Chapter 3: The Plot Thickens

The few hours that young Virgil Hawkins had spent so far in Jump City had proved to be three of the most fun hours of his life. They had a huge video arcade here, and the freshest pizza! While Beast Boy was munching his way to a higher high on a vintage Pac-Man machine, Virgil, Robin, and Raven were beating Cyborg's robot ass in "Ninja Onslaught." Everything, now, was just peaches and cream. No villains to worry about, no sudden explosions, just Virgil chilling at the arcade with his newfound friends. Then, the noisy solitude of the arcade was suddenly interrupted by an all-too-familiar voice.

"Long time, no see, hero!"

Virgil quickly turned around in the gaming chair to find a tall, spare Black man and a familiar looking red spiky-haired Caucasian. The Black guy looked like Ebon, or was he?

"What? You don't recognize me. That's a damn shame. I was lookin' forward to one of your witty little come backs."

"Ebon?" Virgil asked in disbelief. "Why the hell are you here? And why don't you look like the slimy ball of living shadow that you really are?"

"Long story, hero. But you'll have time," Ebon snickered. "Oh, and I've got a message for you and your little friends. A man who calls himself Slade sends his regards. See you in a few minutes." He motioned to Hotstreak. "C'mon, man, let's blow this mutha. We've got work to do." With that, the two of them simply disappeared into thin air.

"Whoa, what was that all about, dude?"

"Huh? Wha--?"

"What's going on, Virg—uh, Static? Who were those guys?" Robin asked.

"Two other bang babies from my home town. They're bad news." Virgil sighed.
"Shit! I never should have come. Those guys probably followed me here."

"Well, if those two cause any trouble here in the Jump, the six of us will bring them down," Cyborg chimed in.

"I couldn't have said it better, Cy," Robin agreed.

"Ebon-the tall one- said something about a dude named Slade and how he sends his regards. Do any of you know who he meant?" Virgil asked.

"NO!" the one named Raven shouted in horror. "Slade's back—again?"

"Not him again!" Beast Boy yelled. "Only Slade could mess up my time playing Pac-Man!"

"Well, Titans, if Slade's back, you know what this means. We've got to take him DOWN—at all costs!" Robin said. "And Static—we're going to need your help. You deserve this." The Boy Wonder reached into his pimped out utility belt and produced a circular yellow walkie-talkie with the silhouette of a yellow letter "T" on it and handed it to Virgil. "This is it, man. You are officially a Teen Titan."

Suddenly, the small communicator started blaring with its alarm.

"There's been a break-in—at Titans Tower! Cyborg said, staring at the image shown on his cybernetic left arm in horror.

DA DA DA DUUUUM! TO BE CONTINUED…..