A/N: I don't watch Young Justice. However, as I was searching the ol' Interwebs, I stumbled across it. It turns out that Young Justice's second season is set during 2016. I just wanted to say that this story has no connection to Young Justice's plot whatsoever.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or DC.

Chapter 3 - Shock and Awesome

3:24 PM

March 7, 2016

Jump City, CA

"Welcome to the big city!" Dick raised both of his hands as the commercial airliner landed on one of Jump City's airports. The ride had been long and Tim had to take a wicked piss. Every time he had aimed to use the restroom, someone would speed off inside it before him. It was almost as if the other passengers had a sixth sense, really.

Tim looked out the window, "Big City? Hardly," Tim spat out as he scanned over Jump City's horizon, unimpressed, "Is this really what the Titans protect?" Tim asked with disappointment clear in his voice.

"Listen, I know it's no crime ridden Gotham, but for now, this is home," Dick patted Tim on the back. Despite Dick's attempts to raise Tim's spirits, it didn't even come close to the smallest morale boost.

Tim took another glance at Jump City, "Meh, I guess it could work," Tim said, causing a smile to creep on Dick's face. Tim turned back to Dick with an eyebrow raised, "Where's Titans Tower?" He asked as the passengers were instructed by the pilot to leave the plane.

"It's in the bay across town," Dick said pointing out of one of the plane's small windows. Tim squinted his eyes to be able to make out a small 'T' off in the distance.

Dick and Tim walked off of the airliner and into a tight hallway of the airport. They stuck close together thanks to the large crowd that was getting off the plane with them, "Don't tell me you guys were living in a giant letter," Tim grinned.

Dick sighed, "Yeah, but it was crazy back then! It was 2006 for God's sake!"

Tim chuckled, "Chill, old man. How did you even get that building to stand up?" Tim asked, spotting his luggage being sent out on the track. He quickly grabbed his brown suitcase and waited for Dick to get his.

"I don't know, ask Cyborg," Dick said. He leaned against the track, awaiting his own luggage, "Wait, did you just call me 'old man?'" Dick furrowed a brow, but diverted his attention to his black suitcase, "I'm only twenty five!" He snatched his suitcase with a frown.

"Cyborg? He's still here?" Tim asked as the two walked out of the airport lobby and outside to the busy street.

"Of course he is. He's in charge of the town now," Dick explained.

Tim looked down both ways of the street. Each side full of people doing shady, and most likely illegal, things. You don't just wear a heavy coat and sunglasses to wait at the airport during Spring, " He's doing a great job," Tim said sarcastically.

"He does the best he can. You know he's only one man... robot-thing," Dick said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Batman's only one man," Tim said with a high sense of self worth.

"Yeah, with like, eight hundred sidekicks," Dick countered, shutting up Tim instantly.

"Whatever," Ah, the classic sign of argument defeat, "Where are we going to be staying?" Tim asked, changing the subject.

Yeah, it worked, "Titans Tower, hopefully. If it isn't in need of any major repairs, that is," Dick answered. He cupped his hands over his eyes to block the morning sun.

Tim nodded in false approval, "Right, it definitely stayed perfectly fine during ten years without any maintenance whatsoever," Tim said in a mocking tone.

Dick stared at the ground for a moment, "Good point. Maybe Cyborg has room for us for a couple of days."

Tim's frown turned upside down, "Great!" He approved with a raised thumb, "I can't believe we're going to be staying with a Justice Leaguer!" Tim exclaimed excitedly, not caring who could have heard him. His mood seemed to have completely flipped from taking jabs at Cyborg's guardian skills.

"Sh! Quiet!" Dick put his hand over Tim's mouth, scanning the surrounding area to make sure nobody heard, "Wait," Dick furrowed a brow, "I'm on the Justice League too," Dick said in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, but Cyborg can turn his hand into a freakin' cannon!" Tim said, mimicking Dick's tone.

Dick examined his hand with a frown on his face, "So? I can do... stuff too," Dick turned his hand over, his face getting a depressed expression.

"Oh, yeah, you have a staff," Tim rolled his eyes, " A lot you can do with a metal stick."

Dick crossed his arms, "Hey, that staff was pretty damn cool."

