---

---

Garfield wasn't sure how he felt about this Roy guy. On one hand, he seemed friendly enough, but he seemed to have a.. What was the term he heard in the streets before? A 'shit-eating grin'? Garfield was pretty sure that was the right term for Roy. However, he still wasn't too sure to make any assumptions about the crimson archer. Garfield, scratched the back of his head a bit awkwardly, if we're on a team..

"If we're on a team, I'm Garfield, then." Garfield said with a more confident smile, happy with himself once more. He then raised an eyebrow once Roy asked about the reasons of why he joined the Titans.

Why did I join the Titans?

Garfield anxiously thought of why he had joined. It certainly wasn't for glory or anything like that. He also wasn't sure if he had joined to exactly protect people. If honest, he wasn't sure he really even cared much for the citizens of San Francisco. The green boy also had a good idea of controlling his powers.

Garfield came to a conclusion, "I.. don't know."

S A N F R A N C I S C O:

---

---

Raven stood in the elevator her arms folded cross her chest and hood over her eyes, she took a deep breath held it for a second before letting it out. The teen was well trained in controlling her emotions through meditation and allowed the nervousness of meeting the rest of her team mates slip away into the void. She was invited to join the Teen Titans, though, she was the one that asked for the chance. Indeed, this was the first step in averting her dark destiny.

As she thought of darker times she felt an anger boiling up inside her, of her father and the death and torment he had brought to her, at herself for wanting his love despite everything. “No, it is pointless to dwell on the past, I can do nothing to change it. Let it all flow away, fade into nothingness,” she said calming herself. It had only been a week since she had escaped her father’s hellish realm where she had spent an unknown amount of time, as time was meaningless in Trigon’s realm unless he gave it such.

The elevator came to a stop with a “ding” and the doors slid open. Raven pushed back her hood as she stepped into the outside on top of Titan Tower, her short hair shined dark blue in the setting sun and the gem on her forehead gleamed with a bright crimson. She glanced around taking in the beautiful sunset and all the young faces around the roof top. She felt happiness creep up and a smile threating to reach her mouth, however, that too was quickly shallowed into the void. She could not afford to feel any emotions or the binds that held her father would fail, and he would be brought to earth and bring its end.

Raven pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she found an empty seat and moved toward it. She dared not make eye contact with any of the young heroes, she was a bad conversationalist,also she had to admit, the priest of Azarath failed to prepare for handling a crowd of teenagers who did not try to hold back their emotion as they threaten to overwhelm her. Raven took a seat far from anyone and focused her mind, she would need to block out the other’s emotions until she was able deal with so many all at once.

---

Titan Tower, San Francisco

---

Roy could quickly note the uncertainty and hesitation within the kid's voice about being in this kind of environment. He just couldn't place whether Garfield was overwhelmed by the immense luxury of the Tower, or if he was simply taken aback by the large assortment of rather peculiar people. Hell, Roy was the most normal person here besides the preppy rich kid as far as he gathered, and the archer was sleeping on a cot in the back of his beat up van a few nights ago.

And then, Roy almost felt the presence of an invading force. The only teenage vigilante who could beat him in a straight up fight without using powers. The bastard who wore sunglasses after Roy made them cool. Dick Frickin' Grayson. Roy's head turned slightly to watch the former boy in tights stroll out onto the rooftop. Their eyes met... well, probably. It was hard to tell when the two were wearing sunglasses and couldn't actually see each other's eyes. Regardless, Roy had a million things he wanted to talk to... Nightbat... No, Batwing... about. Heck, Roy needed to thank him first and foremost. His removal from the original Titans is why he was standing... ok, sitting... here today.

But Nightwing apparently had bigger fish to fry. The leader made his way towards Kara, clearly to discuss business. The orange alien made her way towards him as well. Starfiire and Dick. Some things never change. Roy chuckled as he idly kicked his feet in the pool. He had been one of the first Titans, but he couldn't look Nightwing or Starfire in the eye after all that had happened. He'd have to earn back trust and respect from his former comrades.

The elevator door slid open and another teammate approached. Roy raised an eyebrow at the sight of her... she had a strange look about her, and that was saying something for a guy who fought some of the weirdest psychopaths. She seemed distant... almost emotionless. He had met someone like that, a guy named Jonathan who was going through rehab. He was obsessive, distant, emotionless... dangerous qualities in someone with abilities. Roy shook his head. She was certainly different, but the archer wasn't going to let someone sit back on their own and ignore everyone. The girl was going to have to meet the team sooner or later.

Roy's soaked feet smacked against the concrete as he made his way towards the meditating girl, his arrows slung over his shoulder and small wet footprints following in his wake. Arsenal was beginning to rethink bringing weapons up on the roof with him... they were just being lugged around as Roy went around introducing himself to everyone. He reclined on the ground once he reached a nice spot near the newcomer, wiggling his bare toes as they began to dry in the remaining rays of solar radiation. "Before you tell me... Goth Girl? Lady Punk? Am I close?" Roy's lips curled into a dumb smile as the vigilante fought hard to not laugh at his own comedic genius. There was no doubt he was Oliver's former protege.

"Oracle transmitting. Is it secure?"

