Episode Three

The Arc of an Arrow

Chapter Four

Battery Point

New York City

United States

22:21 – Eastern Standard Time

March 14, 2007

The now seventeen-year-old Arrowette fired the ball-tipped trick arrow, hitting the giant seven-foot-tall man in the face, causing him to stagger before Risk was able to knock him down with a powerful right hook. He fell backwards, crushing the front of a parked car, causing the alarm to start blaring.

Luckily there were mostly warehouses around them, which meant the possible casualties would lower, especially at this time of night.

The Titans, which consisted of Bumblebee, their leader, who had size-changing abilities as well as flight and not to mention her small bolts of energy she could shoot from her gloves.

Second, there was Herald, who was accomplished at hand-to-hand but also used a horn that gave him various abilities. The one he used most often was to send out powerful blasts which tended to knock any criminal off their feet. There was a romance going on between him and Bumblebee, and though no one else was supposed to know, everyone did.

Third, there was Risk who lived up to his name. He took a lot of them and was always running head-on into danger. He was strong, fast and could take hits that would kill most other people. He was the tank of the group, though he was also fast.

Then there was Argent. She was easily the scariest of the group, at least to Arrowette. Her pale silver skin gave her a slight dead look and her abilities were that she could form energy constructs and make force fields.

Apparently, she was half alien or something, the same as Risk and the two also apparently had some sort of psychic link between them. Again, the link was apparently not the typical psychic link where one could read the others thoughts, but very strong emotion could be felt through it and they could also locate each other, which had come in handy more than a few times in the past.

Lastly, there was Shebang, formally known as the more clunky She-Bang, from Dakota City. She had joined after Arrowette, but had quickly become a valued member of the team. Faster than Arrowette had been anyway.

When she had first joined almost three years ago now, Arrowette had been relegated to backup, but not in the conventional sense. Her role had been to take up position, well out of the combat zone and wait. If any bad guys managed to get away from the others, she knocked them out with a trick arrow. That had been her role until she had almost walked away from the team. Bumblebee had then given her a chance to prove herself and she had. The rest was history.

Right now they were fighting the Fearsome Five. A group that had become the arch nemesis to the Titans.

Their leader was Shimmer, who was extremely dangerous up close as she could turn compounds and even elements into any other compound or element. The problem was her range was short and only lasted a few minutes.

Second, there was Mammoth. This guy was huge at seven feet tall and nearly half as wide. He was ridiculously strong and durable and usually faced off against Risk, though Risk had the upper hand mainly because Mammoth's IQ was somewhere around fifty. He definitely wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. In fact, he was probably the bluntest, like a bag of hammers.

Third, there was Rumble. He was the one that could leave you permanently deaf, but thankfully he only tended give you a ringing in the ears that lasted for hours. He wore a full blue suit that covered his whole body and projected a screeching sound that could not only shatter glass but concrete as well. He was the one that they either had to take down first, otherwise, he could easily become a problem. The only benefit was that more often than not, he ended up disorienting his own team as well as the Titans with one of his sonic screams.

Fourth, was Jinx, the bald Indian sorceress. She was the tricky one. She had magical powers and could manifest force bolts, green flames and given the space, she could even bend the elements of air to her whim. The trick with her was to not give her the chance.

Finally, there was Gizmo. He was by far the smartest and the smallest of the bunch. Arrowette remembered the first time they had fought them. He had thought that he was a baby because that's the size he was. He could easily give Toyman a run for his money on the smallest villain and like Toyman his strength was in his inventions. If only he knew how to fight, then he could prove actually dangerous instead of just the annoyance he was.

Right now the Fearsome Five were more like the Fearsome Three. Rumble had managed to knock himself out when he had caused a lamppost to fall down on top of him and Gizmo had run himself into a wall while trying to chase Bumblebee.

The three that were left, Shimmer, Mammoth and Jinx weren't villains to scoff at, even when there were six of them. In fact, Jinx worked better the less of her teammates were in the fight.

