The New Teen Titans

[Markov]

Walking to work was always a risk. Not counting Jump City’s Rouge gallery, they normally didn’t attack random citizens, there were always muggers and the like in the city’s more unsavory areas. Unfortunately for Gia, it was those very same areas where rent was the cheapest. Some nights, however, the risk was worth it.

Walking, or running, always settled her mind when it was at its worst. That night was no different. Gia made her way through Jumps street without incident. Just another face in the crowd. That was how she lived her life since the accident. Just another background character, another anonymous citizen. Moving from one shady apartment to another, bartending first in this bar and then that one. It was easier. Life was easy.

Tonight was supposed to be a good tip night. Some local musician was playing and that always drew in a good crowd. Gia took a breath, kept her thoughts on her future. She’d work until late at night, maybe pick up a slice of pizza from her favorite place on the way home. She deserved a reward for covering the shift after all. The thought brought a smile to her face as she covered the last couple of blocks.

This bar wasn’t in too bad of a neighborhood. Close enough to Jump’s downtown that the worst criminals kept away but far enough away that they still got the odd character or two. She’d been working at this one for the last couple of months, was starting to get comfortable. She knew the people, knew the routines. She slipped into the alley and into the staff’s entrance, heading straight to the bathroom so that she could adjust her uniform. A black button-up, black dress pants, black shoes. Her wardrobe was getting monochromatic. Gia caught her bright blue eyes in the mirror, smiling faintly as she tied up her waterfall of golden hair. “What can I get for you?” A laugh. Lastly, a nametag was clipped to her chest - Gia Stevens.

Gia left the bathroom and looked around the kitchen. No new faces tonight. That was good. A couple of cooks saw her and welcomed her in, the daily fighting between the front and back of house hadn’t yet begun. Not that she normally got involved. She was the bartender. Everyone was nice to her or they didn’t get their shift drinks.

She headed out into the club and took up position behind the bar. They weren’t yet open. Gia welcomed the silence, it allowed her to focus as she got her bar up and running for the night.

“Hey, Gia-” One of the cooks had followed her out.

Gia glanced up through her lashes. “It’s too early for shift drinks.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Wasn’t looking for that. I was wondering, me and some of the others are going out for dinner after our shifts. Would you like to come with?”

Now Gia looked him over properly. He was a nice guy, didn’t hit on the servers like some of the cooks did. His request was genuine enough. “I’ll think it over, okay?”

His smile got brighter. He no doubt believed he had scored. “I’ll see you later!” And then he was gone, leaving her alone once more.

Her smile fell as she turned back to her task of cutting up fruit. Tonight was going to be a long night.


~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Another night on patrol. Another night of boredom. Hannya sat on the edge of the building, kicking her feet through the air as she waited for something to happen. She was supposed to keep moving. Checking on where her teammates were, keeping an eye on the streets for any petty crimes, the whole nine yards. Tonight, however, she was determined to take it easy. Nothing was going to happen. She was sure of it.

She sat back and stared up at the night sky. It was hard to see the stars due to Jump City’s lights, even harder to see them through the demon’s mask she wore. This city was nothing like her home. There she could see the stars for miles… But there were some things the city had going for it. It was far more interesting most nights, at least.

Sitting and daydreaming the night away wasn’t going to work. Someone would find her and give her a talking to, explain how patrols were important to keep up the hero’s presence so none of the criminals got cocky. Blah blah blah. She’d heard it all before. No need for a repeat. She drew herself back up to her feet and brushed the dust from her mottled black hakama, noting a tear or two that she still needed to get patched. She’d get to it. Eventually.

Finally, she stood fully and brought her right hand to her ear, tapping the com built into her mask to activate it. “Hannya to anyone. Why are we out here again?” Maybe someone would take the bait and banter with her. Anything to pass the time. Maybe she’d even start a fight - that would be interesting.

“Everything’s clear in my sector.” Not that she’d checked the whole thing.

[Price]

It had been a long time since Dick Grayson had been near any event even remotely associated with his father. Batman and Nightwing had made up for the new Robin’s sake. Tim deserved a family that wasn’t so broken. That didn’t mean Dick had any desire to re-enter the spotlight that came from being the affluent son of Bruce Wayne. From always topping one extravagant stunt with another, hosting parties that might as well have been torn out of the pages of The Great Gatsby, and having an entourage of ‘friends’ who knew nothing about him, to getting so drunk he forgot how to walk, and being unable to remember every woman he slept with, the billionaire playboy persona had taken too much of his soul and had left him exhausted besides. Even now the tabloids kept him as front-page news. He was enjoying the current moniker they came up with.