The voice pulsed through Barry's mind as he straightened up, leaning away from the metallic container he had been examining to respond. No sound emitted through the built in communication system residing within the Flash Suit, instead, the communication was made via pulses of information, translated by his body and mind's metahuman ability to become one with the computer systems used the world over, and beyond.

"Yes, Lex-Corp as you said. Conducted by intermediaries but it seems Luthor couldn't resist stamping his big ol' L right on the case itself." Barry responded in kind. For the last few weeks he had been contacted by the mysterious Oracle, a voice in his ear leading him down new routes of investigation in his own private war against the corrupt powers that be. It had been Kara that had convinced him to join the Titans, but Oracle had supported the endeavor as well. From the start Barry had known he could discover the identity of Oracle if he pressed, not even the Fortress of Solitude was completely immune from his ability to manipulate the electronic world around him, but he did not press. If Oracle's anonymity was important, he was not yet in a position to require that stripped away.

"Typical Luthor. Destroy it, then you'd best hurry, you'll be late."

"I didn't think you'd be the type to care if I was late to a social gathering, Oracle." There was no further buzz of communication, it would seem Oracle had better matters to attend to than further conversation. Barry shrugged, before looking down at the container. It would have been useful to have one of his more 'super strength' focused companions at hand, but he wasn't 'too' far from one of the world's most active chains of Volcanoes, the Flash could improvise.

San Francisco

The sea sped by underfoot, Barry's pace enough to not only keep him moving across its surface, but leave a surge of steam behind him, water boiling away as he refrained from containing much of the kenetic energy he was outputting, to do so would drain his powers further, and besides, the surge of steam and heat provided even more of a boost to the speedster. The Pacific was a relatively gentle sea, compared to the Artic-Atlantic where he had trained this ability, and so the trip from South East Asia back to the American West Coast had taken little time. Still, a detour to watch a pod of Dolphins frolic had proven Oracle correct, Barry was running slightly late. Ironic.

Just a few more moments

He made the calculation in a fraction of a second, the Speedforce pushing his mind to even greater limits than his physical form, as hard as that may be to believe when watching the feats he could before. Indeed, in but a few more moments, Barry pushed off with his feet, his forward momentum and the energy of the electrical field surrounding him thrusting him into the air. Continuous flight was something still beyond him, unless he was really pushing the extent of his ever-increasing powers. Falling with style though? He had that down to an art form.

The remainder of the ocean streamed away beneath him as he remained airborne, while his suit could be used to adjust his flight, he was attempting to do this 'blind.' The Golden Gate Bridge was next, the red line crossing the bay passing in a blur, then over the city itself, the blue of the Ocean transitioning to greys and browns, patches of green.

As predicted his momentum began to fade away, while he could maintain the accuracy of his vision at high speeds when he wished to, he had chosen not to in an effort to judge his own calculations, now, as he slowed enough to perceive the world, the already familiar sight of the Titan Tower came into view.

The pool? No, bit of a dick move. Fine. Deploy countermeasures.

At his mental command, fins and thrusters built into his suit extended and fired, catching him in mid air like a high tech, sudden, parachute, just in time to push him into a somersault just above the Tower. Spinning over, once, twice, then landing in a crouch. Successfully managing to not turn himself, or any of those milling around the rooftop pool, into collateral paste. As he extended back up to full height, the mask element of his suit folded away, revealing the grinning features of Barry Allen.

"How's it going?"

---

Raven focused her mind and was only concentrating on her breathing and had finally centered herself when she heard wet feet slapping against the concreate roof of Titan Tower. The teen opened an eye and watch the red clad teen in sunglasses move to the ground to dry off. She didn’t mind him and was about to begin her mediation, however, he began to speak to break the silence. Raven made a mental note, trying to be unnoticeable makes you noticeable.

It was a long moment before Raven, is this an insult, or an attempt at humor? She allowed herself to feel the other teens emotions, she could feel guilt, jealousy, happiness, and hopefulness. The empath, however, did not feel spite and decided he was trying to be humorous.

“No, I do not have an alias, for I do not have a secret identity to protect. My name is Raven, though, I guess I should make an identity to protect, I will have to think about it.” Raven said giving no emotion in her voice. She studied him as her violet eyes moved about the teen's body, he was fit and looked as if he had been in several fights, in all honesty he was quite handsome. “So what name do you give yourself, the Red…” her eyes went to the quiver on his back then continued. “Arrow, or maybe it is the Crimson Boy?” This time a smile did escape her at least for a moment.

Before the crimson archer could reply another boy dressed in red stepped out of the elevator and she turned her focus, it was like he was the epicenter of an emotion bomb. She couldn’t help but think of a child jumping and wave for its mother’s attention. The empath’s smile completely vanished in to detached boredom as her mind slithered back behind her walls. Only now could she sense the magical power coming from this boy, he was emitting the power of the gods.

Raven didn’t have the chance to think over what the boy’s magical energy meant when yet another hero clad in red made a grand entrance. Seeing these powerful heroes nearly filled her with hope, maybe they could change her destiny, maybe they could defeat her father. No, hope is just an illusion, hope did not get things done and I will not trick myself into letting my guard down for hope.

