Teen Titans: Twilight of the Gods (IC/Limited Acceptance/S/PG-16)

[Saiba Aisu]

"Nuh uh!" Roxie exclaimed, striding into the room, having chosen to come barefoot for some reason. "I leave 'em in Frenchy's room, because I like the way my piggies feel on the floor! So stop stealing my socks, Blakey-poo~!"

 

At that moment, the Training Room's sliding doors hissed open for the second time, as if on cue, to reveal none other than 'Frenchy' himself. As Cygnus strode into the room, the team could see that he had exchanged his standard feathered finery for a more practical set of workout clothes—black warm-up pants, sneakers with silver accents, and a long-sleeved white T-shirt with its sleeves lazily rolled up, complete with a stylized graphic design of a black swan on his chest. It was only the second time that any of the team had seen him out of his nobleman's outfit—if Cygnus wore pajamas, he certainly never let on—and just like the first time at Club 0XYGEN, it was rather bizarre to see the lunar sorcerer dressed so casually.

 

"Blondie's telling the truth, unfortunately," he said, rather darkly, indicating Roxie with a tilt of his head. "She's a bit like those elephants that choose a particular site so they can return there for important life events. Except, you know, in this case it's so she can periodically dump her socks on my floor!"

 

He rolled his eyes before addressing the British girl one of the looks that he reserved specifically for her, split evenly between exasperation and amusement.

 

"Normally I wouldn't mind some extra laundry, but the thing is, they stink to high heaven! That's why I've been redirecting them to just outside of Blake's room. I figured with radioactive properties that strong, he might be able to use them for some kind of experiment."

 

Cygnus, making jokes? Hard to tell. As per usual, the boy's pale features were arranged in a cool mask of haughty indifference. Coming to a halt by the sidelines, he leaned against the cold metal wall, watching as Roxie, Ben, and Batsu entered the combat arena at the center of the room, clearly intending to battle it out.

 

A three-way sparring match? he mused, crossing his arms. This should be interesting...

 

In spite of himself, he was intrigued to discover just what kind of powers Batsu was concealing behind all those muscles. Sybil had made such a point of lauding the alien's skills—it was time to see whether or not Batsu had earned that praise.

 

"Play nice, children," Cygnus called out, as each of the three Titans assumed fighting stance.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Hey, Benjamin...be careful on this mission alright? There's a real risk of losing someone this time around."

 

Halting his stretching some, Benjamin actually had thoughts about this. However his mind kept bringing him back to the deal with the orb, his nightmare. He shuddered at the thought of it, before shaking his head and gave Blake a thumbs up. "No worries, tin-man! We'll be fine!"

 

"Oh...and kick Roxie's butt for me will you?  she keeps leaving her socks in front of my door...."

 

Benjamin was about to snicker at that, but heard Roxie walk through the doors, mainly telling him that she usually takes them off in Cygnus' room, which only opened the door for Cygnus himself to come out and say that he sends them to Blake's room. He snickered before breaking into a small laugh, putting his hands up for a moment in a time out motion. "Oh jeez guys...let me breath...WHOO! Wow! Ya know, if this hero thing doesn't work out too well for you three, you could always start a sitcom together...I'd watch it!" he laughed.

 

He watched as Roxie and Batsu got into position, apparently Batsu was dragged into this, probably by Roxie. Well...this might be a little difficult... he thought, before hearing Roxie speak up.

 

"Ok, boys Benjie arranged for this party, so it's only fair that he kicks it off... Whenever you're ready, Tiger."

 

"I get first move? Aww, Roxie your such a team player!" Benjamin chuckled, cracking his knuckles a bit, before holding his hands out in front of the two.

 

BGM

 

Suddenly the spiders began crawling out from his arms and hands, as they took to the floor and to the walls. They made their way towards Batsu and Roxie, at a fast speed. Only one who knows about my powers are Roxie...so this should put Batsu in for a loop. he thought, a small smirk forming under his mask, as he had his hands go in an "X" motion, to where the spiders lunged and struck at the two opponents.

 

"Eh yo, Roxie!" Benjamin snickered as he rushed towards her. "Ya like baseball?" he started saying, in somewhat of a Jersey accent, before flipping towards Roxie, before leaping up and preparing to do a dive kick onto her. "Swiiiiiiiing batter batter!!" he laughed, waiting for her response.

[Ren✧]

As Sybil left and the rest of the Titans left to prepare for the team training session, Kiara found herself lingering in the Central Complex. Now able to look out at Aurora City she could see the hustle and bustle of the city from afar. She realized what was on the line if they failed. Sure, every mission was important, but something like this directly impacted the lives of so many. Aurora City was the home of millions; a modern day metropolis, an epicenter for human( metahuman and even alien) activity.

 

Kiara felt her heart beat faster, thinking about the consequences of failure. The image of Aurora City in the distance was replaced with an almost identical image in her mind, however the busy traffic disappeared. The noise of the city fell silent. Kiara cringed at the thought of people struggling for their final breath as the Spore-shrooms poked out of their already graying skin. 

 

"When did so many people start counting on me?" She said to herself. 

 

 

Walking to the Training Room, Kiara was decked out in her full Arcana gear. The last few official missions hadn't allowed her to don her simple crime fighting tassels and vest. The familiar purple and white felt good. Admittedly, it would be smart to put on street clothes before they went out for the rendezvous. This outfit tended to attract attention, and this mission specifically called for as little of that as possible.

 

Entering the room, she noticed that Roxie, Ben, and Batsu were about to face off in a three-way sparring match. This would be quite the showdown. Roxie had never disappointed in a brawl. However, Ben's swarm of spiders could prove to be overwhelming, Kiara supposed. Then there was the newcomer. The true wildcard. If Kiara had to guess, that's who everyone was really waiting to see. Wanting to watch, Kiara took a place next to Cygnus. "Looks like I am just in time." She said, a smile on her face. 

 

She would be trying something new out whilst the sparring match was going on. Something she'd been working on for a long time. Looking at Blake, she reached at for his mind, careful to avoid actually encroaching into his thoughts and memories. "Interesting outfit you've got going on. It seems you are missing part of your suit." She thought in his direction, waiting to see his reaction at the telepathic message. A brief shadow of worry crossed her mind that he would think she was going back on her promise to not invade his private thoughts without permission that she had made when first meeting the young genius. She hoped that by now he trusted her enough to demonstrate her psychic progress without going back on her word. 

---

[spoiler=OOC]

To clarify, part of Kiara's progress so far is that she can now communicate with others telepathically and if the other person consents to the psychic contact(or if Kiara overwhelms them) she can establish a psychic link. Currently she can only telepathically link with one person at a time like this and the strength of this connection will vary with certain factors, like distance, stress on either individual, and Kiara's personal connection with them. As she develops this skill, these limitations will decrease 

 

 

[Mr. Hyde]

With Kiara, decked out in some sort of armor set he hadn't seen her wear since the team's first mission, taking her place next to Cygnus, Blake chuckled.  How nostalgic that costume was.  

 

Looked like the gang was all here.  What a bunch of losers they all were, but they were his losers.  The usual suspects had gotten into the formation to start their own sparring match, a three-way, no holds barred kind of fight.  It'd be interesting to see what Ben and Batsu could do against their original Titan Rox.  

