[IC] Teen Titans: New Beginnings

[Master Crim]

JUMP CITY NEWS

Hello, residence of Jump City! it's me, Chester Stevenson, with your daily highlights. Today has shaped up to be a beautiful late spring day with temps in the mid 70's, and sun, sun, sun! The downtown area is, as always, a prime spot for your recreation this afternoon with many of the outdoor cafes setup and ready for the warmer weather. If you find yourself in the waterfront parks keep a look out for the starting of the summer festival! The carnival on Jump City Pier will be opening soon and they love to show off their attractions along the parks. as for traffic in the busy streets we can see some light build ups through the grids, and construction on Main Avenue North in front of the 3rd Street offices and the Jump City Post has that end of town all stopped up. That will cover the highlights of today, but do come back this evening and join us for the latest scoops on the controversial reopening of the Lex Corp Research and Development labs that just two years ago was responsible for the widespread power-grid issues in the suburbs south of the city, and after that the Jump City District Attorney, Gregory Roberts, will be making a statement about the recent case against Pino Maroni and the findings of the investigation into his acquiring of several warehouses that were found to be housing illegal items. That and more tonight!

---

-Robin-
-^{Dick Grayson}-

"That is something that we can look into on our side, thanks for the heads up Cy." Robin said sitting at his desk on a call with some of the original Titan members. "I am sure that STAR Labs will have something public to cover it up, but we will see what we can find on the back end." Robin cycled his console through a couple screens of news and business articles as Cyborg signed off before continuing. "Beast Boy, I need your team to look into the images from the Watch Tower of the Congo Basin. It looks like there may be activity around an abandon mine there that were closed off after Deathstroke withdrew. Recon and report back." He sent a few files to Beast Boy and then he too signed off. "Raven, if your team is settled in alright I would really like you to get with Zatanna on the project I sent you. Keep your distance, but I want a heads up if there are any more anomalies." She then signed off shortly after Robin's instruction. That would conclude Robin's review of the overnight reports from the other Titan teams and their monthly briefing.
Powering down his console he leaned back in his desk chair. Looking over some miscellaneous papers and clippings on his desk, he stood up and looked over to "The Wall" as it had been termed in the past. The Wall was a large portion of one of the walls in his room that was covered with bits of news papers, pictures, and other documents that were connected with strings of various colors like a tydie spiderweb. No longer used he kept it up more as a memento to the past successes of the team, and a way to keep vision. Looking over the various pages and plucking some of the strings he thought back on the days when he had last used this web of information now out of date. News articles about robberies, missing property and shipments, and some of sightings of monsters, while others were headlines of the teams victories. He found the most recent article on The Wall: a factory explosion headlined Titans Coordinate Sting to Apprehend Terrorist Cell the article talked about the efforts the team went through over the years to track down, expose, and attempt to apprehend the terrorist villain Deathstroke and those that worked with him. This article was two years old at this point and Robin had yet to hear anything of Deathstroke. the next news article in line with that was one of the Titans recruiting new members with the help of the JLA and splitting up to seed new teams around the globe. The news clipping had a picture of the team; Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg, standing shoulder to shoulder with other young meta humans. That was the last time the team had been all together.
Taking a step back from the wall he sighed. Has it really been that long?. Shaking his head he sat back in his chair a moment. Save for Starfire, the others had went out to help establish and coordinate these other teams. They check in regularly and occasionally make it out for briefings on special projects, but it had been years since they had worked together. Robin gathered some documents and filed them away in an attempt to clean up his desk, forever buried in papers. Reaching for his Gotham High letterman jacket Robin paused a moment before passing it up and leaving his room to go to the kitchen where he would find some food before talking with the team about some leads they would be looking into for the week.

[Ryonara]

Another day, another body. Mort was where he always at during his day: disguised as a hobo panhandling for coin near the waterfront. He's found a good spot that was both close enough for people to see him, but not in the way for any business that might call the cops to drive him off. He was wearing his usual hobo disguise: thick coat, baggy sweatpants, and beat up military boots. He had a thick bushy beard, long scraggly hair, and cheap plastic sunglasses. And to top it all off; definitely sweaty and stinky. Plenty of lazy bums around the wayside who look trashy and just want a few dollars to get by, but Mort isn't concerned about going whole hog and smelling about as bad as he looked. Of course, getting a couple of quarters and pity dollars isn't his true purpose here. He's got a job to do.

It was a pretty basic job. He sets up shop here, begs for coin, and keep his eyes open for anything important. Usually this meant watching out for some young hero making rounds or some thugs who are getting the idea to start something. It wasn't much but it was honest work, though the pay wasn't really worth much. Frankly Mort's not had much luck getting higher paying jobs: no one's hired him to do any thuggery, bedlams, or heists. Hell even this stool pigeon job was hard to come by; Mort had to forgo his usual contractual obligations just to land the job since, as both he and his employee see, he's pretty disposable if he wants to make a big fuss about it. And frankly, Mort just couldn't risk trying to run any jobs on his own, not while the Titan's are by-and-large running this town. Sure, plenty of gangsters think they're hot stuff and can rob a shop before the cops show up, but this wasn't Gotham: the police here are actually pretty competent at holding the line before the Titan's show up and put down any would-be villain. Mort's seen this happen before in other cities, and he wasn't about to be one of the fools to fall for the same thinking. So here he was, a hobo on the streets, looking for something juicy to happen to earn his keep.

