Moving Parts

There was a noticeable difference between people who were born with special abilities and powers and people who were given them later in life. There was a degree of arrogance that you could see in the latter group. I am powerful now and I will avenge myself on everyone whoever did me wrong. That kind of list could get very long, especially with a fragile ego involved.

Psimon had been born with his powers. Thanks to H.I.V.E., he had been able to augment them further and gain a mastery over them. He could know the thoughts of everyone around him with the simplest of mental exertions. Psychic based attacks were easy to emit. If he felt like it, he could go even further with a little game of Psimon Says. Nobody really liked that game.

Compare him now to the Ravager, given incredible power from a little bottle. A manufactured chemical that could enhance the human condition and lucky him, he's the recipient. Even from where the masked test subject stood, back straight and posture aggressive, Psimon didn't need to be a psychic to pick up on all the signs of a fragile ego.

Still, a quick little scan and…hm, well he had been told about that. A little hush hush matter that Immortus had warned him of. All a part of the plan. Still, that didn't keep the psychic from making a remark about it.

"Is something the matter, my friend? You seem to be a little under the weather. Should I be worried?" he drawled. Behind him, his personal team followed in his wake.

Ravager sent a glare; oh my, the fragile ego was being broken. Such a shame.

"Relax, I mean nothing by it," Psimon continued as he approached the freelancer, coming to a stop several feet away. He was within range of that sword the masked man liked to use and that was the point. He wasn't intimidated by it. "You've been informed of the new operation?"

The glare became a scowl and Ravager faced away from the psychic. "I don't need babysitting. I can handle it all by myself."

"I'm sure you can." He was a master of hiding sarcasm by now. "These orders come directly from the top. Yes, even above the General's head. All precautions are being taken into account, nothing more. It would behoove us all to be on the same page. You have found an ideal location as instructed, correct?"

There was a "tsst" sound; ah, the sound of someone trying to be both dismissive and disrespectful at the same time. And here he had been hoping for some professionalism, but it was apparent no one had ever attempted to teach it to this man. A waste and a shame.

With a careful hand gesture, Ravager waved towards a location in plain view of the masked man's vantage point. "Will that work?"

Keeping a rein on his patience, Psimon stepped around to gain a better view himself. What he found was a construction site, the base of what would be another skyscraper to add to Jump City's skyline was completed, and the rest was rising up higher and higher. The top was a skeleton of steel I-beams with only a single floor near completion exposed. Cranes picked up and lifted construction materials while workers guided and put into place the cargo. Trucks were driving in and out, dumping more materials and supplies before driving out to pick up more.

So much activity, so much cover as a result, and a half decent location to set up a divide and conquer. It wasn't too bad, and so it would do.

"Good work," he praised, ignoring the scowl and snort that answered him. Some people couldn't accept compliments, could they? Such a shame.

Well, his team were those that could accept praise. The psychic turned his body just enough to get a good look at the forces brought along with him. Of the four members who made up his personal team, he felt nothing but pride. He himself had handpicked each and every one of them.

Perhaps the most obvious was the apropos Bumblebee. With a name like H.I.V.E., it stood to reason there was a good chance at an operative being named for and styled after the insect from whom was most synonymous. The ebon-skinned girl possessed the power for flight along with an ability to alter her size. It was very useful power, both for stealth, espionage, and infiltration missions. While her size would shrink, her strength would increase with every size she lost. There had been many tests on it, and Psimon was more than willing to accept it at face value.

Curiously, there was an anomaly that he had identified with the girl. She was very difficult to read. By that, he meant psychically. Apparently, there was a rare immunity that allowed select individuals to be highly resistant to any and all telepathy. Their numbers were so low that deliberately seeking out such individuals was a waste of time and resources, whereas finding them by pure luck was the superior tactical strategy to finding them. Young Bumblebee happened to have that immunity; now if only she would use it effectively. Her big mouth did more to expose her, but that was why he kept her close.

He would make sure she would not undermine his or .E.'s ambitions.

Next, there was Herald. Physically speaking, there was not much to consider there. Average fitness, average fighting skills, average teamwork, everything was average. Your Jack of all Trades and Master of None. Naturally, his own special ability made up for all shortcomings. His was a special kind of teleportation, which made it very valuable with any and all heists. Was breaching the fabric of reality not a form of such an ability?

