Jump City Symphony

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes – It's been a little while since I posted one of these ten thousand word chapters... homework is kicking my ass right now. I swear this is the last time I'm taking multiple Lit classes in the same semester. I mean, for the love of God, can I be forced to read any more? And the essays! Sheesh… Anyway, I wanted to post something, and this one was the closest to being done. I pounded out the rest of it, and here it is. Look for more soon, as the semester is ending and I'll have little to do during the day when I'm not a retail slave than write. Don't loose faith in me yet, kids. I'm still working on everything I have up (Ties, Day to Day, Forward Motion, this one…) it's just slow going with all the other things I've got going on. I'm sorry for the huge wait times, but it's just how it is right now.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, or any other DC properties.

Speedy
Arsenal stepped out of the beat up looking Oldsmobile he was driving and looked up at the imposing building before him. In downtown Star City, the tallest most impressive building was the Queen Industries HQ, and it's massive glass exterior glinted in the sun as he squinted his eyes up at it through his ruby shades.

"Great to be home." He muttered as he plunked a few quarters into the meter he had parked in front of. He was wearing civilian clothes, and was going by his real name for the time being. And not just his real name, as in the one he used with most with the Titans. He was using his real real name. The one he'd been born with, and the one his adoptive father would know him by.

Walking in through the front doors of the building, he turned a quick right, waving at the receptionist as he passed her. She arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar face, but since he seemed to know where he was going, she let him go. Arsenal walked right up to the elevator on the right side of the lobby and pushed the up button. A minute later, the doors opened to admit him, and he stepped in, hitting the button for the twenty first floor.

The muzak in the elevator was annoying and over loud, so he spent the ride making faces at the security camera in the corner. When the doors opened, he stepped out and walked down the hallway lined with executive offices that he'd been admitted to. When he reached the end of the hall, he came upon a small room that opened right off the hallway. There was a bookshelf, a few waiting chairs, and a desk that housed a pretty blonde woman who was typing away at her computer while she listened to dictation notes from a tape recorder.

It was a full minute before she noticed he was even there. She paused her tape and looked up at him in an expectant manner, "Yes? What can I do for you young man?"

Arsenal rolled his eyes. She was maybe a few years older than him, "I'd like to see Mister-"

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, I don't have an appointment."

"There are no meetings without appointment. Please register in this book and we'll see if we can get you in sometime in the next few weeks."

"Um, it's kind of not a business thing."

"Then why are you here?"

"To see Mister-"

"But you need to have an appointment."
"I'm getting that. Look, just tell him Roy Harper is here to see him."

"Sir, this is a multi billion dollar company. Not a country club."

Arsenal grit his teeth. "Just. Tell. Him."

The girl frowned, but hit the button on her desk for the intercom anyway, "Mr. Queen?"

There was a brief pause, then a deep male voice replied, "Kelly, I've told you. Call me Ollie, please."

She blushed lightly, but replied, "Yes, Ollie. There's a Mr. Roy Harper here to see you."

There was a long pause, then the doors of the office beyond Kelly's desk burst open and a tall man with blonde hair, a blonde beard and mustache, and bright blue eyes rushed out. He saw Arsenal and quickly moved to his side, "Roy! Damn, boy! How long have you been gone?
Arsenal smiled in a strained kind of way, "Three years."

"Wow!" Ollie seemed genuinely happy to see him, "You've gotten big!"
The red haired archer rolled his eyes, "I was almost as tall as you when I left."

"And you still are! Almost, I mean." Ollie nudged him, "Come in, come in!" he ushered Arsenal into his office, and looked over his shoulder as he did, "Kelly, no one is to disturb my son and I."

Her mouth dropped open, "Son?"

Arsenal leaned around Ollie, "Adopted son. Sorry about the confusion!"

"I… you…" she stammered with a deep blush, but Arsenal didn't get to see any more because the doors shut as Ollie dragged them in. He turned and faced his ward, giving him a critical once over for a moment, then spoke.

"It's been a long time Roy. Why now?"

"I need some help in an area I'm completely unfamiliar with." Arsenal had expected this conversation right away.

"Who'd you knock up?"

Arsenal stared.

Ollie stared back.

A moment later, Arsenal realized, Ollie was being serious. "Um… no one, Ollie. I just… the Titans are doing a recruitment sweep, and I though maybe you'd know a few younger heroes around that could use the guidance…"

Ollie blushed a little and scratched his head, "Oh… I knew you meant something like that…"

Both men grinned a moment later, and any tension between them broke. Roy Harper stepped forward and slung an arm around Oliver Queen's shoulders, "So… Kelly calls you "Ollie" huh?"

"So do you know anyone?" Roy asked as he sat leaned back in an executive leather chair with his feet kicked up on Ollie's desk. Ollie sat behind the desk in his expensive looking chair as well, signing some paper work.

"Not really. There was Arrowette, but she quit." Ollie's mustache quivered.

Roy narrowed his eyes, "Your mustache quivered."
Ollie looked up, "So?"

"That means you're lying, or not being entirely truthful."

The bigger man threw his hands up in the air, "How do people pick up on that? Dinah said the same thing just a few nights ago-"

"Whoa! Slow down!" Roy leaned forward, "Who the hell is Dinah?"

Ollie paused, then a full blush crept up his neck and stained his cheeks. He replied in a mumbled tone, "Um… no one."

"Right. I believe that."

"How about you?" Ollie shot back, "Who are you dating, Harper?"

"Raven Roth. And we have a foster child we look after named Kylee Rodgers." He didn't even blink, just grinned a stupid grin, "I love 'em both more than I can say."
"Really?" Ollie's eyes softened, "That's great, Roy. I'm really happy for you."

"You're trying to change the subject." Roy pointed, "Who is this Dinah?"

"Black Canary." Ollie mumbled as his blush came back and he looked away.

Roy just stared for a moment, then burst out laughing, "You're dating a JLA girl?"

"And why is that so surprising?"

"Because you're such a goofus! Why would any girl from the Justice League want to date you?"

"Roy…" Ollie's face grew serious. This was a conversation he'd been hoping to delay, "I… I joined the League."

Roy stopped laughing. He stared for a moment, then replied slowly, "Green Arrow is a member of the Justice League?"

"Yes."

Roy suddenly kicked his feet off the desk and stood up, storming across the room and then back to the front of the desk. He looked down at a frowning Oliver Queen and pointed a shaking finger, growling out, "You shut us down. You Goddamn shut the Titans down, Ollie!"

