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.

Titans Tower

January 29th, 17:08 PST

Harper whistled when she landed. Match dropped down by her head, and she heard Kori (holding Red X and Artemis) coming down behind her. Right then most of her attention was focused on the giant building in front of her. It was a tower, shaped like a T. Off in Jump City's bay. "Wow. Is this yours?" Harper asked, turning around to look at the two Titans.

Red X (or John Grayson, as he said to call him. "We're not on a mission right now," he told her) smiled. "It is."

"How could you afford this?" Artemis asked in awe.

"Investments mostly. You could say I made a few good choices and was paid out handsomely."

Behind him, Kori snorted. "I told him which ones were the most likely to succeed."

"No offense, but you don't look like a stockbroker," Match growled, crossing his arms. Harper shot him a glare, which he probably couldn't see through her faceplate.

"None taken," Kori replied. "I cheat."

"Come on, we'll give you the grand tour," John laughed, slapping Match on the back. The expression on his face was priceless. Harper barely held herself back from laughing, an exercise in control Artemis didn't bother with. "We can start with the rooms. We have plenty of open ones you can pick from."

"Pick from?" Match repeated with the same growl. "Who said we're going?"

"Oh, we are definitely joining," Artemis butted in. She turned her glare on him and rested her hands on her hips. The same stance she always fell into when she confronted someone. "This place is way better than that rat-infested apartment we've been staying in."

From her experience, Harper knew Artemis was a stubborn one. She also knew Match could be as well, and the way he rounded on her showed that side. "Okay. Both of you calm down," Harper said softly. She didn't need her team at each other's throat right now. Not when they had a choice to make. "You're free to join them, Artemis. But I think me and Match want to wait to make our decision."

Despite what Artemis just said, Harper doubted she'd stay with them if Match didn't. She might be wrong about the other girl, and there was a small part of her that hoped she was. Then it would just be Match and her.

Despite how friendly the two seemed, Harper couldn't help but notice while John led them, Kori brought up the rear. They were sandwiched between the two heroes.

It took both a biometric scan and I.D. confirmation to enter the tower. The inside of the tower was tastefully decorated, which John claimed that neither he nor Kori had a hand in it. It was the result of another hero who was originally going to be the third member of the Titans. When Harper asked about the person, neither John or Kori answered.

The entire building looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Holograms could be brought up from anywhere in the tower. A teleportation network that spanned the globe, that was owned and operated by the Justice League. Specialized gear and equipment that augmented the team's vision ("Dark Ware," John told her, tossing one set of the contacts at her). State-of-the-arm training facilities. Three massive kitchens ("You never know when you'll need a spare kitchen," John promised he), all fully stocked. Each bedroom was bigger than the apartment they were renting, all of them having a private bathroom attached to them. The room she wanted had an amazing view of the Jump City bay, barely visible in the dim light of the setting sun.

It was the closest Harper had ever come to the lap of luxury she used to dream about. Even before her mother was out of the picture, they had never been well off, barely middle class. A standard of living that only deteriorated after they moved to Happy Harbor.

She could see Artemis had been similarly taken in and would advocate for joining. Harper knew where her vote laid, but it seemed Match was the biggest holdout. Throughout the tour, he kept the same expression of boredom locked firmly on his face, and Harper couldn't tell if it was real, or if he was doing his best not to look impressed.

When the two finished showing them around and asked if they had any interest in joining, Harper was afraid of Match's answer. She didn't want to leave the guy who had gotten her through the worst ordeal of her life, but could she really just give this chance up? Luckily for her, she never had to make the decision. It was made who said he was in first, and Artemis quickly followed. Harper couldn't keep the smile off her face as she agreed.

The last thing was to claim a room, and Harper made sure to get the one with a great view. Tomorrow they'd have to take the day off school and get all the things they had to bring. John promised to give them a stipend so they could buy necessities.

While Harper, Artemis, and Match were getting settled into their new home, John was wondering if perhaps he had made the wrong decision. Before Harper, Artemis, and Match appeared, it had been just him and Kori. Not that it bothered him having the whole place to himself with the most beautiful girl in the world, but she had been the one who originally pushed the idea of expanding. He had been the one to find Harper, Artemis, and Match. He didn't regret his choice in the respect one might think. All of them were worthy of being heroes, and John had the feeling if he hadn't grabbed them up, the League would have.