He could follow and take orders. Very professional and quick to assess any given situation, he had his uses. That he kept quiet was an additional bonus.

Beside Herald stood Sac. Something of a swordsman himself, he preferred the more curved variety. The green trenchcoat had to be a fashion accessory, not that Psimon could point fingers on that matter. Underneath a yellow-brown vest with numerous buckles contained the torso and an assortment of other little tricks that the male kept. Other than swordsmanship, he had a way with spiders and thanks to H.I.V.E.'s training, he could use them in numerous amounts of creative ways. Best to keep that under wraps for later.

Like many who found themselves in organizations of a certain repute, Sac had a bit of a sadistic streak. At least he had the skills to back it up otherwise he would have been a loose end long ago. When you needed muscle and finesse, that was when you needed Sac.

The last member of his team was another girl, one of fair skin and in possession of a pair of white, angelic wings. A red and blue leotard kept her modest, and silver bracers and armlets decorated her arms. On her head was a silver helm, one reminiscent of a Valkyrie though very plain in Psimon's opinion. Flight was naturally an ability this one had, but she had some matter manipulation that involved her wingspan. Enough hand-to-hand combat training rounded the girl out.

Her name was Angel, and it sometimes, annoyingly, came out in her personality. Psimon could appreciate irony; for someone who would inspire with righteous divinity, they were more devilish in personality. In reality, she had a need for acceptance and it was so easy to keep her in line. When working in tandem with Bumblebee, the two could control the air like no others.

Due to how this operation was being taken with all due seriousness, Private Hive's team was also drafted. Despite their success rate with eliminating the Teen Titans, when it came to their true objectives, they had been very dependable. It was also a sign for how far the vaunted HIVE Five had fallen. Perhaps that team leader was unhappy with playing second fiddle; he needed to step up and stop being a private.

Psimon understood his team's strengths and weaknesses. He knew how to effectively wield them and he kept to their strengths. The same could not be said for others, such as Private Hive and as of late Jinx. Well, his star would keep rising in light of his rivals' falls. He would make sure of that.

"We will need to draw the Titans here. Divide and conquer and all that," Psimon continued. "We have the numerical advantage here, but as our previous diversion proved, that does not necessarily guarantee us success. So, let us ensure the primary objective is accomplished. There will be no failure tolerated for that. The rest of the teenaged thorns in our sides are optional though it is preferred they be eliminated. Ravager—"

The psychic paused. It was small, but he was sharp-eyed and very good with patterns. There was a grimace on Ravager's face, one his mask could not hide. While some might mistake it as a sour expression, Psimon knew better. The fact that one of the guinea pig's hands was balled up tightly and held close to the torso, the fist visibly trembling, hinted at there being something wrong.

"—you are in good health, I hope," he corrected.

Immediately, all signs of physical distress disappeared and a sneer covered up everything else. "What do you care? I don't need your help."

Someone was trying to pick a fight, but he wouldn't bite. "And you won't provided you do your part. Since the Titans are well acquainted with you by now, you draw them out. That will be left in your capable hands, unless you have some doubts…?"

"Fuck off," Ravager growled.

Psimon gave a wan smile back. "We're all on the same team with the same goals. Let's not trip over ourselves. Not now. Everyone else, I will be issuing your placements."

"Not my team," Private Hive interrupted, arms crossed over his chest and glaring. "My team is mine and I will handle their instructions."

Psimon eyed the other team member, then turned to fully face the shorter male. Private Hive was much stockier with broad shoulders and more muscle compared to Psimon's thin as a rail form that only had height as an advantage. Taking a few steps, Psimon approached the self-named private and placed a hand on one of those broad shoulders.

"And Psimon Says Obey."

Private Hive's body tensed up, and his eyes became glazed. "Y-yes…" Hmm, there was a little drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. Very unsightly.

Psimon squeezed Private Hive's shoulder and said, "Very good." Then, more loudly, "I hope there aren't any further objections to my taking authority over the success of our mission today. Anyone? No one? Then let us commence with our objectives."

Turning away from them, the psychic returned his attention to the construction site and its workers moving about the area. From this distance, they appeared as little ants scurrying about.

Perhaps they should give more meaning to their meaningless lives.


"Why'd they leave us out this time? Those twerps are ours!" Mammoth rage, punching a fist into the wall and going through it. If that wasn't a sign of their fall from grace; used to be the walls could take Mammoth's strength. Not anymore.

