Chapter Text
Tuesday 16th of July 1985; Staten Island, New York City, New York, U.S.A.
“We need light.”
Victor wasn’t wrong. The sewers beneath Staten Island were pitch black. Even with the enhanced metahuman vision that he had inherited from his dam Slade, Joey couldn’t see more than five feet ahead of him. Murky wastewater splashed under his (thankfully waterproof) boots. The foul stench of it burned in his nose.
The words broke the silence that had surrounded them since they first went underground.
“No problem. I’ll shed a little light on things.” As Donna’s magic light surrounded them, everyone else started to talk all at once.
Joey remained silent. Even if he could still speak through his scarred throat, he didn’t have anything to add. He was at the back of the group. The other Titans were ahead of him—Raven to his right, with Roy to his left. Ahead of them walked Koriand’r, and ahead of her, Donna and Victor led them down the stinking sewage tunnels. Roy had already drawn his bow. Unease churned in Joey’s gut.
“I sense something ahead of us, but these tunnels diffuse its direction.” Raven’s clear voice echoed in the brick tunnels. She sounded uncertain. Worried. Sewer water splashed onto her pure white cloak.
Koriand’r had enviable confidence, walking beside her. “No matter, Raven. We’ll find it, and it won’t escape us again.”
“We know it’s a killer, and we know it’s definitely not human. So, what the hell is it then? It just appears and kills, then it’s gone.” Victor repeated grumpily.
Roy snorted. “Kills? Hell, Vic, it shreds the body—there’s nothing left for identification!”
“Yeah, Speedy, I know.” Victor was walking ahead of him so Joey couldn’t see his face, but he could imagine his rolling eyes. “I remember the coroner’s morgue. I still get sick thinking about it.”
Joey would rather not think about it at all. The medical examiner had shown them the bodies not long after the Titans first got the case this morning. He had almost vomited. He wasn’t like either of his parents. Blood and violence hurt him. The sight of human suffering hurt him. Monsters had brutally murdered four innocent people, and no one could catch them. There might be more hiding down here. The Titans had chased them into the sewers, then lost them in the stinking dark.
“Starfire’s right about one thing. It doesn’t matter what they are. We aren’t going to let them continue to kill.” Donna’s voice was firm. The magic light held in her palm glinted off her sparkling armor.
“Troia,” —Raven stopped them— “they are here… Close.”
Her warning came too late:
Two giant rodent creatures leapt at them from the shadowed wastewater.
They tackled Donna and Victor first.
Joey sprinted to Donna’s side, reaching out to help her in any way he could. He wasn’t a natural fighter, and he never had been despite his parents’ best (worst) efforts. The creature struck too fast, knocking him down to his knees.
Numbness came first.
Sharp, cold pain followed.
His first thought was, Mom is going to be upset. His second thought was, Dad is going to be even worse. (It was a stupid train of thought, of course. Joey hadn’t seen Slade in over a year.) He then thought of the cowardice. There was nothing worse than weakness. His pack had made that clear to him his entire life. Be an alpha. Be a man. Sissy boy. Coward. Runt.
Blood coated his palm as he clutched the wound on his face, and tears burned in his eyes. Shame was a heavy weight in his gut. Which was pathetic, because everyone was still fighting, and the creatures were hurting his friends! He could see Adeline’s impatience—try again, Joey. He could hear Slade’s disappointment—alphas don’t cry, pup. His parents wouldn’t be scared. His older brother would have been tougher. The shame, and the fear, and the pain paralyzed him. Joey had just turned fifteen in May. He was fighting giant rodent creatures in a sewage tunnel. He couldn’t do anything to help his friends.
A flash-bang of sudden light blinded him.
He heard Koriand’r shout, then the creatures were gone. The weak relief that filled Joey with was another thing to shame.