I'm back to this story I suppose. For once I'm not in the mood to write much. I'm nervous about a presentation that I have to do soon. I hate public speaking. On top of all that, I'm extremely exhausted. I've been diagnosed with mono and my energy has been drained from my body. It's very tiring. Other than that I feel pretty damn good. This next chapter doesn't develop much, but hey, it's better than nothing. Enjoy it, and review please.

I do not own Teen Titans.

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Chapter 2: Tryouts

Raven's View

Raven sat in the passenger seat comfortably, trying to remember the words to "Try Honesty", as it was playing on the radio. She scowled as she screwed up for the dozenth time, and then turned to Taen. They had been driving for a couple of hours, and would be at Praysair city within the hour. Raven stared at his light blue hair. Darker than the sky, but not exactly dark. Sort of an in between dark and light.

It was one of the many questions that she asked him. "When did you dye your hair?" She would ask Taen. "I never did," He always answered seriously. Raven was never sure if he was telling the truth. Taen always avoided old personal stuff. Anything about his past, his powers, or his family was avoided completely. None of the Titans were sure why. Raven never talked about her past, only Taen knew of it completely. He promised to tell her about his own one day, when the time was right.

"Did You know that your city stole my teams idea for the tower location?" Taen asked her. She shook her head. "Yeah. My friends and I built the tower ourselves, on a small island. Your commissioner called ours about it. You know how all those commissioners are connected somehow," Taen said. Raven nodded, smiling. "When we heard about it, I remember Snake getting all pissed off. It was hilarious," Taen said, laughing as he finished. "Good to hear about your past finally," Raven said. Taen stopped laughing.

"You know I don't like it when you try and do that," He said to her. "Do what?" She asked, smiling innocently. Taen smiled at her. "I can't stay mad at you ever, did you know that?" Taen asked. "I'm too good," She said. Taen leaned over, and they kissed for a second. "Eyes on the road," She said as they broke apart, Taen still facing her. He jerked the wheel over, dodging a car. Raven laughed at him.

The rest of the ride went by peacefully, leaving Raven to her own thoughts. She had been wondering more and more about Taen's past as of late. It took her a while to realize that she never even came over it when she read his mind. When she confronted him about it, Taen merely told her that he always had part of his mind blocked. She wasn't mad about it. He would tell her someday.

Still, it'd be nice to know where he was from or how he got his powers. According to Taen, he was born with his abilities. So he couldn't be completely human. Was he an experiment? An alien? Another type of demon that Raven didn't know about? 'That would be something' Raven thought. Demon children, not something Raven ever thought about. But Taen resembled humans too much, he couldn't be one hundred percent demon. After all, her father barely looked human at all...

She leaned against the window, enjoying the cool glass against he skin. It was a beautiful day. Clear skies and sunny. A little to bright for Raven's liking. She preferred the night with a full moon. As they passed a sign quickly, she managed to read "You are now entering Praysair city- Population". The end had been scratched off.

"You sure this is going to go by smoothly?" She asked Taen. "Why wouldn't it?" He replied. Raven thought for a moment. "Well, you left suddenly, accused of murder. And now they're accepting your help to find a new team. I mean, a bit quick to forgive aren't they?" She asked. Now Taen thought for a moment. "Well. I called the commissioner, who talked to yours, who had talked to Robin, who vouched that I was innocent. I mean c'mon, it's Robin! Who wouldn't believe him?" Taen said. Raven laughed, thinking of her team leader.

Praysair city had been a peaceful place for a long while. Since the Supergroup had been infected, crime had gone down. Magmus left the city, so their chief villain was gone. Praysair wasn't like Jump city. They didn't have giant rock men, killer robots, or psychotic men in masks running all over the place. But crime had picked up, and some new heroes had taken up the job to protect the city. Praysair city officials had contacted the tower just days earlier, asking Taen if he could assist them in selecting new members for the Supergroup, as Taen had joined the Titans. He eagerly accepted, and asked Raven if she would join him on the journey.

