Teen Titans: Heroes of the North [CLOSED]

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][img]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/Heroes%20of%20the%20North/teen_titans_communicator_logo_by_phaeton99-d389ryu-1.jpg[/img][/center]

[center][b]GM Post: "Marked For Death"[/b]

[spoiler=Titan's Tower, Aurora City]Elena's golden eyes widened slightly at Kowen's remark, and for a moment, a look of genuine pleasure appeared on her face, especially when she saw that the young man had blushed in embarrassment at his outburst. "Thank you, Kowen," she replied softly, the slightest hint of a purr in her rich tones.

At the change of subject, however, she seemed to come to her senses and became a bit more self-conscious, suddenly aware of the eyes of Kresnik, Hikaru, Luxa, and Milani upon her. An intense expression of concentration appeared on her face once more; seconds later, she had returned to her usual smooth-skinned, brown-eyed form. With a sigh, she sat back down on the floor, her long tresses trailing after her.

"I was just getting to that point.. That's right, Kresnik," she replied, directing her words to the scarlet-eyed girl sitting across from her. "My powers alone were enough to draw the attention of the Extinctionists, once they had confirmed the rumors of the poor couple with the cat-girl for a daughter."

Elena's eyes took on a harsh cast as she crossed her arms over her knees, looking fixedly at the floor. "One night, when I was fifteen, they came and set fire to our house. My parents were trapped and killed in the blaze, but I managed to escape—I should have known better though, they were just flushing out their prey. Before I could make it across the street, I was cut down from behind with a bullet to the neck, just like the one from earlier today. I was confused, I didn't know know why I was suddenly on the ground, nor did I realize that I was dying until it was already too late."

She took a moment to compose herself with a deep breath before continuing her tale. "That was the end for me. Or rather, it should have been. Just when I was ready to surrender to death, Ngurvilu spoke to me and told me that it wasn't my time.. That I had been chosen to receive his blessing and protect the ancient traditions. I don't pretend to understand it very well myself—but for whatever reason, he brought me back to life, although he warned me that I was not immortal. It wasn't until later that I realized that I had used the power of the Nine Lives for the first time, but not the last. For the next two years, the Extinctionists hunted me down mercilessly, obsessed with eliminating the rarest and most resilient prey of all. After I lost my second life to the hunters, I was forced to admit that South America was no longer safe for me. I decided to search for you, the Teen Titans, in the hopes of contacting the Justice League and receiving their protection."

Elena raised her arms slowly in a luxurious stretch, yawning slightly as she came to the end of her extraordinary tale. "And that's the end," she said, relaxing and leaning back on her hands. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, but I don't know where else I can go or what else I can do."

She tossed a look in Kowen's direction, her dazzling brown eyes large and intense upon his face. "Please... Will you help me?"[/spoiler]

[spoiler=OoC. Please read.]Alright, guys, I want to extend heartfelt thanks for your patience and cooperation. I know Elena's story was quite long and perhaps not the most interesting, but hopefully things will pick up from here. Stay posted for the next developments, but for now feel free to interact and make suggestions! Renegade, I'm really hoping you'll choose to explore the romantic angle with Elena, it could make for some interesting characterization opportunities.[/spoiler][/center]

[Ren✧]

Kowen was astounded after hearing Elena's story. He couldn't imagine being hunted his entire life, [i]'That must have been horrible.' [/i] Kowen thought to himself. There was a part of her story that Kowen sympathize deeply with, though. Both he and Elena had become more than familiar with the reality of losing one's parents. Just thinking about it made him so mad, but he tried to put those emotions away. He didn't want to transform with him willing it to, especially in front of Elena.

Without even thinking about it, Kowen instantly agreed to help Elena, "Of course we will help you," Realizing he might have made a mistake, seeing as he was not team leader. He stood up and stood next to Elena facing the rest of the team, "I mean...that's what we do right? We can't just leave her to fend for herself." Kowen's face began to turn red again. He wasn't used to having so much attention, of course he had brought it on himself...

[Hotaru987]

Milani was surprised by Elena's story of her early birth. She listened with enraptured attention, completely enthralled by her story. She herself wasn't much into believing in spirits, and deities. Sure she believed in a higher power, but as to any specific concrete beliefs she wasn't there yet. Even so, the story of her early years was interesting and almost too surreal. Milani was almost inclined not to believe it, but knew that stranger things have happened and who was she to call Elena a liar? Then she further proved her story true buy transforming into a feline like creature, the power and fierceness of her new form was rivaled only by the beauty and majesty of it. Kowen spoke what Milani was thinking, making him blush in embarrassment; though Elena didn't seem to mind the compliment, in fact it made her jubilant.

Though now the question of how she survived the bullet arose. It saved her the trouble of asking it herself. Elena's answer was just as amazing as her previous story. That she had 9 lives, though 3 have already been used up. No wonder those guys were after Elena. She truly was a rarity. She ended, by asking them for help, though she seemed to have taken an interest in Kowen, staring directly at him as she asked this. "Well this should be fun." Milani mumbled with a grin that screamed she was ready for the challenge. "I really wanna fight those guys again."

