Chapter 88

As the game master of Titan Game Night, it was up to me to choose only the best of games for everyone to indulge in. Something that was much easier on paper, than it was in reality. This was the first of likely several hundred THOUSAND Game Nights, but only if I nailed this one down.

If it flopped completely, then no one would care to go to the next one. But as long as I nailed the first one, that would draw everyone in. Get them all hooked on playing games and eventually everyone in Titan’s Tower would be a gamer.

And maybe we’d all have our own Youtube channels and stuff. That’d be awesome.

So what game would I use to start off everyone? It had to be something that could grab everyone’s attention. Something that could appeal to everyone, both experienced gamers and complete newbies. Something that appealed to almost everyone’s taste.

A game that was known as THE party game.

That’s right. I chose…

Mario Kart!

Only four people could play at once on the big screen, so we decided to take turns on it. With the others watching and commentating in the back until it was their turn. And the first four players were…!

Me, the mean, lean, green machine, Beast Boy!

Our fearless leader, Law!

The strongest Titan, Galatea!

And finally, Ravager!

“Wait, that’s all I get? Why’s my introduction so short?”

Ravager questioned, causing me to blink in response. Before I could answer her though, Law already decided to step in.

“Probably because he didn’t want to call you the bitchiest Titan out loud.”

…Well. This wasn’t good.

Ravager glared at Law before scoffing. Folding her arms on top of each other while nodding her head.

“Oh, of course. If our fearless leader says it, then it must be true. I mean, you were so fearless in the face of Deathstroke, that-”

“Okay! Let’s get started! Don’t forget to choose your characters and your karts!”

I interrupted, seeing the tension that was gradually rising in the room between Law and Ravager. Law’s eyes narrowed slightly at Ravager, causing her to grin slightly, before turning and looking at me with a nod.

“…Alright, let’s get to it.”

I chose Luigi. Had to keep the green theme going, you know? Ravager chose Birdo, surprisingly enough. Whereas Law chose Toad after a few minutes of thinking about it. And Galatea chose…

Bowser.

Well, I guess I should’ve seen that one coming.

I decided to start us off on one of the easy maps first, and depending on how it went, I’d chose a map from one of the harder zones. As we began, several things became immediately apparent to everyone in the room. It was something so startling that I hadn’t even considered it possible.

“Yo, you’re driving backwards.”

Cyborg called out, causing Law to hum and nod.

 And then promptly drive straight into a wall.

“…Hmm…”

Law…was really bad at video games.

And that wasn’t the biggest issue to have. Everyone starts somewhere, and I couldn’t expect all of them to be familiar with the game. No, the problem was only made much worse due to the combined efforts of Birdo and Bowser.

That is, Ravager and Galatea.

Galatea had started a bit slow, but quickly picked up on how to play. So much so, that she was already in fifth place by the second lap. She’d have likely gotten to a higher place if it wasn’t for a strange habit.

That being her using Bowser’s large size and kart to knock other people off the map. That, or her using items to disable other people from playing. Something that was always punctuated by an alarmingly dark chuckle.

While she was still interested in winning, she seemed even more interested in crushing everyone else. Which included Law, who was still trying to figure out the controls.

Then there was Ravager, who unexpectedly seemed to be already familiar with Mario Kart. Not to an expert level due to the lack of drifting, but definitely one that was a bit more casual. Which allowed her to go up to third place.

But she had a problem.

And that problem seemed to be named Law, as she kept going out of her way to explicitly ram Law with her kart, hit him with a shell, or push him off the road. The difference between her and Galatea was that while Galatea treated everyone equally as things to be trampled, Ravager only seemed to have a problem with Law.

Which meant he got it much worse than everyone else.

Cyborg attempted to help out a bit at first, by attempting to give Law some tips but eventually stopped. Either by realizing it was futile due to him not having time to reorient himself before getting blasted once again, or out of astonishment for the scene that was playing out in front of him.

None of the other Titans could even say anything as they witnessed what was probably the most brutal bullying that I had ever seen. Even as Toad panicked and cried in the game, Law was as calm as ever. Simply taking things in with his default expression.

Eventually the map ended, and I had to choose another one. Of course I choose very beginner friendly maps where you couldn’t even fall off of, but that didn’t stop Galatea or Ravager from trying their best.

Finally, after four maps, the game had finished. I had gotten first place overall, while Ravager had gotten third, and Galatea had gotten fifth. Galatea seemed to choose that area specifically due to how garbage the item drops were for the top spots.

Law was in twelfth place. Having been constantly blocked and attacked to the point where he couldn’t ever realistically get his bearings or learn the game. Leading to him never being able to get off the ground.

“…Yikes.”

Kid Flash offered, breaking the silence. Galatea was the only one to look at him with a questioning look. As if she was confused as to what he was referring to.

“Ha, you’re pretty trash, huh?”

