Disclaimer: like mad, man, Teen Titans are not mine!

A/N: I'm posting this on both this chapter and the next to make sure you all read it. IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, you may not realize why I am taking the twist I am taking. You may disagree with it. I respect all of your opinions, but I needed a big story plot for Beast Boy and Raven, so the next chapter is the introduction to the their big plot, and an introduction to asubplot of Robin and Star.

I hope you like this chapter...

TT2

Sunday September 6, 2019

"Kimi!" Danny called, from his position where he was concentrating on lighting a punching bag (solely used for this purpose, I assure you) on fire. "Help me for a second, will you?"

"M'kay!" she called from a weight machine where she was currently benching two-point-five thousand. Not much of a challenge for herself, but it was to start her off easy. Kimi returned the bar to it's original position and hopped off, dusting her hands. "What do you need?" she asked as she walked over to where he was.

"Grab that timer over there, will ya?" he asked, leaning onto one leg and resting for the few moments it took for her to do what he requested. "Time how long it takes for me to set the punching bag on fire, k?"

"Ok," she replied, poising her fingers over the timer. "And…GO!"

Instantly, Danny focused his thinking on the punching bag, to turn it into flames. It sparked almost immediately, but it took a few seconds for it to go up into flames. In a millisecond he had produced waves of water and put out the fire.

"Good," Kimi told him. "Three forty-six."

"Try again," he told her. "I want to beat two seconds."

"Ok…GO!" Danny again concentrated on sending the bag up in flames, ands this time it was almost instantly. He once more cooled it off with waves of water. "Better. Two ninety-seven."

"Still not good enough," he grunted. "I want to get under two seconds. I need to act fast in battle."

"It's ok, Dan-Dan. You'll get it, I promise. Keep trying," she told him, kissing his cheek before walking on to continue her weightlifting. Afterwards, she would improve her starbolts on the punching bag next to Danny.

"Hey Kimi, need a spot?" Taku asked as he wandered over to her machine.

"No offense, but you wouldn't be able to spot me if you tried. I'm going up to five-thousand," she told him with a small chuckle. "You're welcome to watch, though."

Taku smirked. "Yea, never mind. I need to find something to do with my arm in this condition. I can't train it, because Clara told me to keep off it for a few days. It's very annoying."

"Well, maybe Clara can suggest something for you to do," Kimi told him, cranking up the weight on her machine and sitting back on it. "Go find her, she's helping Kyle with his sparring."

"Thanks Kim…don't go too hard on that weightlifting," he joked, getting ready to walk away.

"I couldn't if I tried. Ever try to lift a Tamaranian Glorksnaff?"

"Do I want to know what that is?" he asked. Kimi smirked and shook her head. "Then I won't even bother asking, m'kay?" Taku walked on, towards the sparring mats where Clara and Kyle were said to be training. He sighed and patted the side of his arm where it wouldn't hurt if he touched it, but a sting of pain ran up his arm. He let out a painful grunt and clutched his arm to his chest, willing away the pain. "Crap!" he seethed. "Clara! Clara!" he called.

"What?" she asked from a little way away. "Who's calling me."

"Taku!" he replied, clutching his arm as he began to run through many rows of equipment until he came upon the sparring mats where Clara was helping Kyle with his moves. "Clara?"

"What?" she snapped, though not as rudely as you might've expected.

"My arm…" he trailed off.

"Oh dear….c'mere," she told him, leaving Kyle to come forward and meet him halfway across the mat. "Give me your arm." He complied and let her hold his bandaged arm gently. Slowly, she began to unwrap it, revealing a throbbing red wound, swelled to the point where it looked as if it were going to burst. "What did you do?" she asked him.

"I don't know! I just rubbed it really softly and it began hurting." Taku gasped and let out a mangled cry of pain as it began throbbing harder.

"Martana Kiannar," Clara hissed as her eyes began to glow black, her hand over the wounded area. The size, once more, reduced itself, but not by much. Taku was still in pain. "Crap."

"What?" Taku asked worriedly. "What's wrong? What's wrong with my arm? Am I going to die?"