'And here we are' She thought to herself, looking out the window. She could see extremely large buildings in front of her, and they seemed to go on for ever. "Is this place bigger than jump?" She asked Taen. He shook his head. "Not even close," He said. They passed quite the variety of buildings. Casinos, strip clubs, schools, grocery stores, weapon stores, pawn shops, and much more.

"The gambling age is only 18 here, so I used to be down here a lot. I swear some criminals never learn, they always tried to rob the casinos when I was in there. It got kind of sad," He sad. Raven laughed, enjoying her time. Soon they were out of the large part of city, and had hit suburbia. Houses in all sizes were there, and all of them looked fairly expensive. In the distance, she could see a body of water with a large object in it. "That's the tower," Taen pointed out. Raven sat up, trying to get a decent look. She couldn't tell what shape it was, but she could see that it was no where near the height of the T-Tower.

Taen kept on speeding along. "Taen..." Raven said. They were heading straight for the dark water, and Taen wasn't letting up on the gas. "Don't worry," He assured her. She leaned back nervously. Finally they hit the water, Raven expecting to sink. There was a slight splash, but they were on solid ground. "We built a bridge to lead over here, a button calls it up from the water's floor, which is only about thirty feet under the water. I was the only member who could fly," Taen said smiling. Raven let out a deep breath as the reached the island. Taen parked the car outside, and got out.

"It's a very large star," Taen said of the tower. Raven looked, and could see where the points shot out and went back in. "You can see it real good in the air," He said and reached his hand out to her. Raven took it, and they floated up above the tower. "Wow... That's so weird," Raven said and laughed. It was indeed a star flat on the ground. Black in color except for the letters in the exact center: SG. "It's only about eighty feet tall, the T-Tower is higher. We each got a point in the star for our room, and the center was where the kitchen, and living room were. A floor under that was the team training room," Taen said as they began to float. "Creepy tower," Raven said.

They landed on the ground quickly. Raven levitated the luggage into the tower. "Wow, they really moved ahead without asking," Taen said. The place had been redone, obviously. The walls were all a dark grey, and while the furniture was still there, Raven could tell it was new. "I wonder what they did with all out stuff," Taen said. He walked through a sliding door into a place painted all black. "I see they didn't bother with my section," Taen said. "I'm gonna go check this stuff out," Taen said and walked away, leaving Raven to look around.

She didn't really do much, just went around Taen's room. As far as she could tell, there were four floors, each about twenty feet high. Room and bath, training room, research room, and what Raven guessed was a room for anything. Taen's bottom floor had an assortment of games, books, and other stuff. She saw a few stories and poems on the ground and glanced at them, happy to see they were dark and disturbed slightly. "Just like me," She said and smiled.

Raven went back up to the top floor, where she found Taen lying on his bed. "No respect for the dead. I called the commissioner, who told me they took everyone's stuff but mine. I'm gonna have to send a mover for all of the crap," Taen said, pointing down. Raven threw herself on top of him, giving him a kiss. "I'm sorry to say I'll have to work all day. Just make yourself at home," Taen told her as he got up. Raven sighed, but listened. She kicked off her boots and socks, then removed her cloak for comfort. She laid down all day it seemed like, until Taen came into her room many hours later.

"You ok?" She asked him. "Yeah," He answered. Taen tossed himself down fully clothed. "I need to go to bed, tryouts are going to be insane. I hear there's a lot of people who call themselves heroes living here now," He said and closed his eyes. "I'll be here, it'll be fun!" Raven said to him. "Yeah fun..." Taen said quietly. Raven watched as he fell asleep. Her eyes darted to the window, where the blinds were open. She had seen movement. Raven got up and looked out it, but no one was there. She shut the blinds, laid down, and went to sleep.