While Argent and Shebang dealt with Jinx and Bumblebee fought Shimmer and Risk and Herald fought Mammoth, Arrowette used her skills and arrows to effectively throw all three villains off their game.

When she saw an opening, an arrow flew. The ball-tipped projectile struck Shimmer hard in the side of the head, causing her to stumble. A well-placed kick knocked her to the ground, which only led to Mammoth becoming even more enraged.

Arrowette jumped to the side to avoid Herald who had been picked up by the massive brute and literally thrown him at her.

"Are you okay?" Arrowette asked him.

He groaned. "Give me a moment."

She turned as she heard a loud crashing sound to see Mammoth was now pounding Risk into the ground.

Knowing she needed to stop him, even if it was just for a moment, Arrowette drew a taser arrow and fired it. Mammoth jolted from the hit, before casting his angry gaze towards her.

But it was all Risk needed. He was up and jumping on the giant's back. Then the brute began to stagger before he collapsed. At first, she thought Risk had done something until the same thing happened to Jinx.

"Titans together," Bumblebee called out.

They all regrouped and that's when she saw them, up on the roofs.

"Bee, there's people up there," Arrowette reported.

"I see them," she said.

Risk cracked his knuckles. "Wanna see what they want?"

Argent pointed to approaching vehicles the others hadn't yet noticed. "I think we'll soon find out who they are."

"Looks like the military," Bumblebee said. "What do you think?" she asked turning to the others.

Shebang answered nervously. "Maybe," she said.

"Whoever they are, just be prepared to fight. They might have helped us take down the Five, but it doesn't mean they're on our side."

They stood at the ready as the cavalcade of green military looking vehicles pulled up.

A white-haired man stepped out puffing on a large cigar. He stepped up to Bumblebee, exhaling smoke into her face.

"Do you mind?" she asked, trying to fan the disgusting smoke away.

"No, I don't," he answered in a gruff voice. "I've been given the order to bring you in," he told them, as the sound of a helicopter became audible on the wind.

"Why?" their leader questioned, not lowering her guard.

"We bring you five in the easy way or the hard way. You're not going to be harmed, so just make it easy on yourself."

As soon as he mentioned five instead of six, as there should have been, Arrowette looked around to see that Shebang was missing. Her eyes met with Bee's. It was clear she knew that Shebang had managed to slip away without being seen.

"What's this about?" Herald asked.

"You will find out soon enough," the man said as the helicopter grew closer until it was hovering overhead. "Now, you're coming with us either conscious or unconscious."

Bumblebee gestured for the others to stand down. "We'll come willingly."

"Good," the man said.

"What about them?" she asked, gesturing to the Fearsome Five."

"Don't worry," the man said. "We'll deal with them."

The large chopper came into land, wheels folding out of the undercarriage before it touched down.

"Get onboard," the man ordered.

They did so, though cautiously. They were told to buckle themselves in, which they did. Moments later, the aircraft was back in the air and taking them to wherever their destination lay.

Somewhere On Long Island, New York

United States

00:51 – Eastern Standard Time

March 15, 2007

Herald, Argent, Risk and Arrowette had been sat in the small room for some time. Bumblebee had gone to discuss the situation nearly an hour ago and still hadn't returned. It was making Risk anxious and Herald uncomfortable. Argent meanwhile hadn't said anything much and neither had Arrowette herself.

They all looked up at the door as it opened and Bumblebee stepped inside.

Herald was up and at her side in an instant. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Fine," she said as she lifted up her goggles to rub her tired eyes.

Argent spoke up, "What's going on?"

"Nothing good," Bumblebee said as she sat down. "While we were out tracking the Fearsome Five, Gordanians appeared in orbit and blew up a city on the west coast."

Arrowette felt a hole open up beneath her as her mind conjured up the worst outcome. "What city?" she asked, desperately hoping it wasn't Gateway City.

"Jump City," she told them. "Apparently it's put into motion something the government and the UN has been procrastinating on for a while."

"That is?" Risk asked.