"Looks like I have at least six dollars so far. That's enough for a single slice of pepperoni. If I can get ten, that's a slice and a soda. I could get half a pie for fifteen if the dickhead over at the Zippy's isn't in shop. But for twenty I can grab two stuffed crusts and a large pop. Now that'll be a treat. Any more than that though and I'll need to save some dough for mats. While I'm good on plastics right now the more the merrier, especially if I really do plan to do a job anytime soon. Here's hoping." Mort mumbled out loud, just to help cement his hobo aura. A talking bum keeps the more shifty characters from trying and steal from his hat.

[rocketrobie2]

Steve strode down the street towards the waterfront in his civilian clothes, sporting a nice pair of yellow sunglasses. Right now the city seemed to be in a lull, most of the big villains seemed to be keeping to themselves leaving Jump City with an overwhelming sense of calm. This calm seemed like the perfect opportunity for a b-list villain to move up in the bad guy hierarchy and what an opportunity waited for Steve just off the coast hidden away in an innocuous looking yacht.

Walking by a row of homeless people, Steve dropped eight dollars worth of change into one of their cups in order to clean his conscious of what he was about to do. On the Yacht was supposedly the Dikto family jewel, a large gemstone cut from a meteorite in the late fifties. The jewel was massive and worth a lot to the right people. Steve, coming to the pier, leaned up against a light post and stared out at the yacht, adjusting his glasses but also subtly activating the machinery housed inside. Suddenly his vision sprung to life with readouts of the boat as it zoomed in and gave him a better view of the boat. He could now see the numerous armed guards patrolling the boat, giving him a better idea of what to expect when he would make his grand entrance.

He stood there for a good fifteen minutes before his figured he had enough information on the boat to begin his assault. Walking back the way he came, Steve ducked into an alley way and pulled out his Scarlet Airgun. He quickly loaded the grappling hook and fired it up and seemingly the sky. Just as Steve began to think he ducked into the wrong alley, he heard the satisfying metal thunk as his hook magnetized to the Scarlet Skimmer's hull. Steve zipped up and entered his home, suiting up and piloting the Skimmer above the Yacht. Before disembarking Steve looked at himself in the mirror and said to himself "You can do this. You are the best. You will not screw this up." and with that he slammed his fist down on a button and made a dash for the now opening bay door of his skimmer.

The skimmer, still invisible to those below, spewed a heavy smoke down towards the Yacht, obscuring the ship's deck and putting the personal onboard on high alert. Taking his opportunity, Steve hooked his line and quickly repelled down to the ship's deck, Airgun in hand. Once his feet hit the deck his loudly proclaimed "If you don't want to be swimming back to the coast I think it'd be better for y'all to put your weapons down."

[Metronome]

Titan island was awash with sun. One of the tower's resident aliens had a penchant for soaking up the warmth and light on days like this. Although Ka'van couldn't technically tan, his skin being permanently the same, even shade of gray, he could certainly throw down a towel and sprawl out on the lawn. His black t-shirt drew in the heat, counteracting his cold skin. He was like a cat: he was drawn to warmth. It was one of the many things he loved about Earth.

Ka'van's relationship with his new planet was...complicated. He enjoyed the new sights, the new experiences, and most of the people, but at the same time, he longed for home. His communication with his people had been lost when the device sent with him broke. He hadn't been able to find anyone to fix it, at least not yet. Earth had it's ups and downs, what with the wars, the fights, and the violence among humans. He found humans...scary sometimes. His own people had only had war with outsiders who brought it with them; never their own kind.

But Earth also had good people, and he was relived to find friends among the Titans. They had certainly been a big help in getting him settled in his new world. Ka'van was forever grateful to them.

His sunbathing and thoughts were interrupted by his stomach giving an unhappy growl. He hadn't had a bowl of oatmeal since that morning, he figured it was probably about time. Ka'van pealed himself up off the lawn and floated inside. He phased through a wall into the kitchen, where he saw the team's fearless leader making lunch.

"Hello Robin," He said politely. The Boy Wonder was out of his cave for once; that was a pleasant surprise. Ka'van found Robin to be quite the enigma. He was brave, determined, and a great leader, but he often became obsessed with his work. Sometimes he wouldn't leave his room for days. Ka'van didn't think that this was normal human behavior, but the rest of the team seemed to let it go, so, he did too. He quietly began to boil water and poured his dry oats into a bowl.

[Beetlejuice96]

It had been a few months since Max escaped the lab, making it to Jump City thankfully in one piece and without drawing attention to herself. It wasn't easy to find a safe haven, but one abandoned house served as a temporary residence until she knew she was in the clear. She sighed softly, grabbing the plastic buckets she collected over time which she made into a makeshift drum set. It was something she always wanted as a kid before everything went to hell.

She headed into town, eyes constantly surveying the people around her for any signs of danger. Sure, she could handle herself against the ones who held her captive, but she didn't want anyone else in the city to know of her...unique talent. Ever since she landed her father in the hospital, she was targeted for her ability to manipulate sound. She shuddered, remembering the cold, cruel place of the lab, vowing never to let that happen to her again.

Pushing the dark thoughts behind, she finally made it to the park, setting the buckets down before her on a bench alongside a smaller one for change as she started to tap out a beat. She mostly sang or played 80s songs, but those were the ones which spoke to her the most. Connected to her personally.

