HOME | DD

Description
WARNING: This story has context pertaining to two other fan-fictions of mine entitled Teen Titans: A League of Their Own, Teen Titans: Basics and Teen Titans: Beware my Power. If you have not read it I suggested you do so now before reading this story, otherwise you may be confused on certain references, settings, characters and the like. Thank you.

In the main room of Titans Tower all of the Teen Titans were gathered at the central monitor inside and looking towards it as they spoke with the trinity of heroes known as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman of the Justice League.

It had been some time since the Titans had last spoken with the three heroes, let alone the Justice League itself, but today was a special case that had demanded their attention. From the picture of the three standing together, Superman at the front with Batman and Wonder Woman to his sides, the most the Titans could see from the background was of the view from the League’s orbiting base, the Watchtower, of open space and stars.

Robin, having spoken with the heroes along with the other Titans, finished his sentence with “It was a bit surprising to find Killer Frost causing trouble in our town. She put up a fight but we managed to stop her and imprison her before she could do anymore damage.”

“You could say we ‘brought the heat’ down on her.” Beast Boy said in a joking tone, only for some of the others to groan at it.

Cyborg commented with “Even for you, Beast Boy that was pretty lame.”

Robin didn’t pay much attention but kept talking to the trio of heroes and said “All the same, I thought it best to call the Justice League just to be on the safe side. I mean she tends to be one of your problems more than ours.”

After hearing it all Superman gave a curious hum before saying “We’ll look into it. Still good work, Titans. Your city owes a lot to you for saving it.”

“It is, as they say, ‘part of the job’.” Starfire commented with a smile.

Wonder Woman suddenly added in with “Actually I think this is a perfect opportunity for us to discuss something important. Something we’ve been meaning to come to you Titans about before.”

“What is it?” BB asked with enthusiasm. “Some super-secret mission the League can’t handle but the Titans might be able to fix?” When asking BB had a bravado tone to his voice.

“No.” Batman bluntly said, deflating BB’s thunder. He continued with “The matter is more about….memberships.”

The Titans all looked at each other oddly before Raven asked “This wouldn’t happen to be another training assignment you had us pull like before, is it?”

“Not your memberships.” Superman stated. “Ours.”

Batman pick up where he stopped and said “We’ve done a headcount and frankly the League has been meaning to expand the roster. We’ve pulled in a few numbers but not the kind we’re hoping for.”

Wonder Woman then finished with “Which is why we’ve considered consoling you Titans for possible memberships. And not just honorary. Fully inducted members into the Justice League.”

All the Titans were a bit surprised and awestruck by this, a chance to join the Justice League, even some giving small comments like “No way” or “Pinch me, I think I’m dreaming”.

“I think that would be a big honor for any of us.” Robin said, a little shaken like the others. “If you want I can compile a list of possible candidates for you.”

“Preferably one where I’m at the top.” BB commented. When the others gave him a questionable look he shrugged and said “Well maybe top ten…..or thirty.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Superman said. “We’ve already assessed your current roster and figured who we’ve taken under consideration.” As Superman and the others spoke their names, the images of the Titans in question appeared on the screen beside their images. “Green Arrow’s often commented how his former partner, Speedy, matches with his exceptional skills. Then there’s Earth’s newest Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner. He may still be young but he shows as much potential as Hal Jordan did when he helped found the League.”

Wonder Woman picked up next and said “I’ve mentioned the possibility to my younger sister, Wonder Girl. Though I’ve yet to come up front with her as of yet. But she’s has as much training as I’ve been through and continues to prove it to the day. Another female Titan member is Stargirl, who from what we’ve seen has been an exceptional support member as well as a tam motivator.”

“That leaves the last two on our list.” Batman said.

As the Titans waited in anticipation BB crossed his fingers, closed his eyes and kept praying “Please be me. Please be me.”

“Given the names you already said I can’t think of anyone else who you’d want.” Cyborg commented.

Batman finally said “As a matter of fact, Cyborg, you and Raven were picked.”

The news hit all of the Titans like a ton of bricks. All of them looked dumbfounded by this news, even some to the point where it looked like all their jaws would drop far enough to hit the floor. Even Beast Boy, who was upset his name was not mentioned, found it crazy to think his two friends could possibly be members of the greatest superhero team in the world.