Jinx found herself agreeing with her big and hairy teammate but grimaced at the hole. They were going to get reamed for that and it wasn't like it could be hidden. The walls here were kept thin so you could hear other people in this part of the, well, let's call them dorms. So little space, no privacy, and you had to earn it.

Gizmo and Shimmer being captured had only compounded their, ahem, excuse her, bad luck. No one should have been captured in the first place. They had Kyd Wykkyd for crying out loud! Once more, another demotion, new living quarters that were smaller than the last, and it felt like they could go down no further.

Jinx understood bad luck better than anyone. It could certainly get worse.

"Two loser squads! What are we? Chopped liver?" Gizmo agreed in frustration. "I just need one more chance. I'll turn that cyborg inside out and show that warrior princess wannabe that that armor of hers ain't all that!"

Kyd Wykkyd, predictably, said nothing. However, this time around he wasn't alone in his silence. Tucked in a corner was Shimmer, still curled up but she seemed to have more color to her. Sheesh, someone really did a number on her. Mammoth's sister still wasn't one hundred percent yet. Jinx wanted to slap the traumatized girl and tell her to snap out of it, but good luck with that!

What was happening? Why was it they couldn't come back from this? It all started with that assignment in Jump. Indefinite time, the customer had paid handsomely, all they had to do was follow instructions and that was it. Oh sure, every once in a while someone stumbled in on them, and that was entirely expected. They were trained for that! This should have been no different.

For nearly a week, that had held true. Some wannabe heroes showed up and they kicked their asses. Multiple times even! Where did it all go wrong? Why did it happen like a bunch of dominos falling in that last fight? Was it because there was more than one convoluted scheme happening? The mummy man with his pet gorilla and that speedster acting as a double agent seemed to have different ideas of how things were going to go down.

Had that been the reason? Or had those twerps gotten lucky? Or had it been the knowledge that they were all but trapped in an underground base that was in reality a very complicated machine designed to turn people into monkeys? Of course they took their chances staying down there! She didn't think she'd look flattering as a chimp, thought for Mammoth that would be more like moving sideways on the evolutionary tree.

Now, now it was failure after failure, heaps of blame falling on their heads without end. Private Hive's See-More got a pass, but not them. That new guy, Ravager, she had been hearing he wasn't doing so hot either. Now there was a flurry of activity going around, and Psimon of all people was given the lead.

"Looks like we've fallen down the totem pole," she remarked, cutting in between Mammoth and Gizmo who were basically psyching themselves up. "They don't trust us anymore. We're little more than glorified grunts now."

"That bullshit!" Mammoth roared. Oh, and lookie there, another hole in the wall. How nice. "We're the best they've got! We're the freaking Five! The Five! We earned that!"

"That's right!" Gizmo agreed, punching a fist into the air. "The smartest, the stronger, the best there ever is!"

"And now we're has beens," Jinx interrupted. "You two think things are bad now? They can still get worse. Much worse."

"How can this," Gizmo waved an arm out over their newest quarters, "get any worse? We might as well be on rock bottom!"

Jinx shook her head before saying matter-of-factly, "No. We're not at rock bottom. Not yet. If any of the brass gets it into their heads that we work out better in a science project, guess who the next guinea pigs are."

"We're the best they've got! They'd never do that to us!" Gizmo exclaimed loudly, getting a "Yeah!" from Mammoth in support. "All the training and time put into us? I'm literally the smartest person here!"

"But not smart enough to figure out a way around that insurance policy they have in our heads? The little chips that with the press of a button, even Mammoth can be taken down?" Jinx retorted, gesturing to her head in general because even she hadn't been able to pinpoint where what she suspected to be some kind of chip was located. Thanks to that mummy man, she was well aware of its existence. "If there's anything I've taken out from this whole mess, it's that we're all expendable. Immortus would set us on fire if he thought it would get him something. Face it, no one here really sees any of us as special, only grunts doing grunt work."

Mammoth didn't look put off by that statement. Likely, her words went in one ear and out the other. Typical. Kyd Wykkyd was hard to read, like always. What could you take from a face that rarely changed? Gizmo looked frustrated because he was smart, and he was smart enough to know that everything she said wasn't made up. His ego had always been his blind spot and he couldn't handle not being treated like an A-list celebrity, his superiority acknowledged by everyone.