Tim sighed, shaking his head, "Dude, staffs are so lame. Every single person who uses a glorified pole is a loser," Tim chuckled.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, monks, the purple Mutant Turtle, and now you," Tim said, crossing his arms as well.

"What do you use, tough guy?" Dick waved for a cab, only to have the driver completely ignore him.

"Batons."

Dick raised both eyebrows as he flashed a grin. He released a chuckle that paved the way for a full blown laughing fit, "Batons!? And you're making fun of me!?" Dick yelled in between gasps for air. His extremely loud laughing was starting to turn heads of passing by civilians.

Tim frowned and furrowed a brow, "But they can conduct electricity and shock people," Tim tried to justify his weapons of choice. This only fed Dick's increasing laughter.

Dick's laughter continued, but eventually died down, "Oh, I bet," He finally replied, wiping a tear from his eye. He let out a few straggling laughs before getting back to business, "We should really get a-" Dick was cut off by a faint explosion in the city.

"Did you hear that?" Tim furrowed a brow, looking towards the source of the noise.

Dick nodded slowly, "Come on!" He ran off from the airport building and towards Jump City's downtown, leaving a confused Tim behind.

As with most metropolitan cities, the downtown had a very modern look. Areas where one would see homes and suburbs were replaced with enormous skyscrapers and countless business buildings, both small and large. The streets were extremely clean, only with the occasional newspapers that littered the pristine street.

"Hey! Wait up!" Tim yelled behind Dick. He stopped momentarily to wait for Tim, but sprinted away from Tim before he could catch up.

Dick glanced over an unpopulated alley, "In here!" He yelled back to Tim who was finally closing the distance between the two. Dick ran into the confined area and dug into a pocket on the inside of his jacket to pull out his mask. Putting it on, he tore open his dress shirt, revealing the dark blue 'V' on his costume. He quickly did the same to his pants, this guy was prepared, dude. Dick opened his suitcase and took out his utility belt and a pair of boots. He quickly clipped the belt over his waist and slid the boots on. Dick Grayson had now become Nightwing.

Tim, who had witnessed the transformation, stood in awe, "Oh, so, um," He looked down at his suitcase, then back at Nightwing, "Just go, I'll be right with you," Tim opened his suitcase only to have his entire ensemble spring out and land on the ground haphazardly.

Nightwing sighed, but ran off again to the source of the noise. As people ran away from the explosion, Nightwing ran towards it, constantly pushing pedestrians out of the way and yelling to clear his path. He constantly checked behind him to see if Tim was finally ready but it was to no avail. Even if Tim was lagging behind, there were people in danger. People that needed his help.

Nightwing eventually slowed his running down. He stopped and tried to focus on any other abnormal noises in the area. Oddly enough, the air was completely still and silent. He stared down to the sidewalk, expecting something to happen during his intense staring match with the ground. Nightwing moved from his still position and began jogging towards the source of the explosion. He could not pinpoint the exact position of the disturbance as there was no smoke, or even civilians around.

Cautiously, Nightwing dug through his utility belt, searching for his trusty communicator. Feeling its familiar shape in his hand, he retrieved his desired device and held it out in front of him. He studied the pitch black screen. Movement by an unknown entity caught his attention. He wasn't sure what who, or what, it was, but he quickly spun around to see it.

As he caught a glimpse of the figure, Nightwing let out a loud sigh, "Really? Dr. Light? Are you serious?" Nightwing spoke out to said villain, apparent disappointment in his voice, "And here I thought I was in trouble," He taunted.

The man clad in bulky black and white armor growled, "Trust me, boy, I am not someone to be taken lightly," Dr. Light bellowed. Nightwing's only response was a pained groan. This only infuriated the villain even more.

Dr. Light raised both of his arms towards Nightwing and produced a pair of bright white beams. Nightwing jumped over one beam and slid under the second as the pair tore through the street and destroyed several cars. In his crouched position, Nightwing quickly propped himself up and extended a metal staff from behind him. Quickly twirling it around, he motioned for Dr. Light to charge towards him.

Dr. Light responded by blasting a van towards our hero, severing it in two and sending both pieces tumbling towards Nightwing. Nightwing sprinted towards the front part of the van and leaped on the hood of it. Balancing himself on his left hand, he pushed off of the tumbling piece of steel and landed safely on the street. Nightwing gave a smirk to Dr. Light after his extraordinary show of skill.