“You….you mean that?” Raven asked. “Us?”

“No way.” Cy said in a amazed tone. “You mean you want US playing for the JLA?”

“Both of you show great amounts of talent that could really benefit our man power.” Superman commented.

“Raven, your magical abilities have proven some of the strongest amongst other heroes into the arcane arts.” Wonder Woman explained. “And Cyborg’s technological abilities and hacking skills could certainly come in handy for a number of obstacles we’ve been known to face.”

Robin looked a bit bumped at first, not as much as BB was, when they explained why they’d chosen Raven and Cyborg. He shook it off and looked back to the two of them who were looking bewildered by the proposal.

“I….I don’t know what to say.” Raven finally spoke. “It’s kind of a lot to take in.”

“Yeah.” Cy added. “Like ‘finding out you got long lost twin’ a lot to take in.”

“This is merely an offer. Not a drafting.” Batman stated, bringing the attention back to him. “The choice is up to you. I suggest you take some time to think on it before giving a final answer.”

“You can come to us with them when you’re ready.” Wonder Woman added. “In the meantime we’ll send the news to the other candidates.”

Robin, looking back to the screen, said “Thank you. Hopefully we’ll figure things out as soon as possible.”

“Understood.” Superman nodded before saying “Take care.” Thus ending the transmission.
With that the Titans all looked back to each other, mainly Cyborg and Raven, the former saying “Whoa. I…can’t believe it. They asked us to join with the League.”

Starfire, eager from this news, giggled and said “Such a joyous occasion for you, friends. We should celebrate with a number of snacks both sugary and oily.”

“I think we should hold off on any celebrating just yet, Star.” Robin said. “After all we’re not sure what Raven and Cyborg know what they want to do.”

“Are you kidding?” BB blurted out. “Of course they’re going to say ‘yes’. I mean it’s the Justice League for crying out loud. I’d give up a kidney and actually force myself to eat meat if it meant having a shot on that team.”

Star, looking to both Raven and Cy, asked “What is it you both wish to do?”

Raven gave an uncertain “I…I really don’t know. I mean it’s a big honor but at the same time it seems kind of hard. You know? Leaving the Titans and all?”

“Why do you say that?” Star asked. “You do not have to leave this team in order to join another. We can simply have a transporter for the Watchtower installed somewhere within our own tower.” She thought for a moment and suggested “Perhaps within one of the storage closets?”

“It’s not that easy, Star.” Cy said. “Being part of a group as big as the Justice League means having to put more effort towards one team over the other. And given the type of situations the League tackles? I’d say that’s a pretty big order to fill.”

Starfire, still a bit confused, asked “What are you trying to say?”

Raven answered with “He means if we join with the Justice League as full time members, we can’t exactly be the same for the Titans.”

Star gasped at this and said “But that is not fair. Especially to us. You two helped to bring this team together. You cannot leave.”

BB tried to comfort her by saying “Take it easy, Star. It’s not all that bad.”

She continued complaining by saying “But who will be there for us when we have to face our enemies? Who will accompany me to the mall of shopping or boast about a new invention they have made?”

Cyborg gave a reassuring smile and said “It’s okay, Stafire. It just happens sometimes, you know? People just move on. You know? Like when you go up a grade in school.”

Starfire, looking disheartened by this, turned away before Robin tried to comfort her by saying “I know it isn’t easy, Star, but it’s their choice. Like when Cyborg went off to train the Titans East for a while.”

“Yes.” She said, looking to him now. “But that saddened me nonetheless. Such as when you left to find the grandmaster for your special training. But at least then both of you returned. But this could be different.” She was silent for a moment, thinking on this, before saying “I fear what may come if we drift too far apart.” Raven tried to say something but she continued with “When I was in the future, I had seen what became of us when we drifted away from each other. How it changed us all. We are friends. A family. We should stay together throughout everything.”

Robin tried to help more by saying “That was different from this, Starfire.” He sighed for a moment before continuing with “It’s a tough thing to go through. Seeing your friends move away or knowing you might not see them again. But it’s something that you need to accept at times. Don’t you think it would’ve been hard for me to say yes if they offered me a spot on the team?” He commented under his breath “Which I’m still wondering why they didn’t.”