Clara tutted, rolling her eyes. "You're so dramatic," she told him. "You're not going to die, but this looks pretty bad. Hold on. "Akreion Book of Unnatural Injuries," she whispered, her hand stretched out and her eyes glowing black. "HEADS UP!" she called to Danny, who ducked just in time before a book could fly right into his head.

"Whoa…" Taku breathed, watching as the book flew into her hand.

"Keep your arm up," she ordered, watching him suspend his arm in midair as she relinquished it to open her book. She checked the index, looking for something that could help her. "Electronically caused injuries," she mumbled, flipping to the page it indicated. "Electrocution…no…Lasers! The laser puts a specially formed molecule inside the skin that can cause…um…let's see…"

"Tell me straight out…will I live?" he asked, using his good arm to lay a hand over his forehead. "I feel faint already. I see the light. Gram-Gram, is that you?"

Clara looked up and glared at him hatefully. "Stop being so melodramatic. You'll live. Rikar eal meta pirie cludrastron!" After she uttered this incantation, Taku's arm was engulfed in a white-blue light, and immediately his skin began to heal. There was only a slight stinging pain, and the bruising was gone. All that was left was a small red slash.

"Nice," he stated, watching her wrap the bandage back on.

"Hopefully this will stay. I don't know what happened with my other spell, because normally it works for all types of injuries. I'll have to look into that…" she trailed off thoughtfully. "Anyways, you should be free to use that arm, but keep the bandage on when you're not in battle for safety's sake. The components in that laser could possibly lead to bone deterioration, since your bones are of rubber,and eventually break your arm if you don't keep sufficient wrappings on it." Taku looked as if he were about to question her. "I don't make the laws of medicine and rubber, I just follow them."

Taku grinned. "Thanks!" He came forward and enveloped her in a hug.

Clara was very surprised, but regained composure and pushed him away. "You're welcome," she replied stiffly. "Now, I would appreciate if you would never-"

"Yea, yea, no hugs, I got it," he replied with an exaggerated sigh. "You're very anti-social for a girl your age, you know that?"

"And damn proud," she replied in a bored voice. "Now, may I please go back to helping Kyle?"

"Uh, yea, sure whatever," he responded indifferently. "Thanks again."

Clara half-smiled and watched him walk away, before walking back to Kyle. "Ok…so where were we?"

As Kyle got ready to respond, though, the alarm began to sound and the room began to flash red. "I bet anything it's Baron!" Kyle shouted. "Titans, group!"

The six met in a small circle in the middle of the training room. Kyle checked his communicator, and a screen of Black Baron immediately popped up. This time, the break-in was Wayne Industries. Clara and Sara immediately began to get them ready for their mission. Once they were all dressed and composed, Kyle shouted the ever-timeless phrase, "Titans, GO!".

Minutes later found the six Titans on the road: of course Kyle was on his motorcycle, while Clara, Sara, and Kimi flew above him. Taku was moving on his own, using his stretching ability to keep up, and Kimi was carrying Danny. Kyle took a sharp turn into a tunnel that led into the commercial part of town and passed a stationary police car. The siren almost immediately went on, but was turned off after the speeder was identified as the Teen Titans' leader.

As the six teens arrived/landed in the parking lot of the prestigious Wayne Enterprises, each was already running towards the front door. "He was spotted on floor twenty-seven!" Hawk announced.

"It's going to take us forever to get up there! He'll be gone by then!" Kimi exclaimed.

"Then let's do this my way!" he retorted, pulling out a grappling hook and shooting it up towards the very top (which was rather far) of the building.

"You heard the man," Taku started, watching in astonishment as their leader pulled this incredible feat. "We're doing this his way." Taku bent his knees and sprung himself up, stopping at the floor Hawk did, to let himself inside an open window. Within seconds the girls and Danny had joined them.

"You sure this is the twenty-seventh floor?" Danny asked as he began running alongside their leader.

"It should be," Hawk responded. "Either that or I counted wrong."

"Whatever," Danny responded. "Let's just find this guy. I'm determined to make him pay for what he did to Taku."

