Disclaimer: This story is purely fan-made and not to be confused with the Teen Titans animated series, which is actually good.
A/N: This is about the Teen Titans' children, mostly about Robin and Starfire's daughter. I don't know why but in ever next generation story, I've made Robin a complete jerk. I am a Robin fan, but I really don't sound like it in this story. Oh and this story is T for a reason.
P r o l o g u e
My name is Mariander Jean Grayson, Mari for short. What I am about to tell you is one hundred percent true. There are no false statements, no fluffy parts included to make the reader "feel better". I am not milking anyone for sympathy; I am not trying to entertain. What you are about to read is only part of my statement that will hopefully buy my freedom. When I say "100 percent true" I really mean it. I will tell you, the reader, every heart wrenching, bloody, rancid memory from the time I was thirteen to the time I was twenty-one, only skipping three years in the middle because they're none of your damn business and have nothing to do with the overall story itself.
I was born in a time that you probably don't understand. Remember those days when a bank robber would try to mug you in the streets and Robin would swoop in and rescue you? Then he would flash you that charming smile and disappear into the crowds where Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire were waiting. That Robin is dead. He died with Slade almost ten months before my birth. Or at least his kind side did. The old Teen Titans that you knew and loved practically died as well. No, they didn't die in a heroic battle. And no, they didn't literally die. All I'm telling you about Slade's death was that he was legit, had given up villain for something better. But no one knew what it was. But he never got to do or see that "something better". My father went berserk. He attacked Slade with everything he had and never let up for a second. By the time Cyborg (Vic) was able to pull Dad off of Slade, it was too late. Slade was dead. After that everything changed. If it wasn't for the fact that Jen, who was also Jinx at the time, just had a baby right before Slade died, she and Wally (Flash or Kid Flash at the time) would have ended up just like the rest of the Titans.
My mother, Starfire, was never supposed to get pregnant with me. My father didn't want me. Hell, he didn't want me after I was born. My father wanted her to get an abortion immediately, but luckily my mother was persistent. After all, Dad promised her at least one child when they were married two months before Slade died. Dad finally subsided, but swore that he would not help her during the pregnancy. She would have to take care of herself. Maybe that was scarred her so badly. One of the reasons Dad allowed her to keep the baby (me) was she promised him a son. A son could carry the family name. A son would take over for him when he was old. He wouldn't have to baby a son. But Richard and Kori Grayson didn't have a son. They had a daughter. A daughter that was pretty underweight, barely five pounds, and had the umbilical cord tied around her neck twice. Luckily, I wasn't born with any mental problems. Well, besides bipolar disorder when I grew older.
Despite the fact I was a girl, Dad decided to train me anyway. What did he have to lose? He began my training when I was three years old. It was just the "simple" things first, like martial arts. Then I began weapons training at age four. Mom began teaching how to use my powers, which I had gotten from her side of the family, at age eight. She was crushed to learn that despite the fact I had inherited her strength and star bolts, I had not inherited her power of flight. Mostly because by that time, my emotions were so screwed up that it was practically hopeless. When I was four years old, the "accident" happened.
That's a misnomer. It wasn't an accident. It was an example of my father's cruelty and insanity. It was a normal day, Dad was teaching me how to fight with daggers when I cut myself. Dad lost it when I started crying. He was already angry with me because of the fact that I wasn't progressing as fast as I was supposed to. The second I started crying, he snatched me off of the ground and flung me across the floor. Before I knew it Dad was attacking me with knives. I managed to escape, but I still had a bad scar that was shaped like an "X" on my lower back. It was never faded and remained there forever. The Shadow saved me. I never knew who he really was at the time, but he became a father figure to me. He taught me acrobatics and I mastered it immediately. Unfortunately, he disappeared when I turned eight. I never saw him again until I was thirteen.
