(A/N: I'M BACK GUYS! I know it's been a while. This is the long-awaited sequel to "A New Apprentice", and it's going to be pretty awesome. Before you start, a couple things. First, I don't know how often I'll be able to update with my current schedule. Just know that if I go a long time without publishing, I have not forgotten about this fic and I intend to see it through to the end. Second, while a few details are still being worked out in my head, I have a feeling this one is going to be on a bigger scale and with higher stakes than the last one. But that also means it will probably be a lot longer, so your patience is appreciated. Finally, the plot takes place during Kim and Ron's summer after graduation, so I thought it would make sense to start the story by showing what exactly the Titans were doing during the Lorwardian invasion on Graduation Day, which I'll cover in the first two chapters. So, without further ado...)

"It's tonight? Dude, why didn't you tell me?" Beast Boy said into his phone with frustration. "I totally would have come. This is your graduation, Tara, it's a big deal!" He stood up from his bed and began pacing the room as he listened to Tara's explanation. "Uh-huh…okay…yeah, but…fine. You win. But can we at least hang out tomorrow? Or sometime this week? Yeah, I know it's far away, but…oh, you have to get ready? Sorry, go ahead. Talk to you later then. Congrats, Tara."

The green teenager sighed as he hung up the phone and shoved it back into the pocket of his purple suit. "Why is everything so complicated?" he muttered. Glancing at the alarm clock by his bed, he noticed the time. The Clash of the Planets marathon would be on in fifteen minutes. He shrugged and opened the door to the hallway. Maybe the walk to the common room would clear his head.

BB walked down the long, empty hallway, thinking through his recent conversation. Suddenly, a strange sound took him out of his thoughts. It sounded like someone groaning loudly, as if in pain. Looking around, Beast Boy realized that he was in front of Raven's door. He hesitated. In his experience, disturbing Raven while she was in her room was never a good idea. She needed alone time and hated being interrupted. But on the other hand, he was sure he had heard something. He stood in front of the door, trying to decide whether or not to knock.

Thankfully, the decision was made for him when Raven suddenly opened the door herself, making the other Titan jump back in surprise. "Beast Boy?" she asked. "What are you doing here?" Her voice sounded tired, and although Beast Boy could barely see her eyes under her hood, they seemed tired as well.

"I was…um…just heading over to watch Clash of the Planets," he stammered, really hoping she was in a good mood. "Are you…uh…?"

"I'm fine," she quickly snapped. Then, she paused and explained less coldly, "I had a weird dream, then woke up with a headache. That's all. I just need some tea and meditation time. It's nothing."

Beast Boy scratched his head. "You sure? You sounded pretty…"

"Nothing," she repeated.

"Okay, okay, geez. Just trying to be nice. Hey, I'm heading over now, do you want to walk over together?"

Raven sighed, "Sure. But I'm not watching your dumb show."

BB shrugged. "Your loss."

The two teammates continued their journey to the common room. As they rounded a corner, Raven asked, "How's Tara?"

Beast Boy froze. "Tara? Um, she's…she's uh…she's good."

Raven rolled her eyes, then looked at him. "I can sense emotions, Beast Boy. Also, even if I couldn't, you haven't cracked a joke in the past two minutes. I know when something's up."

Beast Boy knew Raven was right. He also knew that his relationship with Tara was not Raven's business. "Look, you wouldn't tell me what's bothering you, so I don't have to talk about Tara. Okay?"

"Not the same."

"Totally is." The two of them started walking again. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Beast Boy gave in. "She didn't invite me to her graduation. Didn't even tell me when it was. I called to ask if we could hang out this weekend and she told me she was getting ready for the graduation ceremony and couldn't talk. But, dude, who does that? We've been together for a few months, you'd think she'd at least tell me the day, right? Or am I crazy?" He waited for a response. "Rae?"

"Jury's still out on whether you're crazy," Raven said. Her voice was so deadpan that Beast Boy was unsure whether to take that statement as a joke. "But I understand. That sucks."

"Yeah it does. We'll work it out, though. I just need some Clash of the Planets to cheer myself up."

"You do that," Raven nodded as they entered to common room and parted ways. She headed toward the kitchen, while Beast Boy took a seat on the couch beside Cyborg, who had already arrived.

"Yo, grass stain!" Cyborg greeted as he moved the giant bowl of popcorn from his lap to the space between them. "You ready?"

"Dude, I was born ready," Beast Boy replied, shoving a fistful of popcorn into his green mouth. "Think Robin and Star are coming?"

"Nah, they're training. Well," he added with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows, "at least that's what they said."

Beast Boy laughed. "Sure, dude. Whatever you say. Probably for the best that they're not here. Starfire's awesome, but I could do without her critique of the factual accuracy of Clash of the Planets. Remember last time she watched with us, when she started explaining why a humanoid species would never survive on a planet like Drobadan?"

"Agreed. Some things are sacred."

Cyborg reached for the remote and turned on the large television screen in front of them. He rapidly flipped through each channel until he found the one with a countdown clock surrounded by shooting stars and spaceships. "All right, it's almost time," he said loudly, getting Raven's attention as she poured her tea. "Y'all ready?"

