Chapter Text
Earth is seen from far away in outer space. Through the starry vastness, we stop on a rather unpleasant-looking red spaceship out for a cruise.
Its fuselage is in the shape of a large rounded disc, with a narrow spindle topped by a circular projection standing dead center on the upper surface; the bridge. Several spikes extend from the diameter on either side, while two larger ones point straight ahead to flank the main gun.
We see a closed steel door inside and the sound of a muffled, blood curdling scream! In a long corridor, we see two winged reptilian humanoids with long tails march into view. Each is armed with a long spear. The scream has trailed off into a feral growl and the pounding of fists against a wall, and the two creatures continue their patrol. Behind them, we can see three glass-fronted holding cells that contain one face each. In the first is a beast who looks like a sludge monster of some kind, the second is home to a roaring space creature, and the third pens in a Locrix.
Now they approach the closed door at the far end of the corridor, which opens to reveal two more posted at a steel-fronted cell with spears crossed. The screams come louder and more intense now.
We see the door being pounded hard enough to shake it. The very angry occupant is locked behind it, and only a small window slot allows visual contact between the two sides.
All four Gordanians stand at the ready.
Gordanian 1, "the door will hold?"
Gordanian 2, "it must!"
More hollering and banging is heard
Gordanian 3, "the alien will be delivered on schedule. Lord Trogaar has commanded it."
The door shakes a little harder.
Gordanian 4, "and if this thing gets loose?"
Gordanian 1, "then Zorg help us all."
Another piercing scream is heard, the glass cracks, and two burning green eyes rise into view behind it. The guards take a few steps back, bracing themselves for anything and everything, and they get it when one last yell rings out and the door blows outward off its hinges. The steel panel crashes to the deck, the stunned foursome stare back at the open door. After a very long second or two, the eyes blaze up again and their owner steps out into the light.
We see an orange skinned girl with red hair and glowing green eyes in black clothing, armored undergarments, and metal-colored accents. She wears a face-framing crown. She has a muscular build, but still curves, almost like a supermodel.. Her hands and forearms are encased in thick, rigid cuffs connected at both ends. And she is, for lack of a better term, just plain boiling mad.
This is Kori'andr, aka, Starfire.
She yells, "Zengtha ru maka! Kek zengtha ror!"
She lunges at the guards.
The manacled Tamaranean charges on with a steadily building roar in her throat. When she gets within striking distance of the four Gordanians, a distinct height mismatch becomes evident, with her on
the short end of it. However, this does not stop her from swinging both forearms in a wild roundhouse and knocking one of her captors to the wall.
Starfire, "Zengtha ru maka! Kek zengtha ror!"
Another big swing dispatches two more of the aliens. She then tries an uppercut against the last one standing, but he blocks it with his spear and tries a counterattack. He gets nowhere with it, allowing the girl to slip in a hit that breaks the shaft in two and follows it with a kick to the head. The now-senseless enemy is driven into a control panel on the wall.
As he slides down, red lights and sirens start up, triggered by the hit. The girl whispers viciously, "Heska vo."
A section of the lower hull blows apart while a single fighter flies out through the smoke and flame. An instant later, it has put lots of distance between itself and the Gordanians and made a beeline for Earth.
It's nighttime in Jump City Bay.
We see a mugger being stopped by a mysterious figure. The figure is a tall and muscular man in a black suit with a blue bird symbol on the chest. He had short spiky hair, with a black domino mask.
This was Dick Grayson, aka, Nightwing.
Formerly, Robin, sidekick to the hero known as Batman.
The mugger, "hey! This isn't your town! Aren't you supposed to be with-?"
Nightwing, "just moved here. And from now on, I work alone."
The sound of something zooming overhead draws his focus away from the beatdown.
A bright green streak is seen slicing through the night sky above the buildings. It traces an arrow-straight path parallel to the alley and disappears behind the buildings on the far side of the street. Well after it has dropped from sight, a muffled explosion is heard and the pale emerald glare plays up from ground level.
The young hero's masked eyes narrow for a moment; he then regards the collapsed petty thief.
At the end of the alley, we hear the sound of a rope whistling out briefly before he sprints off in this direction. The burglar is securely bound, hanging upside down, and with absolutely no clue as to what has just happened to screw up his night. Dick hoists himself over a wall at the dead end and is gone.
In front of the local pizza joint, smashed into the pavement is a very large crater emitting thick clouds of glowing green smoke, the crash site of whatever just buzzed the block. Several curious onlookers have stopped their cars and gotten out for a better look. The smoke dissipates to reveal the girl at the center of the rubble. We see her hostile face and burning eyes.
We see another figure looking on, among the other people.
He had bright green eyes, dark brown hair with bangs dyed blue and red. He had a dark blue hoodie and brown pants that were covered in a few small scorch marks, stitches, dirt and soot. One hand had fingertips covered in soot, while the other had fingers that were slightly frostbitten. He was holding a wooden staff in his hand.
