We own the rights to nothing within this story.

'Girls Night Out' is performed by The Judds.


It was upon a clear, brisk evening that Gar and Eddie, wearing matching grim expression, marched into the control room, their arms piled high with remastered classics, and had claimed dominion over the realm, exiling all others occupying it was declared it the foci of 'boys night.' Blackfire had exchanged a murmured conversation and a kiss with her beau before departing the room, and the atmosphere, to go starbathing. After an hour in the training room, Rose had showered, devoured a quick meal, and considered breaking down the door to the control room when her passage through the halls brought her by the open storage closet. She paused and peered within, fingers tightening about the hilt of the short blade that had leapt into her hand.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Anymore weirdoes pillaging in here?"

There was a yelp followed by Duela poking her head from around the corner and waving enthusiastically before disappearing again. With a sigh, Rose stood up and returned the dagger to its hidden position as she said, "I guess that's a 'yes.'"

She strolled in, following the thin alleys between the shelves, to find the pale girl leaning into an opened crate, balancing herself upon her hips as she rifled through it. Pausing for a second, Duela mused over what appeared to be a miniature crash test dummy made entirely white and without any distinguishing features. Wires ran through its jointed limbs, and there was a long needle with a rounded end beside it crafted from the same material. Placing them back within the container, she continued to peer through the bizarre collection of objects until a pressure on her calves tilted her out of the crate. Standing, she beamed at Rose who folded her arms across her chest and leaned against one of the shelves.

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded.

"Just looking," she chimed, clasping her hands together behind her back.

Rose's eyes drifted to the covered Painting in the corner, and nodded, "Yeah, that's probably not a good idea. Let's go."

"Go where?" she asked as she complied, following Rose from the room. After shutting the door, Rose considered the pale girl and her own plans before alighting upon a surprisingly charitable possibility. She pulled her cellphone from her pocket and began to dial a number as she made her offer.

"If Gar and Eddie are having a boys night in, you up for a girls night out?"


"I scream, you scream, we all scream at interdimensional reboots!" Duela wailed as she danced along the stone bridge's railing, licking at her cone of cotton candy ice cream. Kat arched her brow and smirked at the one eyed girl.

"You've got some odd friends."

"Absolutely," Rose nodded as she bit off a chunk of her cone.

"Besides me, of course," Kat said.

"You're a cheerleader who has all the grace and agility of a dead cat. The animal, not you."

"All right, I think it's time for a new topic," she decided.

"Ooh, ooh!" Duela suddenly flipped to in front of them, walking backwards as she suggested, "I was considering whipping up another batch of my modified Joker Venom with some fear gas. That way, when you spray somebody with it, they broke down in both laughter and abject terror!"

There was a moment of silence and while Rose seemed rather nonplussed about the announcement, Kat arched her eyebrows and stalled. After a moment, she said, "That . . . that's kind of horrific. And, um, I was actually thinking more along the lines of talking about Rose's new boy-"

"Oh no. Nuh-uh. Nope," Rose shook her head.

"What?"

"We're not doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Talking about boys. We are three teenage girls who are definitely interesting enough in our own rights that we can find better subjects than just boys to talk about," she answered hotly.

"But they're so much fun," Kat grinned.

"Kat."

"Fine, grouch. What do you want to talk about then?" she sighed.

"We have a clown with multiple personalities. How is that not the main conversation topic?" she asked.

"They're dissociative identities," Duela corrected.

"They're what?" Kat frowned.

"The whole 'multiple personality disorder' thing is antiquated. 'Dissociative identity disorder' is the proper term nowadays," she explained.

"So you've actually looked into the stuff," Rose noted as she consumed the last piece of her ice cream cone. They had paused upon the bridge that arched over the small stream that cut through the park. "You do actually have it though, right? You aren't just trying to mess with people or anything?"

"My mind contains more than a single identity," she confirmed. "As to why, well, I've heard at least fifteen and nine-thirteenths possible theories and reasons. Gar thinks my head might be some sort of dimensional intersect."

"Okay, sorry to interrupt, but Gar's Changeling, right?" Kat asked.

"Yes," Rose nodded.

"Okay. Good. You know, it's weird thinking that you guys, heroes, actually have, like, real names and everything," she said before nodding towards Duela. "Sorry about that. So, you've got all these people inside your head. Have you ever thought about going to get, like, some sort of help?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "I kinda like all the company. Plus, they aren't so bad once you get to know them. I mean, a little neurotic and they never pick up their thoughts after themselves, but they're a good bunch."

