During the earlier years of the West Coast based superhero team, The Teen Titans, there's always been a desire for young superheroes on the other side of the country. Young superheroes who strive to become better heroes and by extension, better people. Learning and teaching by each others side.

They are..



Gotham City:

The two fighters were trading punches, heavy weight chapmionships were on their way and the two boxers wanted the belt more than anything and were pushing themselves to their breaking points. It was round seven and they were both very weary. Panting they stepped around in the ring, sweat running down their face and down their torso, barely able to hold their guards up, blood running down their faces as both of them had busted eyebrows and lips. They would move towards one another and the man wearing blue shorts, Jackson, would send his fist towards the man in orange, Curtis, Curtis would take the hit right on his jaw and he would stumble backwards. Man in blue sent another two jabs at Curtis whom now could barely stand, and just as Jackson's final hit would knock him out, Curtis's iris would get filled with a green smog, invisible to the cameras but seen by Jackson. The smog inside of his body revitalized him, and with one uppercut he sent Jackson' airborne, out of the ring and towards the fans, whom all moved out of the way as the boxer landed with a heavy crash. The crowd was flabbergasted but soon burst into cheering for the new champion.

Heading out of the ring and to his locker his manager came and patted him on the shoulder "Crazy fight there Big C! Didn't even know' ya still had one of those rocket punches left in ya'."
"Guess I had one left." Curtis responded, his mannager cheered "Well, now you're the new champion. There's a paartay later tonight, and you should be there."
"We'll see." Curtis said, heading into his dressing room he got into the shower for a few minutes, before he got out of it again and dug into his backpack, the wounds he had gotten from the fight were bleeding again because of the water, but from his bag he got out a pack of white patches with a green logo on them. Taking one he got it out and slapped it on his bicep, the patch ingrained itself in his arm and he let out a loud grunt as his wounds all closet up and his iris turned green for a split second.

He headed out of the changing room once he had gotten dressed and would be out on the streets again, heading to that party.

***
Titan Tower, New Castle

The young man ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at the consoles in front of him. It was difficult to allocate all the data he needed. On one of the consoles he was watching the newscast from the west coast, intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo had made a mess out of chinatown in San Francisco, but the Titans had kept him at bay untill the Justice League could assist by knocking him out of the park. While another half of the league had been helping in Africa with a recent earthquake. It was all very good work. But here in Delaware? Nothing was happening. It was all so quiet.

"Ugh." The senior titan groaned, stretching his neck as he yawned out of boredom. His name was Mal Duncan, semi pro athelete and ally of superheroes for a hobby. Well, he used to be, till he started to wear the yellow and blue armor that made him Guardian. Now he was wrapped up in this Titan Business weather he liked it or not. Normally, he didn't like Godzilla attacking town, or the Kwasisians sending a intergalactic armada for earth to enslave them all, but today he'd do anything for a alien, or a terrorist threat, or a supernatural threat.

He just wanted something to do. Seeing the console he was looking at light up his attention was directly attracted to that, a robbery in progess? Cool. "Titans, we have work to do." He said relived, but as soon as he had given the order the alarm went away, the cops had the situation under control. Putting his hand on the telecom he groaned. "Titans, at ease, false alarm."
Could this day get any more boring?

***

Julian was sitting in his quarters tinkering with a piece of tech he himself had constructed, he was a pocket sized forcefield, so he wouldn't have to always don his full combat gear whenever he needed a decent shield. In his hand he held the screwdriver, holding the piece of tech on a remodeled selfie stick with his teeth. He would use his robotic arm, but it was currently being repaired by his micro drones after a previous malfunction with the laser. Turning the screwdriver he let out a happy sigh, putting down the tool he took the stick out of his mouth and held the gadget in his hand, pressing a button in the middle, putting it down in front of him. He leaned backwards, up on the shelf he sat next to, getting out a little metal piece. Dragging his fingers on the metal piece it was revealed to be a butterfly knife.

With masterful grace he turned the knife upside down in his hand, making the edge point down towards the floor. With force he jammed the knife to the machine, but before it collided with the machine it was blocked by a blue energy field. Julian pushed harder, and while it held for several moments, the shield finally broke and the knife almost hit the machine until he stopped his hand. A light grunt was heard. He had to come up with a better power source, for the gadgets and for his arm, he figured.

Standing up he put away the knife, taking off the protective shirt he wore that prevented him from getting electrecuted or burnt, he headed to his wardrobe where he hung the shirt up and got a dress shirt out instead. He was wearing fine dress pants but bare feet. Getting out a pair of black leather converse, he put the shoes on and then the shirt, being asymetrical wasn't so bad if it wasn't for buttoning, it had been really hard the first few months with that, but now he could do it with finesse. Looking himself in the mirror he made sure to tuck his right sleeve up almost all the way up to the end of his arm, making sure it still covered the stump he had left from his arm.

Hearing the telecom with Mal's voice made him let out a groan. He was gonna have to change again, wasn't he?
Luckily, it was a false alarm. Leaning over the mirror he had he got into the drawer under the sink, where he put regenerative cream on his face, over the scars he had since his accident, the cream was supposed to help the scars heal, but they were still as red as ever. With a grin he looked over himself, his hair was getting longer, soon he'd have to get styling gel, he figured. The thought amused him.