This man was named Jack Benzo, aka, Zivel.
Starfire, "Slopforn ivortmat", she slides down the slabs and advances, scaring people off, "slopforn! Ond gudshik zerrole!"
A man accidentally flashes his camera, causing all Hell to break loose as the girl begins hitting various things around her, trying to break her bonds as most of the people rum off. All except for Jack. He was keeping his distance, but made sure to stick around.
Star was banging on a column, causing it to almost fall over. As she was about to make another strike, her cuffs were hit by a wingding!
We see Dick standing on a car, doing a heroic pose.
Dick, "who are you?"
In response, Star launched herself across the area, beginning a battle between the two as Dick used his various gadgets against her.
Dick, "hmm, stronger than she looks."
The fighting continues until Star is able to get the upper hand on Dick, shattering his staff, and as she's about to strike him, she is suddenly hit by a fireball!
Dick turns his gaze to Jack, smoke coming from his fingers.
Jack, "thank me later Bird Boy! For now, take care of the crazy alien chick!"
Star is about to lunge at Jack, but is suddenly hit by a green bighorn sheep, who launches the girl away. The sheep suddenly turns into a young man with green skin in a white and purple suit and goofy looking mask.
This was Garfield Logan, aka, Beast Boy.
BB, "ex-Doom Patrol member Beast Boy, sir! How can I help-", his eyes suddenly pop, "wowzers! You're Robin, aren't you, sir?"
Dick, "well, first, you can start by not calling me sir. And second, it's Nightwing now."
Jack, "if we're saying our hero names, I'm Zivel."
BB, "right, well, it's an honour to meet you-"
Dick, "Beast Boy, was it?"
BB, "yes, sir?"
Dick points to Starfire, who has recovered from the bighorn charge and is straining to lift something over her head. It's a freaking bus!
Jack, "ah crap!"
She throws the bus, making the three heroes lunge away. They see the bus about to hit a large man in a hoodie. But somehow, the man actually catches the bus and tosses it aside! Unknown to the group, this was Victor Stone, aka, Cyborg.
Vic, "yo, who the Heck is messing with my neighborhood?!"
BB slides up, "she started it!"
Jack, "I can back up that claim."
Star then sent a huge blow to the pavement, sending a large cloud of dust everywhere.
Soon, the four others were running at her as she managed to start shooting green bolts of energy from her hands that had gotten partially loose from the cuffs.
Vic, "girl's gonna wreck the whole city!"
Dick, "I won't let her!"
Jack, "that makes two of us!"
They run at her again, but before they can get within ten yards of her, a huge bird of anti-light emerges from the ground. Out of it emerges a girl with pale skin in a dark purple cloak.
This is Rachael Roth, aka, Raven.
Raven, "maybe fighting isn't the answer."
Jack felt himself blush upon seeing this beautiful woman.
Dick finally got a good look at Starfire, who was breathing heavily, kneeling down.
Dick, "stand down."
Vic, "who put you in charge?"
Dick, "just give me a chance."
Dick slowly made his way towards Starfire, who bolted to her feet, glaring at him with her hands charged, "Gokta!"
Dick, "easy! My name is Nightwing. I don't wanna hurt you. I just wanna help."
Dick reached for his utility belt. Star glared at him, ready to throw another punch, but then saw Dick pull out a lock pick.
Dick, "it's okay, look."
Star calmed down enough for her eyes to look normal. She held out her wrists, and Dick got to work unlocking her restraints. After a few moments, they fell to the ground.
Star rubbed her wrists.
Dick, "good. Now maybe we c-"
Star instantly pulled Dick into a kiss.
Each of the group had a certain reaction.
Vic had wide eyes. BB had a very confused face. Jack scratched his head. Raven just stared blankly.
Star suddenly pushed Dick to the ground and spoke, "if you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone!"
Star instantly sped off in a streak of green.
The group was around Dick as BB looked at Vic and said, "so…. I'm Beast Boy. Who are you?"
Jack and Vic helped Dick up as Vic said, "well, whoever she was.… the girl sure knows how to make an impression."
BB, "I think we made a pretty good impression. Crazy space girl's gone, the city's saved, mission accomplished. Right, sir?"
Dick, "seriously, please stop calling me that."
Jack, "yeah, it's a little annoying."
BB salutes, "Roger!"
Dick, "looks like we're done here. I appreciate the help."
Dick began to walk off.
Raven, "you're gonna track down that alien?"
Dick, "I have to find out if she's a threat."
Vic, "heh, more like find out if she'll give him another kiss?"
BB, "eh, I kinda prefer blondes."
Jack, "goth chicks all the way."
Raven blushed at that, but her cloak hid it.
BB started racing after Dick, "hey, sir…. Uh…. I mean, Robin? Er, sorry, Nightwing? Do you maybe…?"
