It was a shining day for Jump City, perfect for the day's holiday, the fourth annual festival of boats. Boats of all types and make were spread across the bay of Jump City. Citizens were fishing off their vessels while others entertained themselves with water skis and inner tubes on the back of speed boats.
Beast Boy and Cyborg were busy playing video games in the operations room as Raven solemnly read an untitled black book in the corner. Starfire observed from the operation's room vast window, in awe of the boats on the bay.
"...and there is a blue one, and a red one, and a green one, and another blue one!" Joyfully expressed Starfire.
"Starfire. You have been counting the boats out loud for what seems like forever. Please. Stop." Raven grimly spoke after lowering her book for a moment.
"But .. but, Raven! Have you never seen such colorful creations? We have nothing like it on Tamaran."
Raven peered over her reading once more. "I have seen a boat before. It's not that big of a deal."
"But you must see these boats! I had no idea they could go so fast." Starfire paused and a confused look came over her face. "Why are they headed straight for our home?"
Beast Boy and Cyborg leaned to the side of the TV screen to observe what they were missing.
"Dude! They're gonna crash!" Exclaimed Beast Boy.
Just then, the tower's alarm sounded and Robin burst into the operation's room.
"Titans! We're under attack!" Robin yelled, sending the Titans scrambling to get downstairs.
Three black speedboats ran halfway aground on the island that Titans' Tower was located. Fifteen armed masked men and women poured out and started their run up to the Tower. Cradling their guns, they approached the bulwark door protecting the entrance to Titans' home. One of the masked gunmen jogged ahead as the rest of the group came to a walk with their weapons raised, wary of the Titans. He had a duffle bag slung around his back, which he brought to his front as he approached the gate. He carefully placed the bag on its side in front the door and unzipped it to reveal its contents: a thermal detonation device. He armed it and hand signaled to the rest of the masked group to move away. As the masked group turned to move away from the bomb, they all caught sight of the Teen Titans standing upon the rocks behind them, ready to fight.
"What? You're not going to ring the doorbell? Titans, go!" Said Robin at the front of the formation, looking cocky.
The masked group raised their guns and opened fire at the Titans. Raven cast a shield across the Titans with her magic to block the incoming shots. Beast Boy changed into a lion, Robin readied three disc grenades between his fingers, Starfire went into a hover above the ground with her star bolts at the ready while Cyborg's right arm transitioned to his signature sonic cannon to aim up a shot at the nearest intruder. The intruder's guns ran dry after unleashing all their rounds fruitlessly at the Titans. Raven let down the shield that protected the Titans.
"Now it's our turn." Robin said with a grin.
Robin's disc grenades detonated the ground beneath the gunmen's feet, sending them flying backwards. Another two gunmen went down from Starfire's star bolts, just powerful enough to incapacitate them, but not nearly enough so to kill or cripple. The ten remaining gunmen hesitated, nervous of their imminent demise. Just as the first gunman finished reloading, he was tackled to the ground by Starfire and another was knocked aside by Beast Boy in the form of a lion. Cyborg blasted three with his sonic cannon then charged and knocked out a gunman with his sheer strength. The four remaining intruders charged Cyborg, but were caught off guard as Robin pounced and appeared in the middle of their charge. They turned to face Robin, but were no match for Robin's superior hand-to-hand skills. For each blow they tried to land, Robin countered and turned their strength against them. Soon, only one remained. Robin went on the offensive. The last gunman collapsed over in agony from Robin's assault.
"Cyborg, can you disarm the bomb?" Robin yelled.
"I can sure try." Cyborg replied.
Cyborg ran over to the bomb, but was too late, as the bomb detonated and Cyborg was sent flying backwards. As the smoke cleared, apart from a little molten slag, the door was unharmed.
"Ugh." Cyborg moaned as he recovered from the blast. "Wait, don't bombs, usually, you know, blow stuff up? Not just leave a scratch?"
"They weren't ready for our Tower's defenses, their attack failed. Now let's start rounding up whoever these guys are and get them into custody." Robin answered.
The Titans, using their respective powers, gathered up the intruders and tied them together into three groups while Robin used his communicator.
"I've contacted the authorities and they're on their way to send our uninvited guests to prison." Robin informed the other Titans.