Heading for the door the door slid open, letting him outside. He headed to the main hall where Duncan was. "You enjoying yourself, Mal?" Julian asked. "Like you wouldn't believe, Cobalt. I've got minesweeper and everything over here." he retorted sarcastically. "So, would you fancy a game of chess, then? I always find the challenge refreshing." Julian asked, where as Mal chuckled. "Find someone else to hustle, Brainiac." Julian smirked. He would head for the elevator and up into the tower, traveling out of the bunker and to the top floor, where the kitchen was. He wanted something to eat.

Opening the fridge he found a powerbar that he gladly took for himself, sitting down he found a book to read, was a recently published physics book by Ray Palmer.

T'haam had commandeered the kitchen for making his lunch. Well, not exactly prepare, more of pouring Oreo's into a bowl of pudding with some chocolate chips and other things. The mixture was being stirred by a spoon dancing in the bowl on it's own, while the controller of the spoon sat and stared into the thick soup of chocolate. It was delicious smelling, and T'haam was eager to eat it, morphing his hood away and revealing his green bald head. His sleeves retracted as well as he hopped off the counter and drifted through the air too his soup de jour, too much chocolate, was prepared. It was one of his better food experiments since he had arrived on the planet. "FINALLY! My creation is complete!" The martian yelled, grabbing the spoon and thrusting is it into his mouth and coating the counter behind him in chocolaty residue.

The look of pure ecstasy that came over the alien was incredible. His lips curled up and his eyes squinted in pleasure. "Oooohohohohohooo..." he moaned before diving into another bite, and another, and another. He was practically dancing around the kitchen with the bowl of pure euphoria in his hands. Jumping from one corner to another devouring ever bite. As he stretched his tongue in for the last, final bite, he dropped the bowl. An alarm sounded, startling him. The bowl landed with a crash, breaking on the ground and bringing the martian to his knees. The plastic didn't shatter, but simply fractured and left the final bits of chocolate residue on the floor. Then the worst news came, it was simply a false alarm. The alien sat staring at the ground in the kitchen where the chocolate had oozed out of the cracked bowl. It was a sad day for this martian.

"Tom, Tom, Tom!!!"

The bouncy, dyed-pink hair girl came barreling down the hall towards the kitchen holding a small box. Her dark blue eyes were wide and she was grinning, eager to show the martian whatever it was she was holding in the box. Her very long, uncut hair whipped behind her and her skirt shifted with each step, but came without her white cat backpack she usually only wore for battle. Then, at that moment, the alarm started blaring, causing Bit-Girl to stare at the ceiling in a mix of childlike wonder and eagerness. A job right now? She hadn't stopped running, and she had nearly passed the alien when her heel found its way onto that last bite of chocolate pudding the martian had sadly dropped.


She slipped backwards in slow motion with the grin frozen on her face, her pupils shrinking as she realized that she had just made a terrible mistake. As she fell, the box slowly left her hands and her hand dramatically stretched out to grab it... and then the world went back to normal speed and she landed with a loud 'OOMPH!' as she smacked her head against the linoleum floor, scrunching up her face in pain. The box landed right beside her with the lid jostled slightly off. Poking its tiny head out of the box was an orange tabby kitten with a large pink bow tied around its neck, no doubt from Bit-Girls room. Bit-Girl looked at the kitten and smiled, then smiled up at the martian, giggling as she sat up and rubbed her head. The kitten jumped out of the shoebox, obviously unharmed as it mewed and tried to jump and bat at the floating martians legs.

"I found it when we went on our last mission, isn't he cute?!"

Funny, because the last mission happened last week, meaning she'd been hiding this kitten in her bedroom for that amount of time.

Query sat at his desk in his room typing away at his laptop. He was searching for some things. Whether or not these searches were legal mattered not to him. He made sure to make the things he did as untraceable as possible. It'd require someone with a similar intellect to his to even get a start on it. "Almost done..." There was both an empty cup and a pot on the desk near the laptop. It was clear that they both used to contain coffee. Currently his mask was off and was actually sitting on the desk as well. He lifted a doughnut off of a paper towel and placed it in his mouth. He chewed and chewed, but still didn't stop typing.

"And done." He finally commented. "Interesting. Very interesting." He started to download whatever he found and lifted the cup to his mouth and noticed that there was nothing left inside. He put the cup down and grabbed his mask and stepped over a pile of trash on the floor. The trash wasn't his of course. He was much neater with his own belongings. The trash belonged to some of the other members on the team. He didn't consider himself a klepto. He considered himself an investigator. He had been on the team for a while now. He didn't consider himself close to them, but he knew a lot about them just by the contents of their trash. You can learn a lot about a man or woman by their trash. He of course didn't enter their rooms when they were in there. That would've been way too tricky. How would you react if you woke up to see someone digging through your trash can?

Q left his room and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He used fluoride free tooth paste. He didn't trust the dental industry and its connection to "The Conspiracy". He started brushing his teeth and was almost done when he heard the alarm. He was in no rush though. He figured that it wasn't a big crisis that they'd have to handle quickly. After the West Coast team had to deal with Lobo there was no way they would have to deal with something big unless there was someone overlooking their life and putting them into dangerous situations just because they were a group of trainee heroes. Now that would be ridiculous.