"I feel like you have no right describing anybody else as 'neurotic,'" Rose smirked.

"Of course I do. The fact that I am means I know it better than everybody else, right?" she suggested.

"I personally think you're all kind of insane. Like, what made you suddenly decide it was a good idea to put on some pajamas and go fight criminals? For that matter, why do the villains always wear those flashy costumes?" Kat asked.

"They're pretty," Duela shrugged.

"You know, for some reason, I don't think that's what they're going for," Rose mused. "It's probably got something to do with their ego or what-"

The one-eyed girl stopped as she caught a brief glimpse of the future, and as she returned to the present time, she pushed Duela and Kat to the ground and flung a knife forward. It collided with the arrow that was whistling through the air, and tangles erupted from the latter's rounded head, capturing the blade. She sent another dagger into the darkness from where the arrow had originated, but it was intercepted and pinned to the ground by a black armament vaguely shaped like a bat. Rose looked up at the sound of heavy cloth rippling through the wind, and a dark figure placed herself between the trio of girls and their shadowed assailant, ragged cape billowing slightly behind her.

A black suit completely covered her lithe frame, focused on granting her mobility and speed while providing her as much protection without sacrificing either. There were no apparent eye gaps in her mask, but Rose could feel the intensity of her stare, and it, along with golden outline of a bat on her modest chest, was enough to convince the one-eyed girl to push her next blade back into place. Prominent stitches decorated the fabric portions of her outfit in a purely aesthetic choice, but the thick belt of dark pouches circled about her hips was assuredly functional. Spikes lined her forearms and the semblance of ears, appearing more like horns to frightened criminals, perched atop her head.

"Not enemies," Batgirl intoned. With a delighted squeal, Duela shot forward to capture the young girl in a tight hug, who accepted the affection stoically.

"Ooh, if it isn't my favorite Bat-Babe!" she gushed. "Listen, I know we haven't had a chance to chat recently, but I got this new team and it's gotten really hectic and then there was this whole secret facility under a school and this dude had purple hair and -"

"Investigation," she said as she made a hand motion. Figures began to emerge from the shadows beyond the lit pathway of the park, joining the others upon the bridge.

At the head of the group was an athletic blonde whose upper face, save for her sapphire blue eyes, was hidden by a dark red mask that matched her short top. Her taut midriff was left bare and crimson gauntlets encased her forearm and hands, one of which grasped a compound bow. In a similar design to her gauntlets were light boots and greaves that reached past her knees. The gentle breeze shifted her white skirt, revealing shorts that matched the rest of her attire beneath them. A quiver was affixed to the back of her costume, filled with arrows. She gave an apologetic grin and a shrug as she approached, rubbing the back of her head somewhat anxiously.

"Sorry about the arrow. She, um, she kinda looked like the Joker, and I kinda shot on instinct," she admitted before pushing her hand forward. "Oh, I'm Arrowette, by the way."

At her side was a girl in silver armor, wielding an escrima staff covered in intricate designs and imagery. Over the light chainmail was a maroon shirt that had matching boots, gloves, and a length of cloth descending from her studded belt. Her head was entirely hidden by the full mask, save for the luxurious plume of hair that seemed to be simultaneously brown, violet, and crimson, and was pulled into a thick ponytail that cascaded past her shoulders. She carried herself with confidence that made her seem significantly taller than the blonde at her side and her covered gaze held a palpable imperiousness.

Floating behind them and coiling about as though formed of smoke was a small girl with soft blue eyes and blonde hair reaching just above her shoulders. She wore a coat with a high collar and a long back that drifted to her feet while its breast ended slightly before her midriff. Beneath the coat, which appeared heavy but floated in wisps like the rest of her, she wore a suit, fitted to her tiny frame, with a pale white hue save for the broad, black stripes curving along her side. Her face was demure but with kind eyes that ducked behind her bangs.

The final member of the group was clad in a power suit with a definitively feminine design to it. As she emerged from the darkness, the metal of her suit shifted to a white coloration save for her shoulders and arms. Hanging at her broad hips was a heavy hammer with a shortened handle attached to a clip. Her face was strangely human, and the lips even curled into a friendly smile as she nodded at them. Descending from her head was a thick, mechanical tendril meant to mimic hair, but seemingly capable of movement. Adorning her chest was the famous shield of Superman though done in black and gunmetal grey in place of the usual bright hues.

