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Post by Pete Todd on Jan 7, 2013 1:48:20 GMT 1
"I will give you one chance. Say that you quit and I will release you." Black Adam offered. His meaty hand was wrapped around Pete's throat, holding him off of the pavement. The city of San Francisco seemed to have stopped around them. All was quiet except the chorus of car alarms going off in the distance. The various other Titans lay defeated among the battered cityscape.
Pete was practically a bag of broken bones at this point. He had been hit so many times by Adam he might as well be dead. One punch had shattered the hood, and with it his jaw, completely so his bloody face was exposed. Regardless of what Adam had just offered him, Pete looked confused. His ears were ringing so hard he honestly couldn't hear him. "Your unitard is gay." Pete croaked out. He figured it would have been a good response to anything Adam had just said.
With that, Black Adam placed his other hand on top of Pete's head and gave a powerful twist. A sickening crack could be heard by the half-conscious Titans surrounding him. So ended Pete Todd.
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Waking up at the bottom of a well is never easy, Pete'll tell you. Months had gone by since he had been "killed" but to him it seemed like only seconds had passed. It took him a moment to get his bearings and to realize he was surrounded by bats. Hmmm... bats in a well? How original. As soon as he noticed them, a small recording device made a beeping noise, sending them all into a frenzy. As they all made their way out of the hole, Pete checked out the device. When he clicked the button on the side, a recorded message started playing. The man talking seemed to be middle aged by the tone of his voice.
How'd you sleep, Kiddo?
Black Adam did a real number on you.
You were dead, Pete. Dead as dirt.
I saved you. You're welcome, by the way.
Now prove to me that you're worth saving.
Take the road to the mountain. Don't stray.
You've been infected with a virus that will
kill you in one month's time if you don't retrieve
the antidote. Pass some challenges and it's all
yours. Earn your right to live, Peter. Come find
me and save yourself.
You have one month.
Love,
Dad.
Pete wasn't overly surprised until the very end. Dad. If Jason was really here, and he had infected him with some kind of virus, Pete was going to kill him. No questions asked. So Pete climbed out of the well and found himself in a bamboo forest. The rest isn't worth going into detail over but over the course of the month, Pete had to overcome various trials to proceed. All of which made him a better crime fighter.
At the end of all the trials, Pete found himself in a cave with nothing but a table, a new suit, a plane ticket to Gotham and a syringe filled with something red. Pete was furious that his dad wasn't there, but he went ahead and injected himself with the "antidote", something he would much later grow to regret. Pete actually took a liking to the suit so he decided to keep it. Just over the mountain, Pete found a small village where he learned that he had been in China the whole time and that nearly half a year had passed.
So our hero used the plane ticket to get himself back to Gotham where he reunited with his ecstatic mother and sister and impartial step-father. He stayed with them for a few days and then flew himself out to San Francisco for his grand return with the Titans.
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Pete was so excited he couldn't stand it. All his friends thought he was dead! How cool was it going to be when he showed back up alive? So cool. Pete had on a brown wind breaker and a pair of dark jeans. A red hat was placed backwards on his head. Pete had managed to get himself to the base of the tower where he snuck inside without anyone noticing.
Lucky for him, nobody really seemed to be around. He wanted to give everyone a heart attack. Pete made his way into the main tv room undetected where he sat down on the couch and began watching Spongebob. Pete was sitting with his feet up, scarfing down popcorn waiting for somebody to walk in on him. Maybe somebody would faint.
That'd be sick |
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Post by Anneliese Grayson on Jan 7, 2013 5:40:44 GMT 1
Anneliese sighed as she floated into the tower. She'd just finished writing an essay for one of her classes at the library - like she could have got enough peace around the tower for that! - and felt exhausted but content. It kept her mind off things she'd rather forget. Something about mathematical and liner equations soothed her mind, not that she'd ever tell anyone, due to the utter geekiness and uncoolness that would bring to her.