She looked up when Kowen readily agreed to help Elena, only to stand up moments later to try and convince them to also agree. Milani laughed, "Well of course we'll help" She looked to the others, "We are the Teen Titan's after all. Just like you said, it's what we do."

[Saiba Aisu]

Luxa restrained herself from rolling her eyes with difficulty—unlike the enthusiastic Milani and Kowen, she was still sitting on the floor with her legs curled, her ruffled skirts spread about her, like the petals of a flower. Instead, she contented herself with tossing her hair and shifting her weight, frowning slightly with narrowed eyes at Elena, who was too busy talking to the others to notice.

"Not so fast," Luxa said coolly, her withering icy tones falling upon the group like the first breath of winter. The French girl got to her feet and dusted herself off with her usual insolent grace. "I'm not saying I don't sympathize with you, Elena," she continued, a remarkably unsympathetic expression on her lovely face, "but you're asking a lot of us. It might not have occurred to you, but as the Teen Titans, we don't have total autonomy. In the end, we're just a junior division of the Justice League, and any actions we take will reflect upon them."

The rest of the group seemed a bit startled by this pronouncement—not because Luxa was being skeptical and critical like always, but because she was taking into consideration what Evergreen had lectured them about on the first day.

"I don't see them being too thrilled with us starting an all-out war against the Extinctionists in order to help some random runaway," she said, her rosebud lips curling into her signature sardonic smile. "We're supposed to protect the people of this city, not engage in charity work for foreigners on the run."

[Hydra of Ages]

"The Extinctionists are a threat to the people in this city."

Kresnik broke off from her internal musings to watch Luxa carefully. The girl was thinking with her head, not her heart- but she wasn't quite thinking broad enough. This wasn't just a chance to protect a metahuman from a group of murderers- it was the[i] key opportunity [/i]they needed to draw an elusive enemy into the open. The Extinctionists had the money and resources needed to disappear from any radar, no matter how advanced- they could smooth over relations with any Government so long as there was actual doubt to their identities, and there was [i]always [/i]doubt to their identities. So long as the Extinctionists wanted to stay hidden, there wasn't a single thing she or the other Titan could do about it- and she was willing to bet even the Justice League would find it difficult.

Elena wasn't just in danger from the Extinctionists. She was the one proven thing to bait them into the open.

"If we allow Elena to leave, she will be murdered by the Extinctionists, who will return to hiding until they find a new mark- a mark which we are unlikely to ever figure out the identity of. If the Extinctionists want to hide, we will not find them."

She stood up and paced a little bit, talking more to herself than anyone in particular at this point. "So long as Elena lives, we know exactly what they will attack next. The key is how to use this information to hunt the hunters."

[Yang Xiao-Long]

"The way I see it, Luxa, Elena is a person," Hikaru began as he straightened up from his position on the couch. "And if she is in this city, then is it not our duty to protect those within this city?"

"And Kresnik does bring up a valid point. The Extinctionists are very much a threat to the people of this city. You saw their actions earlier. They were chasing Elena down the streets in broad daylight with no regard to the people they injured along the way."

Hikaru subconsciously held his shoulder for a second before placing his left hand in his pocket.

"But you also forget, Luxa, if our actions reflect upon the Justice League, then how do you think they would respond if they found out that we were to leave an innocent person to die in the city of our jurisdiction? For once, why don't you try thinking [i]here[/i]," he said, pointing to Luxa's heart, "and stop thinking [i]here[/i]," finishing with a point to her forehead.

[Saiba Aisu]

Luxa gave a noncommittal shrug at her teammate's remarks, clearly uninterested in their perception of the situation. "It seems to me," she said in her velvet tones, playing with one long pigtail, "that if Elena were to leave, the Extinctionists would go with her, meaning that the city would be safe again. But seeing as you're all clearly in favor of protecting her, I won't object."

Elena shifted her weight suddenly, a look of concern and guilt blossoming upon her face as she realized that there was a certain truth to the other girl's apathetic remarks. Luxa noticed the dark-haired girl's discomfort and turned towards her, appraising her coldly. "Listen carefully," she said, her silver-blue eyes flashing dangerously, "because I won't be repeating myself. You may have managed to convince the others that helping you out is the right thing to do, but I'm still not so sure. If you even so much as think of putting this team in danger without good reason, I will personally make sure it's the last thing you ever do."

And so saying, the French girl turned on her heel and sauntered away down the hallway towards her room. "Let me know once you've formulated your ridiculous plan for baiting the Extinctionists," she called back sarcastically. Within a few moments, she had gone, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence in the room.

"Umm..." Elena asked the others slowly and breaking the silence, "why does she hate me? Is she usually this frigid?"

[Ren✧]

Kowen made sure to give Luxa a glare before she left. Even for Luxa, her actions were cold. Kowen laughed when he heard Elena's remark. "That girl is always icy, but deep down inside she cares...I think...you know deep inside," Kowen said jokingly gesturing to his stomach when he said 'deep inside', trying to lighten the mood. He didn't want Elena feeling guilty, what had happened wasn't her fault. The Extinctionists would just pop up somewhere else and begin to stir up trouble. Sooner or later, the Justice League would have to take care of them. Why not just handle it now?