"What's the matter, Doc? Getting too old for this?" Nightwing poked fun at Dr. Light's noticeable wrinkles and graying hair, "Now come on, let's see what you got," He once again taunted Dr. Light. Nightwing took his trained fighting stance, expecting Dr. Light to attack once more.

"Oh, I'll be dee-light-ed!" Dr. Light chortled, Nightwing shook his head in disapproval.

Dr. Light readied his light beams once more, raising his arm, "I'll have you know I don't take puns very lightly!" Both of the combatants stopped and looked towards the source of the noise. Seemingly out of nowhere, Tim, now dressed as Robin, flew towards Dr. Light feet first. Composed of entirely red and black, Tim's version of the Robin costume differed from Dick's take drastically. Tim wore a dark red short sleeve shirt that tightly hugged his muscles, a golden 'R' being the only thing that spruced up his top. It got even blander than that as his pants, boots, gloves, and cape were completely black. Kids these days. Robin completely missed his target and smashed his legs off of the pavement, "Oh God! Oh my God!" Robin curled up on the ground, tightly holding on to his legs.

Dr. Light and Nightwing simultaneously furrowed a brow at the sight, "Uh, Robin?" Nightwing stepped forward, slightly reaching out to his downed ally, "Are you okay?"

Slowly rising up from his downed position, Robin tried standing up. He got as far as his injured knees would allow him, "It's okay. I-I'm okay," Robin let out a sigh and continued to breathe heavily, "Stop... Right there!" He weakly commanded Dr. Light in between breathes. Robin grabbed a small yellow tube from his utility belt and aimed it at the villain.

Dr. Light stood in silent confusion, he turned to Nightwing who only offered him a shrug. Robin pressed a button on the yellow tube, only to have a high velocity net spray towards his face. The force from the impact sent Robin to the ground with a yelp. He was now helplessly tangled in his own device meant for his new enemy.

3:00 PM

March 7, 2016

Murakami High-School, Jump City

The sound of large bells roared throughout Jump City's most notorious high school. Students flooded into the empty halls as they left their respective classes. An ocean of teenagers formed inside the school, devouring anything in its path as it tried to escape the building. Not all classes were let go, however. There were the few teachers and instructors that insisted that they release their students at the official time of 3:01.

"Don't forget your homework: page eleven, one to thirty," An older man in a brown suit spoke loudly to his class, pointing to said assignment on his chalkboard, "Got it, Jaime?" The class snickered as he eyed one of his students in the front row.

Jaime sunk back in his seat and shrugged both of his shoulders, "Oh, sure thing Mr. Payton," He spoke sarcastically, obnoxiously nodded his head. His long jet-black hair covered his face as he stopped making an ass out of himself.

"More like Mr. Gay-ton," A low, rough voice spoke out from the back of the classroom. Jaime quickly turned back to the other student, smirking wildly.

Mr. Payton simply fixed his glasses, "Will that be a detention for you, Mr. Testas?" He folded both of his hands behind his back. His stare pierced into the student's very soul. As one would expect, detentions were nothing new to this particular student.

"I don't know, sir, but it's time to go!" As the voice in the back sounded off once more, the crowd of students overran Mr. Payton and filled out into the hallways.

Students tightly held on to their books as the few that needed to catch the bus raced through the hallways. Luckily, Jaime lived in a close proximity to the school, easily within walking distance. Jaime had transferred to Murakami a year ago, but it barely felt any different from his old school in Mexico City. He fit in very quickly, thanks to his natural "I-don't-care-what-you-think-of-me" attitude and fashion.

He left through the school doors empty-handed. Climbing down the set of cement stairs from the front of the building, he remembered Mr. Payton's class assignment. Jaime turned back to the school for a split second before continuing his trek to his residence. Even if he wanted to excel in school, he had a reputation to keep at Murakami. He was cool, he needn't any of this homework nonsense.

