"Brother… Turaga… what must we do?"

The Gordanians had ravaged Spherus Magna. They had left nearly nothing in their wake. Gone was the coliseum at New Atero, gone was the giant market that excited the populace every weekend, gone was the Confederation Building… it was all gone. The bombs did their work and did it well.

Nokama sighed. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"No, Toa Tahu. There is nothing we can do at the moment."

Tahu whimpered. "But… Lewa is gone!"

"Yes, I know. Onua told me." The Turaga went towards the wall and knocked her Kaukau Staff against it, letting some rocks fall.

"I- but we must-"

Onua laid a comforting claw on his brother's shoulder. "I think what he means to say, Turaga, is that we cannot leave him hanging. Something must be done, if possible, to get him back. Tahu, please do not worry yourself too much. We are trying."

"NO!" Tahu growled. "We have to try harder!"

Nokama smiled knowingly. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with your brother forevermore. Have things suddenly changed for you?"

"Yes, Turaga." The Toa frowned. "I will admit… that my actions were careless. Lewa is just a kid. I should have tried to listen to him a bit more, and did not need to lose my temper with the others. But… surely the Toa of Air should not be allowed to fend for himself? It goes against the virtues, the Matoran, everything we stand for!"

"Please try to control your element, Toa Tahu." The Toa exhaled and let himself cool down. "I think we were at fault as well." She banged the wall a bit more. "There was a prophecy that Turaga Nuju intercepted-"

"And you did not tell us?"

"That is why I apologize. I understand the Great Beings do not want any interaction between us, but it would have benefitted everyone to know."

"What is this prophecy, Turaga?" Onua asked.

She coughed, banged the wall, and repeated it.

"The noble six are at are at an end to their path,

Harshness and restraint tear it apart.

Need not despair, as despite all this

An unfound treasure heralds a new start-

"I've heard that one before!" Onua beamed.

Tahu glared. "You kept this a secret because…"

"Heat of the moment, sorry." The Toa of Earth shrugged. "Turaga Onewa told it to me before the big meeting, since he thought it might benefit us to know- but I… kind of… saved it. The whole 'Turaga have lots of secrets' cliché and all."

"Oh." Tahu growled at both of them. "Won't help us now, now will it?"

"Actually, Toa Tahu, it will. That fight you all had was the big event. If Toa Onua had told you all the prophecy, this timeline might have been steered in the wrong direction."

"What wrong direction? The Toa Nuva reunite to fight the fearsome 'Tarakava aliens,' using unity to hone their powers and soon win?"

"You left out the collecting part," Onua joked.

"Yeah, yeah," Tahu said, dismissing his comment flippantly.

"Alas," Nokama sighed, "that would not come to be. You forget that a 'rutan'gah' was the whole reason those creatures landed here in the first place- do you know where your other brothers and sister have gone?"

"No…" the Toa admitted. "I was… too angry to care."

"The others went off somewhere," Onua added. "Pohatu and Gali have probably gone together, and Kopaka has definitely left alone. Lewa stayed… alone… in his hut." He blushed.

"Mmmhmm. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Kapura tells me that it was destroyed by a bomb."

Both Toa froze. "Oh…" Tahu looked sullen. "Is he…"

"Remember, Toa Lewa is resourceful," said Nokama. "I am sure he left. Do you know where to?"

Tahu frowned. "Um… the jungle?"

"Don't be daft, Tahu," Onua spat. "He doesn't usually go there. Not after he met Kiina and that other Glatorian, anyway…"

"Gresh? The guy who always tries to climb Gamarrus Ridge?"

"Precisely!" Onua looked at the Turaga. "Um… what does that mean, Turaga?"

"Kapura also says he saw the… Gordanians, I am not sure, come out of it. They had captured several people, including those two Glatorian. Toa Lewa was not among them."

Onua raised a maskbrow. "So you mean to say he went in, and… did not come out-"

Both Toa whirled to face each other. "The protodermis!"

"But-" Tahu could not speak. "Would he not know that it was there?"

"Did… you tell him?"

"No… not of that one. I warned him about a pool, because I tried to go in it, and I would assume he has enough self-control not to try…"

Onua glared. "He seemed pretty depressed. Do you think-"

"He would go in?" The Toa of Fire looked panicked now. "Maybe! Didn't look like he wanted to try it…"

He sobered. "But the Gordanians. Oh, spirits."

"Turaga…"

"There is no use complaining about it," Nokama said.

"Can we not-"

"Try?" The Turaga shook her head. "I am afraid not. The effects of protodermis cannot be reversed."