He finished brushing when Mal told them it was a false alarm. He put up his toothbrush and toothpaste and started heading into the hall. He put on his mask and used the chemical gas to stick it on while also changing the color of his hair and clothes. He still didn't trust the team enough to reveal what he looked like or even what his real name was. He even told them that they could call him Dick in reference to Dick Tracy. He also told them they could call him Richard if they were uncomfortable with Dick. Other than that he would like them to call him Query unless they were close to him like the Huntress and Montoya were. They knew what he looked like under the mask. It was up to them to figure out his identity.

He arrived in the kitchen just after Aria asked if her new cat was cute. "If by cute you mean evil creature used by the Illuminati, then yes. Down right adorable."

Aria, T'haam, and Julian were in the kitchen. If they looked down enough at his shoes they would notice that his laces had their aglets. He didn't know why he had come in here anymore. Originally it was to get some more coffee, but now that he had his mask on he wondered if there was even any point to it anymore. He didn't very much feel like taking it off again and putting it back on. It wasn't a broken iPhone.

Radorion slumped over with his hands upon his knees as he tried to catch his breath. His blood was pumping so furiously he could hear and feel each throb of his pulse. He had been running on the treadmill for the last hour or so and had decided to really push it for the last ten minutes - it showed as he stood up straight and the sweat that had coalesced on the tip of his nose broke free, spattering on the mat below. He was basically drenched.

Fifty five...what is going on with me?

The machine to his side beeped as he through a cold towel over his face. The green velocity readout of '55 MPH' faded as the shutdown process completed. After a moment of standing with a towel draped over his head, Radorion groaned and pressed it firmly against his skin before wiping it away and over his hair. He tossed the towel into laundry bin before showering himself off in one of the stalls.

The Green Arrow had sent him here with the idea that he could benefit from the surroundings while he adapted to his new found self. As the hot water ran over his skin he took this into consideration, but with a load of salt. He was a hazard to himself and at this point he was unsure if he could be of any help to others. Feeling indebted for even being taken in by anyone, he had spent the last week tidying the tower out of guilt. Certainly a few of the other Titans had caught him steadily cleaning away and quite possibly thought he was quite odd. The fact that he had been more or less silent didn't help, and he knew that. This wasn't like him. He had been assertive and bold to a fault before, but now...

Radorion threw his orange hoodie over the bare skin of his back and swept the large hood up and over his head, neglecting to zip it shut as he needed to cool off. He headed up to the kitchen, his mind muddied with altogether too many thoughts to consider. His stomach, however, was being direct and clear. The kitchen was built as a walk-thru with two entrances and Radorion had happened to come up to the rear archway as it was closer to his destination - the fridge. He had heard buzzing coming from within as he approached and now that he arrived, he stopped inside the entrance and looked to see what was going on. He saw... Tom, was it? He didn't quite have all of the names down yet as he had been too wrapped up inside of himself to carry any meaningful conversations. The most he had managed thus far was a nonchalant 'hello' and conversing about the sunrise over the Atlantic one morning.

Radorion thought the martian was an attentive one...usually. The mixer had stopped now and at this point he seemed to be consumed by whatever sweet concoction he had thrown together. Radorion stood for but a moment before re-engaging in his approach to the fridge. He scooped up an apple from the counter and clenched it in his teeth before opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of green juice he had prepared earlier. As he closed the door he heard the voice of a girl yelling 'Tom!' just before an alarm buzzed through the corridors. Radorion's teeth buried themselves further into the shiny red apple with a crunch in anticipation. This was an alert for a mission if he remembered correctly. The commotion was over just as fast as it began, or so he thought. The alert was a false alarm of course, but it was also a cue for a girl to rush in and slip on Tom's dessert. His eyes followed everything that transpired. From her slipping to the box tumbling out of her arms and onto the floor. He would have smiled when he saw the kitten gingerly poke it's head out of the box were it not for the apple.

They're certainly an interesting bunch.

Marcus stood across from one of his many mentors, Wildcat. Atlas (or Green Lantern, which ever you prefer to call him) had only recently started working on his boxing with Ted Grant. Ted was the best boxer on the planet, bar none. Most people would consider it an honor to have an afternoon alone with the guy. But Marcus? Marcus was a Green Lantern. He'd met the Guardians of the Universe. He fought side by side with Hal Jordan and Jon Stewart every other day. Marcus had traveled across the cosmos, defending entire solar systems from catastrophe. He didn't feel honored to stand in the presence of some man. The guy could throw a mean right hook, though. He definitely had that going for him.

"Hands up, Marcus. We're going again." Wildcat ordered, his own hands ready. The Russian boy sighed, bringing his hands up in front of his face and placing his right foot forward. Marcus was a southpaw, so he led with his right hand and used his left to deliver his most powerful blows. "Hit me." Wildcat commanded. Marcus smiled, more than happy to oblige. Atlas took a quick step forward and threw a pair of quick jabs with his right hand. Ted parried both attacks with ease. "Faster, Marcus. Hit me!" Marcus grit his teeth and threw another three jabs faster than before. Wildcat parried the first two and weaved away from the third. "Stewart told me you could fight, but I've seen princesses who could throw a better punch than that." Marcus exploded forward, unleashing a barrage of jabs and crosses. "I'm just warming up old man!" Wildcat back peddled as his younger opponent went on the offensive. He dodged, parried and weaved. Not a single blow landed on the fighter as he showed his mastery of the art of boxing. "Come on!" Marcus yelled in frustration. The Green Lantern threw all of his weight into a wild haymaker. Wildcat scoffed and moved out of the way with the greatest of ease. "Seriously?" Ted Grant moved around Atlas' side and unleashed a hail of punches into the Titan's side. Marcus grunted, falling to the floor.