Of course, it was more than just logic that was driving Kowen. He felt a connection to Elena. It even transcended the fact they had similar powers, it was something more. Out of all the girls he had dated back home in Cali, he hadn't really felt this way. Before, when he had complimented Elena, he had felt nervous. He never felt nervous around girls, but apparently Elena was the exception. He cleared his head of these thoughts, he was to much of a 'macho' man to give into these feelings...at least at the moment.

"You want something to eat or drink? I am sure we can rustle up something," Kowen asked Elena, making his way over to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and grabbed a soda for himself. He opened with the familiar hiss of carbonation and took a swig. He stood in front of the open refrigerator, waiting for Elena's answer.

[Hotaru987]

Milani knew that Luxa was technically right, but Hikaru was also right as well. If they didn't help Elena when she came to them for help, how would that look when they were under the Justice League? More or less everyone essentially ganged up on Luxa, in favor of helping out Elena. Luxa left obviously not thrilled by what was going on. Just when their teamwork was starting to come together, this happened. Now how would things turn out? Kowen seemed to take liberty to helping out Elena, [i]'You sly dog you.' [/i]Milani teased in her head while smirking slightly. She also stood up, "Hey, I'll be back. I need to go handle this thing and this uh..Place...Bye."

She wasn't the best at lying, was what some probably though as she left the same way Luxa did. She managed to catch up with the blond haired beauty, grinning as she called out to her, "Luxa wait up!" She fell in step with her, "Hey why did you walk off like that? Don't You think it's a good idea to help her? She did come to us you know, it's not good to turn that down." Milani got straight to the point, figuring it was stupid to beat around the bush.

"By the way, you'll grow old really fast if you keep an additude like that. Try smiling, it'll keep you looking younger." As an example Milani smile, her mouth seemingly taking up the entire bottom half of her face. "Now you try it. It's easy."

[Saiba Aisu]

Some of Elena's tension seemed to leave her at Kowen's remarks, as she nodded her head in appreciation of his reassuring words and kindness. "Thank you," she said with a bright smile, "If it's not too much trouble, I would love some water. And if you can spare something to eat, that would be fantastic... I'm starving."

As Kowen began to seek out the necessary beverages and snacks for her, the dark-haired girl gave a small sigh of relief and sank down onto the closest plush couch. For the first time since the group had encountered Elena, she seemed much calmer and more trusting, now that her life wasn't in immediate danger.

"I don't remember the last time I was able to relax like this," she said softly, taking the glass of water that Kowen handed her, as well as the bag of chips and an apple. "You have already done so much for me, you have no idea how much I appreciate your help."

With a smooth yet subtle movement, Elena shifted closer on the couch towards Kowen, until she was sitting at his side, their elbows and hips almost touching, so that each could feel a small trace of the other's body heat.

"I feel so safe here," Elena said softly, although her liquid brown gaze indicated that her words were intended for Kowen rather than the rest of the team.

===

For a moment, Luxa's lovely features adopted an expression of faint confusion--clearly, she hadn't been expecting Milani to follow her or attempt to engage her in conversation.

[i]Is this some kind of trick[/i]? the French girl thought to herself, watching closely as her teammate began to justify the group's decision to protect Elena. When Milani told her that she was going to grow old quickly unless she changed her attitude, however, she couldn't help but release a short laugh in appreciation of the other girl's nerve and humor. Not many people dared to address her in such a teasing, cheeky manner—most who did only managed to do it once before they were torn to ribbons and became food for her demonic plants.

"Maybe you're right about that last part," Luxa said after a moment in a softer tone, a small smile curving her rosebud lips as she allowed herself to lower her guard slightly. "But as for Elena..."

Within moments, the blonde girl's features had resumed their usual icy arrangement, and her silver-blue eyes were flashing with deadly vexation. "I'm not going to argue with the rest of you. If you really want to protect her, then [i]fine[/i]—I'll do my part. I am, however, going to do everything I can to make sure she leaves sooner rather than later. I don't want her to get [i]too[/i] comfortable."

Luxa's eyes narrowed slightly at the sound of Elena and Kowen's laughter drifting from the Central Complex through the hallway. "I'm going to contact Evergreen," she said shortly, cutting to the chase in her usual style as she held up her Titan Communicator. "Elena said she wanted the protection of the Justice League, so the sooner they can take her off our hands, the better, at least as far as I'm concerned. You can come with me to my room if you want.. just try not to break anything."

[Hotaru987]

Milani grinned, "That’s all I can ask. I mean we're not going to always agree on something, and sometimes we'll be forced to do things that don't always sit well, but it’s good to hear that you're not going to just leave us to ourselves. Cause we're really going to need your help with this one." Milani caught the sound of Elena's and Kowen's laughter, and from the frown on Luxa's face so did she. "Sounds like they're getting along well." Luxa decided to surprise the young titan by telling her she was welcomed into her room, as long as she didn't break anything.

