Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.
Author's Note: God, it has been such a long time since I've written anything for fanfiction. Almost five years, or four, I'm not sure which one of the two. I must say, it's good to be back, and to be writing again. I missed it a lot.
This story I started all those years ago, actually, and posted it up under my old username, and under a different title. I never got past to the third chapter because of my laziness, and I don't know how far this story will go, considering all the work I have this year :/ But I promise to do my best and upload as much as possible.
To get back to the original thread, this story is an old one that I posted on Fanfiction when I was younger, so I'm not plagiarizing it in any way (just in the doubtful case that anyone read my other story). I'm just re-vamping it for the public. I hope you enjoy it.
P.S. I know that this story doesn't follow the lines of Go! at all, and I hope you'll accept my twists as they go along. I need some artistic freedom, don't I? Criticism is welcomed, but not flames. They're just rude.
-essenceofrain out-
Aliens Exist"Dark and scary, ordinary"
Richard Grayson did not believe in aliens.
True, it was hard not to believe in them these days, with the emergence of "superheroes" and "supervillans" more and more frequent in the last century. It seemed that every new child was born with some sort of ability, and by now, people had gotten used to it. The scientists thought it had to do with evolution, but Richard was no scientist, and, frankly, he didn't care.
But he did care about aliens. Aliens scared him. They were unknown, and unpredictable. No one knew what they were capable of, no one even knew if they could feel, or understand, pain. So Richard turned a blind eye to the subject of aliens, trying as hard as he could not to believe in them, when he knew, deep down, he was bound to have an encounter with one someday.
Richard really, really hoped today wasn't that day.
"I don't like this," muttered Richard, surveying the thing that had just landed in front of his car. Normally, something that came down from the sky and was that size would blow up everything in the vicinity, including Richard, but all it had done was cause a smoldering crater in the middle of the road. Richard had swerved to avoid it and then had stopped next to it. He was now sitting in his car, trying to figure out whether or not to go over to it. It was just his luck that this wasn't a very used street, and that there was no ready supply of curious idiots to go and check things out for him.
Just when Richard had decided he would ignore it, a figure rose from the ashes. It was very tall, and, from what Richard could make out, a woman. Richard sighed. He couldn't ignore it now. Once people were involved, Richard couldn't help feeling his American moral obligation slip in.
Richard got out of his car and walked over to he figure apprehensively. He had received too many nasty surprises in his lifetime to approach anything, especially something unknown, without a certain level of apprehension.
"Hello," he said cautiously, making sure his dagger was easy to reach. It was an old habit, left over from what Richard called "the Glory Days", but it made him feel secure, and it had saved his life many times before.
The figure walked forward, into the lights coming from Richard's car.
Richard never got past looking at its face.
It was definitely a woman. A beautiful woman. Richard was not someone who was easily charmed when it came to women, but this one was unlike anything he had ever seen before. She had green eyes greener than anything Richard had ever seen, including that emerald he had once spied on his mother's ring before she died, and lips and hair redder then the dress Richard's first girlfriend had worn to prom. Richard stared at her face, mesmerized. In a gesture that was completely uncharacteristic, and that Richard would look back on and cringe, the dagger that had been in his hand fell to the floor.
The woman opened her mouth, and a strange sound came out. Richard couldn't relate it to any sound he had ever heard before, but he did know it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. It hurt Richard to hear it, and a fleeting thought passed through his head (is she an angel?) before he got control of himself. He looked up again, ready to ask questions, when the woman reached out her hand. Richard did not move, did not cringe. He just stood there as the softness of her hand caressed his face, and as she leaned in and kissed him.
"I would require clothing, no?" said the woman, her voice still ringing with that strange melody Richard had first heard. It took a moment for Richard to register what she had said.
When he did, he realized that the woman was completely naked.
Blushing furiously and covering his eyes, he motioned to the car.
"Why don't you come with me?" he asked, still covering his eyes.
