As Caius slept, his dream pulled backward to a simpler time. It was gently at first, but soon he felt like he was being dragged through his very own memories.
The warmth of Debbie's tea, and the heavy fog from melatonin, along with the strange still lingering feeling in my body from touching Kara's hand, all of it had faded beneath another memory. A memory that did not come soft or blurred.
It came sharp and clear at first, but got more painful as he kept dreaming.
I was thirteen again.
Back then, my body had already started changing fast. I was taller than most boys my age, a little leaner, and stronger. I figured it was because of my mothers genes hit me at puberty. Due to that I had started to develop heightened abilities slightly earlier then expected. My amber eyes were brighter back then. Less jaded.
My face still had some softness to it. My shoulders were beginning to broaden, but I was still awkward enough to trip over my own growing limbs when I moved too quickly.
This was also around the time everything started changing a lot. Mark and I had developed our powers around the same period. Or at least, that was how it looked from the outside.
Mark got the full Viltrumite set. Strength. Speed. Flight. Durability. The whole package.
But I didn't. I thought I had awakened late at first. Then I thought Viltrumite hybrids in this world, maybe awakened differently. Eventually, after tests, training, and a lot of confused looks from adults I came to understand the truth.
I had awakened my tactile telekinesis instead, and with the slightly higher physical baseline from my mothers homo magi side. It wasn't what anyone expected.
Not my father. Nolan. Batman. Not even me. My mother was the only one who kept quiet like she knew something the others didn't. But she never said what.
At first, I was more surprised that Mark had gotten his powers earlier than the comic book version I knew. In my old life, Mark's awakening happened later, closer to seventeen. But this world did not follow the comic timeline so cleanly. I was still getting use to things in this world being twisted and merged.
Putting DC events beside Invincible events and letting both infect each other. I was confusing and made me anxious for how certain events in the future would look. Like Green Lanterns: Emerald Twilight, Blackest Night and other events like Infinite Crisis, or the DC metal event.
So Mark got his powers early and so did I. But his came as a certainty, while mine came as a question mark. Back then after that, my days became crowded fast.
During school, I tried to act normal. I sat through classes at Gotham Academy, took notes, joked with Barbara and Dick, and pretended the world was simple enough for homework to matter. It was a better school experience then my first life if I was honest.
Sometimes Mark was around as he was learning to fly. The Grayson family lived in Baltimore, which I though was funny because in my past life I was from.
Sometimes he would come with me and the others on our patrols. At night, everything changed.
I trained with the Bat-family.
Sometimes in the Bat cave or on rooftops. Sometimes in abandoned warehouses Batman had already cleared and secured before I got there. I learned how to control my strength, from falling, rolling, grip breaks, basic striking, joint locks, counters, pursuit routes, stealth movement, and how to keep my breathing steady when adrenaline hits.
Batman was so hands-on in those years. There were moments he was warm like a big brother or uncle.
He studied my tactile telekinesis like a puzzle he intended to solve before anyone else did. He helped test how far I could extend it through contact. How much force I could spread through my body before I felt strain. How much extra weight I could lift if my field wrapped the object properly. How hard I could hit or get hit before hurting myself.
My father helped too. Over the years I got use to my parents and felt more comfortable calling them mom and dad.
Dad taught me the things Batman couldn't. How to move in three dimensions. How beings like Viltrumites thought in combat. How to stop treating the sky like an empty space and start treating it like terrain. How to balance momentum without ground beneath my feet. How to strike with my whole body in flight.
Dick was probably my best teacher even if we were the same age. He taught me how not to panic at heights.
That sounded simple until you were thirteen, standing on a gargoyle above Gotham, knees shaking while Robin grinned like an idiot beside you.
"Don't look down," Dick said.
I glared at him. " Okay Circus boy, that's the first thing everyone looks at when someone says don't look down."
He smiled wider. "Exactly. So stop doing what people tell you."
I glared at him. " What does that even mean?"
Barbara laughed from the ledge a few feet away. She was already wearing the early version of her Batgirl suit then, practical and dark with purple accents. Her red hair was tucked back, her eyes sharp as always.
"You're doing fine, Caius," she said. "Just breathe."