"They took a vote, Roy. The League is bigger than it used to be, but majority still rules." He looked down at his desk, "I voted against it, if it makes you feel any better."

Roy was furious, "You should have stood up for us. Since when has Green Arrow ever backed down from a fight?"

"We all have to grow up sometime, Roy." Ollie sighed and put down his pen, rubbing his eyes, "I just… I had a lot on my plate right then, and I really needed the League's help and support."

"So you let them shut us down?"

"Have you ever tried to argue with Superman?"

Roy leaned over the desk and glared fiercely, "Green Arrow would have gotten up in Superman's face and shouted him down. Oliver Queen would have thrown around his financial weight to make sure he got his way. You've grown weak and complacent, Ollie. You're not the man I knew." He stood up and walked across the office to the doors, where he paused and looked over his shoulder, "You're not the man who raised me."

He slammed the door on his way out.

Back when he had lived in Star City, Roy had spent a good deal of time running around rooftops and back ally's with Green Arrow, cleaning up the filth that was found there with trick arrows and a few well placed punches. When he hadn't been running around as Speedy though, he'd spent a lot of his down time at the Queen Recreational Hall.

The Hall was an inner city youth club where kids could come to get away from home for a few hours, but stay off the streets as well. They offered a wide variety of programs, from sports and athletic activities, to computer clubs and video games. The Hall also had a top notch drug rehabilitation clinic, and served as a base of operations for support groups for every kind of problem a young person could have. Some were for addicts, some were for those with anger issues, and still others were for pregnant teens.

The facility itself was huge, being four levels high with two sublevels and taking up a whole city block on its own. Another block worth of open courts and ranges was attached to one side of it. The whole place was one of the best free youth clubs in the nation, rivaled only by the Wayne Foundation Youth Hall in Gotham.

When Roy walked through the doors he almost immediately saw a familiar face. He grinned at a young man he'd spent a good deal of his youth hanging out with.

"Bill!" he called, and the man in his early twenties turned around. His face split into a huge grin when he saw who was calling him.

"Roy!" he strode forward and the two young men embraced, "You red haired devil you! What the heck brings you back to Star City?"

Roy slapped the slightly older man on the back, "Oh you know. Just came back to visit Ollie, poke around, hang out with some old friends."

"Well, you know you're more than welcome to hang out here." Bill waved a hand to the large, open lobby of the Hall, "We have more kids now than ever before, and the staff is the best we've ever had. You want the grand tour, or do you think you can still find your way around?"

"I think I'll be fine. You have a class or something?"

"How'd you know I was teaching a class?"

"Aside from the fact that you're a first rate fighter?" Roy grinned. Bill had learned right along side him from the Hall's resident Karate Master, and the red haired Titan wasn't afraid to admit that his old friend would give him a run for his money even now. He shook Bill's hand one more time as they prepared to part company, "Come on Bill… you were born for this."

"And you were born to go to the most expensive collage in the country."

Roy rolled his eyes and shoved his friend along, "Yeah, yeah. Not as easy as it sounds getting an MBA when you're not even twenty yet. Trust me."

"Oh, I do." Bill laughed, "I think I'll stick to teaching kids how to throw a proper punch. See you around, Roy?"

"Count on it."

"Where can I find you after my class?"

"Where else?" Roy grinned, "The archery range."

The Hall had a top notch, Olympic grade archery range, where several youngsters came to attempt to idolize their local super hero, Green Arrow. Roy had spent almost all of his time at the Hall shooting arrows at any target he could when he was younger. Sure, Ollie had an extensive training grounds at his manor in the country outside of town, but here, Roy had been able to practice, show off, and hang with kids his own age. It had just made sense.

Now, as he strapped on a wrist guard and picked up a bow and a stack of arrows, he felt the warmth of an age old pastime of his come flooding back. This felt right. This felt more like how Star City should be, rather than how Ollie had been acting.

He was only on his fifteenth arrow, firing into a target some eighty yards out, when he noticed another one of the many kids on the range shooting at almost the same rate he was, and with almost the same accuracy. Blinking, he stopped shooting and watched.

She was a young woman, really, maybe fourteen or fifteen. Thin blonde hair spilled down her back in a pony tail, reaching just between her shoulder blades. Her long sleeved blue shirt and loose fitting jeans still made her developing form look good, and her sneakers were an off brand that would serve for walking, but not style.

What really got Roy's attention though, was her shooting. She was fluid with her movements, and her eyes were sharp, lining up her aim and her shot in so little time, he'd hardly say he could do it better. Making up his mind quickly, he walked on over.

"Hey there!" he waved and leaned on his bow a little ways away from her, "Where'd you learn how to shoot like that?"

She turned an ice blue gaze on him and he almost flinched. She didn't look happy, "Who wants to know?"

"Whoa! No need to get defensive! My name is Roy Harper. What's yours?"

"Mia." She replied after giving him a once over, "Mia Dearden."

"Cool." Roy motioned with one hand, "Don't let me hold you up. Please, keep shooting."

"What the hell do you want, buddy?" she frowned at him and knocked an arrow, holding the bow loosely in her hands, pointing at the ground. Roy knew she could get that bow up and shoot him with it before he could more two steps forward.

"Just glad to see there's another great shooter out here." He smiled and stepped forward. She watched him suspiciously until he stood next to her. Taking one of her arrows, he knocked it and aimed for a half second before he shot, pulling a bullseye without a problem. "Ha! Beat that shot."
Mia rolled her eyes, aimed, and fired, landing her arrow right next to his. Roy arched an eyebrow.

"Wow. Hmm…" he looked around, "Okay…" taking another arrow, he fired once again, letting the arrow fly low, bounce off the ground once, then skip back up and hit the bulls eye once again. "Bring it on, girl!"

Mia's eyes grew wide but she knocked an arrow up any way. She fired and pulled off the same trick, albeit with her arrow ending up a few inches lower that Roy's.

"No way." He breathed. She was good. Really good. That shot was almost impossible without a few weeks of practice, and she'd done it on her first try. He frowned, "Okay… how about… behind the back…"

Two hours later, Oliver Queen walked on to the archery range, dressed in casual clothes and toting a small bundle in one arm. It was a present for Roy, kind of a peace offering so he could get the boy to talk to him again. The kid could never refuse a gift of cheese cake form the Aunt Bette's Bakery down town. He'd be opening up in a heart beat.

What he found when he stepped up to the range though, was a small crowd of kids. Wading through them and smiling at the ones he knew, Ollie looked to see what the commotion was.

