Teen Titans West #2: "United We Stand"

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Issue #2: “United We Stand”
Written by Brian Burchette
Cover by Chris Paugh
Edited by Mark Bowers[/center]

Footsteps echoed in the corridor as several Thanagarian guards walked through the palace of one of the five great houses. They wore the armor of the Hawk-Knights, though, in truth, the elite police force had just begun to rebuild itself. The destruction of Thanagar’s most prestigious fighting force had left a large hole in its society^*, a situation that was slowly being rectified.

Their leader went to the door, knocked once, and was told to enter. He did so, hesitantly, only to find the room dark, with the person he was looking for standing in the corner, in the shadows, looking out at the Thanagarian night sky.

“You have information for me?” the slightly husky but seductive female voice asked from the darkness.

The knight bowed deeply before speaking. “Yes, Milady. Word has reached us that it has been discovered. Attempts were made to take it by Earth forces. At the moment, the guardian is keeping them at bay, but we do not know for how long.”

“Are the other houses aware of any of this?”

“Not that we can ascertain. Although there is a rumor that the House of Tranfar is aware that it no longer resides on Thanagar.”

“Find out for certain, but be discreet. Report back as soon as there are any further updates. Report only to me.”

“Yes, Milady,” the Hawk-Knight replied, bowing again before exiting and returning to his squad.

The lady in the darkness turned back to the window. She had been a fool. She had trusted the wrong person, and that mistake could cripple the entire Thanagarian Empire. As she always did before she turned in, she sent a silent blessing to her son... so far away.


^* See Justice League #4



The creature hovered above the military vessel, its cries of pain filling the entire San Francisco Bay area. On the boat below, a cast of unusual characters looked up at the giant, with both awe and trepidation.

Roy Harper, also known as Speedy, a member of the organization known as Checkmate, stood at the bow of the ship. Standing next to him were Bumblebee, to the right, and Dove, to the left; behind them stood Risk, Omen, and a wounded Hawk.

“Any ideas?” Dove asked the man in charge.

Speedy nocked an arrow and fired it with blinding speed and accuracy. It struck the monster’s leg right at sea level, letting out an electrical discharge. The monster let out a small sound that seemed rather like annoyance, before turning to the source of the momentary pain.

The archer gritted his teeth. “Yeah, we’re going to need a bigger boat.” He headed towards the bridge of the ship, shouting orders to the men working under him. “Both laser cannons, full power. Hit him with everything we’ve got!”

He marched up the metal steps onto the bridge with both Bumblebee and Dove following close behind. “Captain,” he barked, “get on the horn to central. Tell them we’ve got a code G and need backup.”

“Code G?” Bumblebee asked.

“G for Godzilla,” Dove suggested to her.

“G for giant goddamned monster,” Roy answered.

“Is he part of your backup?” Bumblebee asked as she pointed out of the starboard window.

They all looked out to witness one of the largest waterspouts they had ever seen, rising up from the bay. What was even more awe-inspiring than that was the fact that, on top of the spout, some kind of human being was standing there, riding it as it continued to climb further and further into the air.

“Who the hell is that?!” Speedy exclaimed as he ran back off of the bridge, leaping over the steps and landing gracefully onto the deck. The other two followed and joined the rest of the heroes as they stared, slack-jawed.

“That’s not Aquaman; he’s too young,” Risk said.

Omen closed her eyes for a second, and just as the young man came face to face with the creature, she opened them again. “No, not Aquaman - Aqualad. He has come to help us.”



Garth rose high above the water, his brow creased in focused concentration as he raised the whirling mass of water towards the heavens, or at least as high as the beast’s head. In the meantime, he signaled for the creatures below the water to stand ready, for it was to be a two-pronged attack.

As soon as the creature turned to notice him, he brought the swirling waterspout sideways, striking the monster with the force of one hundred fire hoses striking at one time. At that same moment, he signaled for the army of dolphins that lay below the surface of the water to strike with all their might, hitting the large scaly legs of the thing.

The young man leapt out of the way as the water and dolphins struck in unison. He plummeted downward, hearing the cries of surprise from the humans’ boat that was near him. He heard someone call out to help him, even saw a strange-looking woman dressed (although he might have been hallucinating at this point) as a bee, heading towards him. She would be too late, though, as he did four front flips before straightening his body into a perfect form and cutting into the water with no splash whatsoever.

His pride in the moment was short-lived, however, as he realized that his attack had achieved nothing; the monster was still standing. He felt the doubt rise up in him again, but he suppressed it; he couldn’t falter. To fail in the protection of this part of the kingdom would be to lose face to his fellow Atlanteans, and, even more so, to his mentor. This... this... he would not allow.

