The New Teen Titans Part II: The Curse of al Ghul

Chapter 2: Coup d'état

Silence hung in the air as Robin rode the jet with his team on their way to Qurac. It wasn't typical for the Titans to stay so quiet like that, especially with Jon and Maya on the jet. They were always pretty chatty, same with Colin, but Damian's awfully quiet demeanor sparked a collective concern within the team.

It took long minutes of uncomfortable silence for Colin to finally speak up.

"So, um... Damian... What was the plan again?"

"Yeah, why so quiet, Captain 'Demon Head '?" Teased Maya, peering over Damian's shoulder with a playful smile, "What's today's strategy?"

"I'm still thinking, alright?" Snapped Damian, "Our mission is obviously to protect the King's family first and foremost, I'm just afraid the coup has already started. If only there was a way for me to communicate with Ekram so I could at least have an idea of his status..."

Seated next to the pilot, Red Arrow leaned in closer to her boyfriend and asked, "Your mask has access to the Batcomputer files, right? Can't you find his phone number or something and locate him?"

"Already tried," Robin responded coldly, "He probably got rid of anything that could trace him. Ekram's smart, he wouldn't want to run the risk of being found while trying to reach me."

"Well, but in the meantime, we can still talk about our positions, right?" Jon suggested, his voice brimming with his usual positivity, "Like, who's gonna go in first, if we'll be splitting up, that type of thing. Besides, I got superhearing and supervision. I'm sure I can find your friend and the Royal Family in no time!"

"Your supervision sucks, Jon." Robin insulted, "And anytime I ask you to use your superhearing, you tell me it's too hard to focus."

Jon got up from his seat and angrily bopped his friend in the head, "Will you stop with that? My supervision does not suck, and I can use my superhearing just fine! Especially in times of crisis like these."

"Alright, alright." Damian apologized, "Sorry."

Maya looked over to Colin and raised her eyebrows, "An apology from Mister Rude? That's new!"

Colin whispered back to Nobody, "I told you he's getting better."

"I can hear you!" Robin complained, making the two friends giggle.

Another moment of silence permeated the air. Colin, Jon, and Maya decided to go to the back of the jet to grab some snacks since they were all getting hungry, leaving Damian and Emiko alone in the front.

Taking advantage of their privacy, Emiko leaned over again and whispered, "Psst. Damian, what's wrong?

"Nothing, Emi."

"Oh, there's definitely something wrong. I understand there are a lot of unknowns this time, and that we really need to rush so we can save the King on time, but you never not have a plan, even in last-minute missions like these. You seem... Distraught ."

Damian hated how Emiko could read him so well sometimes.

Robin looked down and paused before letting out, "...I can't fail him again, Emiko."

"That friend of yours, Ekram? How did you fail him before, exactly?"

The jet was set on autopilot, so Damian still didn't look up as he explained, "Years ago, Ekram led a group called 'Kollectic ', a group of survivors who escaped from Leviathan. My father and I were trying to keep them safe, but I brought death to them. Heretic killed most of Ekram's friends all because he placed a tracker on me and led us to a trap. The worst part is that to this day, Ekram blames himself for his friends' deaths when it was my fault all along."