Here's a preview of the sequel to SINKING INTO SLADE, entitled: A HERO'S REDEMPTION.

The day was cold and dark, a severe contrast to the usual comings and goings of Jump City, and a lone girl shivered in an alleyway, her long black hair trembling ever so slightly against the wind. The streets were bare of people, glass from sidewalk shops strewn every which way, and there wasn't a street corner without the now routine, black and metal clad foot soldier of the one called Slade, their stony glare expecting nothing, and receiving no trouble at all. The wind howled a wolf's call between the passageways between buildings, and called to the people who once lived here. Where had they gone? Where did they go? But no one seemed to be around to answer.

It made her shiver in uneasy anticipation, like an accident waiting to happen.

She could use her powers if she wanted to, scout around in the skies above, but she had heard from a neighboring town that the second in command to Slade would come to expect weird things. She was definitely weird, so she figured she'd better stay out of sight. Even amongst the garbage and the refuse, she felt weird, awkward, standing out more than she should, but she couldn't take the chance of being seen.

Watching a pair of drones pass her alley, she kept wondering about the Teen Titans. Where had they gone? Where was Raven, the half-demon witch? Starfire, the alien? Beast Boy the shape shifter, or Cyborg the half man, half machine? Where were the Titans?

She had asked such a question to the folks she hitchhiked with in the other city, but they couldn't answer her. When she mentioned the fifth Titan, they glared, and avoided the question. Why? Who was the fifth Titan? She wanted to know. Maybe they would help.

Then again, maybe not; the city looked like it needed more than just one more Titan.

She rubbed her bare arms, trying to warm them, and cursed the day she decided on a red, no sleeve top. It was her favorite, embroidered with white stars along the left side, with scarlet hip huggers to match, but for today, she should've went with something warmer. If the cold of the day didn't get her, the Slade drones would.

A piece of paper was clutched in her hand, and she stopped rubbing, looked down on it and read the first few lines of an address scrawled on it, even though she knew it by heart by now. It was the address to Titan Tower, the central point of superhero power in this city, and she needed to head there straight away. It looked like the city needed heroes, and plus, she needed a place to stay. After being kicked out of everywhere she went, she was desperate to belong somewhere, especially around people who had abilities like hers.

At least they wouldn't kick her out, just because she was different. They'd surely accept her for who she was...

The girl sighed, then focused on her task, determined. "Time to find the Titans," she said, and started on her way. It would take her a couple hours to get to her destination, but that didn't matter: just as long as she got there.