AN:Guys, this is a gift to all of my readers, a going away present, you might say. For those of you who haven't heard, I'm going to be going into Basic training in the Navy on the 24th. I'm going to try and update my Harry Potter story one more time before I leave, and then 'm going to be going silent for 2+ months. But never fear, I shall return!

The reaction of the Titans after that one instant of shock was predictable. Robin shook his head, as if clearing cobwebs. "We'll figure out how she got here later, right now we have to stop her." He looked over at Starfire. "Star, if you want to sit this one out…" he let it hang for a moment. The pretty alien girl shook her head, her hair falling to obscure her face.

"No Robin. I do not know why my sister has returned, but she must be stopped!" her gaze was fiery as she lifted her head, her eyes aglow.

Up in the bubble, Jim exchanged a look with Inari, who merely shrugged as it to say, "Idunno".

Beast Boy jerked his thumb at the two intruders. "What about these guys?" Robin shook his head.

"No time, we'll deal with them later. Titans, GO!" Jim watched as the team raced for the elevator. He turned to look at Inari.

"Methinks they may need our help partner." Inari cocked an eyebrow. "Chalk it up to gut instinct. And you know how well that's served us so far." The fox nodded in understanding. Jim tapped the side of the globular prison experimentally, then smirked. 'You think you got all my weapons, but a fox is never unarmed so long as he retains his cunning,' he thought.

Jim's eyes fell on the screen once more, and his entire demeanor changed, becoming cold as the Artic pack-ice, and not nearly so forgiving. "Let's crack this thing partner, I just got a sudden urge to hurt someone."

Five Minutes Later-

The T-car pulled up to the scene, coming to a sliding, screeching halt behind what had once been a fairly nice Dodge pick-up. Now it looked like Godzilla had made it his personal chew-toy, then tossed it aside. The Titans disembarked quickly, scanning the area for Blackfire even as they fell into their usual battle formation.

Robin and Beast Boy were on point. Batman's protégé coiled like a wound spring, and Beast Boy's senses were on high alert. His animal instincts were just screaming warnings at him. Starfire followed close to Robin, hovering slightly, her expression anxious. Cyborg and Raven followed behind, his arm cannon cocked and ready, treading as lightly as he could, while the goth seemed just the slightest bit edgy, her eyes darting from place to place. A derisive laugh cut through the air, all of the Titans whirling to face the source of the noise.

"Well, it looks like my little sister decided to show her face after all. And look, she brought her friends too." Blackfire was nowhere in sight, her voice bouncing off of the wreckage to echo oddly around the Titans, seeming to come from everywhere at once. Starfire floated up a little higher, trying to find the her sister.

"Sister, why do you do these things? I do not wish to fight you!"

Blackfire's answer was scornful. "Always the good-girl, aren't you, sister?" Blackfire's tone was acid on the last word. "You took away my rightful place as ruler of Tamaran! I will make you suffer for that!" A vein in Robin's forehead began to throb.

"Why not come out and get this over with Blackfire! Quit hiding like a coward!" he shouted. The black-haired alien's reply was sickeningly sweet.

"Of course Robin, how silly of me to think that I could put off a confrontation with the great Boy Wonder," she cooed sarcastically. As she spoke, she drifted into view.

As one, the Titan's blood ran cold, as they saw what had so enraged the Swamp Fox.

A little girl was being held aloft by Blackfire, the dark alien's hand wrapped around her throat. In her other hand lay a violet starbolt, held precariously close to the child's head. The little prisoner gave a feeble whimper, no longer possessing the strength to make any kind of attempt to free herself, her eyes rolling in pure primal fear. "As you can see, I've made a little friend of my own since I arrived," Blackfire said in a conversational tone.

Starfire's mouth was agape in an expression of abject horror, while a deep rumbling growl was issuing from Beast Boy's throat. Raven's demeanor was even more stony that usual, while Robin and Cyborg had assumed grim expressions. "But she's not the only friend I've made," Blackfire said in a darkly mischievous tone. She gave an odd pitched whistle, which was interspersed with a number of strange clicks.