Jaime rummaged through his baggy, khaki cargo pants in search for his music player. It was sort of a tradition for him; during his walk home, he would listen to whatever music played in his headphones. There wasn't much of a selection, but it was enough to keep him occupied for the fifteen minute walk home. Now that he thought about it, his music was getting a little outdated. Retrieving songs was harder for him, as he thought paying for something so negligible was barely worth it.

As he finally felt the device in his palm, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. The person behind quickly pulled Jaime back and positioned him into a headlock, the person's muscles barely allowed Jaime to breathe properly, "Hey, Jaime-boy!" The one holding Jaime gave a hearty laugh. It was Testas. Paco Testas, and one of Jaime's closest friends, to be exact. His clothes never seemed to change; white shirt and faded jeans. Damn but he pulled it off, though.

"Hey, Paco!" Jaime happily greeted his long-time friend.

A new sound greeted the pair's ears: the heavy tapping of high heels, "You both are complete idiots!" Ah, that was Brenda Del Vecchio, another of Jaime's friends. The girl looked Irish, had an Italian last name, grew up Mexican, and was now American. Damn, and when I say 'she looks Irish' I mean straight-up from the homeland. Red hair, green eyes, pale skin, freckles, and all, "Way to screw it up the entire class. Mr. Payton's going to be checking homework like a hawk," She scolded the two, crossing her arms in anger.

Brenda was a model student, neither Jaime nor Paco could think of why she would be worried. Jaime and Paco exchanged confused faces, "Who cares?" Paco finally spoke up for the two.

Brenda scoffed, throwing her arms to her sides, "I have things to do!"

"Since when did you have a social life?" Jaime jokingly asked, his sentence slowly degrading to chuckles.

Brenda clenched her fists and wore an expression of pure hate, "Since I was moving!" She yelled to the both of them.

Jaime and Paco stood completely silent for a moment, "You're moving?" The two asked simultaneously.

Brenda facepalmed, "I told you guys already!"

"When?"

"Yesterday!"

Jaime rapidly shook his head, "When?! Where?!"

Brenda shrugged her shoulders, "Whenever we pack everything up. We're moving to a small farm in Bludhaven," She explained to the two. Paco's shock had not yet allowed him to even utter the simplest word.

"Bludhaven? But-but that's on the other side of the country!" Paco finally responded, "How are you supposed to visit?" Brenda shook her head slightly at Paco's question. Jaime patted Paco on the back.

"Jeez Brenda, way to drop a bombshell," Jaime said, crossing his arms.

"Bombshell? I've already told you two!" Brenda yelled, irritation in her voice. Jamie and Paco nervously scratched their heads, they could not for the life of them remember her ever telling them before.

"Whe-"

"Don't even."

Jaime stepped closer towards Brenda, "You can't just leave, we're family," Jaime motioned to the trio, "Besides, what could be wrong with Jump City?"

"How about all the people in tights that run around causing mayhem?"

"Do you think Bludhaven doesn't have anyone like that?" Jaime countered.

Brenda sighed and shrugged, "Look, it's not even up to me. My dad got a job in Lexcorp, so we're going to be moving around."

"How did an alcoholic get a job at Lexcorp?" Paco asked, slightly smirking. Jaime smacked the back of his head.

"Paco, I suggest you leave," Brenda simply stated, trying to be as calm as she possibly could.

"But-"

"Now." With that, Paco stepped away from the other two and continued his journey home. Jaime silently watched him walk away, torn whether to be sorry for. He knew that Paco didn't mean anything by it, the kid wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Nevertheless, this left the two of them alone. Jaime had often wondered if he had any feelings for Brenda. They had grown up together and she was basically his sister, it'd be weird. Jaime sighed and turned to look Brenda directly in the eyes, "So this is it, huh? You're really going,"

Brenda continued to look at Jaime, her eyes didn't hold any sorrow, however. She seemed emotionless, something that was a bit of a bad habit for her. She nodded her head slightly, "It would seem that way."

The two continued walking to their respective homes. The three of them, including Paco, have lived on the same block for sixteen years. It's going to be more than odd not having her around anymore. It was as if a close family member had died. If Brenda was in fact leaving soon, he needed to tell her something: his biggest secret. The secret he had kept to himself for a little over a year now. Now, this may seem very confusing to you, as a lot is going on in such a short time. Deal.