[Tackytaff]

---

Most of Cassie time at the Titan's tower was spent in the training room. Despite have nearly the most training in the group aside from Robin himself, it had quickly become obvious she wasn't trusted to do any tactical work. Or much of any work at all; the number of missions she'd actually gotten to go on were few and far between. Robin claimed that crime had slowed down in Jump City for one reason or another, but still spent most of his time cooped up in his room doing something no one else was privy too. But that was fine. She was still a Titan. Being a heavy-hitter was just fine as a role, and she was going to be the best heavy hitter they could ever want. Everything was going fine.

Her phone ringing drew Cassie out of her trance so much so that the re-enforced punching bag hit her mid-swing, knocking her backwards. Hearing the ring-tone assigned to her mother she scrambled to her feat and towards her phone and water bottle.

"Hey mom whats up?"

-

It was hard to imagine so much dust could accumulate so quickly - or so much stuff. Cassie could have sword she hand't moved in with more than a duffel bag and a small roller case, yet somehow she was digging through hordes of books and boxes under her bed.

"Of course I'm almost done mom, I've just been working on some other things-"

"I know I know, I'm just so excited for you! A real dig at your age - I would have killed for that chance, not to mention how it will look on college applications..." Spotting her old school backpack tucked against the wall behind her winter coat, Cassie kept focus on the task at hand rather than point out that she had already seen a number of digs at a much younger age with her mother. With a sharp tug, the bag - along with most of the other junk she'd kicked under the bed to avoid cleaning up- came free.

"What was that, are you okay?" Cassie re-tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear as she unzipped the bag.

"Yeah fine, just knocked over some textbooks - but here; got it!" She walked over to her conspicuously empty desk and smoothed out the crumpled paper. A standard application form, date of birth, guardian signatures, school name, ect, ect. It was the bottom of the second page that was glaring back at her, with such intensity to tune out her mother's barrage of questions. Attach an essay between 16000-20000 words on what you believe to be a fundamental cornerstone of Athenian culture.

"... Of course you have to let me know if you need any help- I know I know its against the rules but I can at least proof read what you have. That and Dr. Fordmein is an old colleague, I know what he goes for."

"Thanks mom, listen, there's something- I... I gotta go."

"Oh. Okay sweetheart, stay safe. Remember to call me!" Cassie winced as the dial tone cut off her mother's last syllable. She hadn't been avoiding her own mother. Honestly she hadn't. Cassie began chewing her lip as her finger rapped against the desk. A few years ago the essay would have all but consumed her life, but now... How do you keep the same excitement about dusting off antiquities when you have a first hand source on speed-dial?

Cassie looked up past her view of the Jump City bay, directly across from of Lexcorp labs. Lacking any other recourse to act on the irony of it, she gave the building a withering glare before flopping down on her bed, kicking off her running shoes and peeling off her hand wraps. Writing or training would wait for another day; she was Wonder Girl after all. If she could go toe to toe with an Amazon, how could she not finish a measly essay in a week and a half? It could wait another day. Everything would turn out fine.

[Zoey Boey]

-Starfire-
^_K'oriandr_

An orange skinned, violet haired, slender, young looking woman with bright green eyes, a blue, sleeveless crop top, skirt, and thigh high boots, all adorned with steel braces, boots, and belts, floated casually near the ceiling of one of the hallways in Titan tower. Apparently, she was in a good mood. She hummed an unrecognizable and frankly unmelodic and discordant tune, one unknown and disquieting to human ears but pleasing and comforting to her own. Like she was full of helium, she pulled herself with her flattened palms while looking at the ceiling tiles and lights. Her long purple hair was straight, and flowed elegantly downward. Starfire had put extra work into her appearance today, wearing her formal attire and doing herself up nice and pretty. No particular reason other than self-esteem, and things had been kind of slow recently. She had spoken to the other Titans, the, uh, "original" Titans, her best friends, earlier over the computer screens. It was fun, but it wasn't the same as them actually being here. She missed them often, though she knew their cause was noble.

But now she was feeling good, and expressed her contentdness with literally light-hearted floating about, a happy balloon stuck to the ceiling after a child's birthday party. Evil had been stopped at every opportunity. Jump City was safer then ever before, and the newer recruits seemed to be acclimating well into their new environment. Not to mention her close relationship with Robin was steady as ever. Indeed, there wasn't much to be sad about. Robin had his worries, as he always did, but he was a vigilant protector. It was his job to worry, and her job to keep spirits high. Or, something like that.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Starfire gently backflipped and landed on her feet. Folding her hands behind her back she walked heel-toe into the kitchen. Ka'van and Robin were there.

"I have been thinking..." Starfire began, skipping any pretense of greetings or introductions. "...about flavor. Some things taste delicious, yet others taste unpleasant. Temperature also affects flavor, for heat causes chemical reactions within the tongue that increases sensitivity. Yet some things taste bad cold, and good hot, or vice versa. Surely, a thing that tastes bad would taste even worse when it was hot, but this is in many times not the case, or sometimes even the reverse is true. I enjoy carrots, but warm, they are repulsive. And earthlings often do not delight in the delicacies of my homeworld. Deliciousness seems to be such an arbitrary thing. Decided base on nothing more than the randomly generated whimsy of the taste buds we are born with." She paused for a moment, one finger on her chin. While she spoke in great volume, she spoke deliberately and with a controlled verbosity.

