The Razing Chapter 1: Introductions, a teen titans fanfic

The Razing

Chapter One: Introductions

Light flooded across the sky; as yet another glorious sunrise soared over the heads of the citizens of the City. A magnificent bustling burg, technologically advanced, filled to the brim with numerous interesting and colorful characters. Life goes on as it does everyday, people going to work, buildings being built, and so on and so on. But like everything good, there is always something sinister hiding behind the outer shell of what appears to be a peaceful place, concealing trouble.

Like any large city, there is much crime as well, something that everyone should really expect. However, this is something more sinister than a normal pickpocket or even a bank-robber. This city, while a wondrous place, is also plagued with the fate of being invaded by hordes of super villains, beings with great power, with aspects ranging from merely stealing what their hearts desire, to the utter destruction of the City itself. These criminals wreck havoc wherever they go, doing as they please, in order to fulfill their own selfish desires.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "If there so many of these evildoers running lose through the city, why, oh why, is it such a desirable place to live?" Aha, now we come to the crux of the matter. While at any given time, there are quite a few "bad guys" running through the streets, many have learned to keep a low profile at times.

Why? Because there are protectors of the city, knights of justice one might say, to uphold the law and keep this city safe and secure for the common folks. What sort of heroes are they? They are the superhero group, know and feared as the Teen Titans!

A small number of talented teenagers who had banned together and have devoted themselves to keep a watchful eye on the city, ready to fight against the criminal underworld, thwarting their dastardly plots. The five youngsters have made a renowned reputation as being great heroes, their names striking fear into the black hearts of the scheming desperados that populate the city.

Five teenagers, facing incredible odds. But it is no surprise that these youths are not ordinary superheroes. They each have their own special strengths and personalities, combined together to create the perfect mix of adolescent insanity.

First is the organizer of the Teen Titans, as well as the leader, Robin. This young fellow is perhaps the most normal of all the Titans, not actually having any manner of superpowers. But powers are really only secondary to those that have the heart and mind to be a real hero. Using his quick reflexes and speed, Robin is an exceptionally good martial artist, knowing and using Kung Fu to batter his enemies into submission. Using an array of little but highly destructive devices on his utility belt is also one of his trademarks. Armed with anything from Birdarangs, retractable bow staff, and bombs, he using his cunning and wit to coordinate his team to victory in battle.

Next comes the robotic Cyborg, who is indeed just as his name states, a young man who was rebuilt as a cybernetic organism, mechanical parts over the human frame. Using a very advanced technology he has gained incredible strength, able to bench press something as huge as a building, and outfitting himself with a whole arsenal of weapons such as his patented Sonic Cannon, that his arms can transform into. A talented technician, his favorite hobby is to use the same technology that he is built out of, and put it into his T-Car as well as his T-Ship.

Then there is Starfire, the young alien girl from the planet Tamaran. She is perhaps the most cheerful and quirky of the group, always speaking of the customs of her home world, and trying to adapt to life on Earth. Not only sporting the ability to fly, she possesses super strength, able to rip up heavy sheets of metal like paper. While in air, she launches her green energy attacks named Starbolts, which she rains down on enemies at a fantastic rate. In addition to these, beams of light shoot from her eyes, throwing her adversary back with terrific force. A very caring girl, she loves her friends very much, trying to understand their often times bizarre behavior.

And then who could forget the funny one, named Beast Boy. A small wiry youngster with green skin, who has an ability that matches his name. Thanks to the unstable genetic makeup of his body, he can instantaneously morph into any known animal. If villains attack from the sky, he transforms into an eagle or a pterodactyl to give chase. On ground he becomes a great beast, usually a gorilla, rhinoceros, or something as terrifying as a tyrannosaurus rex, dwarfing the competition. A born jokester, his favorite pass time is to play ridiculous pranks on his friends. He can never pass up an opportunity to crack a joke, even in the middle of heated combat. His humor is a good release for the rest of the team, even when he seems utterly annoying.

And finally comes the ever dark Raven. She comes from a place called Azarath, a world when she spent her childhood in meditation, learning to control her unpredictable power. She is very unemotional, knowing that if she let her feelings out, they could cause her to lose control of her powers in erratic ways. Using a form of magic, she can shape pure black energy to her command, as well as use the power of telekinesis to hurl objects and telepathy. Very dark and mysterious, she likes to keep to herself, ensuring that nobody enters her room, her private haven. She is exceptionally intelligent, and tries her best to tolerate the wacky antics of her friends… especially Beast Boy.