BB, hearing this, crossed his arms and said “Tell me about it.” He noticed Cyborg and Raven giving un-serious looks, making him ask “What?”

Starfire, also hearing what Robin said, looked oddly and asked “Robin? Are you saying you do not wish t be part of this team?”

“What?” No! Of course not.” He answered quickly.

“Then what did you mean by it?” she asked, almost annoyed now.

“I just meant that it would’ve been nice to have been given the offer. That’s all.”

“So you would wish to join the League if given the chance?” she asked, now more aggressive in her tone.

“Well, I mean I would be a nice idea and all. But I-”

“And what of the fact that I was not offered a membership to the Justice League?” she asked, more angry. “Does that make you think you are more suited than me?”

“Wait. What?” Robin said, completely taken off-guard by that question. “I…I don’t….why are you getting like this, Starfire?”

“And how am I ‘getting’ exactly?” she asked, more annoyed.

The two kept bickering back and forth, the other Titans watching before BB commented “Couple arguments. Never a fun thing to have to listen to.”

“Maybe we should leave them to it.” Raven said, starting to walk for the door.

“Good idea.” Cyborg said following. “Before one of them starts throwing furniture or something.”

BB, realizing they were walking off while Star and Robin were still arguing, hurried after them and said “Hey! Hold up. Last thing I want today is to get into a fight.”

Before the three Titans could reach the door out of the room, some unknown explosion of light appeared in front of them. It was loud and large enough that Robin and Starfire stopped squabbling as they looked to see it was some sort of portal manifesting. It looked similar to the types of portals created by Warp yet augmented with a blue hue around it.

Something eventually stepped through the portal. Something large enough that the three Titans in front stepped back for fear of it being an enemy. When it had fully come through the portal closed behind it, indicating it was likely the cause of its appearance.

The thing in question was some type of android; one clad in very shining silver metal and standing slightly higher than Cyborg. It looked more-or-less human with metal skin that resembled muscles. There was small lightings coming from under the skin, a darker blue color that matched with the androids cold staring eyes. It was the face of the android that stood out most as it looked like a metal imitation of a human head with a small augmented mouth which, added with its eyes, added an unsettling feeling when looking at it. What was of great note, however, was that the android was wearing the chest-piece to the armor that, upon closer inspection, they realized belonged to Warp.

Seeing the android standing before them, looking at all the Titans, BB jokingly asked “Did somebody order a robot without telling?”

The android stood still for a moment, scanning all of the Titans standing before him, before his robotic voice said {Scans confirmed. Target: the Teen Titans. I am designation Echo. Under the authorization of Garguax, you have been targeted for annihilation.} It took a more aggressive stance before finishing with {Have a nice day.}

Before the Titans could react Echo’s mouth dropped open and he emitted a sonic-wave of sound that was almost defining. All the Titans covered their ears as Echo’s attack hit them, being so powerful it started making the tower around them shake. The force of it was strong enough to force them to the ground as well, almost pinning them where they stood as Starfire tried getting up to fire a starbolt but was knocked back down.

Needing to act fast Cyborg primed his arm cannon before picking himself up despite the force from Echo’s attack. He pushed himself hard enough to aim before firing, the blast hitting Echo right in the chest. The android’s attack ceased as he was knocked back into the wall, only to not even be singed or injured from the attack.

Robin, standing with the others, called “Titans GO!”

Cyborg rushed in first, roaring as he reared his fist and charged forward. Echo, who recovered, grabbed Cy just as he reached him but before he could hit him. He spun him around, his entire upper body moving while his waist and legs stayed where they were, and tossed him back into the couch.

Starfire attacked next, throwing a volley of starbolts that surprisingly bounced off Echo’s armor. Though it did provide enough of a distraction for Beast Boy who changed into a bull and charged his horns right towards Echo’s chest. He stuck dead center but even they didn’t make so much as a dent. Echo grabbed BB and hoisted him up, only for him to turn into a frog and slip from his grip in time.

Robin and Raven gave a double attack, he using his explosive birdrangs and her using magic bolts, and volleyed Echo with their skills. The android walked forward, each of their attacks not even flitching him. Once close enough he lifted his right hand, revealing a small blue circle in the center of it. He fire small bolts of blue energy that made them jump away before being hit.