"I am breathing."
"You're growling."
"I'm multitasking."
Dick just laughed. Which made the rest of us laugh. I swear those nights were some of the best memories I had.
Gotham below us. The wind rushing cold around my face. The Bat-signal cutting through clouds somewhere across the city. Barbara swinging beside me like she was born for rooftops. Dick flipping through the air like gravity was a personal suggestion. Me trying to learn how to fly before I even knew how to control my powers.
Eventually, I learned along with putting my fighting skills to the test against a thugs and other lowlifes of Gotham. Which mom told me was good but its just a start.
"Caius, helping people is fine, but where does it end honey. How many more people will you have to beat up before it ends?"
I knew what she meant. Heroes that only fight people who are on tough times trying to survive doesn't help society in the long run. I always felt like a hero was supposed to help in the worst of times, and inspire unity in the people and fix the society with those people.
" It ends when we can create a world were people don't starve because a few individuals are greedy. When the people are united and can stand up for themselves without having to lose everything first. I think that will be a good start."
Mom knelt down and kissed my forehead. "Your starting to think in the right direction sweety. Don't ever lose that vision."
"I won't mom, I promise."
As time went on I pushed myself to be better at handling my powers, but compared to Mark who's powers had a higher baseline and were more natural I was behind. Mark took to flight like it was natural because it was natural. His body knew what it was made for once the switch turned on.
Mine was different.
I flew by wrapping tactile telekinesis around myself and pushing against the world. It was clumsy at first. Too sharp and sudden. Sometimes I shot upward once so fast I screamed and nearly slammed into a billboard before Dick caught my ankle with a grappling line. Barbara and him never let me forget that.
Mark and Nolan came by every once in a while too. At least a few times a month. That's usually when our fathers met for training.
At first, I liked those days. Nolan and dad would speak privately before training, sometimes in low voices, sometimes I only understood half of what they were saying. I think it was a mission brief from what I remembered.
Then the lessons would begin. Lifting heavy objects like boulders and cars. Flight drills with aerial combat sparring. Things normal Viltrumites did but probably to a different degree because Viltrum's gravity is 1.25 times that of Earth's. And I believe Nolan and Dad were actually holding back somewhat.
All I knew was I horrible compared to them and that was the truth.
Mark could lift things I could barely budge with trying. He could accelerate faster in the air, stop sharper, turn cleaner. His body took impact's a lot better, and he recovered quicker. He shrugged and laughed off hits that left me trying not to show pain or just winded.
And at first, he teased me like a friend. Then it changed slowly, but not all at once.
Mark started coming around less and less. When he did, something about him felt different each time. He colder and more distant. One afternoon, after a flight drill where he had easily outpaced me, we sat on top of an old water tower
Mark looked out toward the skyline and asked, " Hey Caius. What do you think about Earth?"
I looked at him like he had grown another head. "What kind of question is that?"
He shrugged. "Just answer it."
I followed his gaze toward Gotham in the distance. The city looked almost peaceful from that far away, all towers and shadows under the setting sun.
"It's my home," I said. "It's flawed. Very flawed. But it's home." I kept going. "I'd hope one day we live in a world that doesn't need heroes. But until then, somebody has to help."
Mark didn't look at me, he was quiet for a while.
Then he said, "You're right about that, and so is my dad"
I looked at him. I didn't like the sound of that.
"Mark, what does that mean?"
He didn't answer. He just stood and flew off the water tower without looking back. After that, our sparring changed.
Mark started hitting harder. Not enough to kill or seriously injure me. But enough to remind me he could hurt me whenever he wanted. At first, I thought he was frustrated by something, and then I realized he was judging me.
During one spar, Mark caught me with a body shot that folded me over even with my tactile field cushioning the impact. I hit the ground hard, coughing, one hand pressed to my ribs.
He hovered above me, his expression unreadable. "Come on get up," he said. "You're supposed to be one of us."
I pushed myself up, anger burning hot in my chest. "I'm trying."
"You're always trying. When are you gonna actually prove your one of us?"
That one cut, but before I could answer, my father was there. He moved between us so fast I barely saw him.
"That is enough," he said.