And so, these are the Teen Titans, watching over the City from their headquarters, a place not easily missed. In the bay of the City on a small rocky crag, there sits a unique building, designed in the shape of a T, aptly named Titan's Tower. This command center who all five Titans engineered, especially Cyborg, is filled with high-tech equipment such as state of the art surveillance hardware, and a full-proof security system. Whenever a serious offence is in progress, a signal will be transmitted to the Tower, and thus the Titan's will move out, determined to put the guilty party behind bars.

Sure, they are hard pressed by multiple villains, such as the diabolical Slade, a criminal genius, but in the end, the Titan's find some way or another to overcome their foes. In most cases, it is their very close friendship that allows them to pull together and to fight as one, being an unstoppable force. Never have the Titan's met defeat by the hands of any villain.

Unfortunately, this was a record that was destined to be broken in one way or another that would count as a "defeat". Perhaps if their enemies had successfully managed to launch a devastating attack against the Titan's or escaped from capture. But to be defeated in battle, being overwhelmed by a truly powerful foe? That seemed utterly impossible. And yet…it wasn't.

The day began as it should, the sun rising over the City, casting its warming glow over all. The morning traffic began, people crowding the streets eager to begin the day. And of course, over the water at Titan's Tower, things were just as they should be as well. Inside the living room, Cyborg was sitting on the sofa, his regular and bionic eye both fixated on the massive monitor, as his metal fingers worked frantically at the controller in his hands. His miniature red racer on the screen was slowly falling behind the blue one of the computer. And as gap between them widened, the shade of red on his face grew darker and darker.

Starfire sat beside him, also watching. Her emerald eyes would go back and forth from the little cars on the screen, to the intensifying color on Cyborg's face. She was wondering whatever could be upsetting him so? Sitting on another couch in the room, or rather, levitating above it, was Raven, sitting cross-legged, trying to concentrate on her book, attempting to block out the loud obnoxious sounds from the video game.

Beast Boy was in the adjacent kitchen, staring into the fridge, contemplating what he should have for lunch. His choices had narrowed down to cold leftover pizza or a cold leftover cheese sandwich. And finally, Robin had just entered the room, towel draped over his shoulders after finishing a rousing morning training exercise.

"Dah!" yelled Cyborg, pointing an accusing finger at the screen. "This stupid video game is cheating! There is no way that the computer can ever beat me!" Starfire still was very puzzled.

"Please," she asked Cyborg, uncaring or just unaware that he was seconds away from blowing a power regulator circuit, "Explain again why the little cars are trying beat each other?" Her eyes grew large and little sparkles seemed to burst forth from her as she clasped both hands tighter. "Shouldn't they try and tie the race and then they can celebrate by both being the victor?" Cyborg was meanwhile studying the box that the game cartage came in, trying to see if it warned on the box that the computer cheats.

"Don't call the game stupid," said Raven, not raising her eyes from the book. Her voice was not without its usual sarcasm. "You'll hurt its feelings."

"Aha, I got it," cried Cyborg, raising one finger in the air, then aiming it to the television screen. "The games gotta be defective! That's the only explanation! I don't lose unless the game cheats!"

Beast Boy was trying to stuff both the pizza and cheese sandwich into his mouth, but still managed to get out, "Dude, are you sure it's the game that's defective, and not your hands?" As he was busy trying to swallow the lump of stale food, Beast Boy was suddenly aware that someone was standing right behind him.

Turning, Cyborg was standing there; his whole metal body seemed to be giving off an extreme heat. Furthermore his regular eye was twitching in involuntary spasms. Sensing that he was probably going to get hurt, Beast Boy quickly changed into a mouse and tried to skitter off. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite fast enough as the steel fingers closed around his tail and hauled him over to the couch.

"All right, little man," Cyborg said, a gleam in his eye, thrusting a control in front of the green mouse. "Let's see if you can beat me!" Changing back into his human form, now Beast Boy was now glaring back up into Cyborg's face.