"Thanks, man," Taku responded with a cheeky grin.

They ran out from the office they had landed in, into a hallway that was dark except for a single light at the end. As soon as the hallway came into view, they saw and heard the door under the light snap shut. "It's him!" Clara shouted.

The Titans ran towards that door and were able tog et through it in seven seconds flat. It revealed a large white room, completely lit, with windows all around. It seemed to be some sort of laboratory.

"Show yourself!" Hawk shouted in a malicious voice. "We know you're in here!"

"Not for long!" his voice sounded back, as things began to crash and explode.

Danny, Taku, and Sara were all caught behind a cloud of smoke one of these exploding objects created, but Hawk, Moonfire, and Clara chased after him. Danny tried to clear the smoke with air currents, and eventually succeeded.

"Stop!" Hawk shouted, pulling out a Hawk-a-rang and aiming it at a fold in his cape. Baron, though, pulled his cape out of the way and slipped through a door.

Hawk moaned in frustration, continuing to pursue this foe. Moonfire levitated and began through the open door, fueling up powerful starbolts. She entered the new room and shot towards him, hoping to knock him unconscious, but he dodged them easily. He hadn't even been looking!

Moonfire became very angry and in turn her starbolts became more powerful. "Stop running and fight like a man!" she shouted, flying after him as fast as she could, trying to hit him with her starbolts but he dodged them every time.

The other two caught up to her, with Sara, Danny, and Taku not far behind. Clara began to hiss things in a different language and the pipes from the wall tried to grab and subdue him. It was no use, though; he was too fast. The pipes returned to their original position, as if no damage had been caused.

"I'm too fast for you!" he taunted as he blasted open a door with a bomb he had produced from his belt and began to take stairs two at a time up to a door marked 'roof'.

"Oh no you don't!" Sara yelled, unleashing her power at its greatest and summoning waves of blinding white light towards his body to try and slam him into a wall. He had other plans, though, for he jumped up and used some mechanism in the glove to propel himself up to the railing just before the roof door. He then shifted his body weight to jump up onto the landing and run out the door.

Hawk used his grappling hook to get up to the door and run out, following him. "Not so fast!" Hawk yelled, grabbing a couple of exploding spheres to throw them at his feet and catch him off guard. He did exactly this, and Baron was blown about ten feet east of where he was previously standing.

"Hot damn," he murmured, rubbing his head, before jumping up and facing his opponent. "You want to dance? Let's dance. You screw with me, you screw with the devil."

"Oh yeah? That's funny. The devil, eh?" Hawk retorted, his arms in position for a sparring match. Baron came forward with a high kick to his chest. Hawk stepped back and then quickly came forward to punch him in the face. It hit Baron, but he quickly regained himself and swiped at Hawk's feet to bring him to the ground. Hawk jumped over his feet, but missed as he tried a second time. He fell to the ground.

"Better luck next time, kid," he quipped, standing up and get ready to bolt. But before he could, though, Clara and Sara had appeared in the doorway and were combining their magic to create a shield in front of him.

"You little-" he turned and the slashes on his glove formed into three pieces of jagged metal. He came towards the two girls, and though Sara evaded his grasp he was able to trapped Clara, the backs of his gloves sticking into either side of her cape.

Clara began to struggle, but Black Baron only smirked. "Hey there."

"You despicable little-"

"What's your name, cutie?" he asked, ignoring her comment.

Her eyes began to turn black and she hissed something in a low voice. Within seconds an invisible force blew him back. "Not very friendly, are we?"

Moonfire then flew from the open door, coming up to Baron just as he stood up.

"Oh, Starfire's daughter," he spat. "This should be easy."

Moonfire dueled up starbolts and instantly began pelting them at him. Baron, though, pulled up silver shields with his hands each time, apparently another function of his suit.

"You are most definitely the worst, most foul little-"

"God, what is it with the women on this team and name-calling? All having your times of the month?" he quipped, pulling up a strong shield as she let one large starbolt go, one that would surely bring to him great harm if it had reached him.

"I hate you," Moonfire hissed through gritted teeth. "With a passion."

