Disclaimer:

I, Syraxes, do not own the Young Justice Animated Series, the Young Justice video game, the tie-in comics, the original comic series that shares its name, or the new comic series that also shares its name. They are the property of Time Warner, Warner Brothers Studio's, and DC Comics. I am simply a humble fan, making this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release.

Murakami High School

January 28th, 14:50 PDT

"Caleb Kent, nice time," Coach Creagar praised. "That's the best time I think I've seen this year. You beat Nash's time by forty seconds. Have you thought about trying out for the football team?"

It didn't take long for him to get used to the name Caleb. Maybe there was something to Harper telling him he had once liked it. It seemed effortless for him to identify with the name.

"No, sir. Never crossed my mind," Match told him honestly. It would be too easy. Running those laps he had held back and could have easily been quicker. He wasn't a speedster, but he doubted any of the people here would be faster than him. Well, maybe Harper, if she used her armor. If he joined the team, he'd steamroll through all the other players. It wouldn't be fair.

"Well, you should consider it," the coach said, though thankfully he didn't push much beyond that. Match promised he would, and that seemed good enough for the old man. "Alright! Everyone hit the showers! Almost time for you to get the hell out of my hair."

Match jogged away from the track, back up to the gym building. He wanted to shower quickly. Artemis told him to meet her and Harper at the front of the school since none of them shared their final period.

Two girls, Amber and Dionne, were huddled in front of the door leading into the gym. Match could see a phone in Amber's hands, and the two seemed to be giggling to themselves. "Excuse me," Match called to them once he was close enough.

Both of them looked up when he spoke. Amber smiled. "Hey, Kent. Check this out!"

She shoved the phone towards him, and Match reluctantly took it. A villain he recognized as Icicle Senior was in a battle with a green kid he knew to be Beast Boy. He recognized a few of the heroes with him (Wonder Girl and Blue Beetle) and a few he didn't (the strange Cyborg, and the glowing girl). They were fighting Icicle, dodging out of the way of his ice blasts.

"Those are heroes, right?"

Dionne snorted. "Heroes? Those are the Outsiders! Where have you been living? Under a rock?"

Match shook his head, handing the phone back to her. Not a rock, but he had been existing in a pod, his mind being filled with the information his creators wanted him to know. Apparently, they didn't seem to think these Outsiders were important enough to program into his mind.

As Match pounded over the question of the Outsides. Why wasn't given any information on them. So wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the person hidden in one of the trees. A young man, who couldn't have been more than twenty-five, watched the Kryptonian clone. His face was hidden behind a mask, and he took careful note of Match.

As the clone disappeared inside the gymnasium, the young man pressed a button on his suit's belt. His form disappeared, becoming invisible. Red X jumped down from the tree and sprinted across the grounds, jumping over the school wall in a single bound.

The beeping inside his helmet alerted him to the incoming connection. As he answered the communication, Koriand'r's face appeared.

"Well?" She asked, looking into the screen. Red X smiled.

"Yes. You were right."

He hadn't known her to be a very smug person, and her face changed with barely the smallest traces of a smile, but he could feel the smugness radiating through the screen.

"You should have confirmed that a while ago? Has something happened?"

"When I found them they were all leaving. I decided to tail them. Been watching them all day. They found a third member. Don't know anything about him. They're going to school. I looked into their documents. Fake identities."

It hadn't been hard to get into the school's network and find them. Doing a more in-depth search revealed that they didn't officially exist. Something he'd be able to help them with.

"So I take it you're interested." It wasn't a question. She knew him well.

"They escaped from The Light. Apparently, they got someone else out. I can't say anything about the boy yet, but Harper has a Reach Scarab, and Artemis has all the training of the original. I think... I want to make contact."

"Right now?" Koriand'r asked sharply. "We don't know anything about them beyond the Light's files."

"I didn't say right now," Red X placated. "I think tomorrow would be a good idea."

"Wasn't it you who said we should watch them closely?"

"Point," Red X agreed. "I have been watching them. Reread their files for the hundredth time. I think they'd be good additions. Even right now Artemis and Harper are fighting crime. But maybe a few more days of observation wouldn't be out of the question."

"And taking money from the criminals they takedown," Koriand'r added.

"Hey. When we got away from the Court, we did the same thing. Got us by for two years before we got on our feet."

"You're right." If there was one thing Koriand'r wasn't, it was a hypocrite. "Just... Keep watching them. At least for now. I won't be back in Jump until tomorrow anyway."

