A/N: I don't own the Teen Titans, just Kyle, Vanessa, Maxine, Valkin, and Azara. Mari belongs to DC Comics. Enjoy!
Teen Titans: The Next Generation
Chapter One: Reunion
Ten Years Later…
It was an early morning in November and thirty-one year old Richard or "Dick" Grayson was driving his six-year-old daughter to school in his luxury sedan when one of the back tires went flat. He growled angrily and muttered several curse words as he checked the tire.
"Are we going to be late, Daddy?" asked his young daughter from the back seat. His daughter had light tan skin, black hair, and emerald green eyes. She wore a silver ring on her left index finger.
Richard smiled at his daughter from the car window, hiding his frustration. "No, Mari, we won't be late," replied Richard. He pulled out his cell phone about to call a tow-truck when he remembered there was an auto body shop nearby. He took his daughter out of her car seat and went inside. There was a tall, muscular African American man with a clean shaven head and grey eyes at the front desk. He also wore a silver ring on his left index finger.
The two men smiled at each other. "Hey, Richard, what brings you in here?" the man behind the desk asked.
"Hey, Vic. My car got a flat tire and I have to take Mari to school," replied Richard.
"Don't worry, man, we'll get you taken care of," said Vic. He turned to Mari. "Hey, little lady, give me five." Mari smiled as she gave him a high-five, but put a little too much force into the blow. Vic chuckled nervously. "She's got her momma's strength, huh?"
"Yeah, she does," said Richard as pet his daughter's head.
As Vic had the car pulled into the shop and fixed, the two men continued to talk. "We should all get together," Vic said. "We haven't had the team in one room since the Halloween party."
"That was only a week ago," Richard stated.
"Yeah, but I'm sure Mari wants to see her friends again, and Kori always loves get-togethers,"insisted Vic.
"You have a point," smiled Richard. "Okay, let's talk to Kori and Sarah and plan something."
And so the two men and their families started to plan the team get together. The gathering was set a week before Thanksgiving and was to be hosted at Richard and Kori's house. Richard and Kori lived in a nice house in the wealthier part of Jump City.
Richard now had much longer hair that he kept in a pony-tail and wore a dark grey sweater, black pants, and black shoes. For once he didn't hide his eyes with a mask or sunglasses so his sapphire eyes could be seen. Kori wore a green V-neck sweater that matched her eyes, an amethyst brooch, black skirt, and black flats. She held their two-year old son Robert in her arms. He had blue eyes like his father, golden-tanned skin, and red hair like his mother. The two-year-old wore a green shirt and black pants. Mari wore a purple dress with black leggings and black shoes.
Vic wore a light grey shirt with a black jacket over it, dark blue jeans, and black shoes. His wife Sarah wore her blonde hair in a pony-tail, a pink sweater, blue jeans, and black boots. They had their three-year-old daughter Maxine with them. She was the product of an experiment with television by the villain Control Freak that killed him. Vic and his wife adopted Maxine shortly after she was discovered by the police. Maxine had orange hair, freckles, grey-blue eyes, and a silver ring. She wore a green, long-sleeved shirt with a cat on it, a denim skirt, black leggings, and black shoes.
Garfield, now a bit more muscular and sporting a goatee, wore a maroon shirt under a faux leather black racing jacket, black pants, and black shoes. Tara, more curvy than she used to be, wore her old butterfly hair clip, a black turtle-neck sweater, a golden yellow skirt, and calf-length, black high-heeled boots. They had their four-year-old son Kyle and three-year-old daughter Vanessa with them. Kyle had blonde, spiked hair, green eyes, and wore hiking boots, olive drab cargo shorts, and a black T-shirt under a brown jacket. Vanessa had light skin and blonde hair. She wore a purple jumper over a black, long-sleeved shirt, black and purple striped socks, black shoes, and the same silver ring on her finger as the others.
Raven wore a blue turtle-neck sweater, a black skirt, and black boots with low heels. Geo-Force wore a red sweater with dark grey pants and black shoes. They had with them Melvin, Timmy, Teether, now called Tyler, and their twin four-year-olds Valkin and Azara. Melvin wore a white shirt with pink sleeves, denim jeans, and pink and white shoes. Timmy wore a yellow T-shirt over a red long-sleeved shirt, denim cargo pants, and black shoes. Teether wore a light blue T-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Valkin had black hair, pale skin, and dark blue eyes. He wore yet another silver ring, royal blue, long-sleeved shirt, black denim jeans, and black shoes. Azara had orange hair, light tan skin, and purple eyes. She wore a purple, long-sleeved shirt, blue denim jeans, and purple shoes.
Once the families all entered the house and settled in, the adults removed silver rings that hid any unusual physical appearances. As they sat in the living room and Kori brought refreshments, Vanessa nuzzled her mother.
"Can we take off our rings now?" she asked.
Tara smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's okay."
"Yeah!" Vanessa exclaimed as she, Maxine, Mari, and Valkin took off their chrome rings to reveal their true selves.
Vanessa had green skin, pointed ears, a fang sticking out of her mouth. Maxine had glowing eyes that resembled the flickering grey screen of a television. Mari had green eyes and golden skin like her mother. Valkin had pale skin and a chakra gemstone over the on his forehead like his mother.
The silver rings that the children and some of the adults wore were cloaking rings. Cyborg had made them so that they could disguise themselves to look like normal people and live normal lives.