Garth arched his back as he plunged into the deep, making a quick ninety degree angle and shooting straight back up out of the water. Perhaps, he thought to himself, it might be to his benefit to align himself with the small force that resided on the ship above him.

He shot out of the water like a cannon ball being released, noting the shocked expressions of all those that were on the deck of the boat. He landed neatly at the bow of the ship. The expressions of those around him were a mix of anxiety and caution; all but one, that of the red-haired woman. Her face seemed peaceful, at ease in the midst of the chaos around them all.

A young man in a blue-and-white outfit walked up to him first, extending his hand. “That was very impressive. My name is Dove. The guy over there in the red-and-white costume who’s bleeding through his bandages because he won’t lie down is called Hawk.”

“Hello,” Garth replied, accepting the handshake, “you can call me Aqualad.”

There was a snort from the guy in the funny hat, holding a bow. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Really? Aqualad?”

Garth bristled at the tone. “Yes. It’s a name I wear proudly. And what do they call you?”

The young man opened his mouth and then suddenly shut it again.

The woman dressed as the insect flew down onto the craft. “They call him Speedy,” she said with obvious amusement, “and I’m Bumblebee, although I hate these hero names. You can call me Karen if you’d like. That’s my real name.”

“A little early to be getting intimate, isn’t it, darling?” Roy quipped.

“I’ve never had a problem with intimacy, Speedy,” she shot back.

“I hate to break up this meet and greet,” the blond one called Risk interrupted, “but it seems our Japanese monster reject has turned his attention elsewhere.”

They all turned to see that the creature was moving on, away from them and heading towards the northwestern shoreline.

“So, Big Man on Campus,” Hawk said, turning to Roy, “any bright ideas on how to stop this thing?”

Speedy scratched his head under his hat, sighed, and turned to one of his shipmates. “Let’s see what a good old-fashioned stinger up his...”

“Hey!” Dove shouted as he pointed into the air. “Is that who I think it is?”

They all turned to see a winged warrior, with some sort of sword strapped to his back, flying right towards the creature.

Lilith closed her eyes for a moment as the others whispered amongst themselves. Was that Hawkman? Was the rest of the Justice League with him?

Finally, Omen opened her eyes. “It is not Hawkman. He calls himself Golden Eagle.”

Risk bristled at the name, with the same feeling of loathing that he’d felt the first time he had met the guy. “Him,” he grunted.

Smiling, Roy motioned to his men on the ship. “Just what we might need to turn the tide, boys. Get that missile ready, kids. We’re going in.”



The young man named Golden Eagle had felt the call as soon as the creature had been woken from his slumber. There was a connection between the two, and, as fate would have it, he had been visiting a special friend in Berkeley when the monster had appeared. It had taken him a few minutes to get away from his friend so that he could change. By that time, the thing had inflicted a lot of damage.

He drew the sword from its sheath, strapped to his back between his golden wings, as he neared it. There was an underlying feeling of pity for the thing, and for some reason, the name of the creature seemed to linger in the back of his mind, but he could not bring it forward, could not call upon that name.

“Forgive me,” he said to it as he swung his blade towards its neck. “I know that you only do that which you were trained for.”

The blade struck the scaled hide of the monster, and it shrieked in pain. This weapon had hurt it like nothing else had. It turned to Golden Eagle, swinging out at him, but the winged hero flew downward with a quick swoosh, the monster missing by yards.

Golden Eagle flew upward again, bringing the blade up in front of him, causing a huge tear from what was probably the monster’s stomach up to its neck. Yellow liquid began to flow freely, spilling out onto the ocean. As it struck the water, it began to sizzle and boil.

Cursing to himself, he flew away from the monster just far enough to gain speed, then headed straight at it, sword out in front of him. He had to end it quickly. The blood of the thing was toxic, and he couldn’t have it getting away while it was bleeding.

Just as he got within inches of its neck, however, it moved faster than he had expected, catching him by the throat. He lost his grip on the sword that fell into the floating yellow toxin in the ocean. Thinking quickly, he brought out the sharp razors from his gauntlet and tore into the creature’s hands. Once again it bellowed a cry of pain, reacting instinctively by hurtling Golden Eagle into the air, above the Golden Gate Bridge, and out of sight of those that had watched the attack.



They watched in amazement as Golden Eagle battled the monster, all of them awed by his uncanny ability to maneuver in the air, the glistening sword not only striking, but also damaging the creature.

As the thing turned its attention to Golden Eagle, the one called Omen spoke, “I can feel the fear in it. It’s actually afraid of him. He has done it much harm with one blow.”