 

In the back of his mind, Blake resisted the idea of dissecting Batsu....what made his kind tick on the inside.  Maybe he could mirror his biology in a brand new suit.  Aliens...the possibilities were endless.  

 

"Ya like baseball?  Swiiiiiiiing batter batter!!"  Ben must not have listened to the words of Blake beforehand...specifically stating to be careful.  Taunting Roxie was probably sealing his death wish.  

 

"Oh!!! I got it!  She uses a bat as a weapon, and Ben's like...the ball!  Clever..."  Were they practicing there heroic quips now too?  Blake would have to take notes on Ben's delivery.  As he watched the battle continue, he could feel a warm touch at the base of his neck.  

 

Interesting outfit you've got going on. It seems you are missing part of your suit."  Was this Kiara's telepathy?  It had been a while since he heard her voice in his head.  But he was glad that she wasn't ignoring him.  He stretched his mechanical arms, and snickered.  He responded with his own thoughts.  

 

"I could say the same thing to you really...I'll never get used to that silly outfit!  Anyways...I didn't feel like putting the whole thing on for this little training sess...just gonna show off the new toys!"  He gave her a thumbs up, but then placed a single finger over his lips.  "It's a secret though...I don't want to hurt you guys too bad anyways."  

[Hälō]

A Fight To The Death 

 

Roxie begun twirling Arondite again as she watched Ben sick his spiders on her and Batsu. Though her stance lacked even the smallest hint of aggression, the bright yellow glow and low hum that the bat had begun to produce was a clear indication that she was charging it with energy.

 

The Spiders were fast, and with only moments to formulate a strategy, Roxie found herself instead marveling at the fact that Ben thought a simple wave of spiders would be enough to taken as a legit first move... 

 

"Ya like baseball?  Swiiiiiiiing batter batter!!" Hm? Oh that was a little better... Roxie arched an eyebrow as as Ben ordered his spiders to leap forward, before dashing towards the former night and leaping into the air for a surprisingly skillful dive-kick. He was still underestimating her though wasn't he? Even though she didn't have his brains, or even the tactical utility of some of the other members of the team; combat was her thing. Roxie had decided a long time ago that she'd be the sword of the team, and now it was time to show little Benjie and even Batsu that when it came to battle, she was the top dog in the tower. A grin formed across the blonde's face as she came to the realization that these two might actually be a handful...

 

Good. I need to keep getting stronger anyway if I want to protect all of them.   

 

"Oh please," She responded to Ben's retort, before suddenly shifting her gaze to Batsu for a split second. In an instant the former knight burst into motion, suddenly leaping backwards and sending Arondite spinning violently towards the new recruit with a swipe of her arm. Having  boosted the bat with quite a bit of kinetic energy, Roxie could only hope that the alien was smart enough to dodge instead of trying to catch the rapidly spinning weapon...

 

But she was far from done there. Following the motion of tossing Arondite, two of Roxie's spider-bombs detached form her bracelet and launched themselves forward, only to be snatched out of the air and tossed towards Ben's spiders with a downwards swipe from Roxie. The bombs, one flash and one explosive, where detonated a few inches ahead of Ben's spiders in hope of forcing them back without causing them any harm... Though unfortunately Roxie wouldn't be granting their owner the same curtesy. 

 

Not able to tell if Ben had been effected by her flash Bomb, Roxie hastily dropped down to all fours before using her powers to launch herself upwards towards Ben. "Com'on Benjie! I'll give you a Spectacular Arse-kicking!" The former knight roared at her target as she rocketed towards him with her left arm raised and bent with an open palm to guard her face, and her right hand cocked backwards to deliver a punch to match his kick. 

[Saiba Aisu]

"Mhm, perfect timing," Cygnus agreed, giving Kiara a perfunctory glance and quick smile as she joined him by the sidelines, noting that she was dressed in the same intricate purple and white vest she had worn the first day they had all met. "You should wear that outfit for more often," he observed, crossing his arms as he dropped the compliment noncommittally, "it looks good on you."

 

He turned the lion's share of his attention back to the ring at the center of the room, where the sparring match between the three Titans had already begun. Each of the combatants had their own unique strengths and fighting style, as different from each other as night and day, almost like a game of rock-paper-scissors... Yet who would come out on top?

 

"Ben's got to be the gutsiest kid I've ever seen," he murmured softly, watching as Arachnid, flanked by a wave of spiders, launched a bold frontal assault on Roxie, willfully placing himself in melee range against the blonde knight—a mistake that many foes had made and only a handful had lived to regret. "Or the dumbest."

 

He knew from experience that Roxie, much like Kiara, excelled at close-range combat. Come to think of it, the two girls had provided most of the team's muscle up until now, despite their relatively slender builds. Perhaps the addition of an obvious heavyweight like Batsu to the group would be welcome, after all. He raised an eyebrow as Roxie executed an equally daring counterattack, hurling a kinetically-charged Arondite towards Batsu like some kind of wicked cheerleader's baton before throwing herself at the web-slinging superhero. He hadn't been expecting her to ditch her beloved weapon right off the bat, but then again, it was probably ill-suited for dealing with an opponent as fast and agile as Ben. Better to use it to create some space between her and Batsu and keep the alien out of her hair.

 

As he continued watching the brawl, his mind more or less on autopilot, his thoughts drifted to his own training, which, for some reason, had progressed faster in the last few months than the 25 long years he had spent with the Justice League. His rapid progress was crazy, completely inexplicable, almost too good to be true; nevertheless, he was grateful enough to accept it without too many questions. There were still a few kinks to iron out with his newly acquired Lunar Wings, but for the moment, it would appear that the power of flight was safely under his belt. The ability to quickly cover ground from a bird's-eye view would no doubt come in handy for tracking down Shira... Assuming he managed to stay aloft for more than twenty minutes without draining all of his magical energy, that is.

[King K. Azo]

Batsu watched as small eight legged creatures head his way. They looked like creatures similar to those found on his planet... Except... They were easily 100 times smaller than what he was used to. He wasn't sure if he could or even should squish them these tiny things though.

 

Taking a few steps back to avoid squishing the tiny spiders, Batsu weighed his options. He knew only basic information about their powers, but not about the way they fight. While he was a wild card to them, they were all wild cards to him. The best way to take care of wild cards was to take them out of the game as fast as possible.

 

Ben had leapt into the air in order to perform a dropkick on Roxie. Not too bad of an opening move, but it did leave him open to a counterattack should she dodge or block. Roxie did something surprising though. She took her weapon and threw it towards him instead of Ben. Caught off guard by this, Batsu only had time to dodge before Roxie crouched on all fours like a cat before launching herself up to punch Ben. The alien had to admit, he didn't think she would do that; most people fall into the trap of focusing entirely on one enemy, allowing another enemy to attack easily. He was impressed honestly.

 

But now it was his turn. After positioning himself so that he had a straight shot at the two heroes, he paused to flex, gritting his teeth as he did. Two extra pairs of arms suddenly sprouted from his back, one above his normal set, and one below them, giving him a total of six arms. To anyone watching... They would have just witness an alien flex so hard he grew arms.

 

Batsu grinned widely, despite the new appendages ripping holes into his mesh shirt. Now was time for some fun. His middle set of arms aimed at the ground at an angle, shooting out a quick burst of flames that propelled him towards the two opposing forces. He opened up his other two arms, looking like he was wanting a big hug. He quickly managed to intercept the two in the air, wrapping his arms around the two and holding them close in a bear hug.

