Chapter One: The First Chapter That the Author Couldn't Think of a Title For

Lenny Higgins had worked a lot of jobs in his lifetime, but he was quite certain that none of them had ever been this dangerous.

Hanging ten feet above the most expensive diamond necklace in the Jump City Jewelry Shop, he was certain that the money earned from this heist would make him very, very rich. All of his hopes were destroyed when the flashlight he was using suddenly flickered out.

"What the--?!"

Something knocked him down from the strand of thin cable he was suspended by. He hit the ground with a sudden thud, smashing through the glass case that housed the necklace.

RRRRRRING! RRRRRRING! RRRRRRING! RRRRRRING! RRRRRRING!

The alarm startled him as he somehow managed to get himself to his feet.

"Who's there? Who are you?"

There was no answer.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light near the door as a familiar figure flew into the store on what looked like a floating, glowing disk of metal.

"STATIC!"

"You were expecting Spider-Man?"

The young superhero raised his hand, firing a bolt of electricity. It missed Lenny by only about three inches. Seeing a narrow window for escape, the would-be cat burglar sprinted out the door, mounted a blue motorcycle, and sped off into the night.

That was too close, Lenny thought as he looked over his shoulder. How could I have allowed myself to be so careless—?

BZAPT!

The front tire of the Lenny's bike was torn from its axle, surrounded by a purplish-white aura.

"Gaaaah!"

What was left of the motorcycle skidded loudly against the pavement, sending up bright yellow and fiery orange sparks. It veered to the right, crashing into a brick wall nearby.

Higgins, now nursing a broken wrist, found himself flat on his back.

"Guess you picked the wrong night, huh?" Static asked, standing over him with his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face. To Lenny, he seemed much taller than the meager 5'9 that he really was.

"Guess so."

Later, after the thug had been taken to the hospital, and soon after that, jail, Static decided to fly over to the town pizza joint. His friends would be waiting for him back at Titans Tower, and besides, he had to finish the errand he had originally set out to complete.

"Here you go," said the cute brunette at the register. "Two cheese, two sausage, and two pepperonis."

"Thanks."

"Hey, no problem!"

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"Where is he?!"

"Gar, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation--"

"How does this always happen? My stomach needs pizza five minutes ago, man!"

Robin sighed. His green friend was usually jolly and jovial, but when he was hungry, he sometimes experienced mood swings worse than those of most women in menopause. The main room of Titans Tower was usually busy with activity, but tonight was movie night, and movie night could never officially begin until they had the usual pizza. I knew I should have gone this time, he thought. I hope Virgil didn't get lost!

"Hey, guys!" a familiar voice called. "I'm back!"

"Friend Static!" Starfire cried with joy. "You have returned! And, you have pizza! Glorious!!"

"Yeah, now we can get this party started!" said Cyborg, entering the room with a giant shaker filled with Parmesan cheese in one hulking metal hand and a can of Mountain Dew in the other.

"Well…it is movie night, so what do you guys want to watch?" Static asked, placing the pizzas on a small table in front of the long red couch.

"Back to the Future!" Beast Boy yelled. "We haven't watched a good sci-fi movie in quite a while!"

"How about "Romancing the Stone"?" Robin asked, rubbing the short fuzz that had finally begun to show on his chin over the past month or so. "I can always go for an adventure film every so often."

"I've always enjoyed "Beaches," Terra said shyly, quietly seating herself on the far left end of the couch.

Beast Boy sighed, staring at her with an even more dreamy look in his eyes than usual. Raven glared at them both, and then said, "Saw."

Everyone in the room stared at her awkwardly with a look of semi-fear in their eyes.

"What?" Raven asked. "I just happen to like that movie, is all."

"W-well, I, uh, I was going to suggest "Big," but I would have to agree with BB on "Back to the Future," Cyborg said nervously, his mouth full of pepperoni.

"Well then, "Back to the Future" it is!" Robin said, disappearing into his room. He emerged with his prized blue-boxed "Back to the Future" DVD set, producing the disc from its plastic pocket.

"Oh, Robin, I have always wondered about that eternal question myself, the one from that movie which we are about to watch," Starfire said suddenly.

"Really? What question would that be?"

"Robin…what the hell is a jigowatt??"

Static and Cyborg both stifled a laugh. Beast Boy, powerless against the movements of his own diaphragm, threw back his head and howled.

"Well, it's a unit of electrical energy, Star," Robin said, a smile tugging at his lips as well.

"Oh. I understand." She sat back in her seat.

"Hey, Starfire, this is a jigowatt," Static said, his gloved hand suddenly lighting up with electrical energy.

"Virgil, NO! I just fixed the last fuse you--"

BZAPT!

"Oops. Well, so much for the movie…"

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"Wintergreen!"

"Yes sir?"

"Sit down."

Slade Wilson, mercenary, sat slumped in a drunken stupor in the huge chair at the center of his clock tower home. His cracked mask lay next to him on a dilapidated wooden table. His former hideout had been in shambles ever since his last battle with the Teen Titans, but none of the damage had equaled the damage done to his physical body by the alcoholic habits he had recently picked up.

"Wintergreen…" he said again, his voice slurred by the liquor.

"Yes…sir?"

"Have you heard anything new…burp…on the Titans?"

"N-no, sir," the smaller man said, picking up his boss's empty glasses. "Do you wish to…see them?"

"One day…soon. I will destroy…them all…"

"Sir, are you felling all right?"

"No…"

Slade belched again, slipping back into alcoholic sleep as his servant washed the plethora of dirty dishes that somehow managed to always take up at least twenty-five percent of the meager kitchen space. Sighing at his master's discontent, Wintergreen finished his chores, retiring to his own bed after spreading a ratty blanket over Slade.

Somewhere in the recesses in his mind, Slade Wilson was not asleep. He was already beginning to think…to plan…soon the Teen Titans would be at his mercy…and no one would be able to stop him.