"Agreed. I can't wait for you to see the tower."

She laughed. "I can't believe you made it into a T."

"Well, we are the Teen Titans."

Hidden Layer

January 28th, 17:34 PST

Francis threw himself forward, aiming at Cheshire's head. The woman was so small, his instincts went against attacking her. The control chip on his neck might be compelling him to follow her orders, but he's learned the hard way not to hold back. She might look small and defenseless, but that wasn't the truth.

Case and point, she ducked under his attack, swept his legs out from under him. His face hit the ground in a flash of pain. Breathing heavily, he clenched his fists. Fire exploded from his hands and he pushed himself up, throwing a fireball at her. Cheshire dodged it by stepping to the side. She made it look easy.

Her fist connected with his face a second later, in the same spot his face hit the ground. The pain flashed again. "I said no powers," Cheshire said in a sing-song voice.

Anger flashed through him, his hands and hair igniting into the fire.

"Calm down," she ordered. Francis could feel the chip on the of his neck warm-up. A strange wave of calm spread through him, the fire dying.

"Someone got whooped," Ebon said from the side. Francis turned to glare at him. Other than his clothes, his entire body was covered in a layer of darkness. That layer wasn't able to fool him; Francis and his family had moved to Jump City from Dakota City. Before he left, Francis had been very familiar with Ivan. They had gone to the same school, part of different gangs. When he moved, Francis thought he was free of Ivan. Ironic.

"Lay off Ebon. Like you could do any better," Talon said from his other side. Francis noticed she was in her human form. He knew she didn't like transforming into her bird form.

"I don't think any of us could really do any better," Aquamaria said. "You did good, Francis. Better than when you started."

"Which isn't saying much," Shiv laughed. Maria punched his shoulder. Francis stared at Maria for a moment, before turning back toward Cheshire. Not even she knew who her boss was apparently, but he wanted to know. Not only had the ass hole put a control chip on the back of his neck, but they also went and found his old girlfriend from Dakota, changed her into a meta and put her on the team. They hadn't parted on the best of terms, and it was awkward being around her.

"None of you are good enough. Not yet, at least," Cheshire said, sounding amused. "But that's why I'm here. Get make sure you are that good. And that means training without using your meta powers."

"I still don't see the point," Ebon said, crossing his arms. "We have powers. If we're in a fight, we're going to use them."

Cheshire reached up and removed her mask, staring at Ebon with a small smile. "Come here Ebon. Your turn. You can use your power to attack me."

Francis climbed out of the ring, standing next to Maria.

Ebon climbed in the ring. "Whenever you're ready," Cheshire said. His shadow rose from behind him, forming a tendril. It shot at her, but much in the same way as his fire, Cheshire easily stepped to the side.

She sprinted towards him, ducking under his punch. She grabbed his extended arm and pulled him over her shoulder. In less than ten seconds, Ebon was on the ground.

Like a snake, she leaned over him, clamping something down on the neck, before she jumped away. As Ebon stood up, the darkness that sounded his body began to bleed away, leaving his body undefended.

"Huh. So that's what you look like," Cheshire said. Ebon blinked, before looking down at himself.

"What?" He asked suddenly.

"The collar around your neck," Cheshire said. Francis looked closer at Ebon, seeing what she had clamped down on him. "It's called an inhibitor collar. In this case, custom made to inhibit your powers. You asked me why you needed to learn how to fight without your power, didn't you? Well, there's your answer."

Cheshire sprinted towards him again, jumping up as she neared him. She slammed her knee into her face. Francis winced as he heard a cracking sound. Ebon yelled and attempted to swipe at her, but she jumped away too quickly.

Landing lightly on her feet, Francis could see why she called herself Cheshire. She moved like a cat, with a lethal grace.

"Well?" She asked. "Shall we continue?"

Small Apartment

January 28th, 20:08 PST

Match scrolled through google, reading article after article about his original self. The Man of Steel smiled up at him from the picture, a group of armed criminals behind him all tied up.

He still had the information his creators wanted him to have. He knew about his original self's origins, how long he had been a hero, who he went about fighting. He had everything he would need to replace him in case he parishes... Or the information to better kill him if he fell from the light. He knew that Superman was a champion of Earth and would defend it, but his creator also noted Kal-El was disagreeable with their end goals. End goals that hadn't been added to his extensive memories.