His voice was calm, but it carried a warning that made even Mark go still. Nolan landed a few feet away, cape shifting in the wind. He watched me for a moment with that cold analytical gaze he used when he was studying something disappointing.
"I thought he was a Type Two," Nolan said.
My father's expression tightened. "He is a Type Two."
Nolan continued. "But maybe he's a Type Three with a metagene ability. He would still be useful."
I looked up sharply.
"What do you mean by that?"
Nolan turned his eyes to my father, almost gesturing for him to explain. Dad looked at me, then at Mark. For a moment, he seemed like he was trying to weigh how much to say. Then he exhaled.
"Listen up, both of you."
Mark landed and I got to my feet slowly, still holding my ribs.
We moved to the training field nearby, where plenty of open space stood out. From long hills and huge mountains in the background. Nolan stood with his arms folded. My father stood in front of us, hands clasped behind his back.
That day, Mark and I got the rundown of the Viltrumite hierarchy. Well the simple vanilla version to be exact. But even that was enough to scare me.
Dad began with Viltrum itself.
"Boys," he said, looking at me first and then Mark, " You already know about Viltrum being a peaceful, utopian, and highly advanced civilization. The Viltrum Empire has advanced far beyond most civilizations in the universe. Far enough that long ago, we even formed partnerships with beings calling themselves New Gods."
My eyes widened. Did he just say the New Gods. He couldn't mean....
My father continued before I could speak.
"Through that partnership, the people of Viltrumite and the Empire evolved further. Our bodies already held what our scientists describe as smart atoms. They help us adapt, heal, and endure force beyond what most species can imagine. As long as our hearts and brains remain intact, we can recover from injuries others would consider fatal."
He paused.
"You can compare us to Kryptonians under the yellow Sun in some ways. But our biology allows us to survive damage that could kill even beings like Superman under the right conditions."
I frowned. "If we already had smart atoms, why partner with the New Gods?"
Nolan answered that one. His voice was colder than my father's.
"Because they were among the few we could consider our equals. And because Emperor Argall's generation saw the benefit in what they promised."
"What did they promise?" I asked.
My father's face went colder too. "Evolution."
The word sat between us.
Dad continued.
"The New Gods offered alliance in power and blood. By sharing a measure of their essence, the Empire's strongest bloodlines grew slightly stronger. But their essence gave our people something else. Access to the possibility of metagene expression."
I stared at him. Wait he means the like the Metagene I have.
Dad kept speaking.
" Our people Understood, there was almost no chance of awakening it through Viltrumites breeding only with one another. Our people were too proud at the time to pursue extensive hybridization with lower species. With only a few exceptions existed."
Nolan's mouth tightened. "One of them being our current Grand Regent," he said. "A hybrid descended from one of the strongest bloodlines in Viltrumite history and the child of a New God. He was made to be one of the strongest."
I felt my stomach twist. Grand Regent Thragg of all people. In the Invincible comics, Thragg was already a nightmare, But now he was half New God too?
That sounded like something designed in a lab by a writer who hated the universe. Or really loved Thragg.
I kept my reaction quiet, but inside my mind was racing.
My father continued.
"Our emperor was murdered by someone known as the Betrayer. Soon after, our species was struck by a biological weapon we call the Scourge Virus. It wiped out ninety-nine point nine percent of us."
Mark's face changed. "Wait," he said. "That means our species is almost extinct."
Nolan nodded. "It means we are numbers are reduced, but the Empire is not finished."
Dad added, "Our people live very long lives. The highest recorded age is over five thousand years, though most Viltrumites do not die of old age. They usually die in combat which is our way. After the New God alliance, even our old limits became uncertain."
He looked between us. "But with the need to revive our species came children like you. Hybrids."
That word felt heavier after hearing everything else.
Dad continued. "There are four average classifications and two separate special classifications. I will explain the basic four."
I shifted where I sat, ribs still sore, attention locked.
"Viltrumites needed compatible mates," he said. "Partners who could reproduce children with our powers. Earthlings happen to be one of them and have two things Viltrumites did not."
He held up one finger. "Adrenaline."
Then a second. "And high metagene production rate."
I blinked. "Viltrumites don't have adrenal glands?" I asked.
