Old Habits Die Hard

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You laid there, shivering at the cold that washed over you in that moment. Thankfully, the sword managed to stop any ice from reaching your body, with only a bit being around the wrist you used to hold the weapon.

As you breathed, you could visibly see your breath in front of you, which did nothing to help reassure you that you were going to be alright.

Despite the stolen sword blocking most of the attack, frost had still settled on your suit full of tears and marks, making you feel almost heavy.

'This isn't going to work'

Even though you hadn't taken the brunt of the blast, the fact you were hit point blank with a beam of ice that blasted out at speeds similar to a gun caused many issues. In fact, if you were a normal person, you'd probably already be experiencing frostbite.

You could feel your hands growing colder and colder, so much so that you almost couldn't feel them, so much so that you didn't even attempt to move from your sprawled out position.

'I'm gonna get frostbite at this rate'

If you lost your hands, it was over. By that point your life and goals, especially with a bounty on your head, would simply go from almost unattainable to impossible.

In an attempt to stop this, you tried to move, but the cold that had seeped into your body hindered your movement so greatly, that it was more like a twitch.

As you laid there, you hesitated at the choice you had. You knew a way out of this, but it would be against everything you stood for.

'It's not just me. I can't be selfish with Static fighting by himself' You reasoned, or maybe, that was just the excuse you were using to justify yourself?

Pushing away all doubt, you narrowed your eyes before closing them.

You could feel a mental block in your mind, one that seemed to stop you from making the choice you were about to make. You would know, you put that block there yourself.

After a few moments of struggling, you allowed that block to crumble away as you let out a gasp of air. And some seconds later, your heartbeat began to pick up considerably.






Allowing his gloved hand to fall to his side, Freeze began to walk towards the hole in the wall where you stayed, stepping on the ice that covered the ground stretching from your previous position to your current one.

No one stood in his way. Instead, most of guards either had an excited or awe-stricken look on their face, marvelling at the power that was just displayed by their Lord.

"Leave, if you stay, you'll soon die" Was all he had to say to his butlers, before they all bolted for the elevators and stairs.

With the room emptying out, Freeze continued his walk. But, for some reason, Freeze stopped in his tracks, and turned his head halfway.

"And, what are you planning on doing with that?" He questioned.

His eyes were on Rose, who was crouched down with both her hands gripping her sword, the one that was blown out of your hands from the initial blast.

She stared at him with a look of defiance. "Are you going to kill him?"

Freeze stared at her for a few moments before responding.

"And if I am?"

It was clear that her grip on her sword's hilt tightened.
"Then I'm gonna have to advise against taking another step"

The look of indifference of Freeze's face never changed, but he did turn his body around to face Ravager.

"Are you.....threatening me?"
"Yes"

She simply responded, with not a semblance of fear on her face or in her eyes.

'Boldness must run in the family' Was a thought that flashed across Freeze's mind.

"Well then, I invite you to try to stop me. That is, if you wish to never see the faces of your loved ones again"
"And where's your loved one? Oh right, she's"-

Before she could finish, a blast of light blue burst from Freeze's hand so quickly no one really had time to react. Except for one person.

Right before the blast hit, someone in a dark blue hood whooshed in front of Rose, and yelled incoherent words. Mid-way through this, their hood's whiplash died down so it was clear to all who this was.
Raven.

A black force field formed in front of the two, but the ice connected with such force that after struggling for a few moments, a way weaker version of the original blast went through.

It hit Raven, causing her to be launched back in Ravager, who went with her.

They both went skidding across the ground until they hit one of the room's walls, with surprisingly no lasting damage done to the structure. The barrier did it's job.

"Raven!" A concerned Kid-Flash yelled out, who blitzed to his downed teammates, helping them up.

The half-demon whispered a few more words, and the frost and tiny bits of ice on her outfit seemed to cool off and disappear.

"I'm fine. Ravager?"
"I'm good" She responded with a grunt, pushing herself to her feet.

"I don't think he liked me talking about his wi"-
"Look out!"

Kid-Flash reacted before the others, and in a second both Raven and Ravager were a few feet to the side of their previous spot.

Immediately after, a blast of ice ruptured through the wall they were previously pressed up against, leaving behind a small trail of frost.

Freeze once again had his arm outstretched, and his  demeanour of indifference had a bit of rage etched into it, making him seem more intimidating.

"My apologies, it seems I lost my temper. But, if we're talking about "family", then I must say, your criticism of mine is quite hypocritical"

"I mean, all I see are children who don't know the real world, with no family to run back to or rely on. Am I wrong?" He questioned.

"Or, do you run back to the League when things get tough instead?"

Robin was at his left side while Starfire appeared on his right, one running in while the other flew, visible expressions of frustration on their faces.