Echo turned when Star came in from behind and tried to punch him. He grabbed her hand, stopping her, forcing Star to try to use the other fist only for him to grab it as well. Star tried to fight her way out of his grip but Echo proved to be strong enough to hold against her. As Star tried to fight Echo’s mouth opened and he hit her point-blank with another sonic boom attack, sending her flying back once he let her go.

Cyborg recovered and shouted “That the best you got?” getting Echo’s attention as he fired his arm cannon again.

Echo had turned in time for the blast to strike him right in the face, only for him to block it with his hands before walking towards Cyborg as he kept a steady stream. Cy was surprised by how Echo was barley reacting to this before he’d finally reached him and grabbed him arm, stopping his attack. Echo twisted it, making Cy shout in pain, before pushing him back with enough force that he slammed into the side doors leading out of the room.

The other Titans recovered around Cyborg, he getting up from the busted doors he’d fallen into, before seeing Echo look towards them and still able to fight.

“Our attacks are having no effect on him.” Starfire pointed out.

Raven then suggested “Guess that means we need a new strategy.”

Robin thought for a second before ordering “Fallback!” and then turning and running with his friends into the hallway out of the room.

Echo watched as they ran out before walking after them, not running or quickening his pace whatsoever.

In time the Titans found themselves hiding inside Beast Boy’s room, all huddled together with BB himself peeking out through the crack of his door to see if Echo was around. After looking for a minute he closed it fully, and looked back to the others.

“I think we lost him for now.” He said, leaning against his door. “So far so good.”

As they all took a moment to relax Raven commented “Being stuck amongst a pile of week old laundry while hiding from some terminator-bot isn’t exactly what I’d call ‘good’.”

“Did you see that thing?” Cy asked. “We were throwing everything at it but it didn’t even leave a dent.”

“That’s pretty advanced stuff.” Robin commented. “Lot more advanced than I ever heard of. And what was that about someone named Garguax wanting used annihilated?”

“I have never heard that name before.” Star said. “Perhaps some new enemy we have yet to be made aware of. Though I wonder if this Garguax has something to do with why the Echo creature has Warp’s armor.”

BB perked up with a gasp and said “Dude, what if that thing’s some horrible robot clone of Warp sent back in time to murder us before we can cause him to have an accident? That makes sense.”

Cyborg gave a sarcastic “Yeah. Plenty of sense.” Afterwards he looked back to Robin and said “Either way he’s here and we need to deal with him. Preferably somewhere where we have an advantage.”

Robin nodded and said “Agreed. The Tower’s not so safe. Maybe if we force him outside at least we’ll have more room to breathe.”

“Closets way outside is front entrance.” Raven commented. “Might want to try now while Echo’s still searching.”

Robin nodded and said “Alright. Everyone stay close.”

Robin was the first to exit the room, making sure to look around and see the coast was clear before signaling the others to follow. Each one after the other with Cyborg taking up the rear. They’d only reached the end of the hall before Cyborg’s wrist scanner suddenly beeped.

“Scanners just picked up a breach in the tower.” He said as everyone stopped and looked back. “Something up at the front entrance.”

“Maybe Echo thought ahead of us.” BB suggested.

“No. That’s the weird thing.” He continued. “The door hasn’t been damaged at all. And Echo’s nowhere near it. It’s like something just walked right through the door without busting it up.”

Hearing this Robin asked “But how?”

“Oh I just vibrated fast enough to phase through. Real easy actually.” A voice from behind him said in a fast pace.

Everyone jumped and looked to see who had said it, only to be a bit surprised by what they were seeing. It was a boy who looked about Beast Boy’s age. He wore a full body white outfit with a dark red stripe going down the middle with a lightning bolt patterning. He wore glove and boots that matched the color of the stripe. The back of the suit reached around his head and covered his ears where two small golden bolt appendages were. His shaggy brown hair was exposed and looked a little wild. Finally the boy wore a pair of goggles with yellow eye coverings that showed his very confident looking eyes.

Seeing him Starfire looked oddly before asking “Kid Flash? Is that you?”

