(March 16, 2005)
The room was not merely dark; it was an absence of light that seemed to pulse with a predatory hunger. In the center of this void, suspended by chains forged from solid shadow, hung a woman who had once been the personification of childhood wonder. Tathiana, the Tooth Fairy, was a ghost of her former self. Her fair skin, usually radiant with a pearlescent glow, was now ashen, and her lanky, frail frame trembled under the weight of the moving shackles.
Her beautiful blue dress, once a shimmering masterpiece of ethereal silk, hung in tatters around her. Every few moments, the shadowy chains would ripple, a dark energy surging through them to extract the very essence of her being. This was the cruel irony of her current state; the one who spent centuries on "Tooth Extraction" missions for the benefit of magical growth was now being harvested herself. The sensation was like a thousand needles pulling at her soul, draining the stardust from her veins to fuel a machine of malice.
In front of her, a wall of flickering monitors cast a sickly green light over her face. One screen, in particular, remained static on a single target: a little girl in New York City named Haley Long. Tathiana watched the girl with a mixture of sorrow and terror. She knew exactly what Haley was—a Dragon. Even if the girl's wings hadn't fully unfurled and her fire was still a spark, she was a beacon in the magical world.
Tathiana had tried to keep this knowledge hidden, hoping to protect the young hatchling from the vultures of the underworld. But betrayal is a poison that works from the inside. Her own subordinate, Diente, had seen Haley as a currency rather than a secret. Looking at the chains that bound her, Tathiana knew the architect of her misery. She could only pray that the Dragon girl's older brother was as formidable as the rumors suggested. She had seen the reports of the "American Dragon" and his recent outbursts. He was dangerous, yes, but was he enough to face the shadows she had inadvertently unleashed?
—---------------
Millard Fillmore High School was, as usual, a chaotic symphony of slamming locker doors and teenage chatter. Jake Long stood by his locker, his mind miles away from his history textbook. Beside him, Trixie and Spud were engaged in their daily ritual of dissecting the morning news.
"Did you see the footage from Metropolis?" Spud asked, leaning against the cold metal, his eyes wide with his usual brand of conspiracy-theory wonder. "Superman literally caught a falling monorail. Like, with one hand! I'm telling you, the guy isn't human."
"For the ten thousandth time Spud. He's an alien. We've established this already," Trixie barked, checking her reflection in a small locker mirror and adjusting her hoop earrings. "But did you see what happened with the Titans? People are going crazy over that HIVE Five fight."
The mention of the Teen Titans made Jake's hand tighten on his locker door, the metal groaning slightly under his grip. The news was saturated with the details of the clash that had occurred a few days prior. The headlines were sensational, but one detail overshadowed the rest: Mammoth was dead. The massive powerhouse of the HIVE Five was killed in action, and the official reports were calling it a "heat of the moment" accident during the conflict.
Jake knew the truth. He remembered the feeling of the heat, the way his human restraint had snapped like a dry twig when he saw the cafe in ruins. He was the one who had ended Mammoth. And despite the media hounding the Titans and the public's sudden wariness of young heroes, Jake felt no regret. The bastard had hurt innocent people. He got what was coming.
His only lingering frustration was that his grandfather had intervened before he could finish the rest of the HIVE crew. He could still feel the phantom heat of the flames he wanted to unleash on them and on the Titans who would have intervened.
"Hello? Earth to Jake?" Trixie's voice broke through his dark thoughts.
Jake blinked, forcing a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just thinking about... history. Hard stuff."
"History? Since when do you care about history, man?" Spud laughed, then held up a flyer with a flourish. "Well, forget history. Check this out. Shaniqua Chulavista. Tomorrow. Central City."
Jake's eyes widened, his dark mood momentarily lifting. Shaniqua was the undisputed queen of hip hop, a legend with a stage presence that could rival a dragon's roar. "No way. Central City? That's like, a three-hour drive."
"Yup," Trixie chirped as she brought out three tickets from her pocket. "We've already got tickets. Three of 'em. You in?"
Jake looked at the three tickets in Spud's hand and felt a surge of excitement, followed immediately by a groan of realization. "Guys, I'd love to, but I'm on babysitting duty tomorrow. My parents are heading out for some anniversary dinner or something, and I need to take care of Haley."
Trixie pouted, crossing her arms. "Come on, Jake. It's Shaniqua! You're her biggest fan. You literally have her 'Bling Bling' poster in your room."
Jake leaned his head against the locker. He felt like the universe was conspiring to keep him angry and frustrated.
Then, a spark of inspiration hit him. "Wait... what if I take Haley with me?"
Spud looked skeptical. "Take an eight-year-old to a hip-hop concert? In the city that's basically a racetrack for the Scarlet Speedster himself?"