She dumped her shoulder bag on the ground as she entered the common room area, rolling her shoulders, dressed in a pale grey roll neck sweater dress and black tights, along with gray knee high chunky heeled boots, her hair in a high bun, stylish thick framed glasses perched on her nose - she didn't need them, but they helped her blend in with others, meaning less reporters.
She sighed at the annoying cartoon playing on the screen, rolling her eyes. Who the hell was watching this crap? The only person who enjoyed this crap was....
Her mind seemingly froze when she spotted the person sitting on the couch, happily, as if he belonged there.
Half a year ago, Pete Todd, sitting on the couch watching cartoons would have been a normal - albeit irritating - occurrence.
But that was half a year ago. Before Pete had died. Before she'd seen him die.
"...The fuck." She stated blankly, her mind struggling to catch up to what she was seeing.
Then...she felt a strange surge of anger, relief, happiness, frustration, irritation and mostly....the urge to punch him in the face.
Anneliese, deciding far be it for her to refuse her urges, flew forward, and flung a punch straight at his jaw, with only the tiniest hint of super strength.
"You...you idiot!" She roared at him, eyes wide and wild. "You...what the fuck? You died!" She hit out at him again, her fist hitting his chest weakly - although weakly for Anneliese was still insanely hard. "I saw it! I saw you die you moron! How...how the hell..." It was official. Her mind was broken. "I fucking hate you." She muttered, but there was no heat at all behind the words. In fact, they were tempered with an almost affectionate tone. The words were once again contrasted when she threw her skinny arms around his neck, hugging him hard, her face buried in his shoulder. "You're such an idiot."
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Post by Pete Todd on Jan 7, 2013 6:05:30 GMT 1
Pete had it all planned out. He had a funny little line thought up about that rap thing "YOLO" that was real big back in the 10's. But then of course Annie had to walk in first. Jesus Christ, she was going to hit him. She was going to hit him hard. As she spouted her first line of surprised nonsense, Pete grinned from ear to ear.
"Surprise, ugly." Pete said through a mouthful of popcorn.
Then came the punching. Pete was almost knocked unconscious as he had expected, but then came something that really made him light headed. A hug. As Annie took a hold of him the gravity of what had happened here really hit him. Pete had been gone. He was honestly dead to these people. Up until this point Pete had saw this as a fun little surprise. Almost like a little prank he was pulling on his friends. Now Pete was realizing how real this all was.
Pete was silent as Annie buried her face in his shoulder. He quietly held her there for a second and then slowly returned the embrace. Pete didn't have any jokes planned for this. He felt some tears coming. Pete had learned to hold those back a long time ago so he did. For a little while, all was quiet except for Spongebob and Patrick talking about bubbles in the background; but even that seemed far away.
"I didn't think I was gonna make it home, Annie." was all Pete could say. His voice lacked its usual bravado. It sounded like a scared kid who had just realized he had been dead for the past few months. |
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Post by Anneliese Grayson on Jan 7, 2013 6:30:47 GMT 1
When he hugged back, after what seemed like hours, Anneliese's arms tightened. She didn't really want to lift her head off his shoulder, due to the fact...well, she wasn't crying, but her eyes were definitely a little misty behind her glasses.
"You....why the hell did you get yourself killed you idiot!" She mumbled, irrationally, because he hadn't exactly meant it, had he? "Geez. Just when I think I finally get rid of you, you come back." She joked, her voice muffled by his coat.
When he told her, his voice so honest and young sounding, he didn't think he'd make it home, her arms tightened just a little bit more, pressing harder against him. Normally when she did that it was for sexual reasons. But right now, it was just to be reassured he was actually real.
For all the fighting, the humilation and the torment she put him through, she did kind of love him, in a weird sibling way (weird because she didn't feel sibling-y around her actual sibling). She'd felt utterly numb for the first few weeks after he died...but then she forgot.