---

---

Garfield was a bit depressed (and relieved) that Roy and Kori had walked off and left him alone. However, looking at the leader of the Titans who's first few actions were have a resting stoic face and sitting down in a chair talking about something Garfield couldn't manage to make out.

Not just that, but once the elevator had opened once more. Garfield couldn't help but notice a rather pretty, but pale, girl. She had a gothic and dark look to her that told Garfield to not screw with her. Watching Roy walk over to her, Garfield bit his lip, wondering what the outcome of that would be.

After her, it was ... another kid around Garfield's age. Garfield didn't expect this but, but felt a bit more comfortable to know he wasn't the only younger teen in the group. It wasn't long util that same kid came over to Garfield and gave out his hand to shake, saying his name was Billy and other friendly stuff.

The green teen was definitely surprised that he was simply singled out of the crowd by Billy. Then again, Garfield was green skinned, green haired, and green eyed. Garfield reluctantly smiled and shook Billy's hand.

"Hi. I'm Garfield, nice to meet you too." He said, rather shyly. "Yeah, what a team!" Garfield said, his reluctant smile grew more geniune.

What a team..

Suddenly as Garfield thought, his mind was brought back to where he was as a blur of red span into a couch which had caught Garfield off guard. Another hero who knew where he belonged, Garfield figured as the red speedster took off his mask with a great smile.

Garfield then turned back to Billy, "My alias is Beast Boy, by the way. Yours?"

---

Titan Tower, San Francisco

---

Roy did his best to stifle a chuckle. He honestly didn't expect this pale teenager to have a sense of humor, let alone turn a joke back at him. In fact... he was able to spot a smile creep upon her lips. But just as quickly as that small glimpse of joy had reached her, it was stolen away by the arrival of two more individuals, both of whom didn't get the memo that red was taken. Roy gave them both a look over... two kids with way too much energy, even for someone like Roy. He could understand why the girl next to him would be so adverse to their presence, but there was a good chance that there was something else beyond that slim shell. Something Dark...

He snapped back to reality after a brief second, and pondered on if probing the girl further would be a good option. Given the situation on the rooftop, there was little benefit in prolonging a conversation with someone who didn't want to speak when the "rookies" were going to be given some kind of opening lecture. "Roy... well, Arsenal in the field. Red Arrow has a nice ring to it though... changed my name once before..." The archer's voice was surprisingly low in energy, and lacked the signature grin. Instead, the teen was sitting on the ground tinkering with an arrow that lacked a proper arrowhead. In the place of a sharp piece of metal, the arrow instead had a small red canister that was clearly pieced together from spare parts.

Roy's mind, unlike his voice, was burning with fury. Behind his shades he took glimpes away from his project to admire the team that was gathered, while also secretly catching glimpses at Raven. He had a screwdriver set firmly in his teeth as he worked on tightening the end of the canister until a distinct clicking could be heard. A smile crept on Roy's lips as he admired the arrow a moment. Alright, time to impress the ladies and gents at home. He set the trick arrow aside as he reached towards his belt.

A small box was located on the utility belt, perhaps twice the size of a deck of cards. The boy archer slid the end of the smooth metallic object, and the cracks became immediately noticeable as the metal began to interlock and stretch out almost perfectly. Within a couple seconds, the box had folded itself out into a thin recurve bow, Roy's backup to the composite bow he typically used. At a distance, the "Speed" bow looked like a standard Recurve bow with two limbs and a riser holding together a bowstring. Up close, the intricacies of the microlattice and the Spectra-Dyneema bowstring were evidently signs of master craftsmanship. It was something he developed a year and a half ago, when he still had significant resources. With the Speed Bow in hand, Roy notched the trick arrow to test the strength of the bow. My God... it's beautiful... He scrambled to his feet and drew back the bow properly, his stance perfect as the string was held taught near his ear. Those with keen perception might have even been able to detect the slightest giggle at this. Roy quickly scanned the rooftop to try and determine who had noticed his awkwardly public display of geekdom while speedily packing up his equipment again to avoid embarrassing himself further.

Back In the elevator, Jason Blood was clutching at his chest. Something was wrong. His face was flushed a dark red, and he was breaking out into a cold sweat. It had come upon him suddenly, this deep burning inside his chest not unlike some sort of reflux. Jason strained to gather himself, and was overcome with heatstroke.

He has finished The Demon’s cigarette and after giving it another moments thought, decided to attempt socializing again with his growing team. He had grabbed the bottles of beer and and limes and was on his way back upto the rooftop when all of a sudden this current ailing sensation had come upon him. He hadn’t felt this way since binding with The Demon, but he knew that his current affliction was due to just that.

It was Etrigan in him that was reacting to something. Like some sort of Aura that people get when anticipating a migraine, or an allergic reaction. Whatever it was, Jason Blood’s body was reacting to it. He felt his body seizing up, and the bottles of alcohol he carried smashed against floor of the elevator with a crash. The suds splashed against the elevator doors and wet Blood’s loafers. Jason felt like he was in cardiac arrest, or his heart was exploding inside his chest.

He couldnt commune with The Demon either. Typically they could share light conversation, or Etrigan could pass on some sort of imagery inside of Jason’s mind like a telepathic smoke signal. But now? Nothing. It was dead air inside his head. Jason was terrified and alone.