“Good,” Hawk growled. “Now let’s see him kill that son of a bitch.”

“How are you doing?” Dove asked his brother as he walked up to him.

“Amazingly well; it appears that quick healing seems to be one of the benefits to being one half of the agents for law and chaos.”

“Neptune’s trident!” Aqualad gasped. “No!”

The brothers turned their attention back to the monster that was now bleeding out, its maize-colored blood hitting the water, causing it to sizzle and burn, a noxious odor rising from the sea.

“Get us away from that!” Speedy shouted to the helmsman as the ship began to turn left and away from the poisonous liquid.

Aqualad looked down into the water. “They’re dying,” he mumbled as he felt the nearest creatures below him. They were in pain and agony; cries of mercy that only the Atlantean teen could hear.

He dove into the water as Bumblebee cried out after him.

“Let him go, he knows what he’s doing. We’ve got our own problems,” Speedy said, pointing to the distant figure of Golden Eagle who had just been flung over the Golden Gate Bridge.

“You teleport,” Risk said quickly as he turned to Lilith.

She nodded, placed her red hood over her head and disappeared, leaving the smallest and thinnest trail of a black cloud in her wake.

“It’s heading west again, staying along the shoreline,” Risk noted.

“It seems like it’s being called by something,” agreed Bumblebee.

At that moment two things happened simultaneously. Omen reappeared with a stunned Golden Eagle, and the ship seemed caught in some kind of vortex. They ran to the side to see the yellow substance being sucked down into the ocean itself. Bumblebee pointed silently at the figure at the edge of the vortex whose hands glowed with a bright blue light of power. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over, and the toxic blood had been dispersed from the ocean.

Aqualad came up to the surface, his eyes looking drawn and worn out. Dove helped him up, where he lay next to Golden Eagle, trying to catch his breath.

“That... takes a lot... out of me,” Aqualad said, gasping for air.

“So do we follow it?” Risk asked

“No, we take it out. I know where it’s going,” Speedy replied.

“So far the only thing that has really affected it is Eagle’s sword,” Risk commented. “And he’s lost that.”

“Give me... a minute... I’ll get it,” Garth said as he began to stand up; Dove and Omen on either side, guiding him. “Thank you.”

“We don’t have a minute,” Roy said as he approached him. “That thing is still leaking toxic blood as it goes. Get that sword, now!”

“Hey, hold on a minute, pal. The guy’s wiped out after what he did,” Hawk said, stepping between them. “Back off and give him a second.”

“You better step back, kid, or you’ll be on your ass next to bird boy there,” Roy snapped.

Hawk’s jaw clenched. “You’ve got a real attitude problem, buddy. You might think you’re God’s gift to the human race, but all I’m seeing is a two-bit Green Arrow wannabe.”

“Hey, guys, come on,” Dove tried to interrupt.

“Not God’s, kid, but a King’s,” Roy replied smugly.

Before Hawk could retort, there was a splash from the side of the boat and they all turned to see that Aqualad had dove overboard.

“I guess that settles that,” Bumblebee sighed.

“He is full of anger,” Lilith murmured to herself as she stared at Hawk. Karen turned and studied the redhead’s face. It was full of concern for the young man... and something else... Fear?

Speedy had turned to Golden Eagle, purposely ignoring the confrontation he was in the middle of. He held out his hand to offer assistance, but Eagle chose to ignore it, getting up on his own.

“The creature is only doing his duty,” he said. “He’s here to protect it.”

“Protect what?” Dove asked.

Golden Eagle looked around with confusion all over his face. “I don’t know. I don’t understand how I even know that.”

“The guy’s a loon,” Risk said, rolling his eyes.

The winged man clenched his fists. “I didn’t care for you the first time we met, and now I’m starting to remember why.”

“This is getting ridiculous,” Bumblebee murmured and Dove nodded his head in agreement.

The boat rocked to the side and they all turned to see Aqualad standing there, holding the sword out to Golden Eagle. “Finish it,” he said, his knees starting to buckle.

Speedy grabbed Aqualad to support him as they watched Golden Eagle fly into the air.

“I hope the creature does not suffer,” Omen said. They all turned to her, surprised by the sadness in her voice. “I cannot really read the creature’s mind, but I get the feeling that he has little malice. There is just a determination to protect something... at all costs.”

Roy looked at her suspiciously, but said nothing as they all turned their attention to the sky, and Golden Eagle.

“We’re not going to let him do this alone,” Risk shouted in frustration. “We’ve got to help him.”