"Hey there," she greeted them. "I'm Ironclad. And we're the Pretty Faces."

"Amazons was taken," Arrowette explained. "And then they told us to stop calling ourselves that . . . It was kinda scary."

"You got your own team?" Duela gasped. She pressed her cheek to Batgirl's mask and squealed, "I'm so proud of you!"

"Constricting," she noted, and Duela loosened her grip.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest and scowled, "You're one of the other Titan teams, aren't you? Want to explain to me exactly what you're doing on our turf, without any sort of warning or anything?"

"Your turf?" scoffed the girl in the armor as she set her hands on her hips.

"Settle, Empress," Ironclad suggested before looking back towards Rose. "We didn't mean to step on anybody's toes here. And, I'm not trying to be offensive, but I don't know who you are."

"Rose Wilson. Ravager," she supplied before nodding her head to the pale girl who had finally released Batgirl. "That's Duela Dent. Joker's Daughter. Or whatever she's calling herself. We're pretty much the better half of Titan Team 14."

"Oh, right. You're that Tartarus group. And you?" the metal girl asked Kat.

"I-I'm Kat Sommers," she answered. There was a pause before she continued, "J-just Kat. That's it. I'm not actually a superhero or anything."

"She's a friend," Rose said with an inclination of her head towards the girl.

"Yeah. Hi," she gave a nervous wave.

"Hi," Arrowette said while the ghost-like blonde floating behind her returned the wave.

"We've gotten a bit off track , so, I'll say again, what are you guys doing here?" Rose repeated, slightly annoyed.

"We kinda tracked a case back here," Arrowette explained.

"That's what everybody says," Rose grumbled as she relaxed her stance. "What's the case?"

"Somebody's been testing Venom on people. Most are dying from it, but a few are getting big – and mean. We managed to track the supply lines to here, and now we just need to find the source," she explained.

"Sorry. We've been a teensy bit busy with an evil school," Duela said.

"That's a little bit redundant," noted the blonde archer.

"Far as I know, most schools don't have secret labs where they give kids powers and try to turn them into killing machines," Rose pointed out.

"Okay, yeah. See, um, my school doesn't really have anything like that," Arrowette acknowledged before pausing and conceding with a certain degree of worry, "At least, I don't think it does."

"Anyway, if you can give me back my knives, we'll give you guys a hand," the white-haired girl said.

Ironclad frowned and raised her palm in protest, "We really don't ne-"

"Our town, our rules," she interjected. At her side, Duela crossed her arms and gave a firm nod as she continued, "Besides, we have seniority."

"Unlikely," Empress grumbled.

"Well, we've got Changeling and a former queen of an entire planet."

"Plus a sentient brick!" Duela added.

Stares of bewilderment turned upon the beaming girl before Rose sighed, "He's actually a pathway at the moment, but she's right."

"I still don't think you -"

The newest interruption came from Batgirl who expertly dislodged her batarang from the ground and kicked it up into her waiting hand while passing the blade to Rose with a flicker of her foot. Seemingly seeking to match the dark-garbed girl in nonchalance, she caught it easily and fluidly slid it back into its hiding place, the knife simply disappearing from her grip as her other hand never left the belt loop her thumb was hooked in. She caught the second blade with similar ease before it joined its companion in a place that only the protégé of Batman could track. Arrowette gave an impressed whistle and then looked to Ironclad.

"I vote that she helps us."

"Fine. But we're taking lead," Ironclad decided and Rose shrugged.

"For as long as we let you," she said before looking to Kat. "Sorry to cut out like this, but -"

"Hey, don't worry about it. You go do your hero stuff. We'll hang later," the girl responded.

"You sure?"

"I'll be holding you to it. Plus, next time, you're paying me back by telling me all about that shiny new boyfriend you got, 'kay?" she smiled deviously.

"Sure, Kat. Just keep telling yourself that," she rolled her eye. Kat laughed as she waved and departed down the path, leaving the heroines to their business. Rose looked at the assembled Pretty Faces and asked, "So, what do you guys have on this operation?"

"Don't you need your suit or something?" Arrowette asked.

"I've got my knives. I'm good. Now, do you have any clue as to where these dudes are?"

"There are only a few places in this city capable of producing Venom. We were about to split up and investigate them," Ironclad explained.

"How many locations are you checking out?"