Dick, "sorry. I just went solo. I'm not really looking to join a team."
BB, "need a sidekick?"
Nothing. So, he turns back toward Raven, Jack and Vic and gets an idea.
BB, "you guys want to get a pizza?"
He gets a funny sidelong glance from Raven as Vic leaves, he slides up.
Raven, "I shouldn't."
She heads off as well.
Jack looked from Raven to BB, "as much as I'd love to follow the stunning beauty in the hood, you need a friend more dude."
BB gives him a grateful smile as he looks toward Vic and runs over, with Jack behind him.
BB, "just you and us, then, huh? Cool", he circles him, "I-I haven't really had anybody to hang out with since I quit the Doom Patrol. This is gonna be fun. Can we play video games…?"
Vic suddenly stopped and whirled around at the two of them, moving the hood off of his head, showing half of his face was made out of metal and robotics.
Vic, "there! Take a good, long look! I had an accident, and now I'm a freak! A monster! A cyborg."
BB, "Cyborg? Cool!"
BB jumps on his shoulders.
BB, "you're like Robot Man 2.0!"
He keeps zipping about.
Vic, "you're a weird little dude, you know that?"
Jack, "he's not wrong. I've seen monsters dude. And you aren't a monster. You're…. Unique."
Vic gave a grateful smile to Jack.
BB giggled a bit, "heh, you called me dude.'"
Vic started to walk away again.
BB, "okay, well, I'll see you later dude! Dude?"
Before he can try again, a large shadow falls over all of them. BB and Jack look up and yell, "DUDE!"
The same ship from earlier has arrived, and is slowly moving over the bay. A device emerges from it, and imbeds itself on a lone island in the bay.
Vic, "looks like the space girl has friends!"
Dick, "or enemies."
Jack, "I'm pretty sure it's the latter."
All five of them were now standing together as a huge hologram of a fearsome looking alien appeared.
This was Trogaar, leader of the aliens that captured Star.
He spoke, "people of Earth! We come to your planet hunting an escaped prisoner, a very dangerous prisoner. Do not interfere, and we will leave your city with only minimal damage. But if you attempt to assist her…. Your destruction will be absolute."
The hologram disappears, and the device floats back into the ship.
Vic, "that's a big ship."
A large hatch opens to reveal many aliens ready to search for their prisoner.
BB, "and those are a lot of scary looking aliens."
As he said this, all of the aliens began scattering around, searching for Star.
Raven, "they told us not to interfere."
Jack, "and are we gonna listen?"
Several fly low over the water as we see them catching up to the main body of soldiers. Back to the five heroes, Dick finds himself on the receiving end of inquiring glances from the other four.
Vic, "you're still going after her, aren't you?"
Jack, "that is an understatement."
BB, "can we come, too?"
Dick smiles as he said, "I suppose I could team up, just this once."
Smiles of varying widths from the others, after which all but Raven set off. She looks at them, but then down to her feet.
Dick, "you in?"
She snaps to, pulling back to show the boys eyeing her from just a few yards off. A long pause ensues before she turns partly away.
Raven, "I'm not the hero type. Trust me. If you knew what I really am….", she turns around, "… you wouldn't want me around."
Dick's hand lands on her shoulder.
Dick, "I know enough."
Jack's other hand landed on her shoulder and he said, "us magic users gotta stick together."
With a hint of a smile, she turns to face them again.
A squad of Gordanians flies past the full moon.
One is wielding a spear point and is raking across a surface to slice it open, and then rips off the roof.
He wrenches up the corner of the sheet metal.
Across the street, other vehicles are receiving similar treatment and worse. No sign of the fugitive is found, whereupon a line of troops directs the spears ahead and fires a fusillade of energy bolts. The junk in an alley is promptly blown to kingdom come, and one soldier jumps close to inspect the spot while another waits a short distance away. There is a brief exchange in their native tongue, which sounds very strange, and one of them shakes his head.
Nothing.
The shooters leap up, and far behind them, Dick, Beast Boy, Vic, Jack and Raven poke their heads out from a neighboring alley.
Dick says softly, "all right. We need some way to track-"
Raven, "she's near."
Four puzzled stares come her way as a big sweat drop slides down the back of her head.
Raven replies hastily, "I can sense things."
Jack thought, 'she's kinda cute when she's flustered.'
BB, "I'll see if I can pick up her scent."
He does a quick change that drops him out of sight. We tilt down to ground level, showing him now as a sniffing bloodhound. While he tries to uncover a lead, Vic rolls up the right sleeve of his sweatshirt, revealing the circuitry of his bionic forearm for the first time.
Vic, "there's a sonic analyzer built into my arm. If she's around, I'll hear it."
A tap opens the panel on his arm.
Dick, "good."
Jack, "I can sense her somewhere near us as well."
BB resumes human form.