"This all being said, Ka'van, do you enjoy warm, wet oats? Did you partake in them often before you came here? I find them to be quite plain, though nourishing and easily consumable in vast quantities. Have you tried warm, wet oats seasoned with mustard?" She asked, leaning over to him. If there was one thing to two of them could bond over, it was the two of them being foreigners on this world. Starfire was happy to be his teacher about all things Earthly, if only for the reason that she had finally met someone who was less knowledgable on Earthling culture than she herself was.

[Mistress Dizzy]

“Come on. A little closer.”

Just outside the Titans Tower, one young Atlantean stood waist deep in the water. Her orange eyes were fixed on a large carp that was lazily swimming toward her. She licked her lips in anticipation. Breakfast was just a breath away.

“Come on…” She stilled, watching the fish idle toward her body. “Gotcha!” Her hands darted into the water, lightning quick, and she came up with a live, wriggling fish. “Ha! You’re mine now.” It was a healthy specimen. With a gentle tap on the spine, she put the animal out of it’s misery, then climbed out of the water. She was barefoot as she usually was, the skirt of her green dress tied around her knees. Human clothes were lovely, but not waterproof. She’d learned that one the hard way.

Kassandra grinned with triumph as she headed back into the tower, loosening her dress back down as she did so. As she headed toward the kitchen, she heard the cheerful conversation of some of the others, and balked slightly, slowing down.

She was still somewhat intimidated by the other Titans. Being the youngest of the group wasn’t fun, and feeling like the least trained wasn’t great either. Robin made her nervous; he was so intense most of the time. Starfire was sweet and kind, but she was a veteran, and Kassy just felt outclassed.

Still, there was nothing that she could do about it this morning. She needed the knives to properly carve her kill. So she stepped into the kitchen, fish in one hand.

“Ah… g-good morning everyone.”

[Metronome]

Ka'van had just pulled the hot water off the stove and poured it into his bowl of oats when Starfire waltzed in. He gave his lunch a stir and looked up as she spoke. He smiled. The two got along quite well, both being fish out of water on this planet. He was always grateful for her advice, although he took most of it with a grain of salt after...the incident.

But regardless of whether her advice on Earth life was sound or not, Starfire always had a way of cheering up a room. He liked that about her. Even Robin in all his seriousness couldn't withstand her antics without a smile. Most of the time, anyways.

He couldn't help but chuckle as she went on about taste. He wasn't sure where this was going, until she mentioned his oatmeal. "Oh," He looked down at the slop that had formed in the bowl. Ka'van ate oatmeal for every meal, every day. When he'd first found himself on Earth, the first few weeks had been absolutely horrible. He spent them sick and starving, trying one Earth food after another, most of which resulted in him becoming even more violently ill. When he finally discovered that oats were incredibly similar to a staple food on his own planet, and that they could sustain him...well, he kind of gave up on trying anything else. Any new food had the potential to make him sick again, and Ka'van's fear of that kept him on a strict oatmeal-only diet. Was he tired of them by now? Yeah, maybe a little...

"Mustard will make me sick, Star," He said in a patient tone. "These oats are the closest thing to Talgan food I've found." He picked up the bowl and stirred it, then took a bite of the plain, lumpy mush.

[Master Crim]

-Robin-
-^{Dick Grayson}-

Robin was in the middle of cooking up some beacon and eggs when Ka'van walked in and greeted him as he began making his oats. "Hey Ka'van." He Replied. His toast popped up just as he finished cooking his eggs. Stacking all his ingredients together Robin began eating as Starfire floated in and began musing at the concepts of hot and cold foods eaten in their opposite states with Ka'van.

"Have you tried warm, wet oats seasoned with mustard?"

Robin caught himself before spitting out chunks of egg from the resulting chuckle. It was amusing that even after spending so much time with Starfire and all the oddities she enjoys and thinks of daily, she can still come at you with something new and unexpected.

"These oats are the closest thing to Talgan food I've found."

"What about you Star, with your expertise on mustard, what makes it better: hot or cold" Robin asked playfully, half curious if she had actually considered it before. As he finished, Kassandra walked in, fish in hand.

“Ah… g-good morning everyone.”

She looked nervous, and it was understandable with her being one of the newest members. "Hi Kass. The stove top should still be hot." Robin tried his best at being approachable to all members, but all the years he spent with Batman kind of made that difficult to do naturally. He was glad that Starfire had stayed when the team split, when it came to breaking the ice and making people comfortable Robin was not the best, and Star is something of a natural at talking with people even if she does not know them well. Robin looked around the common area. "Has anyone seen Cassie? I have some things to go over for the week."

---

Available units there is a 10-33 in progress in the Water Front area. Coast Guard is responding to a water craft 10-82, ETA 5 minutes. Additional units have been requested 10-18. EMT is alerted and en-route. Be aware; there are unconfirmed reports that an individual who may have boarded the water craft after the smoke cut visual of the deck. No emergency calls have come from the craft at this time. Coast Guard have asked to clear the nearest docking area for triage.

[Tackytaff]

---

It wasn't long until the voices from the kitchen drifted through Cassie's open door. What a great continuation of her day to have a meeting going on without her. Groaning, she lifted herself from her bed and slipped on a pair of fuzzy blue slipper rather than her running shoes. She did a quick look around her room before leaving, the remains of her frantic search strew throughout. The great thing about being an amazon was that cleaning your room never took long, especially when you were able to slam the over-stuffed closed door extra hard. With a final glance in the mirror to make sure she didn't still look like she'd just left the training room, she headed for the kitchen.