Raven finished pouring, looked at the screen for a moment, then replied simply, "No."

Beast Boy joined the countdown to the marathon. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

The countdown clock disappeared, but before it could transition into the first episode, the whole screen was interrupted by gray static. Its grating sound covered all audio as well.

"Ugh, Raven, did you do something?" BB asked, exasperated.

Raven arched an eyebrow, equally as surprised as her teammates. "I did not."

For a moment, the screen returned to the opening scrolling text of Clash of the Planets. Then, it returned to static again. After another brief return, it disconnected again. "Dude," Beast Boy said, turning to Cyborg, "it's your TV. Did you change something?"

"No," Cy said, a puzzled look on his face, "but I can check. Gimme a second." He stood up and began walking toward the wall where the television was plugged in.

Meanwhile, Starfire and Robin were unaware of the TV signal fiasco. They were in the training room, which functioned mostly as a small gym. Robin and Cyborg were the main Titans who used it, but Starfire had become more interested in perfecting her hand-to-hand combat since her encounter with Shego and Slade. Even though she knew she was very unlikely to lose her powers again, it felt good to be able to defend herself without relying on them entirely. Plus, the opportunity to spend time with Robin was always appreciated, even if it was to study fighting styles.

"Do not go the easy on me," Starfire said as she ducked under the swipe of Robin's bo staff.

"Why would I do that?" Robin asked with a smirk, striking again.

This time, Star caught his blow with her own staff and shoved him back. He used his weapon to vault to her side and swiped low to knock her off balance. She jumped backward instead, spinning her staff in front of her as she landed.

"Are you attempting to 'sweep me off of my legs'?" she retorted with a laugh.

"Close enough." He dodged her spinning staff and struck at her shoulder. She blocked him and pushed him back. He retaliated with three rapid strikes, which she dodged swiftly, then countered with her own weapon. The two continued in this manner, evenly matched, until their staffs finally caught each other. As each pushed against the other, their faces drew closer and closer…

"Batman!" Starfire shouted.

"What?" Robin loosened his grip just enough for Starfire to knock his bo staff out of his hands and push him down to the floor at the end of her own.

"Apologies, friend," she said, "but you said that it is necessary to expect the unexpected."

Robin sighed. "I guess I did. You win."

Starfire set down both staffs and helped Robin to his feet. "You are a most excellent opponent," she told him, her orange cheeks slightly blushing.

"You too," he said, smiling sweetly. Feeling awkward, he quickly added, "But don't expect every villain we fight to have a history with Batman. That strategy doesn't work with everyone."

"But was that not the second lesson, after the expecting of the unexpected?" Starfire reminded him. "You said to know the enemy."

"Oh. So I did. You should be teaching me, Star." Robin picked up his bo staff, spun it around in his hand, then held it still. "Seriously, you're an amazing fighter. Plus, you've got all your super powers. You don't need my help."

"I do if I wish to learn to fight with the bo staff or the boomerang," Starfire insisted. "Also, we have created many new partner moves for the battles since training together."

"We have," Robin agreed with a nod. "That's what teamwork is about. Relying on each other. Working as partners. Like us." More than just as teammates, he mentally added.

Starfire picked up her staff from the ground, looked at it thoughtfully, then asked, "Why do you never speak of him? He was your teammate as well, was he not?"

"Who?"

"Batman."

"Oh. Well, we're not really on the same team anymore." Robin looked around the room, trying to think of any reason to change the subject. Finally, he thought of something. "By the way, I finally got a hold of Jericho."

Starfire worked through the expression slowly, "Got the hold of…oh, you mean that you have had the communication with him."

"Exactly."

She gave him a funny look and crossed her arms. "Did you not begin attempting the contact several months in the past?"

"Yeah, I did," he answered with a shrug. He reached for a towel to wipe the sweat off his brow as he continued, "Jericho's very hard to pin down. Er, I mean…" he tried to think of a phrase his girlfriend would better understand, "he's just…he travels a lot, and when he stops traveling, it's always somewhere really remote. He even goes totally off the grid periodically. That's not to say anything against him as a Titan, of course," he clarified quickly. "Jericho's a great teammate, he's just kind of…eccentric, I guess."

"Ah, I see," Star nodded, her arms dropping to her sides. "And what did Jericho say to you?"

Robin set down his towel. "Just that he'd be happy to have me over and answer my questions. Truth is, I'm not completely sure what to ask. All I know is, it would be one heck of a coincidence for Slade's password to be the same as an honorary Titan's name if there's no connection between them."

"That is reasonable," Starfire agreed.

Before they could discuss the matter further, the lights on the ceiling flickered, then went out. Robin walked to the light switch and flicked it up and down. Nothing happened. "Huh," he said, turning to face Star. "Power outage?"

Suddenly, Robin and Starfire felt the ground shake as a loud crashing noise sounded through the wall. "Whoa!" Robin reacted, regaining his balance. "What was that?"