BB, "I've got her trail!"
He turns back into a canine and drops down again. His forearm panel displays the dancing spikes of a cardiac rhythm as it makes itself heard.
Vic, "and I can hear her heartbeat."
Jack, "her energy is very wild. Very close."
They run off down the alley, which empties onto the next street over. We go to a view of the sky in that area and tilt down to a video store. The front entrance has been blasted apart, and the edges of the jagged hole are still glowing red-hot. Inside of the store, the lights are out, indicating that the place is closed for the night, but Star steps into view nevertheless. Having shot her way in, she helps herself to a bucket of popcorn and sweets. She licks her lips hungrily.
She first eats a chocolate bar; just before she bites down on it, we cut to behind her. The empty wrapper is tossed away, up comes the bucket, and an instant later, it, too, has been cleaned out and dumped. Now Star proceeds to wolf down snacks fast enough to put any competitive eater to shame.
At ground level, we can see our five heroes approach cautiously. BB has resumed human form, and Vic has covered his forearm again.
BB, "uh…. Those taste better without the wrapper."
She tips down a little more popcorn, wipes her mouth, and gives him a funny glowing look over her shoulder before wheeling to face the five of them. A snarl escapes her lips as she warms up a starbolt in each hand, scaring everyone quite a bit and eliciting a round of gasps.
Dick, "it's all right. We're friends, remember?"
Starfire, "friends?"
She advances, and they back up
Starfire, "why? For what purpose did you free me?"
Jack, "it seemed like the polite thing to do?"
Dick, "yeah. Just…. Trying to be nice."
Starfire, "'nice', we do not have this word on my planet. Closest is, 'rutha', weak!"
Vic, "well, around here, 'nice', means, 'nice.' And if you want us to keep being nice, you better tell us why the Lizard King took you prisoner?"
She cools down her hands and her eyes, and we pull back a bit.
Starfire, "not prisoner. I am…. Prize. The Gordanians deliver me to the Citadel, to live out my days as their servant."
Raven, "and the Citadel are…?"
Star replies bitterly, "not nice."
Jack, "they sound like slavers."
Dick gets closer, "then you're not going with them. Not if I have anything to say about it."
BB, "um, don't you mean, 'we?'"
Jack, "pretty sure he does."
The spirit of fresh camaraderie is very rudely interrupted when something explodes, hurling everyone to the floor. When the smoke clears, several Gordanians are standing just outside a freshly blown hole in the wall. We pull back to frame the six new acquaintances sprawled everywhere.
Gordanian 5, "seize her!"
The platoon charges in on feet and wings to carry out that order, and the gang of six rises to meet them. The two groups charge toward one another. Vic is first to get in some licks, followed by BB as a rhinoceros. One monster right hook is enough to prove just how much potential Star could have as a boxer, while Dick uses his staff, a replacement for the one he broke earlier, to dent a few skulls. Jack is using his own staff, channeling magic. He freezes one enemy, and then promptly electrocutes another before jumping into the air and sending a huge gust of wind at two more of them, sending them flying into a wall. Last but not least is Raven, whose telekinetic powers assert themselves by hurling a gang of Gordanians backward.
We go immediately to the street just outside the video store. A patch of wall explodes outward, upsetting any number of parked cars, and the solid jet of swirling dust clears to reveal Star backing up in midair.
Her arms are crossed in front of her head, having been raised to block the hit that drove her through the masonry, and she lowers them to toss off a few amped-up sliders. Three soldiers are flying up toward her. One is knocked down by her shots and another peels off, but the third closes in for a fight at close quarters. It ends in a hurry with her being knocked straight down to the pavement out in front, which cracks badly under the impact as the hitter drops toward her.
He starts warming up the spear point for a blast to the head.
But he's blocked by Dick, staff to spear with another Gordanian. The former Boy Wonder throws a quick look in her direction and pitches his enemy away, bowling over the one that has her bracketed for good measure. Now the young royal warrior allows herself a smile, but the moment is cut short when two of her captors barrel toward Dick.
In a flash, Star is airborne again and charging straight at the pair. Dick cuts the legs out from underneath one while she shoots down the other and gains a bit of altitude to continue the offensive.
Jack is seen summoning a large chunk of Earth from the road, which he uses to fly on as he summons two large streams of fire and ice from his fingertips, scaring off any enemy that dares to get near.
Here comes Vic, grappling with one of his own, the long tail whips around an ankle and he is suddenly tumbled onto his back, a charged spear aimed right at his chest. He manages to roll out of the way an instant before its bolt tears up the blacktop, and a neat bit of acrobatics carries him clear of the next few shots. However, he immediately finds himself caught in a vicious crossfire that throws up enough smoke to hide him from view altogether.