Roy was standing with Mia, pointing as he spoke, "Off the light post there, angled back around to skip off the top of the eighty yard target, then bouncing into the bulls eye of the hundred yarder."

"Right." Mia rolled her eyes, "No one can make that shot, Roy."

"You giving up?"

"Screw you."

Roy grinned and took aim. He fired and let the arrow barely knick the light post, making it slide sideways and flying in a low arch, where it skipped across the top of the eighty yard target and buried its self perfectly in the bulls eye of the hundred yard target. "Hell yeah!" he pumped a fist in the air, "I. Am. The. MAN!"

"Move over." Mia shoved him with a grin and took aim herself, "This is crazy." But she fired anyway, and repeated the shot, only falling a few feet short of the target. Roy whooped and pumped a fist in the air.

"Yeah! Ricochet shot wins the bout for Harper!"

"Hold on! Let me take a Mulligan!"

"Alright." Roy pointed, "But only because you're cute."
"So if I was ugly I wouldn't get another shot?"

"Exactly."

"I thought you had a girlfriend."

"I do. And a foster child, actually. But take your shot and I'll decide if I'm dumping them for you or not."

Mia grinned and took the shot. The arrow was true this time, and she almost hit Roy's it landed so close. Roy threw his hands up as she shouted, "YEAH!" and the crowd burst into cheers.

Ollie couldn't help but cheer along with them. He stepped forward as the crowd started to break up, and clomped Roy on the shoulder, "I see you've met our newest star archer."
"I have." Roy shrugged his hand off, "I'm still not talking to you- is that cheese cake?"

"Yep."

"From Aunt Bette's?"

"You bet your cocky ass."

"… fine. We'll talk." And he grabbed the cake, a piece of which he offered to Mia before stuffing another piece in his mouth. He made an orgasmic noise. Mia giggled.

"Mia, how much homework do you have left today?" Ollie looked down at her.

"Only a little." She nibbled her cake, "How do you know Roy?"

"I raised him. He's my ward."

"Oh. OH!" she almost dropped her cake, "I'll, uh… just go get that homework done then… I'll see you later, Ollie." And she dashed off, putting the bow away before she left the field.

"Kind of young for you, isn't she?" Roy asked around a mouthful of cake.

"She's a good kid, and a great archer." Ollie looked at him with a sideways glance, "Reminds me of you, actually."

"Yeah, she's kind of sweet, kind of cocky, and really good looking."

"She's also bull headed, doesn't like to listen to reason, and makes life difficult for everyone that knows her."

"Now you're describing all three of us."

"Too true. What are you doing later?"

"Though I might throw on the gear. Run around the city like I used to. See if anyone still remembers ol' Speedy."

Ollie almost winced, "Yeah, I'm sure they will. You want company?"

"Naw. You go do whatever it is you need to do tonight. I'll catch up with you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure." Ollie nodded, "We'll talk then."

As he walked away, Roy chewed his cake, not able to shake the feeling that there was something more his mentor was hiding from him.

Night had fallen and with it, Roy had retreated to a hotel room at the Hilton. As he pulled on his red jacket over the black body armor he wore, he spoke to the laptop his T-Comp was hooked up to, "I dunno, Rae. Ollie seemed really shifty."

"Jason, I can't sense him from all the way in Chicago. Especially having never met him."

"I'm not asking you to. And call me Roy. Everyone here does, and it feels weird going by my middle name."

"I thought you were trying to distance yourself from Green Arrow and your old life." Raven arched an eyebrow over the video link, "Are you sure you want to go out and run around with him tonight?"

"I thought you'd be ecstatic that I'm getting back in touch with Ollie. Isn't that what girlfriends do? Try to get you to make up with your parents and stuff?"

"I'm hardly a normal girlfriend." Raven rolled her eyes, "Just remember that you're bringing this on yourself."

"I think it'll be good for me." Roy faced the screen as he holstered a gun and put on his shades, "Although…"

"What?"

"Nightwing seemed really shifty back at the Tower when I told him I was coming here. What do you think he knows that I don't?"

"Knowing Dick, you'll love it and hate it all at the same time." There was a thump from Raven's side of the connection, and she looked over, then sighed, "I have to go… Lilith just got back and she looks trashed."

"Well tell her to drink one for me too."

"Will do." Raven rolled her eyes, "I love you, Roy Harper."

"And I love you too, Raven. Arsenal out."

"Yeah, yeah." Raven smiled briefly,"Raven out."

The connection cut and Roy shut the laptop, disconnecting his T-Comp. Putting it in a secured pocket, he walked to the window, opened it and fired a line off from the grappler attached to his wrist. Testing the strength of the cord once, he jumped from the tenth story window without hesitation or fear.

Muggers weren't very common in Star City. With a home town super hero that really liked to clean up the small time crime before taking on the big stuff, most crooks were just too damn scared to do anything so stupid. This led to a drastic decrease in the number of petty thefts and gun and knife point muggings throughout the city.

I also lead to two less positive things. The first was that those that were committing the crimes were of a braver, cockier breed than the lesser muggers. They were also tough as nails, and knew how to fight and stay out of sight when they needed to.

To Arsenal, it was the best time of his night when he found one.

The muggers in Steel City had been wimps and drug addicts mostly, and Jump wasn't much better (though he did have occasion to chase a certain professional thief after he snatched a purse or two… something he flatly refused to let Raven do.) The muggers in Star City presented a challenge, and he was more than up for it tonight.

"Aw, don't run!" he shouted as a beefy man started to dash down the ally he was fighting in. The red clad archer held one unconscious man up by the collar as he yelled, "I'm just warming up! Your three buddies were kind enough to give me a bit of a workout!"

The running man didn't reply, just kept running. Arsenal sighed and pulled out one of his guns loaded with rubber bullets. He aimed and fired quickly, hitting the man in the back of the knee and making him trip and fall into a pile of trash. He lay there, breathing hard and not moving as he clutched his knee.

Arsenal dropped the man he was holding and walked over, "So… this your turf? Anything you want to tell me about what's been going on around here?"

"Yeah!" the man winced as the hero checked the clip of his gun and holstered it with a great show of proficiency, "There's Harvard and BJ down at the gym tonight! They runnin' a huge deal man! Like, tons of heroin and shit!"

Arsenal nodded, "Thanks for the tip. You might want to get your buddies to a hospital." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "I'll let you off tonight, but I'm telling Green Arrow to keep an eye on you."