"Who you callin' "little"?" In a flash, Beast Boy had changed into a ram, blowing columns of steam from his nostrils, and both the olive colored goat and Cyborg looked ready to butt horns. Robin who had been getting a drink had by this time casually strolled over and got between the two.

"Hey cool it," he said, trying to wedge himself in between the two. His efforts were in vain, as the two crushed him nearly flat and he wafted to the floor looking like a paper doll cut out. Re-inflating himself, he then tried to use his staff to pry them apart but the reinforced bow cracked under the extreme pressure and he went sprawling. Fortunately he landed right on top of the remote and hit the power button, causing the television to shut off. At once, both Beast Boy and Cyborg separated and turned to look at Robin, who was picking himself up off the ground.

"Come on you guys," he said, straightening his cape. "You know nothings malfunctioning, and besides, you've been sitting in front of the TV all day. Why not get up and do something else?" He cast an arm towards a nearby window, "There's a ton of stuff to do today. Just look at the sky!"

True enough, there was hardly a cloud up there. The view from the high window was really quite spectacular, overlooking the bay with the skyline of the City just beyond. In fact, from that position of Titan's Tower, there was a clear an unobstructed view from the Tower to the City. Robin was still in the middle of lecturing both Cyborg and Beast Boy about how playing video games and watching too much TV was going to dull their senses, when something new developed.

At the precise moment that Robin threw up his arms proclaiming, "You need to grab life by the horns!" but before Beast Boy could turn into some creature with enormous horns, like a moose, from outside came an explosion that seemed to rock the Tower. Everyone was visibly shaken, but seemed unharmed. Cyborg ran over to the nearest terminal and began bringing up a schematic design of the Tower. "Man," cried Beast Boy frantically looking around, "What was that? It felt like an earthquake!"

"It didn't come from here," reported Cyborg who had finished his diagnostic, "All systems check one-hundred percent. It wasn't inside the Tower." While all the others were gathered around Cyborg, there came a frantic cry of "Look!" It was Starfire who was pointing towards the City through the massive window. And indeed for good reason. There was a mammoth cloud of blackened smoke rising from the center of the city, as well as the signs of fire.

All the others ran over and stared out in horror at the City. It was then that the built in alarm system went off; bringing in a full report of the incident to the Tower's central computer. Running over and quickly scanning the files, Robin rounded up his team. "Okay," he told them, "There is a fire in Central, and the signs point to a bomb of some sort. We need to get over there now!" No sooner had he finished speaking when yet another titanic blast erupted from the city, generating yet another cloud of dark smoke. "Titan's go!"

---

The day was beautiful, a few clouds, bright sunlight, as well as a cool breeze. The Central area of the City was quite a bustling little district, always in motion with relatively a lot of activity. For one thing, there was dozens, perhaps even hundreds of store fronts to stop in front of and peer into, scanning the displayed merchandise. In addition to those, there were so many restaurants to choose from, ranging anywhere between fast food pizza places to gourmet Italian lining the streets.

Also, this portion of the city had a very impressive park, with a sparkling lake, in which people could rent rowboats or canoes. More often than not, a person could find one event or another stationed on the large patches of open grass. At the entrance to the park was the famous Gateway, a plaza covered over by trees, and housing a magnificent water fountain. Creating the perimeter of Central was the towering skyscrapers, creating a glass and steel barrier, blocking out the rest of the city.

In short, it was a relaxing place, usually where people go to have fun or take a lunch break. Who wouldn't want to catch up on a bit of shopping or grab a delicious bite to eat?

It was roughly one o'clock in the afternoon when this peaceful sanctuary suffered a grievous assault. Everything was how it was everyday. People carrying shopping bags, perusing the stores, couples eating under an umbrella near the street, and a rousing game of football being played by local kids in the park.

There was no warning. No siren. No nothing.

Only a few people actually saw what happened, but they themselves wouldn't ever be able to truly explain it. It was right by the Gateway, where five people were. A young woman wearing a nurse uniform, who was catching up with her reading, sitting on a bench. A young man and his golden retriever, who he was tossing a ball to. An elderly fellow who was coming back from the park after an afternoon stroll. And finally, two little kids, perhaps around nine or ten, both crouching down, trying to untangle a kite string, anxious to take advantage of a surprisingly windy day. These five were near the Gateway, and they saw what happened. But, there were actually six people there.