*Gotham’s Prodigal Son* had come home. Well, not exactly *home* per se. His father had funded yet another venture, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises right in the heart of Downtown Jump City. By all accounts, it was to be a charity-based company prioritizing green energy in one of the most industrialized cities on the west coast. If everything went according to plan, Bruce would roll out his division to every property on the monopoly board that he owned, and that was practically all of them.

Dick had come to Jump for the grand opening, but he hadn’t said a word about it to Bruce. Instead, he blended into the multitude that had flocked from all over the country to hear from the billionaire playboy. The ribbon-cutting was short enough that Dick was on his way ahead of the city’s crazy dinner rush. His time in Bludhaven had taught him that bar food was the best food. And what better bar was there to visit than *hers*?

It had been some time since he last checked on her. Raven hadn’t said anything, nor had Cyborg or the League. They were all watching her in one way or another. By all accounts, nothing had changed. She was still blissfully ignorant of who she was...of what she had done…

In a way, he was jealous.

It would be open soon. A few more minutes maybe. He kept his silver turbo sportscar parked across the street and waited for the doors to be unlocked. A quick bite while he checked up on her, nothing more. Then, maybe he would visit Raven. It had been too long.
-----

What had been an ordinary clear night sky suddenly turned violent. Thunder roared out in the night sky at a volume that would’ve drowned out a jet engine. What would have been the worst storm in the history of Jump City restrained itself to the bar and its surrounding blocks...except that it was no storm. Not a single raindrop fell. Whatever was happening caused the very ground to shake and the glass of the buildings to shatter. Dick was quickly out of his car and looking up at the sky.

“Holy…”

The sky seemed to split open as if tearing back the layers of space itself, ripping the skyline in half for a fraction of a second. Something was falling. At first, it was tiny, just a speck to the naked eye and maybe even not visible against the darkness if not for the flashes of lightning that were now shooting down like bullets from a machine gun. The roar was getting louder, deafening and ear-splitting. Dick covered his ears. He should get to cover. He knew that, and yet…

The falling object was starting to get larger now, gradually taking shape until it looked humanoid.

People were pushing and shoving racing around him, but the former Robin was unable to take his eyes off of the falling object. Finally, someone barreled him over and the trance was broken. Dick got to his feet and hurried to his car to pull out a briefcase. Dick covered his ringing ears and ducked away from watchful eyes to change into costume. It was a quick change, but even in his Nightwing suit, he was unsure what to do next. The lightning was striking mostly in a circular pattern about fifty feet from the bar’s entrance, but stray bolts were still firing and causing danger. To make matters worse, the rumbling of the ground had evolved from a small tremor to a full-on earthquake. Dick’s first instinct was to look for Terra to see if her powers had reemerged in full, but he stopped himself with a thought. She didn’t control lightning. This was something else entirely. He kept his hands pressed to his ears as he watched the lightning circle begin to shrink its perimeter. It almost looked like...was it forming a landing zone for the object in the sky?
------------

Closer, closer, and closer still came the object. The thunderclaps were getting louder and louder, like miniature sonic booms or bombs exploding from above. The lightning was so frequent and bright now that it simply lit up the night. It was a surreal look, almost daylight but under a milky white sky instead of blue. The bolts seemed to know precisely where to land to avoid casualties. If anyone was going to die from this, it would be from stampeding and trampling each other only. Even when grounded, the lightning’s shockwaves didn’t disperse as they naturally should have. It was all of the intimidation, all of the magnificence, all of the danger, and yet no death. At least, none yet. As the object came closer still, it could be made out as definitely a human figure. Someone was falling from the sky. The figure wasn’t showing any signs of controlling their movement in the air. They were still as if unconscious. The lightning circle had finally shrunk to roughly the size of a human figure. As if this were a grand finale, the strikes gave out their greatest intensity yet, thunder screaming, and ground rocking, sending Nightwing to his knees. At last, the figure slammed in the circle with a thud that sounded like a bomb going off. The thunder, lightning, and earthquake ceased immediately leaving an eerie quiet. The impact of the landing sent out a huge gust of wind in all directions blowing back any onlookers, Nightwing included. When the dust cleared, a figure in greek praetorian battle armor was lying in the circle, a crater formed around him. The size of the figure looked smaller than an adult, perhaps teen. He laid perfectly still, asleep, unconscious, or even dead.

[Lady Celeste]

It was a quiet night, just the way Raven liked it. The moonlight above and the city lights below filtered into her small apartment through the large balcony windows. The only sound inside was the soft clicking of her laptop keyboard. A steaming hot cup of Earl Grey tea sat on the kitchen counter, and Raven had stopped to type in a few last-minute notes while she waited for the tea to cool, slipping on her computer glasses as she had taken to doing whenever she had to use her laptop for any extended period of time. Her eyesight was still perfectly fine by all accounts, but you could never be too careful.