 

"Ground floor, coming up," He said with an evil smirk as he ignited a stream of flames from his middle set of elbows that causing the three of them to be launched at the ground at high speeds. Batsu quickly positioned himself so that he would land on top of his two teammates, softening his fall while increasing the pain for them.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Com'on Benjie! I'll give you a Spectacular Arse-kicking!"

"Oooh, nice comeback Rox!" Benjamin chuckled as he barely dodging the strike, by doing what some would say a "Matrix" move, except his feet sticking to the floor as he bent backwards...

This was perfect, he saw Roxie above him now, being propelled by her powers. He moved his hand, feeling it beginning to feel almost sweaty...but it wasn't with sweat but rather, a sort of paralyzing poison.

"Well, gotta say, we gotta do this more often..." Benjamin said, a smirk forming under his mask. "It really keeps us...in touch!"

He moved his hand quickly towards Roxie, hitting the first and nearest exposed skin on her, hitting her with the poison that formed on his hand. From then...well, he hoped there would be a nice paralyzing sensation coming next. Nevertheless, he watched Roxie fall over him...only to see Batsu.

"Wow...gotta say that's pretty handy!" Benjamin snickered, before yelping as Batsu grabbed both him and Roxie, who struggled to get out.

"Hot! Hot! Muy caliente es no bueno!!!" Benjamin protested, still struggling as he moved and started striking at Batsu's arm, hoping that move he used against Roxie would loosen him from this strong grip.

[spoiler=Venom Strike]
This will allow Ben to do is having it where his body (more specific his hands) will be able to secrete a neuron-toxin which will have in short being a paralyzing venom. This will make Ben/Arachnid a bit deadly in melee-combat. Once it hits directly enough, the opponent will either be completely paralyzed or get sent into a coma (unless he's trying to put them down like this, it'll only be a temporary paralysis). This will only work on organic-matter (specifically exposed skin). He can only synthesize and secrete a small amount in his hands though, so he tries to make all his hits count.

[Hälō]

Well this was... an interesting predicament. As Ben squirmed and jabbed at Batsu's big meaty arms with whatever creepy nerd poison he had just used on her right thigh to make go it worryingly numb, Roxie's mind was already working on preparing for the next step- you know, after they came smashing to the ground. With only mere seconds to work, she hastily ordered the remainder of her spider-bombs un-form her bracelets and leap onto Batsu's neck and shoulders, before gripping his mesh shirt with her tiny hands and charging it with all the kinetic energy she could muster. Just as the trio met the ground, she detonated the shirt, setting off an explosion that blasted the three apart, sending them each in different directions and substantially softening the impact of the fall.

 

Completely unaffected by the bright purple explosion, Roxie attempted to skillful roll to her feet, but found it harder to maneuver with the effects of Ben's toxin numbing her thigh. Instead brining herself to a sliding halt on her knees, the girl's face twisted into a wicked grin as she called out to Batsu. "Oi, Batsy! How do you say "GAAAH MY EYES" on your planet???" As she spoke, her combination standard and flash spider bombs began lightly crawling up towards the man's face, only to detonate with a snap of her manicured fingers. Ben would probably appreciate that one...

 

Speaking of the Amazing Spider Ben... Shifting her gaze towards her web-slinging teammate, Roxie forced herself to her feet before cracking her knuckles. "So you wanna keep in touch, eh?" Clearly not happy about being poisoned, Roxie allowed herself to be swallowed up by the golden aura that symbolized her Overdrive state. Accounting for the stiffness that was slowing starting to creep down into the rest of her leg, Roxie bursted forward in impressive display of speed, taking extra care to remain visible so that Ben knew what was coming. 

 

"Rooooooooooxxxx" The blonde's voice trailed as she dashed towards Ben at in-human speeds with her arm cocked back as if she where preparing for another punch. "-gun!" Abruptly halting her advance with her good leg a few feet short of punching range, the girl threw her arm forward and released energy into the space in front of her, sending an invisible shockwave outwards towards Ben in a wide cone with enough force to knock down a tree. 

 

[spoiler=The Rox-Gun] Kinetic Shockwave Generation "The Rox-gun": After gathering a sizable amount of energy within her legs or arms, Roxie swings the charged limb forward whilst simultaneously boosting it and transferring the stored energy into the space in front of her to generate a concussive shockwave that blasts outwards in a cone. Though not a true ranged attack because of it's laughable effective range of two yards, Roxie has been developing this technique after her confrontation with the Night Sisters during "Bubbly", as a way to counter/deflect enemy projectiles as well as disrupt enemy defensive stances

 

[Ren✧]

Kiara mentally scoffed at Blake calling her outfit silly. As far as superhero outfits went, Kiara thought she had really toned down her Arcana costume. She was interested to see what these new toys were that Blake had mentioned, but before she could inquire further. Cygnus spoke up. "You should wear that outfit for more often, it looks good on you." 

 

"That's what I'm saying!" Kiara exclaimed, glad that the most fashion-savvy of the Titans agreed with her. Blake obviously didn't know what he was talking about, she had the Swan Prince's stamp of approval. Unfortunately, before she could telepathically tell him so, the sparring match between the other members of Titans North really started to heat up. It wasn't like Kiara was surprised, after all the team tended to give their all in everything they did. However, still she was impressed with everything she was seeing. 

 

Batsu had sprouted several pairs of extra arms, hopefully something normal for his alien race and not the result some horrible radiation leak that would quickly kill the Titans, making Kiara quite literally 'coo' with excitement. "Now that is not something you see everyday." She thought with admiration, accidentally transmitting the thought and memorized image of Batsu's bulging biceps into Blake's brain through their open telepathic link. "Oops, sorry Blake." She thought, embarrassed, after realizing her mistake. 

 

Batsu's fireworks, quite literally, weren't the only thing drawing Kiara's attention. It appeared as though Roxie, despite keeping up with her same quick and explosive style of fighting, was having some trouble moving around. Judging by the emotional read she was getting from the three, she'd venture a guess to say that it was the result of something that Ben did. But what? She'd have to ask about it later. 

 

"Rooooooooooxxxx-gun!" Even standing a good distance away, Kiara felt the shockwave move across the space towards Ben. She would not want to be on the receiving end of that. 

 

"Looks like you weren't the only one that brought something new to play with today." Kiara smirked at Blake, gesturing at the display in front of them. 

[Saiba Aisu]

BGM

"Not too shabby," Cygnus observed coolly, watching as Batsu danced out of the way of Arondite at the last moment, letting the kinetically-charged weapon hum past him in a golden blur and strike the far wall. At least the alien's combat instincts were good. "I wonder what—"

Cygnus' voice cut off abruptly as four extra arms burst suddenly from Batsu's back, giving him a grand total of six. Moments later, he was flying forward through the air, his massive frame borne aloft by twin jets of flame shooting from his limbs, before neatly snagging both Roxie and Ben in a tight embrace.

"Well," the lunar sorcerer continued smoothly, picking up where he had left off as he watched the trio plummet to the ground in a body-slam, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "That was... unexpected. I think I'm beginning to see why he chose the codename Asura."