"That's great and all, victory congratulations all around, but, uh, who are these guys?" Questioned Beast Boy.
Before Robin could give an answer, another explosion rang out, not from another part of the city or even on another part of the island, but rather from above. Broken glass rained down on the Titans. The Tower was still under attack.
"Starfire! Raven! Beast Boy! Fly up and see what's going on. Cyborg, you're with me." Robin ordered as he and Cyborg ran inside the Tower.
Starfire and Raven flew up as Beast Boy changed into a pterodactyl to join them. Additional intruders were repelling down from the top of Titans' Tower. They were trying to enter into a blown-open hole that revealed the operation's room. The explosion must have been from a bomb that created the hole.
"You two deal with the foes on the Tower, I'll deal with those that got inside." Raven ordered to Beast Boy and Starfire.
Starfire quickly caught one of the repelling intruders, then made another pass to grab another. Beast Boy did the same, and before long the Tower was clear of any more repelling foes. Raven approached the blast hole and peered inside to assess the situation. Three intruders were centered around the operation's room's computer console. The tallest one seemed to be in charge as he oversaw the other two. One of the two followers peered up for a moment and his eyes caught Raven's.
"We've got company." Said the intruder who spotted Raven as he went for his gun.
"No." The leader said as he pushed his hand in front of the follower raising his gun. "I'll deal with this one, continue your work."
Raven, already spotted, moved into the center of the hole. The leader mischievously smiled at her.
"Raven, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, I've been eager to see you in person." The leader said as he bowed and threw a rose in front of Raven's feet.
Raven ignored the offering. The two followers looked distressed, but continued whatever they were doing with the Tower's computer console.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I know that either Starfire or Beast Boy will save you." The leader said to Raven.
Raven didn't care for the game he was playing. She prepared to cast a spell to defeat them. The leader had abilities of his own. His arms spread far apart and extended, he brought his hands together in a long, soundless clap. Raven expected some sort of attack, but nothing happened, she finished her spell and cast it, but nothing happened. Bewildered, Raven looked at her hands then immediately started to plummet.
Raven fell parallel to the Tower as Starfire and Beast Boy were making their way to join Raven when they spotted that she was falling. Beast Boy dived to catch her as Starfire's eyes and hands glowed green with fury. Beast Boy caught Raven and let her down safely on the ground. Starfire took Raven's previous position at the makeshift opening of the Tower to the operation's room. Robin and Cyborg exited the elevator and entered the room. The Titans had the intruders that got inside surrounded.
"Freeze!" Robin ordered.
"You have nowhere to go, it would be best to surrender." Starfire added from her side.
"Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, it's nice to meet the famous Teen Titans." The leader said to them with a single bow.
"We have what we came for." Told one of the followers to the leader as he unattached a data device from the operation's room computer.
"Well, unfortunately I can't stay and chat, so I'll be leaving now." Said the leader.
The leader took out a grenade and Robin dived towards him as Starfire and Cyborg moved to tackle the two followers. The leader smashed the grenade on the ground and a cloud of white smoke covered him and his followers. Robin's dive made it to where the leader of the intruders was, but he caught nothing but air. Starfire flew through the cloud of smoke, surprised that she didn't catch anyone. Cyborg stampeded through to the other side, equally shocked.
"Where did they go?" Starfire asked.
None of the Titans in the operation room had an answer. Beast Boy flew into the operation's room through the blown-open hole and changed back into his human form.
"What did I miss?" Beast Boy asked.
Raven flew up behind him and hovered.
"The others we captured earlier are gone." She informed the others.
"What ... just ... happened?" Cyborg questioned to nobody in particular.
Only the rose remained. Raven's brow tensed. The intruders had gotten away and the Tower was in need of repairs.
It was dark out, night shrouded the city. The hole had been temporarily patched, but the wind still howled its way through. Robin was in the operation's room, scanning through the Tower's computer. The elevator's doors slid open. Starfire came through and approached Robin, who was too busy to notice.
"Are you the 'o.k.'?" Starfire asked Robin.
"Somebody attacked the tower, stole something from us, and nearly harmed Raven. We don't know who he was, who he was working for, or why he did it. I can't even figure out what he stole from our database. Worst part is, I let him escape. Do you think I am o.k.?" Robin said, his anger protruding.
"None of us caught any of them. None of us could."