Onua sighed and clawed at the wall. "Of course, of course… but now we are working with five Toa, Turaga, and they're not even all in one place. How can we go on?"

"The Mahri seem to be getting by pretty well," Tahu mused.

"That is true. However- if you will allow me to finish the prophecy, Toa Onua-

"The threads remain treacherous, filled with danger and spite

Yet also the virtues, with illustrious sheen

The hands of fate play a tumultuous game

One that is surely beneficial in means."

Both Toa paused, trying to make sense of the poem. Tahu, surprisingly enough, seemed to get it first. "The virtues?" he asked. "What of the virtues? We're not united, we're not following our duty, and we certainly don't know our destiny."

"Recall that the 'threads remain treacherous,' brother. It may be possible to uphold them yet."

"Well, that's not exactly possible at the moment!" Tahu yelled. "We-"

He frowned.

"Wait. Do you suppose…"

"I hope you're not suggesting going after them."

The Toa of Fire paled. "Gut me out, brother… because I am. We may not know where Lewa is, but we can still go after the Gordanians and get back at them for that."

"And then we might have a clue of what happened to Lewa?" Onua processed this. "That plan's… pretty ever-smart, actually."

"'Ever-smart?'"

Onua laughed sheepishly. "Bad habit."

Nokama smiled. "Ah, now you two get it. The path of your destiny may have ended here- it is not possible to do much else- but there is a very good chance you can ignite it someplace else…"

"Wherever the Gordanians are?" Tahu perked, eyes glowing in excitement. "Of course! Come on, brother, let's go-"

"No."

Tahu glowered. "But we have to-"

SMACK! "Stay here!"

The Toa pouted and rubbed the spot where Nokama's staff hit him, muttering obscenities. Onua looked at the Turaga curiously. "Why so, Turaga? The Gordanians may have already left our galaxy. We need to go after them now."

"Not right now. We must settle everything here first."

The Toa of Fire scowled. "Can't do much of it without Lewa…"

Nokama laughed mysterious. "And you will not, I agree. The Glatorian, Agori and Matoran will handle it. You five deserve to rest."

"Are you sure, Turaga?"

"Yes. Let us figure out what exactly happened at the ridge first. Then you and the others can set out after the Gordanians."

The Toa seemed uncertain, but finally nodded. Tahu looked sad. "I hope I can trust you again, Turaga Nokama."

Nokama smiled. "You will! The path of the future always runs into a few snags, but one eventually gains the chance to smooth them out."

"Cryptic as always," Tahu deadpanned as he lay down to sleep. "That's great."

A large drab grey building rose up over the bay by Tanghal Pier, dull exterior littered with many doors and grates- this was the Jurgens Warehouse, previously used by STAR Labs and Wayne Enterprises to store spare cybernetics and now held by LexCorp as a spare lot- although Krul often sent barges into its dock to transport goods. The size of the warehouse and the sheer amount of spare space inside made it a great place to congregate and do activities, preferably illicit ones- and what do you know, it was! Slade and Wintergreen stood inside on a rickety platform, examining a stream of the post-attack celebration on Slade's computer.

Wintergreen slumped over in his chair. "I don't think that counts as a victory, sir…"

Slade frowned. "Are you kidding me? That was… even better than was, actually."

"But we didn't win!"

The butler chuckled nervously upon noticing Slade's narrowed eye.

"We didn't… capture Robin!"

The assassin sighed. "I hope you realize that was the point. If we'd tried to take him away in this entire ruckus, somebody would have noticed. The robot, the aliens, the demon girl, and the shapeshifter- they would have attacked. And we would have been sunk."

Wintergreen's eyes widened and he looked at the stream more closely. A reporter was detailing some of the action at the Johns Video. "Could we not take them on, sir?"

"No. They are too powerful."

The butler gaped. Slade saw this and laughed furiously. "I'm kidding, you dolt!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "I don't want to fight them- they present no quarrel. Ours is against Robin. If they attack me to prevent… us from going through with the 'contract,' we will. But not otherwise."

"You don't suppose they will be a threat?" Wintergreen asked.

"The shapeshifter, no; the robot, no; the Toa- maybe; the Tamaranean- definitely. The demon girl is the biggest- although her powers are tied to Trigon. I don't know."

Wintergreen raised a scraggly eyebrow. "Who?"

Slade froze then frowned. "Forget it. Just something I read in an old book."

"Old books can be dangerous, sir."

