[authors note]

Titans don't belong to me, etc etc.

Sooo I haven't written fanfiction in a very long time. Nor have I watched Teen Titans recently. But I remember how much I loved them. This story has been in my head for a while, so I decided I'll let it out. Please review if you like it!

Thanks!

Update: Chapter revised; May 2013

-ch one: unwanted arrivals-

"Ugh."

The sound of disgust echoed down the cement corridors and through the murky waters. It didn't matter how many times the pale girl traveled through them (the number of which was great and possibly looming into the tens of thousands by now), she still vocalized her displeasure at the sewers as a whole. The scent, the appearance, the texture of the walls and unknown substance on the walls… it was all just ridiculously unappealing.

Plus, the view got monotonous. She walked the same route nearly every time. Take the forgotten manhole in the alley between the Top Hat Deli and Mario's Pizzeria down and follow the path to the right past seven turns, then make more turns than you could count until you reached a dead end. Same damned thing, many times a day. It was like getting highway hypnosis, only worse, because it was sewer hypnosis. She spent so much time down below that she probably reeked of it permanently. Of course, she spent so much time down below that she couldn't smell it if she did.

The entrance was very secretive. She actually gave her boss some credit for disguising it so well. Quietly, she lifted her small hand and placed it against a seemingly random spot on the storm-colored wall. She sucked air in through her teeth and winced as a tiny needle jabbed her fingertip. While the system verified her identity she scowled her displeasure at the blood test and rubbed her offended finger with her thumb. An invisible seam suddenly broke apart with a hushed hiss, revealing a narrow opening that the girl slipped through quickly before it slammed shut on her brown hair – again. With a pause she allowed her narrowed eyes to adjust to the glare of the industrial fluorescent lights above. The interior metal walls were certainly shinier than the outside concrete, but still, like her eyes, the same dull shade of grey.

Her pace increased as she stalked through the halls, passing door after door, keeping her gaze low because she knew the bright lighting only lasted as long as the hallway did. As her Converse-covered foot stepped on the only tile with a scratch in it, she lifted her right arm and grabbed for a handle, knowing it was there. The door opened almost silently. Quickly, she closed it behind her, knowing if she didn't the computer drones would hiss their displeasure as the rays of industrial lighting shone into the darkness.

Finally she looked up. Two rows of computers made a makeshift walkway to the main screen and a control panel with thousands of buttons she'd never bothered to figure out. There was no need for overhead lighting with so many bright screens. The workers manning the technology hardly looked up when she walked in. They were youths like her, but they were not her peers. Their power resided in their genius; each one incredibly gifted and able to use and manipulate systems with impressive speed. Her power resided in her DNA. Having a superpower, as she did, was not regarded as impressive, or even good. All the heroes had been driven out a long time ago. The techies wished she would have gone with them.

"What a timely arrival, Vane."

The voice that rumbled from the left was deep, a certain charm laced through it that Vane knew was deadly. Her eyes remained half-lidded despite the sudden jump of her heart, barely even turning her head as he approached from the shadowed corners of the room. She didn't move, not even to correct her slouch, for any sign of movement would be interpreted as weakness - though this hardly fazed her anymore. Working for years under Zephyr had taught her a couple things, including a valuable gem of information: you're only as weak as you seem.

"Show yourself."

Vane did so, to prove today's mission had been accomplished. Her naturally straight, brown hair had grown long since she had little time for a haircut. Instead of being secured high on the crown of her head in a ponytail, it hung loosely onto her shoulders and back except where she'd had a side-swept fringe cut in. For sentimental reasons she retained the red hair tie around her wrist. She wore a loose short-sleeve in dark grey that fell fashionably off one shoulder and revealed her hips. Her denim cut offs were a washed out shade of indigo. Lastly, she'd put on a new pair of classic, black Chuck Taylors, still white in the rubber.

"Not bad," was his only comment.