It's just…no one really took any notice of the sixth person. Standing under an ancient oak tree, leaning against the massive trunk, arms crossed, stood a shadowy figure. If one happened to stop and stared, you would have seen a young man, wearing a somewhat inappropriate outfit considering the warm weather. Not really the strangest thing in the world, which was perhaps why he hadn't been noticed thus far. He didn't move, didn't speak, but just stared out at the world. Only when he raised his right arm, only then did someone notice.

But by that time, it was already way too late. His arm was stretched out, with his large palm open, the whole hand facing the marble fountain. He stood like this for ten seconds or so, and that's when that beautiful fountain vanished from the park. A spark of light erupted from his hand, nearly too fast for human eyes to keep track of, and detonated where the fountain stood.

The explosion that followed was a blast of hot air, surrounding the pillar of fire that grew upwards consuming everything that was flammable. The force of the blast, as well as the sound wave of the explosion sent the five other people reeling. Not entirely sure what had happened, they all ran for the closest exit of the park, screaming in terror. It was a terrible disaster, the fresh green grass, and the lovely trees were exposed to the flame, and began to burn, very slowly, as if the attack was designed to prolong their suffering. And standing beneath the now incinerating oak tree, stood that figure.

His face earlier had been expressionless, devoid of any sort of emotion. But now, oh yes, now, a smile was evident. Not a bright and sunny grin, but a small smile, a very sinister look. The light of the fire reflected off the black sunglasses that he was wearing; making it look like his eyes housed the flames of the Underworld itself. He gazed up, studying the melting leaves and slowly blackening branches. Not really wanting to catch fire himself, he started to walk, a slow and very casual gait. He exited the park, and from behind the shades, took note of the masses of common people that were now pointing and staring at the destroyed park.

Some were also pointing at him, observing this strange young man with a mixture of fear and bewilderment, something that he noticed with wry amusement. To further feed their fear, he flexed the fingers on his left hand, bones snapping beneath the skin. When he lifted his hand, and clenched it into a fist, crackling blue electricity seemed to generate from his body.

The sinister smile on his face widened substantially as he thrust his arm out with incredible speed, launching a streaking bolt of lightning into the nearest store. It happened to be a music shop, and the devastation it wrought in the wake of the electrical attack was staggering. Instruments were indescribably melted into lumps of brass, glass shattered, wood incinerated, and even the brick and steel frame of the building itself buckled under the extreme stress.

Another side effect of the bolt of lightning was an earsplitting rumble of thunder, sounding magnified through a microphone. Nearly every person in the plaza saw the second attack, and probably all of them shrieked in terror, even though their cries were drowned out by the thunder. As is human nature, the citizens in Central began to stampede away from the area, knowing full well that a super-villain was causing havoc again. Furthermore, they knew that when the Teen Titan's arrived, a major battle would probably ensure. And most knowing from past experience, those encounters were often quite destructive.

And as they ran, screaming and hollering, there stood that ominous being…still smiling. But he knew very well that he wasn't anywhere near finished. He began to stroll along again, as people ran around him, desperate to get away from whatever was going on. Not even stopping, two shimmering balls of energy materialized into his hands, and he threw them both into the upper floors of a close by skyscraper, most likely an office building. They blew out the windows, most certainly breaking whatever was inside, vaporizing everything on the spot. But even that wasn't the end of it.

He raised one foot, and stomped it back down onto the pavement. Suddenly, without any warning, the ground began to tremble violently, the streets and sidewalks cracked and split, several buildings starting to collapse.

And as a final act of destruction, he clapped his hands together but once. As he split them apart, radiating from the tips of his fingers were ten tiny blood red spheres, each glowing. Without a sound, they zipped from his fingertips, and began to streak around Central. Finally, after circling around like buzzards, they converged onto a nearby outdoor restaurant, now long since deserted. The scarlet orbs vanished in a flash of red color, annihilating everything. As the light faded, only a smoking crater was left behind.

---

Arriving at the scene, landing atop a nearby building, the five Titan's gaped at the disaster that had struck the City. The park was in flames, the once enchanting trees that had once been; all that remained now were lifeless charred stumps, not even a shadow of their former selves. Innumerable buildings had suffered from extensive damage, many crumbling to the ground. Debris was scattered about the whole place, and dark smoke was everywhere, blocking out the rays of the sun. It was a horrible scene, and everyone of the Titan's felt a great pang of sorrow at the senseless destruction.