A thought occurred to Jinx then, one that was spontaneous, came out of nowhere, but well-trained instinct had her putting a lid on it. In this place, you had to be extremely careful; she knew there was a powerful telepath around here and thoughts were constantly monitored.

Still, the thought had some merit and keeping as calm as possible so as to mask it was her best bet. To the others, she gave a clear instruction, "What I'm about to say next, do not react. Do not think. Just hear and don't do anything that would bring attention to you."

Gizmo and Mammoth looked confused, but they obeyed. It wasn't too often Jinx spoke in a commanding tone of voice, but when she did it was for a damn good reason.

Giving a nod, "I think our time here is coming to an end. It'll be too much effort fighting our way back to the top. Our reputation is ruined, so it would be best if we start over and start off new."

To his credit, the little tech genius figured out what had only occurred to her a moment ago. "We strike out on our own."

Jinx only nodded, keeping and remaining calm. Hopefully everyone else was doing the same. She knew Shimmer was, but trauma had its way of maintaining its status quo. "No matter what anyone says, we have the skill. The talent. Immortus may babble about the end of civilization all he wants, but we all know the end of the world isn't going to happen any time soon. The first chance we get, we amscray. Before that, we need to neutralize that insurance policy of theirs first."

"And how do you—oh. Right." Even Gizmo could be slow on the uptake, but that was always the side effect of a massive ego.

"You're working on a project and if anyone asks, it's a little special something for the Teen Twerps' cyborg," Jinx instructed. "You know what the real purpose is so keep to yourself and don't brag about it."

Mammoth scratched his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but someone spoke before he could. Surprisingly, "Why not let those Titans do the work for us?" asked the quiet tone of the normally brash Shimmer. A bit of a shock that her teammate was managing to slip through the trauma affecting her mind, but still…

Still…

That wasn't a bad idea. Those Titans did have a talent for disruption and ruining plans, didn't they?

"We won't put all our eggs in one basket. Gizmo, you get to work and the rest of us keep our eyes peeled. If we can use the Titans for ourselves, we might be able to give Immortus the finger on our way out." Jinx felt like she was the cat that had caught the canary and her smile grew big enough to match.

Maybe they had outgrown their masters, and like any kid leaving the nest, it was about time for them to strike out on their own and make a name for themselves.


Sun-bleached walls and a staccato rooftop was what greeted the three of them. The building resembled many of the others in the village, but this particular one was closer to the outskirts. As Miguel explained, the reason for that was the bees.

Learning that Abejas was the local beekeeper added to the mystery. What was so special about a beekeeper that people in the States would come all the way here to assault him? Obviously, there was more to this than met the eye.

If you looked around the home, you could see the small farm of sorts, wooden, manmade beehives littered a small area and vaguely the masked teen could hear the telltale sounds of buzzing. If you looked long and hard enough, you'd be able to make out the swarm. At that, he concluded they would save the small farm there for last. Abejas had to have protective gear in his house so before any searching could take place, that had to be found first.

In lieu, they'd start with the inside of Abejas' home.

"He doesn't make a lot, but he sells the honey," Miguel was explaining as he experimentally tried the door. Locked, predictable, but their local guide was not dissuaded. Instead, he crouched down and created a small purple cube. The cube then was carefully forced into the small slit in the doorknob, Miguel's head titled to the side then reversed to the other, and then a soft click indicated that the lock was not anymore.

"You got a lot of experience doing that?" Cyborg pointedly asked.

"Had to find a way to annoy my sister somehow," Miguel answered as the door opened. "It's not bad, to be honest. A few people outside the town come here just for the honey," he resumed the previous topic. "I've had some, it's okay. Then again, we don't have any of those big grocery stores for the next hundred miles."

Placing a hand on Miguel's shoulder, Red Robin guided him out of the way while quieting him. Based on what they had been told, the owner of this house was still in a hospital, the closest being some hundred miles away. There would be no risk for him getting back any time soon. However, they needed to be careful for this next part. There had to be something important in here; otherwise why come all the way out here to assault some guy?