As the elevator ascended, Jason collapsed against the elevator wall, trying and failing to keep his balance. He held his hand against his chest in some sort of futile way of collecting himself but it wasn’t helping in the slightest. Was he dying? What was this?

And then, he felt his heartbeat beat slow and steady and gather itself again. He felt his breathing return to normal, and his vision cleared. He looked around at the shattered glass at his side and was careful not to place his hand atop it. The Demon, Etrigan, sent him a flash of thought. A picture on Jason’s minds eye.

A beautiful girl that Jason had never seen before in his life. She was breathtaking. And The thought that Etrigan had sent along with it?

SHE BRINGS US DEATH.

It was a warning.

The elevator doors opened onto the sight of Jason, leaning against the elevator wall and both frightened and confused, completely unsure how to react.

---

Mae-Ling came strolling up to the Titan tower, one hand holding a large dufflebag over her shoulder and the other holding up a piece of paper with an address scrawled sloppily across it. Taking her eyes up from the slip of paper to witness the utter enormity of the facility. Starting to think it was a little silly to need to write down the address; she could have probably figured it out. Stuffing the paper into her pocket Mae-Ling walked up to the door. Before she could even reach out for the handle a light suddenly scanned across her body. Surprised by the light Mae stumbled back and fell, landing on her backside.

"What the.." Mae stuttered to herself as she tried to wrap her mind around what just happened. She looked herself over, patting her body a bit to see if she were attacked or something.

Before she could fully process what just happened a disembodied robotic voice spoke out from... the door? "Welcome, Aether Fox." And with that the doors opened on their own. All Mae could do was blink a few times before slowly pushing herself up to her feet and brushing the dust from her yellow track pants.

Eyes curiously at the now opened doorway she took stuttering steps in; concern swelling within her with each choppy step, as if the weird automatic door might attack again. As she passed completely though it quickly sealed behind her. This was how she died. For sure. Demon Possessed door was gonna attack her with lasers again while she was unsuspecting. Staring at the door longer than any sane person probably would she submitting herself to her fate. If she were to be attacked, it was a fitting end. Door Demon.

Finally taking a good look around the large entrance room into the Titan tower she saw on one wall some weird closed metal doors with a button beside them. On the opposite a more normal door with a sign reading 'Stairwell'. She understood that, so she went that way. Pushing herself through the door she began to climb. And climb. And climb. Then she decided to climb some more. Then thank God there were no more stairs and she pushed through the final door to the roof top. Thank heaven's she did a lot of cardio or she might've died through this journey.

Taking a look across the roof top at all the vibrant characters an awkward smile broke across her sweaty face. "Uhh.. Hi. Is this where all the super heroes are meeting?" She asked a bit obliviously, the faintest Chinese accent attached to her tone.

Kara felt crowded.

That was what happened when a girl spent most of a lifetime in stasis, then when arriving at a populated planet did her best to be isolated and alone she told herself. Of course she felt crowded, a mixture of her own internal voice and her mother's ever present calming tones. She wasn't crowded, however, and the distinction didn't exactly go unnoticed to the better angels of her logic and reason. Besides, there were other concerns: why the heck did the hew-man Nightwing sit next to her? Kara was aware of the female that approached and spoke in response, but only just.

It was uncomfortable. Not that it was their fault. Kara didn't need an AI to know they likely had just as many scars as she had, at least those were the odds. Most happy and adjusted regular people don't jump into suits and fight for a greater good. There'a almost always a stimuli, and it's almost always not a happy one. The cool breeze that came off the top of the San Francisco twilight colored skyline was like a splash of cold water.

At the mention of training Kara rose a precarious dark brow. She didn't require the mentioned rest. She hadn't slept much since arriving, since that yellow star they called the sun brought an energy to her body and being that she was still just in awe of. The honor? Idiom, she guessed, "Alice can guide any of them to their rooms. The Tower can be put on lock down, but it was never designed with a 'curfew' mode."

There was a tone. One that permeated as Barry touched down, prompting a snort of laughter from the Kryptonian, before her head shook and her eyes returned to the two in the cabana with her next to the lengthy pool. "I can program one in," it was a peace offering. She didn't like the idea of a curfew, but that was selfish, and she wasn't afraid to admit it, "admittedly I would likely break any curfew fairly often."

She muttered something about responsibilities, and left it at that.

Sanctuary's voice in her head wasn't even a surprise. After the AI finished, it was just amusement at the timing and excitement at the news: Sanctuary had discovered enough evidence to determine with a high probability that Lex Luthor had something to do with Doomsday. It wasn't much, in that there was far less information than Kara would prefer under such circumstances, but it was too much to pass up. She trusted Luthor had twisted intentions, but he wouldn't see her coming, either physically or digitally. "Speaking of breaks, I'll be back shortly."

She had to change. That wouldn't take much time, but Kara still felt a bit odd just zooming around as a blur to do mundane tasks like changing clothes, so it wouldn't be instant. Kara wanted the colors and the cape and the shield when she finally met the human xenophobe Luthor. "Find him, Sanctuary. I don't care if I have to make a scene." Usually the AI would prefer scenarios that didn't require Kara to make much of a spectacle. Outside of flying around Metropolis and Gotham, there had been precious few public sightings of Supergirl. A name given by none other than Lois Lane.