The Mark of Skath was originally written as a stand-alone novel, so now that Raven was officially about to write a sequel, the biggest question was, where should the story go from here? Skath had been slain, thus saving the kingdom that had so kindly offered the homeless Sparrow shelter, and they were all set to live happily ever after. She couldn’t just bring Skath back for the sequel; that would undermine everything the heroes had accomplished up to this point, plus it just sounded too lazy. And creating a new villain from scratch with as much gravitas as Skath was definitely not going to be easy. Maybe it might be best to move away from Sparrow for a while and focus on each of her allies instead. After all, Sparrow’s story had already finished on just the right note, without any loose ends left behind.

An idea suddenly came to her, seemingly out of nowhere…

But before Raven could think to write it down, a loud crack of thunder and wild flash of lightning suddenly pierced the once-quiet night. Raven could immediately sense that it was not natural, and so she sprang up from her desk and promptly changed into her usual dress, cloak, and boots. Her name, and that of the formerly-Teen Titans, commanded a great deal of respect in much of the universe, and so she had taken to wearing something more recognizable whenever some supernatural entity decided to knock on their door, even if the outfit did look slightly different from her Teen Titan days.

Phasing through her balcony window, Raven leaped off the edge and took to the air, flying toward the epicenter of the lightning display just as something had hurtled to Earth.

---

The pitch black aura of the portal blended in effortlessly with the dark alley it emerged in, and the six figures that emerged from it hid just as easily, the garish glow of neon lights overshadowing their presence.

It was the usual routine, at least initially. Gregor would hold the portal, ready for them to make a quick getaway if necessary, and a small contingent would stay to guard him while the princesses scouted ahead. Any humans stupid enough to try to provoke the contingent or unlucky enough to get in the way would be brought back with them. It was kidnapping, there was no denying that, but there was no room for petty moral squabbles with countless other lives at stake.

This time, however, was much calmer than normal. Hardly anyone noticed the contingent, and it was surprisingly easy for the five princesses to blend in with the crowd as the large glowing T came into view.

“Is that it?” Serika asked, staring at the massive tower.

“Must be.” Makona mused. “A lone tower, sitting on an island just off the coast…”

“Just like Father warned us.” Phara reminded the group. “Don’t do anything that might provoke them. Remember, we’re not here to start a war.”

But Phara barely managed to finish her sentence before the lightning strikes began. The lightning itself was as terrifying as it was awe-inspiring, but upon closer inspection, the overall display seemed more for show than for any practical impact.

“Typical Zeus.” Latro rolled her eyes, but Decta immediately shushed her.

“Our task was to observe, not to bring Olympus to our doorstep.” Decta whispered. “Head for the tower, but don’t get too close or they’ll think… Seri, stop!”

But Serika was too far away to hear her sisters right now. She had noticed a figure falling to the ground amid the strikes of lightning, and now that everything had subsided, she could see the humans gathered around something near the very center of the blast. Getting through the stunned crowds proved nearly impossible, so Serika instead dissolved into a multitude of red spiders, which wove through the crowd unnoticed before reforming on a lamppost where she could get a better view.

In the middle of the blast lay a boy, roughly her own age, wearing the typical armor of the olden days of Hellas. He didn’t seem to be hurt, but he hadn’t moved an inch from the spot where he’d landed, and he seemed to be unconscious. Serika couldn’t tell what was going on, but it clearly had something to do with Olympus, so she stayed alert.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Silent wings flapped as Screech Owl patrolled the city from the air. Up here, the wind was bitingly cold. She swooped between skyscrapers, looking into the dark office buildings and whatever apartments the residents of hadn’t closed the curtains. Nothing was amiss, as far as she could tell.

Suddenly, the sky cracked open. Lightning filled the sky like tempestuous fireworks. Thunder shook the air in her lungs, vibrating deep in her chest like she was standing too close to a speaker at a concert. The night was lit up in a pale white hue, and she covered her eyes with her arms at the sudden brightness. Blinking rapidly, her vision was cracked and spiderwebbed with faint white lines. Still, her owlish senses detected something falling from the rift in the atmosphere.

Beating her wings rapidly, she shot towards whatever was falling. It was a boy, about her age, in some kind of armor, like the kind she saw in a museum. He gripped a spear and shield as he fell. With a earth-shattering (literally) crack, he hit the ground. She winced and looked away. But when she peeked, he wasn’t a pink splatter on the ground. In fact, he seemed perfectly fine, if unconscious.