She didn't even realize it. But to her, her half Tamaranean genes always stronger than her human genes, humans were a lot like a smell, or a picture that was looked at. After a while of not being around them...she'd forget them.
But now she saw him and it all came back. And she felt guilt for forgetting along with the relief of remembering.
She pulled herself together mentally, before removing herself from his hug, her face reverting to it mask of coolness and calmness, although her eyelashes stuck together a little from the almost tears.
"Idiot. Moron." She stated with a small laugh.
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Post by Anreal McKenzie on Jan 7, 2013 6:58:14 GMT 1
Walking down the hall in a pair of cigarette leg jeans and an over sized shirt Anreal was brushing her fingers through her hair, she wasn't used to it being so dry and bouncy but Annelise had said this was how girls wore their hair now and Anreal really wanted to try and fit in. Despite being above for going on three years now she certainly didn't think she blended in very well yet. Mostly it was due to her being whisked away to Atlantis on state business so often, and some times being threatened with political marriage to stay there. But Anreal was on an upswing now, father was appeased and she was trying her best to fit in nicely, she was thinking of even applying for a university when she was old enough.
As she was walking down the hall of the tower the princess of Atlantis had heard a commotion in the common room, which was no big deal. Every one was loud there, but it did peak her interest so she made her way in to see Anne hugging some one tightly. "Who is your friend?" Asked Anreal as she moved to the sofa to introduce her self.
That was when she saw some one who was not a complete stranger at all- it was some one she knew all too well. "Pete..." She breathed her heart racing, her blue eyes going wide. "Oh my god." Tears swelled up in Anreal's eyes and before she realized it her arms flew around him too. "I thought you were gone!" She sobbed into his shoulder.
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Post by Pete Todd on Jan 7, 2013 7:12:36 GMT 1
Man. This was heavy.
Pete you idiot. Say something hilarious! You're a comedy wizard, go ahead and lighten the mood! The silence was first broken by Annie with a joke and Pete was grateful for it. After all the time he spent in China with all those damn ninja guys, it was so nice to see a familiar face. Annie calling Pete an idiot and a moron right now had the same effect as if anybody else had called him a handsome genius.
Pete was fine now, returning to what seemed to be his old self. "Well come on now, it's not like I chose to be... you know, brutally murdered." Pete said jokingly. "But I'm fine now! Just some crippling neck pain from time to time, is all." he chuckled.
"Who's your friend?" came a voice from behind the sofa.
It was Anreal! Pete didn't have time to say anything before Anreal had buried herself in Pete's other shoulder. He couldn't believe it was really her! Up until getting here the distance between him and his death seemed shorter. The phenomena started when he met with his family back in Gotham. He was slowly starting to remember more... blackness. More of the actual being dead.
Being here somehow shot the whole seven months of being dead back into his head. It was horrifying. Now Pete sat with one arm around Annie and the other around the sobbing Anreal. Tears were welling up in his eyes. "Hold it together, Todd. Pete mumbled to himself trying his hardest not to cry.
"I was... but I'm back now. So it's whatever." Pete said, trying to comfort the crying Anreal. He clearly had something in his throat. Tears were now rolling down his face.
"Damnit you guys! The Red Hood does not cry!" Pete said in between sobs. Son of a bitch. How embarrassing. Batman wouldn't be crying right now! Come on Pete, you're worse than Batman! He needed to clean himself up before the male Titans arrived.
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Post by Anneliese Grayson on Jan 7, 2013 7:51:50 GMT 1
"Ever do this to me again and I'll make that neckpain feel like a massage." She warned. God, she must have looked so uncool right now. Thank god no one was around to see....
Oh crap. Anreal. Well, she supposed it could be worse. It could be...well, anyone other than Anreal, the sweetest girl in the Titans, her own femme fatal characters literary foil.
And then she started crying. Sobbing really, which was understandable. Anreal had a huge crush on Pete - for reasons Anneliese couldn't understand. Her cousin was just...irritating, after all.