Ravager stated immediately going up to Law and jabbing a finger into his shoulder. A large vicious smile on her face as Law took a step back. Galatea meanwhile frowned at the interaction. Her eyes darting between Ravager and Law.

“It’s my first time playing. It’d be more surprising if I had done well, wouldn't it?”

“Bah, excuses. Just take your loss like a man.”

…Ravager…was a sore winner, wasn’t she? Somehow, I got the feeling that she wasn’t much better on the losing end…

In response to her needling, Law didn’t seem to be that emotional about it. Instead, being more on the backfoot due to how close she had gotten. Getting in his face in order to get under his skin.

"Alright. Sure. You beat me. Well played.”

“Wha-!”

Ravager’s eyebrows lifted up in shock as her cheeks turned bright red. Embarrassment filtered into her features before quickly being overcome with anger. Her rage causing her arms to tremble.

I…didn’t see why she was getting so worked up? It wasn’t like Law had hit her with an epic burn or anything. It was a pretty normal thing to say. Maybe it was because he wasn’t getting as worked up as her?

I can kinda get that, I guess. If my opponent isn’t taking the game as seriously as I was it can be frustrating.

Before things could devolve, I stepped forward. Which was the best course of action, as Galatea had started to do the same. And if Ravager, Law, and Galatea got into a fight…

It’d probably make the entire atmosphere really awkward!

And that meant no more Titan Game Night! (name pending)

“Alright guys, let’s give some of the others a chance to play.”

I wilted slightly due to the weight of everyone’s gaze. Something that was pretty easy to handle normally, but under tense situations like this…it was nerve wracking.

Eventually Ravager scoffed and moved away. Galatea stayed in place and fixed her with a look while Law moved away from the couch. The next people to play was Artemis, Starfire, Kid Flash, and Cyborg. While they set up the game, I decided to check up on Law quietly.

“Hey man, are you alright?”

In response to my whisper, he seemed lightly surprised, before offering a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Are you sure? They were pretty rough with you, you know?”

He seemed to find something about that funny, as he chuckled a bit under his breath.

“Oh, I’m used to things being rough. Especially with Galatea.”

Made sense, I guess. Galatea wasn’t the easiest Titan to get along with, and I was pretty sure out of everyone here Law was probably the one she was the friendliest with.

He might not look or express it, but he was friendly with all the Titans in his own way. Heck, he used to get into arguments with Kid Flash, but nowadays they were pretty chill with each other. Probably because Kid Flash was busy now arguing with Artemis instead and going to school, whereas Law was busy arguing with Ravager and…

Huh, now that I think about it, I didn’t really know what he did with his free time. The majority of Titans didn’t have secret identities. Er…uh…I mean, they totally did have like, real names, but went by a secret identity.

What I really meant was like…they didn’t have…actual lives, I guess. That made it sound kind of bad, but it was the only way I could think of putting it.

Kid Flash still went to school and visited his family often. Artemis used to do the same, but eventually stopped going a few weeks after becoming a Titan. Now the only time she actually left was on Titan business or to visit her family. Zatanna was in a similar boat, as she had that magic show thing with her father…but she also didn’t go by a secret identity?

I haven’t seen Mr. Zatara in a pretty long time. I’m surprised that he hasn’t come to check in on his daughter since she’s come here.

…Or perhaps he did with magic? That made more sense.

Sometimes Miss Martian and Raven leave the Tower in disguises. Miss Martian shapeshifting into a more humanoid looking form that…looked all too familiar. Raven on the other just wore baggy clothing and that was often more than enough. But I wouldn’t really call either of those a second life.

For most of us, being a Titan was the end all be all. It’s all we really had. Something that Law took pretty seriously as the leader. So, whatever he was doing was probably related to the Titans in some way.

Then again, there was that one time where he visited old friends from Gotham. So maybe he did have something like a more public life?

“Hey, the batteries are dead!”

Ah shoot! I knew I had forgot something…

~o~

Zatanna Zatara PoV

I was powerful.

That was something that a lot of the other Titans said. And in doing so, they made me really happy. It gave me the confidence to act when I really didn’t know what to do.

Which was my biggest problem. Sure I could do almost everything with magic, but there was a pretty big difference in being capable of something, and actually doing it. That’s what mainly separated me and Raven.

We both used magic, but if we were to ever fight, she’d come out on top every time. She didn’t second guess herself in the heat of the moment. She didn’t hesitate when the time came, and she thought fast on her feet.

Stuff like that was just…beyond me. The other Titans seem so certain that it’s only a matter of time before I pick up on things like that but…what if I don’t? What if I betray all of their expectations?

What if dad was right, and I’m not ready?

I was the only Titan who was actually new to the whole crime fighting business. Everyone else had experience either fighting villains, or fighting some sort of criminals. Fighting was second nature to them.