“Who me?” the boy asked before laughing. “No way. I’m no KF. Not yet at least. The name’s Impulse. Nice to meet you.”

The way they boy talked so fast it was almost hard to keep up with his words. Cyborg had even shook his head a little just to make sure he wasn’t going crazy or anything like that.
“Impulse?” Robin asked. “Sorry but I’ve never heard of you.”

The boy suddenly zipped up with amazing speed right in front of Robin and said “No but I’ve heard plenty about you.” He suddenly shook his hand really fast and said “Great to meet you by the way, sir. The Boy Wonder himself. And the rest of you Titans. The originals all in the same place. So awesome. Like history class but in 3-D.”

“Whoa! Slow down a bit, little dude.” Cyborg said, trying to keep up with him. “Care to explain that? Along with what you’re doing here.”

“Would love to get into it but really can.” Sorry. Impulse said, again with a quick blur of words. “Whole big timey-whimey complex nature thing that best not to get into. But what I can do his help you with the bad case of Echo you’ve got.”

“Wait, you know that thing?” Raven asked.

“Who? Old boom box with eyes? Yeah. We go way back. Or maybe it’s forward.” He said to himself. Beast Boy tried to ask what that meant before Impulse said “Can’t talk right now. Got to save the day and all. Be right back.”

Before they knew it Impulse zipped away in the blink of an eye. A small streak of red had followed where he ran past the Titans down the other end of the hall. They’d only managed to see the streak itself before he was gone.

“I feel as though I should question. But I feel it would not matter to.” Starfire commented.

Robin shook his head and said “Maybe we should just stick to getting outside.” As he turned to leave he found Impulse standing right there in front of him, making him jump back in surprise and say “What the heck are you doing? I thought you left to find Echo.”

“Well funny you say that.” Impulse said awkwardly before the wall behind him burst open.

Everyone looked to see Echo, having smashed it, step through the large hole in the wall he made and see the Titans, and Impulse, standing before him.

{Alert!} He said, looking at Impulse. {Target identified as Impulse. You are not native to this time period.}

“Yeah well I thought I’d take a vacation, Echo-my-boy.” Impulse turned and said to him. “After all you did steal from us. Which, now that I think about it, hand the armor back over before turn you into a pile of nuts and bolts.”

Echo only answered with {Protocol updated. Eliminate any and all threats.} Before aiming one of the blasters on his hand at Impulse.

He fired but Impulse, being as fast as he was, zipped to the other side and avoided it before saying “I love it when you talk tough.”

He zipped forward and started running around Echo while punching at his body. It proved ineffective but it had kept Echo busy with him as the other Titans watched with a mix of awe and confusion.

Robin quickly said “C’mon. We have to help.”

He pulled out his staff and ran forward as the other Titans followed. Impulse moved away in time for Robin to swing his staff into Echo’s face. The android’s head barley moved before Starfire flew forward and slammed her fist into Echo’s chest. He stumbled back before recovering, only for Impulse to run by which made the robot try to swat at him. Raven took the chance while he was distracted to strike.

“Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!”

Her magic grew into large orbs in her hands which, once fully charged, she threw towards Echo. The first smacked against his shoulder before the second hit his leg, making him fall to his knee for a moment. Impulse zipped around him again before moving away in time before being hit. Echo then opened his mouth, ready for another sonic attack, before Beast Boy, in the form of an octopus, leapt forward and stuck himself on the android’s face to keep his mouth blocked.

Seeing this Impulse said “Nice one!” before zipping around Echo again.

Cyborg, seeing this, called to him and said “Are you planning to bug him to death or what?”

Impulse finally zipped back to him, revealing the Warp armor in his arms, and smiled as he said “Had to work on getting the armor off him. There’s a lot of buckle to this thing you know.”
Seeing this Robin said “Good. Now send him back.” Indicating Echo.

Impulse nodded and started working on the controls for the armor, commenting how it was harder than it looked, before Echo began to make his move. Despite BB being on his face Echo focused long enough that his sonic boom managed to blast BB off him, sending him flying right into Impulse which made him drop the armor and break one of the devices on it.

Seeing this Impulse quickly got up and looked at the damages armor saying “Oh man. Oh crud. Oh flabber-nuggets! This is so not good. Not good in any way or fashion. Talking total opposite of good right here!”