She performed a swoop over the crowd, clapping her hands.

“Alright folks, back up. This is, uh, superhero stuff?” She wasn’t really sure what was happening, but she didn’t want the civilians to know that. It was obviously not a normal circumstance. Who was this boy? With a jolt, she landed and rolled, letting the ground take the energy of the landing rather than her bones. Standing upright, she spread her wings to either side, blocking the crowd’s view.

She tapped her comms.

“Hannya, Coyote, come in. We’ve got a potential issue here. Lot of civs, too. I trust y’all saw the lightning?”

—————————

Tim was very busy sneaking into a local jewelry store. With his electrical sense, he shut off the alarms, cameras, electronic locks, and sensors. With the ease of somebody going out for pizza, he opened the door and walked in. Carefully, he sent a slight electrical blast through the glass, which promptly shattered. Reaching in with his gloved hands, he crammed a bunch of rings and necklaces into his hoodie pocket. Brushing the glass shards off of a watch, he grabbed that too.

Going out the same way he went in, he strolled down the alley. With a leap and a slight scramble, he clambered over a chain-link fence. Thinking of pizza, he started towards his favorite pawn shop. Then the sky exploded. Well not exploded exactly, but close enough. Lightning, none of it his own, lit up the night sky. Bolts streaked toward earth. However, it did not hit anyone. Weird, he thought. And when they hit the ground, he couldn’t feel the lightning dispersing into the soil and rock. Even weirder. Something was off about this electricity. He didn’t think he could control it if he tried. Just to see, he attempted to move a bolt off-course and toward a lamppost. Nothing.

He almost didn’t notice when the kid smacked into the ground. Almost. He left a crater slightly smoking. Pushing his way forward, he moved to the front of the crowd. The kid was a boy about his age, in traditional Greek armor. He carried a spear and shield. Before he could do anything, a bird-like girl swooped down and told the crowd to piss off, basically. Something something “superhero business”.

[Dnafein]

The pointy earned figure crouched on the rail of a fire escape. He stared down into the alley below, studying the figures there. Seriously? The figure thought, With all us crazies running around, people still do this? The figures below him curled around a couple laughing.

The figure straightened “accidentally” bumping a flower pot on the railing so it fell. He shifted his stance so the flag above him would appear to flow from his shoulders to anyone below looking up. Which they did when the flower pot shattered.

The majority of the figures below froze. Those that didn’t sprinted for the dark depths of the alley. A pointy eared silhouette with a cape in the wind had that effect these days. Whispers of a name escaped multiple throats and the majority of the assailants scattered. The ones willing to challenge a legend found themselves alone and so followed their unsupportive friends.

The figure took a step and fell. A hand reaching out to snatch a railing to alter his course. A foot skipping off the wall to slow him, landing in a roll. Laughing quietly to himself, and surprising the couple. Rather than a bat a canid stood before them. “Funny the tricks the mind plays when your in an alleyway; Am I right?” Coyote asked the couple while he motioned them back towards the street.

Coyote made a mental note of the street name, before slipping back into the alley and climbing back to the roof. “Hannya to anyone. Why are we out here again?”

”It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it? Why are we out here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there rea-” The quiet night exploded into rapid bursts of thunder. A distant section of the city flashing like a strobe light. ”Son of a bi-” He muttered.

Ty started running in the direction of the lightning. He closed the distance faster than he would have in the traffic below.“Hannya, Coyote, come in. We’ve got a potential issue here. Lot of civs, too. I trust y’all saw the lightning?”

”Sorry the strobes from the Rave on fifth were a bit distracting. Did you say there was lightning? He responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ”Do the uniforms know? They typically provide crowd control. And by situation you mean…” His voice trailing off while awaiting details.

He was likely going to be irritated when he made it. Running half way across the city, to arrive mostly blind to what’s going on, after his joke comeback gets interrupted by some wannabe Zeus knock off showing off his lightning powers with the mighty hammer mewmew or some such. Least it’s not likely another Kryptonian. He skidded to a brief stop as he considered a Kryptonian Zeus, to which he quickly shook his head smirking behind his mask as he muttered. ”Nah.”