The fight didn't end there, though—that would have been too easy. Within moments Roxie had managed to successfully dismantle Batsu's surpise attack, using her spider-bombs to blast the trio apart once more before they hit the ground.

"Vas-y, Blondie, pas de pitié pour eux!" Cygnus called, thrusting his fist in the air as he cheered on the knight, who appeared to be limping slightly for some reason. "Donne leur le coup de grâce!"¹

He felt a little guilty for playing favorites, but he was sure that none of the others minded, it was all in good fun. Besides, what was the point of spectacting if you couldn't show your support? In any case, Roxie seemed to have taken his words to heart, using her Overdrive technique to dash forward in a golden blur before launching a devastating concussive shockwave in Ben's direction, making the air ripple in its wake.

The 'Rox-Gun?' he repeated, smiling slightly to himself as he mused over the girl's naming choice. That's a new trick.

It was good to see the rest of the team progressing and developing new skills—no, more than that, it was a reminder that despite his own advances, there was still so much left for him to learn. Still, one thing at least was clear. Whoever Shira was, whatever they wanted, they would have their work cut out for them against the Teen Titans.

[spoiler=Learn French with Cygnus: Today's Lesson]¹ Go for it, Blondie, no mercy! Give 'em the final blow!

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Aye, yi...yi...." Benjamin groaned as he got up from the impact, shaking himself as he cracked his back and neck some. "Okay...gonna feel that in the mornin-"

 

"So you wanna keep in touch, eh?"

He quickly seeing Roxie standing up, apparently his paralyzing strike didn't do much. Might need to kick it up a notch next time. He was about to say another quick quip but stopped when he saw Roxie going into her Overdrive state. "Well...looks like you wanna end it..."

 

Benjamin cracked his knuckles, before snapping his fingers, before taking a quick back step, as the spiders had quickly formed a strong web sling, as he went back, as if a rock in a slingshot.

 

"Heh...well, I'm either crazy or absolutely crazy..." he said, before jumping up some, and with a single movement, he was flung out from this makeshift slingshot, as he began to feel the secreting poison leak from his balled up fist.

 

"C'mon, Blondie..." Benjamin grinned, as he was slung towards Roxie. "C'mon and hit me with your best shot!!"

[King K. Azo]

Batsu was... Shocked to say the least. First, Ben did something to one of his arms to make it numb. That wasn't good... But thankfully, it was one attached to his back, so it wasn't too worrying. Then Roxie grabbed his shirt and... Made it explode. That... Actually really hurt, not that he was going to show weakness. He gently traced the large noticeable scar extending from his left shoulder to his right hip.

 

"That... Was my only shirt...," he said as he looked up. He then heard Roxie call out to him.

 

"Oi, Batsy! How do you say "GAAAH MY EYES!!!" on your planet?" Roxie asked. Before Batsu could try to work out what she meant, he felt something crawling up his neck. Before he could figure out was that was, they exploded in his face causing him to stumble and fall on his back. His ears were ringing as he let out of cry of surprise. Dammit, there was more weakness shown. Weakness made him angry, mostly at himself, though.

 

Stars danced in his vision as the ringing cleared. He did, however, hear a shockwave that Roxie apparently had fired at Ben. Well, that wasn't in her files. He grabbed his numb arm and ripped it off of his body, grunting as he did. No matter how many times the arms came off, it still hurt! Still it was for the greater good. He drew his arm back to throw the dismembered limb, smirking as he did.

 

"Let me give you a hand!" he quipped, hoping that was clever. As he made the motion to throw, a stream of flames erupted from his elbow, greatly increasing the force of his throw and sending the arm flying at the two. He then charged at them, drawing back his fists. He planned to get them both with his punches. As he got near, flames erupted from his elbows yet again to increase the speed and power behind his punches.

 

Time to see if they could take it as well as dish it out.

[Mr. Hyde]

As Blake was analyzing the fight, measuring the scope of his teammates new abilities, and Batsu's, which he had never seen before, A mental screenshot of Batsu's multiple limbs was shot into his mind.  It was oddly centered on the bulging muscles, and it was followed by Kiara's voice.

 

"Now that is not something you see everyday." Blake's eyelids visibly twitched.  Is that the kind of stuff Kiara was into?! "Oops, sorry Blake." 

 

"I'll just...put that in the vault...." It took every ounce of Blake's will to not vomit.  

 

The fight was escalating quicker and quicker.  Ben shot himself from a makeshift sling, and rocketed towards Roxie at a breakneck speed.  A quick analysis of his body could show toxins secreting from the orifices surrounding his fist.  "Hey guys, let's dial this down a bi-"  Before he could finish, more explosions occurred on the training field, and Batsu was in the midst of the attack ripping off limbs.  

 

"Let me give you a hand!"  Jokes?  From an alien?  His humor must've been quite similar to the punny nature of earth.  Interesting.  However, his train of thought was broken when Batsu's elbows spewed flames, and he dashed for Roxie as well.  Fearing the worst for all of his teammates, Blakes eyes tracked both the movements of Batsu and Ben.  

 

"That's enough for this sparring session!"  He stuck out both palms, and shot a repulsor blast from each palm, aimed towards the destinations of both boys.  The repulsor blast headed towards Batsu was amped up more than the one meant for Ben.  Hopefully the sneak attack would disable them both.  Too bad he couldn't get a shot in on Rox to make it all fair, but at the current moment, she was the one being attacked.  "I know we have two more days before this all goes down, but there's no use injuring each other during a simple sparring match!"

[Saiba Aisu]

---

GM Post: "Spore"

---

In moments, what was supposed to have been a friendly sparring match had transformed into an all-out brawl. Roxie had unveiled her eponymous new technique, unleashing an intense sonic shockwave; Ben had launched himself forward using his spiderwebs like a slingshot, paralyzing neurotoxins dripping from his clenched fist; and Batsu had ripped off one of his own arms, using the detached limb as a projectile before hurling himself forward with a roar, unleashing a salvo of savage fiery blows.

 

"That's enough for this sparring session!" Blake called out loudly, quickly raising both hands and aiming for the two men. Two Repulsor Blasts erupted from his palms in a burst of violet light, their power scaled to match each target's corporal mass, striking each Titan squarely in the side, interrupting their attacks and knocking them backwards.

 

"I know we have two more days before this all goes down," he continued, watching as Ben and Batsu picked themselves gingerly off the floor, shooting him rather confused and accusatory looks. "But there's no use injuring each other during a simple sparring match!"

 

"Blake's right," Cygnus said, striding forward to stand next to the supergenius with crossed arms and a stern look, his dark blue eyes flashing across the trio, all of whom looked suddenly rather sheepish. "There's no point in a practice match if it ends up putting you out of commission! Let's save all that energy and aggression for Shira, shall we?"

 

As the three Titans headed over to the sidelines to get some water and nurse their wounds, Cygnus accessed the Training Room's computer system, reprogramming the metallic chamber's structure so that he and Blake could have a turn at practicing their new skills. For the next few minutes, the team craned their necks upwards and watched as Cygnus twisted swiftly through the air on his Lunar Wings, arching his body and diving through several sets of colorful holographic rings arranged in a shifting obstacle course. Moments later, Blake had his turn, showing off some more fancy shooting by using his Repulsor Blasts to knock back incoming projectiles and strike moving targets on the walls, while the room's digital interface kept track.