Around the Titans, piles of rubble began to shift, exposing horrible monstrosities. They were humanoid, but their bodies were covered by a hairy sort of chitin, like the body of a fly, or cockroach. Their arms were numerous, ranging in number from four to seven, and all of them had at least two tentacles, reminiscent of the hunting arms on a squid, lined with suckers, as well as vicious looking barbs. Their heads were reminiscent of tigers. But instead of fur, they were covered by scabrous looking scales, which oozed some sort of slime, and their jaws were vicious, insectoid mandibles. There were twelve of them in all.

"Blargian Raveners!" Starfire gasped. Blackfire cackled once more.

"Right you are sister. I happened across a bounty hunter who used to use them to hunt down bounties for him. He won't be needing them anymore, so I decided to 'borrow' them."

"Star, what are these things?" Robin asked in a worried voice.

"They are Blargian Raveners Robin, horrible creatures, created as weapons with only one purpose; to kill."

"And they're about to fulfill their reason for existence," Blackfire sneered. She pointed at the Titans, and gave an odd wavering cry. The Raveners looked at Blackfire, then at the Titans, before taking up the same cry and beginning to advance on the teen heroes.

"Aww hell," Cyborg muttered, aiming his cannon. Beast Boy shifted into a raptor, hoping that the carnivorous dinosaur's natural speed and ferocity would give him an edge. He snarled a challenge at the aliens, daring them to attack. Raven began to chant, pieces of debris lifting up in preparation of a strike, while Starfire's eyes began to glow fiercely, her fists lighting up. Robin withdrew a trio of explosive disks from his belt, gripping them between the knuckles.

As the five teens prepared for what promised to be a terrible fight, three cylindrical canisters flew through the air, landing with a 'clang' at Blackfire's feet. All she managed to get out was a "What in the…!", before all three cans exploded in incandescent bursts of white light, spewing out thick billows of black smoke before the flash had faded.

Blackfire threw up her hands to shield her eyes from the light, dropping her hostage in the process. A lithe form dashed through her legs, gently catching the child in strong jaws, before dashing to the safety of the shadows. As Blackfire and the Titans strained to see through the afterimage from the flares, and the thick smoke as well, two shots rang out, and one of the Raveners gave a sharp keening cry, falling into a heap. As the smoke began to clear another dropped, a knife handle sticking from between its beady eyes. Close by a radio, perhaps jolted by the concussions of the strange flash grenades, began to play, the opening chords of Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" sounding eerie in the sudden stillness that had descended. As the last of the smoke cleared away, a figure could be seen.

His coat flapped about him like a cape, while his hands clutched a pair of smoking pistols. The light of the sun, just beginning to sink, flashed off of mirrored lenses for a split second, before they went dark. His hat was slightly tilted to the side, and his jaw was set in the pugnacious manner of a man ready to fight, his goatee bristling slightly. He pointed on of the guns straight at Blackfire. "Bitch, you and I have a problem," he snarled. Blackfire's eyes flashed, before she reined in her temper, studying the newcomer intently, arms akimbo.

"And who might you be, tall dark and threatening?" Jim quite casually bent his head and removed his sunglasses. As he straightened, Blackfire and the Titans got their first good look at his eyes. One was a vibrant green, while the other was a dark hazel. Both were glinting fiercely.

"Let's just say there's a new predator in the urban jungle," he growled lowly.

At that precise moment the Ravener he had shot lurched upwards, scrabbling towards the bounty hunter with astonishing speed for something so awkward looking. Without even flinching, Swamp Fox emptied both clips into the beast at nearly point blank range, dropping the alien predator in a twitching heap.