"Haley loves Shaniqua! She sings 'Don't Touch the Crown' in the shower every morning," Jake argued, his grin returning. "Also, she is a big fan of Flash. It's perfect actually. I babysit, she gets a cool concert, and I get to hang with you guys. It's a win-win-win."
"If you can convince your mom, I'm in," Trixie said, shrugging. "But don't blame me if she ends up wanting to buy a five-hundred-dollar tour jacket."
—-----------------
That evening, the air in the Long kitchen was filled with the smell of Susan's stir-fry. Jake sat at the table, practicing his most persuasive "responsible son" face. Susan and Jonathan were busy discussing their plans for the following evening.
"So... Mom, Dad," Jake started, his voice casual, perhaps a bit too casual. "I was thinking about the babysitting thing tomorrow."
Jonathan looked up, a playful glint in his eye. "Already looking for a way out, Jakey?"
"No! Not at all. Actually, I want to take her on a field trip. There's a concert in Central City—Shaniqua Chulavista. Trixie and Spud are going too. I thought it would be a great 'big brother' experience for her."
Susan paused, her spatula mid-air. "Central City? That's quite far, Jake. And a concert can be very crowded."
"I'll be with her the whole time, Mom. Scout's honor," Jake promised, throwing a mock salute. "Plus, Haley's been a bit stressed lately with that whole... tooth thing. She deserves a break."
Haley, who had been sitting in the living room nursing a glass of cold water for her aching jaw, poked her head into the kitchen. "A concert? Shaniqua? And Central City? Count me in," her eyes were wide with excitement, the pain in her gums momentarily forgotten.
Seeing the genuine excitement on their daughter's face, Susan and Jonathan shared a look. Jake was growing up; he had handled himself well. Even despite the recent "incidents". They wanted him to step up, and he was stepping up, showing responsibility and all that.
"Alright," Susan relented. "But you stay together. No wandering off. And you call us the second you arrive at the arena."
"You got it, Mom!" Jake cheered, high-fiving a beaming Haley.
—---------------------
Later that night, Jake visited the Canal Street electronics shop. The atmosphere in the dojo was heavier than usual. Lao Shi was seated at the small wooden table, staring intensely at a map of the magical ley lines, while Fu Dog was busy organizing a collection of mystical artifacts.
"Permission given, Gramps," Jake announced, leaning against the doorframe. "We're hitting Central City tomorrow."
Fu Dog looked up, his ears perking. "Central City? Ooh, I hear they have a deli there that makes a pastrami sandwich so fast it arrives before you order it. Can I come?"
"No," Lao Shi said firmly, not looking up from his map. "Fu, you stay here. We have work to do."
Jake's smile faltered. "Work? What's up, Gramps? You look like you've been eating lemons."
Lao Shi finally looked at his grandson, his expression grave. "The Tooth Fairy, Tathiana, has been missing for forty-eight hours. Her extraction reports have stopped, and the Council is concerned. There is a shift in the magical balance, Jake. Something... old is stirring."
Jake felt a chill that had nothing to do with the night air. "Missing? Is she in danger?"
"We do not know yet," Lao Shi replied, standing up and placing a hand on Jake's shoulder. "Go to your concert. Enjoy your time with your sister. But Jake... keep your eyes open. Central City is a nexus of power, both scientific and magical. Do not get involved in anything that does not concern you."
Jake gave a military-style salute, though it was laced with his usual bravado. "Understood, Dragon Master. Just music, snacks, and babysitting. No heroics."
—--------------
Deep within a dark place where the shadows had teeth, a man in a rainbow-patterned suit adjusted his glasses. Diente, the traitorous assistant, walked with a rhythmic hum that stopped the moment he entered the throne room.
At the far end of the hall, seated upon a throne of obsidian thorns, was a figure draped in veils of rotting darkness. Her skin was like parched earth, and her eyes were twin pits of red fire set against black sclera. She was the Tooth Seeker, the dark mirror to everything the Tooth Fairy represented.
Diente knelt before her, his head bowed. "Milady. The surveillance is complete."
"The girl?" the Seeker rasped, her voice sounding like dry leaves skittering over a tombstone.
"The dragon tooth is ready to fall, just as predicted," Diente replied with a wicked grin. "And fortune smiles upon us. The girl and her brother are traveling to Central City tomorrow for a public gathering. They will be far from the protection of their territory."
The Tooth Seeker leaned forward, the thorns of her throne scraping against her desiccated skin. "A dragon's first tooth... the final component for the ritual. With it, the balance will tilt, and the extraction will be absolute."
"Proceed with the plan, subordinate," she commanded, her red eyes glowing with a malevolent light. "Bring me the tooth. And if anyone interferes... bring me their heads."
Diente nodded, his grin widening until it looked more like a snarl. "As you wish, Milady. They won't even know what hit it."