Prologue

Jump City used to be a great place to live. Big shopping, plenty of parking, and by far the best pizza parlor this side of western hemisphere. You could almost say that it was the perfect place to live, if not for one itty-bitty, barely noticeable problem: Supervillains.

I know you're rolling your eyes at me, and believe me I don't blame you, but it's the honest truth. Everything from creatures of energy, amorphous piles of puss filled goo, a tv fanatic with a magic remote, a living heart monster, and…you know, it would take far too long to describe them all in full detail. Let's just leave it at there was no shortage of those that were willing to break into the bigtime in the most dangerous of ways possible. Ok, so maybe Jump City wasn't exactly an ideal town even back then, but at least we had them. The five paragons of justice that were barely old enough to drive: The Teen Titans!

There was beast boy, the incredible shapeshift with mysterious green skin and a vegetarian diet. He could flawlessly assume the form of any animal, from the living to the extinct, and he was the comedic heart of the team.

Then there was Cyborg, half man, half machine, all hero. The team's tech specialist and mechanic, this former sports star was quite capable with his hands, whether making some new fancy gadget to give his friends the edge in battle, or simply bashing a badguy's brains in with his signature sonic canon.

Thirdly is the most mysterious of the group, Raven. With powers far beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, Raven is the lone wolf of the group. Through what many consider dark magic, she can telekinetically lift and toss objects of any size and mass, and is even capable of short to long range teleportation. From what I was able to learn, she also has daddy issues. Something I can relate to.

Following her is her fellow female titan, the radiant and bombastic Starfire. Ok, maybe I'm being a bit tacky here, but she's definitely the most inviting of the group. Heck, I've literally looked through old video surveillance footage, and I've been hardpressed to find a single time she wasn't smiling or doing something that showed she was happy. Hailing from a planet called Tamaran, Starfire possesses the ability to absorb solar radiation, which gifts her the power of flight and the ability to fire green energy projectiles from her hands and eyes.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the unconquerable boy wonder know as Robin. Though possessing no actual superpowers like his other teammates, Robin is the strategic head of the Teen Titans, and the best hand to hand fighter. He was trained by some of the greatest martial artists in the world, one in particular that I need not even mention, and with his bottomless bag of gadgets, plus an incredibly awesome motorcycle, he was a force to be feared by his enemies.

I'm sure you've guessed by now that a but is coming into this, and you would be right. About a year ago, well, they just disappeared, and I mean gone. Titan's Tower, their T-shaped home that resided on a small island on the lake, was nothing more than a smoldering wreck, and there was no sign of the five heroes after that. Some looked for them, some tried to take their place, but eventually the city gave up. Almost overnight, the city went straight into the toilet. It was divided up amongst the more powerful supervillains: Overload rules uptown, Control Freak owns downtown, Mad Mod dominated the east side, Mumbo Jumbo manned west side, and in the center of it all was the man in charge of it all, Slade. Having made his new fortress in the remains of Titan's Tower as a message of spite to his old foes, the masked man runs everything that goes on in Jump City. Everything to the smallest mugging to the largest of bank heists.

He seems to think he's invincible, ya know. He decrees that there are no more heroes in the city to save the day. No more capes that flap heroically in the wind as crime is sent to a screeching halt. Well, maybe he's right, but you know what? That's not gonna stop me from doing my darndest to try and make a change. If I learned anything from studying the Titans, it's that it just takes one person to make a difference, and I guess it may as well be me. I don't know if I'll even make a dent against those that seek to crush the city underfoot, but I'll at least fight to my last breath before the town bites the dust for good. Here's hoping and, if you're reading this, wish me luck. Boy, am I gonna need it.

Midnight,

Slade's Bane