Third Chapter, ready for launch, cap'n!

I don't own Teen Titans. Never had or will.

Scalpel yawned. He stretched out on the couch, feeling his bones creak in protest. Sunlight was streaming through the windows, and the sky had no clouds. He wondered idly what time it was, then noticed the group of teens surrounding him.

          Bolting up, he laughed nervously. "Ummmm….. Hi?"

         They looked at him, then burst out laughing, except for Raven, who just stood there as always. Cyborg patted him on the back. "No need to worry, pal. We're glad you're ok. Welcome to the Titans Tower. I'm Cyborg, The dark and gloomy one is Raven, the green short guy is Beast Boy, Mr. Serious is Robin, and you've already met Starfire." Star smiled at him, and he grinned back.

          "Nice to meet you, Cyborg. My name is…"

          "Scalpel, we know. Star told us this morning. It's almost noon, you know."

          Scalpel shook his head and looked blearily at the clock. The digits said 11:42. He did a double take, not quite ready to believe that he had been that tired. Cyborg laughed. "Don't worry about it, we let you sleep in. You looked like you needed the rest. When you feel you're ready, come outside and take on the obstacle course. We'll be waiting." With that, he left the room and was soon followed by the rest of the group.

          Scalpel hastily threw on his coat, grabbed his sword, and went outside. The Titans were already there, and Cyborg was rushing through the course like a maniac. Dodging this way, that, all over the place, weaving through bombs, giant fists, lasers, the whole shebang. Scalpel raised an eyebrow at the course. "And this is what you TRAIN on?" he said sarcastically.

          Robin laughed. "It always helps to keep everyone on their toes."

          Everyone began to congratulate Cyborg as he finished. " One minute, fifty-six seconds! Boo-yah!"

          Scalpel put on his best grin. "My turn."

          He took a sprinter's stance at the beginning of the course. Everyone looked at him, except Raven, who was starting the clock.
"Ready….."

          "GO!"

          Scalpel took off like a maniac. He was on the first obstacle, a whole array of lasers pointed all at him. Raising his hand in front of him, he didn't slow down, but did concentrate, forcing his psychic abilities into a spherical shield to protect him. The shield protected him from the lethal beams, and he sliced through each of them.

          As the Titans watched him and cheered him on, Beast Boy saddened. Cyborg looked down at the green teenager. "Hey, man, what's wrong?"

          Beast Boy sighed. "Nothing. It's just that he reminds me of Terra………."

          A voice behind them made them jump. "And you miss me?"

          Turning around, they saw Terra standing there, grinning. Beast Boy practically jumped into her arms, giving her a huge bone-crushing hug. "Terra! I thought that you were still mad at me!"

          Terra hugged Beast Boy back. "No. I thought about it, and realized that you hadn't lied to me." She smiled sadly at him. "Sorry about busting out on you. I was just upset."

          Beast Boy smiled. "No prob. I understand." He hugged her again, and Cyborg quietly laughed at his face. They turned around, watching Scalpel fly over an open pit with ease. "Who's the new guy?"

          Cyborg watched Scalpel continue to wreck the obstacle course. "Name's Scalpel. We found him battling a robot yesterday. He got hit pretty bad, but he seems to be able to heal himself pretty good."

          As they continued to watch, Scalpel raced through a whole slew of exploding disks, blocking each one with his mind. He finally landed in front of everyone, and looked over at them, his eyes completely white. They slowly faded back to their natural red, and he sighed.

          "How'd I do?"

          Raven looked at the clock. "One minute, exactly."

          Cyborg's mouth dropped open. "One………Minute?"

          Everyone stared at Scalpel, who grinned. He looked over at Terra, and grew puzzled. "Who's that?"

          Robin turned around. "Terra? When did you come back?" Starfire practically squeaked with delight over seeing her friend, and rushed over, hugging her just like when they had first met. Terra gasped under the force applied. "You are back!"

          She smiled. "Yeah. I just got back a few seconds ago. By the way, I'm going to take you up on that offer."

          Scalpel looked from her to Robin, then back. "What………offer?"

          "To become a Titan."

          Scalpel walked over to Robin. "If it's alright with you, I'll be with her on that."

          Robin grinned. "Sure. Two new Titans. This turned out to be a good day after all."