"Considering my mission for the day was to 'forget about the costume' and 'assimilate', I'd agree," Vane threw back casually.

The following glare tested her, but she held fast. The hum of computers and the tapping of fingers against keys felt like drills in her ears. The techies continued their mindless data work, no one brave enough to glance up while Zephyr and Vane exchanged words for fear one of them would glare in their direction. The seconds moved so slowly as his cold stare failed to break, until finally he stepped beside her and placed a threatening hand on one shoulder.

"You know how I am always pleased to listen to your unnecessary remarks, and pleased to return the favor in blows instead of words."

Her lip curled as she felt her body tense despite her efforts not to, a sassy remark fighting to escape her clenched teeth when the ceiling shook and a muffled screech resounded overhead. Vane didn't even have to look at him to know what she was expected to do, though she did anyway. His bored expression suggested she was dumb to think she wouldn't be investigating that disturbance. What the tech heads were jealous of, she didn't know. Although she was crucial to Zephyr's plots, she was still just a puppet and a toy like them. At least they didn't have to run around all day.

Her footsteps echoed down the hall as she ran, not even stopping to slap her palm against the wall for blood verification. As soon as the door had opened enough for her to slip through she did, and immediately continued her sprint through the sewers. The constant threat of slipping and falling into god knows what failed to slow her. Being a previous superhero, she had pretty good control of her body and besides, she had superpowers to back her up. The risk still made her stomach uneasy though.

Vane crawled out of the manhole to see a large behemoth made of cement backing down the street. Traffic was minimal today, but still shrieks of the public rang out as they fled. The sight was odd – there hadn't been villainous activity (above ground, anyway) in a while – but not unheard of. Straightening up she inhaled deeply. The air beneath her shot upward, taking with it the brown-haired girl. Vane rode the current up to the roof of the neighboring building and inched stealthily toward the edge to get a better look at the monster without being spotted.

A gasp escaped her, but it wasn't the large, roaring cement block that shocked her. Dancing around the creature were five teenagers. Not a single one was ordinary. One donned a red, green and yellow get up with a cape, and even a mask.

"Wow," Vane thought aloud, understanding why she had to 'assimilate'. "Those costumes really stand out, don't they?"

The boy was yelling something. Two girls responded to him, one with long red hair and a less than modest outfit and another with a sweeping blue cloak, although as she flew into the air it was revealed that her leotard made her show even more leg than both Vane and the red-haired girl.

A green human shifted into a dinosaur, which brought him up to almost eyelevel with the building's roof. Panicking Vane dove down and crawled behind an electric box. He hadn't spotted her. Her relief at this was short lived as a large half-man, half-robot sort of guy jumped on top of the dinosaur's head and begin blasting the hunk of cement monster with some sort of canon. Vane shook her head. What the hell just happened, and why was it happening today?

The huge monster lurched, crashing into an old monument and kicking a fire hydrant that began to spout water everywhere. It was then that Vane realized the danger. If that monster somehow started screwing with the water pipes and sewers and underground all would be lost and she, Zephyr, and everyone below would be royally screwed. She bit her lip and leapt to her feet, sprinting towards the edge of the building to follow the heavy monster as he stumbled and caused damage to her city. Pushing the air at her feet, she leapt across one building to the other and skidded to a stop.

The blows the five teens were landing on the monster were getting intense, and the monster was nearing defeat. He teetered for a moment and then lurched toward the ground.

Vane couldn't wait. With the wind beneath her under her control, she hovered out closer and threw her arms out, manipulating all the air under the beast as it fell. Her arms trembled with the effort; he was by far the heaviest thing she'd ever had to move. Praising that she lived in a coastal city, she lifted the monstrous being while the five below looked around to find out what was happening.

Grunting, she reared her arms back and flung them forward and the cement behemoth went soaring through the air. She guided him slightly until he was far enough over the nearby ocean, letting him down enough so that he wouldn't cause a giant tidal wave as he dropped and sank below the turbulent waves.