It was dark inside, but that was easy to correct by opening some of the window blinds. It seemed Abejas wasn't a fan of electricity, at least initially. It was all spacious inside, plenty of room to move around with any major furniture pressed up against the walls. On either side of the far wall were two doorways, one which was dark and other reflecting back enough sunlight to give away that it was a kitchen set up. The other doorway must lead to a bedroom, he thought.

To the teen vigilante's right, up against the wall there was the first piece of evidence that made him rethink the whole dislike of electricity. Sure, there was a mess over there, but as he walked over he spotted what looked like wires and some damaged circuitry. There was a desk where a lamp was placed, and turning it on revealed that the house was indeed hooked up.

"See if you can't find a light switch around here," he called back to the other two, his eyes focused on the desk set up. He spotted tools, some smaller than others, and those were scattered against the desktop and onto the floor. There were also some books knocked askew and when he picked one up, he noted the title. This was some kind of instruction manual for designing hardware. Were those pieces of damaged circuit board he was looking at as well?

"I've heard about some people liking natural light but this is way out there," Cyborg complained.

"He's hooked up to some kind of grid," Red Robin answered as he eyed the spines of the rest of the books. Why books, why not a laptop? Frowning, he looked around then desk, then looked under. Eventually he came across a power strip with a noticeable lack of plugs. Now why have one of those unless there were multiple appliances being plugged into there? There could have been a computer for all he knew, but for now it was absent. "Cyborg, check for any Wi-Fi."

A couple seconds later. "He's got a router."

Internet connection. Only two real reasons to have one of those…hello. As he had been examining the desk set up, right next to it he found a discoloration on the floor. It was rectangular, darker in color which meant something had been placed right there. The discoloration was due to an absence of dust and dirt that naturally accumulated over surfaces given enough time. What were the odds there was a tower hard drive that was placed right there?

At some point there had to have been a computer set up. The only other reason for a router was for streaming on the TV. And…whoa, that was a flat screen over there. Looked pretty new too.

Suddenly, the room got a bit brighter due to manmade light from a fixture on the ceiling. "Found the light switch!" Miguel announced.

Right. Thank you very much. Red Robin really took a look around and really noticed the room they were in. The house as a whole might be small, perhaps it was close to being one thousand square feet. A typical apartment back up north. There was a lot of fancy tech here, not just the TV, but a surround sound set up, an Alexa right there next to a couch, multiple stereo systems—for some reason—and was that a panel for home security over there? A quick look revealed it to be turned off.

"Hey Miguel," Red Robin said, drawing the local's attention to him, "You've been to other people's homes here, right?"

"Yeah. Mi casa es su casa," Miguel answered.

"How many people in El Chilar have a set up like this? Wide screen TV, surround sound, probably really expensive computer?" That last one he had thrown in because he had no idea what kind of computer this Abejas would have had. While he asked this question, he gestured for Cyborg to take a look around the desk set up and see what he could find.

Miguel looked thoughtful, mulling over the question. The Hispanic teen walked over to the TV and really took a look at it. Then he moved around, as if looking over any and all tech he could find. "This is some of the best stuff I've seen…except back at your place. I was just at my house; we don't have anything like this."

So Abejas had some money in all this. A lot of money. Enough to afford this kind of set up. Whoever came to this town and roughed him up, maybe he was working for them. But what was he working on?

"You know, I'm starting to get some Deja vu here," Cyborg said. The cybernetic teen had skimmed through some of the books and was putting one back down. "He highlighted some stuff, and a lot of it has to do with signal emissions. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this guy was some kind of engineer in his off time."

"Or the beekeeping is what he does in his off time," Red Robin said. What did signal emissions have to do with this? Sure, last time there was a radiation emitter…

A frown creased his face. "Look for any thefts back in Jump. Anything involving tech, specifically everything that can be used to make a signal emitter."

Cyborg now had a frown on but he didn't ask why. Both were recalling the last set of tech thefts and what that had led up to. What were the odds they were involved in another similar scheme?

"Aw hell," Cyborg growled. "Someone broke into one of the big tech firms back home. Same night as that prison transport. What are the odds?"

What are the odds indeed. What had gone down in El Chilar was connected to everything happening in Jump. Someone was up to something, who, he didn't know, but whoever it was was also taking the gamble to take them out first.

But why? Why were they such a threat? What other reason to try and kill a bunch of teenagers when there were so many other people who could pose a threat to them? Why target the Teen Titans? Had there been a time they stumbled on something that they weren't meant to know about? If so, then what was it?