"Aw, I'm touched," he replied mockingly. His eyes widened, and then he pulled his head to the side to just narrowly avoid getting hit by Hawk. Danny came forward, watching as he was distracted by Hawk and Moonfire, bringing blasts of fire with him. One after another he released fire blasts, but they would only dissipate with a shield he pulled up.

Suddenly, an alarm began to sound within the building. "Security breech!"Hawk yelled. "Sara, Danny, follow me!" Kyle began towards the door to take on whatever idiots that decided to break in after Baron.

Taku, Clara, and Moonfire were left fighting Baron. "Taku, maneuver twelve c!" Moonfire shouted out, breathing in and out, flaring up her power into one large ball of energy. She struggled against the power, making it grow wild, moments away from slipping her grasp.

"Oh crap," Baron gasped, the eyeholes on his mask growing wide as Taku wrapped his arms around him to keep him still. Baron struggled, and just before Moonfire released her power Taku unraveled his arms and stepped away. Baron was hit head-on with her power, but somehow managed to get back up afterwards.

Clara growled in annoyance and summoned up three black waves of energy to push him back and hopefully diminish his last shred of consciousness. Baron had other plans, though, for he used some sort of force field to redirect the energy and send it towards Taku.

"TAKU!" Clara yelled, and he snapped back to attention just in time to get hit with it and be knocked off his feet. He apparently found the second thing he was vulnerable to: Clara's magic.

Black Baron came forward and stuck out his palms, two thin silver lasers coming from them. Taku rolled over just in time to avoid them, and he shot his leg up to kick Baron in the chest. He easily deflected it using one of his lasers, and Taku fell to the ground, moaning in pain. Moonfire came from the side and Clara came from the back, Clara getting ready with a powerful spell, Moonfire warming up her eyebeams.

"You think you're going to win," Taku hissed, clutching his leg, eyeing the girls sneaking up behind him.

Just in time, though, Baron swung around and was able to pull up a semi-circle shield that protected him from both attacks. He pulled three slashes from his belt and was able to throw them at Moonfire so he pinned her by the sleeves of her shirt and her skirt to a wall that covered the stairs inside.

"Let me go!" Moonfire shrieked, struggled her best, but to no avail.

Clara backed up as he started for her, extending the slashes on the backs of his gloves. Her eyes began to glow black and an incantation was on the tip of her tongue, but she was caught off guard as he rushed forward and pinned her cape to a wall that housed another door to the inside.

"Hey there," he started seductively as his face hovered inches from hers. "Don't you know you're too good for this? Why be good when you can be bad." His face came closer and Clara could tell from the tone in his voice he was smirking. "Join me…you could be my black rose."

Clara's features dropped, before she growled. "Sintar Pinakua!" she spat. Clara's body began to give off a black glow and he removed his hands with a hiss. The spell she had uttered would let her body give off intense heat, while affecting her naught.

Baron dashed just to the side to avoid the elongated punch of Taku. "Don't you dare touch her!" he spat, limping only slightly as he came forward. "Or you'll have to personally answer to me." Moonfire finally freed herself from his trap and flew forward to land next to Taku.

He chanced it for just a second to look back at Clara. "Think about it," he whispered, beginning to run towards her and brushing just past her (the spell had worn off) to take to a sprint and jump from the roof. The three Titans rushed forward to watch him disappear in mid-fall.

"Who was that?" Moonfire gasped, a hand coming up to cover her open mouth.

"I don't know, Kimi," Clara murmured. "I don't know."

TT2

The other three Titans had successfully apprehended their criminals; a pair of two-bit robbers who were hoping to snag something valuable in the Wayne Vaults while the Titans were busy battling Baron.

After the police had come and collected the apprehended criminals, the Titans started home. Clara immediately took to healing Taku's laser burns. Kimi went to her room, claiming she needed some time to think their first defeat over. Kyle decided to do the same, instead taking to the roof. Nightwing himself told him it was a great place to think. Danny and Sara agreed to train together in the gym, hoping to improve their skill for the next time they would be seeing Baron.