The invite made Milani smile. When she came after the introvert she was sure that Luxa would push her away, but it was a pleasant surprise that she wasn't. Maybe they could become really good friends, but Milani knew she would have to be patient. Luxa wasn't the type of person to open up at the drop of a hat. "I think I'll join you. This way we can talk and stuff." She replied following behind Luxa, hands folded behind her head. Time for operation "Female bonding time". "If you don't mind me asking, what did you do before joining the Titans? I myself wasn't doing much of anything other than studying my martial arts. So I didn't do much of the things normal girls did. I was sort of a tomboy-Oh I know! We, as in us and Kresnik, should go out and hang. Maybe the mall or just walk around and get to know each other. We girls got to stick together-I'm not talking to much am I?" She asked since she had that habit at times.

[Hydra of Ages]

Kresnik took little notice of the other Titan's meandering away from the central room, preoccupied with her own thoughts. She paced back and forth for a few minutes, mumbling occasionally to herself before she pulled a small piece of paper and jotted down a quick sketch of a number of rectangles- though after a few seconds, she shook her head and crumbled up the diagram.

She walked up to the main computer and sat down in the soft leather chair, tapping a few commands to the potent machine before shaking her head and closing her eyes for a few moments. Bright shapes were starting to block her vision, and she was acutely aware of a dizzy sensation starting to build in the base of her skull- obviously, she'd exposed herself to too much light as of yet. She really had to get around to convincing the other Titans to lower the intensity of the lighting, or switch to rose-tinted lightbulbs or even just cover more of the gigantic windows- [i]something [/i]so she didn't have to stick to the corners of the rooms whenever they gathered together. She was aware she had a bad tendency to seclude herself while she worked, which was a difficult habit to break when her room was the only comfortable space she could spend long amounts of time in.

At least for now there was a temporary solution, she thought as she pulled out a pair of rose-tinted glasses from a case in one of her pockets. The increased contrast made it difficult to discern details, especially in a quick-paced fight, but it at least made her able to read off of a brightly-lit white screen for more than a few minutes- she pulled off her hat at the same time, sitting it on a corner of her chair, before she typed a few more commands into the computer.

Elena. What to make of her?

Luxa wasn't totally wrong. They were employed to defend the city and complete the missions assigned to them, not to jockey as bodyguards to whomever asked- they would be within their rights, normally, to deny Elena shelter.

On the same flip of the coin, Kresnik could not personally allow a criminal band like the Extinctionists off of a potential hook like this. In truth, it mattered little if they were a danger to this city- they were a danger to [i]someone, [/i]and furthermore, they were criminals. Whatever her formal duties as a Teen Titan were, Kresnik's personal duties included eliminating evil wherever she found it- especially in places where other people wouldn't be able to root it out themselves. In some respects, what happened to Elena wasn't very important at all- they weren't protecting a person any more than they were sheltering an important weapon against a particular villain entity. Personal particulars weren't important when you had justice to consider.

She adjusted her glasses, unused to the weight of them on her nose.

"Search; 'South America'. Cross-Search 'Deity', 'Feline'. Second Search: 'Extinctionists', Cross-Search 'South America'" she muttered to herself, cueing up a number of advanced information queries. The Justice League had far more information than any other network Kresnik was aware of. To an extent, this was why she joined in the first place- the best information. The most clues. The greatest means towards her end.

She added a new tab and a new search query, then hesitated.

"Search: Kudlak."

[Ren✧]

Grabbing the glass of water and snacks, Kowen walked over to Elena and sat down. They were sitting so close together, if he move just a fraction of an inch they would be touching. The thought of holding her hand flashed through his mind, and he almost did, but realized that might be a little abrupt. He racked his mind to find something to say, anything would be better than this awkward silence that he found himself in.

"You wanna see something amazing?" Kowen asked. Not even waiting for her response, Kowen grabbed her hand and began to lead her to a nearby staircase. Normally, he would've just taken the elevator, but he didn't want the uncomfortable silence to resume. Still holding her hand, Kowen led her up the staircase until the came to two, metal doors. Pushing on it, Kowen and Elena stepped out onto the roof of Titan's Tower.

Being up so high there was a slight wind, but it wasn't bad. It felt cool on his skin, he hoped it would ease the red warmth he could feel on his face. "Isn't it beautiful?" Kowen asked, gesturing to the city in the distance. Even knowing all the crime and wrongdoings that happened there, didn't take away from its majesty. He could see hovercars floating high in the sky and the lights of the city twinkled from the distance.

He turned to face Elena. Swallowing hard, Kowen spoke, "So what do you think?" It was unclear about whether he was talking about the view or rather the situation they found themselves.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

After Luxa left the Central Complex, Hikaru found himself staring blankly into space, lost in thought, in thought of the day's events, and wondered how things were going to turn out for the rest of the time they had to spend in dealing with the Extinctionists. He looked around blankly, and found himself alone by the couch, Milani somewhere else, and Kowen and Elena presumably spending some time together. [i]Those two are probably watching the sunset together, if anything. The lovebirds, [/i]he playfully thought to himself as he let out a small humored exhalation.