"No," my father said. "You and Mark do because of your mothers. Depending on your emotional and physical state, that can create a temporary boost in the midst of battle."
Nolan looked at Mark. "Type One hybrids are almost indistinguishable from pure-blooded Viltrumites in looks and abilities. Some minor biological differences may exist, but nothing significant."
He nodded toward Mark. "That is you son."
Then dad looked at me. "Earthling's adrenaline means Mark and you may grow stronger very quickly in battle compared to many purebloods, especially when pushed."
Mark's smile widened.
"What about the others?" I asked.
"Type Two hybrids are rare considered the rarest and potentially among the strongest hybrids to exist. They possess Viltrumite and metagene abilities."
My eyes widened. That was insane. A Viltrumite with extra powers on top of the already godlike physical package? That was a nightmare waiting to happen.
"Why are they so rare?" I asked.
"Because metagene activation is unpredictable," Jonathan said. "The Empire does not fully understand it. But any Viltrumite with metagene expression is considered extremely valuable."
"How many are there?" I asked.
My father looked to Nolan. Nolan gave a slow nod, and looked back at us.
"You boys must understand everything we are saying stays between us."
Mark and I both nodded.
"Counting me and Nolan, there are roughly fifty purebloods and Type One hybrids combined currently active within known Empire lines. Including you, Caius, there are ten Type Two hybrids. There are approximately one hundred Type Three hybrids."
I stared. That was more than I expected and fewer than I feared.
"Why are Type Ones counted with purebloods?" I asked. "And what are Type Threes?"
"Because Type Ones are basically pureblooded in function," my father said. "Their minor biological differences do not change their place in the Empire. Metagene-bearing lines, however, are status symbols because of what they add to the gene pool."
Nolan answered the second part. "Type Threes are considered grunts in the Empire."
His tone was blunt.
I looked at him confused. "Why?"
"Because they look like us," Nolan said, "but have only a fraction of our power. Half, perhaps, if they are lucky. They resemble Viltumites physically, but are enhanced in every way compared to most species. Stronger, faster, more durable, longer-lived. They maintain their prime for centuries. But compared to true Viltrumites, they are lesser."
His face did not change as he spoke. "They serve as grunts, laborers, and lesser soldiers. Some have produced Type One offspring with purebloods or other hybrids, so they remain useful to the Empire's rebirth."
Useful. The word made my skin crawl. I understood then that the sanitized explanation was still ugly because the truth behind it was uglier.
"Has a Type Three ever developed a metagene?" I asked.
Nolan shook his head.
"No as of yet, but Type Threes and Type Twos are both rare. Most are Type Ones or Type Four."
"Type Four?" Mark asked.
My father's face changed. Not sadness exactly, something closer to him remembering something memory.
Nolan answered. "Type Fours are the true failures of the Empire."
My fathers jaw tightened, but he did not correct him.
Nolan continued. "They are normal children of Viltrumites at first. Then suddenly their bodies break down. Sickness. Muscle spasms. Coughing and high fevers. Their biology literally rejects itself."
His eyes went distant in a stoic way. "Type Fours die by the age of nine. Their bodies shut down."
The field went quiet after that. I did not know what to say, neither did Mark. And somewhere in the silence, I realized something that made my chest tighten. My father had been afraid of that for me once.
Time moved after that.
The dream shifted smoothing days and months into fragments.
I saw myself training harder, and getting better at using my powers. Learning how to create force with touch alone. How to wrap my field around objects so they didn't collapse under their own weight when I lifted them. How to land without cracking concrete, and how to fly more easily.
I saw Mark getting stronger too. He kept getting faster, and more confident. And More distant.
One day Dick came to me with an idea.
We were on a Gotham rooftop eating when he told me. The air was cold, and the city below hummed with late-night traffic and distant sirens. Dick was still in his robin costume. I stood beside him in a dark training suit.
"I've been thinking," Dick said.
"Oh no, that's dangerous."
He gave me a look with a knowing smirk. "You've been spending too much time with Barbara."
"Probably."
He smiled, then turned serious.
