Chapter 6

Scouting Out

It was just before dawn that everyone woke up. No one had slept well during the night, no one except Raven who had kept watch while she meditated, everyone else complained about odd noises and sleeping on rocks. Robin got up and immediately started to get his team organized.

"Okay team, we've got an army of criminals running the city and most of the Justice League is captured by them. We need objectives. Raven, we need you to scout out a possible lead on where they're being held. Thunder and Lightning will go with you," Robin started.

"And I also want Atom to go if you think he's well enough," Green Arrow said. "He knows where to go and is our best bet to get you there safely."

"He can travel well enough," Raven said.

"Good, we need an idea of what we're up against and if you happen to find the Justice League, let them know we're on our way but don't try anything just yet," Robin said. Raven nodded. "As for the rest of us, we need food and supplies. Starfire, take Kid Flash, Kole and Gnarrk and scout out the area we're in. Our position is likely to be compromised soon and we need a new spot to relocate to. Aqualad, Tramm, and Wildebeest, your objective is to find food and water. Think you can handle that?"

"That won't be a problem," Aqualad said. Tramm clapped his hands in agreement.

"Cyborg and Herald, see if you can move the T-Ship any closer to us without being seen. Hot Spot, Jinx, Pantha, Red Star, Speedy and I will wander around town; see how far these criminals have gone. The rest of you are to remain here. Set up defenses and plan our first strike. Oh, and Beast Boy, it's your turn to babysit," Robin finished. "We've all got our objectives, so let's move." Like a well-oiled machine, everyone sprang to their jobs except for Raven, Thunder and Lightning.

"He's a good leader," Arrow said.

"And an even better friend. Atom, you ready?" Raven asked.

"Yep, hold on," Atom said as he shrunk down to size. Raven bent down and let him climb onto her hands before gently placing him on her shoulder.

"Hold on," she said as she took off with Thunder and Lightning following on clouds. The rebellion had begun.

Robin crouched on the edge of town, safe from view. Behind him, Hot Spot, Jinx, Pantha, Red Star and Speedy stood awaiting his order.

"Alright, we need to blend in with the crowd, meaning no hero costumes," Robin said.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Jinx asked. Robin had to admit that he didn't have an answer to that. Suddenly, he noticed a small shop right on the edge of town. It was a charity shop. He smiled and led them silently his team to get new outfits.

A few minutes later, they stood on the roof in their new clothes. Hot Spot wore a black jacket with jeans, Jinx had chosen a purple, long sleeved shirt and short jean skirt; Pantha wore a yellow tank top with black pants and sun glasses; Red Star wore a green jacket and jeans with a cap; Speedy wore a red sweater with black pants and sunglasses and Robin wore a long black jacket with a white shirt and black pants along with his own sunglasses. Together, they dropped into the nearby alley and waited for their assignments.

"Okay, no one goes alone. Stay in pairs and don't engage the enemy. We can't draw attention to ourselves just yet. Green Arrow said that the villains spread from Gotham to Metropolis and that includes Central City so those are the best places to look. Hot Spot, Jinx, take Metropolis, Pantha, Red Star, head for Central City, Speedy and I will take Gotham. We meet back here in an hour," Robin said. With that, they slowly walked out of the alley and into the streets of the three major cities.

Raven flew as directed by Atom in her ear. Thunder and Lightning stayed close by. This high up in the air they were pretty safe, but you could never be too careful.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Raven asked.

"That's what we're here to find out," Atom said. "That big dome up ahead is where we're going."

"Not too secret, is it?" Lightning asked.

"No more secret than our Tower," Raven said, gently descending onto the roof. Lightning and Thunder followed her lead.

"I'm going in with you," Atom said.

"I can do it on my own," Raven said.

"True, but you can't identify what we're up against. You don't know the villains around here and you probably don't know much about the heroes on my team. I'm coming with you," Atom said.

"Well, at least you're not much extra weight," Raven said, cheekily.

"I resent that," Atom said as she pulled up her hood.

"You two stay here and keep down. We'll be back in a little while," Raven said.

"As you wish," Thunder said. With that, Raven's eyes glowed white as she turned into dark energy and passed through the roof. On the other side, Raven poked her head through the roof to check their path.

"Cool," Atom said.

"If you knew anything about me, you wouldn't think so," she said. Atom decided not to ask as they moved through the walls, searching the compound. It was a half hour later that they stumbled upon anything of importance. Noise in the next room drew their attention. It sounded like cheering. Silently, Raven slipped through the wall to where she could get a good view of everyone without them seeing her. Boy did she get a shock.

"They were right. Every villain from here to the next galaxy has joined forces. Lex Luther, Braniac, Dark Seid, Joker, Solomon Grundy and that's just to name a few," Atom said. "Some of them I don't even recognize."

"But I do," Raven said. "Mad Mod, Atlas, Overload, Cinderblock, Dr. Light, Killer Moth, Fang and a whole list of others."

"That's a list," Atom said. Suddenly, he noticed a girl standing on what appeared to be a stage. "Do you know her?" Raven looked and nearly lost her concentration. Standing on the stage was a girl with long black hair and a purple outfit who looked a lot like Starfire. Without answering, Raven backed up through the wall and flew down the hallway.

