Titans Together! (Cont.)

Grace gave Sage a disaproving look. "SHE is going with us, Sage. If we go running around in the shadows, we're going to look like how the media portrays us. However, if we calmly walk through the town, with some light disguises and a puppy in hand, then there's no way we could be evil."

Grace held Mercy in a close hug. "Besides, I can't trust any of you to take care of her. So she stays with me for now. Any idea of where Lance might be?"

Grace's eyes filled with hatred for Jak. If he wasn't injured right now, she would have fixed that. She quietly followed Jak towards the hills, but finally she snapped.

"Stupid, huh? Is that what you think of me Jak? Because I know someone so stupid that he turned Kat into a villain, and that's you! All of this is your fault!"

Mercy wimpered and tried to cover her ears from the angry voice of Grace.

"Coward? You are calling me a coward now? Don't you remember that reaper, Necati? He beat you up once, but he was inside my mind for years. There are still traces of his presense in my mind, and I can never be rid of it!" Grace remembered her black book. She had been reading it lately, and paying attention. The things in there would turn Sage another shade paler she was certain.

"And as for Lance and I, we know how we feel about each other. We WERE each other for a day, remember? The problem isn't that we are cowards, it's that it just won't work. He isn't what I need him to be, and he doesn't know what he wants. That's why our relationship hasn't gone anywhere. Yes, Jak Sage, I joined the Titans specifically to be with Lance, but the reason I stay a Titan is for the free rent. Actually, I'm having a hard time thinking of a reason not to leave. It's probably just that I've gotten so used to this place. Chew on that!"

Grace had denied it for a long time, but the sad fact was that Lance just wasn't powerful enough. None of the Titans were, not even Dan. If Grace was ever going to stand up to her brother, then she was going to need someone stronger than Argo himself.

Brother...

Returning to the present, Grace sneered at Jak. "Anyways, we need to find Lance now. We need him so we can save our necks. All other things are unimportant, including my personal hatred for you. Let's just focus on the task at hand and maybe we can survive long enough to argue about this later."

Grace wiped a tear from her eye as she considered the feat before them.

They had to get past the four policemen without giving away who they were. Perhaps she could walk past and convince the guards she was an innocent girl out on a walk, but there was no way Jak could do the same with his unique, famous appearance.

They could try flying over, but then they would be seen. They could try camoflage, but that didn't seem like a good idea, either.

Grace turned back to look at Jak. "How about a tunnel? I can freeze the ground and control it to make a tunnel. We could go right under them." Grace had never actually tried this, but Lance did it all the time. How hard could it be? She waited for Jak's opinion on the plan.

It was true that Grace had never done this before, but Sage made it sound like she was a kindergardener. Of course she would keep it from collapsing in.

"The only problem is going to be the venting. If I freeze too much dirt, I'll get sick from absorbing all the heat. I'll need a way to get rid of that energy." She had been searching for a method for a while now, but had come up short. Hopefully Sage would have an idea.

Grace had never fully mastered venting. That was what made her one of the weaker benders back home. There was no reason for Sage to know that, however.

"If we can't come up with anything, we can always go with another plan." Grace looked down at Mercy as she tried to think of a new plan. Suddenly, she knew what they could do. She smiled down at the dog. "I've got it! Mercy, you're going to be a flying puppy." Turning back to Sage, Grace put a more serious expression on her face. "Would a flying dog be enough of a distraction for the two of us to sneak by them?"

Grace made a thin layer of ice around Mercy's belly and legs. It shouldn't be noticable. The dog started to bark as Grace floated her into the air and towards the police. Soon, Mercy was travelling at 50 miles an hour straight towards the police.

The officers were suprised to say the least. "Flying dog!" One shouted. Another ducked for cover. One pulled out a gun before realizing that it was just a dog. The sight of the flying dog perplexed the officers, and as it started to hover to one side, they couldn't keep their eyes off of it.

"Could this be...the pet of one of the Titans?" "Could be." "In that case, we better catch it."

The officers took off after the dog, all four of them. Grace made sure to keep Mercy at a good distance ahead of them.

Meanwhile, Grace would run out of the woods and towards the town. The officers were too busy running to her right that they didn't see her. Soon, she was safely inside the cover of the city. Stopping to catch her breathe, Grace released her ice from Mercy, who dropped into the arms of an officer.

"Take good care of her," Grace whispered, although the officer wouldn't hear her. She was sure that they would take good care of Mercy. She was a cute little puppy, after all.

The officers went back to their squad cars and put the little dog in the back of one. "Thank goodness we got it."