As the view clears, an extreme close-up of part of Vic's bionic limbs are revealed, as well as the rest of him. The sweatshirt, pants and gloves have been blown to pieces, exposing his new and improved self from head to toe, and he throws an angry look straight ahead before jumping back into action. Gordanian blasts sing out as he pulls back one fist; it comes down exactly on the shooter's spear shaft and snaps it like a twig. Next, he lifts the enemy high overhead and hurls him into a flying squad to ruin whatever is left of their day.
A salvo laces into the street, working its way toward him, a fresh trio of Gordanians on the wing. Their offensive has the cybernetic teen off balance for a second before he is airlifted out by BB, who has become a pterodactyl. As the pair sail past, a streetlight is pulled loose under Raven's control.
She is concentrating hard for an audience of Dick, Starfire, and an infatuated Jack. The pole's swing knocks all three foes out of the park.
The street is now littered with prone and tumbling Gordanians, and a great many upright troops at the end of the block. Most of them lift off; the few stragglers direct a pained look that says, "is it too late to go AWOL?"
And then they follow suit. A ground-level view of the sky shows the group is not moving to attack, but instead bailing out with their hides still in one piece.
At the scene of the free-for-all, the six victors gaze up after them, BB in human form again.
Starfire, "I believe your expression is, 'thanks….'"
Dick nodded his head at her words.
Vic eyes his shredded clothes, "aw man, my suit!"
BB, "so? You look way cooler without it."
Vic, "yeah. Like I'm taking fashion advice from the guy in the goofy mask."
BB, "goofy? My mask is cool. Isn't it? Raven?"
She and Vic shake their heads grimly.
Jack, "way to let him down easy guys."
Obvious sarcasm is obvious.
BB pulls at the bottom edge of his mask, "but…. what about my secret identity?"
Vic has shed his tattered civvies.
Raven, "what secret identity? You're green."
Jack, "no one's gonna recognize you dude."
BB, "uh…. Hmmm…. Uh, uh…. Oh…. Hm…."
He pulls off the headgear, and Dick and Star cross to the other four. Dick, "this isn't over. Now that we've interfered…."
Starfire, "… Trogaar will strike harder. It is only a matter of-"
On the second half of this, the beams from the island-mounted communicator flash into the sky and Trogaar's static-distorted image towers over the skyline.
They turn to look at the communication.
Trogaar, "fools! The Earth scum were warned. Your insolence will be punished. Your city shall be destroyed!"
As a fearful crowd stares up at the projection, it winks out and the ship sails in. The gun angles itself downward, the broad muzzle glowing at its center, and warms up. At ground level, all six fighters are trying to sort this out.
Raven, "great."
Jack, "my sentiments exactly."
The Gordanian ship, ready to fire on any part of Jump City it deems unworthy of staying on the map. It has our heroes dead in its sights.
BB, "so, after trashing a pizza place and a perfectly good video store, now we've managed to make a humongous space gecko mad enough to vaporize our entire town?"
Jack, "it looks that way, huh?"
Vic, "go team."
Star yells at Dick, "all the fault is yours! I commanded you leave me alone, but you insisted upon the being nice!"
Dick, "my fault?! You blast me, you kiss me, but you never stop to mention that they have a gigantic particle weapon?"
Sparks fly between their eyes!
Star, "Nomosguoguomuozog! GUO ZOG!"
Dick, "I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!"
BB, "we are doomed! I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"
Vic, "say what?! I was ready to walk before you-"
Jack facepalms as he said, "can we all stop arguing for five seconds!?"
Raven has begun to concentrate as best she can by this time, and now, she speaks up.
Raven, "QUIET!"
Her yell echoes in the silent street and shuts everyone else up very quickly. Four pairs of angry eyes are turned her way for some moments before she comes up with any more words.
Jack however is blushing, and was confused as to why her yelling did that to him.
Raven waves timidly, "hi."
Jack, "we shouldn't be fighting each other. We should be trying to save this city. And this whole thing is no-one's fault. We're in this mess due to coincidence and bravery, and just a tiny bit of idiocy on our end. What matters now, is working together to stop these guys."
Dick, "… Zivel's right. It doesn't matter how we got into this mess. We're in it, and we will get out of it, together."
Star nods in agreement. Vic and Raven do the same. BB's mouth has curved up into the mischievous smile that will become a staple of his over time.
Jack smiles and says, "glad we're all on the same page now."
Dick, "come on. We've got a city to save."
At the hovering ship, we see within the gun's pulsating barrel.
A parallel catwalk comes into frame and a contingent of Gordanians rushes along it. After they have cleared out, a large bubble of Raven's black energy rises from the surface and dissipates to expose the six heroes to be within. BB shivers noticeably, not being used to this mode of transport.
BB, "that dark energy stuff gives me the-"
Raven edges closer to give him a slightly annoyed glare.
BB, "uh….", he smiles broadly and gives a thumbs-up, and sweat drop pops off his head, "… I mean, it's cool!"