He briefly looked around the room and noticed Kresnik sitting over by the main computer. She came off as a bit of an introvert, which made any sort of interaction slightly weird for him. He figured he might as well go try and talk to her just to get some more familiarity with his teammate, who more often than not was usually as mysterious as the shade she usually was in. [i]Might as well start somewhere, [/i]he said to himself with a shrug and twinge of nervousness as he walked over to where Kresnik sat.

It was right when he opened his mouth to say something that he noticed a name on the screen.
"...Kudlak? Who's Kudlak?"

[Hydra of Ages]

"A serial killer," Kresnik said calmly. "Nothing more."

She took her hand off of the mouse to prevent herself from crushing it. According to the database, Kudlak was a killer likely of metahuman -if not outright supernatural- origin who had terrorized regions of Norway for decades, if not centuries; his presence was allegedly heralded by the death of sheepstock and the weakening of newborns, not to mention the trails of fresh blood that would run down the city alleyways as he took his tithe out of whatever population was around. Regarded more as supernatural monster than man, it seemed there were few people who seriously believed in his existence- Hell if the page were correct, it would be difficult to tell whether Kudlak or the myth of the vampire had existed first.

The justice league had few facts, only hypotheses. It was possible it were a cabal- a legion that passed on the name, master to apprentice, across the years. Or perhaps the Kudlak never existed at all, and was simply a moniker taken by a modern killer as they emigrated to America; in any case, there was even fewer details about the specific murderer that Kresnik was searching for. While it was identified that the town massacre matched reports of previous alleged Kudlak attacks, the only information regarding a specific killer they had... had been given by Kresnik herself, years ago.

Hundreds of people, dead in a single night, sucked dry without ever waking. No evidence of any unlawful entry. For all they knew, a phantom were as much at fault as a murderer.

Kresnik bit back her disappointment and closed the page.

"Nothing to worry about," she said idly to Hikaru, hopefully coming off as nonchalant regarding the matter.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Kresnik's remarks of "Kudlak" being [i]just[/i] a serial killer was hard to believe; a serial killer was a serious matter, and one that had to be dealt with as soon as any leads could be followed. But as Hikaru ran his eyes down the screen of information on the person in question, he realized that this "Kudlak" was something more dangerous than a serial killer. And even harder to follow. [i]Hundreds dead in a single night with their bodies sucked dry of blood with no leads? And there's not much else outside of that in terms of information available...wait, why would Kresnik be looking at this information...?[/i]
A spark of realization hit him when the pieces came together in his head. Kresnik's tendencies to be in the shade, her powers with blood...they must have come from a vampire. And the vampire in question was Kudlak. And Kudlak's price for giving this power was, well, the answer was on the screen in front of him.

"A serial killer is on the loose and all you can say is that he's 'nothing to worry about'? Kresnik, he killed hundreds. And if he is what I think he is, then he has undoubtedly killed more outside of that period. 'Nothing to worry about' will just lower your guard to the ever-present threat, you know." Hikaru paused. He didn't know much of the matter, and he didn't want to push the issue further than he was probably doing so already.
"But, Kresnik, I just want you to know something." He lightly placed his hand on her shoulder in a kind, reassuring gesture. "You don't have to be so aloof about everything. You have a team here for you, and not only that, but we're here for each other. So let's try and help each other out, okay?" A stereotypically closed-eye anime grin was on his face as he lifted his hand from his teammate's shoulder.

[Saiba Aisu]

As Milani babbled cheerfully, Luxa fixed her with a bemused look, still slightly confused as to her motives for engaging her in conversation. For a moment, she considered forcing her away with one of her usual cold and cutting remarks, but decided against it in the end—right now, the members of the Teen Titans North needed to work together, especially if they were going to be dealing with the Extinctionists head-on. At the mention of the three girls going to the mall, however, she couldn't restrain from another short laugh. The image of herself, accompanied by the overenthusiastic Milani and brooding Kresnik, at the mall was absolutely [i]ridiculous[/i]—but not necessarily unpleasant.

"We can talk about that later," she said dismissively, cutting across the other girl's animated monologue. "Right now, we need to focus on solving the problem at hand and contact Evergreen."

She paused for a moment at her door, her slender frame as light and graceful as always, although she was a bit uncomfortable underneath her cool demeanor with the idea of inviting someone into her most private sanctuary. She didn't normally engage in social activities with others—that was the path to attachment and friendship, which would inevitably lead to pain.

"Come on then," she said in her velvet tones, leading the way into her room, Milani following closely behind. For a moment, Luxa allowed her teammate to gaze around the area, drinking in the brilliant colors, elegant furniture, and silvery light that characterized her room.

"So, what do you think?"

===

"Isn't it beautiful?" Kowen asked, turning around and gesturing to the city in the distance, where hovercars floated through the sky and multi-colored lights flashed beckoningly.

"Yes," Elena said softly in her melodic voice, although her dark brown eyes were focused upon the boy in front of her, rather than dazzling metropolis he was indicating. "Very beautiful."