 

The Titans concluded their team practice with a cooldown led by Kiara, who guided them through a short but surprisingly relaxing meditation session, framed by the soothing sounds of running water and faint birdsong pouring from the Training Room's unseen speakers. Throughout the course of the session, Kiara used her newfound psychic abilities to telepathically communicate with each of her teammates, one by one, in order to reveal the improved extent of her powers. When the six young heroes finally left the Training Room and headed to their own chambers, it was with a shared sense of accomplishment at a job well-done and anticipation for the challenges that lay ahead.

 

 

Monday, December 14th, 6:40 PM (Eastern Shore)

 

Night. The darkness of winter fell quickly upon Aurora City, swathing it with thick folds of shadow. The cold wind of mid-December was on the air, whistling across the mist-shrouded sea, dancing along the white-crested caps of the waves that broke upon the docks of the city's eastern shore. The Teen Titans shivered and huddled closer together, each breath rising up into the air before them like glittering clouds. They had chosen to take cover within a nearby fishing factory, allowing them to survey the area without attracting unwanted attention. From the looks of it, the building had been abandoned for quite some time, making it an ideal vantage point for a stakeout.

 

Well, almost ideal.

 

"Not that I don't enjoy squatting in stinky, cold warehouses as much as the next boy," Cygnus muttered sarcastically, blowing on his hands to warm them, "but can someone please explain to me what we're doing here? I thought we were supposed to rendezvous with the agent?"

 

"The Saint Dominique should be arriving shortly," Blake answered, leaning back against the metallic container that housed his battlesuit, using his mechanized eye to access and review the city's time schedule for incoming passenger ships. "Until then, it's better if we stay hidden to avoid drawing attention. We don't know who or what could be watching."

 

"So you're still worried that Shira may somehow know about the incoming agent?" Cygnus asked, raising an eyebrow. "That there's some kind of leak within the South Korean government that has yet to be patched?"

 

"Why not?" Ben asked, speaking up from his hiding place, preferring to crawl across the walls and roof in a rather disconcerting manner rather than sit still. "If they found out about something as top-secret as Spore, they could find out about this. We shouldn't assume that just because the South Koreans managed to catch one traitor that they caught them all. I agree with Blake, it's better to play this one safe."

 

"If you say so," Cygnus replied, shrugging his shoulders with his usual icy indifference. "And when the ship does arrive, what then? Are we supposed to interact with every single passenger until we find this mysterious 'Lady of the Lilies?' That doesn't seem practical to me."

 

"Relax, Frenchy," Roxie giggled, playfully poking the lunar sorcerer in the ribs with Arondite. "Once the big boat pulls up, we'll just waltz on over and wait, let them come to us. Whoever this flower lady is, she's bound to know what to look for. A sexy tatted babe, a goose mage, a ginger supergenius, a walking spider zoo, and me. We're not exactly easy to miss. Oh, and don't forget Batsy! He's about as big as house, all on his own."

 

BGM

 

Silence fell over the group as they huddled deeper into their respective hiding places, trying to keep warm, willing time to go faster. The seconds and minutes seemed to crawl over them as slowly and painstaking as worms, dragging on and on indeterminably, until at last...

 

"It's here," Kiara murmured suddenly, opening her eyes, standing up from her meditative stance and dusting herself off. "I can feel them."

 

The Teen Titans turned as one, looking out towards the sea, watching as a massive, elegant luxury ship lit with golden lights emerged from the depths of the mists, gracefully cutting through the cold inky-black waters, cruising slowly in the direction of the shore. The silence was rent as the Saint Dominique's foghorn sounded, eliciting cheers from the small crowd of civilians gathered at the docks, waiting for their friends and loved ones to arrive.

 

"Looks like you were right, Cygnus," Blake admitted, standing up and stretching, fighting back the urge to yawn. "Maybe Shira isn't as good as I thought, after all."

 

That was when a short-range missile exploded from the rooftops on the other side of the docks, roaring as it hurtled through the air and buried itself deep in the ship's starboard side. A deafening boom echoed and a burst of scarlet lit the night as the missile exploded and the ship was torn apart, its remains quickly catching fire, the flames climbing hungrily into the sky. For a moment, there was only stunned silence, a precursor to the impending storm.

 

Then the screaming began.

 

"Search for survivors!" Cygnus yelled, running forward and leaping off the docks, feathered wings of moonlight blossoming from his shoulderblades, carrying him swiftly over the surface of the water, angling towards the wreckage.

---

[spoiler=OOC. Please Read.]Alright, guys. As you can see, everything has gone horribly wrong! Someone—possibly Shira—has launched a surprise attack, destroying the Saint Dominique and leaving its passengers at the mercy of the freezing ocean waters! Hurry and do whatever you can to help them! Feel free to RP these NPCs as you see fit. Teen Titans, GO!

[Ren✧]

The cold was making it difficult to extend her mind. The frosty chill in these air bit at Kiara's skin, distracting her from telepathically surveying the landscape, eagerly anticipating the Saint Dominique's approach. Only a fellow telepath would understand the difficulty of ignoring the urge to warm oneself and instead sifting through dozens of inconsequential psychic impulses. Still the thought that she could read such a wide area of people caused her to flush with pride. Only a few short months ago she had been quite literally overwhelmed by two minds in the same body, but now she was quickly in-taking the emotions and sensations of dozens of individuals at once. It was just another testament to how much she had grown as a Titan. 

 

Briefly she registered her teammates conversing. Due to their proximity to her, both physically and emotionally, Kiara could keep a watchful psychic eye on them as she scanned the bay for their imminent rendezvous target. She could sense their own discomfort, their apprehension, their doubt, and most of all she could feel the burden they each carried between their shoulders. Of course, it was the job of Atlas to bare the world on his back and he himself was a titan. Perhaps it was just in the job description.

 

"It's here. I can feel them." Kiara said, her eyes snapping open as the Saint Dominique came into psychic range. Aboard would be the illustrious Lady of Lillies, of whom Kiara had built up in her head. She really didn't quite know what to think about her. The young telepath hoped that this woman really could be trusted and it seemed that Cygnus thought they had no reason not to trust her, but as much as Kiara didn't want to admit it...she had trusted Cygnus' instincts before and it had not ended well for her. Not that she blamed the lunar sorcerer for what happened at Club OXYGEN, but it gave her reason to pause when relying solely on his intuition. However, if they were truly going to work as a team there would be no room for doubt among them and as their supposed leader, Kiara had to be the perfect example of that. 

 

 "Looks like you were right, Cygnus," Blake began. That's when Kiara felt it more than she saw it. Still casting a telepathic net around the area, albeit at a much less in-depth level, she had managed to sense a disturbance in the force that many would detail as an impending sense of doom. Turning Kiara saw the streak of the rocket ignite and flash towards the Saint Dominique. Her heart fell. "Shira outplayed us, already." She thought. 

 

"Search for survivors!" Cygnus called out. Kiara didn't need to be told that. She was already dashing towards the wreckage.

 

"TITANS! GO!" 

 

 

If Kiara had thought the December air was cold, the waters of Aurora Bay were far worse. She tried not to think about it as she desperately swam out to the wreckage. Fortunately, the ship hadn't gone down too far from shore and Kiara was a very strong swimmer, aided by her enhanced strength. Reaching the downed ship in record-breaking Olympic time, she took a deep breath and dove underwater. Using her telepathy, she located the nearest person, because she couldn't see worth sheet, and quickly guided them to the surface. 

