There were no words. Words were insufficient to express the sheer variety of emotions the teen heroes were feeeling. Horror. Shock. Anger. Fear. Sorrow. Guilt. All these and more had been provoked by the Joker's debut in Jump City. There were no words, and there was no time.

Robin shouted "Titans! GO!", but he needn't have bothered. His teammates were already in motion, racing towards the exits (or in Cyborgs case the garage). Even in the midst of this nightmare Robin couldn't help but smile a bit at how well his team functioned in a crisis. He dashed to the garage, leaping into the T-car just as Cyborg burned out of the tower, flanked by the three flying titans.

Since Cyborg was driving and navigating, Robin had nothing to distract him from just how bad the situation really was. The Joker had come to Jump City. The most dangerous psychopath on the planet, the man who'd killed Jason Todd- his predecessor to the Red Yellow and Green-, the man who'd crippled Batgirl, was running around Jump City, and planned to kill his team.

And Batman wasn't going to be able to help. Only the night before, he had been in contact with his mentor, and learned that there had been mass breakouts from both Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison, leaving him to deal with the likes of Mad Hatter, Mister Freeze, Scarecrow, Zasz, KGBeast, Riddler, Bane, Scarface, and Killer Croc just to name a few. Moreover, it appeared that some outside agency had triggered a war between the Italian Families and the Chinese Tongs, with both the Yakuza and the Ghost Dragons about to weigh in. Nor only was Batman unable to come, but he also needed Nightwing, Huntress, Azrael, black Canary, Anarky and all the other Gotham vigilantes just to keep the city from completely falling apart. For now at least, the Titans were on their own.

Five teenagers, matched against the deadliest human being alive. Not a good start to the week Robin thought sardonically.

They arrived at the East Side Mall with just four minutes to spare. Already, Raven and Starfire were overseeing the evacuation- Starfire keeping everyone calm, while Raven kept everyone moving. The crowd was hesitant to evacuate; Joker had only delivered his message a few minutes ago, and even those who had seen it while browsing at the electronics shops hadn't really believed it ("that maniac's never left Gotham, has he?"). however, Raven was very good at getting people moving. Perhaps it was her gravely tone. Perhaps it was her skin. Or perhaps it was the tentacles of psychic power. Whatever it was, the mall was rapidly emptying.

Inside, Beast Boy raced through the mall in the shape of an cheetah. This wasn't normally his preferred tracking form- usually he'd have gone with a bloodhound or a wolf, relying on the keen sense of smell those forms provided to find whatever he was hunting for. However, he had no idea what the Joker's little surprise might smell like, and the mall was too full of unfamiliar scents to risk it. So he opted for a form with merely good senses but that could cover a great deal of ground quickly.

Lets see… sporting goods store, Pizza Shack, MacDoogles, Electronyx- OOOO! The new Suer Ninja Quest!! NO!! Not now, Gar! Focus! Bedding Shoppe, Book Nook, Café, Victoria's Secret with…mannequin that…kinda looks…like…Raven… FOCUS!! Wait, there it is!

Indeed, on the second floor was a small bundle covered in a purple tarp, on which was written: "NOT a bomb!"

Without a pause beast boy leap onto the thing, shifting as he landed into pterosaur form. Graspig the thing firmly in his talons, he soared up through the mall's skylight. Glass shattered against the scaly hide of the prehistoric beast, the impact barely noticed.

Okay, laughing-boy said the bomb would go off in ten minutes. I think I've got about one minute left. Crap!

Higher and higher the changeling rose, carrying his deadly cargo. Down bleow, his friends were in a frenzy of worry. Cyborg and starfire were staring at the rising green form, shouting at him to hurry up and let the thing go. Raven maintained her usual stoic façade, but judging by the number of small objects exploding, she was quite agitated as well. Only Robin remained reasonably calm; he kept muttering to himslef "just a bit higher…"

Suddenly, the pterosaurvanished in mid-flight, replaced with a falcon. The green bird went into a powerdive, just as the bomb went off. A large cloud of purplish gas erupted in the sky, before being dispersed by the high-altitude winds. The flacon reached the earth, touched down and shifted into a widelygrinning changeling… just in time to receive an open handed slap across the face from an angry half-demon.

"What were you thinking, you brainless- you could have been- you were almost!"

"Rae" Beast Boy replied, rubbing his cheek "I had to do something. The mall wasn't empty yet, and the Jokergas in that thing would have killed everyone left inside. I'm a hero, Rae, I couldn't let that happen."

'but why did you do THAT?!" Cyborg exclaimed waving his hans " I mean, that wasn't a regular bomb, grass-stain. Now the gas will spread to the city!"

"No, it won't" Beast Boy and Robin replied in unison, then looked at one another.

Robin folded his arms and smiled. "why don't you explain your reasoning, Beast Boy?"

"Uh, well… I noticed on my wayover here that the wind was starting to pick up, espescially the high-altitude winds. The gassy-bomby thingy didn't look big, so I figured there probably wasn't too much of the stuff. Makes sense, I guess, since laughing-boy meant it to be used inside. So I figured that if I took the thing up high enough, the wind'd thin it out, y'know? Like too little butter on too much toast? So when it finally DID come down, it wouldn't be strong enough to give someone the giggles."