She watched as he turned back to face her, his nervousness painfully clear upon his face. She smiled slowly at him, a rich, languorous motion that curved her full lips, and was relieved to see Kowen smile back as the tension diffused slightly.

"I think it's wonderful," Elena replied, taking a few steps forward until she stood side-by-side with the young Titan. As they both gazed out towards the city in silent vigil, she reached out and took his hand gently, clasping it as she laid her dark head upon his shoulder.

"Thank you for showing me, Kowen," she purred softly, squeezing his hand.

[Ren✧]

Kowen could feel his heart rate go up. He was acutely aware of Elena's hand in his, her head on his shoulder, a few stray hairs tickling his face. [i]Am I sweating? God, I hope not. [/i]He thought to himself. Normally, his gaze would only be captured by the setting sun, but even the fiery beauty of that couldn't compare to the girl standing beside him. As much as he didn't want the moment to end, he realized that the situation with the Extinctionist needed to be handled before they struck again. He squeezed her hand, causing them to meet each other's eyes.

"We...I won't let them hurt you. You don't need to run anymore," Kowen hated to bring of the topic with her, but he had a feeling they would need Elena's help. He hoped that they could resolve this issue quickly. And yet, part of him wanted to draw it out for as long as possible, no doubt Luxa would demand Elena should leave after the mission was done. And he didn't think he could rely on the other team to support him, they may have agreed to help Elena but letting her stay was a different matter.

[Hotaru987]

"Wo~ah!" Milani gasped taking a look at Luxa's room. It fit her really well. It was nothing short of beautiful, mysterious and an almost surreal atmosphere. She looked at the chandeleir haning from the ceiling, the light alluminating the awe in Milani's single iris. She even had a vanity table. It was the first time Milani had ever seen one. But she began thinking is Luxa really needed it. She was already so stunningly beautiful, that anyone would become instantly jealous of her looks. If it wasn't for that cold expression she always wore, Milani would bet that every guy in the vacinity would be all over her. Luxa also had a large book shelf, with more books than Milani had ever seen - which was quite sad if one thought about it. Milani walked over to get a closer look, though not touching in fear that Luxa would get mad.

[i]"So, what do you think?"[/i]

"What do I think?" Milani repeated, "Well, it's not my style, but it's definately right for you!" With her reply an energetic "thumbs-up" followed. "I'd definately like to come back to hang out if you'd let me. Let me show you my room now!" In a flash she grabbed Luxa's hand to proceed to pull her out but suddenly stopped, "Oh, yeah you wanted to contact Ms. Evergreen first." Releasing the, most likely, shocked girl's hand, Milani situated herself on the middle of Luxa's floor, crossed-legged and waited for Luxa to contact Evergreen. She grinned up at Luxa, looking more like a child waiting for a toy than an actual teen titan.

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/Heroes%20of%20the%20North/teen_titans_communicator_logo_by_phaeton99-d389ryu-1.jpg[/IMG][/center]

[center][b]GM Post: "Marked For Death[/b]"

[spoiler=Titan's Tower, Aurora City]As night fell upon Aurora City and the moon rose over the shimmering waters of the bay, a peaceful quiet descended upon Titan's Tower. Kowen stood in the same position, his hand intertwined with Elena's, who leaned her dark head upon his shoulder, an unusually tranquil expression upon her tanned features. The young Titan jumped, however, when a melodic but potent beeping noise sounded from his pocket—releasing the girl's hand with an apologetic smile, he dug into its contents briefly before withdrawing his Titan Communicator, which was vibrating slightly. As Elena peered curiously over his shoulder, Kowen flipped open the device, revealing a small but bright screen that displayed an image of Luxa's face.

"Kowen, Elena," the icy beauty said flatly, somehow managing to make a sentence out of the pair's names. "I don't know what you're doing up there, but I need you both down here at once. We're having a team meeting in the Central Complex."

With another beep, the pixels disappeared into a burst of silver, leaving the screen of the communicator blank once more. Taking Elena by the hand, Kowen led her back down to the Central Complex in silence, not bothering to hide his curiosity. What could Luxa possibly want now, of all times?

===

"There you are," Luxa said, her rosebud lips curling into her signature satisfied smile as Kowen and Elena entered the Central Complex. The French girl was lounging with her usual insolent grace upon the sofa, her black-clad legs crossed elegantly at the knee. The other members of the Teen Titans North were also gathered about her, seated upon couches, or—in Milani's case—lying on the floor. Elena and Kowen barely had time to register the seating arrangements, however; their attention was immediately drawn to the display screen, upon which Evergreen's upper body was projected, sitting at a desk and studying the group closely.

"Luxa, wha—?" Kowen began, unsure as to why the blonde girl had contacted the Division Supervisor so late at night.

"Hello, Kowen," Evergreen said in her smoky voice, although for once, she seemed completely serious. "And hello to you as well, Elena," she added, nodding her head in the dark-haired girl's direction. At the sight of the green-clad Justice League member, Elena tensed suddenly, gazing warily at the other woman with feline dark eyes.