Starfire immediately opened her Titans communicator. The signal was covered in heavy static. "We are under attack," she said gravely. "Come on!" She grabbed Robin's hand and pulled him out of the room before he could ask any questions.

As Starfire sprinted across the Tower, a flashing red light streamed in through the windows facing the city, filling the darkened, powerless building with its intermittent color. "Lorwardians," she told her boyfriend, as if that was a sufficient enough explanation. "They have landed in the city. We must inform the others."

"Lor-what?"

Coming from the opposite direction of the red flashing hallway, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy nearly ran into the other two Titans in their hurry. "We were just looking for y'all," Cyborg explained. "The TV stopped working, then lights and the communicator went out. I think the red light is coming from the city, but I don't know…"

"I do, friend," Starfire interrupted. "You must all come up to the roof. I will provide the explanation."

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven exchanged confused looks, then followed Starfire up the ladder to the roof of Titans Tower. Turning toward downtown, the team could see several giant metal structures. They had long, metal legs and red flashing tops, which contrasted sinisterly against the gray, cloudy sky. Most of them appeared to stay still, but a few were moving, stabbing their legs effortlessly through the roofs of any buildings in their paths.

"Holy crap," Beast Boy breathed.

"What are they?" asked Raven.

"Lorwardian drones," Starfire replied, her gaze still fixed on the machines. "The Lorwardians have attempted to conquer Tamaran before, although it has been the long time since their last effort. They come from the planet of Lorwardia, not far from my home system. They would not send so many drones for a small purpose. This is a full planetary invasion."

"Hold on," Cyborg stopped her. "What do you mean, invasion?"

Starfire finally looked away from the destruction and faced the rest of her team. "The Lorwardian warriors treat the conquering of other planets as a game. They keep the time of each conquering to attempt to do it faster in the next one." She glanced over her shoulder again at the red flashing robots, then stated sharply, as if giving instructions, "We must act quickly, for the drones will destroy anyone who does not fall perfectly into the line. We must also attempt to make the contact with as many honorary Titans as can access the signal. The invasions by the Lorwardians cover the whole planet at the same time. The drones will be spread across the earth. They are controlled by the captain of the ship that is closest to the planet, but individual ones may be taken down by…apologies, is something wrong?" She was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that the entire team was staring at her in a way usually reserved for Robin.

The Teen Wonder stepped forward and put a comforting hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "Go ahead, Star. You lead. How do we take them out?"

She blinked, then replied nervously, "But, I do not usually lead the team. I do not know if I have the qualifications."

"You're literally the only person qualified to lead us against the Lorwardians," Robin pointed out.

"Yeah, Star," Beast Boy agreed. "Tell us how to kick their butts."

"We got your back," Cyborg affirmed.

Starfire took a deep breath. While she had occasionally led the rest of the team on missions, she had never been given full leadership of an operation of this scale. It wasn't because she lacked any particular leadership qualities, of course. It was merely because Robin was a much more natural leader. But now, her team, her family, was depending on her. The whole planet was depending on her. She stepped toward the others, drawing them into a tight circle so that their heads nearly touched.

"Titans," she said, trying to sound a little bit tougher than usual, though her tone was still mostly gentle and sweet. "We are fortunate that the drones have not yet been alerted to our presence. They are programmed to concentrate inside the areas with the high numbers of people. The drones are controlled by a single Lorwardian, but until the controller is found, they may be destroyed as the individuals. The weakest spot of the drones is the legs. If the balance is lost, the drone falls and can do nothing. The direct hit to the center of the head can also cause the destruction, but it is much more difficult. Robin, I ask you to come with me to the west side of the city. We can attempt to fight them into the water and away from the citizens."

"Got it," Robin nodded obediently.

"Raven and Beast Boy," Star continued. "Friends, I wish for you to go to the east side of the city. Take down as many of the drones as you are capable, but the priority is to relocate the citizens to the safe places."

"Where is that?" Raven asked.

"Underground," Starfire answered immediately. After under a minute of leadership, she was already beginning to feel more comfortable with it. Besides, it felt good for her familiarity with planets other than Earth to be an asset for once. "The drones are too large to travel inside of the sewers, or any underground structure. If there is not enough of the space, Titans Tower is the strongest building in the city. The people will be away from the sensors of the drones for the little while at least. Cyborg?"

"Yup?"

"I wish for you to join us in the battle, but not until you have first reactivated the communicator signals. Then, attempt to contact as many honorary Titans as are capable of answering the calls and inform them of the situation and the strategy. The Lorwardians always block out the power during the invasions, but there may be a way to restore it off of the grid."

"Already brainstorming," Cy replied.

"That is most excellent, friend. You must also attempt to locate the ship of the Lorwardians. It is most definitely within the orbit of this planet, but its exact location may be far from us. When you find it, we must prepare to form the attack upon it. And then…um…" looking around at her teammates' faces, Starfire became aware that she had no idea what to say next. She looked to Robin hopefully.

His masked eyes locked with hers. "Go on, Star," he said with full confidence. "Say it."

Starfire looked down at the floor, then back up at the faces surrounding her. It was her turn to say those two special words. "Titans Go!"