"'With all the tiny-winy dust that could choke your throat alive.' I know the song… it's why I have a radiation vent, you fool!"

"Ah, right." Wintergreen nodded. "I still don't know why you need the mask. It's not like you're always confronting your targets."

"I need to not be seen. People will know."

"All… right, sir!" The stream suddenly stopped, people leaving in disgrace and posting angry messages on the chat, so Wintergreen closed the computer. "What will we do now?"

Slade held up a phone and smiled. "We move. Not right now, idiot!"

Wintergreen sat back down and grimaced. "Sorry, sir."

"No…" Slade gritted his teeth. "No worries. Understand, Wintergreen. It would be foolish to go after Robin right away, even if he's not working with those others at the moment."

"Because he'll call on them to attack you?"

"Yes. And I don't want that. This has to be staggered for m… us to experience the full effect. Here's what I have in mind:

Phase Negative One: we see what Robin does here. It is obvious that he will stay, since he has managed to root himself.

Phase Zero: we make plans to accommodate for this.

Phase One: We send someone in to attack Robin. He notices and puts his guard up, concerned.

Phase Two: We send in another villain, to beat him and his friends down. We should be able to disable them enough so that he'll be left helpless.

Phase Three: We send in one more. If the desperateness of their victory on the ship was any indication, this will defeat them and allow… me to go in and collect Robin.

Phase Four: I take Robin in like a newborn child and teach him my ways.

Phase Five: When he is ready, I will send out Robin to terrorize the city. Then I will strike. And the heroes will bow down to me."

"Oh…" Wintergreen paled. "Oh my. That is very effective planning, sir!"

"Thank you. I spent the entire post-Robin drive thinking about it." Slade smiled triumphantly. "I'm telling you, Wintergreen, this is foolproof. Robin is not unpredictable at all, despite having been trained by Batman! He came from the circus, for crying out loud! It seems way too easy. I'm not expecting this to be a lofty contract in the slightest."

"But it will take time, sir."

"Yes, lots of time. But I am prepared to wait. As should you."

Wintergreen saluted. "Lots of time, sir, lots of time!" Then he smiled. "Quite the reward, eh? How do you think Rosaline will react? Or… Joseph?"

"Rose… will be happy. I hope. If not, I won't hesitate to cut her head off."

The butler winced. "Bit gruesome, sir?"

Slade shrugged. "That's life. As for Joey…" He sighed, dialing a number on the phone. Joey was basically the black sheep of the family. "I honestly have no clue. He's just too busy in his own little world. We'll have to see."

"Oh, we will see!"

"Yes, Wintergreen, thank you for repeating that." Slade finished dialing and put the phone to his ear.

Wintergreen gazed at him curiously. "Who are you calling?"

"The county jail. I've got a request to make."

"The jail…" Wintergreen chuckled. "Brilliant, sir, brilliant!" The chuckle soon grew into a laugh, then the laugh into a downright guffaw. Both cackled menacingly, the thought of the Boy Wonder being in their fingertips fueling their happiness-

"Quiet. The warden's on the line."

"Ah… yes, sir."

The late morning sun blazed high over Jump City, rays greatly warming anything and everything they touched. This included Winick Beach, ironically the beach where Lewa first arrived, upon which him and Starfire were lazily sunbathing. Cars honked in the background. Kids yelled as they played in the grass of a nearby park. The waves of the Pacific rolled onto the beach, falling back in a rhythmic fashion. It was a great day to relax.

Snuggling into her towel, Starfire sighed happily. "Ahh… it is so nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the sunlight for once."

"You're enjoying this?" Windflyer looked curious at this. "I don't fault you for it- I mean, I kinda do too- but I would've largely preferred to vine-swing in the jungle. Or wind-fly."

Starfire looked at her friend curiously. "Is that… not the impossible? The vine-swinging, I mean?"

"Has to be some place where you can do that." He sighed too. "Not a problem. I'm too damn tired to wind-fly as is, and this is one of those times when it isn't…" He frowned. "Actually, you know what? Screw it. I can do that later. Feels nice to be here with a heart-friend."

"As do I. The sunlight is also a fuel for my powers, by the way."

"Oh." Windflyer lay down, deep in thought, then froze upon remembering a memory. "Why'd you start sunbathin'… without anything… on?"

Starfire blushed red and covered her face. "Oh, please do not remind me! We do not usually wear the garments on my planet, as they are not explicitly necessary…" She breathed softly. "It would seem the people of Earth do not feel the same way."

"Yeah. Kind of odd."