"Four prospects," she said as she tapped upon her gauntlet. Blue lights flickered from ports along it to create a holographic projection of the city, red dots signaling the position of the Pretty Faces. Four lines rose from the softly spinning city, each connected to a box that named the building and giving the address of the site. Rose studied the map intently while Duela bounded atop one of the stone rails and peered down at it inquisitively. The girl in the suit said, "We were going to split up to investigate them. With you two here, we can work in pairs. Except Batgirl."

"Why not Batgirl?" Rose frowned.

"Trust me, Rosie-Posie," Duela slid next to her one-eyed friend, throwing an arm about her shoulders. "Bat-Babe doesn't need a partner."

The masked girl gave a nod and Ironclad continued, "The pairs will be -"

"Me and Emp got that place in the market district!" Arrowette volunteered. The silver-armored girl looked to her friend who gave a small chuckle, "What? I'm hungry. I kinda skipped dinner."

"All right, Empress and Arrowette have Ocran Industries. Then -"

"I wanna go with the ghosty-girl!" Duela shouted as she suddenly flipped over Empress's head. The floating girl flinched slightly as the volunteer beamed and stuck out her hand, "Hi there! I'm Duela. Also, Harlequin, Joker's Daughter, Card Queen, Riddler's Daughter, Two-Face's Daughter, Scarecrone, Penguin's Daughter, Stray, Jokester," she paused to take in a breath before proceeding with her rambling, "Chill, Hatrack, Doomsdame, Ms. Horrific, and Nurse Noon. And you?"

"I'm Secret," she answered somewhat bewildered. Her confusion only increased when Duela grabbed her hand and pumped it vigorously with a massive grin upon her face.

"Pleased to meet'cha. Oh, hey, you're solid, but you're still all ghosty and stuff!"

Rose looked to the somewhat dejected Ironclad and gave a small grin, "Looks like it's you and me."

"Looks like it," she grumbled. She drew in a breath and squared her shoulders as she directed, "Secret, you and Duela will take Tyler-Chem."

"Aye, aye, my captain!" Duela shouted, snapping a sharp salute.

"Got it," Secret nodded, nervously eyeing her partner. She jabbed a thumb towards the beaming girl and lean towards Rose to conspiratorially whisper, "Hey, um, is she safe? I mean, do I need to be worried about her or anything?"

"Oh, no, no. You'll be fine . . . Probably," she gave a smile that was not even marginally reassuring. After a moment filled with Secret eyeing her dubiously, she admitted, "Okay, it's probably better if you worry. But just remember, the most important rule, no matter how much she cries, no matter how much she begs, never feed her after midnight."

"What?"

"Sorry," she shrugged. "I live with a pair of movie buffs."

"Batgirl, you've got that old Ace Chemical Processing Plant. And Rose and I will check out Norton Labs," Ironclad finished.

With a nod and a final glance at the map, Batgirl fired a grappling gun at a lamp post and quickly swung into the shadows, melting into them. Empress took up a chant in a foreign language before a golden circle began to glow about her and Arrowette that rose to swallow them and then dissipated, leaving no sign of them behind. Duela clapped excitedly at the display before looking to her still apprehensive partner and offering a large grin. She suddenly flipped up into a tree and leapt to the next one as she called back.

"Race you there!"

"Hey, wait up!" Secret shouted as she flew after the rapidly disappearing figure.

Left on their own, Ironclad turned towards the white-haired girl and asked, "I don't suppose you can fly?"

"I might have something better. Here, give me a sec," she said as she pulled out her cellphone. Dialing the number with habitual swiftness, she listened to it ring, tapping her foot with impatience as Ironclad frowned.

"Why don't you just use your Communicator?"

"Mm. It has something to do with the head honchos thinking we'll turn evil and use them to track – Hey, Gar, can I borrow Danny for the night? . . . Yes, and now I'm sure that the entire movie is completely ruined . . . I'm at the crested bridge in the park . . . Oh, we just ended up running into the Pretty Faces. We're giving them a hand. And tell him I said 'hi' back . . . It's fine. Thanks. You two enjoy your movies."

With a pleased sigh, Rose slid her phone back into her pocket and sat against the railing as she said, "Give it a minute, and we'll be good."

"We really don't have -"

"Look, I promise that it'll save time. Trust me on this," she assured her and Ironclad fell silent. Rose turned her gaze skyward, admiring the stars, while her fellow Titan peered around the park, mentally urging the other's contact to hurry. After a moment, Rose asked, "So . . . you're a Superman fan?"

"Who isn't?" she smiled before touching the emblem on her chest with a soft smile. "But it's actually more my uncle who inspired me to be a hero. He's the one who taught me how to build this armor."

