To be honest, Kim wasn't super impressed with Titans Tower. It was definitely a cool place. There was top notch tech everywhere, and it had a bird's eye view of the city. She definitely liked it and was kind of envious. However, the Go Team's Go Tower had had literally all of the same things, even down to the team jet parked in the underground garage.

Ron, however, was a different story. The moment the group reached the common room, he was bouncing off the walls, trying to look at and touch everything. "KP, check it out!" he said, turning on the front monitor. "The window's a screen too! I wonder how this works…"

Before he could find out, Raven gave him a death glare. That was enough to send Ron Stoppable back to his girlfriend's side saying, "Yeah, let's leave that one for the professionals."

"I thought I heard the T-Ship come back in," Cyborg said, his robotic legs stepping through the automatic doors into the common room. "Welcome back. I see you brought the new kids over. What do you think?" he asked, directing his question specifically toward Kim and Ron.

"It's really nice," Kim said, trying to be polite.

Ron didn't have to try. "Nice? Are you insane? This is the most badical HQ ever! Well, except for maybe Global Justice. They're pretty sweet. But this place rocks!"

Ron put his hand down on the counter of the kitchenette. It didn't feel like a counter. It felt kind of…squishy? He looked where his hand was, let out a high pitched scream, and jumped back several feet. A little animal was there. It looked kind of like a giant pink maggot with vision problems.

Starfire ran behind the counter and picked up the squishy creature with a smile, hugging it close. "Silkie! Who's Starfire's favorite little mutant? You are! Yes you are!"

"That's your pet?" Kim asked, not quite believing it.

"Yes," Starfire replied, putting Silkie back on the counter. "His name is Silkie. He is a mutated silkworm that Beast Boy stole from the Killer Moth, but he is not evil now. He is my little bumgorf." She patted her bumgorf on the head affectionately.

"Well," Kim whispered to Ron, "I am never going to question your choice of pet again."

"Kim, we've been over this," Ron corrected her. "Rufus is a pocket companion, not a pet. We are all equals in the circle of life. Except monkeys. Monkeys are evil. Never trust a monkey."

"We think Slade might be trying to track us through our communicators," Robin informed Cyborg. "I thought it would be best to stick together from here on out, so I brought Kim and Ron back here."

"Good idea," Cyborg nodded. "Last time we all separated while being tracked, we were nearly flash frozen."

"Don't remind me," said Robin. That disaster had been only a month ago, and the whole team remembered it like it was yesterday.

While Robin updated Cyborg on what had happened at the football game, the rest of the team sat down on the couch with Kim and Ron. Beast Boy took out a video game disc. "Either of you play Mega Monkeys?" he asked, showing it to them proudly.

Ron shook his head. "Never the monkeys."

Kim enlightened the green boy. "Ron's had an irrational fear of monkeys ever since going to summer camp when he was little."

"Camp Wanaweep," Ron said, a shiver going up his spine. "One of those things that can traumatize a child for life."

Beast Boy shrugged and put Mega Monkeys down. "Hey, it's okay. Everybody's got to be scared of something."

"Beast Boy is terrified of meat," Raven volunteered, making her presence known for the first time since entering the room.

"Am not!" BB protested.

"You have nightmares about hot dogs," Raven reminded him. "And bacon. And burgers. And bacon double cheeseburgers with hot dog arms."

"Wha…how did you know about that?"

Instead of answering, Raven pulled up her hood, opened a book, and began silently reading. It was a convenient way to hide the tiny smile forming on her face.

Beast Boy shrugged again. "Creepy as usual," he said. He stuck his hand into the games box and fished out another game. "You don't have any fear of robots, do you Ron?"

"Um…what kind of robots?" Ron asked. Robots were nowhere near monkeys on his list of fears, but sometimes there were exceptions.

Beast Boy handed him the disc. "The kind in RoboBattle 2.0. It's Cyborg's favorite."

Ron smiled. "Are you kidding me? I love this game! I've only played it, like, fifty million times."

"You do realize it's only been out for a week, right?" Beast Boy asked.

"He got a copy in advance," Kim explained, "after we defeated Drakken last year. He had stolen designs from Mr. Nakasumi's toy factory in Tokyo and turned them into these weird evil robots. To pay us back, Mr. Nakasumi let us have one."

Beast Boy's eyes widened. "Dude, you just got a coolness upgrade. The only problem is, the game system is busted. As soon as Robin's done talking to Cy, I'll get him over here to fix it."

Kim, Ron, and Beast Boy looked back. Robin and Cyborg didn't look like they'd be done anytime soon. Kim reached into her bag and pulled out her Kimmunicator. "You know, there is somebody else who can probably fix it." She turned it on and waited for Wade's face to appear.

"What's up, Kim?" he asked, slurping on his soda.

"What do you know about fixing computer game systems?" Kim asked the young genius.

"A lot," he replied.

"Great," she said. "We're staying in Titans Tower, and apparently their system is malfunctioning. Think you can do something about it?"