She was out the cabana and up the dimly lit stairs with a hop, smiling at some of the others who lingered closer to the elevator as she approached, sighing at the frustration of so many lost minutes due to such a pedestrian method of movement as a result of having to wait for the elevator. When she could just fly, and fly fast. Very fast. Neo fast, a mental reference that just made her smile.

There was a long pause before it became evident that Barry had moved. While the Flash was characterised by a 'woosh' of noise and energy when bursting into motion, it was a phenomena he could control and implement, and over such short distances in a social setting, much easier to simply suppress. Perhaps it was rude to extract himself from the budding introductions he had dived into, but there were more pressing matters.

When Kara approached the elevator doors, he was already leaning against the doors, smiling in much the same way as his initial greeting, the strain building behind it all but invisible to even the trained eye.

"Come on in, I'll show you how it works." His tone was teasing if jovial, yet another on the long list of 'alien' jokes he had sent Kara's way over the course of their interactions, and a lot less serious than the words he had planned for her. Implicit behind it was the lack of asking if she wished the company. When the doors of the elevator closed, sealing them off in their brief downward journey, his smile almost faded. Replaced with his good humour, was a smile that was all friendly concern.

"You are aware you're part of a team now? Grayson was just beginning introductions, this isn't exactly a fair time to dash off." He deliberately avoided the use of 'Nightwing.' Kara was not a child, but the trauma of losing her world and family could cause her to snap like one over her frustrations with 'hew-manity.' It was fair enough given the circumstances, and he could hardly blame her, but he didn't have time for it now.

"Whatever you're running off to do, can wait, we can both move across continents in moments, we're hardly confined by schedule. Not like all of those above us, who we're supposed to be working with." He added as the elevator doors 'dinged' open, signalling Barry to lean back off the walls of the elevator, pausing for her reaction.

Then it hit him.

A wave of nausea and pain, enough that he could not suppress the groan that was shaken from him. Warning signals flared across his connection with the Flashsuit.

Invasive Attack Underway. Isolating

The suit communicated to him through electrical impulses, translated by his own connection with the force of Electricity. Regular sound was too slow, and the on-board suit-AIs that other heroes had been known to possess were unnecessary for Barry. Who needs a super computer when your brain had already been souped up into one?

It was a simple thing to recover from the attack, and purge the suit system, once he had recovered from the strain of the initial surge. By the time he had done so, he was already securing the tower, his mind reaching out to interact with the vast array of computers within the Titan Tower. He systematically destroyed the Virus attack, blow by blow. On his way, he discovered that the invasion was not limited to the computers alone, but was branching across all electrical fields, much like his own abilities.

Unlike himself, however, the attack was not focused, it was a blanket endeavor that lacked finesse. It strained him, but with little challenge he reached out to drive the attack away. Facilities around the tower sparked to life, who shut down, as Barry's electrical self dealt with the attack as quickly as possible. A few systems failures along the way were the inevitable cost. He hoped Dick or WayneTech didn't get too upset.

Once he had done so, he 'awoke' panting as if he'd just run a marathon.

Perhaps a couple of seconds had passed.

"Kara. We're under attack." He spoke directly to her, before pulsing the same warning across the Tower's audio systems.



The electro-virus ripped through San Francisco, a wave of energy imperceptible to the human mind except in its immediate effects. What had caused the 'outbreak' was as of yet unknown, but the dangers were soon evident. First, electrical devices across the city began to flare and die. Not in their totality, but a spattering across the city, with a focus on infrastructure and those designed to respond to threats.

Then they began to wake.

Large scale machines, of all kinds, began to twist and buckle, their circuits driving their metallic forms into new shapes, designed for one thing. Havoc. Before long, the city was overrun with them, machines twisted into evil intent, newly programmed to simply cause the greatest damage possible.

At the centre of it all, the tiny chip that had started the outbreak, hidden within the city, began to build its own form. A cloud of electrical energy, building until a humanoid form of static and metal stood of its own accord, only to mutter its first words.

"Overload Online."

She was a breath from saying sorry, but. I'm sorry, Barry, but I have full confidence the team can survive without me for a little bit. Or her initial thought out response, I'm sorry, Barry, I adore you...but I wouldn't expect you to understand. How could he? Lose your world, and make a team building exercise a more important priority than getting to the bottom of the death of your last known relative. The little baby you promised it's crying mother and stoic father you'd protect.

Then something weird happened. Lois Lane's voice entered her head; at first a distant sound that rose in the back of her mind like a sun giving dawn's clarity to an otherwise dark and disturbing place. The problem isn't your disconnect with humanity, Kara. It's that humanity will always look at you and expect what Superman would do. The thought was enough to make her want to hiss at it. It chaffed her logic fueled alien sensibilities. Emotions were something Kryptonian scientists were taught to moderate, to be wary of.

All those thoughts right before she let Barry down, and then he just...did something bad? "Sanc! What's happening?"