"There are a lot of us now. Sidekicks. Young heroes. Metas who don't have anywhere to go. The League is great, but they're a bunch of adults. There needs to be something for teens like us."
I looked at him already knowing what he was thinking. "You want to create a team of teen sidekick and meta's?"
"Yeah."
He leaned against the ledge. "Kid Flash and Speedy are on board too. I think the Aqualad boys (Jackson Hyde & Garth) would listen if we asked. Donna definitely might if your there. A few others too."
I thought about it for a second. I be lying if I didn't like the sound of it. My past life kid me would be excited to join the Teen Titans or Young Justice teams.
We can make a place to train, learn. And make mistakes without being crushed by the adult world's expectations. A place for kids with powers to not feel alone or feel like sidekicks.
I already knew the name before he asked. "We should call it the Teen Titans," I said. "Or just the Titans for short."
Dick's eyes lit up. "The Titans," he repeated. "I like the sound of that."
And that was how it started, well at least in this world. Along the way, we found others.
Superboy appeared during the Death of superman event, which was scary because Not even my dad or Omni man could subdue Doomsday, together. They were hurt pretty badly, even mom had to get involve.
Starfire showed being hunted by some aliens and landed on Earth. She was like a mix of her comic and cartoon version. So bright and bubbly like a foreign girl who loved where she was. But she was drop dead gorgeous. She always treated me so nice and different, calling me honored one alot.
Raven was being hunted by demons, had to get the Justice League & Justice League dark had to get involved. They didn't trust her due to demonic heritage, and her immense uncontrollable power. Not to mention her role as the daughter of the interdimensional demon Trigon. But the Titans took her in no problem and said screw all that.
Cyborg found his way to us after his whole accident that caused him to look half man and half machine. He took a long time to adjust to the team and to his new look, but with people like Starfire and Raven and me. He opened up eventually and became a founding pillar of our team.
Beast Boy found his way to the team after getting kicked out of the Doom Patrol. He was trying to be a solo hero but wasn't good at it. I invited him to the team and told him how about he stick with us for a little bit, and leave when his skills are better. But he never left, he stayed and became a integral part of the team.
Both Aqualad's, Garth and Jackson had joined the team after Aquaman said it would be good for them. The two were almost polar opposites, but they were great when they worked together and in the team. Thanks to them we were able to add more to our team and help the environment more as well.
Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) came to the team very easily. She always wanted to go out and help others no matter where or what was going on. She had a crazy love for adventure and battle, and when not doing that she was always around me, and asking about my mom. I swore my mom was already calling her a daughter and had expected me to marry Donna one day, even if she didn't say it outload.
More came later to. Like Lilith Clay (Omen). Hawk and Dove ( Hank &Dawn). And plenty more
We built our base as a giant T-shaped tower on an island off San Francisco. Titans Tower. It looked ridiculous from a distance and somehow perfect up close. Inside it had plenty of training rooms, dorms, labs, common areas, medical spaces, communications systems, and enough reinforced architecture to survive young metas teens and large amounts of hormones being in one place..
There we trained, sometimes fought bad guys and each other. That's also where we became something like a family.
We took in teens and metas who needed help. Kids who awakened abilities and broke their bedrooms. Kids and teens being hunted by gangs or government agencies. Who had nowhere else to go. We taught control, teamwork, responsibility, and how to laugh after a bad day.
For a while, it worked. I even asked Mark to join too, by then, he was going by Invincible.
While I still didn't have a name. He joined the team but only joined for certain missions. He was a real loner sometimes.
I didn't know what I wanted to be. I didn't even know if I wanted to be a hero. Part of me did. Part of me only wanted to be with my friends and learn enough to survive when the real disasters came.
Because I knew sooner or later, shit would hit the fan.
The Viltrumites invasion. Darkseid. Brainiac. The Anti-Monitor. Lex Luthor. Amanda Waller. Everything I knew from DC still hadn't happen, and with the events of Invincible in the back happening. I was more afraid to lose the people I grew close to.
But all of it was somewhere out there, going to happen regardless if I liked it or not. So I trained and stayed close to my friends and teammates and smiled when I could.
I tried to believe we had time. Then, one month after my birthday, everything went wrong. That's when the dream shifted again...