Glancing back to the damaged circuit boards, he said, "Scan those. See if you can't find out anything about them."

"Depending on the damage, I don't know if I'd be able to tell you what they're suppose to do, but I'll see what I can find out." Cyborg gingerly picked up the circuit boards, handling them as if they would break with the slightest pressure while moving them around to get every angle imaginable.

Red Robin returned his attention to the rest of the house. He checked out the kitchen, and other than some nice-looking appliances, found nothing. Next turned out to be a bedroom, again with the appliances with the sole exception of an old, beat up alarm clock…mmm, that one made a lot more sense.

The closet just had clothes and miscellaneous junk that was put away. There was a second closet, but that had some beekeeping paraphernalia. There didn't seem to be a lot here, so a quick question to Miguel confirmed that there was a shed outside that had a lot more gear in it. So this could be spares just in case.

Now that he was thinking about it, what was a beekeeper doing with electrical engineering? The two didn't seem to fit. Beekeeping could be on the side, sure, but based on what Miguel has told him, the beekeeping was the main hustle here. Unless that was a cover. What was really going on here?

"Looks like its programming," Cyborg reported. "Hardware. It's where the software is going to be held. What it's intended to do, no clue. Based on those books, I'm betting its involved with making some kind of signal."

But what kind? Every answer raised more questions. Giving it some thought, "The tech stolen in Jump, cross reference it with anything involving signal emission."

"Do you think there's a bigger connection?" Miguel asked.

Facing the other teen, "It was the weakest of connections that brought us here in the first place. We've learned a lot more here than days back in Jump. There's too many inconsistencies. I don't think anyone here should assume this is coincidence. Whatever Cyborg finds out, that'll either confirm it or prove that we're going on the wrong track. I think its the former. Too much is happening in too little time. Plus, I get a little paranoid when people try to kill me and my friends."

His gut was telling him they were on the right track. What it meant, he still could not answer, but what he did know was that answers were what they needed to find.


If there was one practice that Koriand'r truly appreciated since she had come to Earth, it was the act of cleaning off after a strenuous session of training. Even on Tamaran, it was preferred that one would clean off the results of exercise through the use of heated water. For a reason that her mind could not trap, heated liquid had a medicinal property to sore and abused musculature.

Or perhaps that was just the physical sensation. A student of academia had not been her stronger area. She had taken to the physical and the athletic despite her older sister's superiority in both of those meadows. Koriand'r had learned long ago to revel in the feeling that accompanied physical exertion.

It had become somewhat of a companion, one she could call on no matter where she was and who she was with.

One could not linger overly long during the cleansing process. Water would soak up into the body, bloating it if only by the slightest of margins. The blessed heat would end as soon as the stream of heated liquid was terminated and only steam remained behind. Excess water flowed down drains, vacating the slick tiled surface, and the Tamaranean reluctantly left this place of serenity to dry off.

This was the next part of the ritual, removing lingering moisture and dislodging filth that had resisted the water's flowing pull. The thick cloth would produce some friction as it rubbed against flesh, fighting against any chill that may try to claim her. Shallow breaths were taken; steam tended to be thicker than air and if it cooled in the lungs, that would make it somewhat uncomfortable.

The act of drying slowed, the thought of discomfort recalling another source of it. As of the moment, she was the leader of the team. Why had Red Robin selected her? While she understood that Cyborg would have been the obvious second choice, with her large friend accompanying the team leader, why was it that she was selected to be next in line of succession?

Koriand'r had her doubts, and the majority were towards herself. She would have expected Wonder Girl would have been selected, so why herself? Why was she chosen to lead?

Was it an act of trust? A means to help gain experience in that aspect? Her intentions to challenge her elder sister had never changed, and she understood while that undertaking would be difficult, it would be necessary to do so if only to change the path of her people. To overthrow Blackfire in a coup, that would mean that if she were successful, she would need to lead them next…

A self-deprecating smile formed. Was this Red Robin's way of trying to help with that? To help with gaining the leading experience she would need when the day Blackfire fell? If so—

The klaxon went off. The alert had her tensing up, then quickly finishing with the drying ritual. Nearby, she could hear Wonder Girl swear, her fellow teammate spending more time with the washing, and now needing to quicken it.

