Disclaimer: I do not claim nor imply ownership over any part of the Teen Titans franchise.

Story follows the Titans on an adventure in the wilderness of the Northern Rockies. Raven ends up meeting a new ally, an unconventional titan in his own realm. Introduces my original character, who I hope to take on a couple more adventures.

Story is set after the defeat of Trigon.

Please read. Reviews are appreciated.

Meet the Woodsman

Ch. 1: The Call

The sun still hung low on the horizon at this early hour in the Rockies. Entire valleys lay within shadow still, the surrounding peaks blocking the coming light.

The crunch of boots on fresh snow sounded within a small gully as a lone figure made its way down the shadowy slope. The young man moved swiftly despite the large pack on his back. His long coat flapped about his legs as he skillfully maneuvered around bushes and over fallen logs. As he crossed the small stream and began to move up the opposite slope, the sun finally rose high enough to shine through gaps between the peaks, and patches on sunlight began to move down the slope to the man. The snow blazed white as the light touched it.

Cresting the ridge, the young man turned to look at the world around him, his breath curling about him in the frigid air. Smoke rose from behind the ridge he had just descended, the chimneys of the tiny town he had just left. He turned to look ahead, at the seemingly endless mountains that stretched before him.

The young man shifted his pack, and began to descend the other side of the ridge.

"Glorious day, friends!" exclaimed Starfire as she stood in front of the common room window, gazing out on the city. Indeed it was. Spring was in full bloom in Jump City. The sky was blue without a cloud in sight. The parks were covered in green grass, and the sun seemed determined to brighten the mood of everyone. Not that this particular Tamaranian needed any help.

The day had begun at Titans Tower much as it did any day. Cyborg stood in the kitchen making himself a heap of waffles, Robin was just entering the common room following his morning workout, and Beast Boy was still asleep in his room. That left only one Titan.

Raven sat cross-legged in her usual spot atop the tower. Her eyes were closed as she faced the rising sun coming over the mountains to the east. She was perfectly still aside from her lips, which moved repetitively as Raven chanted her mantra. It was an image of serenity, as she floated about a foot off the roof. Raven could admit that she enjoyed few things more than her morning meditation. She had been up since the sun was first peaking over the horizon, and could keep it up for hours.

Within her mind, she could feel the emotional states of her teammates. Robin radiated a content confidence. Raven could tell that he was satisfied by his personal training that morning. Working out almost always put their leader in a good mood. Robin was a person of action that way.

Cyborg was in a similar mood. Food could always cheer up the sizable teen. Even through her meditative state, Raven caught the smell of the waffles emanating from the vent to her right. She would have to go get some soon. Cyborg usually made extras for the rest of the team, which Raven silently appreciated.

Starfire, of course, was a blinding light in Raven's mind, her emotions were so powerful. It had taken Raven time to get used to having such bright feelings in close proximity. Starfire could always be counted on to see the joy in any occasion. It made for an interesting relationship, but Raven could say she called no one a closer friend. Perhaps it was because Raven only had to have Starfire nearby to know that happiness was possible every day.

Finally, there was Beast Boy. Source of endless bad jokes and annoying pranks. Raven struggle to restrain herself at times with the green teen. He seemed determined to get under her skin, which was the last place Raven wanted anybody. He had at times shown the capability for deep though and emotional maturity, but was mostly a source of chaos. Thankful that he was still asleep, Raven let her mind re-engage the world, and opened her eyes. She silently stood, and turned to the roof access. The waffles were ready.

Not long after, the doors of the common room slid apart as Raven silently entered. Robin and Starfire sat chatting on the couch, while Cyborg was building an ever larger stack of food on his plate. Raven glided over to the kitchen area. She had stopped by her room to grab her latest book, which she set on the counter while she went to grab a plate. Cyborg turned upon hearing her open the cupboard.

"Mornin' Raven. Made a couple extra waffles for ya" chimed the robotic teen. He wore a content grin on his face as he dumped syrup over his own plate.

Raven replied with a simple "Thanks." Cyborg knew her well enough to know that was about as good as it got with the empath. He took his plate to the table and began eating entire waffles at a time. Raven grabbed a couple, topped them with a drizzle of syrup, and sat down to begin eating herself.

"Good morning, friend Raven!" called Starfire from the couch. "I did not see you enter. You look well today." Robin turned to look as well.

"Hey Raven, you ready for training today?" asked the team leader. Raven simply nodded as she took another bite. Leave it to Robin to not even let her finish breakfast before bringing up training. She was preparing a response when the doors slid open yet again.

"Good morning dudes and dudettes!" yelled Beast Boy as he walked into the room, hands in the air for emphasis. "Who is ready for some fun in the sun?"

"Glad to see you finally are getting excited for training, Beast Boy." Robin replied.

Beast Boy's facial expression instantly changed, his arms dropping to his sides with disappointment. "Dude, that's not exactly what I had in mind." the green teen whined, "I'm talking a day on the town. Go to the park, enjoy the sun, check out the ladies." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down for the last part. Robin, however, just stood there with his arms crossed, masked face unchanged.

"You had a day off yesterday, Beast Boy," scolded the team leader, "and your effort in training has been a little lax lately. We should be ready to do our job at any time. You never know when an alert could come in."

Right at that moment, the lights began to flash within the room, accompanied by the familiar alarm.

"You just had to say it." deadpanned Raven.

Minutes later, the titans sat around the couch waiting for Robin's briefing. Beast Boy had devoured his own plate of waffles in record time. Finally, Robin turned from the console, hitting a button to display a map on the big-screen TV.

"Well team, we are getting an odd report." he stated, " Apparently, a research lab in a remote area of Idaho haw just assaulted. Its defenses were unable to ward off the attacker, which made off with important research. It then promptly vanished without a trace."

"What sort of defenses did the facility have?" asked Cyborg.

Robin turned to the console and pulled up some other pages. "Proximity and motion detectors, to aid in the targeting of high energy laser cannons." Robin replied, "According to the report, they had little effect on the opposition, even when they managed to hit it. The sensors had difficulty tracking it."

Cyborgs eyes widened as spec sheets scrolled across the screen. "Must have been quite a tough guy" he observed.

Beast Boy chimed in, "Any idea what it is?"

"No, the attack happened at night." Robin answered, "Due to the automated defenses, the security forces had been reduced. The attack happened fast enough that only one man was able to respond. He caught glimpse of it disappearing into the trees." He continued, "We know it's big, but hard to track, and even high energy laser cannons can't stop it."

"So, what are we to do, Robin?" question Starfire.

Robin stood straight, looking at each team member as he spoke, "Our mission is to track down who or what is behind this attack, stop them, and recover the technology." He called out orders to each titan in turn, "Cyborg, prep the T-ship; Beast Boy, grab our winter gear; Raven, lock down the tower; Starfire, grab some rations. I'll draw up a flight plan and contact the lab."

"So much for fun in the sun." Beast Boy whined.

The leader waited a moment before calling out his favorite line.

"TITANS, GO!"

Far north, in the mountains, heavy footsteps echoed in the trees. Machine noises, the whirring of motors and hydraulics, accompanied every step. The sounds deadened as the huge figure entered a deteriorated structure in an abandoned mining camp.

"Yes!" cried a grating voice from within the structure, "bring it here, my machine. This is the last piece of the puzzle. With this, my device shall be complete!"

Hey all. Here's my first shot at writing some proper fiction. Hope you enjoyed the exposition. Should pick up a bit in the second chapter. Thanks for reading, please review. I'm still deciding whether to continue with this, so let me know if you think it has potential. And constructive criticism is always appreciated.