Starfire wore a swimsuit now, a purple bikini with sun-shaped clips, but when the two had arrived at the beach after a strenuous trip to Wolfman Square (for how horrifyingly boring it was, Windflyer did not care to remember,) she had suddenly stripped off her clothes and ran down stark naked. It had been extremely embarrassing for the both of them later on to apologize to others and buy a swimsuit with Robin's BatCredit Card. At least Starfire had realized she had made a rookie mistake.

She groaned now and turned on her back. "What do you suppose our friends are the doing at this moment?"

Windflyer propped his cheek up with his fist. "Well… Robin's supposed to be figuring out logistics problems at the police department. Raven is meditating by a tree back there (he pointed to it.) I dunno what Beast Boy and Cyborg are off too… if I had to hazard a guess, they'd be-"

"Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-bee-beeep!"

He froze. "Hold on a second!" Reaching into the small pack on his shin, the Toa threw out its contents: a heatstone, a lightstone, a compass, a small map of Jump City, his sword, the Glatorian's Pocket Guide (he had no idea why he'd asked Kiina to buy him that,) and finally, his readily vibrating communicator. The device emitted a tone; a "ringtone," Cyborg had explained, to warn a person about an incoming call. This one's was a jovial little tune, which Cyborg said he had gotten out of his favourite "TV show…" Dragon Cops. The guy was a mess.

The communicator continued to beep, but it was gratefully shut off when Windflyer flipped open the lid. On the screen was an image of a smiling Beast Boy, standing in what appeared to be the central business district. Beside him, Cyborg hopped around haphazardly.

"Beast… Boy? What the heck are you guys doing?"

Starfire frowned. "Yes, I would like to find out the source of this tomfoolery as well."

He grinned and shoved his nose into the device's camera. "Dudes, you gotta check this out!"

"Check…" Windflyer moaned. "Check what out?"

"Feast your eyes upon this bad boy…" He moved away from the screen, revealing a building. "The pizza place Starfire destroyed! It's back open!" He screamed. "So amazing!"

The Toa groaned. "Uugh. Can't it wait? Starfire and I just got out of a trip to the mall and I'd kind of like to relax with her for a while-"

"Dude!"

Windflyer turned to Starfire expectantly. She beamed. "Why not? It will be fun to see what delights come out of this beacon of pizza."

"I… all right. We'll be right over."

He put the communicator back in his pack and sighed. "You sure you're up for this?"

"Oh, I am always up for an excursion with friends!"

"An excursion where your friends are completely insufferable and probably won't stop nagging you about inconsequential things?"

"Windflyer!" Starfire glared at him. "This is the new experience for the both of us. It would be a shame if you do not want to try it."

Windflyer put the last of his things into the pack, got up, and shook himself off. (Starfire was surprisingly toned.) "If you say so. I'm… sure you have more social experience than I have."

Starfire beamed again, picked up their towels, and followed him into the skies.

"I could've taken a tour of the city. Remind me why I'm here again?"

"It's the DiDio Family Pizza Parlour. I've heard great things about this restaurant. They make the best tofu pizza!"

"Tofu?"

Beast Boy grinned. "Yeah! Tofu!"

Cyborg sighed. "Why do you want tofu?"

"Because I like it. Why?"

"Anyone with half a brain would have the sense not to eat it," the man muttered.

Beast Boy growled. "Hey! You insulting my dietary choices?"

"No! I'm insulting your social decisions!"

"Who said anything about this being social!"

Cyborg glared. "That's what everyone's doin'! Abandonin' meat, becomin' vegan because they claim it's a good thing! And all because somebody else's told 'em to!"

"How do you know I did that?" Beast Boy spat.

"Because if your actions last night are anything to go by," Cyborg returned, "you're pretty much in with the crowd!"

"I am not!"

"Yeah, yeah," Cyborg dismissed. "You are. No need to deny it."

"Screw you!" Beast Boy yelled. "I am my own. Independent. MAN!"

"In hell, maybe!"

"Guys, you're kinda-"

"Steve wouldn't have ALLOWED me to go to hell!"

"Yeah, well, too bad for him!"

"WHY ARE YOU AGREEING WITH ME?"

"I'M NOT! Just stating the facts!" Cyborg reddened, now very angry. "I swear, Beast Boy, if you keep goin' on about your precious tofu ONE MINUTE longer, I will personally go to this Steve and tell him to-"

"BOYS!"

They stared at Starfire, eyes glowing blindingly bright and expression darkened immensely.