"We've found where they are, now let's find this team of yours," she said.

Hawk punched the wall again and was once again thrown back and hit his head. J'ohn J'onzz shook his head.

"Enough, you're only hurting yourself," Aquaman said

"There…has to be…a way…out," Hawk gasped.

"And throwing yourself against the wall multiple times is only going to cause you pain and make us sick," Stargirl said.

"As much as I agree, we still need to figure out a way out," Superman said.

"Don't tell me you're going to start trying to punch down walls," Hawkman said.

"No, we sit and wait for help," Doctor Fate said.

"Assuming help will come," Mister Terrific said.

"We have to have faith in our teammates. They'll come through for us just like they always have," Wonder Woman said. "Besides, Shayera is with them and she won't give up until we're safe."

"And Batgirl should return with help soon," Shining Knight said. Batman remained quiet.

"You're her mentor, Batman; do you think she can do it?" Fire asked.

"She might be headstrong, but she's not the strongest," Batman said.

"Have you lost faith in your apprentice?" J'ohn asked. Suddenly, Raven floated through the floor and regained her solid form.

"I hope not, because she's stronger than you think," she said.

"Who are you?" Vixen asked. Atom suddenly leapt off Raven's shoulder and grew back to normal size.

"One of the people Batgirl brought back to help," he said. Raven looked around the room and her eyes landed on Batman. Batman held her gaze for a moment before turning away. Raven approached his cell and pulled down her hood.

"You must have faith in both your apprentices, they'll come through for you," she said. Batman turned at the word "both."

"I only have one," he said.

"My name is Raven. I'm a member of the Teen Titans, a team that Robin leads," Raven said. Everyone looked at her. "I was sent here as a scout and only that, but you have my word that a plan is underway to help you all out. The situation is worse than you think."

"We found the conference with the criminals. We saw Joker, Harley, Cheetah, Luther, Dark Seid, Braniac as well as some of the villains from the Titan's home town," Atom said. Raven's head turned at a sound.

"We'd better go. Have faith in us and we'll come through for you," Raven said. Without waiting for a reply or even for Atom to shrink again, Raven stretched herself out and used her cloak to hide Atom and she fell through the floor again, just before the door opened.

Robin and Speedy walked down the streets of Gotham in silence. Speedy had no idea what was going through Robin's head right about now, but after having worked beside him for over a year now, he could make a pretty good guess. He had often visited Gotham with Green Arrow and he had to say, it hadn't changed. Litter, crooks, the whole nine yards, everything was still the same.

"This doesn't look good," Hot Spot said over the communicator. He and Jinx wandered around Metropolis.

"I must agree. I don't know what this city is supposed to look like, but it doesn't look good," Red Star said.

"People keep on looking at us funny," Pantha said.

"You're a female wrestler, of course you're going to draw attention," Jinx said.

"We've been getting odd looks as well. It seems like these villains have gotten to the people pretty bad," Speedy said.

"I don't like this. Head back to the rendezvous location now, but keep it cool. Don't draw any more attention to yourselves than necessary," Robin said. As he and Speedy turned around to head back, they noticed some of the same robots that chased Batgirl coming down the street. People fled into nearby stores and alleys, clearly afraid.

"What now?" Speedy whispered.

"When in Rome," Robin said. He and Speedy ducked into the alley and peeked around the corner to watch them pass. However, in the middle of the street, two little children huddled, too afraid to move. Without thinking, both of them leapt out into the middle of the street and picked up one of the children. Robin fired his grappling hook and swung to the other side with Speedy right behind him. The robots turned their heads to watch them hurry into a corner store. Everyone inside looked at them.

"So much for not drawing attention to ourselves," Speedy said. One of the women hurried forward to claim her children.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem, ma'am," Robin said. The store manager came up to them next.

"You are what remains of the Justice League?" he asked.

"Not exactly, but we are here to help," Speedy said. The manager looked out into the streets.

"This way, it's not safe for you here," he said, dragging them behind him to the back door. "This alley way leads away from the city. If you follow it, you should be able to regroup with the others. Please hurry."

"Thank you. I promise, we'll get your heroes back," Robin said. With that, they hurried down the dark alley way. "Titans, fall back to my position and hurry."

"On our way," Jinx said.

"We copy," Red Star reported. It was a half hour later; they were back into their costumes and heading back through the woods to the clearing where everyone was gathered. Starfire had returned and was helping Beast Boy entertain the kids.

"You've got to admit, they're pretty cute," Arrow said, when they joined him.

"Has Raven returned yet?" Robin asked.

"I'm here," Raven said, descending into the clearing with Atom, Thunder and Lightning.

"Was it the right place? Are they there?" Batgirl asked.

"It's the right place alright," Atom said, as he grew to normal size. "They're there, they're all there. Batman almost lost faith in Batgirl, but I think we solved that."

"So, what are we up against?" Shayera asked.

"A whole army of villains that outnumber us two to one, even with the rest of the Justice League. We've got villains from Metropolis, Central city, Gotham, the next galaxy and Jump City," Raven said.

"You mean to say that our enemies are here too?" Cyborg asked. Raven nodded.

"As far as I can tell, everyone is there and you're not going to like this. Starfire, their leader…is your sister, Blackfire," she said.