"You called?" She said, leaning against the doorway with a coy smile before entering completely. Everyone else on the team was there. A stab of her insecurity made her hesitate for a second- certain they had all conspire to meet and gossip about her. At least it meant Robin had in fact been asking after her and not Kassandra with K. Of all the things she thought she'd have to fight over as a Titan, her name hadn't been one of them. She shook off her baseless fears and breezed past them all to the fridge to grab a yogurt cup.

"So what is it? Bank robbery? Mayor's daughter kidnapped? People disappearing around a not-suspicious-at-all science lab?"

[Zoey Boey]

-Starfire-
^_K'oriandr_

Ka'van's response and Robin's question had given the woman pause. She put one hand up against her chin. Kassandra and Cassie had also arrived into the kitchen. Hopefully they would not mind if Starfire continued this conversation about the human culinary arts and their effects on Earth-foreign species.

She looked back at Ka'van. "I'm sorry for you, Ka'van. But if you like oats, perhaps wheat based products would be something you like. If you are to be living here for the foreseeable future, you must consider expanding your interest in food. Perhaps I would be suffering the same fortune as you, had I not been blessed with nine stomachs. I shall help you with this endeavor in the coming months. Otherwise, Ka'van, you will have to eat the same food every day, forever, as if you have been stranded in the Ice Prisons of Wizzleshorf Five! That simply will not do." She concluded with a satisfied smile. Then she looked over at Robin.

"As for your question, Robin, I imagine it depends on the food. Personally, I find the mustard beverage appealing without any supplementary items, but it's flavor does change depending on it's temperature relative to the temperature and flavor of the food it has been applied too, aswell as the mustard to food ratio." She shook her head and smiled. "There is so much depth to be explored in the culinary arts." She commented, mostly to herself and the room. It seemed that Robin was preparing to make his statement, so Starfire respectfully indicated the conversation would be resumed another time by folding her arms behind her back and taking a few steps out of the way.

She glanced over at Cassie and Kassandra and smiled, greeting them with a nod before turning her attention back to the leader of the Teen Titans. While she enjoyed talking about very specific and perhaps impractical subjects, the mission usually came first. However, Starfire had learned during her time where all five original Titans remained within the tower that it was important to, how Cyborg put it, "goof off." Or Beast Boy's "strategical relaxation protocols", though she imagined he was being somewhat facetious with a name such as that. Otherwise, one can be 'bogged down' with the minute details of stressful crime-fighting and forget to enjoy one another's company. It was fortunate then, that the Teen Titan program seemed to attract only the friendliest and nicest people Starfire had ever met. The new batch of recruits, Starfire had taken an immediate liking too. Now, however, as Cassie mentioned, it was time to focus on more serious matters, such as kidnappings, armed robberies, and wicked, immoral experiments.

[Ryonara]

Mori was doing as he was always doing, keeping an eye out for things while panhandling, when the first weird thing happened. Some guy came by and dropped off a handful of change into his bowl. That wasn't the unsual thing though; sometimes real kind people would drop a ten or even twenty. It was more about the person than the money; a young man who looked both too rich to give a guy like Mori the time of day, but at the same time seemed like a man on a mission. Since he was the only one that really stood out Mori sort of watched him go, but figuring he was just a tourist he let his attention drift to other people, though no one else really caught his attention. Not until something happened at the harbor. Looked like something just went up in smoke. Picking up his bowl and pocketing his money, Mori was one of the first people to hit the pier as people watched the scene unfold.

It was here while he had a closet look that he realized that the harbor wasn't on fire; this was a smoke screen. Someone had covered a ship in blinding smoke to cover their movements. Mori recognized the type, and then realized that someone must be doing a heist. Though this was far to showy; it was the middle of the day in the middle of a public area. The cops would surely be on this soon, not to mention the titans. Or maybe... That was the point. Make a big distraction. Mori wasn't certain, so he stayed on the pier, watching the scene unfold.

[rocketrobie2]

Steve expected and really hoped that the shock factor would be more than enough to scare these bozos into just giving up. They did not. They were well trained and, even with the limited visibility, managed a few close shots on Steve as he dove for cover behind a piece of the ship's architecture. Quickly the men moved in on Steve who was now regretting not planning his heist better. I am in way over my head here Steve thought as he adjusted his Airgun and peaked out from his hiding spot. Not wanting to give his assailants time to take proper aim again, Steve pulled the trigger, blasting a large puff of the smoke, spreading it and disorientating some of the men as Steve made a mad dash for the lower section of the ship. As he all but leapt below deck, Steve thought back to what got him here.

Four Days Earlier

---

Steve looked himself in the mirror and splashed water on his face before focusing his attention back on his reflection. "You can do this. You are the best. You will not screw this up." he said, psyching himself up, washing his hands and getting back to work. Walking out of the washroom, Steve picked his notepad out of his pocket and headed out for the restaurant floor and taking a table's order.

The incognito villain was a little strapped for cash after finishing off the Scarlet Skimmer. While he could try his hand at a few petty crimes to get himself a nice financial cushion, Steve figured a bit of honest work might be good for him... that and Saut de Repas, the restaurant he worked at now, was frequented by the rich and well off of Jump City. He hoped to pick up on some rich guy gossip about a priceless painting or sculpture that he could take off their hands for a big profit and an even bigger boost to his reputation. So far his plan hadn't worked but the tips were good enough and he'd gotten pretty chummy with his co-workers. All-in-all Steve was growing pretty content with his new occupation and though he wouldn't admit it outright, the idea of dropping the villain business all together was worming its way into his head.