"Who the fuck are you, man?" the thug looked at him with wild eyes.

Leaning down, Roy scowled in the man's face, "Don't tell me you punks have forgotten me after only a few years… I used to run with ol' G.A… now I'm out on my own, with the Titans. Call me Arsenal, and tell your friends, at least for the next couple of nights, there's more than one badass with a bow running around Star City."

As he stalked out of the ally, the thug eyed him with fear.

The gym the man had spoken of was down the street ten blocks, so Arsenal had to hustle to get there quickly. After arriving on the scene, he was please to see that both parties for the deal were standing outside in the street having a smoke. Getting to a nearby rooftop as quickly as he could, the red haired hero decided to go back to his roots and really put the fear of God into the drug dealers.

Reaching behind himself, he pulled off his back a collapsible composite bow. Extending the ends, he tested the pull. Satisfied that it had the right amount of force behind it, he reached once more behind his waist and pulled an arrow out of the small quiver he had strapped near his belt. The drawback to carrying so much more equipment than he used to was having fewer arrows, so he didn't have any of the standard tricks that Green Arrow kept around. Just explosions and freeze arrows for him.

Deciding to start things off with a bang, Arsenal launched a particle detonation arrow directly into the middle of the group of smoking men. Then all shouted in alarm and pain as the street between them exploded.

Dropping from the building, Arsenal drew another arrow and aimed it, "Nice night, boys. I hear you guys might be doing something slightly illegal over here…"

"It's Green Arrow!" one of them shouted.

"Naw!" Another replied, pulling a gun, "It's his old brat. I hear he aint nothin' next to his old man! Cap him!"

Four of the six standing men pulled more guns and Arsenal grinned, "Oh, I was hoping this wouldn't be too easy!" and he fired his next arrow. One man was taken off his feet by the explosion in his chest and the last four with guns opened fire as the other two ran back for the gym. Arsenal ducked to the side and rolled, coming back up running with another arrow ready. He let loose and took out another man.

As he reached for another arrow, Arsenal ran into someone. Someone who felt like a brick wall. He grunted as he fell to the side, then rolled and pointed the arrow up at the hulking figure of gigantic man. "Uh…" he fired the arrow.

The huge man wasn't even fazed by the point blank explosion.

"Oh… shit." Arsenal dropped his bow and reached for one of his guns, even as the mountain of a man swatted him aside. Rolling out of the fall, Roy came up and slammed into the side of a building with the momentum of the tumble. He winced.

"Yeah!" one of the dealers shouted, "Get him Rocco!"

"Rocco?" Arsenal snorted, "Why do you meta thugs always have names like Rocco and Bruno? Or Brusier… that's a popular one too." He jumped out of the way as Rocco punched a hole in the brick wall next to his head, "Kind of strong there, huh?"

"Gonna crush you, bitch!" Rocco screamed, and his hand shot out faster than Roy could dodge this time. He caught the young man by the throat and hefted him up off the ground, shaking him once. Arsenal gagged and tried to flail his arms around a little as he felt his neck about to snap.

The grin on Rocco's face fled as an arrow with a steel filled boxing glove attached to the end of it slammed into the side of his head. He looked over in time to see Green Arrow charging through the crowd of drug dealers, taking out three of them with swipes from his bow, and kicking the gun out of the hand of the last man. As he watched the emerald archer square off with the last standing dealer, Rocco decided it was time to finish his first target and take out the second.

Looking back to Arsenal, he found himself staring down the barrel or a 9 mil. The hero in his hand growled at him, "Say goodnight, Gracie." And pulled the trigger.

The gun went off right in Rocco's face, and while the rubber bullet bouncing off of between his eyes didn't hurt him too much, the muzzle flash and the heat from the chamber burned his eyes. Dropping Arsenal, Rocco clutched at his face with a howl of pain.

Roy gasped for breath a few times, then back peeled away from the giant of a man. He arched an eyebrow over at Green Arrow, seeing him take care of his last opponent without much difficulty. The older man turned to him with a smile, "Good to see you, Arsenal."

"You too, Old Man." Arsenal jerked his head towards the metahuman thug, "What the hell is his deal?"

G.A. frowned, "Someone's been selling Venom serum on the Black Market around here. He looks pretty hopped up on it."

"I'll say… he's damn near invulnerable."

"Then we'll just have to be a little rougher." Green Arrow pulled out an arrow and fired it, locking the meta's left arm in a block of ice, "Let's take him, Arsenal."

"Fine with me." Roy grinned and fired three more shots into the man's left knee, making him fall to his right with another shout of pain. Rocco growled low in his throat and yanked his left arm free, spraying both heroes with ice shards and forcing them to back up a few steps. Deciding that the man with the gun was the least threatening for now, Rocco charged Green Arrow.

The emerald archer ducked and rolled between the giant thug's legs, coming up behind him with another punching arrow, slamming it into the back of his head. As Rocco stumbled, he pulled out a tazer arrow and shot that directly into the meta's back as well.

After a few seconds of convulsing under the charge, Rocco slumped forward, collapsing where he stood. Green Arrow stood up and arched an eyebrow. "Huh. Wasn't as tough as he looked." And he started to walk over.

Arsenal saw Rocco's hand twitch, and his eyes grew wide, "Ollie, no!" he shouted, but it was too late. As the elder man got up next to Rocco, the giant suddenly stood up and grabbed him. Lifting the Emerald Archer above his head, the meta prepared to slam him down into his knee, breaking the smaller man like kindling.

Four shots rang out across the street, and Rocco dropped Green Arrow as his arms jerked about. He stood there with four bullet wounds blasted clean through his arms, and Arsenal stood a little ways away, his second gun drawn and aimed. G.A. stood up quickly and jogged back away from the meta, "Roy… what the hell?"

Arsenal didn't reply. He just walked over to Rocco as the meta dropped his arms and glared up at him. Rocco stuttered out, "You… you shot me!"

"You'll live." Roy pointed his first gun up into the man's face, "Now lay down." And he emptied the clip of rubber bullets into his face.

Rocco hit the ground with a resounding thud.

A second later, Green Arrow was jerking his wards arm around and shouting in his face, "What the hell is wrong with you? You shot him! With real bullets! He could go into shock, or bleed to death, or-"

Roy shoved his mentor off of him, "Ollie, they're not real bullets. They're specially designed to cauterize any wounds they create. It reduces chances of shock, and eliminates any chance for bleeding out. I only use it when I have to."