Match closed the laptop, leaning back in his chair yawning. He had just closed his eyes when a sudden flash of memory shot through him. He was back on the metal platform, in a room he hadn't seen when Artemis and Harper came and got him. Harper was nowhere to be seen, but Artemis was sitting next to him. They were watching an old black and white movie, Artemis making jokes about the over the top acting.

A great wooden mallet slammed on the top of a short man's head, and he turned to his larger companion, grabbing the mallet and hitting him in the foot. While laughing, Match reached his arm out, putting it over her shoulder. The blood girl didn't seem to mind, leaning in closer.

"Match!" Artemis called, jolting him out of the memory. "Come on. We have dinner."

"Right," he answered back. The scent of mashed potatoes and chicken assaulted his nose before he had even entered the small dining room. Bags of KFC were scattered across the table.

"I'm hitting the shower," Harper said as she walked passed him. "Leave some for me."

"No promises," Artemis joked.

Match went right for the table, grabbing one of the buckets. He ripped the lid off and took out a large chicken breast. He was halfway to biting it when Artemis appeared at his side. "Pass it over."

Match extended the bucket of chicken, but Artemis quickly put it on the table. Hands now free, she reached them up around the back of his neck, and before Match knew it, she leaned into a kiss. His eyes widened when her lips met his and got bigger when he felt her tongue.

It wasn't a bad experience. In fact, it was kind of nice, all things considered. She pulled away from him a few moments later. "I told you. I'm not giving up. Just because Harper doesn't want to make a move and give you your space, doesn't mean I agree."

When she winked, his heart started beating faster. The chicken in his hand was nearly forgotten.

It was a completely new feeling. Or... Maybe it wasn't. Maybe that was how he used to feel before his memories were taken. He thought back to that flash of the black and white movie, his arm over her shoulder. She had said they started dating. Match was starting to understand how he might have felt before

"You should have been there. I wanted to take you, but Harper seemed to think you still need space," Artemis said, rolling her eyes. She dug into the chicken, pulling out three pieces and tossing them onto a waiting plate.

"I couldn't be trusted to go get chicken?" Match asked, a little annoyed. That annoyance was directed at Harper. If she treated him as that much of a kid, he didn't understand how they'd end up as close as she claimed.

"No, not the food grab. We were out on patrol." As Artemis clarified, a wave of anger ran through him. He was a full-blooded Kryptonian. A weapon made to fight. Did Harper think he couldn't hack it? "I asked to bring you, but she said that you just lost your memories. For a second time. She thought it would be better to see how it affected you, before bringing you into the thick of things."

As much as it pissed him off, Match could see the reasoning behind it. His mind had been scrubbed. How could they know if something hadn't been done to him? Hell, HE didn't know if something had been done to him. He felt fine, but he had information shoved into his head. Was there something else he didn't know about?

"You don't agree?" Match asked.

Artemis shook her head. "No. I think if they really messed with your head, you wouldn't have come back with us. You could have turned on us, surprise attack, and then me and Harper would be back where we started. We're not exactly the Justice League. So, how about you come patrol with me tomorrow?"

Match frowned. "I thought I wasn't allowed to yet."

Artemis shrugged. "What Harper doesn't know won't hurt her. We can go after school."

"Wouldn't she notice?"

Artemis smirked. "She's going to try out for the Girls Volleyball team."

"Really? No offense, but she doesn't seem the type." He thought back to her statement about high school cliches.

Artemis shrugged. "She can't stay the same forever."

Which wasn't much of an answer, but Match felt like that was all he was going to get. He assumed she wanted to make a change. He had changed so much already, memories erased time and time again. Did he end up a different person each time, or did he always become the same one?

Author's Note:

Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the third chapter of Teen Titans: Rising

Coach Creagar is a character in Batman Beyond. He was an over competitive coach of the Hawks and would do anything to win, even allowing his students to use drugs.

Nash Nelson is also a character from Batman Beyond.

Amber Eileen McKenney and Dionne Rochelle Murray were Terra's two friends.

Obviously, Koriand'r is the Teen Titans Starfire, though her appearance and personality are more based on the Koriand'r we see from the DC Animated Movie Universe. I grew up with the version from the cartoon series, but I really like one design from the DCAMU version.

Francis and the other characters that Cheshire is training are all from the Static Shock Cartoon. They are his villains, and since I was just rewatching it as I decided to write this, I thought it would be cool to include them.

Shortest chapter yet, but I feel like it's a good place to end. Usually, I like to keep my chapters between 3k and 6k, but sometimes I'll go over or under. It isn't a normal thing though.

Pa tr eon . com (slash) Syraxes