"Who could do such a horrible thing," questioned Starfire, turning to her friends, her eyes moving one from the other, almost demanding an answer. It was an answer none of them had. Robin walked to the edge of the building, and swept his eyes around.

"I don't care who's responsible," he said with a firm voice, with a trace of anger mixed in. "We need to find the culprits before anymore harm is done. Spread out and find them!" In an almost a responsive manner, there was a bright burst of red light on the other side of the park, followed by yet another blast of stinging air.

"Over there," Robin pointed, and jumped down from the roof. He immediately began running and bounding over the wreckage, making a beeline for the source of the light. Beast Boy transformed into a hawk and followed, while Starfire grabbed up Cyborg and flew after him, Raven right beside her.

It didn't take more than thirty seconds for them to get across the way, and they finally caught site of the destroyer. He was standing in the deserted square, so it wasn't too tough to single him out. His back was to them, but it was clear he was still in the midst of his chaos. On his right hand, which was pointing to another building face, all his fingers were curled up except his index and middle finger. A solitary sphere of bright white energy was crackling on the tip.

Robin was the first to arrive and got a look at the attacker. Knowing that he was going to launch yet another assault, Robin quickly reached into his belt, and brought out his a handful of explosive disks. In one throw, all four of them went whizzing through the air, hitting their mark, blowing up on the strange figure. The resulting smoke blocked everyone's vision as all the Titan's landed, waiting to see what happened.

The grey smoke slowly wafted up and away, to reveal the figure standing as he had before, apparently not moving. However, the energy on his fingers began to shrink away and then utterly disappeared. Almost leisurely, in a laid-back sort of way, raising one foot and pivoting the other on his heel, the figure turned around. It was then that all five Titan's got their first look at this mysterious assailant.

He wasn't really tall, perhaps five inches or so more than Robin, but his frame was indeed thicker. His hair was shiny silver, cut short, with little spikes and spines poking towards the sky. It was difficult to determine his age, but he was young, maybe a year or two older than any of the other Titans. He wore a black shirt and pants, like jeans, but black as well. On his feet was a pair of fine black boots, the kind that are very expensive. That was where the most normal characteristics about this guy ended.

Perhaps the most interesting piece of his outfit was a thick black leather trench coat, looking extremely heavy and hot. It was because of this trench coat that it was difficult to determine his body size. He didn't seem to have a definite shape. To put it simply, his body seemed to fluctuate, going from thin, to stout, to muscular in an instant. A fine illusion indeed. On each of his fingers, excluding his thumbs, was a silver ring, being nothing more than a simple band. He was also wearing gloves, black of course, with the rings on the outside.

Around his neck was a necklace, silver as well, in the shape of a sword, being hung by its hilt. And lastly, covering his eyes was a pair of black shades, the lenses reflecting images like mirrors, making it impossible to see his real eyes. He was staring back at Titan's, a good thirty yards separating them, his head cocking from one side, and then, to the other. The Titan's stared right back, studying this strange person, totally dressed in black. This staring contest lasted for some time.

Then, at long last, the young man moved. The Titan's jumped at the sudden motion, ready for some form of counterattack. However, the guy had merely raised a hand to his sunglasses, and coolly removed them. It was then, that the two parties finally got to look at each other, eye to eye. His eyes were extremely bizarre.

He had the usual white cornea, and the black pupil in the center, but the iris was a crimson red, an unsettling color. And while his eyes were sort of scary to behold, the look he was giving them was not, being very penetrating but not really threatening. He looked at one from the other, studying them, while he twirled the glasses through his fingers, the multiple rings clinking. It was strange to watch him move. His movements seemed very unhurried, calm, as he was very slowly shifting around.

Finally, he cleared his throat, and spoke. His voice had a rich strong tone, with an echoing and enchanting quality to it, as he seemed to carefully choose his words.

"My my," he said in a thoughtful tone. "Children playing here?" He shrugged his shoulders, and pointed at the Titan's. "This place is a bit too dangerous for little kids. Why not run along home. It is much safer there." With that, he began to turn away. Not liking to be treated like or being called a child, Robin stepped forward, and leveled his own finger at the felon.