"I do not take the kindly to such baseless arguing. If we are not to go to this family of DiDio's parlor, then we shall not go anywhere AT ALL! I will FEED you the meals that I make myself!"

The arguers stared at her. "Uh…"

"Yeah," Windflyer added. "We just took out an invading alien force. Better to keep happy-smiling."

Cyborg pouted. "Don't tell me you two have this whole confliction as well?"

"We're aliens! We CAN'T!"

He froze then laughed sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. Right."

They sat at a table on the second floor, overlooking the city's downtown core. Below, two major streets intersected, angled crossing hosting many pedestrians; the floor was designed accordingly. The table they sat at was chequered red and white, the floor covered red. Some would say this and the layout of the circular tables made the place look like a slice of pepperoni from overhead- a good design decision? A strange coincidence? The DiDios were notoriously secret, so one would never know. The whole thing made for good business, anyway.

Windflyer had put his head on the table and was restlessly drumming his fingers. Besides him, Starfire crossed her hands and smiled. Beast Boy and Cyborg sat in front of them, each crossing his arms, pouting, and looking away from the other.

"It'd benefit the both of us if you let this thing go," Windflyer said tiredly.

Cyborg harrumphed. "What of it? Grass stain over here's not gonna budge, so I don't see why I should either."

"I haven't had any good food for three days. I want to EAT."

Beast Boy narrowed his eyebrows. "In peace, preferably."

Windflyer groaned at Beast Boy's move. "Come on, just stop ARGUING already!"

The two glared at him. Windflyer closed his eyes and moaned.

Starfire looked at him concernedly. "Friends, I must the agree with Windflyer. Nobody is going to gain anything out of this."

"How would you know?" Beast Boy asked. "It's not like you've been pampered all your life, Princess Prissypants."

"The Gordanians starved me. I received nothing for three days either."

The two froze, slowly realizing this. Cyborg looked sullen. "Sorry 'bout that, Star."

"Guess I'm sorry too." Beast Boy's animalistic eyes flashed over to Cyborg's robotic ones. "Still, though- you sure I can't have tofu?"

"Drop it, brothers."

Cyborg smiled. "Don't really care. Just so long as you leave me out of it."

Beast Boy grinned and high fived him. "You got it!"

Starfire giggled. "'Star!' That is a new one! Am I meant to be the called that because my full name in your tongue is Starfire-"

Everyone stared at her. She frowned. "Have I… the done something wrong?"

"No, 'Star. You're right," Cyborg said. "Just assumed you knew that already."

"Ah." The girl beamed. "The cultures of this planet are most amusing. May we please have the order?" she called out.

The patrons winced and covered their ears. A teenaged waiter in glasses and stubble came over to them, fingers firmly entrenched in his own. He had an irate look on his face, which probably meant they had annoyed him a little bit too much. Windflyer made a note to try not and call him if they ever came back.

The waiter flipped open his pad and opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly shut up by the appearance of some black energy; this faded to reveal Raven. Seconds later, Robin swung in, steel-toed boots making a loud thump on the marble floor. The waiter scowled and went off, obviously expecting the newcomers to make an order too.

"Sorry we're late," Robin said. "I was clearing up legal issues with this city's police head, Chief Wigby, and Commisioner Gordon. Raven was…"

Raven frowned. "Meditating."

"Really? For that long?"

"I get lost in my mind."

"Huh. Well…" Robin smiled. "Nice to have you with us. What is this place, anyway? Some kind of pizza-"

He saw the intersection and floor and gaped. "Oh, wow! DiDio's Pizza! I've heard loads about this place!"

Beast Boy grinned. "I know, right?"

"You definitely lucked out finding this place, Beast Boy." Robin pulled out a seat for Raven and took one himself. "So, what're you ordering?"

A large cheese pizza was suddenly placed on the table. The person who put it there, the waiter from earlier, glowered at Cyborg and Beast Boy. "I heard your 'arguing' earlier. Here, I made you this as a compromise. Take it." Then he was off.

Cyborg looked saddened. "He didn't even give us any drinks!"

"And we didn't get to pay, either," Raven added.

"Are either much of an issue?"

Everyone looked at Starfire. "Uh, Star?" Robin frowned. "They kind of… are."

"Here on Earth, you mean? That is the peculiar. On my planet, we were forced to get all sustenance ourselves, and all workers were tipped on the Worker's Day. Oh, what a jovial celebration," she said, beaming as she remembered. "Everyone gathered outside the palace balcony, and we came out and threw all of our mint to them- it was so nice watching them all fight!"