He and Kori had fled the Court of Owls. They both had been significant investments, and he knew they were loath to just give the two of them up. The Court was still after them, and by bringing Harper, Artemis, and Match into the fold, John was putting the three kids in the crossfire.

Not that each of those kids didn't have their own problems. Those three kids had escaped League of Shadows, and by extension, The Light. Perhaps he and Kori were being put in just as much danger as they were putting those kids in. The Light was arguably more dangerous than the Court.

Or maybe he was just trying to rationalize the expansion of the Titans. The hero team that had been Raven's dream. His best friend's dream.

John had heard her enter the room, but he let sneak towards him. Kori's warm arms wrapped around him. "How long did you know I was here?" Kori whispered in his ear.

"Since you tried to open the door without making a sound," he whispered back.

"What are you writing?" Kori looked at the holoscreen in front of him. Had it been anyone else, he would have snapped that his journal was private, but he never could hide things from her. "Why are you calling them kids? You're physically eighteen."

"How old are you in Earth years?" John asked playfully. He turned around in his chair so he was looking at her.

Kori smirked. "Early twenties."

"Technically I'm twenty-five. Just because I didn't age while I was on ice doesn't change that."

Kori laughed at her musical laugh. It was the sweetest sound in the world as far as he was concerned. "Eighteen," she repeated.

"Then I'll say you're eighteen too. Didn't Harper say we looked about the same age?"

Starfire shrugged. "Okay. Eighteen it is."

John swiped his hand across the holoscreen, closing it, but not fast enough to hide the window behind his journal. "How old do you think Raven is right now?"'

Though Raven's picture was visible for only a moment, it didn't escape Kori's sight.

"I don't know. She was about as old as I looked when we got away from the Court, but she said her time would be stopped in that gem. I don't think she's aging, much less noticing time passing."

"Our saving grace, I suppose," Kori mumbled. Just like him, she felt it was her responsibility to get Raven out. She had sacrificed herself to save them. "How has your research progressed?"

John shook his head. "I've found a few leads, but I don't know if they're going to amount to anything yet. All the other leads were dead ends."

Kori put her hand on his shoulder. "You'll figure it out. You always do."

John wished he had as much confidence in himself as she seemed to have.

"In the meantime, we should be getting to sleep," Kori continued. "You have a meeting tomorrow morning."

"I do." John sighed.

Jump City

January 30th, 01:23 PST

Francis raised his hands, trying to get into the form Cheshire showed him. He could see her eyes through her cat mask, and suddenly the feeling of prey returned. Despite his meta fire powers, he tried to fight her again and again, and the end result was always the same; laid out on the ground.

Francis thrust his palm out forwards, shooting a stream of fire at the assassin. Like she was wanting to do, Cheshire weaved out of the way to the right side, sprinting at him.

Francis cut the stream of fire off, instead of coating his right fist in the flames. As she moved in closer, he aimed the punch for her face. Cheshire ducked under his hit and Francis could tell from the white-hot pain that she nailed his solar plexus.

It took all of his will to remain standing and he formed a wave of heat around him, increasing the temperature of the air. He expanded it in a ball, forcing the assassin away from himself. Francis was left with only a short time of reprieve, as Cheshire didn't waste any time continuing the attack.

In close-quarters combat, he was going to lose. Fight after fight with her showed that. So his best chance was to keep her at bay with his fire. Francis slammed both his fists to the ground, causing a wall of flames to erupt between the two of them.

He shot up and willed balls of fire to shoot out of the flame wall. Through the red fire, he could see Cheshire retreat, falling back. Now he had some breathing room. Some time to think. Think about how the hell he was going to fight her. Close quarters was out of the question. He'd be laid down on his back before she broke a sweat. If he kept her at long range (which would be a big if in and of itself), then she'd just dodge his attacks. Let Francis wear himself out before moving in for the kill. Close or long-range, the result would be the same.

Which left him with only one option he could see. He'd have to trap her. If Francis could manage to lay a trap and get her wrapped up in one spot, he might just be able to win-

Cheshire sprinted up the back wall, moving from her position on the ground. He had never seen anyone actually climb a wall before, and he was impressed. She made it to the ceiling and then kicked off the wall, into the air.

In the air, she wouldn't be able to move as fluidly. He might not even have to trap her. Francis dropped the wall of flames and coated both his hands in rings of fire. He threw the first one up, expecting to see her if only barely, dodge out of the way. Instead, she changed direction in a split second, shooting down at him like a rocket. Francis took a second to debate the merit of trying to hit her, but she was moving fast, and he wasn't confident enough in his aim.