[Markov]

It was supposed to be an easy night. Was anything in Jump ever easy, however? As the night exploded into storm, Gia found herself watching the lightning. Her eyebrows knit as she tried to discern what was going on. That it was bright enough to be seen through the tinted windows- Then the ground started to roll and thunder blasted the glass. Gia’s knees hit the ground and the bar took most of the shrapnel, leaving the young woman unharmed but shaken. She stayed kneeling behind the barrier, eyes wide and fixed on the bottle of rum just in front of her. This wasn’t exactly new. Upheaval in Jump, normally caused by some villain or another, wasn’t uncommon. But for it to come knocking on her door-

Gia barely managed to stand, her hands splayed out on the bar before her as she looked to where the windows once were. The building around her groaned. /I need to get out of here./ But where? Out into the chaos? Back through the kitchens and into the alley? It felt like her thoughts were working themselves out of a pool of molasses.

She had to move. Gia went for the front door, the closest to whatever was going on but the quickest way out of the building that threatened to fall. Blinded she stopped on the streets, her hands cupping her ears as the air around her vibrated with shockwaves. The earth trembled and heaved and somehow she managed to keep her footing. She needed to get away from the buildings. She needed-

One final explosion dropped Gia to her knees and then it all ended. Gravel dug into her palms as she caught herself from eating asphalt. She stayed there only for a second, long enough to drag a ragged breath into her lungs. Gia rose back onto shaking legs as she looked about. Everyone seemed to be asking the same question. /What happened?/ This didn’t seem to be the work of a villain- Her blue eyes locked onto a shadow dropping from the sky, it’s wings spreading out to hide what appeared to be the epicenter from view.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Hannya would have palmed her face if not for her mask. Of course it was Coyote who decided on some verbal sparring. A long, defeated sigh. She’d wanted someone to argue with her. Maybe even for someone to agree with her and they’d all ditch their patrol for some pizza or something. This? This wasn’t fun. But before she could think of something that might get a rise out of her teammate, the world decided to give them some action.

Jump was lit up like a Christmas tree. From her spot on the roof she could see almost everything. How the lightning seemed to form an ever-shrinking circle, that there was something in the middle that she couldn’t place- A downed plane? No. That would be bigger. “That’s not my section.” Hannya wasn’t even sure she could be heard over the thunder, she definitely couldn’t hear herself. She took a knee, eyes narrowed. This was what she had been waiting for.

Now to get there. She wasn’t too far, thankfully. She ran for the edge of the building but rather than jumping she let herself fall straight down, a fire escape rattling as she dropped the few feet onto it. She dropped down to the next level and then the next until her feet hit the ground. She’d gone a couple of blocks when Screech chimed in. She must have already been at the scene. For a moment Luka would have given anything for her wings. “Lightning?” She shook her head. Electricity didn’t act like that. Not on its own. But before she could get a word through her panted breaths Coyote had cut in and drew a smirk from the masked girl. He’d made up for his philosophy lesson. “I’m on my way.” No doubt Coyote was too. Now it was a race. Yet she couldn’t fully devote herself to the new game. No, her mind was still on her rooftop view. “What fell Screech?”

[Price]

Nightwing was on his feet in an instant. The frenzied stampede of terrified citizens obscured most of his vision. There was no way he was finding Terra in this mess. She would be on the run and in the wind, but he couldn’t allow himself to focus on that right now. There was a much more pressing matter to attend to. Pushing through the crowd, he caught something else in the sky. Another figure, this time with wings, was descending by the crash site.

Screech Owl.

If she was here, the other Teen Titans wouldn’t be far behind. Good. The more hands on deck to contain all the chaos the better. He finally broke through the multitude and made it to the landing zone. His gaze was immediately drawn to the crater. His eyes went wide. It looked like a bomb had gone off. Screech Owl was working crowd control when she landed about ten yards away. From the looks of it, she hadn’t seen him yet. Nightwing continued his approach toward the small pit until he was standing at its edge and looking down into it. His eyes narrowed. A boy. Adolescent. Armor. Spear and shield. Helmet. From the looks of it, ancient Greek. A costume? Judging by the lightning, they were dealing with a metahuman. A look at the stomach confirmed that the mystery boy was breathing. The scene needed to be cleared before he woke up or things could get even uglier.

Nightwing turned his attention to Screech Owl and made his way over to her just as the newcomer showed up.

Hannya.

He recognized her as the empath vampire who was one of the more recent additions to the team. Being as he left Jump before the new team formed, he had never met her or Screech, but there was no time like the present.

“What fell, Screech?”

“A boy,” Nightwing cut in. He looked between them before looking out at the crowd still running and at the rubble that had piled up. “This is an active scene. We need to cordon it off and check the buildings and surrounding area for anyone who might be trapped or hurt.” He turned his gaze back to the children. “Screech Owl, do a perimeter sweep and check the streets. Hannya, you’re with me. We need to get everyone out of here before whoever that is wakes up.”
---
Blue electricity seemed to crackle inside of the boy’s veins as he began to stir. His body twitched, and his arm slowly extended to allow his hand to feel for his weapon. The ringing in his ears was joined by voices and people yelling in the background. Slowly, the noise was picking up volume and rousing him back into consciousness.