Jack whispers, "word of advice, never insult a beautiful girl, especially if they can kick your butt."
A nervous little laugh follows this. Now the Gordanians hustle away around another bend and Dick pokes his head out from a doorway.
Dick, "we have to get to the firing controls. There isn't much time."
Star is the first out after him, then BB, Jack and Vic. Raven emerges well behind them all, but does not follow. Tiptoeing as quietly as he can, the changeling throws a look back at her over his shoulder while he follows the gang toward the end of the passage.
Raven closes her eyes and drops her head as if she has just lost all hope.
Vic, "mind telling me why you're always by yourself?"
Jack and Vic stand before her.
Raven, "you heard Beast Boy. I don't exactly fit in."
Vic puts his hand on her shoulder, "he's green, half of me is metal, Jack has a staff and can shoot fire and ice outta his hands, and she's from space. You fit in just fine."
The message seems to strike the right chord, and she allows him to ease her off along the passage after the others.
Jack smiles at Raven and says, "I didn't fit in where I came from. My magic frightened people. You're not alone Raven."
Raven smiles and blushes at Jack.
Now Dick and Star stop at another corner. Dick looks past it quickly. Starfire, "I bring you… Apology."
Dick turns to her.
Dick, "don't worry about it. I'm sorry I yelled, too."
Starfire, " you are…. Nice. On my world, only my k'norfka has shown me such kindness."
Dick, "well, things are different here."
The area around them seems to grow pink as they look upon one another. She blushes a bit before the passage fades into view behind her, exposing the rest of the crew. BB's next words startle her out of the reverie.
BB, "uh, guys", he points past Starfire, "I think they know we're here."
A squad of charging troops, and rather angry ones at that, find them!
Vic, Jack and Raven are at the rear; they have turned to face back the way they came, and another Gordanian leaps into view with a screech.
At the exterior of the ship as the weapon warms up. Graphs light up to mar the rising power levels at the control panel; after they have topped out, two crewmen are manning the helm on the bridge. Several others are partially in view in the background. After adjusting the controls, one of these two turns in his seat to address this area.
The Gordanian, "Lord Trogaar!"
We see the throne turned away.
The Gordanian, "the weapon has reached full power."
Now the chair begins to swivel around, and a close-up shows Trogaar seated in it.
Trogaar, "then begin the firing sequence."
The helmsmen do so. We see a schematic of the ship; the graphics fade away and are replaced by a circle of characters in the crew's language, with another one at the center. The peripheral marks begin to disappear one by one, starting at the top and working counterclockwise; this is the countdown timer.
Trogaar, "the Earth scum shall learn….", he stands up, "… It takes more than six juvenile heroes to defy the mighty Lord Trogaar!"
We see behind him and tilt up to frame the observation windows in front. The weapon's barrel points straight ahead from here, and rings of light flick on from the base forward. Back to Trogaar, smiling grimly at the destruction he is about to unleash, we see soldiers guarding him. An instant later, the door directly behind him is blown inward with terrific force and a screenful of smoke, which clears to show a close-up of Dick.
Dick, "we're not six heroes. We're one team."
The others all stand together.
Trogaar ditches his triumphant smile in favor of an enraged growl, and in a twinkling every spare deckhand is on the move.
Dick leads the charge for his side, yelling out, "TEAM! GO!"
Dick gets in the first hit, a flying kick that nearly snaps a scaly neck. Vic slams both fists to the floor, throwing out a sheet of energy to blast others off their feet; next, BB, as a kangaroo, kicks two in the gut full force. Star delivers a supercharged uppercut that sends her enemy crashing to the deck.
Jack starts shooting fireballs at his attackers as fast and as hard as he could!
BB turns human, but then he turns back into a marsupial, just in time to kick one Gordanian away and lash another with his heavy tail, then becomes himself again. Trogaar leaps in close, smashing both arms against the deck close enough to send him flying backward with a yell. The only thing that stops his momentum is an inconveniently placed wall; he slides down it and ends up on the floor in a heap.
Here comes the Gordanian lord again, roaring and all set to beat him to a pulp, but Raven pops up from the floor and throws up a small shield. One punch after another whumps into it as she backs up slowly toward the wall and her knees buckle, and he finally batters through the defense and prepares to flatten them both.
Jack runs at him and tries to hit him with his staff, yelling in anger, but is punched away and is forced to deal with more of the soldiers that were attacking, using his powers to shoot fire and ice from his hands!
Trogaar turns back to Raven to smash her, but once again, he is foiled, this time by Dick's leap onto his shoulders; the surprise attack leaves Trogaar stumbling backward past an underling who has locked up with Vic. After some moments, Dick is wrenched free and hurled across the deck; he manages to turn the tumble into a flip and land in a crouch.