"...so after a good two minutes of back and forth I finally nab the Dikto jewel. I'm having it shipped in this week on my boat, all incognito like." a man who Steve recognized as Mr.Marcus bragged to the gaggle of his friends at his table. All doubt about his career as a criminal was washed away as he was filled once more with resolve to become the crème de la crème of villainy. He jotted down his table's orders along with a few quick notes on the Dikto jewel and went about finishing his shift and heading back to the skimmer. With such a small window of time Steve was going to need to do some major planning so he didn't end up scouting out the boat the day of the heist and needing to pull it off by the seat of his pants.

Present Day

---

Landing with a thud, Steve took off in a mad dash to where he thought the jewel was being stored. He managed to look up the schematics of the boat's model a day prior but upon getting his bearing below deck it was very obvious that the ship had undergone more than a few modifications. So far nothing flashy but the layout was definitely off as he came upon a wall where a hallway should be. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Steve cranked the settings on his Airgun, planted his feet and fired at the wall, blowing it to pieces.

Behind the fake wall was a hidden mechanism that likely made the wall a doorway to the secret passageway Steve had just uncovered. Many of the shelves and displays inside the boat were empty but the one that drew Steve's gaze immediately was the dark colored jewel housed behind a thick pane of glass. He briefly considered hacking into the case to crack it open but that was time he clearly didn't have as he heard the loud footsteps finally making their way below deck. After frantically going over a few options in his head, Steve settled for opening his armour up, yanking out one of the suit's modular attachment power hookups and repeatedly jamming it into where the motor for the display case should be. A few good bashes later and a hail of sparks, the case flung open, revealing its prize. quickly scooping the jewel up in his hand, Steve realized he had forgotten the sack he bought to carry to jewel back in the Skimmer. Cursing himself, he placed the soccer ball sized jewel under his arm and prepared to fight his way back to the upper deck, hopefully before the police showed up.

[Master Crim]

@rocketrobie2
Not long after the first few shots went off on the yat, the Coast Guard arrived on scene, but did not attempt to get close to the craft. A few officers were already on one of the docks and had called in shots fired requesting for additional units. The officers, not wanting to waist any time requested for the coast guard to pick them up at the dock to help them attempt to make contact with the people onboard the yat.

All units in the Water Front Park area be advised: The 10-33 involving the watercraft, possibly on fire, is now a robbery in progress. The owner of the craft has informed us that the Dikto Jewel is the target of the robbery. Coast Guard have arrived on scene, but before they could assist gun shots were confirmed on the craft. The Coast Guard are currently assisting units 272, and 055 to attempt to make contact with the personnel on the craft. Airship is on the way.

---

@Zoey Boey@Tackytaff@Metronome@Mistress Dizzy

-Robin-
-^{Dick Grayson}-

"Not quite, but Cyborg informed me that last week his team was tipped off to there being illegal shipments passing through their area." Robin started as the team came together in the commons dining area. "Upon further investigation they intercepted two STAR Labs shipments that not only had incomplete manifests, but also were carrying military grade weapons." Robin paused a moment letting the information set in. "Cyborg said that the weapons had no specific trade markings on them so it is still unknown if STAR is trying to make an entrance into the weapons market or if they are working with someone else." Robin went to one of the consoles, calling up some files on a display for the team to see. Various images of the trucks, some of the items recovered, and a few of the drivers and shipping documents came onto the screen. "The reason Cyborg brought this up to us is the manifests for both trucks said the origin of the shipment was from the STAR Labs here in Jump City. We will have to keep an eye on their outgoing shipments and see if we can find out what-" Robin was cut off by an alert on screen. It was a red notification box that read:

!ALERT!
ROBBERY IN PROGRESS. WATERCRAFT IN WATER FRONT PARK AREA.
SHOTS FIRED. ITEM OF INTEREST : DIKTO JEWEL.

What followed was some information on the event, and a predictive 40% chance of critical injury to bystanders and law enforcement. What caught the attention of the Titan's alert system more than the event itself was a security camera along the dock that had caught a glimpse of figure appearing above the yat and dropping into the smoke that covered it. A robbery in broad daylight, bold. Robin thought a moment trying to decide how they should respond. The chances of injury are not likely, but with someone just appearing above the yat... we can't ignore that. Robin quickly opened the notification to reveal the Alert Network of the Titan's Tower. It was tapped into the local dispatch for emergency response, various city CCTV, and had a related media window that played relevant videos as they are posted to news and social networking sites. All of this was laid out around a map of Jump City with live updates to emergency vehicles, traffic, and the point of interest indicated by the alert. "Suit up team, looks like our briefing will have to wait. meet back here in 10." With that Robin left to his room to get prepared for their new mission.

Robin stood a minute taking in the information on screen. Turning to the team Robin began issuing the plans "Starfire, you can make contact with the coast guard and inform them to keep a safe distance. Mirage, I want you to run security in the water. Look to see if there is anything submerged that shouldn't be there, if there is nothing out of place; join Wonder Girl, Wraith, and I as we will have boarded the yat to secure the main deck where we will all group up." Robin Paused a moment before a smirk played across his face as it had been a little while since he had the chance to say what was coming. "Titan's, Go!"