“Risk is right,” Hawk agreed. “The rest of you can stand here and gawk all you want, but I’m getting a piece of this action.” He grabbed Risk by the armpits, getting ready to take off into the sky.

“No!” Roy commanded. “Golden Eagle has to finish this alone. He’s the only one who can really harm it.”

“Sorry there, Speedy, but you ain’t in charge of us,” Risk said with a curl of his lip. “Let’s go.”

As Hawk took to the sky with the blond hero in tow, an arrow suddenly shot past, and above them. They looked up in shock, witnessing the arrowhead as it exploded; a giant net sprung from the end, enveloping them and bringing them back down onto the boat. They landed hard on top of each other.

“Wait ‘til I get out of here!” Hawk screamed in a rage even as his brother went to him; trying to calm him down.

“Not if I get to him first,” Risk said with the same fiery passion.

Even Bumblebee was about to protest when Roy pulled out a small leather billfold from his belt. He flipped it open, showing everyone the identification.

“I’m working under strict orders from Checkmate. Now, unless you two want to be arrested for impeding on an international operation, I suggest you shut up, calm down, and wait for my orders... or else you can head back to the city.”

The boat was silent after that as they turned to watch Golden Eagle, hoping that Speedy knew what he was doing.



The winged wonder was hurling himself straight towards the creature’s back, but at the last second flew up over its head. It might have been simple to strike from the rear, but it was not honorable, and that was important to him.

Instead he came down from above the monster, swinging his sword in one deft stroke that ripped straight into its throat. Again the yellow blood shot out, and it took everything Golden Eagle had not to be sprayed by it. The creature let out one last gurgling cry before it fell into the water with such a large splash that the wake rocked the ship, sending many of the men onboard flying across the deck. Golden Eagle landed, sheathing his sword on his back and staring at the team.

“He is dead.”

Aqualad stood back up. “I better take care of it before it contaminates the ocean any more than it already has. I’ll be back in a minute.” He dove back into the water and out of sight.

“Now what?” Bumblebee asked.

Speedy turned to all of them. “Now, you leave. You’re dismissed.”



The stunned silence of the group was interrupted by Roy’s calls, over the engine, to the bridge, “Turn her around, we’re taking them back!”

“Like hell you are,” Hawk growled as his brother held onto his arm. “This creature shows up from nowhere, tries to destroy the city and nearly kills some of us, and now you just want us to leave without any explanation? Try again, buddy.”

“That was not the monster’s goal,” Lilith said as they all turned to her. “As I said before, I sensed only a singular purpose from him: to protect. What is it he was trying to protect?” she asked, looking directly at Speedy.

He gave her a dirty look, realizing that she was a wild card; something he had not counted on.

“When that creature woke, I felt it,” Golden Eagle said. “It was as if something inside my head told me to go after it. I am not leaving until I get some answer as to why.”

“Looks like you’re stuck with us,” Bumblebee said with a smile as she crossed her arms.

Speedy looked at all of them, determination on their faces. Finally he let out a large sigh of resignation. He looked at Omen, Bumblebee, Risk, and Dove, and couldn’t help but smile as he took off his hat and rubbed his hand through his red hair. “You guys remind me of another group I used to belong to. Alright, I’ll tell you as much as I know; as much as I can tell you.” He then motioned for the helmsman to turn the boat back around to its original course.

It was at that moment that a very tired-looking Aqualad came back up from the water. “It’s taken care of; no longer a threat to the ocean.”

“That’s nice,” Hawk said, rolling his eyes.

“Thanks for caring,” Garth quipped back as he shot daggers at the red-and-white-dressed man.

“Anyway,” Bumblebee said before another argument could start, “what was that thing and what did it want to protect?”

The boat was moving forward at a fast pace now, heading out of the bay, then north west along the shoreline of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. They rounded a particularly dense area of shoreline to see another boat that was anchored just off of their port bow. It was a Coast Guard cruiser, but void of people.

“Are we meeting others?” Bumblebee asked, before Roy could begin his explanation.

Roy shook his head. “Nope, this is a search and rescue mission.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Dove muttered as their boat passed the other and moved inland a bit more, towards a small cove.

Roy turned to Bumblebee. “Can you check out the cruiser? Take Golden Eagle and Omen with you.”

She nodded and took off, with Golden Eagle picking up Lilith and following close behind. They soared on the wind, and as Dove watched them go, he couldn’t help but notice the similarity in the wings on Golden Eagle and the ones on the creature that they had just destroyed; both of which looked very similar to those of Hawkman from the Justice League. His pondering was interrupted though, by the cry of pain to his right.

They all turned and Hawk, standing the closest to Risk, grabbed the young blond man as his legs buckled and he clutched his head.