Green Arrow glared, "It's not right. It's not how I taught you to do this job."

Arsenal sighed and looked up at the sky, "I'm not you, Ollie. I'm me. Arsenal. Roy Haprer." He looked back down at the man he considered to be a father to him, "I'm a Titan, and a damn good hero. And I won't hear you telling me otherwise."

Ollie stared at him for a moment, then almost smiled, "You really are a grown man, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Roy nodded, "I guess I am."

The moment was shattered as a van smashed through the garage doors of the gym's loading dock and tore off down the street past them. Both men knew it was loaded with the drugs they had come here to stop from being distributed, and they both reached for weapons to stop the vehicle, even though they knew it was far too late to stop it.

From a building top next to the fight scene, four arrows flew in rapid succession into the tires of the moving van. Two of them blew and the drug wagon skidded once, then plowed into a street lamp, ending its get away. Roy's eyes snapped up to the building the arrows had come from.

Crouching there was a red clad figure with a golden hood pulled up over the head. As the figure stood, Roy could see it was clearly a female, but couldn't make out the masked face under the hood.

Green Arrow growled, then shouted, "Speedy! I told you to stay hidden until I gave the word!"

She flipped him off.

"You-!" Green Arrow shook his bow at her, "Get down here!"

Arsenal spun around and grabbed his mentor's shirt front, "You… you replaced me? You gave someone else my name?" his face was twisted into a mask of fury, and Ollie had the good sense not to antagonize him further.

"Now, look, Roy… the Titans had been disbanded, I needed a partner out here, and you'd just retired with your girlfriend and that little girl… I didn't think you were coming back!"

"You should have known better!" Roy shook him, "This is bullshit, Ollie! Who is she?"

Green Arrow didn't reply. He shouted, "Speedy, go home."

When Roy looked up again, she was gone. He laughed, "At least she listens better than I used to. And I can't say I'm surprised it's a girl, either… just can't keep it in your pants can you, Ollie?"

"Hey, shut up… you're not exactly a saint."

"Yeah, but I settled down. You never will." Roy shoved him away, "I can't believe you. You could have called me… asked my permission or something!"

"I gave you the costume and the name, Roy."

"Yeah, whatever. Bruce could get away with that, but not you. Speedy was my name. My identity! You stole it and gave it to some other kid who doesn't deserve it. She hasn't earned it!"

"Yes, she has." Green Arrow glared at him, "More than you ever did before I put you on the street anyway." He took a step forward and got right in Roy's face, "And at least she doesn't bail on me to go play with her friends every two days."

The jibe against the Titans was too much. Roy punched him in the face as hard as he could, and watched as the man who raised him fell to the street next to Rocco. Green Arrow looked up at him with a bleeding lip and scowled. Arsenal glared right back, "I hate you." He said quietly. "I really do."

As he holstered his guns and walked away, Ollie's face screwed up and he held his head in his hands. "Oh, Roy…" he muttered, "I'm sorry…"

On a rooftop in Gotham, Nightwing glared out over the streets with a scowl. He was sure Jinx was out somewhere, despite his instructions for her to stay at the Clock Tower. She had left her com, and as he pondered ways to track her, his own T-Comp started buzzing. He pulled it out and flipped it open, "Nightwing here."

"You knew." Arsenal growled at him over the video connection, his face screwed up in rage, "You fucking knew and you didn't tell me, you son of a bitch!"

"Calm down, Roy." Nightwing looked calm, "Of course I knew. You would have too if you had bothered to pay attention."

"You should have told me. We're friends, Dick. Practically brothers!"

"It was something you had to figure out for yourself."

"Why? What the fuck kind of twisted logic is that!"

"Roy, Green Arrow is your past… your family. Don't you think maybe… just maybe… instead of screaming at him and at me, you should find the new Speedy and talk to her?"

Arsenal glared for a second, "I don't care who she is. She's a punk bitch, and I want her out of my costume."

"I don't think her costume is the same as yours. She's got breasts, after all."

"Stop fucking with me, Dick." Roy growled.

"Fine. Here's my advice. When I gave Tim the mantle of Robin, I gave him a T-Comp to go with it. I tied him to me so closely that as much crap as Batman might feed into his head, he'll always have more of me in him to keep him balanced. He's the perfect kid to carry on my old name, because I made sure he had such close ties to me. The new Speedy isn't going to go away, Roy." Nightwing looked at his friend with a light smile, "So make her into something you can be proud of, not something Ollie wants her to be."

Arsenal glared for another few seconds, then looked away from his T-Comp. "I'll think about it. I just need to go hit someone for a little while."

"As long as it's not Ollie."

"Already did that."

Nightwing sighed, "Then go apologize before the night is over. He didn't deserve that."

"Fine." Arsenal sighed as well,"Thanks, Dick."

"Whatever. I've got work to do. Be good."

"Always." Roy saluted, "Arsenal out."

Roy rolled up to the grounds of the Queen Estates some time around 3:00am. He killed the engine of his beat up looking Achiva near the attached garages and climbed out into what he knew was a blind spot from any kind of outside surveillance. He was speaking into his T-Comp as he walked towards the doors that would take him through the kitchen and into the manor proper.

"You're sure?" he asked.

The digitalized voice of the Oracle came back to him, "Yes, Harper, I'm sure. G.A. is still in town… at the moment he's terrorizing a kid who just bought less than an ounce of weed."

"Feh." Arsenal rolled his eyes. "All right. Thanks Oracle."

"I still don't see why you have to make it a surprise."

"I want to be here before him so I can think out what I'm going to say. And to set up the Sorry board."

"Sorry?"

"It's what we play when we argue. Keeps us both from getting too out of hand… and it's a great way to show your frustration with someone."

"Whatever. I try not to fathom what you boys get up to out there… Dinah says Ollie is insufferable sometimes."

"Oh, Dinah says, huh?"

"I think she has a crush on him. He hits on her all the time."

"Sweet Jesus… let's hope that match never happens."

"I dunno… they'd be cute together."

"Canary's too hot for Ollie. He's all old… and he has… old… balls…"

Oracle snorted over the connection then laughed in a digital voice, "Old… balls… I'm telling Dinah…"

"You do that." He grinned as he reached the door to the house, "Arsenal out."

Arsenal knew this door would be unlocked, as it always was. Anyone who could make it this far into the grounds without being detected and deterred by the security system deserved to be able to get in. The only reason the young archer had made it in at all was because he knew the security codes by heart and Ollie hadn't changed them.