When I was thirteen, two things happened that changed my life forever. One was I found out my father was cheating on my mother with his old "friend", Barbara Gordon, and had been for the past eight years. The other thing was I joined a gang. I didn't mean to, it happened too fast. But with the shadow gone, my mother running off to Tameran to get away from my father all the time, my relationship with my father ruined beyond repair, and all my "friends" in Jump City, I needed someone. I needed someone to talk to and take care of me. I got that person. His name was Murray Flinders, son of Barron Flinders, aka Mammoth. He was five years older that me, eighteen years old. I loved him like an older brother, one my parents never provided for me. His mother died when he was a baby. After that, he and his father were extremely close. Unfortunately, his father died when he was eight. Somehow he joined the Jokerz, the gang I later joined. Things completely changed for me. For the first time in my life, I felt wanted. My father, however, hated Murray. On more that one occasion, he threatened to call the police to arrest Murray for pedophile. That also caused a greater rift between my father and me. It also distanced me from my Jump City friends. I became a rebel; I didn't want to communicate with anyone who weren't Murray, DJ, BJ, or Dane. DJ and BJ came later. They were the children of Donna Troy (Troia), Wonder Woman's sister and William North (Billy Numerous). Dianna, Donna's sister, hated her sister for dating and later marrying Billy Numerous. They hadn't spoken since before Slade died. DJ was named for her mother. Her full name was Donna Joanne North. BJ was named for his father. His full name was William North X (Yeah. They're nine more named that in his family) His family always called him Billy Junior. Murray and I called him BJ (Billy Junior).
Dane Matthews was the leader of the Jokerz. When I was thirteen, he was 24, nine years older than I was. And he was in love with me. I always thought it was funny. Dad called Murray a pedophile, but it was really Dane. Of course, I liked Dane well enough as a friend. Sure he could be a little cruel sometimes, but the person deserved it. Or so I thought. I always thought Dane was a good guy until he killed Murray. He suspected Murray of betraying the gang. Which is bullshit. The gang was always Murray's second priority; I was his first. I watched it happened. If that wasn't traumatizing enough, Dane decided to put aside his so called "love" for me so he could frame me for the murder. That was when I saw "The Shadow" again. He rescued me from falling to my death and he told me something that saved my sanity. "Your destiny isn't falling to your death, joining your friend. Your destiny is life. Your destiny is to protect your loved ones and crush your enemies. Don't lose sight of your main goal or you'll join your father in the darkness. For years I had no idea what that meant. But I followed his words loyally. Unfortunately, he couldn't save me from getting arrested. And do you know what's worse than having the cops think you are a lying murderer? Your own father, thanks to that bitch Barbara Gordon, think you are a lying murderer and your own mother is too afraid of your father to stick up for you.
I got sent to juvie for five months, two of those were because I insulted Barbara--I mean Commissioner Gordon. When I got out Dad packed us up and moved us to Jump City. According to him it would be better for me. Which was probably a lie because Dad never really cared what happened to me. Sure, he "believed" me when I told him that I didn't kill Murray. He forbade me from ever speaking about it ever again. Maybe he thought that if I flat out ignored the fact that I "killed" Murray, I would forget about him. Maybe that's what happened with him and Slade. But I didn't forget about Murray. Especially since I turned out to be the main beneficiary in his will. I got everything he ever owned, even some clothes. There were two things that I especially loved. One was his old jacket. It was a black jacket that reached my knees and had a hood on it. No matter how many years passed, Murray's scent never faded from that jacket. The second thing was his van. Originally, it was his father's. It was dark blue and resembled the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo on the inside. That van was Murray's pride and joy. He had gotten it right after his father died. Murray even taught me how to drive in that van. The van still smelt like Murray. Even a decades after he died, but that little piece of information isn't involved in the story whatsoever.
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. This story's beginning takes place two days after I moved to Jump City, three weeks before Ravager was unmasked.
A/N: There you go, Chapter 1. Reviews are wonderful. Some constructive criticism is accepted, but no flames (they're pretty pointless don't you think?).