"We are not going anywhere," said he, and despite the situation, his own voice sounding very commanding. "You are the one responsible for this devastation! You're the reason it's not safe here!" The figure stopped, and reestablished his gaze with the kids. He gave them a sinister grin, and all five of the Titan's noticed, that the pearly white teeth in his mouth, were pointed, like razor sharp fangs.

"A moot point, my young friend. Regardless, I am quite busy and I haven't the time nor the patience to baby-sit small ones like yourselves. If you want to play superheroes and save the day or some such rubbish, then do so on you own time…I have work that I need to be getting back to, so if you don't mind…"

"I don't think so," yelled Robin, "We won't let you mindlessly destroy this city! We are here to stop you!" Robin would have kept going, but a low and calm laugh cut him off. The young man in black was chuckling to himself. In one fluid motion, he folded up his shades, and slipped them into a pocket on the inside of his coat, then stuffed his thumbs into the pockets of his black jeans.

"I see." He looked past Robin, eyeing the others behind him. "Tell me," he inquired with a smile, "Do the rest of you talk, or do you let Sparky here do all the chattering? And if you do speak, then I take it you don't approve of what I am doing either?"

The Titan's glanced at one another. Cyborg stepped up, and pointed his Sonic Cannon at the criminal. "Look man, I don't know what your beef with this city is, but it isn't worth you getting you butt kicked by us!" Beast Boy was right next to him, and he chimed in too.

"Yeah, and why don't you go and return Arnold Schwarzenegger's look while you're at it." Starfire and Raven were hovering above, and they decided to speak as well.

"You have caused great harm to this place," cried Starfire, pointing to the now charred park that she had enjoyed so much. "There is no reason to do such a thing!"

"She's right," said Raven, looking down at the strange young man in black, "Besides, I get the feeling that you enjoy ruining things way to much." Any further comments were once more cut off by his ominous laughter.

"Bah," said he, waving a dismissing hand, "You mewling are as pathetic as Sparky's. And besides, what could you five possibly hope to do against me? What are you, the Five Wonder-Kids or something equally idiotic?" Robin stood at the head and replied with,

"We're the Teen Titan's and we're going to bring you down, no matter what!" This time, it wasn't just a quiet laugh that the stranger put forth, now he opened the flood gates, and began to roar with the hilarity, a deep-throated sound, the echo bounding off the buildings.

"That's funny," said he, after the laughter had subsided. "But I was being serious. And since you don't know me, I'm willing to let it slide, but just for your future reference," his smile left as quickly as it came, and he cast a dark glare at Robin. "I don't appreciate it when people lie right to my face. I find that extremely rude and disrespectful. So now, I ask you, and this time, I really do mean it, just who do you five think you are? And if it's not too much trouble, perhaps we can have the truth this time, hmm?"

Robin was really unsure how to respond, not really thinking about what would happen if this guy didn't believe what he told him. However, before he could come up with something, Beast Boy once more jumped in.

"But dude," he said, "That was the truth! We're the Teen…" He couldn't go any farther before he was cut off by a loud, "ENOUGH!" The glowing crimson eyes were now displaying a vicious quality that had been absent when the glasses were first removed.

"Do you take me for a fool? Am I really to believe that there is a small crime fighting society in this city comprised totally of teenagers? What utter nonsense! Fine." He closed his eyes, and lowered his head. "If you've decide to try and keep who you are from me, then I will find out what I want to know by…another method!"

These threatening words caused the Titan's to once more brace them from an imminent charge. But it once more didn't come. Instead, that young man raised his head again, and opened his eyes. To their surprise, the red eyes were now replaced with bright white light that was coming from his eye sockets. Several seconds passed and they wondered what he was doing, when a cry of pain caused them to look away.

It was Raven. She had fallen to the ground, and was holding her head, gritting her teeth. Robin ran over, in a state of concern. "What is it Raven?" She could only answer with another cry, and managed to say, "It's…" And that was all.

No sooner than it had come, the light left his eyes, fading away, and they returned to normal. In addition, the searing pain in her head suddenly vanished, and Raven began to shake off the effects of whatever that was. And once more, this mysterious person was laughing quietly to himself. Robin, knowing that those glowing eyes as well as Raven's reaction were linked, demanded, "What's so funny? What did you do to her?" The young man lifted his head up once again and then shook it.