Vane sighed heavily as his screeches became garbled, pleased to be free from the strain of his gargantuan body. She returned to the building, feeling safer with both feet on a surface. Only now that the loudest thing in the city was gone could she hear the yells below.

"Did you just see what happened?"

"Who did that? Do you see anyone?"

"My friends, are you all okay?"

"Starfire, look over there! Raven, can you see anything?"

Fantastic, Vane thought as she sneered, and slowly began to back off. But the moment she moved, it seemed, everyone's eyes found with a predatory precision. Today she didn't waste time staring and playing tough. They had seen far too much of her, and now she needed to go – but they were all standing around Mario's Pizzeria, blocking her only way back down into the ground. Gritting her teeth she went on impulse, leaping to the sidewalk and sprinting left the moment her feet touched the ground. Their cries - "Hey!" "Stop!" "Who are you?" - died out as she put more and more distance between them and her.

Occasional flashes of color in her peripheral vision freaked Vane out, until she turned her head to see a billboard or a gaudy sign advertising eggs, two dozen for the price of one. The voices of the intruding superheroes were heard only in blips of conversation over her panic that didn't end until she reached the only other manhole in the city she knew how to navigate from. Lifting it up with a gust of wind, Vane leapt and slammed it over her, disappearing into the trusted darkness. The dirty lamps near the entrance gave her enough light to find the flashlight on the ground. With it in hand, she took off, formulating her report to Zephyr in her head.

Above ground, the five teens congregated nearby the origin of the strange girl.

"Did anyone really see her?" Robin asked, eyes narrowed.

Everyone responded negative, except Beast Boy.

"She had something red on her," he said quietly.

"Something red," Robin repeated. "Pretty vague. Doesn't really help us. Do you remember exactly what was red, Beast Boy?"

Robin looked hopefully at him, but the mutant shook his head sadly. Robin then turned to his team mates again.

"I've never seen anyone like her before. She didn't have any symbols or marks that would make her recognizable. Let's ask around, before we go. Just to make sure there isn't any trouble around here," the leader deduced.

Nearby public gawked, expressions varying between disgust and surprise and fear.

"Guess nobody was a Cinderblock fan here," Beast Boy remarked after catching the looks.

"Guess not," agreed Raven.

She and Robin turned on their heels and began to walk. The remaining three followed without hesitation.

Panting, Vane burst into the control room and leaned over to catch her breath.

"Contain yourself," Zephyr said immediately, his voice eerily calm. "I already know. Though, I appreciate your speed."

She looked up, closed her gaping mouth and stared at the screen where the costumed heroes walked past one of Zephyr's security cameras above ground. Breathing deeply, she straightened and crossed her arms across her chest.

"What do you want done about them? They're nosy," Vane growled, her gaze hard with disapproval of the superpowered kids in her city.

"Nothing yet." Zephyr's response surprised her. "If the public opinion still stands, they'll run them out on their own. You know how they hate your kind."

He turned slightly to meet her gaze, but Vane found herself unable to make eye contact. Furrowing her brow she instead glared at the laces on her shoes.

"Keep an eye on them. In fact, talk to them. Find out what they want. Fools like these superheroes who are so proud of their identity are always much too open about their intentions. I believe information will be very easy to come across."

Vane looked up and jammed her hands into her pockets, hardly believing that was actually what he wanted. "What if they recognize me?"

"Then you act like a stupid, oblivious girl who doesn't know what they are talking about." He spat back, gaze scathing.

The tech heads on either side of her could be heard tittering as she was berated. Vane silenced them with a glare, although she scuffed her shoes as well, always feeling slightly shameful when she got a mouthful of Zephyr's anger. Vane hesitated to respond – something which displeased her master.

"You are dismissed," he growled.

Unwilling to face any further abuse, Vane quickly walked out the door, leaving behind her bothered boss and a dozen geeks giggling.

Thanks for reading :)