"Ow." He muttered.

"Get up." Wildcat pulled his new pupil to his feet, patting him on the shoulder before crossing to his side of the ring. "Now come at me. Keep focused, and keep your head down." Marcus breathed in deeply as he brought his bare fists up. He glanced at his ring for a moment, before turning back to Grant and crossing the boxing ring. The two fighters met in the middle, and Marcus started the fight with a left hook. Wildcat ducked under the attack and slammed his fist into Marcus' bare chest. Atlas took in a sharp breath as he struggled to breathe. Ted waited until Marcus was ready before attacking again. Atlas launched a pair of jabs and a cross, which Wildcat dodged and countered with a pair of jabs of his own. "This isn't really fair, I hope you know. Feels like you're wearing brass knuckles." Wildcat smirked, sending a jab at Atlas' face. Marcus blocked the attack and returned with a right hook to Wildcat's side. "Like hittin' a guy in plate armor." He muttered as the two continued their dance. "There are trade-offs." Wildcat continued the conversation as he tried to uppercut Marcus, which the Russian promptly dodged. "I'm slower. More vulnerable." Marcus tried an old one-two combo, which Wildcat parried and countered. "Still faster than I am." Marcus said as he pounded on Wildcat, who didn't bother to dodge. "Ah, hell." Marcus grunted as he took a step back, rubbing his hands together. Ted just laughed.

"Laugh at this!" Marcus leaped into the air, spinning around. Moments before impact a green light construct surrounded Marcus' leg. His foot connected with Wildcat's nose, a look of surprise on the older fighter's face as his head went flying off his shoulders.

"Nice kick. But could you have telegraphed it more?"

"Like you saw that coming."

"Of course I did. Now pick up my head."

Atlas jumped out of the boxing ring and jogged over to the decapitated head of Ted Grant. Marcus picked Wildcat's head up and climbed back into the ring. He reattached the boxing champion's head to his still-standing body. Wildcat tried to move, but his arms flailed erratically and refused to follow his commands. "Well, that's great. You broke it. Didn't even do it legally, either. You just had cheat." Marcus rolled his eyes and went to wipe himself clean of sweat with a towel. "Like I'd ever beat you at boxing. Not that I need to. Muay Thai is more flexible." Wildcat's form disappeared, leaving behind a metal skeleton. "Get Julian to fix this robot and I'll school you at Muay Thai too. Been trained in that since before you were born."

Suddenly Guardian's voice came over the intercom. "Titans, we have work to do." Marcus pumped his fist in the air in excitement. A green light washed over Atlas as his costume replaced his boxing shorts and he began to levitate. "Finally, some action!" He yelled as he flew out of the room. "3, 2...1..Annnddd." Duncan's groan came back over the intercom as he announced the false alarm. Marcus groaned from the hallway as Wildcat merely chuckled, disconnecting from the training robot.

---

Ding!

The elevator opened on the top floor, Marcus stepping out in casual attire. Donning a Batman hoodie and a pair of jeans, the young Green Lantern made his way inside the room and walked towards the living room. Atlas jumped over the couch and landed with practiced ease on the sofa, grabbing the remote and turning on the massive television. Marcus put his feet up on the coffee table as he started to flip through the channels. "Boring. Boring. Weird. Boring." Atlas nearly gave up before he found the perfect show: The Sports Channel. "Here we go." Marcus leaned farther back into his seat and watched as the commercials ended and the Football game began. "Was that a joke, Q? I swear, I can never tell when you're joking."

"If by cute you mean evil creature used by the Illuminati, then yes. Down right adorable."

Kaldur'ahm raised an eyebrow as he walked into the kitchen--originally to cure himself of his hunger with a tuna fish sandwich, but now he was also curious about what on earth Query was going on about. "Evil creature used by the Illuminati?" Kaldur asked aloud as he made his way to the fridge with his eyebrow still raised holding back a laugh. He bent down chuckling as he opened the fridge door, to his disappointment there weren't the right ingredients in the refrigerator to create his original reason for coming into the kitchen in the first place. He let out a sigh of sadness before closing the fridge door, and proceeding to lean against one of the various counter-tops in the kitchen and reverting back to his light chuckle. "What's next, will barbarians hired by the Illuminati swoop down upon us in a dark alleyway?" He asking in a joking tone, hoping Query to realize it was a joke and shoot back with a remark.

Kaldur'ahm was in a good mood today, he wasn't sure why but he just... was. So he wanted to express this a little bit by messing with Query a little bit, perhaps even later pulling a little prank on him as well--nothing harmful of course, but just a small fun prank. But he'd only do the prank if he could get the other Titans to go along with it. He began to walk over towards Bit Girl, who he happened to have a small crush on because he found her "ditzy" personality to be adorable--not to mention, she didn't look too bad either. "Perhaps your kitten and I can share some tuna fish one day." He said jokingly with a smile as he offered his hand to help Aria up from the ground and back on her feet.