As that happened, the other Raveners shook off the stupor the smoke had induced, and turned towards this interloper, who had killed their clutch-mates, their mandibles clicking in agitation and anger. Swamp Fox ignored them, holstering his pistols before slipping a set of deadly looking spiked brass knuckles over his hands. "Shall we dance?" he asked mockingly. The nearest Ravener responded by swiping at him with one of its tentacles. Swamp Fox danced out of the way as the Titans shook off their shock at seeing him out and about, and regrouped.

"Titans, GO!" Robin cried. Cyborg aimed his arm cannon at one of the Raveners, and blasted it into a pile of debris.

"BOO-WOAH!" His victory shout was interrupted by another Ravener attempting to tear his arm off. The alien beast's barbs produced sparks as they skidded over the metallic part of his lower arm. "That had better buff out," Cyborg growled, swinging around with a vicious left hook. He connected, then made a face as his fist was coated in the slime that oozed from the Ravener's body. "Ew-yuch!"

Blackfire scowled as she watched the Titans engage her little "pets". Beast Boy had kept his raptor form, and was dashing in and out of reach of one of the creatures, claws ripping and tearing as he constantly circled around it in a tactic as old as time, keeping it confused and off balance. Raven had used her powers to levitate a downed streetlight, and was using it as a sort of bat, while Robin was keeping his distance, peppering his own target with bird-a-rangs and various disks. Her scowl changed to a vicious grin as she saw her sister coming towards her, fists alight, and a battle cry hovering on her lips. Unfortunately for Starfire, the last two Raveners converged on her, lashing out with their tentacles.

Starfire gave a shrill shriek as she saw one of the barbed appendages whip towards her, and Robin shouted her name in alarm, but they were both drowned out by a keening wail from the Ravener as a pencil thin beam of red light lanced out of nowhere, and severed the appendage with a sickening sizzle. The afflicted beast dropped to the ground, curling around the stump of its tentacle in pain, while Starfire managed to knock the other away with a barrage of starbolts. Blackfire grunted in disappointment and surprise, and lifted a hand to throw a starbolt of her own.

However, that action was stopped in its tracks by a punch that rattled her teeth in their sockets. She staggered back to find Swamp Fox in font of her, his arm still raised from the uppercut he had just delivered. In the background, the radio suddenly went dead, more than likely crushed by the Ravener that Raven had sent flying into a car.

"You know, I'm not usually one to get in the middle of a sibling spat, but somethin' 'bout you just pisses me off!" Swamp Fox ground out. Blackfire's eyes began to glow dangerously.

"How dare you strike me!" she yelled, pitching several starbolts at the ex-bounty hunter. He bobbed and ducked around and under them, flinging several knives back at the alien with smooth underhand casts, his brass knuckles not seeming to hamper him in the least. He was fast, and though not as acrobatic as Robin, he managed to bob and weave around every attack Blackfire threw at him, using his duster like a cape, it's length hiding his movements before he made them, all the while keeping up a steady stream of trash talk.

"Come on, quit trying to hit me and hit me!" he called as he preformed a handspring over a starbolt, releasing another knife in mid-air. She dodged, but saw a few strands of hair flutter away, and growled in rage, before trying to punch the annoying teen in the face.

"You call that a punch? That thing couldn't even break wind!" he mocked, ducking under the attack and retaliating with a snap kick to her midriff. She arched inwards, avoiding the blow, and gritted her teeth, eyes and fists glowing in fury.

"Stand still so I can crush you!" she bellowed. As she began to prepare a point blank assault of starbolts, a stream of blue sonic energy came out of nowhere, cutting through the small space between the two combatants.

"I got a better idea," Cyborg said grimly, "How bout both of you just chill?" Behind him Raven had constructed a cage out of debris, which contained the remaining Raveners. During the battle Beast Boy had shifted into the form of a mountain lion, and was now licking at a nasty looking wound on his foreleg. Robin and Starfire were backing up Cyborg, the first as grimfaced as the half-machine, while the second looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere and die.