Freeze in turn, held out his palms to either side of him facing almost downwards and let out a torrent of ice.

Bringing his arms upwards, two walls of ice were formed on either side of him, both showing up and stopping his attackers strikes just before they reached him.

Then, he placed a palm on both ice walls, and let out a second blast through them.

Sensing the danger, both managed to get out of the way and retreat backwards, with bits of frost forming along their clothes that were scathed by the move.

Right after, an arrow struck Freeze's suit, but he was unaffected by it and instead took it out of his chest and stared Speedy.

"Did you really think this would hurt me?"
"Yep" He responded.

At that moment, Freeze noticed something off about the arrow. It was beeping.

In a quick response, he allowed his ice to completely encapsulate the arrow until it didn't even resemble item's original form and threw it to his side, a small explosion following afterwards that was dialled down due to his action.

In response to their advance not working, the three backed up and, like always, the rest of the team was right behind them.

"We got this right?" Kid-Flash asked.

"Yes, this our chance to take down a Lord. We'll win this" Robin reassured.

"You know"

They all turned their attention back to Freeze.

"If let out an ice blast, then the longer it takes to reach its target, the colder it gets"

"But, if I turn my output to it's maximum and lower it's range to almost nothing, I can do this"

Freeze's hand glowed a light blue as one of his hands reached out in front of him with his fingers curled.

Then, lurching his hand to the side in a quick motion, Freeze crabbed onto an almost can-like icicle. One that formed. out of thin air as he moved his hand to the side.

"I can freeze the air" He twirled the newfound weapon.

"I will ask you this once as a courtesy to Batman. Do you, after witnessing everything I can do, still wish to fight me?"

"Yes" They all responded worth unison, with no hesitation. A determined look on each of their faces.

"Very well then. Let's finish this quickly"





"Yeah, but why are you bringing that up now?"

It was a weird question to Static, as it was the first one he had asked after getting a tour of the tower with Rose two years ago.

Also, this question seemed completely separate from the yelling match he and Nightwing both had a few moments before, yet, it felt connected.

"It..........ok" The Hero let out a sigh, and then took a breath after, as if he himself was unprepared to respond.

"Each of those rooms belonged to a Titan"

For a moment, Static was confused at the information he was given. Wasn't that obvious?

Then, the reality of what Nightwing said finally kicked in.

Each room in the T-Tower belonged to a member of the Titans. There were four empty rooms.
So, what happened to the four members?

Static looked into Nightwing's eyes, trying to see or sense if this was any kind of lie or possible cruel joke. Yet, he found nothing.

There was nothing in Hero's eyes except sorrow, regret, and pain at even bringing this up. He couldn't even look Static in the eyes.

"Y-You aren't saying....." Static's voice trailed off, unsure if he should finish.

"All it took was one mistake, Static. Just one, and that was it"

The pain in his voice was clear, and so was the guilt that made itself known as his voice slightly cracked, something uncharacteristic of the witty Hero.

"H-How? How did-......what was the mistake?!" The former? Hero couldn't help but raise his voice.

"They went after Slade"

That was the only response he got, and the only one he needed.

The Titans rarely talked about Slade, and the only reason Static knew they had an encounter with him was because they said that that encounter was the reason they initially rejected Rose, who made it very clear to everyone that he was her father, but that she disliked I'm.

After a few months of coldness and encouraging from Starfire, they eventually warmed up to her, although it took much longer compared to him.

"He had been breaking them down for months" Static snapped out of his thoughts as Nightwing continued.

"Sending petty criminals, and some that actually posed a threat. He even made a contract with H.I.V.E.. It seemed like there was no end to them, like they were always forced to stay awake and aware just to be prepared for what he'd do next"

Static knew about the group Nightwing spoke of, that being H.I.V.E., as he had a few encounters with the Titans and even an offer to join them back in Dakota.

"This started to happen after the Doomsday Incident, so the League were unable to help since, similar to now, crime across the world skyrocketed with Superman presumed dead, and the League were also forced to take on threats that were usually left to him to handle until he returned"

"Superman's "death" showed the world that Heroes weren't invincible, and also showed us that we weren't immortal and that eventually, the current Heroes would die out"

"It was this realization that's with the approval of the League, I decided to make a team. That's why I formed the Titans"

He let out a small, yet sad smile.
"But I didn't just want it to be a group, I wanted it to be something more. I wanted to make the Titans a group where young people who've seen, and known too much, who were suffering could go to and understand each other, have people to rely on"

Nightwing's eyes got cloudy as he continued.
"So I took in ten members. I took them in like I did you and Rose. But, I was too blind" Nightwing's face turned dark.