The others would start flooding the room, and Julian's peace was disturbed, not that he minded. If he really wanted to be alone he would've stayed in his room. He liked his team, they were refreshing, and more like actual Teens, they were 'kids', and Julian had never actually known anyone who wasn't a scientist or a military contact. While he wasn't sure if he would qualify these people as friends, they were acquaintances that he thought of in a positive light. Putting down the book he was reading at a speed that seemed abnormal for someone whom wasn't a meta, but that's what off the charts IQ does for you.

Query said the Kitten was used by the Illuminati, and Julian smirked. Then came the Atlantean, apparently looking for Tuna, as he usually did. It was odd for someone who spent a lot of time with fish to want to eat them, Julian himself was strictly Vegan, not for morale reasons, but due to the fact that the vegan diet was the healthiest one. The Atlantean cracked a joke about barbarians in a alleyway. "Don't encourage his madness, Kaldur, we don't want him getting started with the Illuminati talk again." Julian joked, but then gave off a smirk, the scars on his face bending as his face busted into a slight grin.

"Besides, Illuminati's a bunch of poor people pretending to be powerful, anyway."

"If by cute you mean evil creature used by the Illuminati, then yes. Down right adorable."

"Shit, shit, SHIT."

Some minimum wage government worker with headphones on and a half burnt out cigarette pushed backwards in his rolling office chair and swiveled to another keyboard on the other side of the tiny wall before dragging a microphone to his mouth, his eyes wide as nervous beads of sweat ran down his face.

"CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT. NOTHING IS SACRED. BURN ALL THE DOCUMENTS."

The intercom sounded off to the entire building tucked away in the himalayan mountains. Everyone who had been walking around calmly in their business attire suddenly started running around, screaming and panicking while back in the control room, the man was busy ripping out all the wires connecting to the microscopic camera and sound feed attached to the orange tabby cat's fur as tears ran down his face. They hadn't gotten ANY intel because the pink haired girl had kept the cat in her room for a week, babying it with cat food and toys. After the wires had been taken out and other workers had come in to smash and destroy all the equipment, the government worker turned to the skies (or, rather, the tiled ceiling) and fell to his knees as tears fell onto his shirt, screaming to the heavens...

"CURSE YOU, KID Q....!!!!"

Back in the tower, the kitten purred, blinked, and shook its fur unknowingly. It padded over to Kid Q and rubbed up against his thigh, purring even louder, like a motorboat. At this, Aria giggled, taking note of Radorian biting into an apple in the background, with Julian also hanging around.

"Well, whatever an illuminatty is, he seems to really like you." She leaned forward, one eyes closed with a mischievous smile on her face. "I bet you two will get along super fine. Cats like mysteeeerious people after all~"

She giggled again, her pink locks bouncing as she did so. Aria noticed Atlas making his way to the TV room, asking Q if he was being serious, before Kaldur made his own remarks and came around to Aria. When he offered a hand to her, her grin grew and she grabbed his hand without hesitation. She hopped up onto her toes and stretched, her midriff nearly being exposed in the process.

"Thanks, K! Yeah, I bet the cat would like that sometime."

Bit-girl beamed her smile at the dude from the sea. Julian also started to say something about the illuminati thingy she didn't really know about, but her attention was soon drawn to the moving colors that were the TV. Quickly forgetting about introducing the cat, or the fact she'd been hiding him from Mal at all for fear he'd say no to having it around because of the expenses that come with a kitten, she bounded over the couch with her hair trailing behind her and leaving with it a scent like cotton candy [a smell, Q might know, that came from the brand of shampoo she used]. She leapt and turned in midair to land on the couch upside down next to Atlas. Not impressive at all, any teenager could do that sort of movement without training which, of course, was basically what Bit-girl is. She stared at the tv from her upside down perspective, her boot-clad feet waving in the air as she bit her lip. Then frowned.

"Awww, the sports channel? Pbbbt... boring..."

The pink haired girl pursed her lips, her skirts staying put only by her relaxed elbows laying against the backside of the couch.

It was all gone. All of it. And to make matters worse Bit Girl had to step and slip in it! "All is lost. It's all gone." The martian felt a set of paws grabbing at his feet as he floated above the ground. He looked down at the kitten and smiled. The room began to fill and talk of the Illuminati filled the room, as well as the noises of a football game. Everyone was training so hard lately, and had no way of showing their progress since no big crimes had been happening lately. Ash and Atlas especially. The new boy hadn't been talking to the others much, so T'haam took it upon himself to break the ice.

He gazed into the boys eyes, still above the ground with his knees to his chest and spoke in the mind of the boy. "Ash right? Why have we not had a full conversation yet? I know I'm alien but even I know that we should communicate with one another. I'm T'haam, or Tom if you will." His feet hit the ground as the kitten moved away. He smiled at the boy as his hood and sleeves reformed, shrouding his face in shadow aside form his eyes which he had made bio luminescent. One of the best parts of being a martian was complete control over ones body.

Abusing this fact, he bent down to the kitten and pat it's head and turning himself into such a creature, be it a bit older. T'haam didn't know much about fighting, but shapeshifting into small animals was something he excelled at after years of hiding in his old friend Amy's house as various pets, mostly a snake. he played around with the cat and the two were running around the kitchen playing a weird form of cat tag that the martian was enjoying before they both stopped at the couch, hopping up and watching the football game and brushing upon each other. The cat spoke out "We should take on these illuminati people. They sound evil enough." His face was licked by the kitten next to him and he took that as a queue to change back to his martian form, relaxing into the couch with the kitten on his lap.

