I Left My Heart

Teen Titans West
Issue #1: “I Left My Heart…”
Written by Brian Burchette
Cover by Brandon Herren

(c) DC Comics




Special Agent Brandon Juarez shivered in spite of himself as the Coast Guard cruiser sped across the water. The fog wasn’t as thick as it had been earlier that week, which was a good thing. The sun was just beginning to rise over the East, and when he turned to look behind him, he could see the hint of red just over the San Francisco skyline.

He pulled his jacket a little tighter as the boat made its way north-west, following the shoreline of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. He didn’t want this assignment, and had actually been hoping they would have given it to Steele instead, but no such luck. Seemed like he was always getting stuck with the abnormal missions lately.

He watched as the gray-haired gentleman in the uniform approached him, also wrapping himself in his jacket a little more to protect himself from the chilly sea spray that would occasionally spring up from the side of the boat.

“We should be approaching the coordinates in a couple of minutes, sir. My men and I are here at your disposal. Any orders before we go in?”

Juarez shook his head. “Just make sure they’re ready to hightail it out of here at the first sign of trouble. I’m impressed that the Coast Guard brought in the Flotilla Commander for this.”

“Well, to be honest,” the older man said, with a grin that gave his aging face a more weathered look, “I jumped at the chance. Had to do a lot of arguing to come out here, but the rumors about this place have been going on too long, and I’d be a fool not to see what’s fact and what’s fiction.”

“Well, if we’re lucky, Commander, it’ll all be fiction.”

They rode in silence the rest of the way, neither moving much, until they heard the engine kick back, and the boat began to slow down. It trolled the water as Commander Biggs and Agent Juarez scanned the coast line. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Biggs saw it – faintly – hidden in a cove. A small cave, hidden from the untrained eye, but obvious now due to the faint pulsating yellow light that was coming from inside of it, which was a dead giveaway.
He tapped Juarez on the shoulder and pointed. The Special Agent scanned in the direction and instantly saw it as well. “That’s it. Lower the raft, I’m going in for a closer look.”

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