The A.I. spoke with Alice's voice. "If measurements are correct--"

Barry's eyes snapping open and conscious cut the A.I. off, and Kara was left with no more than a sigh. It wasn't anger, but it was most certainly irritation. There goes letting him down. She didn't need Sanc's feed to feel and hear the chaos. That was the curse of being Supergirl, she guessed. Sarcasm came sharper than shards of broken glass, with a tone just as jagged to match. "Yeah, Barry, I'm kinda super-aware. I also have objectives bigger than this team. You ought to know that, by now, especially when I think I found the person who killed Kal-El."

Kal-El's death and Kandor. There were no more important things in Kara's existence. He knew that. At least she thought he had known it. When the door opened to the floor she had taken as mostly her own, she didn't look back at him, only kept her blue eyes steeled straight ahead. Her jaw still set in anger, even if she'd only allowed sarcasm and irritation to show. If she looked at him now? Emotional control. Best to just look ahead.

"Go on. I'll meet the team in the field."

Even to the fastest man alive she was gone. Just like that. A quick change en route, a message to Grayson, and she was out of the door and off the balcony in micro-seconds. It took her about the same amount of time to come across a San Francisco trolley car that had...redesigned itself into a beastial form complete with four legs and two mandibles alive with a pale blue light of an intense electrical field. Kara was just in time to get the pinch from the mandibles, instead of the trolley driver turned electro-beast's first target. People went from screaming to gasping the moment she appeared caught between the mandibles.

Some started filming, or trying to, if their phones worked still, and saying that name what seemed to her like every other heartbeat.

Superman. Superman. Superman.

The mandibles ripped clean as anger drove her aggression into violence. "We need to disrupt the electron orbital motions and electron spins, Sanctuary. I probably can't beat each of these...things...down to dust in time to save everyone. We need a bigger, better, solution. S--" Words cut off from the remaining weight of the trolley beast ramming into her body with an amazing surge of kinetic force propelled by electricity. Her body went end over end in the air until it shuddered into the pavement. The thing tried giving her the kind of electrical charge that would fry most, but she just slowly got to her feet and stared with cold blue eyes as electrical forces illuminated the air around her and blackened the pavement in which she stood in the middle of the San Fran street.

It tickled. In response, she used heat vision and her bare hands to rip the thing to shreds. Literal, actual, shreds. It only took a few seconds, before she superheated the shreds to literal nothingness. Then she looked up with red glowing eyes, and yet none of the fools that stayed to watch seemed all that frightened of her. "...quite the reputation I've got on my chest, Kal."

A brief wave to the camera, and Supergirl was in the air, looking for more.

Barry had answers prepared for Kara, answers for what he could imagine her responses could be. He'd never expect her to put any of them, the team, him, even the very planet they were on, ahead of her quest for answers and direction. But Barry knew who she was going after, even without Oracle whispering in his ear, and that was someone even Supergirl could use back up for.

He never had the opportunity to give those answers, even if she were to listen, she was gone by the time he had fully recovered from the assault on himself and the tower. Barry was sluggish as he stood, not yet entirely sure that the Tower had been defended, keeping most of his mind on the business of keeping the Titan's own tower from turning into a Titan-hungry murder machine. He resolved to use as little energy as possible actually running his body, the rest, he used to compile what news and reports were trickling in across the city, then directing those to the many screens across the tower. Soon all the Titans would have a streamline view of Reports, police radio signals and the like, all those that had not been knocked out by the attack.

Once this was done, and he was triple sure that the virus had been purged from the tower, he punched in the elevator button. He hesitated for a few moments, his jaw set as he resisted the urge to run after Kara. She didn't need his help, most likely, but they'd long approached matters as a team, and he did not like leaving matters in the tone they had. He dismissed the thought, he could hardly beseech her with the values of the team then ignore it himself.

"On my way back up to you. Check the nearest TVs, I've switched them to giving us as strategic view of the city as possible" Barry's mind pulsed through the Tower's communication system, as he rode the elevator back up, stepping out onto a rooftop that was radically more serious than the one he had left.

---

After quietly introducing herself Mae walked past the doorway and more fully onto the roof top. As she walked out she watches as a girl and man walked past her and towards the weird metal door across from the other opened up with a strange young man laying on the floor of the tiny room and a confused look. That was odd, spiking her curiosity. Turning on her heels she began towards the opened tiny room with the one man laying on the ground.

Upon reaching the tiny room she crouched down a bit, sitting on her heels with her knees practically in her chest. She cocked her head curiously towards the man before she decided to speak, completely unsure where to even begin. As her lips opened and took a breath to begin to speak a far cry off in the distance caught her words behind her lips. Turning her head to look over her shoulder with a sense of instilled urgency. Mae was trained at a young age that immediacy was key; she was trained to be alone so the idea of a team was beyond her conscious functions.

Pushing herself back up to her feet and twisting herself around she bolted towards the edge and the sounds of screams. With practiced ease Mae leaped over the railing and began to dive rapidly towards the streets far below; Mae haven't truly gauged the absolute ridiculously height of the tower. Though that was quickly distracted as she saw a figure tossed far down the street and practically tear through the rock, sliding to a stop; her urgency only spiking as the need to assist.