"Sure I can. Plug me in!" A cord with a plug at the end came out of the Kimmunicator. Kim found a matching hole in the game system and stuck it in. From Wade's perspective, the inside of the game appeared on his computer screen. "Oh, I see the problem," he said. "Don't worry, this is easy to fix." He typed a bunch of computer codes on his keyboard. The messages were sent through the cord, into the game box. The other teens heard things shifting around inside. He squinted at the screen and typed some more.

"Wow, he's really good at this," Beast Boy commented.

"What do you think I do in my free time?" Wade asked.

"I don't know," Ron said. "Eat, sleep, build more computers. The options are pretty limited when you never leave your room."

"…and that's why I decided it would be safer to stick together from here on out," Robin finished telling Cyborg back by the entrance to the room.

Cy nodded. "Good idea. Last time we were being tracked, we were nearly flash frozen because we got separated."

"Don't remind me," Robin said. That incident had been only a month ago, but it felt like yesterday. Robin had actually been the only non-honorary Titan who was frozen. It wasn't anything he enjoyed remembering.

"He didn't actually get a communicator, though, right?" Cyborg asked hopefully.

"No," said Robin. "That's the funny part. I don't know much about Shego, but I know if somebody working for Slade failed to steal something for him, he would make them go back for it, not tell them to run." That statement brought back some unsettling memories about when he had been forced to work for Slade. He had tried to avoid fighting the other Titans by not stealing what Slade had commanded him to take, but was ordered to fight anyway. He pushed the memories back into yet another dark corner of his mind for the time being.

"Huh. But if he wasn't trying to steal the communicators, what was he after?" Cyborg wondered.

"I don't know," said Robin, "but until we find out, we can't be too careful. Shego's pretty dangerous. I'd like to avoid tangling with her at least until we've got a plan."

"Definitely," his robotic friend agreed.

"Yo, Cy!" Beast Boy called from the couch. "I think you're position of Technology Expert might have some competition."

Cyborg and Robin hurried over to see what was happening. They saw Kim's blue Kimmunicator plugged into the video game console, with Wade scrolling through code on his computer.

"She should be good to go," Wade said, hitting the Enter key. "Unplug me, wait a few seconds, then turn her back on."

Kim did exactly as she was told. She pulled out the cord, waited a few seconds, then pushed the power button. The system vibrated like it was working. Beast Boy held up the game disc. "Moment of truth, dudes," he said as he stuck in into its slot.

Everyone held their breath, waiting anxiously for the game to work. Suddenly, the screen on the window came to life with colorful graphics featuring brightly colored robot fighters. "Yes!" Ron said, giving Beast Boy a high-five. "Wade, my man, you have done it again."

"No big," Wade replied.

Starfire had by now returned from feeding Silkie and sat between Kim and Raven, holding her pet in her arms. "What is thing that is not big that everyone is often referring to?" she asked.

"It's just something we say where I'm from," Kim explained.

"Like the 'cool'?" Starfire asked.

"Exactly. 'No big' is short for 'no big deal', just like 'as if' is like 'as if that were true'."

Starfire said all of the new phrases over in her head one at a time. "You normal teenagers have very strange ways of speaking," she concluded.

Silkie started squirming, so Starfire put him down. As Ron and Beast Boy selected their robot characters, Rufus crawled out of Ron's pocket and took a look around at his strange surroundings. He climbed down the cushions and started sniffing for food. Suddenly, he saw a giant bug face staring at him.

"Hi there!" Rufus squeaked, waving his little pink paw.

Silkie responded by licking the naked mole rat's face, leaving a streak of slobber.

Rufus wiped it off, then ran under the coffee table. Silkie followed him. An adorable game of tag started, which continued around the room until Rufus squeaked something to Silkie that prompted the mutant larva to lead his new friend on an adventure out the automatic door and into the hallway.

"Aw," Starfire said, clasping her hands together. "Silkie has made the friends with Rufus." The look on her face was that of a proud k'norfka.

Ron and Beast Boy were way into their game. Their robot avatars punched and kicked each other on the screen, and their thumbs were going up and down all over their controllers. "Your green robot is toast once I unleash my full power!" Ron taunted.

"Oh yeah? Look who just got another life!" Beast Boy returned, as his avatar jumped up to grab a bonus.

The two gamers continued their good-natured banter. The Kimmunicator started buzzing in Kim's hand. Kim held it up and turned it on, with Starfire looking over her shoulder curiously. "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"It's your dad," Wade told her. "He's on video chat and wants to talk to you."

Kim rolled her eyes. "I knew this was going to happen. Put him through, Wade."

Wade hit a couple of buttons and the screen was split in half between him and Mr. Dr. Possible. "Kimmie," her dad said, "where exactly are you? Your mother said you'd be home be now."

"Sorry, Dad," Kim said. "There have been some interesting developments on my current mission. I had to go to Jump City."

"The mission with Victor Stone?"

"Yeah, that one. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm in Titans Tower right now."