Anneliese managed to completely keep her tears at bay, a small smile on her lips. Pete however, couldn't. Which made her smile just a little bigger and a little more cruel.
"No. He just sobs like a 6 year old whos lost his favourite Barbie doll." She replied dryly. She'd returned to her usual self the second Anreal arrived, all the warmth and caring and familial - dare she say it - love gone.
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Post by Bee Shepherd on Jan 7, 2013 23:40:12 GMT 1
Bee usually split her time between Gotham and San Francisco- even though she was in the Young Titans, she still couldn't leave Gotham to be with them full time. She had been in Gotham when the attack by Black Adam started, and had rushed to San Francisco as soon as she could. But by then it was too late... Pete was already dead.
Bee blamed herself for what had happened. If she had been there, or if she had been faster, then it wouldn't have happened. The Batfamily was supposed to protect each other... and to Bee, she had failed. It was the worst thing that anyone in the Batfamily could do, she thought. She had failed her teammate. It gave her nightmares, and she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, crying.
She started spending more time in Gotham, realizing that she couldn't spend only half her time with the Titans and still be an effective member of the team. She was contemplating quitting the team, and usually only came there to train by herself or with the group before heading home. Today was one of those days, where she had run so fast she accidentally broke the treadmill that she was running on - even with the modifications that had been made to it to handle those with super speed. She had apologized profusely, but apparently it wasn't uncommon for training equipment to break around the Titans, so no one seemed to care too much.
She made her way through the tower, passing by the main tv room. Anreal and her cousin, Annie, were talking to someone who had her back to her. She didn't pay attention until she heard someone mention Pete's name. Bee paused midstep. Why were they talking about Pete? She backed up a few steps to peek back into the room- Anreal actually wasn't talking, she was sobbing.
She froze as she heard them talking, her eyes wide. No, it couldn't be. She ran into the room, zipping around so she could see his face.
"Oh my god..." It was Pete. He was alive.
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Post by Samuel Bishop on Jan 9, 2013 16:52:35 GMT 1
Sam sat in his famed "egg" chair examining the multitude of rooms in the Titans Tower from the secluded security center. Shaking his head, he tented his hands below his lips... His heart was heavy and his thoughts weren't too clear. Pete had been gone for some time, dead.... dead Sam thought...
Softly he muttered a prayer that he would be able to keep the rest of the Titans safe... and alive. He made a vow that he would not rest from practicing and honing his abilities to complete perfection. Mid-thought he felt something odd... faith. It's believed that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen."
Glancing upward he thought he saw it, but wasn't sure. Quickly, he magnified the image and brought it to higher focus. No. Fuckin'. Way... That bastard! Sam smiled to himself as he teleported himself from the security hub to the main room. Stepping silently he paused just a few paces behind him. "PLEASE tell me this isn't some shapeshifting hoax or hologram in front of me ladies..." He didn't wait for an answer, and grabbed the person's shoulder... which was surprisingly solid... and growled "WHO ARE Y---!!"
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Post by Brandi Cypress on Jan 10, 2013 2:45:01 GMT 1
Brandi was currently working on something that would help the team with safely.She stared down towards the object in her hands its some kind of tube of some sort. She suddenly heard Sam shout suddenly dropped shattering what she was working on. She then rushing into the room everyone was in. She looked towards person Sam had by the shoulders stunned her eyes stared. She had a numb feeling in her body as she turned pale. "no...it can't ........"The flashback started as she remember what happened . She was the one who actually tried to revive after he had died and someone had to pull her off of him. The memory Brandi echoed in her " Brandi Stop hes gone" The memory Brandi then said" no he is not...he .can't noo Pete get up! Rawaaahaa.." The present day Brandi stepped forward as tears went down her face as she looked at what is currently believing is her friend . She wasn't think clearly " Pete......?" Pete was her best friend she was and didn't as place her hand on Sam shoulder to move him.
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