000

He waited outside of the tower. Taen was asleep, his girlfriend, the Titan named Raven, had seen him. But she had no idea. He lifted his new weapons. They were light, extremely light, but deadly. Stek was really an extraordinary metal. "Stolen by an even more extraordinary person," He said, smiling.

"Apprentice, report!" He quickly lifted his communicator to his mouth. "Yes master?" He asked. "Did you find them?" Slade asked. "Yes. They are in the tower, as you suspected," He replied. "Good, be at the tryouts tomorrow, but do not let them see your face," Slade told his apprentice quickly. "I will not," He said. Slade didn't say another word. The boy floated in the air, then teleported his way to the abandoned house he was in. "I'll see you soon Taen, my old friend".

000

Raven awoke, unsure of where she was. Then she looked down, and saw Taen, which relaxed her. 'Supergroup Tower' She reminded herself. "Finally awake," He said. Taen opened his eyes and looked at her. "How long was I out?" She asked him. "Twelve hours about," He answered. "When are they-" "Getting here? I'd say about... now," Taen said. Raven looked to the area where Taen was watching , where there was a Tv that was on a surveillance channel. A large group of people was gathered at the doors. "Let's go," Taen said and got up.

They opened the doors and greeted everyone quickly. Then they led them up to the main room. "My name is Taen and this is Raven," Taen said as they stopped. A few of the guys were watching her strangely. "Of the Teen Titans?" A young looking girl asked. "Yes," Raven spoke up. There was a small murmur at this. "Anyways. As you know, the city needs some help and you're the people to do it. We're looking for a young group, as that's what the Supergroup originally had, young people. Is anyone here older than sixteen?" Taen asked. No one answered. "Good. Now if anyone is under fourteen, I suggest you leave. I'm not accepting people that young," Taen added. A few people left out the doors grumbling.

"So far so good," Taen mumbled. Raven looked at him. "You're not very good with crowds," She said to him in a kidding way. "I know," He said. "So get in a line, girls over there and guys over here. Raven will judge the girls, and I'll judge the guys. If you're good enough we'll except you, but remember, we only need five!" Taen said. Raven glared at him. "You never told me I had to do a thing!" She hissed. "Sorry," Taen said and smiled. He pushed Raven to the side, and walked over to his own side. "Just give us your name, show us what you can do, and... that's it I guess," Taen said.

So it began... and it was chaotic. Raven got some strange girls. She wasn't even sure why half of them showed up. Sure, the one girl who could create ear splitting screams was decent, and the one who could heal also fought pretty good. But Bubble Girl? With the ability to create small orange force field bubbles? What was she thinking? There were only about thirty five people there, and about half were girls.

After many failures, with only loud mouth being any good, someone managed to impress. Two girls were together, apparently sisters. The first was named "Hotty". Either for her powers or for her looks. Raven wasn't sure. The girl could create fire at will, and manipulate it if need be. Raven was reminded of "Hot Spot", whom Robin had described to them all after his run in with the master of games.

The girls sister went up, looking shy. She was visibly younger than Hotty, and her name, "Tsunami", wasn't as catchy. But the girl did have impressive powers. She could not only conjure water from no where, but could control it as well. It was quite a show, watching the two sister. "You're sisters and yet your powers are opposites... That's odd," Raven commented. "Our father and mother each had one of these powers," Hotty spoke up. Raven nodded and continued on. None of the other girls had been very successful, so Hotty and Tsunami were the obvious choice. Raven turned to look for Taen, but found him gone.

"Where did Taen go?" She asked a tall boy. He jumped slightly at being addressed by Raven directly. "He went into the other room to decide on who he wants, he's trying to narrow it down to three," The boy answered. "Your name is?" Raven asked him. "Rocky," He answered. Raven looked him up and down. "Real name or hero name?" She asked. "Both," The Rocky answered and smashed his chest. His skin hardened over into solid grey stone before Raven's eyes. "You don't know someone named Cinderblock do you?" She asked him. Rocky shook his head, looking confused. "Never mind," Raven said, smiling slightly.

