The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (39 page)

Richard motioned for them to follow him out of the room,
while Stabel hurried over to check on his patient.

Outside in the hallway, everyone gathered around Richard
and waited for him to speak. He sighed loudly.

“
You
know he isn't human, right?” he asked Justin directly.

Justin felt his mouth drop open, “Um, what?”
he asked stupidly.

“
He
isn't human.” At Justin's expression, Richard held up his
hands. “Don't worry, he's not a machine either. Or a Titan for
that matter.” He looked puzzled. “He is...something else.
Old. So old. And strong. His body endured wounds that would have
killed a human or a Titan. By rights, he should have died during his
battle.”

“
But,
what is he, Rich?” Jason asked a bit fearfully.

“
He's...I
don't know. You may have to ask him that. I only know that I'm glad
he's on our side.”

“
Were
you able to heal him, Richard?” Maria asked.

Richard shook his head and the group looked dejected. He
was their last hope.

“
But
I made it possible for him to heal himself,” Richard added and
smiled at the teens looks of amazement.

“
But
how?”

“
It's
difficult to explain. I cleared some pathways in his brain that had
been blocked by the head trauma. It will allow for his own
recuperative powers to reach the damaged tissue and repair it. I
don't know how long it will take, but I think he'll recover, in
time.”

The door to Fitzgerald's room opened and Stabel came
bustling out. He grabbed Richard's hand and pumped it vigorously.
“He's healing. He's healing!” Stabel said joyfully.
“Somehow, you've restored his ability to regenerate. Amazing!”
He stopped shaking Richard's hand and looked around at the group.

“
I
am so grateful that you all showed up. To lose Mr. Fitzgerald, well,
would have been catastrophic.”

Richard looked troubled. “Stabel, what is he?”
he asked hesitantly.

“
What
is he? Why, he's Fitzgerald of course! What else could he be?”

Justin noticed the way that the servitor's eyes shifted
away from them as he spoke, as if he was trying to hide something.

“
Come
on, Stabel. You know that's not what we meant,” he said.

The medic glanced quickly at Justin then turned away
again, twisting his hands together nervously. “I, yes, I know
what you are asking. But I truly cannot say. His physiology is
unknown to me. All I know is that he has been here, in Sanctuary, for
a long, long time. Perhaps from the beginning. He is known to all,
respected by all.” He stopped, then finished lamely “He
is Fitzgerald. That is all I know.”

“
Justin?
Does it really matter?” Maria asked. “You've told us
about him. How he helped you, protected our fellow Titans, cared
enough about you in particular that he went to this mysterious
'Council' in an attempt to rescue your friend. What more do you need
to know?”

“
I
don't know, Maria. Honestly, I don't. Yes, I trust him. Well, as much
as I trust anyone these days. But I don't like secrets. Not now. Not
when they can come back and bite us later on.” Justin shook his
head in frustration. “But you have a point. And we don't have a
lot of choices at the moment, do we?”

“
No,
we don't,” she answered. Stabel glanced back at the door, then
turned and entered Fitzgerald's room again. Maria continued. “The
way I see it, we only have two choices; stay or go. We can stay here
with the servitors, where we are at least safe, for now. Or we can go
on and try to free the other Titans and the Guardians from the
renegades.” She looked pointedly at the other teens, “And
we aren't exactly a fighting force, are we?”

“
Why,
Maria! I'm hurt!” Aaron looked at her and pretended to wipe a
tear from his eye. “And here I was sure that all we'd have to
do is get up top and yell boo and they'd all turn tail and run.”

The
teens all laughed. Julia jumped in. “Forget you, Aaron. I'd
just have to announce that I was the heir of
Tethys
and they would be falling all over themselves trying to surrender!”

The laughter continued. Justin realized that it was the
sense of relief, that they might actually get a chance to do
something, that was making the group so giddy.

“
Oh
really?” Yolanda spoke up this time. “Well, I have you
both beat. I would...”

“
What
would you do, oh great and powerful Yolanda?” Julia said
mockingly.

Yolanda didn't respond. She just nodded toward the door
to the sick room. Stabel was standing in the open doorway and he said
gravely “Fitzgerald would like to see you.”

“
He's
awake?” Justin asked in surprise. Mr. Fitzgerald had looked
like he was at death's door a few minutes ago.

“
Yes,
but he is very weak. So please, do not do anything to upset or excite
him,” Stabel replied.

“
Does
he want to see all of us, Stabel?” Maria asked.

“
He
does, but he asked to see Justin alone first, if that is all right?”

Justin looked at the others. “Are you guys okay
with that? I meant what I said about not wanting to deal with any
secrets right now.”

Aaron gave him a push. “Go, Justin, go. He's weak
and wants to see you. Stop screwing around and get in there!”

“
Aaron!
Be nice,” Maria said shortly. She turned to Justin. “Go
ahead, Justin. We may not know Mr. Fitzgerald, but we know you. And
we trust you. So get in there.”

Everyone else murmured their support for him. Justin
smiled a bit sheepishly and Aaron gave him a quick wink. Then he
turned and entered Fitzgerald's room. Stabel remained in the hall
with the others.

As he entered the room, the first thing Justin noticed
was that Stabel had opened the window curtains and the bright,
cheerful artificial light was streaming in. Mr. Fitzgerald was
propped up by several pillows, staring through the window into the
distance. Justin cleared his throat and the man turned and waved him
over.