Reevaluating her descent she knew she needed to slow down. Her legs and body were strong, but not strong enough to land unassisted. Beckoning the powers of Hushen her body ignited into an array of brilliant blue light that spiraled around her in entirety until it focused and pooled around her hands and face; creating a blue silhouette of claws at the ends of her fingers and fox head around her head. Luckily she was still close enough to the tower to use that as her decreasing descent. Digging her ethereal claws into the side of the tower she was surprised at the structures strength as her claws barely scratched the surface; but just enough to slow her down. As she got closer to the ground and confident in her decreased speed she released her claws and her feet slammed into the concrete.

Her knees buckled a bit but she remained standing, she felt the strain on her joints and muscles but there was no deterring damage to continue on. Turning towards where she saw the woman thrown she burst into a full sprint towards it, still in full Aether Fox form. As she rounded the corner she was prepared to attack but her stepped were halted. She slowed to a complete stop as she stood in complete shock as she watched the thrown women shoot a bright red beam from her eyes and completely disintegrate the mechanical creature. Taking in the image she realized the woman was the same as the girl that had passed her earlier at the top of the tower.

After the machine was completely destroyed she seemed to rise into the air and fly off further down the street for more opponents. Mae was a bit bewildered. She had heard stories of the incredibly strong super heroes out there defending the world. But actually witnessing some of the raw power before her was something completely different. It was partly humbling, but mostly reassuring her own decision to leave her small slice of reality and help a true cause to devote herself to the planet and not just her own province.

Breaking free of her stupor at the sounds of more screaming she began to continue down the street, building up to a full sprint as her eyes flickered around for a target to focus her assault. Spotting another one of the mechanical beasts she focused herself onto the target. She sprinted at a lower prowl, arms coiled and ready to strike. As she approached close enough to strike with the beasts attention set on a random citizen it was completely unaware. Mae lept high into the air and came down to the beast from the air. Landing onto its back with some force, straining her legs even more but still able to function, she wasted no time to began to rip and tear into the metal back with terrifying speed and vicious bestial rage. As the beast began to tear apart the electricity of its creation began to tear and burn at the skin on her arms; though she knew she couldn't stop until it was destroyed completely. It wasn't long before the beast crumpled into a messy of torn and mangled metal and wires.

Mae stood upon the destroyed mess, panting heavily with her arms faintly twitching from the pain. This was much harder than she imagined, this wasn't like the threats she dealt with at home. Suddenly a bolt of electricity struck her back and she yelled out in pain as she was tossed further down the street; falling into a ragdoll tumble. As her body slid to a stop she groaned heavily, accosting herself for losing attention and letting herself get hit unaware.

---

Raven watched Roy fidget with one of his arrows and get to his feet then pulled back his bow string in a very trained stance. The empath tilted her head up and waited from Roy to fire his arrow, she had heard that the hero archers had used explosive arrow tips and wondered if he was going to send one up like a fire work. However, the archer did not loss his arrow, instead he quickly packed his equipment and seemed to be looking at the others for some sort of recognition.

Looking at the Archer, she thought about what he had done, was this some sort of communication with the others that knew him? Raven was about to question him on his display but heard a ding as the elevator opened she could see a boy stumble out of the doors. Her first thought was to go to him and see what was wrong, however, she could sense a demonic present within him. Raven stood but hadn’t known what she was going to do once on her feet, so she just continued looking at the finely dressed teen. Though it wasn’t long before her train of thought was shattered as she felt a wave of panic and fear coming from the city.

The feeling was almost over whelming, but she controlled the emotions she felt and kept it only as at the surface, she would not let it take her. Raven pulled her hood over her head and flew upward not waiting for any direction, she had no concept at working as a team and did not wait. The empath felt dire fear and pain from a direction and followed it as fast as she could. She arrived on scene of three civilians running from a mechanical construct of sorts, two of the victims were helping the third run as it looked as though they had received an injury.

Raven did not hesitate as she flew straight at the construct and with her soul-self raked across its front with dark talons. Though this was not enough to stop it as the construct swung its massive arm and slammed the teen sending her crashing into a wall of a building. Raven’s vision went double for a moment but willed herself up as she wiped blood from her mouth, if she was not more than a human she would have been out of this fight. Seeing the group of people had stopped to watch the teen battle with the mechanical monster and it continue its path of destruction heading toward the three, Raven gritted her teeth and shadows bellowed from under her cloak. The next moment Raven had vanished from where she was and appeared floating over the three, “Quickly we must retreat,” the teen said as her cloak of shadows enveloped the four of them and vanished before the constructed could crush them.

Appearing on top of a roof of a nearby building the three civilians stumbled out of Raven’s shadow looking a bit out of sorts. Two of the people scrabbled to their feet and looked toward Raven with a mix bag of emotions, though Raven was focused on the third that was not getting up but rather holding the right side of her face and crying in pain. The empath floated down and went to her knees and held the female that looked to be in her late teens. “I will shallow your pain, I can handle it better and you can be allowed to heal faster,” Raven said calmly, gently pulling the girls hand from her wound. The teen fought for a second but allowed her wound to be seen, it looked to be a burn that covered her ear, eye, and cheek down to her jaw line and the blistering suggest she had suffered from second degree burns. Raven held her hands over the wound and allowed the girls pain to flow into her, her hands and the wound had stop glowing and the girl’s burns were reduced to first degree burns. The empath fell back on her rear and let out a sigh of exhaustion. The now healed burn victim blinked her eyes and rubber her face. “Wow, you-you really healed me.” She said astonished.