"Then it's all our faults, not just mine."
Starfire looked hurt. Robin's anger eased and his face expressed guilt for his outburst.
"Look, Star... I didn't mean to. I -"
The computer screen flashed an indication which stole Robin's attention.
"What is it?" Starfire asked.
"The computer has found a match. I checked the rose that was left at the scene and I found enough DNA on it. It seems that the thorns on the rose caught our mysterious guest and he left some blood on it. I sent it through an international database and it seems the computer has turned up a result. Let's get the rest of the team in here for a briefing." Robin reported.
The Teen Titans assembled in the operation's room, despite the recent damage it had received. Robin stood in front of the others.
"His name is Mathew Gallows. He has no known aliases. He is the founder and current leader of the 'Red Dawn Rising Movement', a terrorist organization with shady goals at best. He and his top lieutenants were thought to be deceased and the movement disbanded. If that's true, apparently he's come back from the dead, but I doubt it. He has no training on records nor any superpowers, no affiliation with any other organizations nor past history. Yet despite that, he's noted to be considered armed and dangerous at all times." Robin said in summary of his reading on the subject's file.
"It said he had no superpowers? Whatever he did, I lost my abilities, if only for a short time. Sounds like a superpower to me." Raven commented.
"It could be new or the DNA match might not even be him, despite the file's picture being a match with his looks." Robin added.
"If this guy is a terrorist, he's going down." Cyborg said as he punched his fist into his other palm.
"We need to find out what his plans are and what he took from us. Once we do that, we can shut him down." Robin said.
"Sounds like a plan. But, uh, how about some sleep first?" Beast Boy asked.
"Beast Boy is right, we should catch some rest or else we'll be fighting both Gallows and fatigue. We start the search tomorrow." Robin answered.
The next day, the Titans had split into groups of two with Robin going solo in their search of the city. Raven and Starfire took to the skies while Beast Boy and Cyborg searched the ground.
"What are we looking for exactly?" Starfire asked Raven as they casually flew next to each other in the skies.
"Anything suspicious. If you see a building with a large sign that says 'Red Dawn HQ', let me know."
"I did not know that this Red Dawn would be so careless as to put a large sign on their home."
"Starfire. It's sarcasm."
"Sarcasm?"
"It's like a joke, but usually meaner."
Starfire and Raven went on for some time discussing and defining sarcasm as they searched the city. While they were doing so, Beast Boy and Cyborg were discussing how they could step up their game in Zombie Madness 7, the most popular of the Zombie Madness video game series, and in Beast Boy's opinion, the best zombie video game of all time. Both groups were not being very productive, Robin however, was.
Robin slammed the dockworker against a cement wall, holding him by his overalls.
"What do you know about Gallows? Where is the Red Dawn located?"
"Look, look, I only have heard rumors! Just rumors! I can tell you, for a price."
Robin knew Johnny DeMaro, he was crooked and lined his pockets with goods that were not exactly legal, but he had helped the Titans before and thus Robin had spared him. Robin promised himself that after he caught Gallows, he would turn DeMaro in to the authorities.
"How about I let you keep all your teeth, that sound like a fair price Johnny?"
Johnny's crooked smile turned into a pucker as he feared for his teeth.
"Relax, relax, I'll tell you everything I know. It's the abandoned building at the end of 43rd street. They're recruiting anybody willing to join. Gallows, he's trying to make an army." DeMaro desperately spat out.
"That's more like it." Robin said as he let Johnny DeMaro go.
DeMaro scrambled backwards on his back then got up and ran off out of Robin's sight. Robin got his communicator out to contact the rest of the team.
"I've found the location of the Red Dawn's headquarters, I'm sending you the location of it now. We'll assemble a block away and then-" Robin said before he was cut off. "-cancel that, I just got word that there's a bank robbery with a hostage situation that needs our help, we need to deal with that first."
Starfire and Raven arrived first at the police line surrounding the bank. Cyborg and Beast Boy were second to arrive, soon after Starfire's and Raven's arrival. The commanding police officer nodded at the four and raised a megaphone to speak into.
"We've got you surrounded and the Titans have arrived to take you down. Surrender now and we can both end this conflict peacefully." Said the commanding officer into the megaphone.
There was no response.