As he opened the door, he expected complete silence and a darkened room. The kitchen wasn't really a place anyone who'd lived in the Queen Estate had spend too much time in… ever. They ate off paper plates and their diet consisted largely of instant meals and take out. Ollie didn't believe in keeping cooks or butlers.

So it was with a fair amount of surprise that Roy walked into a brightly lit room with rock music blaring from a shelf unit on the counter. He looked about with wide eyes and took in every detail, trying to tell himself that it wasn't possible for anyone else to be here, that… that…

He was distracted by the sight of a young girl, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old, with mid-length blonde hair, dancing to the music as she dumped toppings on a large pile of ice cream. She wore a loose tank top that almost fell down enough to reveal her breasts, and was cut off high enough to reveal her toned stomach. Tight cut off jean shorts rode up dangerously high on her athletic looking legs, and her bare feet blurred as she spun in a circle and belted out the melody in off tune lyrics,

"Well I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer!" she sand along to Jim Morrison and the Doors. At the break between lyrics, she grabbed a long neck Brau beer off the counter top and took a swig. "Well I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer!" she yanked open the refrigerator and pulled out the whipped cream, kicking the door shut behind herself and continuing to sing, "The future's uncertain and the end is always near! Always near!" she started spraying creamy delight on her ice cream as she really got into the chorus, "Let it roll baby roll! Let it roll, baby roll! Let it roll, baby roll! Let it roooolllll-" she finally saw Arsenal standing there and let out a scream as she hurled the whipped cream at him.

The red haired Titan deftly reached up and caught the spray can with a baffled look on his face, "What the fuck…Mia?"

The song wound down after the last few instrumental notes, and Mia reached over and shut it off without saying anything. She was breathing hard, "For the love of Christ on a fucking stick, Roy… you scared the shit out of me!"

"Watch your fuckin' mouth!" he spit, then thought about that for a second, "Never mind that… what the hell are you… oh, God… Ollie isn't really… with a kid?" he looked frightened beyond all measure, "Oh no… not even he's that stupid…"

"What?" Mia looked at him in confusion for a moment, then it dawned on her, "Oh. My. God. Ew!" she danced in place for a few seconds then shuddered and shook her whole body, "Ugg… how can you even… oh, fucking ew!"

They stared at each other for a moment, then they both burst out laughing. After almost a minute of hilarity between them, Roy finally staggered in and sat on a kitchen stool. He eyed her critically for a moment as he wiped tears from his eyes, then nodded, "I can't believe I didn't put two and two together before now… you're the new me, huh?"

She blushed a little, "Really, we didn't think you'd be coming back, and-"

"No… let me talk first…" Arsenal kicked around thoughts for a moment, then spoke again, "At first I was pissed, you know? I mean, like ungodly pissed. I thought Ollie had just replaced me and… well, anyway. Then I thought about it. I'm not Speedy any more. I'm Arsenal now, and I'm with the Titans… I'm not out here helping Green Arrow keep the streets of Star City clean any more. And he can't do it alone. He can't.

"So it's not such a bad thing… that you're here. I'd just wished I could have gotten to know you before all of this… and I'm hoping we can correct that little problem tonight."

"Oh… uh…" Mia arched an eyebrow at him, "What'd you have in mind?"

Roy grinned, "Let's get the Sorry board out and we'll talk about it."

Roy and Mia were still sitting at the kitchen counter, both of them with bowls of ice cream in front of them now, and a lively game of Sorry raging between them. They were laughing a little as Roy spoke, "… and then everything went to hell… the zombie attack, Nightwing's faked death, the disbandment of the Titans… we were at our wits end for months."

Mia nodded, "I can't imagine it was easy for you."

"Yeah…" Roy picked up the beer sitting next to him and took a swig, "About the only good things that came out of the whole experience for me were Raven and Kylee."

Her own beer in hand, Mia pointed at him with a smile, "I still can't believe that. After everything Ollie's told me about you and you're raising a teenager?"

"She's barely a teenager. Hell, you're only two years older than she is…"

"Still, it's not exactly like you."

"Growing up will do funny things to you. Personally I think Raven's been reprogramming my brain or something… or at least withholding sex if I don't do what she wants me to…"

Mia giggled and flipped another card. "Ha! Sorry!"

"Damn…" Roy watched as she kicked one of his pawns back to its home. "So tell me about you, Mia. I mean, you know like, everything about me."

She frowned and looked away, "My life hasn't been… I mean…"

Roy frowned as well, "Hey…" he reached out and used one finger to pull her chin around and tilt her head up so she would look at him, "What is it? I promise I wont judge, Mia."

She took a deep breath and tears started to sting her eyes, "My mom died a few years after I was born. My dad… was a drunk. He drank himself to death four years ago. At least that stopped him from beating me…" she shook her head as tears started trailing down her face, "I was homeless… had no where to go, no where to stay… the system didn't want me, and I'd been raised to distrust it anyway, so… I survived."

Roy reached out and grabbed one of her free hands, "Don't hold back, Mia. Remember, you're Speedy now… that makes you my little sister."

She looked him in the eye as she continued, "I hooked up with a pimp. Started turning tricks when I was thirteen, did it until I was fourteen. Guys like it better when a young hooker is high off her ass, so I did a lot of weed… cocaine, mushrooms, speed, X… even tried LSD once."

Roy squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, "I didn't believe in God after that. I didn't believe in anything until this guy with a mask and a bow dressed like Robin Hood kicked in my door one night and beat the hell out of the john I was with… and took me out of there… he brought me to the Center and gave me some place to stay while I kicked all my habits. While I was there I picked up a bow just like his and started fooling around with it. Turns out I was pretty good. He saw what I could do, and after just a few months I was shooting fast and on target. A few months after that I was Speedy." She sniffed and wiped at her wet blue eyes, "And that's… the sad story of Mia Dearden."

Roy shook his head, "My God… you came out of all that still able to function… and not just function but to be a hero… a damn good one at that, with a killer name… you are good aren't you?"

"Saved your but tonight, didn't I?"

"Heh… yeah, you did."

"So…"

"So what?" Roy leaned back and stretched, "Mia, I'm dating a girl whose father is basically Satan, and one of my closest friends used to be an international terrorist. You had a tough life… not a bad one."

"So you don't hate me?"

"Can't hate your little sister." Roy grinned and stood up, grabbing his coat, "Ollie'll be back soon… I'd better jet."

"Didn't you come here to talk to him?"