Seeing this Cyborg looked to Robin and asked “What now?”

Robin looked back as Echo primed both hand blasters and said “Take him down!”

The Titans leapt in and started attacking Echo with everything they had. Often jumping in after the other or trying to use a combined attack effort on the android. Everything proved to be a minor hindrance against him at least. Meanwhile Impulse was too busy fiddling with the Warp armor to fight with the others.

“Okay. Don’t panic.” He said to himself. “Doesn’t look too bad. Maybe enough for one trip back. Just got to set it right before…”

A sudden crash caught his attention as he saw Starfire and Robin hit a nearby wall and collapse on each other. Impulse looked to see Echo, who’d managed to fight the other Titans off, look towards the two and prime his sonic boom weapon again. He gasped and looked between Robin and Starfire and then back to the Warp armor.

He perked when he realized something and said “That’s it!”

He quickly zipped around and managed to pick up Star and Robin before moving them away in time before Echo could attack. He brought them to the other end of the hall and, as they both started to recover, he began fitting the Warp armor on Robin.

Seeing this he asked “What the heck are you doing?”

Impulse kept working while saying “Got to act fast. Not safe here. Especially for you two. Really important. Just trust me on this.” A moment later he finished and exclaimed “Got it! Sweet!”

Echo turned and readied to attack again, only for Raven to hit him with a magic bolt that bounced against his head. As He stumbled Raven looked and saw what was happening with Impulse.

“Robin? Starfire?” she called to them as they stood.

“What are we doing?” Star asked Impulse and he activated the Warp armor on Robin.

He smirked as he answered “Going for a little trip.”

He activated the armor and a time portal opened in front of them. Robin and Starfire didn’t have time to react before being pushed through by Impulse. He looked back and stuck his tongue out and Echo, who also saw this along with the remaining Titans, before going through as well.

With that the portal closed and Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other confused while Echo merely looked to them with the intent of still destroying them.

********************

The time portal opened up in the middle of a park which Starfire and Robin fell through while Impulse simple ran through before stopping right in front of them.

He looked back to see the portal closed, making him jump and say “Ha! Score one for me and zero for Mr. Metal Head. Boom!”

As he celebrated Robin and Starfire picked each other up before she said “Oh no. We have travelled through time. Haven’t we? I have dealt with the sensation of time travel before and do believe me when I say that odd tingling you feel after doing so never fully goes away.”

Robin, looking annoyed at Impulse, took of the Warp armor before walking over to him and saying “What were you thinking? Why did you bring us here?”

“Whoa. Okay. Clam down.” Impulse began to explain. “Just had to think on the moment. You know? Had to get you both to safety and keep the armor away from Echo. Win-win and all that. He can’t get back and you guys are safe.”

“Except you left our friends behind to deal with the Echo.” Starfire said, also angered. “Take us back immediately.”

He gave an awkward laugh before saying “Like to but can’t.” When they asked why he zipped over and brought the Warp armor to them to show it was damaged. “Armor needs fixing. Only had enough juice to get us here in one piece. And believe me that was lucky enough.”

Robin groaned before asking “So you’re saying we’re stuck here? Wherever here is?” Impulse gave a nod making Robin look back to Starfire and saying “Great. Just what we need. You’ve been here before at least. Have any ideas?”

Star, who’d been looking around, commented “This future does not look the same as the one I visited.”

Robin looked around as well and could see what she meant. Hearing of how when Starfire went twenty years into the future Jump City was covered and snow and almost complete turned into a ruin, this was actually quite the opposite. It was daytime and everything was bright and alive. The buildings in the city looked more sleek and new. And, to both Titans surprise, they could see the cars in the street had no wheels but hovered a few feet from the ground. Everyone wore odd outfits that looked symmetrical and yet vibrant like the clothing of their time.

Star, looking back to Impulse, asked “How far into the future have we traveled?”

“Oh not by that much.” He said, waving it off. “I’d say oh…” he took a moment to calculate it all in his head before answering “…about thirty years. Give or take a month.”

Upon hearing that Robin and Starifre were shocked as ever to discover they’d traveled so far into the future, looking back and realizing how desperate the situation had now become.