Kaldur followed the others into the living room, "I agree with T'haam!" He spoke jokingly, "How dare they control cute kittens? The next thing you know, they'll be controlling fish!" Kaldur proceeded to plop down on the massive couch, always managing to be shocked at how comfortable it was. It only now occured to Kaldur'ahm that he was laughing, not at the fact that the conversation was funny--but because he was truly happy, something he really hasn't been in a long time. He let out a sigh as his laugh began to die down to a chuckle, and eventually to just a smile. He leaned back into the sofa, becoming increasingly comfortable the further he slouched into it.

Query's words seemed to spark questions, jokes, and denial. Just what conspiracy tended to bring about. He turned to Marcus who was sitting on the couch and watching TV. He asked him if he was joking or not since he couldn't really tell. He understood why. Query's sense of humor was unique. "Sarcasm with a dash of seriousness." He said matter-of-factly. He eyed the Green Lantern or Atlas as he called himself. A name like that showed the type of ego the guy had. Naming himself after the Titan who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. That's not why he was eyeing him though. He was wondering what he would be able to do if he ever got that ring of his on his finger. With it he was sure that he would be able to expose this whole conspiracy. Power didn't mean much to Q. Hell, he didn't even fear those with powers. He knew that some could break him within a second, but he wasn't opposed to calling their bluff. Even if they were villains.

He looked at the cat as it nestled it up against his thigh. He didn't budge though and just stared at it before Aria started talking. When she finished he calmly said, "I doubt it. I'm more of a dog person."

Next was Kaldur with his joke. It was an interesting thought so he decided to play along. He may have spent his time working on mysteries and conspiracy, but he also used to play games. "Yes... swooping is bad." The others continued to talk and even Julian shot down the Illuminati angle.

"I was actually referring to the Egyptian Illuminati. Way back when. This new age Illuminati is a cover for something else. They wouldn't be able to do much if the whole world knew about them. That's why they did nothing to prevent the populace of talking about it. It helps them." He had discovered all of this long ago. Back when he first started tailing the original Question. "But enough conspiracy talk. I don't want you heading to the loony bin with me."

He then realized that this is the most that the team might have talked and joked around with each other since they started becoming a team. He may have inadvertently helped them already. He started humming the tune to a pop song and headed over to the fridge despite not even wanting anything to eat or drink anymore. He just wanted to see what they had in there for later. After browsing the contents of the fridge he made his way over to the couch.

He stopped humming by the time he got there and stared at the TV. In reality he was piecing together different connections in his mind. He was still working on the big case that took priority over the one passed down by his mentor. He knew that there had to be more to his death than cancer. If anyone was going to find out it was going to be him.

"B-B-B-"

Marcus visibly shook. His brow folded downwards in such a position that seemed physically impossible as the Green Lantern was filled with such livid anger that he started to flail his arms in a show of absolute shock.

"BORING?!" He shouted in a fit of rage. "Do you have any idea what you're going on about? Sports are the life blood of humanity! The entertainment that connects us all as people! It's the one thing that all people of every language, religion and color can connect with! Ever heard of this little thing called the Olympics? The World Cup? Massive events in history that every man, woman and child across all seven continents sit down to watch and cheer for their local athletes as they battle it out in a contest of strength, skill, speed and teamwork?! What is more pure in the world than kicking a football around at a family gathering? Tossing the baseball with your son for the first time? Do you know how many millions- No, billions of people who you just slapped in the face with your utter slander of the greatest thing since sliced bread?"

With his speech over, Marcus stepped off his soap box and sat back on the couch with the rest of the Titans. The Russian boy took a deep breath before he could go back to enjoying the game. The Metropolis Metros were facing off against their bitter rivals, the Gotham City Wildcats. Gotham City had scored the first touchdown, and the Metros were on the back foot. But the City of Tomorrow always had a plan up their sleeve as they psyched out Gotham's defensive line and ran the ball. "Get him!" Atlas shouted in frustration as the Metros quarterback sprinted towards the in-zone. "NOOOOOO! Ah, come on! Really?! Nobody could tackle that guy? I could have tagged him!"

"Hate the Metros." He mumbled, sitting back into the couch further. "Oh, Julian. That reminds me," Marcus began. "I broke the training bot again. Can you fix it for me? Thanks, Brainy." As Marcus turned to look back at the television set he noticed that most of the Titans had gathered around the couch now. A smug look crossed his face. Heh, I knew my Braveheart speech would sway them. Atlas thought. Marcus settled in and continued to watch the game in relative silence, with only an outburst here and there. He mostly ignored all the talk of the Illuminati, finding the fact that some of his teammates actually believed they were a real threat to be preposterous. The Illuminati were nothing more than a story, created by the actual threats to throw off the common man's scent. Funny how Q could be so close to the truth and still come off as a total loon.

The pink haired girl watched the green lantern get up and start his entire rant about the importance of sports, her lips pursed the whole time while her eyes slowly squinting at him the deeper into the speech he got. Even as he sat back down on the couch and continued watching the game, her eyes never left him and her expression didn't change. She waited for a while, to the point where his speech was almost forgettable before giving her input.