Taku and Clara were sitting on the couch, Clara's injury spell book set before her, as she read the incantation to heal Taku's leg. One of his legs was hanging off the couch while the injured one was stretched out; he was leaning his side against the back, and Clara was sitting just beside his knee. "It seems it really only effects me when it's strong. If it only passes over me for a second or two, I'll be fine," he told her.

"Makes sense," she replied softly.

There was an awkward silence. "I can't believe we let him get away," Taku whispered harshly. "There's six of us and one of him. How did we let that happen?" He pounded his fist into his hand.

"Calm down. Don't beat yourself up. That's pointless," she replied softly, her hands running over the long swollen mark on his skin. "It's not your fault. He's obviously expertly trained. We'll get him next time."

Taku seemed very unconvinced, but said nothing. Clara continued to heal in silence, exhaling and inhaling with each wave of her magic.

"You're very tense," Clara noted.

"I'm just a little hung up about our mission," he lied. In all reality, he had been a little hung up on Baron making such inappropriate innuendos towards Clara. It angered him to see a teammate treated in such a manner. He knew he would feel the same had it been Kimi or Sara.

"Calm down," she repeated. "It'll work out."

"Never saw you as the optimistic type," he replied with a goofy grin.

"Never saw myself as the optimistic type," she told him, looking up from his leg to smile slightly. "You're all done."

He grinned and bent his knee, before straightening it out again. "Thanks, Clare." He stood from the couch and paced a little, smiling. "Just like new."

"Glad I could help," she responded.

Taku took a seat again, this time sitting next to Clara. "So…do you want to train?" he asked innocently, with an (of course not in Clara's opinion) adorable smirk.

"I…" she trailed off, looking guiltily to the floor. "I just want to spend some time alone right now…maybe get some rest or do some writing."

"Oh…" there was an awkward pause. "That's ok…I think I'll probably do the same. I'm wiped and I want to rest. Y'know, the offer always stands."

Clara looked up from snapping her book shut. "I know. Thanks anyways." He smiled mutely, before evading the room at a leisurely pace. Clara slipped her book under her arm and began for her own room. She passed the gym on the way and stopped for just a short few minutes to see her counterpart had evaded the room, nowhere to be found. Clara shrugged to herself as she walked on, supposing she was talking with Kyle or Kimi. She spent much of her free time socializing with their new teammates.

The gothic girl walked on, arriving in the hallway where her bedroom resided. There was a fair volume of music coming from Kimi's room, and nothing from Taku's room except for light rustling. He must be napping.

Clara punched in the access code to her room and silently walked inside, observing her surroundings. Dark purples, blacks, and a few blues decorated the room lavishly, with bookcases lining one wall and a few magical items such as a potion bowl (which had not been called cauldrons since the second century A.D.), ingredients case, vials, and etc. in a corner of another wall. There was a wrought iron and glass desk to match her vanity, upon which were a few electronic items. Across from her black and purple-sheeted bed was her vanity, lavishly covered with potion bottles, perfume flasks, and make-up containers.

Clara walked over other window, a ritual she did almost once a day, to look out upon the ocean. The view from her room was beautiful, looking out on the horizon where the ocean met the sky. It was nighttime, and normally she would watch the sunset from her window, but it was still a beautiful view all the same. Stars dotted the onyx sky, twinkling brilliantly.

Clara raised her hands to put them on the sill, but found something was obstructing her way. She looked down to see a black rose on her windowsill, a small note underneath it. She picked up the note, which read:

My Black Rose

You belong on my side. Do not forget that.

Yours most dearly,

Black Baron

P.S. The Titans won't be able to see the ink on this paper. If you show them this note, it will be but blank to them. You're not the only one with magic on your side.

And it was just then that Clara realized her window was wide open.

TT2

A great wind blew by and rustled Kyle's already mussed russet locks. The sun was almost completely set over Jump City, creating a thick blanket of chills and darkness.

He was reflecting on their mission today, something he was prone to doing if something never went his way. Batman taught him that, as a good leader, you would go back and mull over what could make you and/or your team succeed.