The boy wonder smirked "Nicely done, Beast Boy. I thought it would be something like that. The Joker rarely produces his gas in big quantities, and the wind IS pretty strong. Good work"

The green teen struck a 'heroic' pose- chest out, head back, hands on hips- and gave his cheesiest grin. "All in a days work for an awesome superhero like myself!". All the other titans sweat-dropped at the unabashed bragging- all except Raven. She merely raised an eyebrow and quipped;

"Gassy- Bomby Thingy? That's barely language, mister Hero."

Immediately, Beastboy slumped over, deflated his chest and scowled. "You couldn't let me have one moment, Rae?"

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It was a nondescript apartment complex, which is what had attracted the Hive Four (as they were now calling themselves). The penthouse (such as it was) had jJust enough room for all of them and their equipment, a decent rent, and Gizmo'd been able to hack the Grid for free power, water and cable. Best of all, it was the last place the Titans would ever go looking for theremains of a once mighty villainous organization. NO ONE would think to look here, they thought.

So they were a bit surprised to come home from a scouting trip (scouting the 2nd National bank for a holdup) to find four heavily armed men in clown suits waiting in the hallway. Seemore, Gizmo, and Kyd Wykked all seemed taken aback, but Mammoth merely growled. He wanted to take them down, and flexed his shoulders, ready to barrel into the thugs.

He had just enough time to register a polite but firm hand on his shoulder before the electricity surged through his massive frame. He bellowed in pain and collapsed. The Joker stepped over the twitching behemoth and strode biskly towards the young villains, his cane swinging at his side.

"Hello my little Hivers! Pop Quiz time. Who here can guess who I am? Anyone? How about you Charlie Brown?" This was directed at Gizmo, and the tiny terror trembled.

"J-j-j-..." he began, overcome with fear. The Joker was a legend in the underworld. Stories of him were whispered in backrooms, dockside bars, and even the hallways of the HIVE academy. They weren't pleasant stories, and they weren't told for fun.

When villains wanted to frighten one another, they told Joker stories.

"...j-j-j-Just one J, baldy. HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!" The madman puntuated this by smashing the tip of his cane into Gizmos mouth. As Gizm fell to the ground, spitting out blood and teeth, his two remaining fellows huddled together in fear. THe clown turned to them and once more raised his cane " Anyone else? You, with the eyes?"

Seemore steeled himself and managed to spit out the words "The Joker. You're the Joker"

THe Joker leapt into the air clicking his heels "DINGDINGDING!! We haaaavve a winner! HAHAHAHAAA!! Tell 'im what he's won, Harley!"

A young woman in a tight red and black clown costume stepped out of their aparment carrying two small bags "Sure thing, Mistah J! You get...TO LIVE! Yeah, you an' ya little friends will get to live out the resta ya lives in peace, so long as ya leave Jump City NOW!!" With that she threw the bags onto Mammoth, who was slowly regaining consciousness... until the heavy bags hit him in the head. With a groan , he slumped over again. Kyd Wykked, Gizmo (for once unable even to curse) and Seemore had to help him to the elevator.

AS they walked, the Joker strode beside them, apparently in a talkative mood now that his would be rivals for Robin's head were leaving. For their part, the young villains were happy enough to be leaving alive.

"Its not that I don't like to see young kids take up the mantle of villainy, really, it isn't! The Joker's never been one to be threatened by young people taking the initiative! But I just CAN'T have amateurs (no offense) trying to whack members of the Batbrood. That's MY job! And if someone else does it, I'll be unemployed! I'd lose my henchmen, my hideout, the Jokermobile'd have to go up for sale, Harley'd leave me, and there'd be an ugly custody battle over the Hyenas that'd give Bud and Lou all kinds of issues, we'd need to get them therapy.." He spun around and grabbed Gizmo by the throat, pulling him close and screaming and WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND A HYENA THERAPIST?!! HUH?!!!"

Abruptly, he let the boy go, dropping him to the floor just as the group reached the service elevator. Its sturdy steel doors slid open, allowing the Joker to hustle the Hive Four inside.

"Well, as I said kiddos, its nothing personal. I'm sure you'll do fine in your new town or whatever. Be sure to stay in touch. Ta!" And the killer clown turned to walk away.

After what he judged to be a safe distance, Gizmo let out a small sigh of relief. They'd survived.

Suddenly, Joker whipped around, a hand clapped to his white cheek in shock, his eyes wide. " But where are my MANNERS? I havent given you your Going Away present" He reached into his coat and began to rummage around, apparently looking for something, muttering to himself as he did so. The teen criminals remained perfectly still inside the elevator, waiting for the ordeal to end. They'd heard many stories about people who'd interrupted the Joker. None of them ended well.

"Hmm, switchblade, sneezing powder, gumballs, severed finger... ah! here they are! HAR-LEY! Get the door for our friends!"
"Of course, Puddin'! Whateva you say!" chirped Harley, and cartwheeled down the hall to push the red button. Upon doing so, she turned to the Joker, beaming with happiness at having been able to help her Puddin'. The Joker absentmindedly smashed her in the side of his head with his cane, while he was preoccupied with pulling something out of his pocket. As the elevator doors slid shut, he pulled out two objects, and hurled them into the elevator, just as the door closed.

Two Grenades. Without pins.

The doors shut.

BOOM!!

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I hate Gizmo, and I think it may have showed.