-
"So, to what I have the pleasure?" asked Richard. He and the strange woman were sitting across from each other at Richard's house, the woman wearing Richard's clothes (an oversized T-shirt that fit the woman, and pants that were a bit small on her). The woman seemed to have no modesty, having changed in front of Richard and not even trying to hide her fantastic figure. Despite his attempts not to, Richard had still noticed that the woman had full, round breasts and a figure most women (and a couple of men) would die for.
"I do not understand," said the woman, her face changing with deep confusion, so sincere it made her comical. Richard wanted to laugh just looking at her, but held himself back, so as to not offense her.
"Why are you here?" asked Richard somewhat slowly. The woman's expression cleared.
"My name is Koriand'r," said the woman. Richard blanched. That was word completely unpronounceable. Koriand'r, seeing the gaze, continued, "But you may call me Kori." Richard drew an involuntary sigh of relief. "I have come for a very important matter. I was… contacted by someone back on my home planet, someone by the name of Raven. Do you know her?"
When Richard shook his head, Kori continued, "She came in my dream many nights in a row, and she has given me these instructions: Find the one named Richard Grayson. Tell him he is to be the leader of a team called the Titans. You must then, with Richard, find the one that goes by Victor Stone. He is part of the team. Then, you must find me. I will bring the three of you to the final member of the Titans. Our team, the Titans, will rid Jump City of all its criminals, and help keep the world a safer place," recited Kori. Richard sat still for a moment, and then started to laugh.
"On my planet, we do not laugh at such prophecies," said Kori, seeming a bit miffed by Richard's reaction.
"I'm sorry, but, it's just, you're crazy," said Richard, still trying to control a guffaw. "You're absolutely crazy if you think I will join you because of a dream. Wait, let me rephrase that- that I would join a team period."
"She told me you would have the dreams too," said Kori.
Richard stopped laughing. There was a long silence.
Richard sighed, putting his hands in his head. "So maybe I did have a dream. But it was only once, and it was a long time, and it proves nothing!" Richard stood up. "I think you have the wrong place. It's been nice meeting you Kori, but you've disturbed my life enough."
"You cannot ignore this! Raven also told me of your past," said Kori, resisting to Richard's hold on her upper arm considerably well. Richard didn't know how a small thing like her could resist him pulling her up to get out, but she wasn't even budging.
"Get out! My past has nothing to do with you, it has nothing to do with anyone!" he yelled, losing his temper. He tugged Kori even harder, and yet still she stayed in the same place.
Kori looked up at Richard in surprise. "You are ashamed of it," she said calmly.
Richard stopped trying to pull her off his couch and looked at Kori in the face. "Yes, I am ashamed. I'm ashamed that I stopped helping people. But how could I keep helping them when I was inferior? I didn't have any of those fancy magic powers that people have nowadays. I was just a hindrance instead of a help." Richard could still hear the laugh from that man on that one fateful day- You? A hero? You can't even lift twice your own weight!
"And so?" asked Kori.
"What do you mean, and so?"
Kori stood up and grabbed Richard's arm. She spoke near him, and very hurriedly. "So, you have no powers. So you are not extraordinary. You made yourself extraordinary back then, and that was enough to help people. Then one day, you just stop, because you realize that things are harder for you then they are for others?" Kori shook her head. "I thought you were stronger then that. The Richard- the Robin- Raven told me about in my dreams was a valiant warrior. That Robin would have jumped at the opportunity to help someone. Now you're a coward." Kori started to head out. "I'll find Raven on my own. We don't need people like you on our team."
Richard watched Kori walk down the entire hallway before yelling, "Wait!"
Kori turned around.
Richard took a breath to give him time to reconsider. When he opened his mouth, he wondered why he had hesitated in the first place.
"I'll join your team. Just tell me what to do."
Author's Note: I really hope you liked it. It's definitely different than most stories, but I sincerely hope that's more of a good thing than a bad one.
As you may have noticed, the title of this chapter is a song by Blink 182. The quote in italics is from the song. This will be the case for every chapter, and I'll always specify who sung the song that names the chapter. So, this chapter, it was Aliens Exist, by Blink 182. Not my favorite by them, but still a good song. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first post!