There was only one kind of situation in which this alarm occurred, and it was the Teen Titans being summoned. Someone within the local authorities was requesting their presence.

Assembly of the team was in the recreational room that doubled as a briefing room. From the floor positioned in front of their couch, a cylindrical terminal rose up and projected the images of what the troubling situation. The rest of the team was filtering into the room itself, and Starfire chose to wait until all were accounted for.

Kid Flash and Raven had arrived first. The Tamaranean and her human teammate of the blonde hair had intersected their paths with Beast Boy and Terra along the way. The latter two appeared to be ravaged by slumber, but they were achieving consciousness with each passing second.

"I can't believe they're calling us!" Kid Flash was declaring as she and the rest of the absent team arrived. "It's got to be like the end of the world before they ever think to do that!" Her speedy teammate was bouncing on his feet, moving around the terminal with accelerated movement that gave the appearance of him appearing, disappearing, and reappearing in the span of several seconds.

Raven said nothing, but she did look towards the Tamaranean at her entry. Starfire straightened her shoulders, knowing that now was the time for her to express her command of the situation. Projecting her voice, "What is the situation?"

She hoped that was how a leader would take command.

Raven's eyes flitted to the holographic imagery being projected. "Explosions at a downtown construction site were reported several minutes ago. When police arrived, they found themselves under attack. The perpetrator didn't make them wait long to identify him."

"So who's the jerk?" Beast Boy yawned, stretching his arms above his head.

Wonder Girl stepped up to the terminal, peered at one of the images, and then snorted her contempt. "He couldn't wait a day? It's that Ravager asshole again."

Starfire moved behind her armored colleague and made her own assessment. Indeed, there stood the figure of the mask-wearing killer that had made himself an ache in their posteriors in recent times. Had he not just made his most recent attack this morning?

Nevertheless, he needed to be stopped. However, she needed more information. "Are there people who have been affected or taken into Ravager's custody?"

Raven's fingers tapped on the terminal. "There are reports of unaccounted construction workers. They may be trapped on the scene or taken hostage."

So they had their enemy and there were innocents who were caught by the violence. She gave thought to this and did her best to formulate a plan. "We will need to split our forces." Looking at her teammates and doing her best to assess their capabilities, she continued, "We should have two teams. One will approach from the ground and draw Ravager's attention to them. The other team will…arrive from the air. Their objective will be to locate the workers unable to escape and lead them to safety."

Wonder Girl punched a fist into the palm of her opposing hand. "I know which team I want to be on."

"Mind if I join? I can't let that cheating asshole show me up a third time," Kid Flash volunteered.

Starfire's eyes moved from both of her teammates, then considered the other four. "Beast Boy, will you join Wonder Girl and Kid Flash as part of the ground team?"

The younger human male blinked at her. "Uhh, why me?"

"I am hoping to draw Ravager's attention to someone he cannot ignore. I believe your green skin will be able to do that." She hoped she had explained her reasoning.

"It is hard to ignore someone with green skin," Raven agreed.

That remark attracted the green human's attention. "Oh, so it's because I'm green now."

"I would like for those with flight to be the ones responsible for rescuing the helpless civilians,' Starfire tried to explain. "I suspect that Ravager may be trying another strategy—"

"Sure, sure, I'll do it," Beast Boy interrupted, waving one of his hands dismissively. "But that leaves you with Raven and Terra. I know Terra's going to be great, but—"

"Are you doubting me, Garfield?" Now it was Raven doing the interrupting. Her eyes seemed sharper than before.

"Please, my friends," the Tamaranean did her best to follow the example of interrupting and interrupt what looked like a developing argument. "We must focus. Is it not Ravager who deserves our ire? Our ground group will need to arrive first and our air group will need to wait until the ground group engages with our real enemy. Once all innocent people are successfully evacuated, we will regroup and apprehend Ravager once and for all."

There were some nods, and Wonder Girl verbally gave her consent. "That sounds like a great plan to me."

The Tamaranean felt a nervous energy flowing through her body. Most of it welled from within her torso and for a second made her limbs feel weak. The pressures of leadership were getting to her, but it was a pressure that needed to be resisted. Now was the time to rise to the occasion, was it not? Helpless humans were depending on their aid.

Steeling her resolve, Starfire made the declaration. "Members of the Teen Titans, advance!"

"I think that might need some work," Kid Flash remarked.