"Yeah, but it turns out talking to you was better." As he slipped his armored coat back over his shoulders and put his ruby shades on his face, Arsenal reached into a pouch on his belt, and pulled out a brand new T-Comp. He held it up for her to see, "It also turns out that Speedy doesn't have one of these… and last I checked, Speedy was a Titan." He held it out to her, "Take it, Mia. It's yours, and you're on the team. No trials necessary."

"Really?" she reached out and took it, "Wow… this is… wow."

"Glad you like it. Don't be shy about using it either… if you need help, call. We'll be here as quickly as we can."

"Okay…" she looked up at him, "Thanks Roy… do you think Ollie will be mad?"

"Feh… just do the same thing I did when I joined the Titans."

"What's that?"

"I just didn't tell him until he found out on his own." Arsenal winked, "See ya around, Sis." And he was out the door and gone.

Arsenal climbed back into his hotel room with a sigh. Shutting the window and the curtains, he pulled off his shades and his jacket and tossed them aside. As he started on the rest of his clothes, he made his way to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, a showered and sleepy Roy Harper crawled into bed. He'd had a long night, and he was sore from some of the hits he'd taken. Now all he wanted to do was sleep until tomorrow night. He had work to do then. Work that had nothing to do with beating up bad guys.

"Hope you're ready for some change, Ollie. It's gonna' come fast…"

Roy drifted off to sleep before he could form any plans.

The next night was cold and crisp. The sky was clear, and the moon was hardly past its fist quarter, giving enough light to mug by, but not enough to be seen too well.

The perfect conditions for crime.

"I can't believe you drank four beers last night." Green Arrow murmured aside to the girl next to him.

Speedy rolled her eyes, "Are you still on that? I'm fine, Ollie. I drank more than that when I was twelve."

"Mia…"

"I know, I know… look, I just wanted a little bit of a buzz, okay? If you don't want me drinking, lock the stuff up."

"You know I don't mind you having a few beers… just don't go overboard."

Speedy shoved him, "Says the man who polishes off a six pack by himself without sharing any."

Green Arrow rolled his eyes this time, "Shut up, kid. Just watch the doors."

"Do you really think they'll be back here tonight?" she asked. They were sitting inside the gym that the drugs had been stored at the night before. Green Arrow had them staking it out from the inside because he seemed positive they'd come back.

"Yeah." He nodded, and pointed to a wall panel that looked loose, "I checked it out last night. They left two bags of smack in there… it doesn't seem like much, but it's-"

"A few thousand dollars, I know." Speedy poked him again, "I used to buy the stuff, Ollie. Give me some credit."

"I don't… Mia, you know…"

"Christ." She shook her head, "Are you still going to be all weird about that?"

"I'm sorry… I just want to do everything I can for you so that you can live a normal life, and-"

Speedy laughed, "Do you think putting a bow in my hand and giving me a costume constitutes a normal life?"

"Uh…"

"You're such an idiot."

"As opposed to who? You?"

"Naw, I'm an idiot too… maybe someone like… Batman."

"Everyone's an idiot next to Batman. Try again."
"Fine. Roy."

"Roy? You've barely even talked to Roy."

Speedy blinked behind her mask and swore under her breath, "Uh… he stopped by the house last night… we talked."

"What?" Green Arrow looked at her with his mouth open, "When?"

"Before you got home, obviously."

"What… I mean…"

"We just got to know each other. He told me about his past, and I… told him about mine. We connected." Speedy smiled, "He's a really nice guy."

Green Arrow growled, "So I get a punch in the mouth and you get hit on by a guy way too old for you."

She laughed again, "Ollie! He didn't hit on me. We just talked and… he called me 'Little Sis.'" She sobered up, "It's the first time anyone's ever called me sister."

Green Arrow sighed, "Yeah… he has way of just doing things that mean so much to you, and he doesn't even think twice about it… he's just like that."

She kicked her next words around in her head. Should she be just like the old Speedy? No, her first loyalty was to Green Arrow. She should tell him everything.

"He gave me a T-Comp." she whispered.

"What?" Green Arrow looked at her, "What the hell is a T-Comp."

She pulled out her com and showed him, "He made me a Titan."

Anger suddenly clouded his face and he opened his mouth to say something, but right then, the doors of the gym opened and they both had to duck down behind the weight bench they were hiding behind to keep from being seen. "We'll talk about this later." He whispered. Speedy nodded her eyes on the two huge men who had just walked in.

They were obviously metas, judging by the abnormal size of their muscles. Neither of them seemed to have any guns, but they both looked like they could rip phone books in half all day and still have the energy to kick your puppy to death.

"What do you want to do?" Speedy whispered.

"Well, you're the big bad Titan… what would you suggest?"

Speedy rolled her eyes behind her mask again, "Fine. You go for the drugs and back me up. I'm gonna go throw cowboy on those too mooks."

"Okay… wait, throw what?"

"Throw cowboy. You know, bust a bold move?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm gonna shoot 'em and beat 'em up."

"Uh…"

"Back me up!" she shouted as she jumped from behind the weights. She rolled and came up with her bow out, firing off four arrows in rapid succession. All four were true and both bruisers had an arrow in each shoulder within seconds. They howled in pain as Speedy made it up to the first of them and swung her bow like a baseball bat, slapping him aside.

Green Arrow stood up and ran to the middle of the room as Speedy engaged the second meta. They were obviously not as big as the one they'd fought the night before, but she was still half his size, and even though she was hitting him and he was missing her, she would tire long before he did.

Just as he was about to pull his bow and start firing arrows, Arsenal stepped up next to him, "Hey Old Man."

Green Arrow jumped a little and stared at him, "When did you get so damn quiet?"

"Dick taught me." The red haired young man shrugged, "Sorry I hit you, by the way. It was uncalled for."

"Yeah… look, we kind of have this thing going down right now-"

"Hey, is that Mia throwing cowboy on those two mooks?" Arsenal pulled out a night stick, "Sweet."

"Yeah, that's… wait a second, what did you just say?"

Arsenal winked at him over the top of his shades, "You gonna get a piece of this or what?" and he charged into the fray.

Green Arrow stared for a second, then grumbled to himself as he slung his bow back over his shoulder and charged in.

Speedy was dodging punches from the meta she was fighting, and didn't see the second one coming up behind her. He grabbed her cloak and yanked her back, then tossed her into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster. She slid to the ground with a moan and shook her head to regain her senses.