It wouldn’t be long now.

[kirita]

Golden skin seemed to glow under the soft light of Mars’ two moons as Koriand’r submerged the rest of her body into the iridescent water. There was something about it that held a faintly familiar scent, but she couldn’t quite place what or where it reminded her of. Brushing it from her thoughts, she sunk lower into the pool of near-freezing liquid until the only visible part of her was the ends of her hair that lingered near the surface like the tentacles of a jellyfish. A smile crept onto her features as she languidly pushed herself forward, the quiet was a nice relief after the heavy day of politics and discussion. There would be one more meeting before the day of rest tomorrow, then the Accords would finally be signed and finished. It had taken five years, but the demilitarization of 70 Ophiuchi, the binary star-system, would finally be achieved.
A string of bubbles escaped from her parted lips, forced downward from her momentum as she shot up out of the water, hovering over the now-rippling fluid. Lightly stepping onto the natural rock, small pools formed where her toes ghosted across the floor.

. . . . .

The seemingly ceilingless council room was dwarfed by the size of the leviathan table at its center. A meteorite had been sliced and fixed in place using anti-gravity devices on the underside that kept it over a meter off of the ground. As usual, Crown Princess Koriand’r and her advisor, Zirral, were placed next to the leader of the Martian colonies. Delegations from Proxima Centauri b, three major constellations, and even the Zetan systems were present; it appeared as though the council would be in full attendance for the final meeting.

A low murmur had filled the room as everyone waited for J'onn J'onzz to begin the final assembly. In a matter of moments, he placed a large emerald hand onto the smooth surface of what had once been celestial litter causing what seemed to be a web of sparks to travel across the interconnection of veins that covered the tabletop. A collective silence fell over the room as the Martian’s deep voice echoed off of the arching stone columns.

“We now commence the End of the Accords.”

. . . . .

Three hours later, the Accords were in their final revision. Hushed tones sounded across the room as different parties read over their translated versions. Starfire and Zirral refrained from commentating to each other, partially out of exhaustion and partially because they had been over these documents enough to have had all six-hundred pages memorized.

“Ta'be',” the raspy voice came from below her, belonging to one of the green-scaled servants, piqued Kor out of her state of observation.
Its tongue flicked nervously in and out of its myrtle mouth, “Vo' joH Karras pav QIn.”

Each syllable was emphasized by an audible click of its jaw, slitted nostrils flared slightly as it awaited her response. The rough syntax was not unlike her native Tamaranean and Koriand’r had grown accustomed to hearing its sound. Locking her citron gaze onto the being below her, she nodded before turning her eyes to the assemblage in front of her. With a fluid motion, she stood up, fiery hair immediately filling the space behind her as she floated a few centimeters off of the ground. The surrounding twenty members of the table also stood, understanding that she would have to take a moment of leave.

“Continue without me.”

The Tamaranean second-in-command, Zirral, would be able to ensure the Accords were up to the standard that Tamaras would be expecting. Her face remained calm, but there was a feeling of uncertainty. Why would Karras be calling her now? She knew it would have to be for something important, but she couldn’t think of any good news that would warrant him interrupting a diplomatic venture.

About to follow the small reptilian creature, Kori’s movement was interrupted as a second servant scurried into the room, its gestures hasty and concerned.
“Tera' muD 'el vay'.” The clicks were hurried but garnered a sudden avalanche of commentary despite there being so few people in the room. Starfire felt her previous unease multiply and quickly stopped hovering, taking a few steps to close the distance between her and the table. Without hesitation, Mars’ Counsellor waved a hand, effectively silencing the room as a holographic projection formed above the table. Earth’s atmosphere came into focus as a disturbance caused a slight oscillation in the surrounding layers. The image zoomed in, refocusing on where an impact seemed to have happened- it appeared that some sort of opening had formed in the exosphere, though the cause of it was nowhere to be seen. A flash of lightning spanned out beneath the opening before everything closed, swallowing up all evidence of the anomaly. The commentary roared to life again and Koriand’r caught the phrase ‘natural phenomena’ being used.
Placing her palm on the table to amplify her voice, she addressed the individual hailing from the Draco constellation, watching their glistening skin shift in the light as they turned their attention to her.
“Lightning in the thermosphere is most unusual of Earth. It differs greatly from the Aurora Borealis that occurs within this atmospheric layer,” her statement was obvious, but she knew there were a few beings in the room who weren’t as well versed in the natural developments that occurred in relation to the blue planet.