Taking a breath before getting back to her feet she looked to the three civilians, “Stay out of sight and off the streets, I do not know how long it will be safe to up here though,” Raven says walking over to the edge of the building. She looked down into the streets and saw more rampaging constructs and panicking people. “Azar, what is happening here?” she says in a soft voice.

“What about you, are you really going back down there, that thing hit you pretty hard?” one of the guys that she had save asked.

“I must, there are more people in trouble, but do not worry there are more heroes in this city,” Raven replies. She now felt foolish for leaving her team, she could not do this herself.

Raven flew off the building and found another mechanical monstrosity and summoned her soul-self once again taking the form of a raven and drove itself into the construct bisecting the form it took. The creature fell with and sparks jumped off it as it hit the ground. Raven looked around as more of the constructs were causing chaos, but they seemed to, for the most part to be ignoring the people and do damage to the buildings and streets. One of the constructs came charging at her but she flew out of its range and disengaged from the scene all together. It was pointless to take them on one at a time, they needed a plan to take them out more effectively.

The new titan retreated to the tower hoping one of her new team mates had any new information on the situation. She could feel the peoples panic grow, but she could do little on her own as she was just one in a large city of many.

---

Titan Tower, San Francisco

---

Roy's pleasure completely faded when the familiar screams of helpless civilians pierced the otherwise jovial mood on the Titans Tower. Almost immediately, the archer took on a somewhat serious persona, making his way towards Grayson for orders. Focus on the center, or help pick up stragglers on the outside. Quite frankly, Roy was a little handicapped given his brief assessment of the situation as he peered out at the streets below, viewing Mae and Kara fighting weird techno-beasts.

The archer rushed towards the stairs, pulling out his backup bow. As Roy leaped over the bannister and out into the empty space between the flights, he looked back towards the ceiling of the stairwell and fired up an arrow connected to a cable on his belt. The air rushed past him as he entered freefall, the ground rushing up to meet him. But the archer remained calm, pressing a button on the small box of cable on his belt. He began to slow before his feet gently landed on the ground, the cable burning up almost instantaneously upon the press of another button.

---

Roy felt almost guilty for having to make a quick costume change as he got out of his van in the Titans garage. It still smelled of feet and old pizza, but it was also home. Roy was geared out in his red sleeveless jumpsuit. While also being stylish in the teenager's mind, it was also designed to help him withstand a punch. But, most importantly, Roy had his compound bow and a separate quiver on him. He wasn't fond of using more "conventional" trick arrows, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Once out on the street, Roy could tell exactly what kind of carnage was ensuing. He darted into the darkness, rushing towards the nearest group of screams.

He was surprised to turn around a street corner to see what appeared to be a school bus Transformer that certainly came straight out of a fan-fiction. More importantly, that mean machine was swinging it's newly formed metalic arms into the bank. Not exactly what Roy expected on his first day at his new job, but quite frankly it wasn't exactly the most outlandish thing he'd ever fought. Arsenal knocked back a trick arrow which was clearly more "archaic" in its nature. As the arrow was released and impacted into the side of the hostile, it became clear it worked just as well. The explosion knocked back the being onto its back, revealing intense blue light and circuitry. As the being rose to its feet, Arsenal realized that he did not bring nearly enough explosives to take it down by blowing it to bits...

The shit-eating grin returned. Roy charged at the being with what most observers would describe as "reckless abandon." But this move was far from careless, as he managed to slide between the creature's legs as its makeshift fists cracked the pavement where he had been a moment before. The trained vigilante swung himself up nimbly onto the being's back, using the being's twists and turns to inch himself closer to the front of the creature. Roy's eyes widened behind his red visor as he saw a large metal fist coming directly at him. He turned his eyes quickly towards the front of the cab, and more importantly where the hood of the bus was. In a last second swing, Roy landed atop the hood of the bus protruding from the hostile's chest. He quickly cracked open the hood just as he felt cold steel enclose around his chest. The creature had the archer in his grasp, and began to squeeze intensely while lifting him into the air to pummel into the ground.

Pop goes the weasel.

The explosion ripped through the cab of the bus and launched Arsenal into the ground a few yards away. The being had been separated into two... and the battery and circuitry had taken a severe beating. The large pile of metal collapsed into the ground. Bits of shrapnel burnt hot to the touch still near the entrance to the bank, but Roy pressed on to retrieve his bow that he had dropped upon being caught. It was still well intact, though covered in a bit of debris. Pretty standard at this point. Roy checked his utility bet, nodding as he noticed he still had two grenades left. He needed to use them sparingly for now, and more importantly needed to make his way towards the city's center. His gaze turned towards the bank's interior, while civilians watched in awe at Roy's stunts. In a past time, he would have engaged them with his mentor Oliver. Witty comments would be had for the spectacle and to "instill hope" or whatever it was Oliver told himself to sleep at night. But people were still in danger, and hope could kiss his ass as he jogged deeper into San Francisco, not happy to be unable to use his more advanced equipment that night.