"That's no way to treat a young lady, you bastard." Arsenal commented mildly as he ran up behind the man who had tossed Speedy and cracked him over the head in the same place his Little Sister had just minutes before. As he fell to the side again, Green Arrow charged past his adopted son and slugged the second meta in the face, toppling him.

The two men looked at each other and grinned.

The two metahuman bruisers both howled with rage and were back up in a moments notice. As they closed in, the two heroes stood back to back and put up their dukes.

Explosive arrows hit and blew the two attackers back a few steps. Arsenal and Green Arrow looked over to see Speedy with her bow up, stringing another arrow, "Come on, guys! Stop playing and let's finish this!"

"Girls got a point." Arsenal said to his mentor, and pulled one of his guns.

"Guess so." Green Arrow pulled out his own bow and drew an arrow.

All three of them aimed at the dazed metas and grinned.

The metas looked back and their eyes grew wide.

The sound of explosions and gun fire echoed out on the streets for several minutes.

Arsenal hugged Green Arrow on top of the building they'd busted the goons in, and grinned when he pulled away, "It was good to see you again, Ollie."

"Good to fight with you again." He nodded and grinned back, "I'm glad you and Mia are getting along."

"Getting along?" he laughed, "We're so much alike it's uncanny."

She giggled from where she stood next to them, watching the cops clean up down below, "You guys are cute."

"Don't call us cute, brat." Arsenal swatted her. She hit him back.

"So… are you headed back to Jump then?" Green Arrow asked.

"Yeah…" Arsenal looked up at the sky, "Kylee is great at what she does, and she has the rest of the Teen Titans to help her out, but I still worry."

G.A.'s face suddenly clouded again, "I'm still angry about that."

"What, Kylee?" Arsenal looked confused for a second.

"I told him." Speedy said, turning to them.

Arsenal sighed, "Figured you would. Look, Ollie-"

"She's not ready." He accused, pointing a finger at his ward, "She's barely been on the streets here for four months! She's not ready for world crushers like Slade and psychos like Killer Moth!"

"She's good, Ollie." Arsenal shook his head, "And even if you don't think she's ready, that doesn't mean she doesn't get the com. Speedy is a Teen Titan. That's how is."

"This isn't your call, Roy."

"It's my namesake." He replied in a cold voice, "She's my legacy, as much as I'm yours." Arsenal took a step forward, "If she ever wants to come to the Tower, you'll let her, you hear me? I don't want her calling me and telling me you've forbidden her from participating with the Titans."

"Or what?" Green Arrow got up in his wards face, "What'll you do, Roy?"

"Hey now!" Speedy tried to step between them, "Calm down, both of you!"

"I'll tell you what I'll do…" Arsenal growled.

"Yeah? What?"

"Stop it!"

"I'll do something so bad…"

"I'm waiting to hear it, punk!"

"You two! Cut it out!"
"I'll-"

"You'll what?"

"Roy! Ollie!"

Arsenal shoved Mia aside, and put a finger right up in Green Arrow's face, "I'll tell Black Canary that you told me you prefer red heads and you're only using her to get close to Babs."

Green Arrow stared at him with his mouth open for a moment. Speedy looked confused, "Who the hell is Babs?"

"Don't worry about it." Arsenal grinned.

G.A. stared for a moment more, then burst out laughing. He and his son howled with laughter for several minutes while Speedy just glared at them.

"Who the hell is Babs?" she shouted.

Both men replied in unison, "Don't worry about it."

"Like hell!"

"Feh… get out of here Roy. She can be a Titan."

"Teen Titan, I think. At least until she's older."

"I'm fifteen! Almost sixteen!"

"Then you're the oldest Teen Titan." Arsenal shrugged as he wiped tears from his eyes from laughing so hard, "You'll like the others, trust me."

"… Fine." She folder her arms over her chest and glared, "I still want to know who Babs is."

"Maybe some day." Green Arrow shook his head, "We'll see you around, Roy."

"Sure thing." He nodded and fired off a grappler to swing away on. Reaching out, he hugged Speedy with one arm, "You be safe, Sis."

"You too." She pecked him on the cheek and he grinned before he swung away.

Green Arrow and Speedy stood in silence for several moments before the elder hero spoke, "Did you tell him about the-"

"No." she shook her head, "And I'm not going to until I have to."

"Do you think that's wise?"

"It's my call."

He was silent for a time, then nodded, "Okay, Mia. Now let's go find some gang bangers to thump."

She grinned, "Sweet."

Arsenal crouched on top of a building a few miles away, and pulled out his T-Comp. Flipping it open, he punched up a com window.

A few moment later, an out of breath Kylee answered, "Seraph here. Oh! What's up Arsenal?"

"Working?" he arched an eyebrow.

"Impulse and I just chased down a guy who robbed an ATM. You know how it is keeping up with a speedster."

Arsenal rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I used to work with a couple of 'em. You guys doing okay out there?"

"Just fine. The Teen Titans are kicking ass and taking names." She grinned, then looked off screen,"Impulse! Just tie them up!"

"Aw!" his voice carried, "But Robin-"

"Robin hangs them upside down because it's a Bat-Thing! Just secure them and call the police!"

"Fine, fine…"

She looked back at the screen, "Sorry."

"Don't sweat it. Hey, would you kids be disappointed it an old timer like me butted in?"

"Why? I thought you'd be gone for awhile." She frowned, "You didn't fight with Green Arrow did you?"

"Only a little. It turns out I finished up here sooner than I thought I would though, and I added a new member to our roster already."

"Really? Who?"

"There's a new Speedy. She's really good."

"A new you huh?" Seraph grinned, "I don't know if the world can handle that…"

"You'll find out when you meet her. I'm thinking about inviting her out to the Tower next month."

"Awesome! Will she be a Teen Titan with us?"

"She's a little older than the lot of you, but yeah. For now."

"I can't wait!" Seraph giggled, "So you're coming home then?"

"Sure am. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"We'll be expecting you then." She nodded, then frowned as she pushed some more buttons on her com. With a sigh, she looked back to him, "Blackfire just handed us a case, Arsenal. I have to go."

"Heh. Listen to you, sounding all professional." He grinned with pride, "I'll see you soon. Arsenal out."

"Right on. Seraph out." And she cut the connection.

Arsenal sat back on his heels as he looked back up at the night sky, "It's all coming together now." He said. Standing up, he fired off his wrist grappler again and swung off into the night.

Closing Notes – Look for the next one as soon as I write it. Please review!

Next Time – Chicago Nights: Omen