"Hey there," a soft voice started. "What's up?"

Kyle smiled as he recognized the voice, the upbeat tone of his teammate Sara. She sat beside him and let her legs dangle over the edge of the tower. "Not much…you?"

"Same," she replied. "Looking back on the mission?" she asked, knowing him well enough in the week they had spent living together to know that he reflected on each mission and would usually lecture them about each one.

"Am I that predictable?"

"After this, you'll go downstairs, take either a Gatorade or a water, retire to your room to talk to your friends online a bit before failing asleep. No, you're not predictable at all," she chuckled.

Kyle sighed desolately, though his face perked right after with a half-smile. "Predictability isn't always bad, y'know," he told her in a matter-of-factly way. "It's always good to be able to predict things."

"But you have to be a little spontaneous in a while." Sara breathed in the fresh air from the body of water below them. "Just so you know."

Kyle pulled up his knees and created a bridge across them with his arms. "I know…what brings you up here so late?" he asked, nodding his head towards the setting sun. "Usually I'm the only one up here at sunset."

"I figured I needed a little air. I was feeling stifled in the tower and I need to think a little." Sara let out a soft breath and looked up to him. "I feel like something just…I don't even know…" Sara trailed off. "Today's been an awkward day for me…I've been a little out of sorts. My ex-boyfriend called me before we started training and just struck up a conversation like…well, like we were friends. And then my friends keep asking me why I don't want to go out with him anymore and…it's crazy. Makes me feel like a teenager again," shejoked, referring to heradult-like responsibility of watching over the city. Sara had, in the middle of talking, looked back down to her feet, picking at the hem of her pajama pants. She didn't feel well, and wouldn't be comfortable in anything but her PJs. "How's your day been."

"Fine," he replied shortly, looking away when she slowly looked up, to pretend as if he had not been watching her. "Getting beat twice though was a little blow to my ego. But we'll get him next time."

"Of course we will," Sara stated softly.

"So, tell, me," he started on a lighter and less lugubrious note. Kyle leaned back and used his elbows to prop himself up, looking to the stars already beginning to shine softly. "This ex-boyfriend…jerk-wad?"

Sara smiled and let a small chuckle escape her lips. "You have no idea." She leaned back next to him, crossing her legs. "This guy was the definition of mindless jock."

"Nice," Kyle responded with a smirk.

"Yea. Not one of the highest points in my love life. Or life for that matter. But boy was Tommy attractive," Sara told him, turning to face him, curious what his reaction would be.

"I needed to hear that," he replied, sticking out his tongue and closing his eyes in disgust for affect.

"Because I know you care aboutattractive guys," she finished, smiling wide.

"They're my obsession," he replied sarcastically.

Sara chuckled and looked towards the sky. The sun had completely set, and stars were now twinkling proudly, reflecting in the deep blue sea. Sara pulled her elbows out form under herself and laid down. Kyle followed suit.

"What about you? Any girlfriends you want to share?" she teased.

He smiled shortly, tucking his hands behind his head. "Naw, not really. Not much time for girlfriends when you're Batman's apprentice. A few relationships here and there, but no one special enough to mention."

"No one?" Sara asked, her head turned to face his profile.

"Well, there was one girl. Her name was Maddie. She was a great girl and all, but…I let my responsibility get in the way of that. It was hard to be with her because of Batman's instruction to never let anyone get close, especially someone your enemies could hurt," he told her. "So I broke things off with her."

"Did you love her?" Sara asked.

He opened his mouth to answer, but paused a second, before closing it again. He seemed to be fighting a fierce internal battle. "No," he finally answered a few silent moments later. "I really don't think I've ever loved anyone. My responsibility always gets in the way." There was another short silence. "Have you ever loved anyone?"

Sara brought her hand up to nervously scratch at her chin. "Well…" she trailed off and looked away. "I really don't feel like talking about that, if you don't mind," she told him softly, her voice reducing to a whisper.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry," he apologized awkwardly.

"Don't be," she replied, her voice a hushed whisper, as she looked away. She didn't want him to see the tears welling in her eyes.

TT2