The Jump City... No, the world must be ending.
The skies that were supposedly the colors of the sea are now covered in a hellish red hue, haunting the whole city.
The tall and proud buildings and infrastructure that reached the skies were now reduced to piles of rubble and scraps.
There are no signs of life to be seen, as everything is engulfed in a massive, raging fire.
All else can be seen as multiple rays of light colliding with each other, creating massive waves and gusts of wind one after another.
There, I stood frozen, horror etched on my face as tears streamed down my cheeks. My legs finally gave out, drained of their last bit of strength, causing me to kneel to the ground in utter defeat. Perhaps it was all my fault to begin with. If I hadn't said anything, this wouldn't have happened. Now, the only thing I can do is contemplate my utter failure as a hero...
Nine months ago
BAM!
CYBORG WINS!!
A voice from the video game console announces as the TV screen shows the said phrases with flashing colors and two characters on it; one is doing its victory pose, and the other is slumped on the ground. The two teens controlling the said characters have the same reaction as the robotic teen is swaying his arms upward in triumph, while the green teen is grumpy, obviously not amused with the outcome of their little game.
"BOOYAH! That's three in a row now, baby!" The robotic teen chimed as he celebrated his victory.
"Ugh! This sucks, dude!" The green teen exclaimed, pressing some buttons to start a new game without changing his grumpy expression.
"Just accept it, BB. You can't beat me." Cyborg said smugly as he lightly patted his buddy's head. This only made his agitation worse. Just then, the huge door suddenly opened on its own and a girl in a blue cloak entered, walking towards the kitchen. Both boys saw who it was and Beastboy instantly went to her side, who was currently preparing her own tea.
"Hey, Rae-Rae! Did you finish meditating?" Beastboy asked, resting his head on his hands and acting giddy as if he had not been grumpy just moments before.
Raven, the cloaked girl in question, glanced at the changeling, recognizing his presence, before returning her attention to the whistling teapot. "Yes, Beastboy, and you better not make a scene. Anyway, it's Raven and not Rae-Rae." She answered Raven in her usual monotone, pouring the hot water into her teacup.
"Whatever you say, Rae!" He responded cheerfully, his signature grin not faltering as he continued to look at her. Suddenly, the huge door automatically opened once again. This time, it was Robin with a chirpy Starfire clinging to her boyfriend's left arm. The other three felt the love in the air, and while they were happy for their progress as a couple, they couldn't help but want them to read the room.
"Good morning, dear friends! It's another beautiful day today." Starfire greeted them with a cheerful smile, flying around with a ceaseless grin on her face before giving them their usual tight hug. All of them immediately turned blue from her powerful embrace.
"Star… Air…" Beast Boy uttered almost in a whisper, unable to muster the words properly. Realizing their condition, she immediately let them go and the three of them took some pretty deep breaths, as if their lives depended on it. Starfire just gave them a cheerful smile in return.
"Well, almost everyone is here. He must be on the way by now." Finally, Robin spoke after the greetings. Everyone looked at their leader with admiration and agreed to his statement.
"Yeah. Where is he by the way?" Cyborg asked. Just before Robin was about to answer, a shimmer of yellow light appeared for an instant before it's passenger appeared from it, who happens to be me, and the light dimmed afterwards. I, wearing a black hooded jacket, blue denim jeans, and black and white running shoes, landed safely before taking a deep breath. "Hi everyone. Sorry, I'm late." The boy greeted the Titans.
"Don't worry, Chronus. You're just in time. Did you do what I asked you?" Robin replied to the boy, who was already within their reach.
"Oh yes. I already notified all of them." I replied optimistically.
Before I forget, I need to introduce myself. My name is Chronus, and I am the most recent sixth member of the Teen Titans. Pretty cool, right? I didn't even think I would get the chance to fight alongside them, let alone now. I still have this fanboy feeling inside of me today. I can teleport and create objects, but I can also be an offensive threat when needed.
"What did you ask him, friend Robin?" Starfire asked, confused about her boyfriend's intentions.
"About that, I am actually going to announce something to all of you." Robin said as he faced all of them together with me at his side.
"Annual Titans Inspection? And we all need to attend it as well?" Beast Boy rubbed his chin at his leader's announcement.
"Yes. That's why I told Chronus to relay the announcement to all active Titans around. We'll also have to leave tomorrow." Robin responded.
"But who will be in charge here while we're out? You can't expect that a crime won't suddenly appear from nowhere." Raven asked nonchalantly, never taking her eyes off her antique-like pocket watch.
"Regarding that, Chronus actually gave me some good suggestions." Robin answered confidently, turning the stage over to me to explain.
"About that, I may have some people who can temporarily take over your job. However, I will still need your final opinion on this." I explained to them in detail. The rest of the Titans looked at each other first before Cyborg spoke for all of them. "If it helps us leave the matter in their hands, then why not?"
"Thank you very much!" Chronus said in delight before taking out a golden key that was the size of his fist from his pocket. The key glowed dimly, and the Titans looked at it curiously.
"Dude, what is that?" Beast Boy asked in astonishment.
"Oh, this?" I asked, holding up the key. "This is actually a key I received from my grandpa before he passed away. He never explained what it was, but I eventually figured it out during high school." I paused, reflecting on the cherished memories I had with my grandfather. As we stood there, a door mysteriously appeared in front of us, and everyone except Robin seemed amazed.
"Wow, that's so cool!" Beastboy exclaimed. "What does it do?"
"Well, it is better if I show you instead." I replied, unlocking the door using my key and the door slowly opened, showering us with golden luminescence, blinding enough to cover their eyes. "Let's go in." I invited all of them before entering the door. Robin followed suit with no hesitation, while the others had a suspicious look first before cautiously entering the door. As they all entered, the door immediately disappeared into nothingness.