 

Diving back under, Kiara was prepared to keep at it. It would be slow work, made slower by the cold that now sufficiently leeched its way into her limbs, but she would not let these people down. 

[Saiba Aisu]

BGM

 

The howling cold winter air, laced with the sound of screams, filled Cygnus' ears as he climbed high into the night sky, trying to get a better view in order to assess the situation. The Saint Dominique was down, rent in two by the mysterious missile attack, the charred remains of her hull sinking slowly but surely to the depths of the bay. Everywhere he looked, he could see the heads of her jettisoned passengers bobbing erratically over the waves, struggling to stay afloat in the freezing waters. Some of them were already striking out slowly towards shore, but the docks were at least a quarter-mile away, and many of them were bogged down with children or elderly. To make matters worse, the scene was growing dimmer and dimmer by the minute as the hellish light of the scarlet flames began to fade—once it was extinguished completely, the passengers would be alone in the dark, at the utter mercy of the sea.

 

Time is key, Cygnus thought feverishly to himself, soaring upwards, positioning himself at the epicenter of the wreckage site, directly above the ruins of the Saint Dominique. Every moment, every second up to the first three minutes would be absolutely crucial—after that, hypothermia would begin to set in, killing the passengers en masse.

 

Normally, the white-haired sorcerer would have thought twice about drawing upon so much magical energy at once, especially while using his Lunar Wings, but this was hardly the time for caution. He reached out to the moon above him, hidden by the thick clouds and mist, yet still there, curving serenely, waxing slowly, keeping watch over the chaos below, and breathed a short sigh of relief. It wasn't a full moon, but it would have to do. Failure wasn't an option.

 

"Karreylos Ethonim Cazar!!" he cried, each ringing syllable laden with sorcery, raising one hand to his mouth and blowing deeply. Ten swans blossomed from his lips and took flight, soaring gracefully through the air on translucent wings of silver, their haunting cries echoing as they spiraled down towards the passengers. Within moments, the spell was complete and the radiant apparitions were arranged in a large ring around the wreckage site, beating their wings fiercely as they hovered in place over the water, banishing the surrounding darkness.

 

Without wasting any time, Cygnus swooped down towards the closest group of victims, his dark blue eyes narrowed with concentration, his lips a blur as he recited another incantation, reaching out towards them. Several long clawed arms of light appeared before him, snatching six of the passengers from the water by the waist. Gritting his teeth, cursing under his breath at the pain coursing through his shoulders, the lunar sorcerer turned, wings straining, and began the laborious flight towards the shore.

 

[spoiler=Tldr.]Cygnus' spell has lit the area fairly well—you should now be able to see much better and act accordingly.

[Hälō]

 

"TITANS! GO!"

 

Roxie would have squealed with excitement, had she not already broken off from the group moments before their battle cry was shouted by their leader. Leaping into the water without a second thought, the blonde gripped on to one of the support beams of the dock before gathering a large amount of kinetic energy. Seconds later, a large explosion erupted from under the dock, and a yellow blur could be seen shooting through the ice-cold water like a blonde torpedo. Though it wasn't heading towards the the wrecked ship....

 

 

"S-Should we do something?" The voice of a boy in his early twenties trembled as he watched the horrific scene unfold before him. People where cast into the freezing water, as their ship began to sink rapidly due to being struck by some kind of rocket, and as he looked on with his companion, Trent couldn't help but wonder if there was even anything he could do... 

 

Little did he know however, he was about to become a hero whether he was ready or not. "Arrggggggg me hearties!" Trent suddenly jumped as the voice of a woman brandishing a thick english accent called out from... the side of his boat!? Starring down at the beautiful blonde girl who seemed to have somehow managed to cling on to the side of his speed boat, Trent couldn't help glance over at his companion Issac who shrugged and gave the boy the universe bro-symbol for "say something you idiot!". 

 

"ummmm, are you ok? Wait, did you swim all the way over her from that ship?!?" He enquired shakily, before suddenly taking note of the baseball bat she held clenched in her right hand. Beyond confused, the boy extended a hand to help the babe into his dad's extraordinarily expensive vessel, but was only thrown into even more shock, as the girl lifted herself up with her own strength, before rolling on to the speedboat.

 

Shielding his face from the torrent of water that came off the blonde as she shook like a wet dog, Trent couldn't help but notice how beautiful this ocean-babe really was... he had to go out on the boat more often! Glancing towards Issac, who confirmed his thoughts with a wink, the two boys watched in awe as the Blonde strode towards the front of the boat, mumbling what sounded a lot like "I hope this thing doesn't blow up too..." Wait, blow -up???

 

Before Trent could inquire about what the Blonde had meant by her last statement, she turned to glance at him over her shoulder, causing the poor boy's heart to stop upon meeting her cyan eyes. "Alright, lads, you're now a part of The Great Rox-beards mighty cre- is that an ascot? What are ya, a nancy bo- bah, never mind!" Her tiny voice boomed with authority, so much so that he hadn't even registered that she was making fun of his favorite ascot.  "You, batten down the poop deck!" She pointed towards Issac with an expectant glare. 

 

"... we don't have a poop deck!" Issac replied almost instantly, only receive as face full of rope as a reward. Shifting his gaze back towards "The Great Rox-beard", Trent's eyes widened with shock upon coming the realization that the girl was now looking directly at him. 

 

"You."

 

"Yes, ma'am?"

 

"You can drive this thing right?"

 

"Of course... it goes really fast too. Where are we going?"

 

"That way!" The blonde pointed her baseball bat towards the site of the ship wreck, which now seemed to have a set of glowing birds flying around it... Only now realizing what was happening, Trent nodded dutifully before pushing past Issac and manning the boat's controls. Maybe he could do something after all... 

[Mr. Hyde]

"Search for survivors!"

 

"TITANS! GO!"

 

Blake would've been mad that he didn't get to say the line this time around, if the scene unraveling before them wasn't so horrendous.  Scrambling to his feet, he dashed towards the console attached to his suit's container.  

 

"GET OUT THERE!  DON'T WAIT ON ME!"  For taking the time he needed to put his suit on, he would make sure to save twice as many civilians!

 

 

Blake jetted out of the factory house as soon as the sky was lit up from Cygnus' spell.  Incessant splashing and cries for help were all he could hear.  How could they save this many people...it seemed rather hopeless.  He dashed the thoughts out of his mind, and blasted towards the Aurora Bay's waters.  He skimmed the surface of the water, and mist pattered his helmet.  He scans...bio readings everywhere...screams everywhere.  This wasn't supposed to happen!  If he had been in his suit, he could've blasted those missles out of the sky!  

 

Something broke his concentration.  It was an arm that breached the surface, seemingly struggling to keep itself up.  Blake stopped, and pulled the arm, which offered little resistance.  A wet body should've been way harder to pull up, even for his sui-....

 

There wasn't anything attached to this arm.  

 

Looking at his scanners...this spot was devoid of any thermal readings.  If he had only paid attention to the scanners..he wouldn't have wasted this much time.  Opening his helmets visor, Blake let out the vomit he had held back since that sickening image of Batsu popped in his brain.  He dropped the limb, where hopefully it and it's owner would meet up again.  