It takes him only a fraction of a second to leap back into the fray and deliver a crushing left jab that rocks Trogaar off his feet. Even before the latter can hit the floor, he is bashed in a different direction by a steel-soled spin kick, and Dick instantly starts into a new move for the coup de grace. Now it is his turn to be caught out when the massive hands wrap themselves around his midsection, and he is hurled past Star into the far wall behind the captain's chair. She voices a shocked gasp upon catching sight of him.
Starfire, "NightWing!"
No time to worry about him further, for the snarling Trogaar is on his way across the deck toward her. Warming up as she lifts off, she lets go with a string of shots that tears into the deck on the way toward him. He is lost under the glare and smoke for a moment, but leaps out of it intact and madder than ever and bears her to the floor. That giant hand lifts her high and slams her down again; she struggles to break his hold for a moment, then squeezes off a body-blow starbolt that forces him to drop her.
As he backs up cautiously from the one-time prisoner who has turned out to be far more trouble than she is worth, Vic rushes across from a pile of unconscious Gordanians. The bionic right lands a haymaker to the boss' jaw, and the slugger lands in front of Star so both can move in together. Trogaar takes a merciless flurry of high octane punches to all his sore spots, but even this is not enough to put him out of business. He comes back with a one-two-three combination that sends both aspiring pugilists across the bridge toward the still-prone Dick.
As Vic hits the floor, the panels of the built-in sonic analyzer are jolted open for a moment. Now all three peel themselves up, the circuitry receiving special attention.
Dick, "can you rewire that into some sort of weapon?"
Vic, "I can try."
Before any of them can react, Trogaar and the still-conscious Gordanians have moved to do them in. The lord's savagely grinning as he grabs Jack first by his collar.
But his attention is caught when he hears:
"Get away from my friends! Azarath Metrion Zinthos !"
Her spell causes most of the bridge to disappear in a mighty explosion, after which we see the craft now out of control and plummeting toward Jump City Bay. The waves caused by its splashdown wash over and recede to show only the demolished bridge still above water. As it begins to sink, we cut back to the now exposed deck, littered with insensate Gordanians.
Dick, Vic, Jack, and Star straighten up as they come into view. Trogaar gets up as well and whirls to face them.
BB and Raven find themselves in his broad approaching shadow, and he extends the claws on one hand to full length and lifts that hand, all set to disembowel the youths. Once more, though, his masterstroke is stopped cold; in this case, by a brilliant blue-white flash and a ball of blistering fire from behind that connects squarely with his back. Down he goes like a ton of bricks, exposing the other three in the background. Vic's right arm is raised to point straight ahead, its hand replaced by the muzzle of his sonic cannon. Jack is holding his staff with both hands, and catching his breath. Vic was able to rewire, or hotwire, that analyzer into something with quite a bit more kick after all, and Jack tapped into as much of his magic as he could.
Cyborg, "all right, I'm only gonna say this once. Boo-yah!"
Jack, "dang that's a cool one-liner."
…
It's morning now at the bay and the island, with the Gordanian landing craft still dug in. Dick, BB, Vic, Jack, and Raven are on the island's shores. There is no other visible trace of Trogaar's invasion fleet.
Raven, "that's quite a view."
Vic, "somebody oughta build a house out here."
BB, "yeah, if you like sunshine and the beach."
Jack, "I think most people do."
BB's words are aimed at Raven, and he digs an elbow into her side on the end of them.
Raven, "you know, you're kind of funny."
BB has stars in his eyes and his ears perk up, "you think I'm funny? Dude! I know some jokes!"
Those last four words are enough to unnerve her considerably, start a sweat drop sliding down her temple, and set one eyebrow twitching a bit.
Jack starts laughing, which makes Raven blush, since it sounded quite pleasant to her.
Behind the group at a distance, a pair of violet boot plants itself near them.
Starfire, "please."
All turn toward the voice.
Starfire now stands in a cute violet outfit, lavender accents, armband, no crown or under-armor, and a much sunnier disposition.
(Thinka combo of her outfit from the Judas Contract/ Vs Justice League movies and her outfit in the show.)
Starfire, "I look…. Nice?"
Dick steps up.
Dick, "yes. Uh, I still don't know your name?"
Starfire, "Kori'andr. In your language, it would be, 'Star Fire.'"
Dick, "welcome to Earth, Starfire."
Starfire, "I thank you all for your bravery and help, and I wish to ask permission…. To remain here. Where the people are most strange…. But also most kind."
Dick and Starfire look at one another lovingly, but then both look away, blushing a bit.
Raven, "you don't need our permission."
Dick, "but if you want our friendship, you've got it."
Vic, "guess we could all use some new friends."
Jack, "we can all agree on that."
BB, "besides, we kind of made a good team."
Dick, "I thought we might want to keep in touch", fishes in his belt, "so Vic and I designed these."
On the last word, he holds his hands forth. Spread across the palms are four round yellow devices that are instantly recognizable as communicators; the covers bear no insignia.