Naturally, Swamp Fox didn't relax at all. He kept the knives he had clenched between his fingers ready, and his stance announced louder than words that there was no way in hell he was going to "chill out" with such a dangerous enemy this close. Blackfire's expression was one of sulking anger, but it changed to a look of mild cunning she quickly disguised. Swamp Fox caught it though. "I wouldn't do it if I were you," he growled, "unless of course you want a hole blasted through your stomach. But that's up to you of course." Cyborg looked disgusted at that last part.

"Dude, my weaponry is sound based. It won't kill." Jim rolled his eyes

Blackfire smirked, her normal cool and collected attitude reasserting itself. "What's the matter little sister," she called to Starfire, "Can't bear to fight your own battles anymore?" Starfire's expression grew even more pained at her sister's taunting. That vein on Robin's forehead was back now, with a vengeance.

Starfire floated a little closer to her sister. "I do not understand you sister, why must you try to hurt me like this? I did not wish to fight you before, and I do not wish it now!"

"I on the other hand, have absolutely no problem with kicking your shapely ass up and down this street for the next several hours," Jim piped up.

Blackfire looked around. Raven was preoccupied with keeping the Raveners contained, while Beast Boy had limped to the frontline and was glaring at her through fierce feline eyes. Robin was gripping his bo so tightly that his hand was shaking, his teeth gritted together. Cyborg on the other hand, merely looked coolly at the alien girl, his cannon primed and ready. Starfire… just thinking about the hangdog expression on the face of her "sister" made the older princess' blood boil. A small sob caught her attention then, and she slowly turned her head. Where…there!

Hidden somewhat in the shadows of a debris choked alley, the small girl from before huddled fearfully against a large black animal of some sort, who gently licked the child's forehead before seeming to sense the alien's malignant eyes. He tensed, and turned his eyes in her direction, amber orbs shining lamp-like in the shadows, as he twined around the girl so that he was facing the alien, protecting the small child. Blackfire saw her last chance to make at least a bid for freedom.

She fired a starbolt at the ground in front of her, kicking up a cloud of dust. Swamp Fox began to cough, not expecting this tactic, and Cyborg was forced to hold his fire for fear of missing and hitting Swamp Fox or the little girl. Blackfire smirked as she made the dash towards the alley entrance. She'd have control of the situation again, and then she'd escape, to formulate a new plan.

As she neared the darkness that marked the entrance however, a snarling shadow leapt at her, and knocked her back. It was gone as fast as it came, but Blackfire caught a glimpse of a white tuft of fur on the end of a bushy tail. Blackfire tried to get up, but every time she rose even slightly, a beam of red lanced out of the darkness around her, knocking her to the ground once more, and singeing her skin. Each time the blast came from a different direction, and was sometimes followed by a second attack. Eventually, after five tries to rise, and eight blasts from her concealed attacker, she managed to rise slightly without getting hit.

Then Jim was on her again.

"I told you not to try anything," Swamp Fox growled. He flipped a thin baton out of his duster, slipping his brass knuckles off in a single practiced move as he did so, before shrugging out of his duster. It fell to the ground with a muffled 'clank'. Blackfire began to push off from the ground.

He made his move.

He lashed out with the baton, striking Blackfire across the cheek, saying "Don't."

Before she could gather her wits, he lashed out again, this time catching her across the opposite cheek, "Ever."

Two more strikes, each one so fast they appeared to be a flicker of black and gray, striking her across her throat and then over the head. "Try…That."

He twirled the baton through his fingers once, and the end split open as he did so, revealing it was actually a powerful taser. He jammed it into the girls midriff, and she began to writhe in pain as powerful jets of current lanced through her body. She screamed, the sound seeming to be ripped from her very soul.

After what seemed like hours, but was in reality only about thirty seconds, he removed the device and Blackfire collapsed in a twitching heap. Jim looked down at her. "Again," he finished, tucking the taser through his belt. He didn't even flinch as he felt the tip of Robin's staff press into his back.