Bumblebee looked miserable as she answered. "What they told me is that unregulated superhero organisations will soon be a thing of the past."

"What does that mean?" Arrowette said, not understanding. "They're shutting us down?"

"I don't know yet," she said.

"They can't," Argent said, sounding unusually distressed. "They don't have the power. We're independent."

"They've been lenient," Bumblebee told them. "The same goes for the Justice League."

"So that's it?" Arrowette asked. "We're done?"

"No, it means if we continue it will be under the watchful eye of the US government. Every move monitored, every action weighed."

Herald was confused. "Don't they do that anyway?"

"Yes," she said. "I don't know the details, but it isn't good."

"So what happens now?" Arrowette asked.

"In a few minutes, we'll be given a place to sleep."

"We're not returning to the lair?" Risk asked.

"Not tonight," Bumblebee told them. "For now, we have to do what they say."

"Great," Arrowette said, her tone oozing with sarcasm.

She knew that they were not in for a fun time.

Titans Lair

New York

United States

11:45 – Eastern Standard Time

March 18, 2007

The last few days had been the most boring that any of them had been forced to ever endure. Three days of them sitting around doing nothing while Bumblebee tried to sort it out. In the end, they were sent home, all except Bumblebee who was apparently going to be going to the United Nations for a meeting with the Justice League. It didn't sound like things were going to go in their favour.

The group headed inside and made their way to the common room. Upon passing the situation room, Risk took a glance inside and found that the place had been wrecked.

"What the-" Risk uttered as he stepped inside.

Curious as to what had gotten his attention, the others stepped into the room too and gasped at the destroyed room.

"It was Batman," Shebang's voice said.

They turned around to see her stood with a stranger, or at least she was to Arrowette.

"Lilith?" Herald asked.

The woman in red nodded her hooded head in affirmation.

"Been a while," he said.

Cissie was confused. "Batman was here?"

"Yeah," Shebang confirmed. "Had a fight with us regarding a girl called Raven."

"Who?" Argent questioned.

"She and Lilith came to us for help. Surprised when it was only me. She's with the league now, or rather with Doctor Fate. So what happened with you guys?"

"We were held for three days," Herald explained. "Turns out they want to control superhero teams."

Shebang pulled a face of disgust. "No thanks," she said.

"What I want to know is why you ran off?" Argent asked her. "Because you were there one minute and gone the next."

"When you have my history, you don't get taken in by guys like that."

They all understood what she meant. She hadn't kept it secret from the team that she had been an experiment. When her foster parents had escaped with her, the organisation that had created her hunted her down. It hadn't been pleasant for her. Hiding who she was, trying to be normal when she wasn't in fear of being taken in and experimented on.

"Where's Bee?" Shebang asked.

"Going to be talking with the UN with the Justice League," Herald told her. "What happens there determines what happens to us."

"No pressure, then," Shebang said. "Oh, by the way, while you were gone I went up to the Watchtower."

That took them all by surprise and made Cissie feel a little jealous. She knew that both Green Arrow and Speedy were part of the Justice League now. She had always hoped to see it herself, if not be asked to join too one day.

"What was it like?" Arrowette asked her.

"It was pretty awesome," she replied. "Never been up in space before."

Risk made his way out of the room. "While this is all very interesting, I'm off to go watch some TV."

The others all headed out of the situation room and made their way over to the common room. Arrowette made her way to the refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda, sitting next to Risk as he switched on the ridiculously large television.

He began to flick through the channels trying to find something to watch. Eventually, he gave up and just watched a re-run of some really old cop courtroom show that starred a man in a wheelchair. Not wanting to watch it, Arrowette made her way to the dinner table near the kitchen area at the back of the room where the others were gathered.

"What ya talking about?" she asked them.

Herald responded. "Just wondering what happens now," he said.

"We'll find out," she told them, before taking one last sip of her soda.

"We will, but I think we want to be ready," Shebang said solemnly. "We might not like what the future holds."

"We just keep doing what we're doing," Arrowette said with a shrug. "We never needed their permission to operate before."