“What’s your problem?” Hawk asked as he helped the man to sit down.

Risk shook his head. “No idea. Pain in my head. Horrible... blinding...”

Roy motioned for two of his men, who came front and center. “Take him down below and let him rest.”

“I’m alright,” Risk insisted.

The archer gave him a cool look. “You don’t look alright to me. Just do what I say, please. I’ll call you if we need someone to win a pretty boy contest.”

The young man shot him a nasty look, but said nothing as he allowed the two officers of Checkmate to help him down the steps.

“This is as far as we can safely go, sir!” the helmsman shouted.

Roy nodded. “It’ll do.” He turned to the rest of them, studying his options. “Let’s see; Hawk, Dove, Agent Grant, and I will take the raft into the cave. Aqualad, I want you to scout ahead. Check out the entrance to the cave, but, if there’s any sign of trouble, head straight back. Is that understood?”

“You got it.” He dove into the ocean waters and disappeared while the other three climbed down into the raft.




Below deck, the young man named Risk sat on the edge of a chair clutching his head. The pounding was becoming unbearable, as if something was trying to explode out of it. He was barely able to think, wanting nothing more than to throw up and pass out, preferably in that order.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. He let out a gasp and inhaled deeply, realizing that he had been unable to breath for the last several seconds.

“It is time,” came a voice from a couple of feet away.

He looked up to see a man standing there, bald with a long white robe. He had an odd look on his face, as if unhappy and anxious all at once.

“Who... who are you?” Cody asked.

The man, who seemed to be slightly out of focus, chuckled humorlessly. “You ask that every time. I’m sure you will ask it at least once more, for this download will be forgotten like all the rest, but be assured, the time is coming that you will remember me. You will remember our talks, and all the information that I am feeding into your mind.”

“Why are you doing this?” Risk asked as he stood up, reaching out to touch the bald man, only to see his hand pass right through him.

“Because your people need you, Cody. Although they do not know it themselves, the people of Rann need you.”



The Coast Guard cruiser was eerily silent as the three of them landed on its deck. Lilith had to adjust herself as the waves rocked the boat or she would have fallen to her left. The three of them began to look around the ship, but there seemed to be nothing there.

“Where did they all go?” Bumblebee wondered out loud.

“I don’t know much about military procedures,” Golden Eagle said, “but I would think that they would have left somebody on the ship, even if most of the crew went ashore.”

“Perhaps the bridge,” was Omen’s reply to that, as she started up the stairs, the other two following close behind.

Lilith was the first to walk through the main door, so the iron-laced odor hit her first. She recognized it for what it was before she even looked down to find the ship’s captain lying on the floor, his skull caved in and a rather large pool of blood underneath him.

Bumblebee saw him about the same time and gasped, turning her head for a second as Golden Eagle went between the two women and knelt down in front of the body. He checked for a pulse, knowing better, then stood up, shaking his head at the two women who were looking at him with a certain amount of hope.

“He appears to have been hit by some kind of blunt object,” he said as he studied the body.

Omen walked over to it and laid her hand on the dead man’s face, closing eyes that stared back blankly at her. As her skin connected with his, the world faded from view:

Swirling dust all around her, a cactus to her right. She turned slowly, as if in a dream, to see the bodies of Aqualad, Hawk, and Bumblebee strewn across the desert floor. Death hung in the air.

Above her, flying in circles were some kind of birds. The sun was bright – glaringly - so she couldn’t make them out clearly, but they were unlike any she had ever seen before. Vultures, she wondered? No. Too large. Way too large.

A noise from another direction; again she turned as if her body was stuck in molasses. To her left was the one called Risk. His hand was stretched out to her, pleading for help. Blood spurted from his mouth as he opened it. Then he fell forward, the sword sticking out of his back. He fell for what seemed like a full minute, and when his body hit the ground, the dust and sand rose up around him, hanging in the air as thick as a San Francisco fog.

When it cleared, standing above Risk’s body, blood on his hands, looking confused, was Golden Eagle. He gazed at her, his eyes glassy, then he too opened his mouth, wide, even wider, and from it several doves seemed to fly out at her.

Lilith jerked away from the body, falling backwards onto the floor. Bumblebee cried out and tried to catch her, but was too late.

“Omen, are you okay?” she asked as she lifted the red-haired young lady up into a sitting position.

Lilith nodded, though she was gasping for breath. It had been a very strong vision.

“What happened?” Eagle asked.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I... I had a vision... of the future, I think,” she said, then turned away from him. She said nothing more. She couldn’t, until she could figure out what it all meant.

To Be Continued!


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