"What are you?" The masked teen asked, his voice filled with suspicion, and a healthy dose of apprehension. Jim ignored him. Inari slipped out of the shadows, and picked up his partner's duster in his jaws. The fox trotted over and held it out to the bounty hunter, who took it and slipped it on, still ignoring Robin. Beast Boy shifted back to his normal form, and glared at the older teen.

"Dude, he asked you a question," the changeling snapped.

Jim turned to face the two, casually took his sunglasses out, and flipped them open. As he was putting them on, he gave the Titans a level gaze over the lenses, before slipping them fully onto his face. His voice was completely flat as he spoke.

"Me? I'm just am ex-bounty hunter."

With that he turned and entered the alley. He knelt down next to the small girl, and began to talk gently to her. Inari merely lay at her side, the girl seeming to find comfort in the predator's presence.

Robin got a strange look on his face as he took in the scene, before looking over his shoulder at the rest of his team. Starfire was looking sadly at her sister, before looking at Jim with a look torn between anger, for hurting her sister like that, and respect for his obvious battle prowess and compassion. Cyborg had retracted his sonic cannon and was looking around at the damage, shaking his head. Raven had left the Raveners sealed in a dome of debris she had fused together with her powers, and was now helping Beast Boy with his wound, using her powers to mend the torn flesh as best she could. After a moment they joined their leader, the green teen cradling his injured arm, which was still quite tender.

Cyborg took a close look at Robin, whose expression had changed from the strange look of earlier, to a calculating one. He was looking at Jim, who had quite deliberately turned his back to the Titans. The half machine shook his head in resignation.

"You know that he could turn out to just be bad news," Raven said, assessing her leader's mood and intent with her normal precision. Beast Boy looked confused for a moment, before understanding dawned.

"Dude, you're seriously thinking of…"

"Robin, are you sure that this would be a wise course of action?" Starfire asked. Robin shook his head.

"You saw what he's capable of Star. I'd rather have him where we can keep an eye on him, than out on the streets. Besides," he continued, "If he doesn't join, we'll be forced to arrest him as a vigilante. There are laws against that sort of thing." Cyborg gave him a look.

"Kind of a case of the pot and the kettle there, isn't it?" the half-machine deadpanned. As he said that, Jim stood up, and helped the little girl clamber onto Inari's back. The fox waited for the child to get a good grip in his ruff, before taking off down the street in an easy loping run.

"HEY!" Robin yelled. The fox ignored him, and turned the corner. Jim strode over, not seeming to care that he had just sent a little girl who-knows-where in the company of a creature who could quite literally eat her for lunch.

"Lighten up Teen Tight-ass, he's taking her to the closest authorities so she'll get checked out and her parents can be notified that she's safe." He looked at Robin expectantly, and a tense silence fell. After a moment, Jim slid his glasses down his nose and gave Robin a look. "Well?" he said expectantly.

"Well what?" Robin snapped.

"Isn't this the point where you ask me to join the Titans, so you can keep me safely under your thumb and off the streets?" Jim asked in a bored tone. Robin choked, but the bounty hunter ignored him. Starfire floated towards the older teen.

"How is it that you know of our intentions? Are you "psycho"?" Jim chuckled.

"The word is "psychic" Red. And no, it's just the most logical course of action. You can't afford to leave someone like me running around unsupervised, or else I'll end up "going to far"," he made air quotes as he spoke, "and end up putting someone in the ground. And there's laws against vigilantes, so you'd have to try to take me in eventually. Plus there's my experiences as a bounty hunter, my fighting prowess, and my various underground contacts to take into consideration as well. Not to mention my partner."

Robin appeared to have been struck silent, so Cyborg stepped up. "So are you interested?"

Jim shrugged. "Eh, not like I got anywhere else to go. Without my license, I can't claim any bounties, and I don't think getting my ass shipped off to prison would be to fun either. After all, the way my lucks been going, I'd end up cellmates with one of the guys I put away."

As he spoke, a roaring sound filled the air, and a familiar, to the Titans at least, space ship descended to the broken street. Jim crouched as he unsheathed his hip knife, a bowie knife with a seven inch serrated blade. "I don't suppose fighting off an alien invasion is to tough for the mighty Teen Titans?" Jim snapped, seeing that the heroes were making no moves whatsoever.