"Oh, that Steel guy? Cool. Guess that explains the hammer."

"Yeah. What about you? You got any embarrassing inspirations?"

"Not really. My heroics are kind of along the lines of teenage rebellion. You know, being what daddy usually tries to kill."

"Wait – your dad isn't Deathstroke, is it?"

"Unfortunately," she sighed.

There was a subtle shift beneath their feet and elegant writing suddenly appeared upon the cobblestones.

-Good evening, Rose. Who is your friend?-

"Danny, meet Ironclad. Ironclad, meet Danny the Street," Rose smiled at the flabbergasted heroine.

-A pleasure, mademoiselle.-

"Wait, you were serious about that? You have a teammate who's a -"

-Sentient street. Well, pathway and alley at the moment, but a little hyperbole never hurt anybody. So, where am I taking you?-

"You know Norton Labs place?" asked the one-eyed girl.

-That ramshackle eyesore they still haven't demolished? Yes. Why would you want to go there?-

"Somebody might be using it to make Venom."

-That doesn't sound pleasant. Well, keep your head and arms inside the ride at all times, please don't puke on me, and enjoy the ride.-

The world suddenly went dark and Ironclad's hand flashed towards her hammer as she tried to pinpoint the sudden howling. She could see Rose in front of her, doused in muted light without any apparent source, but everything had turned to oblivion. This did not seemed to bother the mercenary's daughter, who had slipped her hands into her pocket, and, for a moment, released the constant tension of her body that was always primed for a fight. Similarly relaxing, Ironclad merely awaited the end of the jaunt with some eagerness, deciding that she preferred Empress's largely instantaneous teleportation to her current experience. Finally, light began to seep back into her vision and she found that they were in an alley within the city's industry district.

Before them was Norton Labs, its windows were boarded shut, and rusty chains with heavy locks secured the doors. Beneath the colorful tags and surprisingly beautiful art produced by the spray paint were the blocky, but fading, letters that proclaimed its name. A trio of smoke stacks reached for the stars, but had since been dwarfed by its more prosperous neighbors, making the structure seem cramped and homely. Legal issues had preserved it thus far, its lawyers tying up those who sought to demolish it with tangled red tape, and it lingered on like a wounded animal.

-I'll wait here for you. Have fun on your mission.-

"Thanks, Danny," Rose said as Ironclad approached the doors. As she considered the lock, the white-haired girl approached and regarded the rusted mechanism. Looking up, she offered, "You want me to get it?"

"No, it's all right," she replied. Metallic fingers curled about the padlock, easily crushing it and removing it from the chain that she slid from the handles. She tossed both to the ground and pushed open the doors into the darkened structure, the only light from the moon above and the slits in the windows. Cracks ran through the tiled floor and the walls served as a logbook, demonstrating that they were not the labs' first visitors since they closed. Both observed it cautiously, peering past the corners and then sharing a nod.

Knives flickered into Rose's hands and the handle of Ironclad's handle lengthened as she unclipped it from her belt and they entered the decrepit structure.


We're finally back!

Sorry about that everybody. Ira got in a spot of trouble and we couldn't get him back for a while so that we could write. Some quick updates: it was Superbia's birthday this past Monday! In celebration, we splurged on comics and burgers that use grilled cheese sandwiches in place of buns, and today we purchased an Oreo ice cream cake.

More importantly, this will be a short little bit, three chapters at the most, and we hope you enjoy the story and the introduced characters. Please review!

Guest: Thank you for the review. And we, at the moment, have no plans to derail that vision. Glad you enjoyed it.

ABReviewer: Thanks for the review. We're glad you enjoyed the chapter. Well, he's got a lot to get together before he's going to be a good father, but at least he cares about his kids. We were actually discussing that that's exactly what Gar would do if they were kicked out of the Titans. Also, since we missed responding to your review of 'Celebrations' we'll do so here. Jai was dressed as a character from one of his video games. Maybe Link. We haven't actually decided how he dies. And this chapter obviously answers your other question. Thank you.

newboy: Thank you for the review. Honestly, we're surprised at the support that BBBlackfire has received and we will say this: This story will end with the two still in a relationship. 'Child's Play' is a possible future for this story, not the one that's set in stone.

kid devil: Nice name. Thank you for the review. That is high praise indeed! Thanks. We hope we continue to meet your standard, and we're sorry that this wasn't put out sooner.