"It looks like we're going in then." Robin said as he appeared from behind the Titans. "And I have a plan to get the hostages to safety."
The hostage-takers were all uneasy and growing concerned about their predicament. The only advantage they had was the hostages and upon hearing of the Teen Titans' arrival, they were confident that would be challenged in short time.
"We need an exit or we need to go mobile." Said one of the hostage-takers to his comrades.
"The Teen Titans are here, there will be no escape and there will be no running. Besides we have a duty to fulfill." Responded one of the hostage-takers.
"It's clear now, we were never really destined to succeed, rather just buy time for the others. We make our last stand here." Said one of the more nervous hostage-takers.
"You don't truly believe he betrayed us, do you? Even if he did, I would surely sacrifice myself if it meant he was successful, wouldn't you?" Said the lead hostage-taker to the others.
The Red Dawn members all hesitantly nodded in agreement. They readied their weapons and were ready for anything the Titans were going to throw at them. The air was tense and it combined with a general sense of dread that radiated off each of the Red Dawn members. The only thing that broke the silence was the audible noise of a fly.
"Wait a minute, the fly -" The Red Dawn member tried to announce to his allies, but was cut off as he and the others were sent flying back, knocked aside from the fly changing into a mammoth.
The glass windows of the bank shattered as disc grenades smashed through and detonated as flash-bangs. With the majority knocked on the ground and the others blinded, the Red Dawn robbing the bank didn't stand a chance. Starfire and Cyborg flew and ran through the bank's opening, beating the dazed Red Dawn robbers and disarming them from their weapons. Robin walked through the broken window and Beast Boy changed into human form.
"Well, that was easy." Beast Boy expressed.
"Too easy. Where is Gallows?" Asked Robin.
"I do not know. But, for the time, it is over." Responded Starfire.
"It's not over yet!" Yelled the lead hostage-taker as she burst open a backroom door with an arm around a hostage and a gun at the hostage's temple.
"You don't want to do this." Robin said as he readied a bird-a-rang while the other Titans aimed for the hostage-taker.
The lead hostage-taker had her brow sweating profusely. Robin took a step forward and the Red Dawn member made her move. She pushed the hostage into Robin and fired off a few shots that had no chance of hitting. She burst through a back door and ran into the alley behind the bank.
"Titans, go!" Robin ordered as he caught the hostage on his knees.
The lead hostage-taker was looking behind herself when she turned the corner and she smacked right into something. Disoriented, she looked up to see Raven. Raven activated her powers and she grew in size, with her lower body as black as darkness. Tentacles manifested by magic seethed from her mass. The lead hostage-taker turned pale.
"I yield! I yield!" She said as her hands flew up in surrender.
The hostages had been saved by the Teen Titans and the Red Dawn members were in police custody and being loaded into a police department prison transport.
"Gallows wasn't here." Robin pouted.
"Hey, at least he wasn't here to use his fancy disappearing trick." Cyborg said, looking on the bright side.
"Besides," Raven said, materializing from her manifestation. "we know the only other place he could be."
The Titans were ready to make their assault on the Red Dawn headquarters now that they had finished the hostage crisis and were together again. Yet the Teen Titans were not the only ones with a plan. Inside the abandoned building on the end of 43rd, Gallows assembled what remained of his followers. His back to his followers, Gallows was overlooking a computer console, reading a news report on the failed bank robbery attempt and the captured Red Dawn members. Turning to face his followers, Gallows looked grim, yet defiant.
"Red Dawn Rising, today we have suffered a defeat at the hands of the Teen Titans. Our struggle will not be halted by a single, minor defeat, especially not after our victory at Titans' Tower. We are at the precipice of success and the revolution will not be delayed. First this city, then the country, then the world." Gallows said in a speech.
"The Teen Titans are unwitting pawns, and should be permanently eliminated." Said an outspoken member.
"Any enemy of the revolution is an enemy of The Red Dawn Rising." Added another member.
"No, the Titans, despite their adamant opposition to our cause, will be key in the future to our success. And, in time, I will allow them to join the Red Dawn, and by that time, they will see the error of their ways and thus gladly join us." Gallows answered to his followers' suggestions.
Somewhat shocked by his response and cryptic chatter, Gallow's followers, one by one, regardlessly changed their response and gave their approval with stern faces and salutes. They were ready for the Titans.