“We have not seen something even remotely resembling this in millennia.” The Martian leader gave Koriand’r a pointed glance, knowing that out of all parties present, she had spent the most time on Earth.

“Perhaps we should investigate. The heroes of Earth are capable, but we would not want to refrain from aiding them in a potential time of need,” Starfire disliked the idea of leaving the issue unchecked. Karras would have to wait. She removed her hand from the table, this time directly addressing the robed extraterrestrial next to her, “My subordinate is capable of finishing revisions that may be had. With the blessing of the council, I am able to reach Earth within six plarks. I will alert you of the status.”

It was phrased as an inquiry out of respect for the council itself and the work they were doing, but as the diplomatic leader of Tamaran, it was obvious that Koriand’r was going to Earth. Mars’ councilor seemed to be in agreement and gave her an answer with a slight bow of his head. Turning back to the rest of the assembly, he returned his hand to the table.
“Crown Princess Koriand’r of House Tykayl of Tamaran will be taking leave in order to update us on the current happenings of Earth. In her absence, General Zirral of Kathas will speak on behalf of Tamaras.” A wave of quiet approval resonated throughout the room.

With a bow, Starfire dismissed herself from the table, the knot in her stomach tightening.

. . . . .


The small reptilian creature ran after her, certainly its equivalent of doing a full-on sprint as it tried its best to carry a smooth metallic ball without dropping it. Clicking frenziedly, Starfire suddenly stopped in response, impatience welling up in her chest. She needed to be on Earth already.
With a few clicks to express her gratitude, she took the orb from the small scaly talons, letting it fit into her palm before it suddenly lost all shape and seemed to melt around her wrist, reforming into a silver band. She now had direct communication access with the rest of the council.

Koriand’r exhaled sharply with her eyes closed and rolled her shoulders back, pushing herself to transform that unease into anger. With the majority of the emotions swirling around her head rooted in fear, her powers would be all but useless if she couldn't channel those feelings. But if she could imagine a threat, concentrate the rage she would feel for something or someone attacking her adoptive home- glowing chartreuse eyes snapped open as the ends of her hair seemed to dance like hungry flames. Without a second thought, she launched upwards, going through Mars’ atmosphere in mere moments. The familiar tug of breaking into space took her breath away, leaving her with a few bubbles of euphoria amidst the anger she was keeping contained. It had been on Earth that she had first seen a dog put its head outside of a car window. Though it seemed like a bizarre comparison, the joy the animal felt as the wind whipped across its face was definitely something similar to what Kori felt whenever she retired into space. Maybe it was the rush of pushing through the final layer of the exosphere, or maybe it was the sudden expanse in all of its infinite potential laying before her. Whichever it was, the reason didn’t necessarily matter to her, but the ephemeral exhilaration certainly did.

She took a second to appreciate the planet in front of her, she had seen images of it many times in the past decade as she had Tamaran monitor any unusual activity, but not even the images could do its beauty justice. Pushing her musings aside, Koriand’r rocketed towards the looming blue sphere, a contrail of igneous gold blazing behind her.

Based on the current position of Earth and her speed, the trip would take less than seven minutes. Quickly closing the distance between her and her destination, Kori didn’t let any thoughts distract her from maintaining a steady stream of power.
A monotone voice reminiscent of a hammer on steel suddenly sounded in her ear, startling her enough to mess up her aviation pattern.

Incoming call from Crown Prince Karras of Tamaran.

Kori flicked her wrist as she muttered a curse word and accepted the call, not bothering to stop her flight.

“Karras-” her tone let him know that he was interrupting something.

“Koriand’r, I understand that the council alerted you of the situation. You are making your arrival to Earth,” his tone didn’t give anything away, but if Starfire could have sighed right then, she would have.
Kori knew what he was thinking and though he knew her loyalties were with Tamaras, it undoubtedly irked him that she would run to Earth’s aid at the drop of a hat. She had discussed this many times before, but now with Karras as her husband, she couldn’t exactly utilize the ‘do not question your queen’ tactic. “We do not know what this is. Someone was needing to-” She didn’t bother hiding the fact that she was being defensive.
Karras interrupted her before she could finish her sentence, “Xlonark,” his voice was softer as he said the term of respectful endearment, letting his wife know that he hadn’t called to judge her for her current endeavor, “My message is simply to let you know that your Titan device has made noise. I believe it is in relation to the current incident,” he paused for a moment, “I do not understand all of the communication, but I thought you should know.”

Both his word choice and intonation surprised her. Perhaps she did not give him enough credit.