Performing in front of a crowd was very different than performing in front of people who actively want to hurt you. If I messed up in front of a crowd it’d just be embarrassing, if I messed up in a mission, my friends could be hurt. Or even worse!

They’ve been so nice to me, and have given me a place to belong. I want to at least repay everything they’ve done. To give them more than what I was given.

So, when Law asked for my help, I was more than happy to do so!

When he started to talk about a top secret mission, I got a bit nervous. But more than anything I knew that if he was asking me for help, then he must have believed I could do something. So I’d do my best!

We quietly left the Tower in order to go to Jump City. I still wasn’t very familiar with the place, but even if I was I’d have been completely dazed by the route he took.

Instead of going over the city he used some sort of tunnels through the city. They weren’t sewers or anything, more like…maintenance areas? That led to a whole bunch of other places. Each one being a bit different than the other.

For example, one area that opened up after a tunnel was some sort of abandoned factory. One that had been a bit rusted over, showing that it’s been a few years since it’s been used.

After a few twists and turns, we ran into a parking lot. One that was in use, but didn’t seem to have any traffic. Which was a bit odd considering the time of day, as well as how many cars there were.

It was almost like some sort of urban labyrinth.

It definitely made everything feel pretty cool. Especially when Law led us to an abandoned elevator shaft, and started to climb down. Eventually leading us to another series of tunnels, which were a bit dingier than the previous ones.

After what felt like the better part of an hour, Law led me to some sort of factory. One of those that had metal looking silos that were for storing water, or something.

He walked up to one of them, before grabbing several masks that were nearby. One’s that look relatively new in comparison to everything else around the place.

“You’ll want to put this on.”

I was a bit confused, but did as he asked. Eventually I realized why he told me to, as when he opened up the nearby door, smoke seemed to pour out of it. It was difficult to smell anything in the mask, but it seemed like…lavender scented? Maybe?

Law walked into the large metallic room, and I followed suit. Not noticing that there was another person there until he gestured towards to them.

It was a girl in a green costume with dark hair. She looked a bit Asian, Korean maybe? Her eyes were vacant as drool pooled out of her mouth. Her tongue seemed to be pressing against the left side of her mouth in between her teeth.

“Uh…w-who is she?”

“A villain. A pretty dangerous one, to be sure. Remember when Ravager came back a week ago badly injured?”

…The sympathy and pity I had been feeling was quickly snuffed out. My lips were drawn in a tight frown as I directed a hostile look the villain’s way.

“I do.”

Law smiled and nodded.

“I thought you would. You’ve always been rather perceptive.”

I perked up at that. Offering him a smile in return.

“So, how can I help?”

He hummed before checking the villain’s current disposition. Even when she had attacked one of his teammates, he was still making sure she was alright. In comparison, I felt like a bit of kid. Holding a grudge and animosity towards someone who had hurt one of my friends.

But that’s why he was the leader, and I was just one of the new members.

“I’ve been trying to get some information out of her, but so far it’s been…tough. It’s a fight to get just about anything, even when she’s completely out of it.”

Law turned back to me, and gave a nod.

“Which is why I thought if anyone could make her talk, maybe you could.”

That…made sense. I could totally force her to tell the truth, or something. But for that I’d need to make sure she was completely awake. But before that, I was curious about one thing.

“Um, why is she here instead of the Tower?”

Law blinked and extended a hand.

“We believe that she’s part of a bigger organization. One that’s an enemy of not only the Titans, but the Justice League as well. It’s too dangerous to risk alerting them by moving her. That’s why this is a secret mission that you can’t tell anyone about. We can’t afford to let anyone know about it.”

‘We believe’…ah, I see. Secret mission, vague wording, and him consulting others. It was pretty obvious that the Justice League was involved in this! Sure, he didn’t say it directly, but it’d be hard to miss what he meant.

And if this was a mission from the Justice League, that meant this was pretty big!

“Got it. I’ll have to wake her up to start-“

Before I could continue, he lifted a hand. Stopping me from continuing.

“Before that, I was actually curious, do you also happen to be able to mess with someone’s memories?”

Memories? Ah right, getting information. It’d be the easiest way to fact check if we were able to see them for ourselves.

“…Eh, theoretically? I’m…not sure if I can do something like reading or watching their memories.”

“What about manipulating and deleting them?”

Ah, to make her forget things…or remember things in a different way…hmm, yeah, Dad had actually shown me something like that before! He said such things should only be done when absolutely necessary, but he cautions for just about everything.

“Manipulating someone’s memories maybe, but I can definitely make her forget some things!”

Law smiled widely at that. Placing a hand encouraging on my shoulder as he walked past.

“I knew it was the right choice to trust you with this.”

My chest swelled with pride.

“Just leave it to me. I’ll make sure you’ll get everything you want!”

“I’ll be holding you to that.”