BB, Jack, Raven, and Starfire each take one and run an impressed eye over them.
Vic, "made 'em outta my own circuits."
Dick, "when there's trouble, you know who to call."
Jack, "if we're gonna be a team, we'll need a name."
Dick, "like what?"
BB, "how about the Beast Patrol?"
Raven, "a hard no."
Vic, "Young Justice?"
Dick, "we're all around 18, so we're not exactly young."
Starfire, "the Super Friends?"
Vic, "that's super corny."
Jack, "… The Titans?"
Everyone looked at Jack.
Raven, "I like it. It's kinda like the Greek myth."
Vic, "yeah, I guess we are like modern day Titans."
Starfire, "The Teen Titans?"
Dick, "well, we won't be teens for long, so how about just the Titans?"
The others nodded.
And thus, The Titans were formed that day!
We see the island, the waves lapping gently against its shores and the Gordanian craft suggesting the shape of a Tower that will stand so proudly in the future.
....
A few weeks later…
We see a lone tower under construction, various construction bots working on it.
Some had the STAR Labs logo on them, while others had the Wayne Tech logo on it.
Vic and Dick were watching the construction going on. Dick, "I didn't know you had connections to Star Labs?"
Vic, "my dad works there. He's a big name there in technological advancements. After all, he was the one who built me."
Dick, "I'm sorry. How did-?"
Vic, "there was an accident in the lab. I came because I was angry at dad. I was playing football, and he barely took notice of it. I could've gone pro. If it wasn't for…."
Dick nodded.
Vic, "so, you have connections to Wayne Enterprises?"
Dick, "Wayne sponsors a lot of heroes. He was one of the companies that sponsored the Justice League. I called in a favor, and here we are."
Vic, " heh , I hope the others are getting what they need. Clothes and all that."
Dick shrugged and said, "we won't know until they come back…."
The other members of the team were still in their hero clothes.
Starfire is zipping around happily as she sees all of the stores at the mall.
Raven is pinching the bridge of her nose as she watched BB trying to flirt at the food court.
And failing.
Miserably.
Jack was the only one looking at clothes nearby. Civilian clothes for the group. He had been given enough money to buy some from Wayne Enterprise's and STAR Labs, since they were helping the heroes get started.
Jack had found the right clothes for each of them.
For BB, a white hoodie with purple claw mark patterns on the back, and some black pants.
For Starfire, a light purple top that ended at her stomach, a magenta jacket and a purple skirt with matching knee length purple boots.
For Victor, a grey hoodie to replace his old one.
For Dick, a black leather jacket, a red shirt, black pants and sunglasses.
For Raven, a dark purple hoodie with a Raven on the back, (it was a perfect fit for her), a black tank top, black skinny jeans and black boots.
All Jack needed for himself was a new pair of brown pants that weren't torn up, and another blue hoodie identical to his current one; in case it got torn up or anything.
Jack paid for the clothes and walked towards the others.
Jack, "I've got us some civilian clothes."
Raven nodded, "good. We'll stand out a little less when we're in public."
As they stood there, watching as Starfire tried a free sample of mini hotdogs, enjoying the mustard on them more than she should, Jack looked at Raven.
Jack, "ya know, I don't think I've seen you without your hood down?"
Raven, "… you wouldn't like what you see."
Jack, "what makes you say that?"
Raven, "… I'm not as pretty as other girls. Girls like Starfire get the attention. I'm always the girl in the back that no-one talks to."
Jack, "same here. I was always the weird kid that would sit on his own during lunch. No friends. So I'm sure you look better than you think."
Raven wasn't sure, but slowly let her hood down, showing what she looked like. Pale grey skin, a small red gemstone on her forehead, short dark blue hair that framed her face beautifully, and dark blue eyes.
She was looking down and blushing, which only made her look cuter to Jack.
Raven, "well, don't just stare. Say something."
Jack was so stunned, he could only mutter, "beautiful."
Raven blushed even harder, which only made Jack blush as well.
As they blushed, Starfire ran forward and said, "the woman selling the tiny dogs of hotness gave me this bottle of delicious yellow liquid for five Earth dollars!"
Jack said, "uh, Star, that's mustard."
Starfire, "and it is delicious!"
Raven and Jack cringed for a moment before Jack said, "I guess we'd better head back to the Tower, see how it's coming along?"
Raven, "good idea."
As they left, they had to drag BB away as he tried to impress some girls.
....
Unknown to any of them, a lone figure was watching them from the shadows, a single eye in the dark.
He said, "these Titans…. Let's see what they're made of…."
The others returned to the Tower, seeing the construction going along well. In a matter of days, the Tower would be finished.
Luckily, the main lobby was done, so they could sleep down there until their rooms were done being built.
That night, The Titans slept in sleeping bags in the lobby, unaware of the many things they would soon deal with in the near future…