistake he made, but be happy about every thing he did *right*." "Makes sense", Arsenal nodded. "Then how come --?" Nightwing shook his head silently, and took a long, deep breath, turning his eyes towards the sunrise. "Howcome I'm doing exactly the opposite of what I'm advising?" Arsenal shrugged slightly. "Maybe because you ain't got nobody who'd tell you the same things you tell people?" he suggested. "Maybe because you know all the right things to say, but you don't believe in them yourself, 'cause nobody's saying them back to you?" Nightwing managed a weak smile. "Are you telling me I shouldn't blame myself?" he asked. "Nah", Arsenal said, patting Nightwing onto the back. "You're a smart hombre, you'll figure that out anyway in a few days. So since I've got an opening to tell you something, I might rather use it to tell you to lend me a hundred bucks so I can take out this firefighter chick I met..."