It had been four years since the demise of Trigon, four years since the return of Terra, four years since the return of Slade, and as of a week ago it had also been the end of Slade.
But that's for later…
What had really changed was the new structuring of the criminal system. The Justice League had come down even harder with its code of ethics and morals in the dealing of criminals.
There had been talk, lots of talk…amongst the public, the government and other heroes. Ever since the Justice League had come into contact with the possible future; one where heroes killed, lobotomized and turned the government into a dictatorship; there were new laws coming into play.
For one, many lawyers and psychiatrists had been arguing that the law was not giving accused criminals fair trails or punishments anymore. Many complaints aimed toward Arkham Asylum for not actually treating its inmates; in fact some were arguing that the asylum had gone corrupt and was actually making its patients worse.
Humanitarians were complaining that the more physically powerful heroes were using unnecessary force on some of their weaker foes. Many people had turned to say that regular human criminals should be handled by police (those of equal caliber) and that the public was relying too much on superheroes.
The police, firemen, and working class complained more than the rest. Police were being put out of work by the ever expanding League, they felt demoralized and unneeded, most civilians waited for heroes rather than call 911.
Firemen were being overworked because of the violent battles that sent buildings crumbling to the ground in fiery heaps. Between the exploding cars, the powers of heat, super strength and high tech explosive, by the time the majority of the battle was over everything was practically ash and more dangerous to work around.
The working class were losing what they needed most…money. Between the rebuilding, the increase of insurances, increase of taxes, increase of security, and overpopulated prisons, the common working person was feeling the effects of good vs. evil the most.
The government was feeling it too. Their citizens were not at ease with the way the criminal system was being practiced and the amount of freedom and trust it allowed its superheroes.
Things had to come to a breaking point… the breaking point was Raven.
When people had finally realized what had happened because of the lone Titan, everyone had gone in an uproar. They had technically been dead and some might argue that they had been saved by the very Titan who had brought on the end of the world, but that wasn't the point.
Hackers had infiltrated the systems private files of the Watchtower and found high-tech footage of the incident. Thanks to the technologies of the Thanagarian people, the demonic magic of Trigon that had froze the universe in stone and time had not affected the advanced high-tech footage meant to repel all forms of magic.
When the information had been leaked everyone had become distrusting of the League, the Titans and all other affiliated groups.
What had truly made it all so terrifying was the fact that no one had known about it, least of all the government. There had been no contingency plan, no way to prepare. Although it was argued that the Titans had prepared and had informed the League for help, even though that wasn't all together true.
Raven had insisted they not tell the League, and Robin had been so adamant in his team's abilities to do the impossible that he hadn't seen the need to get the League involved.
Of course the League had been just as disturbed by the information once everything had returned to normal, as though nothing had ever happened. But something real, real serious had happened, the world had been destroyed and the Titans had known about it too little too late.
Raven had kept a secret. Not a regular human secret like: I cheated on my math test, I watch random kitten and puppy videos, or I actually love Taylor Swift.
No…Raven held a secret that had to do with the livelihood and well-being of the entire earth; something which could've been detrimental into her acceptance as a superhero.
It hadn't come as a surprise that many argued that Raven had no business being amongst the Titans.
It also led into discussions as what other superheroes might be hiding, not just from the public, but from their teammates as well.
Superman had come forward finally. It was not in the best interest of the public to inform them on every ability, history and likelihood of danger because it could cause unnecessary fear and panic in its civilians. The trust and freedom the government allowed them to work in was the key foundation in what allowed them to do their jobs to the best of their ability. And as hard as the negatives were in the cases of money and criminal activity, people also had to remember the positives. The League and the Titans saved lives, they helped rebuild and keep structure, and if they weren't as hard as they were on criminals there would be even more casualties and havoc imaginable.
The public, the government, and even a few superheroes… did not agree.