“
Pull
up a chair, Justin, if you wouldn't mind,” he asked in a weak
but steady voice. As Justin grabbed the chair, Mr. Fitzgerald sipped
on a glass of water.

“
How
are you doing, young man?” the man asked, sounding concerned.

“
I
think I should be asking you that, sir,” Justin replied.
Fitzgerald smiled slightly and shrugged.

“
Apparently
I will live. Your friend, Richard was it? He has given me a chance to
heal. He has my gratitude and then some.” He stretched slightly
and glanced out of the window again for a moment.

“
Sir?”
Justin said, feeling a bit daring. “Is there any chance that
you know how the others are doing? You know, up there?” He
pointed at the ceiling. “When I got a message from Mrs. Mallon,
things sounded really desperate.”

Mr. Fitzgerald smiled gently. “Ah, Mrs. Mallon.
Was there ever a more fiercely loyal friend or braver companion?”
He pushed himself up against the pillows slightly. “But no,
Justin. I'm afraid that after I was knocked unconscious, I lost track
of time and I can only tell you what I remember before that.”

“
She
said it was Benson who betrayed us,” Justin growled, thinking
about the arrogant boy he had known when he lived in Sanctuary a few
months earlier.

“
Benson,
yes. It was indeed he who got a message to his father.” Mr.
Fitzgerald looked at Justin. “You know who his father is, do
you?” Justin nodded once. “Yes. Head of one of the
largest arms manufacturers in the world. I'm sure that the chance to
plunder Titan secrets was irresistible to him. Poor Mr. Benson.”

“
Poor
Mr. Benson?” Justin was outraged. “Poor us, you mean! Our
people were attacked. Many died. How can you say...” Fitzgerald
held up his hand and Justin stumbled into silence, glowering at the
man.

“
I
don't say he is blameless, Justin. But he has paid for his greed. You
see, the renegade Titans learned of his plans to invade and plunder
Sanctuary. They inserted some of their people into his raiding party,
not hard to do as they had infiltrated his company some time ago, to
keep tabs on his son. And when they had made it into Sanctuary, the
infiltrators killed his hired mercenaries and enabled their own
fighters to enter the complex.” Fitzgerald frowned as he looked
down at his emaciated hands. “I believe Mr. Benson never left
his corporate head office alive.”

Justin stared in shock. “They killed him?”
he asked hoarsely.

“
Oh
yes. And took his son captive. He was thrown in with the rest of the
young Titans. Somehow, I doubt that he was given a warm welcome.”

“
Well,
I feel sorry about his dad, I guess. But there's no excuse for what
he did!”

“
I
am not excusing him, Justin. I'm simply giving you the facts. I'm
sure Benson's guilt is more than punishment enough.” The man
looked at Justin intently. “It was his betrayal that set the
events in motion that led to his father's death, after all.”
The man sipped some more water and Justin, noticing that his glass
was empty, grabbed a nearby jug and refilled it. Mr. Fitzgerald
nodded his thanks.

“
But
now, I need to be brought up to date, Justin. I wonder if you would
be so kind as to tell me of your adventures? From the moment you,”
he raised an eyebrow and Justin felt himself blushing “left
Sanctuary without permission, to the moment you arrived here.”

“
Um,
yes sir,” Justin answered awkwardly. He stumbled a bit as he
began the story, embarrassed by the fact that Mr. Fitzgerald was
right. He had left them all to find his mother. Maybe if he'd been
there when Sanctuary was invaded, he could have helped, could have
done something. He put that out of his mind for the moment and began
telling his story yet again.

It was easier to recount the facts to Mr. Fitzgerald
since they had told Borgen the same story a little earlier. But
Fitzgerald asked very pointed questions as Justin told his tale and
drew out facts that he had passed over or forgotten.

Several times Mr. Fitzgerald seemed surprised by things
in Justin's story. When he mentioned the minotaurs patrolling
Prometheus' prison level, the man looked thoughtful.

“
And
these minotaurs didn't attack you, Justin?” he asked.

“
Well,
yes and no, sir. They chased me into Prometheus' rooms. Luckily for
me, they couldn't enter.”

“
And
they never caught you? Interesting. Outrunning a minotaur is
an...extraordinary feat.”

The man's tone made Justin stare at him in confusion.
“You mean, they let me get away? But why?”

“
Why
indeed, my boy. Why indeed.” He seemed to be lost in thought
for a moment.

Justin continued the story. Fitzgerald was obviously
saddened by the fate of Prometheus but he was very pleased that the
Titan had unlocked the talents of the young Titans.

“
So
you've come into your own, Justin. Master of earth, as was your
mighty ancestor, Cronus.”

“
Hardly
a master yes, sir. I've got a lot to learn,” he admitted.

“
Perhaps,
Justin. But you've come a long way already, I'm sure.”

“
Sir?
Is there any way that we can free Prometheus? I'm sure with his power
on our side...” Justin's voice trailed off as Fitzgerald began
shaking his head.

“
The
Council has offered him his freedom many times over the years, my
boy. He believes he still must pay for his crimes, even though time
has passed him by and no one even remembers them anymore. He lives in
a prison of his own making now and he will not leave.”

Justin didn't understand. “Sorry sir, but that's
crazy. We need him desperately. Can't he see that?”