"Sports. Are. BOR-ING!"

With each word, her fists shook downward, her legs went straight up and bobbed with each one as well, sliding her down the couch further. On the last note, with her position much lower now and thus, also, her feet, she accidently kicked Atlas in the back of the head before sliding down the couch completely and, once again, hitting her head on the ground. Her face scrunched up in pain and she closed her eyes for a half second before something caught her eye and she jutted her chin upward to look at whatever was above her head on the ground. Ah, the Tower's playbox and games nearby! She flipped over, her boots still on the couch, and army crawled over to the playbox. She wouldn't take this for herself--after all, she was still kind of shy around Mal and to be able to get his permission was, well... She didn't know... Scary! She poked through the mess of games nearby before finding what she was looking for. Then she flipped around again and held up the game she had grabbed, a triumphant but mischievous grin on her face.

"The only time they're interesting is when you can play 'em and achieve victory!" She lowered her hands, pressing the game close to her face so that only her eyes were visible over them to the crew as she looked at Atlas. "Wanting to only experience another teams victory second hand kind of makes you... a loser."

She was goading him to play the game in her hands with her; Sportsball 2016 for the Playbox. Complete with all kinds of different sports to compete with your friends against.

"Ash right? Why have we not had a full conversation yet? I know I'm alien but even I know that we should communicate with one another. I'm T'haam, or Tom if you will."

Radorion's body froze for a second as his violet eyes stared intensely at T'haam.

Snort

Radorion's nostrils flared as the apple fell out of his now slacked jaws.

"Uhh, uhh, ah!" Radorion blathered as he haphazardly caught the falling apple, jostling it between his hands before finally managing to catch it on the tips of his fingers. Or so he thought. Just as he let out a sigh of relief, gravity took it's victory as the apple rolled off his fingers and onto the floor with a dull thump.

"So, it's true then. Y-you really can read thoughts!" He exclaimed nervously as that truth settled in. He closed his eyes and ruffled the back of his hood for a moment. He also wasn't used to being called 'Ash' yet either. He had never had that nickname before.

"Well, you see, to be honest I really haven't figured out how to thank you guys yet," he began. The young man was clearly troubled. Eighteen years old and everything had been turned upside down. "Everything in my life has changed so fast, and at my lowest point you guys took me in... I think I have the Arrow to thank for that as well."

Radorion picked up his apple and walked with Tom to the exit of the kitchen where he leaned against the wall as everyone sat around the couch. He looked down at his hand, now holding the bruised apple.

I don't understand anything right now...but they picked me up anyway when I was broken. At least there's that...

During all the shenanigans with the illuminate and sports channel in the living area, Rohan Nott found himself sitting against the window in his room, his hands moving quickly in front of him, working their magic. Once again he had been knitting. That probably didn’t come as a surprise to many, considering that his crime fighting alter ego is the Knitter. It was a name that he had wanted the Titans to refer to him as, with the teen wishing to come across as more dark and mysterious like some of the group’s other members, although this plan had disappeared straight away when Rohan accidently let slip his own name while introducing himself. He was always doing things like this.

It wasn’t long before Rohan finished his creation. It was a jumper, Pakistan green in colour, with a large T in the centre. After admiring his work for a few seconds, he turned it to show the school of fish that were swimming past the window outside. Disappointed by their lack of appreciation of such fine work, he gently tossed it to his right, where a pile of similar jumpers was forming. Matching jumpers for the team. How cool was that?!

That was when the alarm sounded, causing Rohan to jump to his feet when he realized what Mal was saying. Running to his wardrobe, he began to pull on the spandex suit he wore as the Knitter. Due to the speed of his actions however, he quickly found himself stuck as he attempted to pull it on, causing him to stumble and fall onto the floor, half dressed. His sudden fall caused one of the many Knittens in his room to yelp in confusion, only to be followed by a chorus of yelps from its multi-coloured “family” around the room. Rohan shook his head in annoyance from his place on the floor, before swearing loudly when Mal spoke once again and informing them that it was only a false alarm.

It was from this position on the floor that Rohan had a look at his waste paper bin. Upon arriving at the Titan East Tower, the teen had coated the bin, as well as the majority of the rest of the furniture in his room with a layer of brightly coloured wool, knitted into a wide range of patterns. Rohan has decided that it had been a great idea, with the teenager deciding to use the bin as a storage location for his balls of yarn. Once again however, Rohan found the bin empty.

“Who keeps emptying you?” Rohan asked aloud, as he rose to his feet.

After putting on his spandex suit properly, Rohan pulled on one the grey jumpers he had recently knitted, before deciding that he had been in his room long enough. He headed for the door, lifting one of his Knittens onto his back as he did the so. The teen made his way through the winding corridors of the tower, before arriving in the living room. He was surprised to find nearly all of the team present in both the connected kitchen and TV room, with Rohan smiling and nodding at any he passed.

The sight of the kitten on the floor caused the Knitten on the back of his neck to let out a soft hiss, something which made Rohan chuckle slightly. He opened his ears to the conversations around him as he perched himself crossed legged next to Atlas on the sofa, his eyes ignoring the football game on the TV, and instead focussing on Aria and the game she clutched in her hand. “If you’re going to put on a game, at least put on something decent mate!”