The others winced. Starfire stared at them concernedly. "Oh, do not worry, friends. Nobody was the injured. The guards made sure of it."

"Still…" Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty uncanny."

"For you, maybe. Friend Windflyer, did you experience the same issue?"

Windflyer gazed at the floor. "We had widgets, and I don't think we needed much of them, so… no. In fact, I'm concerned. Do you use the bartering system here?"

"No, why?"

"Because… that's what the Glatorian used. Was kind of hard to adapt."

Robin smirked. "Well, don't worry. I think we're well set in the money department." He pulled out a 15-dollar bill, which was quickly snatched up by the waiter; in return, he received some change and drinks. "Bon appetit, I guess."

Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Robin each took a slice; excited, Starfire accidentally took two, and it took Windflyer a while to realize that that wasn't polite. She quickly sobered and gave the Toa her extra one.

As the group ate, everyone related their day. Robin began. "So I was at the Police Department, as I said, working with the Chief to get myself recognized. Apparently the permit Batman and I used in Gotham won't work here."

"You need a permit to be a Toa-hero?"

The hero stared blankly. "Well… yeah. Superheroism causes all kinds of destruction. The city needs to know who to blame so that it can get insured."

Windflyer frowned and took another slice. "Huh. Dume was pretty okay with us messing Metru Nui up otherwise."

"Well, that's… wherever you were. This is America."

Cyborg sighed. "Land of the free, home of the brave. Woo-hoo.

Well, grass stain dragg… ahem… I mean… he took me to the arcade to see how it worked. Not half bad, I'll say. They had a pretty good Dance Party Forever machine."

"You've gotta take me there sometime."

"Really? You?"

Raven blushed. "Um, I mean… no. Don't."

The robotic man grinned. "Well, at least tell me what you did then!"

"Meditated by a tree."

"Really? That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Boo-ring." Cyborg turned to Windflyer. "What about you two?"

Windflyer sighed, becoming increasingly annoyed as he talked. "I was taken hostage in the mall, forced to try on various sets of cutesy garments, gorged on something called 'ice cream,' wrestled to the beach, made to see someone unclothed, and rudely interrupted in my sunbathing by a spaz!"

"Hey!" Beast Boy shouted. "Wait… you were wrestled to the beach?"

The Toa pouted. "I don't like the water."

"Dude, seriously? It's awesome! You should totally-"

"Dude. I'm not."

"But-"

"Nope."

"I mean-"

"Nooope. Try all you want, but I'm not going." He sighed. "Can we change the subject?"

Starfire sipped her drink and beamed. "Well… I did much of the same things friend Windflyer did…" she reddened, "including the beach thing, but I must say that the ice cream was very, very, good."

"Yeah," Robin said. "Did you not like it, Windflyer?"

"It's not that I didn't like it- it's just that I had to eat so much- and I don't think we could buy much else…"

"Oh. I should probably get you more money from my account-"

"Help!"

"Giant robots! Oh man!"

Everyone looked at each other concernedly. The victory the night before had been huge, with everyone wanting to talk to the heroes and get their autographs- but the fame had thankfully diminished. If they went out and fought again, they would probably get the same treatment-

Oh, to heck with it. They were heroes. Windflyer started off to fight them before stopping.

"Um… what's up?"

"Aren't you coming? I can't do this alone."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"I've never done something on my own before. The villains assisted the whole vigilante thing before. It'll make me feel better if I have support…"

"Not like we weren't coming out before." Robin smiled triumphantly. "Go- uh…"

"What is the matter?"

"You our boss now or something?"

Robin scowled. "No! We're just working together again! I might as well have Windflyer do it, since he was the first one to volunteer-"

"If everyone's okay with it," Windflyer said.

The group thought this over before nodding.

"Then- um. What he said! Go! Outside! To fight!"

The teens jumped out onto the street, leaving their meal and the evacuating patrons behind. The waiter came to their table and puckered his lips. "Aaww man, no tip…"

The interstitial begins! I hope you enjoy having a little insight into what might have happened between the episodes. Kyubii16, a profilic fanficer, had a very good point.

1. The Toa aren't gonna be happy if they find Lewa again, I can tell you that much.

2. Jeez, Slade is well planned! (What is he calling the jail for, I wonder?)

3. The Titans scenes should flow similar to an actual episode. If they don't I need to do a lot more research. Today I read a Sherlock Holmes/MLP:FIM crossover which was written exactly (or nearly exactly) like the ACD novels. What I wouldn't give to do something like that.

4. That waiter is my self-insert, if you are wondering.