Instead, he allowed the ball of fire coating his hands to vanish, and he attempted to bring up the wall once more. Only he had misjudged how quickly she was falling, and he was a second too late. She slammed into him as he had only just brought the flames up to the ground. It felt like a statue had rammed him and Francis went down.

Before he could recover, she had her blade out resting against his hand. "Just a little more pressure and you'd be dead." To emphasize her point, she pressed the blade into his skin. He could feel it cut him, and his blood began to drip.

"So, do you want to keep fighting?" She asked pleasantly as if they were just having a conversation about the weather. The matches never ended unless one person gave up or was knocked unconscious.

"You win," Francis gasped. He couldn't see her face behind the mask, but he had the feeling she was grinning.

Her weight disappeared from his body and Francis could breathe easier. HE took her hand when she offered, and Francis was pulled up. "You did a good job. It's only been a day and you've already improved," Cheshire praised.

"Yeah, well..." He still wasn't good enough. It was humiliating losing to someone again and again. He had grown up in one of Dakota City's worst neighborhoods. He had gotten jumped three times a week for as long as he could remember. Fighting wasn't a foreign concept and he had gotten pretty good at it before his family finally moved. Now he felt like he was twelve again, getting his ass handed to him by Wade and Duke again.

"I think out of everyone here, you've not only improved the most, but have the best grasp on your meta powers," the cat masked assassin continued. Francis looked back at the others who were watching the battle, and he saw Ebon cross his arms. He knew the gang-banger didn't want to be here anymore than the rest of them, but it was a point of pride for him to be the best. Best at fighting and using his new powers. Ebon wouldn't care that Cheshire was their captor, and was forcing them into training. What he would care about was her praising someone else.

"Thanks," Francis muttered.

"Alright. Shiv, you're up," Cheshire called. Francis walked back to the small crowd, passing the cocky boy. He took the spot as far from Ebon as he could, and hoped the other boy wouldn't try to take out his aggression on Francis.

"Hey," Maria said, walking over to him. "You did a good job."

"Thanks," Francis whispered to her, watching as Shiv took his own fighting stance. "But I don't think I did a very good job."

"Better than any of the rest of us could do."

Francis snorted. "Yeah. For now." But knowing Ebon's pride, the boy would start taking this a lot more seriously.

Happy Harbor

January 30th, 08:08 EST

It wasn't M'gann's idea of a good time to have to be going to the Happy Harbor Police Department on her day off. After having stopped Granny Goodness from using the Ghost Dimension to enslave the universe to the Anti-Life Equation, she would have liked to continue staying in the house with Conner for a little while longer. Just the two of them and all the time in the world.

But when Bethany Lee called about Harper, she didn't have a choice. It wasn't like her father was going to come in, with him being behind bars. M'gann made a note to ask Bethany where Collin Row had been sent, but right at that moment, her attention was focused on Harper.

It had been a constant nag in the back of her mind since the day Harper disappeared from Happy Harbor. She had only had a few sessions with the girl, but M'gann felt they had started to build a relationship.

As she pulled up to the station, M'ganns friend was waiting for her. Bethany held up her hand as she approached. M'gann fought the urge to look into Beth's mind.

"We haven't found her yet," Beth said quickly.

"The call-"

Beth shook her head. "We got a call from the Gotham Police Department. She had been in the city for a week before her captors moved her. They found the room she had been locked in and video taps."

"Video taps?" M'gann repeated.

Beth nodded. "Yeah. Just her in her room. I wanted to tell you in person since you've taken an interest in the case."

M'gann slowly nodded. "The taps... Did they have anything else on them? Anyone else?"

"You're hoping one of her abductors might have been careless?" M'gann nodded. "Only one other person. They were wearing a mask. I'm sorry Megan."

M'gann felt like a crushing weight came down on her. A couple of videotapes and the room she was kept in. That was all they had?

Against her better judgment, M'gann focused on Beth's mind. It took less than a second to find the memory of the video in her head. M'gann felt a cold chill run through her as a masked Shadow came into the room, grabbing Harper's arm and pulling her out.

Author's Note:

Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the fifth chapter of Teen Titans: Legacy

The Titans Tower looks like the version we get in the DC Animated Movie Universe. As much as I love the Teen Titans cartoon, the DCAMU tower looks way more badass.

A special thanks to my guest reviewer, who seems to be reviewing every chapter. Much appreciated

Pa tr eon . com (slash) Syraxes