"Well, since you want to know, this is the first time I've ever had to apologize. I can see now that I am quite the fool. Ha." Not sure what he meant, Robin turned back to Raven, who was recovering from whatever it was, Starfire holding her up. Seeing his confusion, the stranger continued. "I now know that you were all indeed telling me the truth. My, how red my face must be." He gave his head a shake, and pointed at the five of them.

"You are the Teen Titan's I see. Most intriguing. And yet…sad. To think, the defense of this city lies in the hands of teenagers? A wonder it hasn't been blow to smithereens yet. Now…" he paused, looking from one to the others, "wait a moment, I want to see if I can identify you all correctly?" He began rubbing his chin in a both thoughtful and playful sort of way, a mischievous smile on his mouth.

"Let's see," he took a few steps forward, slow and steady. It was amazing to watch him move. His feet glided across the ground gently, not even kicking up a cloud of dust. "I think you…" said he, pointing a finger at Robin, "Are Robin! Am I right?" No one answered, but it didn't matter. He continued on.

"Of course I am! I think that was fairly obvious. I mean, not only do I not sense any supernatural energies coming from you, but I most certainly recognize that delightful little tool belt of yours. And besides that…" His finger lowed, gesturing towards the big letter "R" on Robin's uniform. "That "R" is really a dead give away. Now then," he took another few steps forward. He now aimed his hand towards Cyborg.

"You also are an easy one to recognize my friend. You are, after all, exactly what you name implies. Cyborg. A cybernetic organism, half man and half machine. Most wonderful! However," his eyes ran up and down the metal frame, "I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I see much more machine than man. Now isn't that funny? Perhaps you have a few more human qualities hidden underneath all that steel?" Cyborg looked like he wanted to lunge at the guy, and maybe tear him in half, but he held his temper. The young man didn't seem to even notice as he continued on, now eyeing Starfire.

"Well, unless I'm wrong…and I dare say that I'm not," his voice was dripping with sarcasm, as he took a few more slow steps closer, and crossed his arms again. "I would have to be so bold as to assume you are Starfire, yes? The young alien girl from the planet Tamaran?" Starfire was puzzled by all of this, never having met this person before and yet he knew about her, seemingly well. "I hear it's a lovely place, but I haven't ever had the privilege. Perhaps in the future..."

"Now, who could ever forget the funny one?" His smile became a little friendlier, as another few steps were taken. "The green animal shape shifter that they call Beast Boy. Also a vegetarian and lover of pranks. No doubt that you would find work as a comedian if you weren't already…employed, full time."By this time, he was now only ten feet away or so, as his eyes finally landed on Raven, who had recovered and was standing.

"And last, but most certainly not least, the ever dark Raven. Home world of Azarath. Uses an array of powers, intriguing powers actually. And I must say, my dear, I was frightfully impressed that you managed to not only detect my mind probe, but put you tried to put up a mental defense against it. Pointless though it was, that still took great power as well as courage, and I feel I must commend you for it."

All the Titan's were feeling very uneasy about this guy. Normally in a situation like this, they would jump right into combat, and go from there. Here, this creepy guy was merely talking, playing games with them. Robin, not liking to have his head messed with, stepped forward again, now only about five feet away from this strange person.

"You obviously read our thoughts, and that's why you know who we are! But we still don't know you! Just exactly who are you and what are you doing here?" The young man raised a single eyebrow, a somewhat unsettling move.

"Aha," said he uncrossing his arms again, "Now we are getting to the crux of the matter, aren't we?" So saying, he placed his right arm across his waist, and bowed. "I can't really tell you my original name, because in truth, I myself don't even remember it. It has been quite a long time since I have ever needed that name." Robin wasn't satisfied with that sort of answer, but he never got a chance to interrupt. "But if you really wish to address me with a label, then by all means…" He bowed once more, his eyes shining bright, that same playful smile looking back at the Titan's.

"Call me… Raze." There was a pause. "I trust you know that word, yes? Raze also means, to destroy, to annihilate, to wreck, to ruin, and to flatten. So very fitting, don't you think?"