"Yeah, why not play Battlebots instead?" Kaldur added, slightly readjusting in his seat. "That's fun to watch for those not playing too--not to mention, it'd be funny to watch Atlas get his behind handed to him. Or better yet, we could have a tournament!" He said, getting excited at the thought of competition among his peers. He leaned forward so his forearms were touching his knees and his eyes began to dart back and forth from Atlas and Aria pleadingly, "C'monnnnnn, you two know you want to..." Kaldur began to look at the others in the room as well, "Would anybody else like to partake in the tournament if these two agree?"

Harper had spent the previous night at home with her parents who still insisted on seeing her regularly when she could get away from the Titans for a bit without being missed. She had easily agreed to take a communicator at Mal's request so he could still get in touch with her if need be. She'd worked out her schedule of going home to coincide with needing her hormone shot, so it worked out to be a consistent day every week. She'd told Mal, of course, but she didn't see any reason or need to say anything to the rest of the team. For all intents and purposes, they only ever knew her as Harper Anderson-Wallace, and that's what mattered.

She strolled in late, having missed the chaos that ensued from the false alarm because of an unfavourable series of events. The universe was really conspiring against her. First, she overslept. Then, on the way, she'd gotten involved with stopping a jewellery store heist (not the one Mal had activated her communicator for, thankfully that was a false alarm). Not five minutes after the culprits were in cuffs was she escorting a gaggle of elderly ladies across the street. She figured if she was going to make a late entrance, might as well make it fashionable.

So she showed up fifteen minutes late with Starbucks.

She didn't really like Starbucks, but she liked the white girl meme. She stepped off the elevator, coffee cup in hand and decked out in costume from earlier still. That was definitely kind of awkward in the Starbucks. Seeing a superhero in line getting a cappuccino wasn't exactly normal...

The chaos had died down somewhat, but there was still Illuminati talk as she stood in the doorway between the kitchen and their living room. She took a sip of her coffee and shook her head, "Really? Is that what you kids are into these days?" Harper pushed off the wall she had leaned against, turning to go to her room for a change of clothes, muttering something like "I leave you guys alone for one night and it's pure chaos in here" as she left them.

"My heart." Atlas grabbed his shirt and tugged on it, pretending that he was in the middle of a heart attack. The girl's sheer ignorance could be forgiven. After all, not everyone was built to be normal; and Aria Smoll was most certainly not normal. Or Bit-Girl. Or whatever that pink haired ditz wanted to be called. Marcus watched as the young Titan slid down the couch (kicking Atlas in the process. Not cool, girl.) and slithered over to the Playbox. The Green Lantern was prepared to shove her out from in front of the television with one of his constructs, not wanting to miss the game. Yet Marcus froze when Aria jumped up from the pile of Playbox games holding Sportsball 16. Then the arrogant fool dared to call Marcus...A...A loser! Flustered beyond mortal comprehension, Marcus jumped to his feet once more. He jutted a finger out at Aria, pointing at the Playbox while his face was flushed with red hot anger at being called out. "You wanna go?!" Atlas shouted out as his ring started to glow. A green, hardlight fist shot out of his hand and flew towards Aria's face. Moments before impact, the hand dodged around her shoulder and wrapped around one of the controls. Marcus brought the controller into his hands and the construct dissipated into the air. "You now face Atlas, Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion!" Marcus fell back onto the couch, his eye twitching. Before the conversation could continue, Rohan appeared. The Knitter, striking fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere with his homemade sweater! Fear him!

"Australia over here has a point." Marcus conceded. "Sportsball sucks. We need a good game. Like...Like..." Marcus stopped, holding his chin as he tried to think of a game to play. Luckily, Kaldur seemed on top of things as he suggested they all play Battlebots. "Yes! Battlebots! Great idea, Fish-sticks. Put it in, Bit-Girl. Unless you're afraid I'll kick your pink-haired ass." Despite all the bravado, Marcus knew he didn't stand a chance. He'd played his fair share of Battlebots, but he was being challenged to play video games with a girl who's only superpowers were video games. Lord almighty, he was about to get his ass handed to him. But Atlas doesn't back down from a fight!

"Oh, hey. Pillow fort's back." Atlas announced, arching his neck so he could see her. "And you brought me coffee? Doll, ya spoil me."

"OBJECTION!" She whirled around to point dramatically at him, grinning with her eyes wide, fire burning brightly in her pale blue irises. "IT IS ME WHO SHALL KICK YOUR..."

She suddenly trailed off, squinting at Atlas. Her cheeks puffed up and she shuffled over to lean over him. She stayed like that for a second and blinked, her eyes still squinted, before straightening and shuffling back, grinning and resuming her pose.

"...GREEN-HAIRED ASS! Also," She looked around the room sheepishly. "I think, uh, I need to see an optometrist or something--BUT FIRST!" Again with the finger pointing. "ASS KICKING!"

She whirled around, her pink hair twirling with her as she knelt down to hook up the necessary components to the Playbox and also to put Battle-Bots in. Then, humming, she unravelled the controllers, handing one to Atlas as she got comfy next to him, leaning forward in excitement, fire blazing in her eyes. The orange tabby kitten batted at the sweaters that the Knitter was making, wiggling under it to make itself a nice, comfy fortress.