"I-.....I took in young Heroes who were lost, who needed help, a family to rely on. And in the process, I failed to see that I had taken in a traitor"

"Terra. That was her name" He spoke her name with both sadness and frustration, and he let his head drop down so that he stared at the ground.

Static's first reaction to all of this was just pure confusion

In his two years with the Titans they never once mentioned someone named Terra. In fact, the only time they mentioned another member or "previous" member was when he asked about Cassandra, or who she was.

"She was a double agent working for Slade. An apprentice he took under his wing"

At his words, Static felt his blood run cold. Run cold at the fact that whoever she was, that's who Deathstroke wanted him to become.

"I trained her. Pulled her up and gave her a place she could call home when she was nothing but a scared teen. I don't know why I didn't know- couldn't see...I........I blame myself for it everyday"

His voice broke completely, and it almost seemed like he couldn't bare to keep speaking.

"She gave him any and all information, going from the T-Tower to everyone's abilities, weaknesses, any and everything he needed"

"Then, on a seemingly normal day, it happened"

"He completely took over the Tower, but he didn't do anything. All he told them was his location and that he was giving them a chance to prove themselves as the next generation's Heroes, and that, if they really were the children the world thought they were, then they could call the League instead"

"Virgil, what do you think they did?"

An image flashed in Static's mind.

It was the talk he had with Hugo after he managed to regain consciousness, the way he convinced Static to save you. It was similar, mentioning how he was incapable and how the Titans were seen as such.

He also remembered his mounting frustration up to that point, and the decision he made after Hugo's push.

"I warned them. We all did. We all warned them to never engage with someone on the Level of Deathstroke, but they just didn't listen. They wouldn't, no matter how much we pleaded and they agreed, we could see it in their eyes. The same look you gave me a few minutes ago. Anger mixed in with determination. Frustration with defiance. So, do you wanna know what they did?"

"The Titans went against Deathstroke by themselves"







A guard who'd just regained consciousness sat up, and was confused by the crumbling of the hole in the wall in front of him.

It was destroyed, and looked as if something had been forcefully thrown through it. In fact, it seemed like the noise made when said object was thrown through it had woke him up.

Following where the hole was so that it would coincide with the item that was blasted through it, the guard saw a person. Or rather, you.

His first reaction was to let out a yelp of surprise and back away slightly, before he realized that you weren't moving.

Still, the image of you drunkenly swaying around and slapping him earlier in the night weighed in on his mind, and he still felt a bit of fear.
That fear was soon replaced with anger.

You were still breathing and also for some reason covered in ice, but that meant you were still alive.

Something happened in the guard's head. His anger at you mixed in with the idea of getting a five million dollar reward for you dead caused him to take out a pocket knife out of his torn vest and get to his feet.

He began to take a few steps towards you, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to do.

Then, he stopped.

He put a finger to his ear, were a small device was, and his face turned to shock.

"You can't be-......no no I'm not......yes sir"

Reluctantly, the man put away his pocket knife and instead retrieved a weird, small yet circular black device once again from out of his vest.

Approaching with no hostility now, he placed it on your leg, and it seemed to bury itself in the fabric.

'Why would the boss........just don't question it. It's better not to'

The man shook his head, and instead made a break for any exit to this floor and the building. After all, he had completed his job.

A moment of silence fell on the room, with only your slow breathing occasionally filling it.

Then, another butler sat up.

His grogginess was broken the second he laid eyes on you, and his eyes held nothing but fury. In fact, he was grinding his teeth in anger just seconds after spitting you.

The man picked up the sword next to him, and used it to help him to his feet.

He also brought a hand to his ear, but instead of responding, he threw out the small device and stomped on it.

That was the biggest mistake of his life.

Then, he began to walk over towards you, seething more and more with every step.

As he stood over you, a triumphant look on his face, he blinked before stabbing his blade into his chest.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the tip of his sword had hit the ground.

You were gone, as if you were never even there. Or at least, that's what the man thought before a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Hey"

The man felt every sense in his body go haywire, and forced himself to turn his head slightly to the side.

He locked eyes with you, and contrary to what he thought he'd see, you had a smile on your face.

"I need you to do something for me"

The guard was confused, but you kept going before they could process what was going on, and you even turned their body to face yours.

"Look at this"

You held up one of your right hand's fingers in front of their face.

"Look look look" You urged him as your hand began to slowly move to the left and slightly upwards.

Still in a state of confusion, the man followed your hand and turned his head in it's direction.

When he did, you brought your hand back and backhanded the man with such force his head went straight downwards, and he was instantly knocked out of impact.

A crazed smile adorned your face as your blow hit, and you could feel your heartbeat thumping at an extremely high pace, the pace you wanted it to go at.

'Two years'
Your hand was shaking.
'I forgot how good this feels'











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