"You'd better made it out of this alive... Ryan." She said, her voice full of unnecessary concern.
"I hope I do too..." The villain thought to himself.
"I hope I do too..." The villain thought to himself.
Diverting such force, such energy, and such raw destructive might was like nothing Ryan had ever done before. He felt as if his whole body had been put between a pair of vises and stretched. His skin was on fire, and crawling like he'd just watched the scariest movie of his life. His limbs felt like jelly, and he could barely keep his head up straight; he felt like he'd been sat on by an elephant. All weakness, inequities, and personal shame aside, he'd done it. Ryan had saved the lives of hundreds of innocent people, even if he was the one endangering them in the first place. At long last, he was beginning to mend. His shattered perception of reality was becoming whole once more. As the last vestige of fire had slipped out into the atmosphere, Ryan smiled, then collapsed. His vision was becoming blurry and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. That's when he heard a noise. Footsteps.
Sprinting down the stairs She came into the room and stopped for a moment. Ryan could tell it was her from the weight of her footsteps, and the pattern she walked with. Her footsteps were odd, erratic even. It seemed as if she were shifting her weight from side to side, as if looking around the room for something. Then, all motion stopped, a voice breaking the silence. Speaking, as if into some form of communicator, she said, "Good work Titans. Make your way back to the tower; I'll meet you guys there." before flipping the device closed. Slowly she walked up to Ryan, kneeling beside him. Something about him must have seemed funny, because she laughed. More of a childlike giggle than anything really.
Gently, ever so carefully, Melanie picked him up. As she spoke her voice was gentle, "Welcome to the team, Ryan O'Connell." Ryan's eyes widened in shock. How could he be made a Titan? After all he'd done, Ryan would have locked himself up in jail for sure. And yet, it seemed so natural. H smiled, lifting his arm up to his face, and using the last bit of strength he had left to remove his mask and clip it to his belt. At that, his energy completely spent, Ryan allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness, a wide smile still on his battered face.
~~~
Ryan was in a strange place. He'd never been there before, or at least, he didn't remember it well. It was simply blackness. There was no light as far as the eye could see, simply pitch black. Yet, one couldn't say that the place was dim. It was filled with a kind of brightness one doesn't see often. It was a darkness full of light. "Wait a minute... wasn't I just... Oh, this is a dream. It's been a long time since I visited this place. Hasn't it Mother?" Ryan said, although it was directed to no one in particular. Smoke drifted up from the ground, shaping itself into a likeness of his mother. After a moment, it solidified, and became real. She ran forward and threw her arms around his neck, embracing him.
"My Little boy. My precious son, oh how you've grown. It's been so long since we've seen you here. Why is that I wonder? We've missed you so much Ryan." The Not-Mother said. "I discarded you." Ryan whispered solemnly. "I was ashamed of the weakness that allowed you to die. I hadn't forgiven myself. I didn't think I deserved your love." Ryan explained. "Why do you think you're back now?" His Not-Mother asked. Slowly, Ryan lifted his hand to grasp his mother's; tears began to form in his eyes. "Because I forgot about you mommy. I needed to be reminded what I was living for." Ryan said, now crying freely. For a moment, all was still. Ryan sobbed as if he were a child once more. Growing up without a mother's love had changed Ryan. It made him vulnerable to a city full of greed and evil. It twisted him. It made him who he had become, not who he was supposed to be. Who he was supposed to become.
"Hey!" Came another voice, breaking the silence. "What's the big idea?! Big brother's aren't supposed to cry. What happened to the strong older brother I had when I was alive?" Yet another voice still calmed the angry voice, it's tones were soft and gentle. "That's enough Marie, big brother hasn't been here in a long time. We should be nice to him." At that, two more smoky forms condensed and then solidified; both were little girls. The first, who had yelled at Ryan, was wearing an orange skirt and had her mother's brown hair tied up in a side ponytail, she appeared to be six years old. The second, who was older, was wearing a school uniform and had their father's black hair in twin tails. She was twelve, only a year younger than Ryan on the day she died. "I don't get why we should be nice to him. He's being a little baby." Marie said, running up to her mother and standing next to her. Unconsciously, she took her mother's hand.
"Well Marie, big brother's been by himself a long time. You'd be lonely too, wouldn't you?" The older sister said, walking up to Ryan and hugging him. "We've all missed you, but you can't stay for long. Can you?" Carrie asked. "You've got a job to do now, don't you." Carrie said, and his mother and sisters all nodded in agreement. "I'm so sorry." Ryan said. "If I could, I'd stay here forever. I love you all so-" Ryan was cut off by the sound of a hand slapping his back. It had hurt very much. Ryan cringed and wheeled around to yell at the man responsible, his own father.