Taen walked back out, looking grim. Raven could tell that it was an act. Ushering the boys towards him, he nodded at Raven, who pointed at the two young girls behind her. Taen smiled and turned back to the guys. "Now this wasn't easy, not at all, but I've made my choice," He said. "Rocky, Ice Dude... what were you thinking when you made that name? And... Jim," Taen called out. The three stepped forward. "You've all made the team, you'll be joining those girls behind Raven in the Supergroup. Anyone who didn't make it, clear out!" Taen announced. There were many angered noises, and a few sobs, but all in all the heroes left smoothly.

Taen walked over to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as he stared at the doors. "What?" Raven said and looked as well. She didn't see anything strange. "That guy... in the shadows," Taen said. Sure enough, standing in a shadowed area at the exit was someone wearing all black. Raven could see sunlight shining off of a blade, but couldn't tell what the weapon was. The figure turned, and headed out the door. Taen tore off. "Taen!" Raven yelled after him. She watched as she ran through the doors, shoving several disgruntled people out of the way. He came back a moment later, looking sad. "Gone," Taen said to her. Then he sat down in front of the five heroes.

After a few moments of introduction, Raven learned of the other two guys powers. Ice Dude was fairly simple. He was basically Ice Man, but younger. The kid had gotten his powers from a freak accident in some lab. Finally there was Jim. "Work on that name kid," Taen told him. Jim smiled at that. The kid was a lot like Robin. No powers but a terrific fighter. He was great at demolitions work, which made them nervous. A teen who knows how to build bombs with ease... freaky. But he only worked for good, not evil, and Raven was sure of it, having read his mind.

Taen and her spent a while to explain their duties, and let them pick rooms. Jim was left without a room, and Taen told him that he could have his own once he left. So Jim got to sleep on the couch at night. But before that, the new Supergroup, with Raven and Taen, went out on the town. They ate dinner together, and went to see a movie. Raven was surprised to see how quickly the new team adapted to each other. The sisters were already close, but latched onto other members. Jim and Hotty talked a lot, and Tsunami barely ever left Ice Dude's side. Rocky was liked by all of them surprisingly, and that made Taen suggest him to be team leader. Everyone seemed on board with it, so Rocky became the Supergroup's leader.

"I want you kids to be ready for tomorrow, crime can strike at any moment!" Taen said as he shut his door to his room. Raven was lying on the bed, dead tired from the long day. "Not a bad bunch," Taen said. She nodded. "I've got a good feeling about them, I hope they do good," He added. Raven watched him closely. She could tell that something was bothering Taen. About his past perhaps? 'Just ask him' She told herself.

"What's wrong Taen?" She said carefully. He looked at her up and down, as if debating if she could be trusted. "Well... that guy earlier, the one at the door, I thought I knew him. The weapons he was carrying... Reminded me of someone from m-my past," Taen said, his eyes become dark. "Wanna talk about it?" Raven asked, wanting to ease her boyfriends worries and hear about his past. "Not now, but I promise you Raven, I will tell you very soon," He said, kneeling on the bed and kissing her. They laid down together, unaware that they were still being watched, closer than they thought as well.

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That was one of the most pointless chapters I've ever written. But I had to do it. I'm sure you're wondering by now what Taen's origins are. You'll learn them later on, and you'll also learn a lot about Slade's apprentice. Sorry that it took so long to update, I was waiting for reviews but they never really came, so I wrote this anyways. So if you are reading this story, please review it. The first one got a lot of feedback, and a bunch of those reviewers seem to be missing. Oh well... R and R please.

Next Chapter: While Raven and Taen enjoy a vacation, Robin and Starfire decide to go on a big date! But while they are gone, Slade's attack begins. Will Cyborg and Beast Boy be able to hold it off until back up arrives?

Keep reading or better yet: reviewing.

-SinFire