"They have not come to take over the planet, but to take my sister into custody," Starfire said, looking sadly at the ship, then to her comatose sibling.

As the Centari police disembarked, a strange look came over Jim's face. "Dude, what's wrong with you?" Beast Boy asked. Jim looked the alien cops up and down for a moment.

"Nothing, just trying to decide if I should be intimidated by 'em, or go find the biggest lemon wedges on the planet and crack those suckers open." There was a sort silence, before Cyborg began to snort in an attempt to contain his laughter. Beast Boy's face was a mixed look of horror and laughter that was hilarious to see.Raven arched one eyebrow, stifling a small smile at the look on the green teens face. The crustacean-like officers stopped in their tracks at the observation, giving wary glances to the older teen, before flashing their badges at Robin.

"We've come to take Blackfire of Tamaran into custody," one of them announced.

"Well you took your sweet time getting here, didn't you?" Jim snorted. One of them swung around to face the ex-bounty hunter, brandishing his claw.

"Do you have a complaint?" the alien asked tersely. Jim glared at him over his glasses.

"No, just an observation. If you retards had been doing your jobs right in the first place, none of this would have happened." He made a sweeping gesture with his arm, indicating the devastation around them. The Centari cop clacked his claw in agitation, before going over to Blackfire, and prepping her for transport, while his partner took a statement from Robin detailing the encounter.

After a few minutes they dragged off Blackfire, who was still comatose. The Blargian Raveners were a bit harder to corral, but a large dose of some sort of alien knockout gas courtesy of the Centari Police knocked them cold. The Centari officers loaded them into a special cryro-bay designed to transport dangerous beasts, and took off without so much as a thank you. "Dicks," Fox muttered as he watched the ship's ion trail dissipate. Inari, who had arrived back just moments before the alien police left, nodded his head in agreement. He turned to Robin. "Sooooo…what now?"

In reply, Robin held out a Titans communicator. "Now you come with us back to the tower." Beast Boy spoke up.

"Dude, what are we gonna call you? Jim, or Swamp Fox, or Kheen, or…" he was cut off as a bubble of black energy formed around his head, blocking all sound. Raven glared at him.

"I have a headache Beast Boy, so please, stop your inane babbling for at least one night." Swamp Fox smirked at the two.

"Just call me Fox, it makes things simpler that way. And as for going with you back to the tower, I'll follow you in the Swamp Thing." Cyborg blinked.

"What's the Swamp Thing?" Fox just smirked. He walked past the team, plucking the communicator from Robin's hand as he went, and disappeared into another alley. Inari just sat there, a canine grin on his muzzle. After a second, the sound of an engine came to their ears, and a large motorcycle came into view. It appeared to be intended for long road trips, with a large comfortable looking seat and huge saddlebags. It also had a large sidecar that was obviously not designed for human passengers. This was proven when Inari hopped into the seat and curled up, facing forward.

It was painted in urban camouflage patterns, with large spots of what at first looked to be rust, but upon closer inspection was actually a very detailed paint job. Written on the side of the car were the words "Swamp Thing", written in an oozing script. Fox indicated the bike with a grandiose sweep of his arm. "The Swamp Thing," he said simply.

Cyborg cocked an eyebrow, somewhat impressed. The bike was well cared for, and it showed "Nice ride." Fox shrugged.

"Eh, it got me from job to job." He revved the engine. "So who wants to bet me my first chore shift that I can beat your car and cycle to the tower?"

Robin and Cyborg smirked. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all.

To Be Continued...

Well, hope you guys like this new project of mine. I'll try to continue working on all my stories through Basic, and type them up as soon as I graduate from it. Until then, stay cool people!

Fireinu- I'm surprised it hasn't stuck there already.

randomperson- He morphed from a hawk into a parrot, and then into another type of hawk.