[Zoey Boey]

-Starfire-
^_K'oriandr_

Starfire was nodding along to Robin's debrief, information courtesy of Cyborg. Weapons shipments? Trade in unmarked firearms is nothing to be taken lightly. The destructive capabilities they could grant any single individual was immense. Back on her homeworld, weapons were much rarer, but if they did exist they would have to be lethal enough to damage a Tamaranean, which meant the few illegal weapons that did exist were truly dangerous. Humans, unfortunately, were much more fragile than Tamaraneans, and could be seriously injured by tragically mundane occurances, let alone the weapons they made to harm each other. It was up to empowered individuals like the Titans to look out for those who could be caught in the crossfire or be the targets of malicious attacks.

A look of interest and mild surprise came across her features though, as reports of a new crime came in. Watercraft robbery in progress! Time to move! When they returned, Starfire stood with her hands behind her back, eagerly awaiting Robin's plan. He was so good at doing plans. He could rattle off orders as if it were nobody's business! When he was in leadership mode, he was extremely handsome.

Starfire nodded at his order and was subconsciously bending her elbows and knees and raising her clenched fists, looking as if she were about to burst. He said the thing! With a little giggle, she turned around and zoomed down the hallway. Expertly navigating the corridors of the tower until she zoomed out a window that was open just for her. She knew where she was going. Contact the coast guard and tell them the Titans are on the case!

Her fists outstretched infront of her, a faint green trail signified the propulsion that kept the woman in flight. The trail was emitted from her feet and long hair, and it's glow brightened the faster she was going. The light of Starfire's flight was hard to miss, even at day time. It was because of this that she stayed relatively low as she approached the sight of the robbery. It took a lot of courage to initiate crimes in Jump City. Everyone knew that this place was under the Teen Titan's protection. It was a propserous place, though, full of potential ill-gotten gains and treasures for those of criminal intent. High risk, high reward. It attracted only the most dangerous individuals.

The bright green, orange, and purple girl flew spotted the oncoming Coast Guard boats. Their courage was admirable. Working as law enforcement in Jump City meant engaging with superpowered individuals. They could be heading into attempt to arrest literally anything. Supervillains were extremely creative.

Nonetheless, she flew to their boat with a little wave. Hopefully the cheerful green light of Starfire was recognizable to the people of Jump City by now. Gently she came to a stop, hovering a few feet over the deck of their ship, looking for the highest ranking individual among them.

"Greetings, friends! It is I, Starfire, of the Teen Titans. I am here to inform you to maintain a safe distance. The Teen Titans are about to bring this situation to a peaceful conclusion. Please do not throw yourselves into unnecessary harms way, as your safety could be used as leverage in favor of the criminals." She said. One knee was slightly bent, the other straight. Starfire cut quite the striking figure as she kept pace with the Coast Guard, slightly leaning into whichever direction she wanted to float in. Every once in a while she cast a look towards the targeted ship, trying to see if anything supernatural was occuring. If everything went well on this Coast Guard boat, Starfire would spread the word to the other ships. As she did so, she would also be creating a perimeter around the targeted ship to cut off any potential escape routes or even enemy reinforcements. Usually villains did not have reinforcements, but stranger things had happened.

[Metronome]

Ka'van set his half finished oatmeal aside as the Titans received a call to action. He drifted over towards Robin, looking around him at the screen and eagerly awaiting orders.

For him, costume change was easy. An inky black aura began to emanate from him, devouring his gray skin and turning it into a dark void. His eyes turned a solid, brightly glowing red, and a tattered gray cloak appeared out of seemingly nowhere to settle on his shoulders. The air around him grew cold as he allowed the demon closer to the surface, drawing from it's power to increase his own.

"I'll meet you all there," Wraith said as he lifted off the ground. He flew towards, then through, the wall. Wraith arrived at the docks soon after Starfire. As his fellow alien began to secure the citizens, he approached the boat and silently touched down onto the deck. He probably should wait for his cohorts...but a little recon wouldn't hurt.

Wraith became intangible and began flying through the walls of the ship, scouting for possible hostages aboard, or perhaps even their criminal.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kassandra smiled as she heard those famous words. She bolted for her room, and was ready and dressed within minutes. Royal orange and green, with golden sandals and a mask to match. And of course, her staff named Damiek, the jeweled eyes of the octopus topper watching over her. Wraith and Starfire had already taken off, so she said her goodbyes to the others.

“I’ll be underwater, you know where to find me.” She dove into the bay and started swimming. No leisure swim this time. This time, she moved. Even without her usual tail, she could lap any human in the water. Such were the blessings of being Atlantean.

Although she’d been a Titan for some time now, she still got a thrill of excitement in her belly with every new mission. She hoped the others felt the same. She hoped she always felt this way about her hero work.

Mirage was starting to approach the yacht, and so she slowed to get a better look at it. Nothing out of the ordinary on the starboard side. She dove deeper, looking underneath the hull for anything strange. No holes, no devices, all the fish had been scared off. Nothing there. As she continued her reconnaissance, she contacted the other Titans on her sturdy waterproof communicator.

“I’m not seeing anything so far, guys. Just lots of smoke and panic.” Indeed, there was a grayish smoke pouring out of the boat, but it didn’t smell like fire. Nor could she see any flames. She poked her head out of the water to get a closer look.

People in fancy clothes screaming and going one way. People in uniforms with guns going another. From her angle, she couldn’t quite see where they were converging. She clutched her octopus staff a little tighter, and headed for the dock to meet up with Robin and Wonder Girl.