"Luxa has been kind enough to contact me and fill me in on the situation," Evergreen said shortly, ignoring the pair's confusion and jumping right into the heart of the topic. "She tells me that as a team, you have decided to take on the Extinctionists head-to-head in order to protect Elena. While I don't doubt your courage, as your Division Supervisor, I cannot permit this course of action. Your teamwork may have improved since your last mission, but we have hardly any information regarding the numbers or equipment this extremist group has under their command. Literally, you don't know what you're up against."

At Evergreen's words, Elena's features, which had softened noticeably during her brief rooftop sojourn with Kowen, assumed their usual harsh and defensive cast. The rest of the team, minus Luxa, shared looks of concern and confusion. If Evergreen forbade them from engaging the Extinctionists, did that mean that Elena was to be sent away?

"On the other hand," Evergreen added, after a moment, a slight look of compassion coming into her eyes as she gazed at the dark-haired girl, "we also have to consider the unique nature and potential of Elena's powers. After deliberation, the Justice League Council has agreed to provide Elena protection—however, she is to be transferred to Space Station Aile for further training and interrogation. We have dispatched an envoy of three full members to recover Elena at Titan's Tower and transport her safely to the station. As one of the members selected for this mission, I am currently broadcasting from the vessel—our estimated arrival time is roughly one hour."

At that moment, an intense rumble sounded throughout the tower as the building shook briefly, jolting the group of teenagers out of their seats with cries of alarm. Evergreen's image shrank slightly as several new windows appeared along the sides of the interface screen, displaying a handful of points that the team recognized as the exterior of Titan's Tower. At each site, several groups of black-clad individuals were massing furiously, depositing explosives and brandishing a wicked array of weaponry.

"We might not have an hour," Luxa said coolly, her voice perfectly composed. "Titan's Tower is under attack by the Extinctionists."[/spoiler]

[spoiler=OoC. Please read!]Alright, everyone. After three works of toil, I am finally back home! I meant to post earlier today, but I was running some errands and going on a date with my boyfriend. I hope you guys are ready to return to the previous pace; as you can see, events are certainly going to start moving faster! Feel free to interact/react as needed, I will proceed with the next GM Post in a bit.[/spoiler][/center]

[Ren✧]

Kowen could only stare at Evergreen's face in the monitor. He couldn't believe what was happening. They were going to send Elena away. Kowen, still holding Elena's hand, felt her body tense. The difference between her demeanor here and up on the roof was extremely drastic. He couldn't blame her, not in the slightest. Kowen could feel the heat rise to his face, his temper was sure to be lost at any moment. "Elena isn't some specimen to study in a lab! She's a person!" Kowen yelled. He would've continued his outburst if not for the obvious warning sirens that pierced the air.

[i]'What the hell?[/i] [i]It's just one thing after another, isn't it?' [/i]Kowen thought to himself. He stopped his rampage, content to give Evergreen and Luxa a venomous glare, letting them know that they were not done discussing this. He changed topics. "We can't let them get Elena." Kowen stated, no room for contradictions in his tone. "Don't we have some kind of defense measures to deal with this kind of situation?"

[Saiba Aisu]

Evergreen's elfish eyes narrowed at Kowen's outburst. "Don't take that tone with me," she said sharply, cutting across the cries and mutterings of the other Titans. "Of course, she's a person—we all are. What kind of organization do you think we would be, if we kidnapped remarkable metahumans for study? We'd have to start with our own members, for one thing."

The green-clad woman took a deep breath as she attempted to relax, closing her eyes for a moment in an attempt to control her temper; clearly, however, she was exhausted. "In any case," she said, her eyes flashing back open upon the group, "the issue at hand is not Elena's fate, but that of the Extinctionists. Unless you're able to work together and stall them out, none of you are going to have any kind of future, at all. Kresnik, what are the specifics of the situation?"

Her remark was directed to the scarlet-eyed girl, who was furiously shifting through different display windows with complicated readouts that displayed the Tower's current situation. "Three groups of enemies," she replied tersely without looking up, "with about twelve members in each group. They're wielding heavier weapons than the ones they used this afternoon, and also setting off explosives in an attempt to force open the Tower. Our security isn't damaged, but it doesn't seem to be responding, for some reason."

Evergreen nodded at Kresnik's analysis, taking the situation into stride. "Very well," she said briskly, her smoky tones all business as she assumed command, "you'll have to separate into three groups to deal with them. Luxa and Milani, you can take the group assembled by the main doors at the bottom of the Tower—make sure you give them a surprise if they manage to break through. Hikaru and Kresnik, you'll be dealing with the Extinctionists that are landing on the roof. If they manage to break in, you could possibly be caught between a pincer movement from above and below—don't give them that chance."

As Evergreen's words fell upon the group, the two teams nodded and hurried off, ready to intercept the invaders.