Dr. Possible listened to the faint sounds of Beast Boy and Ron yelling at each other's robots. "It doesn't sound like you're on a mission."

"I am," she said quickly. "We think we might be being tracked, so Robin thought it would be safer to stick together while we look for Slade and Drakken."

Her father crossed his arms. "How long are you planning to be sticking together?"

"As long as we have to," she replied.

"Kimmie, you know how I feel about you staying out late, especially if there are boys."

"But Dad…"

"No buts, honey. Who else is with you?"

"Ron, Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg…I mean Victor. They're the same people you met yesterday."

"I'm just not very comfortable with the number of boys in that group."

Robin leaned over to see the screen. "Is everything all right, Kim?" he asked.

"My dad isn't so sure about me spending all night here," she explained.

"Your daughter's in very good hands, Dr. Possible," Robin assured him.

Cyborg too joined the conversation. "Hey, Dr. Possible," he said cheerfully.

"Oh, hi, Victor," Kim's dad said back.

"You know, I think you and I have some catching up to do," Cyborg said, taking the Kimmunicator from Kim. "I'll handle this," he whispered to Kim before walking out of the room, chatting with the friend of his parents.

Once he had gone, Kim struck up the conversation with the heroes around her. "So…this is where you all live?"

"Certainly," Starfire answered. "It is my favorite place in the universe, even more than the Swamp Moons of Drenthax Four."

"What about your parents?" Kim asked. "I don't see any of them calling to tell you you're staying out too late. Are they here or…"

"No parents," Robin told her. "No parents, no school, and no secret identities."

Kim thought for a second. "Isn't that illegal?" she asked.

"Cyborg is conveniently eighteen years old," Robin explained. "As long as we do our job of protecting the city, and Cyborg is willing to answer for us, the city doesn't bother us about that."

Ron looked up from his game for a second. "Don't you miss your families?" he asked, returning just in time to dodge a punch from BB's robot.

"Dude," Beast Boy replied, still focusing on the game with his eyes, "my family's long gone. Cy's got a dad, but they don't talk much. Star's only family is a sister who hates her. Robin's real family is gone too, and he doesn't talk with Batman very often either."

"What about Raven's family?" Kim asked.

Raven glared over the top of her book. "You don't want to know."

"I'm sorry," Kim said, "I didn't mean to…"

Starfire patted her shoulder encouragingly. "Worry not, friend Kim. We may not live the lives of the ordinary teenagers, but we have each other, and we have the Tower. This is our home, and it is all we need."

"But you guys never even get to be normal teens," Kim pointed out. "Are you really just heroes all the time?"

Robin couldn't help looking at Starfire when he heard Kim's question. It sounded almost exactly like what she had asked him in Tokyo. "We try not to be heroes all the time," he said. "I'm probably the worst offender, but I'm working on it."

"That why you haven't asked Starfire out yet?" a voice whispered in Robin's ear.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, looking up and seeing a familiar half metal face. "Cyborg, how long have you been standing there?"

Cyborg laughed. "Not too long." He handed Kim back her little blue device. "I took care of everything. You can spend the night as long as you check in first thing in the morning and don't do anything foolish. His words, not mine."

"How did you convince him?" Kim asked, finding this hard to believe.

"It's amazing what playing the 'friend of the family' card will do," he answered.

On the giant monitor, the each robot was down to its last life. Ron delivered one final blow to the green avatar. The game said, "Game over! Blue wins!"

"No!" Beast Boy cried.

"Booyah!" Ron shouted. "Who's the man? This guy!"

"I'm sorry, did I just hear you say, 'booyah'?" Cyborg asked, walking over to the other end of the couch.

"Yep," said Ron, still beaming with pride at his accomplishment. "It's my catchphrase."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's my catchphrase," Cy corrected him.

"Excuse me," Ron argued, "but I have been saying booyah since…help me out, KP."

Kim tried to remember when Ron had first picked up his slogan. "Um…you've been saying it as long as I can remember," she said.

"Booyah," Ron said, emphasizing his point.

Cyborg stared down the blonde boy with his one human and one robot eye. "All right, Ron. We'll see who's the rightful booyah-sayer right here and now. BB, gimme your controller." Beast Boy handed it off to his larger friend. "We're playing a new round, you and me, right now."

Ron smiled. "I beat Beast Boy, I can totally take you down."

"Anybody can beat Beast Boy," Cyborg said. "Did he mention this is my favorite game?"

The two boys began selecting their robot avatars and a new game began, with everyone else in the room watching intently.

(A/N: Hey! Sorry about the really late post. I just started school, so I won't be able to post as often now. Still, I will try to keep it up. About Cyborg's age in this chapter, I don't know what his age was supposed to be in the show, but he always looked older than the rest of the team, so I always imagined him to be around eighteen or nineteen, while the rest were in the fourteen to seventeen range. Since it'll probably be a while before I post again, let me just say that Slade is about to create some serious drama within his team. You just can't leave criminal masterminds alone with power-controlling staffs, can you?)