"Yeah, but we don't want to be fighting the criminals and the police," Herald pointed out. "If the government decides we can't legally operate then that's what will happen."

Arrowette shrugged again. "We're not legally allowed to operate now."

Argent folded her arms. "The police tolerate us because we help clean up the city. Hell, they even appreciate us. But if they are given a directive to not allow us to operate, then they'll have to enforce it."

"We'll be in and out before they even get there, like usual," Arrowette said nonchalantly. "That's how I operated in Gateway City. Tie up the criminal and leave them for the cops. I never actually interacted with them. What's stopping us from doing the same thing?"

Herald looked at her for several moments, thinking over what she had said before he spoke. "Regardless, we wait till Bee gets back and see what information she has."

Arrowette nodded in affirmation. She didn't like the idea of them being controlled or monitored or anything else. She liked the freedom they had to operate and deal with criminals.

In the end, being a hero team with no oversight was a reality that could only last for so long. There was a saying: All good things come to an end.

In this case that may very well be true.

Titans Lair

New York

United States

20:36 – Eastern Standard Time

March 19, 2007

Bumblebee was back and she had called a meeting. The look on her face and her body language said it all. Things weren't good.

"It's over," their leader stated sadly.

Arrowette's heart began to pump hard in her chest at those simple words. If it was over, then what happened to her? She had banked her whole life on the hero business and while she was aware that she would eventually be too old to do it, she hadn't put much forethought into what she would do.

Bumblebee removed her goggles. "We're being forcefully absorbed into the Justice League."

Arrowette glanced around as Risk and Shebang high-fived, clearly happy with the news. Looking back at their leader, it was clear she was hurt by their response and Cissie could understand why. This was Bumblebee's team and she was its leader. But that would no longer be the case. She would just be another hero in a large, perhaps oversized superhero team.

Arrowette had always wanted the Justice League to be a goal of hers. Now it was upon them, she didn't know what to think about it.

"Don't get your hopes up," their leader warned. "They're going to have more than a little oversight from the nations that are part of the UN. And the chances of us getting to go out on nightly patrols is now non-existent. We might be relegated to support roles, which means a lot of time sitting on our asses."

Herald tried to cheer their leader up. "At least you'll see the Atom again. He'll be able to tune up your suit."

She glared at him. "Nothing needs tuning up," she told him as she stood up. "We'll be receiving more details tomorrow on what's happening. I suggest you all get some rest because the next few weeks aren't going to be fun or pleasant for any of us." She looked at Risk and Shebang. "I'm glad you two think this is a good thing. Someone has to glean something positive in all this mess." She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Both Risk and Shebang looked a little sheepish, while the rest looked and felt more apprehensive about what was to come.

The truth was, that none of them really knew what joining the Justice League would actually entail. There was something nice about being part of a smaller team.

All Cissie could hope was that they were treated with respect and not like children. It was easy to dismiss them as the Junior Justice League, but they were skilled and knew how to fight the bad guys. She just hoped they weren't put on the back bench because that would be more than a little aggravating.

Regardless, time would tell and all she could do was wait and see.

A/N

I've tried to research each of the characters in these stories as much as I can. I'm not a comic reader, but I loved the DCAU. One thing that Wiki's can't/don't tell you is a character's general personality. As such I'm kind of trying to make one up based on what information is there.

Also, I know that Jinx in the comics is a fair bit different than the one on the Titans cartoon show and generally people will probably be more familiar with the cartoon version (I assume) I decided to simply use the comic version because I feel it fits in more with what I'm doing and separates them. I hope it's not too confusing for people with me creating a separate Titans group for the DCAU. Their existence in the DCAU is solely based on one mention by Batman in the Static Shock cartoon and Robin (Drake) being with them. (Clearly a quick advertisement for the show that was on at the time). Not sure why I feel I need to justify my decisions, but I think a little explanation will help people understand my line of thinking.

Or not.

Anyway, up next will be Aqualad. Which version of him? Well, you'll find out.

Updated January 2018