"As for you, Kowen," Evergreen said softly after a moment, her eyes narrowed slightly, "I'm not entirely sure that I trust your judgment at the moment. Clearly, Elena's presence seems to have affected your common sense. Nevertheless, you will be working on the mid-level of the Tower, only a few floors below here, where Extinctionists are scaling the walls and attempting to break in. I'm counting on you to use your transformation powers so you can engage them on the exterior—turn into some kind of tree frog if you like, just make sure they don't get inside!

"And you, Elena," she added, "will stay right where you are. I don't doubt that you want to help the others, but we can't take that risk. You are the reason for this attack—if you are captured or killed, then everything will have been for nothing. I'll see if I can increase our speed; until we arrive, I'll stay on this frequency. You're dismissed."

[Ren✧]

Kowen opened his mouth to argue the point Evergreen made on his judgment, but time was wasting. Giving Elena one last meaningful look, as well as squeezing her hand he took off down the hallway and dashed down the stairs. With all the chaos going on, the elevator would both be unsafe and too slow. Despite his anger towards Evergreen, he had to agree that Elena needed to stay where she was, she needed to be kept safe.

Lost in these thoughts, Kowen accidentally passed the floor at which the Extinctionists were currently scaling. [i]'Perhaps it is for the better,' [/i]He thought. Being below them might prove to be an asset. Kowen found himself in a fairly empty room, containing only a few random pieces of furniture, covered with white bed sheets as a deterrent to stop the dust of neglect to settle upon them. Kowen didn't think he would ever get used to the size of the tower, he had lived there for a few weeks and had yet to discover its secrets. [i]'No time for this,' [/i]​Kowen said, silently berating himself.

Running towards the large window that nearly every room in the tower had. Transforming one arm into that of a gorilla and the other into an octopus, Kowen crashed through the window and began to plummet towards the ground below. Knowing he needed to act quickly. He lashed out with his tentacle arm, the suction cups on them finding purchase on the sleek surface of the tower. Kowen's fall stopped with a sudden jerk, causing a strong pain to rocket through his shoulder. He let out a small groan, but didn't allow himself anymore time to dwell anymore on the pain.

Looking up, it seemed as if the Extinctionists scaling the building had been to self-absorbed in their climb to notice the disturbance below. Smiling at his luck, Kowen transformed his gorilla arm into that of a tree frog. He soon had matching frog arms and legs. Thinking about how he must look, Kowen had to let out a small chuckle. The small smile that had formed on his face was quickly replaced with a mask of seriousness. [i]'With these two transformations, I doubt all be able to do anymore. This will definitely be quite the challenge.' [/i]

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Kowen stealthily scaled the side of Titan's Tower, eager to catch up with the Extinctionists. When he was just ten feet below them, the previously oblivious attackers took notice of his presence. They let out a bark of surprise, but soon grasped the situation. The easy part was over, it was time for Kowen to attack. Leaping forward, or rather upward, Kowen struck out with his suction-padded feet, hoping to take out one of the Extinctionists before they had time to react.

[Hotaru987]

"Well this is a mess." Milani mumbled as she listened to the argument between Evergreen and Kowen. With a few other words, Evergreen gave out the game plan. Milani smirked at Luxa silently saying '[i]Let's give them hell'. [/i]She didn't care if they were some highly specialized group, for them to attack them like this meant that they were highly underestimating the Teen Titan's skills. That was something that these Extinctionists were quickly about to regret. She removed the staff from her back, "Come on, it would be rude as host to not give them a proper welcome." Milani ran off towards the roof, her steps light a quick her top half bent over almost a full 90 degrees to hopefully cut down on wind resistance to arrive at the entrance even faster. The thought of even taking the elevator up never crossed her mind, though it didn't seem to matter since she ascended the tower with impressive stamina.

"Alright you Extinctionists bastards! Let's play." She exclaimed as she charged head first at the opponent without a second thought. Her staff spun in a blur of silver as she attempted an overhead swing at an Extinctionists.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

As Hikaru nodded at Evergreen and ran out of the Central Complex, he turned towards the stairs to go up, only to notice that Milani had run to the stairs as well. As he prepared to follow suit, thinking he would go up while she went down, he was shocked to realize that she was doing the exact opposite. "Milani!" he cried out. "You're supposed to go with Luxa downstairs, not the roof!"

His cries fell on deaf ears and a blind eye however, as Milani continued up the stairs. Hikaru only let out a frustrated sigh, and walked back to Kresnik and Luxa. "Well, Milani's gone off and went to the exact opposite location she was told to go. Luxa, stay with Milani; she may have heard me, she may have not, but this situation demands we cannot afford to be split up in relatively close quarters. I have a feeling Kresnik and I can ambush the Extinctionists at the entrance to the tower with a little manipulation of the environment. But first, give me a second; Kresnik, wait for me in the elevator." He ran back into the Central Complex.

"Elena, keep all of us updated on the situation. Use the security cameras for as long as you are able, and if anything else happens, let us know with our communicators." With that, Hikaru ran to the elevator, his cello and bow in hand, and his heart pumping with adrenaline and excitement, betrayed by the utterly calm expression on his face.

"Kresnik. My music not only affects my enemies, but if I choose to, I can have it affect you as well. It will be in a good way, though, and only if you allow it."