I
Jump City is just another one of the gleaming, future-minded cities that populate the US alongside Metropolis, Gotham, and Paragon. It's a city like any other of the three stated above. There are supervillains, and the heroes who stop them. There are criminals, and the forces that stop them.
This is, of course, with the exceptions.
There's an island that rises out of the nearby harbor—man-made, as atoning to its rocky shroes. A superstructure rises from the middle of the island, rising into the air as high as any of the skyscrapers on the mainland. It is a garrison, a home, a clubhouse. It's been called many names, but is known by one—
It is Titans Tower.
And yet, there is something missing. Something…important.
The Titans—the Tower's crown jewel—are in Tokyo. But something else is amiss.
There's an entirely new host inhabiting the Tower. Other superheroes—Titans in their own right—in the tower.
Heroes forged in the crucible of Paragon City, the famed City of Heroes.
And the Jump City-ers are in luck—the heroes have had experience with just about every threat, ranging from gigantic robots to demonic entities. For if one were to walk down any street at any given time in Paragon City, one could pretty much see anything happen.
Vince Carbine—aka Nova Phoenix—strode around in the main lobby of the tower, the early morning sunlight shining brightly through the panoramic windows that covered the wall to his right. His armor was currently deactivated to its "stand-by" mode, a backpack.
From his outward appearance, one couldn't tell that he was an up-and-coming hero in Paragon City. Heck, he looked more like some lucky fourteen-year-old hacker that somehow disabled the security system of the tower and gained access. The look could suit him; he wore a black T-shirt with The Ramones symbol centered on the front with baggy jeans and black Etnies. The silver backpack strapped onto his back rounded out the package. He let out a big sigh as he looked around with wonder, a short smirk on his face. His hands were cupped to the back of his head. "So you're cool with this?" He apparently spoke into thin air, but he had a small headset on that was linked to the backpack via Bluetooth.
"Of course." Robin's voice came back clearly. "Somebody's gotta watch the Tower while we're gone on vacation."
"On that note," Vince cut in, "how long will y'all be away? Me and the rest of the group are due back in about two weeks in Paragon to appear at HeroCon alongside the Silver Bastion. Plus, I've got that date with Katie coming up—"
"Hey, hey! Take it easy." Robin had to speak louder to overcome the commotion behind him as Beast Boy and Cyborg argued about who would have the last California Roll (There was Imitation Crab, so it was okay with BB). "We'll be back in a weeks, and, if not, maybe a month."
"Dude, it's mine!" Beast Boy grabbed for the sushi.
"Oh, no it isn't!" Cyborg retorted.
"Keep it down!" Robin shouted.
Vince shook his head as he heard the commotion. They're both idiots, he thought. Then Robin's words hit him. A month?! "A month?! You can't seriously stay in Japan for a month!" Vince voice started to get higher pitched as he began to panic.
"Actually, I think we'll be here for a month or two."
Vince's mind went blank.
"We've been thinking of establishing a Teen Titans Asia to make sure that the Brushogun incident, or anything like it, happens again."
The words stuck with him. A month!? He almost fainted when the sound of a large thump, followed by a high-pitched scream, found their way to the lobby. Vince readied himself, two balls of light generated into his hands.
Robin also became alert. "What's going on?"
"GET OFF ME, YOU SLIMY WORM!" The voice screamed. The door opened to find Silky, Starfire's "pet" larva, slobbering all over Jenny's hair as he hung from her ponytail. The larva had a smile on his face, but Jenny was utterly disgusted, as you can imagine having a worm stuck to the side of your head chewing on your hair. "Immobilus Hydron!" She shouted and, in an instant, the worm was enveloped in a globule of water, seemingly levitating. She then touched her hair. "Zephyr Whit." And, in another instant, a gust of wind blew threw the tower, drying her hair.
She was more mystic than the others. She was an Elementalist, able to conjure up the elements in a flash with a few words. But for now, she was dressed normally; her superhero get-up could be summoned at the mere thought. A white Tee undershirt was covered by a faded green tank top. She wore jeans and white Vans to complete the look. Two bracelets adorned each of her arms, and her dark red ponytail was held in place with a small clasp. Her light ale colored eyes, usually the first thing many notice about her, besides her burgundy hair, were alight with fire. "Vince, is Kory on the other end of your conversation? You can tell her that her little bumgorf just tried to eat my hair!"
"It's nice to see you too, Jenny." Vince let out a smirk.
"Whoops, I forgot about putting that on the list of things. Don't use any scented shampoos, lotions, creams, or moisturizers during your stay. Silky thinks that you might smell like food and well, yeah." Robin's embarrassment could be sensed even miles away.
Jenny grumbled. "That would have been useful information ten minutes ago." Rather half-heartedly, she mumbled, "Now I gotta go wash my hair."
"Well, if that's everything, I guess I'd better go. Beast Boy's getting assaulted by a group of schoolgirls."
"Dude, get them offa me!" Beast Boy's cries could be heard on the other end of the conversation.
"Calm down, will ya?! Oh man, where's Starfire and Raven when you need them?" Cyborg asked as he tried pushing away the horde.
"They said something about 'Harajuku' and 'shopping' and 'cosplay'—I didn't catch all of it."
"THEY'RE RIPPING OFF MY CLOTHES!" Beast Boy screamed.
"Don't worry, I'm on my way!" Robin shouted. "Good luck with the Tower. Robin out."
The leader's transmission ended with a bleep. He turned to his right, seeing Jenny laid out on the circular sofa, watching the Titans' God-knows-how-large plasma screen television. "So what's the verdict?" She asked, preoccupied with changing the channels.
"Well, it's official. We have the Tower for until they alert us otherwise." He jumped in right next to her.
"Peachy."
Silence came as they flipped through the channels.
"Where's Dex?" Vince asked, turning to Jenny.
"He's jacking into the main database, or something or other."
"Oh." More silence came as they slowly fell asleep on the couch.
II