[Tackytaff]

---

Cassie didn't even flinch when the alarms began to go off. She remained the picture of calmness, even as Robin began giving out instructions, finding a spoon and even continuing to eat her yogurt as the rest of the team jumped into action. Inwardly, it was all she could do to keep from breaking through the kitchen wall to get to the scene. Her small insecurities evaporated in the excitement of a real mission.

"Well I was half right," She shrugged with while her heart pounded. Tossing her half finished snack, she followed Starfire's path out the kitchen but turned to her own room where her equipment waited. Artimes's training had permeated enough so at least Wonder Girl's lasso and arm bands were always hanging off the back of the door, regardless what the rest of Cassie's room might look like. She was still fastening the lasso to her hip and sliding her heals into her sneakers when she peaked back into the kitchen just in time to which Kassandra good luck and find Robin; the teams flightless member.

"I can give you a lift if you need one." She offered before tucking back in the hallway to sprint towards the still open window Starefire had used.

Fly had long since stopped being such an easy thrill for Cassie. Years of training and pattern exercises had made it just another part of her routine, but there was still excitement to be found in the faces of the crowds that watched. Coming up on the smoking yacht surrounded by police and curious crowds, she truly felt like Wonder Girl, someone people could count on. She glimpsed Starfire below, on the dock speaking with the police before circling the crime scene. It was hard to see much of anything with all the smoke, though she was almost sure she could distinguish the more misty form of Wraith on the deck for a brief moment before he disappeared below. Cassie landed at the helm of the ship, clearing out the cockpit of confused crew whom she brought to Starfire, as they did their best to recount what had happened between lungfuls of smoke.

"I think Wraith is bellow decks, I'll keep on the exits, keep whoever it is from getting away." She confirmed with her team-mate before returning back to the yacht.

[Master Crim]

-Robin-
-^{Dick Grayson}-

Robin finished up on the console, taking in a few last minute reports of what was going on around their AO, while the team sprung into action. As they were leaving Robin had finished up, and started heading for the hanger. Cassie poked her head into the main room just before Mirage took cut out to the scene.

"I can give you a lift if you need one."

"Thanks," Robin replied with a smile. "But I will take the T-Jet in case things get rough." He continued down in the elevator to the hanger under the tower where the various transports for the team, as well as personal vehicles were kept. Robin approached a jet like craft that resembled that of an F-22 crossed with a harrier jet, but the fuselage was wider, and the engines set a bit high to make room for a crew ramp. The jet was a metallic gray color with the Titan's iconic "T" blazoned on each wing. The ramp was already down and as Robin approached the jet powered on and the engines began to power on to stand-by. The inside of the jet was, cozy, to put it nicely. While it was not as spacious as the Orca, more of a areal command center they used for far away or escort missions, it did work well as a short range transport and flag of intimidation. The latter of those was something more of what Robin wanted on this mission, due to the un-easing nature of how the person who boarded the yacht dropped out of what Robbin assumed to be a stealthed ship, which they did not have any information on. Walking past the few rows of seating, Robin came to the front of the jet where the pilot controls were located. With a few button presses the jet came alive with activity. The ramp colsed, the falps and rudders began moving, and the hanger door began to open as the jet slowly rolled into place for takeoff. With a roar the jet shot forward and out of the underground hanger, it's vertical engines providing enough force to lift it from the ground and into the air just before the end of the runway.
Even with the speed of the T-Jet Robin arrived on scene just as the rest of the team had put the plan into motion. Starfire was circling the area keeping onlookers at a safe distance and monitoring for escape, Mirage had just radioed in that the sub-nautical conditions were nominal, Wonder Girl had managed to evacuate a few of the ships occupants, and Wraith was running some advance recon of the situation.

“I’m not seeing anything so far, guys. Just lots of smoke and panic.”

"I think Wraith is bellow decks, I'll keep on the exits, keep whoever it is from getting away."

"Good job team. Lets see if we can find who is behind this chaos." Robin said as he pulled the jet in above the yacht. The down thrusters kicked in as the jet slowed to hover above the main aft deck, clearing most of the smoke from the craft. Robin noticed an odd proximity reading before he put the jet into patrol mode and dropped to the deck below, landing with a thud on the deck. He glanced up around the jet as it gained in altitude and began a lazy circle around the area. looking around Robin noticed that most of the passengers and crew were on their way to deploying inflated rafts, while a few who were obviously part of a security detail were staging at an opening to the lower decks. Scanning the deck he saw both Wonder Girl and Mirage and motioned to the security personnel. "Lets see what they are getting ready for." Robin then approached the group and activated the team comm-link so Wraith could hear as well. "We are here to help, what is the situation?" Robin started as one of the security officers, a woman, looked his way.
"Head of security Tylers, Krystal." She introduced herself. "I didn't think we would need the Titans. We appreciate the assist though. It all happened quick, and the part we are having issue with understanding is where this intruder came from. Suddenly the deck was covered in smoke, and this..." She paused a moment, distracted by radio chatter in her ear piece. "This intruder dropped from the sky, but there was nothing above us." She glanced up before looking back to Robin. "He was dressed in a red suite is what one of my men reported and armed, but his weapon seemed to only shoot concussive waves, non-lethal for the most part in the open, but could be dangerous in confined spaces."
"Thank you Krystal, we can take it from here if you want to take your group and make sure the passengers and crew get off safely." The woman nodded and issued a few orders to her men. "Wraith, did you get that? We are moving in from the main deck." Robin then looked to his team and motioned for them to begin moving below decks.