The two crossed the main street and stepped onto the sidewalk leading to their houses, "If this is really it," Jaime looked to the sky, wondering if he should go one, "I need to tell you something," He had now crossed the line of no return, he needed to tell her.

Brenda leaned in closer to her friend, "What is it? Did you do something?" Her voice became more serious.

"Well, no and yes. I did a lot of things, most of them good," Jaime replied.

"And the others?"

Jaime slightly turned his head to the side, "Others not so good. But that's not what I needed to tell you," He took several deep breathes, holding on to the few precious seconds he had left. Brenda intently stared at him waiting for his 'big secret.' Jaime let out a long sigh, "Dammit, I'm sorry. I just don't think I can tell you."

Brenda furrowed a brow, this time because of concern, "Why not? You know you could tell me anything," She put a hand on Jaime's shoulder.

Jaime knew he was sounding like an attention-seeking prick, but he was honestly torn about this, "You wouldn't be able to look at me the same way again," Jaime said, his eyes lowering.

"It can't be that bad."

"You'd be surprised."

Brenda, now getting slightly irritated by the whole ordeal, let out a sigh of her own, "Listen, I won't make a big deal about it. I won't tell anybody else," She reassured her friend.

Jaime looked back up to her, "Promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die," Brenda responded, tracing a cross over the left side of her chest.

Jaime nodded an lifted his shirt over his head, taking it completely off. Brenda shielded her eyes from the sight and looked at the sidewalk beneath them. Jaime gently pulled her hands away from her eyes, "You're going to want to see this," With a quick inhalation, Brenda witnessed something behind Jaime's back glow a bright red. A thin black material covered his entire body before her eyes. Two light blue spike arose from his back over the black covering. Jaime's upper torso, shoulders, and knees became reinforced with the same light blue color. The covering then engulfed his head, followed by a light blue armor outlining. Jaime, knowing the transformation was complete, finally opened his eyes. His sclera was now red with his pupils a bright yellow.

"Wh- Wha-" Brenda's eyes widened as she stepped away from what was her friend, "What..."

"I'm the Blue Beetle," Jaime revealed to Brenda confidently.

Brenda continued to step away, "Jaime... No, Jaime, no!"

Blue Beetle reach his arm out to Brenda, "What's wrong?"

"You're a monster!" Brenda shouted to him and turned to run from him.

"I'm a hero!" Blue Beetle yelled back to her.

Brenda stopped in her tracks, turning her head so she can view Blue Beetle with her peripheral vision, "Not even close," With that, she sprinted towards her house, her eye tearing up. How could her best friend be the villainous Blue Beetle?

Standing alone on the sidewalk, Blue Beetle's head hung low, his only emotion was depression. He looked up to the direction Brenda was running in. He had never felt this terrible in his life. Wait, why should he be sad? He's the freakin' Blue Beetle, hero of Jump City! If Brenda thought saving people was so terrible, then who needs her? Blue Beetle's expression was now that of pure rage. The giant scarab on his back, which was the cause of his transformation, spouted out four transparent wings. He wasted no time and lifted himself from the ground and began soaring high over Jump City.

This seemed to be another tradition of his: when his life became stressful, he would lose himself in simply flying around his city, "I'll have you know I don't take puns very lightly!" Blue Beetle became instantly alert, looking around for the source of the yell. He identified one of Jump City's smaller villains, Dr. Light, fighting what seemed to be Nightwing and... Robin? Weren't they the same person?

Eh, time-travel, most likely. One of the things that makes the world of heroes so different from ours is that time travel is a perfectly legitimate excuse. Nevertheless, Robin seemed to now be in trouble, as he was trapped in a net. Blue Beetle aimed himself at the battle and prepared to heroically dive in and save the day.

A/N: Chapter three is done! Don't worry, there's a reason as to why Brenda hates Blue Beetle and all that. Also, uh, while I've got your attention, I'd like to see some reviews. Damn, I could've said that better. What I mean is more of constructive criticism, not just 'dud ths es kewl!11' I'd actually like to know how to make this a better story because if I don't know what you guys like, I'm going to keep this style up. Then you'll be all like 'Why is still this terrible?' But I don't care if you don't review, I'm fine writing like this, I just want to know how I can make it better for you.