"What the hell dad!" Ryan yelled. "What kind of idiot just takes off and smashes his kid in the back? Read the situation damnit!" Ryan said, konking his father on the head. "Yowch! Now that's more like it!" Ryan's father said with gusto, rubbing the lump on his head. "Now THAT'S the kid I raised. Lift your head, don't look back. Your life is your own, live it how you want. However," Ryan's dad paused for a moment, his tone completely serious. "Don't live a life of sorrow trying atone for the things you've done in the past. Apologizing is all well and good, but if you spend your whole life on your knees begging for someone to forgive you, you'll regret it till you die. Enough talk, you've got a job to do! Get out of here and wake up you idiot son of mine! Perhaps that robot chick can teach you some good manners." Ryan's father yelled after his son as he was whisked away to the land of the living. The family embraced once last time before their bodies dissipated into smoke and Ryan woke up
~~~
Ryan was in a strange place. He'd never been there before, or at least, he didn't remember it well. It was simply blackness. There was no light as far as the eye could see, simply pitch black. Yet, one couldn't say that the place was dim. It was filled with a kind of brightness one doesn't see often. It was a darkness full of light. "Wait a minute... wasn't I just... Oh, this is a dream. It's been a long time since I visited this place. Hasn't it Mother?" Ryan said, although it was directed to no one in particular. Smoke drifted up from the ground, shaping itself into a likeness of his mother. After a moment, it solidified, and became real. She ran forward and threw her arms around his neck, embracing him.
"My Little boy. My precious son, oh how you've grown. It's been so long since we've seen you here. Why is that I wonder? We've missed you so much Ryan." The Not-Mother said. "I discarded you." Ryan whispered solemnly. "I was ashamed of the weakness that allowed you to die. I hadn't forgiven myself. I didn't think I deserved your love." Ryan explained. "Why do you think you're back now?" His Not-Mother asked. Slowly, Ryan lifted his hand to grasp his mother's; tears began to form in his eyes. "Because I forgot about you mommy. I needed to be reminded what I was living for." Ryan said, now crying freely. For a moment, all was still. Ryan sobbed as if he were a child once more. Growing up without a mother's love had changed Ryan. It made him vulnerable to a city full of greed and evil. It twisted him. It made him who he had become, not who he was supposed to be. Who he was supposed to become.
"Hey!" Came another voice, breaking the silence. "What's the big idea?! Big brother's aren't supposed to cry. What happened to the strong older brother I had when I was alive?" Yet another voice still calmed the angry voice, it's tones were soft and gentle. "That's enough Marie, big brother hasn't been here in a long time. We should be nice to him." At that, two more smoky forms condensed and then solidified; both were little girls. The first, who had yelled at Ryan, was wearing an orange skirt and had her mother's brown hair tied up in a side ponytail, she appeared to be six years old. The second, who was older, was wearing a school uniform and had their father's black hair in twin tails. She was twelve, only a year younger than Ryan on the day she died. "I don't get why we should be nice to him. He's being a little baby." Marie said, running up to her mother and standing next to her. Unconsciously, she took her mother's hand.
"Well Marie, big brother's been by himself a long time. You'd be lonely too, wouldn't you?" The older sister said, walking up to Ryan and hugging him. "We've all missed you, but you can't stay for long. Can you?" Carrie asked. "You've got a job to do now, don't you." Carrie said, and his mother and sisters all nodded in agreement. "I'm so sorry." Ryan said. "If I could, I'd stay here forever. I love you all so-" Ryan was cut off by the sound of a hand slapping his back. It had hurt very much. Ryan cringed and wheeled around to yell at the man responsible, his own father.
"What the hell dad!" Ryan yelled. "What kind of idiot just takes off and smashes his kid in the back? Read the situation damnit!" Ryan said, konking his father on the head. "Yowch! Now that's more like it!" Ryan's father said with gusto, rubbing the lump on his head. "Now THAT'S the kid I raised. Lift your head, don't look back. Your life is your own, live it how you want. However," Ryan's dad paused for a moment, his tone completely serious. "Don't live a life of sorrow trying atone for the things you've done in the past. Apologizing is all well and good, but if you spend your whole life on your knees begging for someone to forgive you, you'll regret it till you die. Enough talk, you've got a job to do! Get out of here and wake up you idiot son of mine! Perhaps that robot chick can teach you some good manners." Ryan's father yelled after his son as he was whisked away to the land of the living. The family embraced once last time before their bodies dissipated into smoke and Ryan woke up
~~~
Ryan's eyes snapped open. He slowly rose, feeling refreshed and well rested. He raised his hands and wiped the tears from his eyes, noticing the IV drip in his arm. Where was he, the hospital? No... he could hear waves. Further, the bed he was in was far too nice for a hospital bed. Was Ryan... in Titan's tower? As if on cue, the door opened. Ryan turned his head to face the one who had come in, though he couldn't see who it was. Oddly, there were no footsteps, just the sound of the door opening and closing and then a voice. "Hey," she said, her voice becoming closer as she approached him. However, when she entered his range, she wasn't there, but there was most certainly a voice coming from the end of his bed, as if he were sitting on it. "How do you feel?" she asked. Ryan smirked before looking at where the voice was coming from. "Like a million bucks." Ryan chuckled. "Am I where I think I am? Is this Titan's tower? I'm not upset you're taking care of me, rather, do I belong here? And where's your body? Aren't you an android? This is so strange, I can't see the impacts of air against your frame, but I can hear your voice. This is quite peculiar." Ryan admitted, reaching out and trying to touch something, but his hands simply slid through the hologram as if it weren't even there, feeling nothing.