 

 

Jetting down to the shoreline with a man and a little girl on his shoulders, Blake proceeded to use his repulsor generators on his palms to warm and dry the civilians.  "Thank you sir!  You saved my precious daughter and my family!  How could we ever repay you?!"

 

"You don't owe us anything sir...I'm just glad I got to you in time..."

[King K. Azo]

Batsu heard it... a missile roared angrily from the rooftops on the other side of the docks as it charged through the air, ramming the side of the boat. A deafening boom echoed and a mighty explosion erupted into the sky, engulfing the boat and everything on it. Batsu growled to himself. Looks like these.... Shira were nothing but a lot of cowards. 

 

"Search for survivors!" Cygnus ordered. No, really? And here he thought they were going to let the poor people drown.

 

"TITANS! GO!" He was going, he was going! It wasn't like he was playing a 'videogame' while everyone else was working their asses off.

 

One issue he knew right off the bat he had was he couldn't swim. It was never really needed back home, and he didn't think he'd need it now. However, he had a back up plan. He quickly threw off his shirt, showing off his muscles before he grew his extra arms and dashed towards the dock. He found a small boat that served his needs quite well. He leaped onto it, using a quick fireball to burn off the rope attaching it to shore. He then took a stance, spreading apart his legs and aiming his arms behind him, firing off at full force. The flames propelled the boat across the cold waters and towards those who needed him. 

 

Of course, if he was back home, he could just fly over. Damn lack of oxygen in this planet's atmosphere. Damn this mission. Damn his life.

 

 

It had taken him a bit, but through a combination of plucking up people as he passed them and grabbing humans Kiara had brought to the surface, Batsu had filled his boat. He used his flames to guide it back to the shore. It took a little bit of delicacy, something he was not good at, but he managed. He had picked up the unconscious people and carried them over to a barrel full of wood, probably used by some hobos. He ignited the wood so that the people had something warm to gather around.

As soon as a little light was created, that's when he heard a cry of fear. He whipped around to see what was causing such distress... and saw a little human girl, pointing at him and gripping tightly onto her parent, face full of fear. He noticed some of the others backed away from him at this point, on edge from the girl's scream. Batsu sighed and walked away slowly back to the boat.

He didn't need reminded how far he fallen, from a decorated guardian to an alien that stuck fear into the hearts of the innocent. He knew that they just went through a traumatic experience, one involving the very fire he could make, and his extra arms and all his scars almost made him look like a monster. He knew that he shouldn't take that personally...

 

But it wounded him all the same.

[Ren✧]

Kiara gasped for breath as she broke the surface of the water. The hull of the ship may have been rent open in several places after the missile strike, but most of the openings were too small for survivors to swim out of. Kiara had taken it upon herself to widen them, saving as many trapped inside as she could. She had come dangerously close to drowning. Fortunately for those that had been trapped in the Saint Dominique there were small pockets of air that had kept them alive. Kiara hadn't anticipated that saving the survivors would go this slowly. What really bothered her was that she hadn't anticipated she would get this tired, this quickly.

 

Holding on to a piece of debris for support, she was doing her best to guide those that were trying to find the shore. Breaching their minds, she would assuage their panic and point them in the direction of the beachfront. However, even that went slowly with the distraction of the cold waters constantly nipping at her psychic progress. She let out a shout of frustration. There were just so many things were against them here.

 

 "One more trip and then I've got to get out of the water." She said to herself, teeth chattering. The telepathic Titan took a deep breath and plunged beneath the waves again, feeling for the largest group of trapped survivors. At this point, most had drowned or died from the cold. However, it seemed like there was still one fairly large group that Kiara could sense, made up of 6 or 7 people. More than likely surviving off of another dwindling air pocket, the fact that they had survived the cold was a miracle as well. The fact that she had survived the cold was a miracle. 

 

Kiara swam through several of the openings she had worked to open beforehand, but eventually came to an opening to a puncture in an interior wall that was far too small for her to swim through. Tugging on it. She made little progress. Pulling harder, the metal began to bend. The final wall between the trapped survivors and solace was beginning to give. Unfortunately, Kiara's vision was beginning to go black, just at the edges, nothing she hadn't experienced before. She would be fine. With a final, last ditch effort, she gave a mighty heave and the hole was wide enough for her to swim through. 

 

Hurriedly Kiara motioned for the survivors to swim out. She noticed some forms swim passed her, so she assumed that they had taken her orders. She began to follow them out. Her vision now was becoming a real problem though. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode. Desperately she felt the urge to breathe in, but fought it back. The longer she could resist, the better. 

 

Clearing the interior of the ship, Kiara thought that maybe she had cheated her watery death. Then she heard the hideous sound of shifting metal on rock and sand as the ship sank further in the bay. Kiara wanted to scream. The undertow ripped at her, once again dragging her down into the bay's darker depths. There was really only one thing left that she could do. Broadcasting a psychic signal, she honed in on a familiar telepathic reading. "Help me. I'm drowning."

 

[spoiler=Tldr]

Kiara saved some more people trapped in a submerged portion of the Saint Dominique but was not able to make it to the surface in time before she blacked out. She was able, however, to send out a psychic message to one of the Titans that she was drowning. It could be to any one of the Titans, anyone that wants to post(*cough*Sonic*cough*) Assume that in addition to the message above that you received an image of Kiara's position. 

 

 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"TITANS! GO!"

 

At this, Arachnid watched his teammates rush into the fray of the...cold...icy...water. Truth be told, this was one of the moments that this costumed teen didn't want to deal with.

 

"Um...yeah...I guess I'll...wait here then." he sighed, before facepalming. "Damnit...how I wish I had the powers the others did." Arachnid sighed again before shaking his head. "Focus...time to work."

 

He held his hands out and watched as the spiders from within him began to emerge. They swarmed at his feet as he snapped his fingers, watching them work as fast as lightning, weaving a large web in the form and shape of a huge fishing net.

 

"Yosh...alrighty!" Arachnid said as he picked up the net and tossed the large portion of it into the water, seeing it land right beside a nice sized group of survivors.

 

"W-What...?"

 

"Is this...a freakin' fishing net??"

 

Arachnid could hear the surprised reactions as he sighed. "Ahoy!! Grab on and hang on tight!" he shouted, seeing the survivors quickly grab on. Now came the fun part.

 

Naturally it wasn't a huge problem, as he began to pull the web net, bringing the survivors to shore as quick as possible.

 

"Aye! Looks like ye are the catch of the day!" Arachnid chuckled as he continued to pull the web net, until they arrived at the shore.

 

"W-wow...your pretty amazing!"

 

"Amazing? I'd say he's spectacular!"

 

Arachnid chuckled at the type of praise he was getting, but stopped short when he heard a familiar voice.

 

"Help me. I'm drowning."

"Damn..." Arachnid as he held his hands out again, and a group of spiders started making a small raft of bubbles upon the water. He took the web net and a long iron pipe, before shoving off like those in Italy, riding the gondolas. "Stay tight...the spider is comin'!" he said, doing his best to get to Kiara's location.