As Kori set down a tray of turkey and vegan-friendly sandwiches on the coffee table, Mari tapped her arm. "Mommy, may we go outside and play, please?"
"Of course, my little bumgorf," Kori smiled sweetly. "Just stay safe and don't let anyone see you or your powers."
"Yay! Let's go outside," she exclaimed to her friends as they followed her to the backyard.
Kori turned to Melvin. "Melvin, sweetie, could you please watch the children?"
"Sure thing, Mrs. Grayson," said Melvin. "Bobby's been wanting some company."
"Tyler and I are coming with you," Timmy informed his sister. "Not to baby-sit, but to keep Bobby company."
"Looks like Mari is the leader of the group," Gar said as he nudged Richard. "I wonder where she gets that from."
Richard grinned sheepishly and decided to change the topic as he grabbed a sandwich. "So how's the acting career coming?" he asked the changeling.
Gar grinned proudly. "It's going great. We got guaranteed five more seasons."
"Awesome, B. Maxine loves that show," said Vic.
"Dude, she's only three. Why are you letting her watch that show?" Gar asked.
"You know why," Vic said, with a slight edge to his voice.
"Oh, heh, right..." Gar raised his hands in mock surrender. "Forgot about that."
"It's fine. She likes to watch the show with us and see you on television, anyway," said Vic with a shrug. He turned to Tara. "So Tara, how's the Rock Solid Cafe doing?"
"It's going great," said Tara. "Is the T-Car still holding up?"
"She's had to have a few repairs, but she's still going strong," said Vic.
"And what's new with Wayne Enterprises?" Raven asked Richard.
"It's doing great, our Applied Sciences division is working on reverse-engineering tech that the JLU confiscates from the bad guys. We're going to turn their plots and schemes into the next generation of household appliances." Richard replied. "How are your students liking your class this semester?"
"They're not," Raven replied. "Unless they're prepared to actually do all the reading. Then they say it's the best one on campus."
"So how's the League doing, Tin Man?" Richard asked Vic.
"Like you don't know, Bird Boy," Vic shot back with a smile.
Tara kept looking towards the backyard where the kids were playing. Gar put his arm around his wife's shoulder. "Don't worry, babe. Everything's fine!"
She still looked uneasy. "I don't know if everything's fine, Gar. We still have no leads on Slade." The others looked concerned as well.
"We haven't seen him since our last battle before the new prison was built," Richard pointed out. "It's been years now."
"But we never found a body or any clue as to where he could be hiding," Tara replied. "He could still be out there and that frightens me."
Brion reached over and put and squeezed his sister's hand. "I know you're worried that Slade is still out there, but you can't let that fear control your life."
"Brion's right, and this is ME saying that, former Slade-obsessed vigilante," said Richard, nodding. "If he does show up, we'll send him straight to prison where we'll never see him again."
Tara nodded. "You guys are right." She took a bite of a turkey sandwich. "Kori, this is great!"
As the adults continued their conversations, the children laughed and played with the various toys that laid on the grass. Melvin's giant teddy-bear friend Bobby grinned as the children played around him. Melvin kept a watchful eye on the children to make sure they didn't use their powers to the extent that neighbors would notice.
Mari picked up a Frisbee and threw it as Vanessa turned into a green dog and ran after it. A yellow aura surrounded several small rocks as Kyle and Azara built a rock tower. Timmy and Tyler sat contently in Bobby's arms. Valkin was sitting next to Bobby when he noticed Maxine playing with a dandelion flower in the corner of the backyard. Valkin was the most reserved because he had his mother's powers, but that never stopped him from interacting with his friends. He walked up to Maxine and offered her his hand as she took it and the two went to join the others.
As the children played in the backyard, a drone with a camera flew over them and watched as they laughed and played without a care in the world. The drone taped their activities for several minutes before Bobby noticed it and swatted at it like a bug, but the drone dodged his attack and flew away.
"What is it, Bobby?" Melvin asked with concern. Bobby let out a groan. "It was probably some neighbor's toy or something," she assured him. Bobby continued to glare at the sky where they drone had been.
The drone flew over suburbs, streets, and buildings. Not one person noticed that the drone existed. At last, the drone arrived at an abandoned warehouse where a scanner ran a red light over it and a small slot door opened. The drone flew through many halls before it landed into the hands of a short, bald man. He wore a green lab coat and goggles on his head. The man took the drone to a computer where he plugged a cable into the drone and the other end into the computer. A download progress bar reached 100 percent and then a screen popped up. The man began to watch the video the drone had recorded until he came across the footage of the Titans' children playing. He grinned widely as his fingers typed vigorously and he plugged a flash drive into the computer. After a few minutes, he unplugged the flash drive and left the room.
The short man walked briskly down several halls before he came to a door with a golden name plate. He knocked on the door and a woman's voice told him to enter. In the room, the silhouette of a woman sat in a chair behind a desk. He held the flash drive in front of her. "My queen, I think you'll be pleased with this." She handed him a laptop where he plugged in the flash drive, found the file he was looking for, and turned the computer to the woman. She hit the play button and watched the video. Her dark red lips curled up into a smile as she watched the children playing.
"Excellent work, Gizmo. You found the Teen Titans' children. Now, all we have to do is wait."
To be continued…
A/N: Special thanks to Brother Bludgeon for helping me with this story and being a co-writer. And special thanks to anyone who reads this story!