“Thank you, Karras.” Starfire knew he could hear her sheepish smile all the way back on Tamaran, “I am appreciative of your understanding.”
She had left her communicator in a box back in the Palace. For the first few years back in her native territory, she had kept it with her, always ready to return back to her friends. But after a while, it had just become a reminder of the Rekma that had occurred and a reason for others to question her allegiances. So she had left it behind.

Karras gave nothing but a small hum in response and the call disconnected.

An atmospheric anomaly and the Titans were paging?
Starfire had learned that the universe was far too complex for things as general as coincidences; all she could do was hope that she wasn’t too late.

With a slow exhale that braced her more for what she was about to face rather than the slight impact, Kori stayed on her course, directing herself to enter directly above Jump City. Her hands glowed green as she placed them in front of her, making her ascent through the ozone layer almost seamless. Slowing her speed to hundreds of miles per hour as the cityscape came into view.

After ten years, she had returned.


*Your Highness, there’s an urgent message from Crown Prince Karras
**Something has entered Earth’s atmosphere

[Lady Celeste]

Raven had arrived not long after Nightwing did, hovering in the air for a bird’s-eye view of the situation. It didn’t take long after that for her to gradually piece together what was going on. A boy wearing Greco-Roman armor lay unconscious in the epicenter of the lightning storm, precisely where the humanoid figure had landed. This incident had ‘Zeus’ written all over it, and Raven was well aware of the heavily diminished state of the ancient pantheons in modern times. Olympus must’ve finally reached a breaking point, to pull this kind of stunt out in the open.

But that wasn’t all Raven noticed from her higher vantage point. Perched on a lamppost was a girl about the same age as the unconscious boy, and another group was starting to approach the scene as well. All of this, in turn, was in addition to the sheer number of familiar faces, old and new alike, that were starting to converge on this precise spot. Raven didn’t believe in destiny as much as she used to, but for everything to come together like this out of nowhere... where to even begin?

May as well address the most pressing concerns first, she decided as she landed gracefully in the other Titans’ midst.

“Looks like we have a classic multi-dimensional incident on our hands.” Raven noted in her usual crisp tone. “The biggest question right now is why. Why here, why now, and why like this?”

No sooner had she said that, however, than she glimpsed the others around her and already saw some familiar faces. Robin - now calling himself Nightwing - and even Starfire. Raven had always taken every chance she could get to keep in touch with the others whenever possible, and even now she and Robin/Nightwing still had their little professional arrangement to seek out potential recruits and honoraries using Rachel Roth’s in-person events as a front. But she never would’ve expected Starfire to be back here on Earth, given her current duties on other planets and her marriage to an alien prince.

“By the way, it’s... nice to see you all again...” Raven said, letting her professional façade drop just a little bit in front of her friends. They were once the only friends she had, and even now they still held a special place in her heart. In all honesty, that was the biggest reason why Raven needed no convincing to agree to the arrangement with Robin/Nightwing, and why she still didn’t regret it even now.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Screech Owl nodded as the former Titan gave her instructions.

“On it, Nightwing.” With that, she flapped back into the air, winging above the crowd. Her breath puffed with exertion. She slowly gained altitude, swooping overtop the lampposts. Her keen eyes looked in through skyscraper windows for trapped people. Nobody seemed injured, but a lot of them were confused. A half bird, half girl flying by like a winged Peeping Tom certainly didn’t help. Her head cocked to the side to better triangulate the sounds she was hearing.

She swept over the streets again. When the lightning had come down, traffic had stopped. But now it resumed, a river of vehicles and pedestrians. Landing atop another lamppost, her talons swung out and held her firmly in place. She cupped her hands around her mouth and spoke to the bustling Jump City street. Her ability to emit a sonic attack granted her the ability to speak quite loudly, and she never had need for a megaphone.

“Listen up people. There was an incident a few blocks over and we need you to clear the area. Possibly superpowered individuals. They may or may not be hostile. At the moment, the best thing you can do is go home for the night.” She smiled to the crowd. Some people shrugged and turned around. Others continued on their business. But some people went toward the commotion. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Silently winging back to the rest of the group, she landed back near Nightwing.

“Nothin’, Boss. Except some civilians coming this way.” She winced. “Guess there’ll always be people like that.” Especially when there’s a chance you might get your own superpowers, she thought. There were almost unlimited ways to come across your powers, so some seemed to think superpowers might be contagious. She thought it was dumb, but remembered what it was like before she had her powers. The Teen Titans, the Justice League, any number of superheroes were who she looked up to, who she wished she could be. And now she was one. And a crappy one, at that, because the boy was stirring and there were still civilians around.