[Ren✧]

---

GM Post: Teen Not a Titan

---

 

Kiara paced back and forth, staring at the spider-web of multicolored yarn traced across a map of the United States. Brightly colored pushpins delicately indicated various cities or towns, adding to the menagerie before the Titan's quickly tiring eyes. Nearby, sprawled about on a perfectly made bed, were a saddening amount of missing persons cases, all of them young girls. These were the clues that the Night Sisters had left in their wake, the trail of crumbs that Kiara had been following for months into a dizzying forest of madness bringing her no closer to her goal. The death of Matron Supreme. 

 

Letting out a frustrated growl, Kiara threw the stress ball she had been methodically squeezing for the better part of an hour, causing it to careen around the room before it landed near the door. Part of Kiara's frustration was found in the fact that the Titans hadn't had a mission in awhile. She was getting stir crazy. Constantly surrounded by nothing but the Tower. 

 

Now that she thought about it, Kiara couldn't think of a time that the team had just had a day out meant to have fun. Sure, they'd gone undercover at bars and nightclubs before, patrolled the streets, but they hadn't just gone out and enjoyed the day. Being a Teen Titan had quite literally become a full time job. 

 

"I think it's about time we take some time off." She said to herself, stepping out of her room. 

 

 

The team didn't break out into cheers when Kiara informed them of her plan to get some time away from the Tower. Feeling slightly embarrassed by the silence that fell upon the Central Complex, Kiara began to expound upon her plan.

 

"It's just that as close as we all are, it just seems that we don't spend any time with each other outside of work. And it seems that we, or at least I've been feeling a little stir cr-"

 

"Say no more, love! I'm totally down with playing hookie!" Roxie interrupted Kiara.

 

"I'll pass." Cygnus declared haughtily. Without a passing look at his teammates, he rose from where he sat and returned to his room. 

 

"Frenchy!" Roxie complained loudly, hoping Cygnus would reconsider, but the sorcerer did not make reappearance. 

 

"You know guys, as down as I am with taking some time off, I could really use some time to write." Ben cautiously explained, afraid of how the others might react.

 

Kiara tried to hide her disappointment, but didn't do well. Still, she didn't want to make her friend feel bad, especially since Ben was just making an effort to keep on top of his writing. "Yeah, no...that's okay. Anyone else?"

 

An hour later, dressed in civilian clothes, Titans North, minus Ben and Cygnus, were sitting Aurora Pizza Xtreme: Diner and Arcade. The smell of cheese hung heavily in the air and nondescript chatter was occasionally punctuated with the ring of ski ball machine or the laser tag announcer calling for the next game. Small children ran between the various arcade games, collecting their tickets and shrieking in joy.

 

"What an odd location." Batsu observed, taken aback by the sudden assault to his senses. 

 

"Just wait until you try their pizza!" Blake joked heartily. 

 

"I'm just glad to get out of the Tower. I was starting to lose my mind in there." 

---

[spoiler=OOC.Please Read]

We interrupt your regularly scheduled mission with this brief interlude. Due to IRL complications, Saiba is unable to GM currently, meaning Spore is unable to continue as planned. So, we've all decided to keep things going with a little slice of life mission. Essentially this is going to be a sandbox mission so from here on the Titans are free to do as they wish.

 

You can continue to eat pizza and talk with your fellow Titans, discover some backstory perhaps. You can go play some arcade games, laser tag with the Titans is bound to be interesting. Or you can go off on your own and explore the city. Let's just try not to cause too much trouble! 

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Hyde]

With the Titan's on one of their rare excursions, they headed towards one of Aurora City's finest dining establishments, Aurora Arcade!  

 

In the corner of a restaurant was a booth that could fit all of them.  As they strode through the aisles, they received many a weird look from the patrons.  Blake smiled and waved, making sure to dodge and weave around every kid that ran in his general direction.  

 

"Hey Batsu...these are earth kids...way squishier than any of us.  If one runs into you on accident...make sure not to lose your temper alright?  Don't want any of these guys to end up stuck inside the side of a arcade machine."  He laughed.  The team slid into the booth.  Blake made sure to get an outside seat, he'd be the first to hit the games.  A server in a embarrassingly silly costume came over to take their order.  "Give us the biggest pie you got!  I guess we'll split it into fourths..I would like my fourth with every single meat you have in the back please!"  

 

As the others ordered their preferred pizza, Blake couldn't help but stare blankly across the restaurant.  These past few missions had been hell...and they hadn't hung out outside the tower in a long while.  The party wasn't his style, party's weren't his thing.  A hangout session with his team at an arcade?  Now that was an idea he could get behind.  He was glad to be with his teammates.  He was glad to be with the people he cared most for.  He was smiling when he came back to, after the order had been completely taken.  

 

"Alright, now while we wait for Aurora's finest to get here, I'm gonna go beat some high scores."  Blake popped out of the booth and headed towards his favorite machine, one that was piling dust and untouched by the small kids.  It's name was Galaga.  Blake slid a token into the slot, and placed his hands on the controls.  The retro sounds and the quality that held up lit up his eyes.  He started the game, easily clearing the first wave.  

 

Noticing the rest of his team hadn't gotten up yet, he sighed.  "Hey, Teen Losers!  Get out here and have some fun with me eh?!"  

[Ren✧]

Kiara took a moment to think about what she wanted on her pizza. When she was with the Night Sisters, they weren't allowed anything except for a bland supply bread, gruel, and sometimes an overripe fruit or vegetable. It was enough to keep their strength up, but not exactly a meal that palatable to the taste buds. Now free to eat whatever she wanted, Kiara had trouble making decisions when came time to order. 

 

"You know what? Surprise me, just no anchovies, alright?" Kiara said to the waiter with a wink. Finishing her order with a glass of ice water, she followed Blake out onto the arcade floor. She was entranced by the flashing lights and sounds, there was a certain mysticism that accompanied the place. Despite the fact that it smelled like greasy food and Kiara thought she could even detect the distinct scent of urine emanating from somewhere in the arcade, just being there ignited some intrinsic childhood excitement within her.

 

Looking over Blake's shoulder, she watched him pick apart the waves of pixelized alien ships with practiced ease. "Clearly someone has been making secret trips to the arcade." She joked, lingering for a moment longer before moving about the arcade floor, stopping to occasionally play a game.

 

After thoroughly creaming the high score on a game of wack-a-mole, Kiara felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning around she expected to see one of her teammates. Instead, she found herself face to face with a man about her age, probably a few years older, with slicked backed blonde hair and green eyes. He was sweaty, clearly having just returned from a round of laser tag.

 

"Hey cutie, m'name's Coop. The kids around here call me the LaserKing." He said, taking a half step towards Kiara as he pointed to a nearby digital leaderboard that displayed the top 10 high scores in the Laser Arena, LaserKing having a hefty lead above everyone else. 

 

"Good for you, I'm sure you are very proud." Kiara responded, taking a step away from the oilly individually.

 

"Oh come on baby, don't be like that." He pressed his advance again. "You're just lucky the king is paying attention to you." 

 

Fed up with the guys performance, Kiara dropped any pretenses. "How about this? You beat me at that game and I'll spend the rest of the day with you. I beat you, you leave me and every other girl in here alone." Kiara said pointing to a game with a punching bag hanging from it and a sign that said 'TEST YOUR STRENGTH'.

 

"You got it baby cakes." Coop agreed, grinning as he flashed his biceps.

 

"Idiot."