Earning His Stripes (Open to TE, just one or two)

Last edited by Thr33 on Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:11 am; edited 1 time in total

Midnight. The moon is full. The sky with an absence of stars. Staring into the sky for the past few weeks, doing a lot more thinking as his restless mind hadn't been letting him sleep, one of the newest Titan recruits could be seen lying down amongst the branches and vines atop the treetop tower. Everything was incredibly new to him. He had just been found at a movie theater and was convinced to join up after a Titan had seen him play in an air hockey match. Air hockey! Apparently he had a lot more talent than he ever considered. New scenery, new jobs, new friends and even a new name! He was no longer Riley Anthony Armitage. He was told that if he had chosen to keep his name, his family could be in trouble and he really didn't want to jeopardize his brother's new life and family. Now he would be known as Scope. The dead shot of the Teen Titans. But...did he really have what it took to be a Titan. He had shown up to training once, and, he did a lot less impressively than the other recruit present. How on earth could he compete with a demon!? He was just human after all!

With a sigh, Scope sat up and stared at the owl that had been interrupting his thoughts. "Well, I might as well do something about this..." he thought aloud. If he was going to really earn being a Titan, he needed to learn how to use his talents to really be a positive addition to the team.

Scope grabbed a few stones from the ground and focused on a tree about eighty yards away. He knew he could hit it. He leaned back and chucked it through the air. It zoomed through and stuck itself into the trunk. Easy. But how can I use this!? He thought to himself. All he can do is throw stuff. He would be needing to take down challengers that could throw fireballs, break down buildings and who knew what else!?

"Gah!" Scope yelled as he chucked the rest of the stones into the forest without looking. I can be better than this! I know I can!... His thoughts shifted back to his training with Toji and how the boy summoned a gigantic shuriken. ...I think I can...

He rose again, hoping to have some sort of epiphany, but nothing came...all he could do for now would be to get better and better at what he could do. He looked back at the tree that he had stuck the stone into as he picked up another and tried to focus more than before. He blinked and focused in more than he was used to. He could see the grooves in the stone now surprisingly! He leaned back and chucked it, not taking his eyes off the stone. It seared through the air and stabbed into the other stone perfectly. He smirked. I'm as good as I can be at this...

Guest

"I see you found my favorite thinking spot, working well for you to I guess?"

JaK Sage of the Teen Titans could then be seen exiting the hatch as he found one of his newer teammates up on the roof among the lush green scenery. Sage came up here often just to think, to think about his past, his future, and more importantly his present. He seemed to always be transitioning to adjust to new events happening to him everyday, and one way to get away from it all was to come up here where he was alone. That or sit in his room, but he didn't like to be confined all that much.

"Nice shot by the way."

As Sage strolled over to Scope he sat down next to his teammate and dangled his legs over the edge of the tower, looking out over the foresty city landmark, known as Jump Central Park, the luscious acres somewhat tainted by past battles. Most of which JaK himself was a part of...

"So, I know why I come up here to sulk, but I do believe this is the first time I've found you up on the roof...Wanna talk about it?"

As a senior member of the team JaK felt a responsibility to unify the newer recruits with the team as a whole for with unity came better teamwork and JaK knew first hand that having good teamwork was all that was needed to defeat Gods, sorcerers, demons, masterminds, and just pure evil overall. As well as being key to staying alive in certain situations.

Scope jumped slightly as it seemed like he was discovered by who seemed to be the interim leader of this Titan's Tower, JaK Sage. This was apparently, his thinking spot, too. He smirked slightly, it seemed like there were no secrets at Titans East. "Yeah, thanks...I practice..."

"I'm sure you've got a lot more to worry about right now...uh...JaK, right?" Scope just realized that they hadn't really officially met yet, although they've probably seen each other around the tower a little bit. Scope knew JaK enough to know that he was important to the Titans. With everything that was going on with Lance, it was probably a little selfish to monopolize any of his time. Besides, Scope was pretty sure that he'd only be around long enough to get beat up by the first opposition that he faced, the rest of the team would realize that things were a little too dangerous for him and he'd be back playing air hockey at the Cineplex as average ordinary Riley.

Scope jumped up from his spot at the edge of the tower and began to pace around a little knowing that JaK probably wouldn't leave that easy. "How did you end up with the Titans JaK?" he asked a little angrily.

Guest

"Ya, JaK Sage."

JaK had grown accustom to just giving out his name unlike his teammate here who protected his identity and was now walking around rather perplexed or something. JaK had the urge to ask what was wrong again, but then he knew Scope didn't want to talk about, so he didn't push it. JaK was definitely changing, in the past he wouldn't have cared. Then almost like he sensed that JaK was reminiscing about the past the boy asked Sage of how he became a Titan. The event then popped into the teen's mind like a pop up book with the everything that took place.

"How I became a Titan? Actually it was all by chance...Fate even. My at the time not so insane brother and I had been drifting from town to town and wandered into Jump just around the time that Cyborg, you know Cyborg? He's in the Justice League now, well ya him, he was being overwhelmed by Billy Numerous and I along with my bro, Psychosis, and another heroine at the time all joined forces to aid him. Afterwards Cyborg saw how we worked as a team and asked us to take over for him while he moved up in the world."

That's it, the opportunity to become a Teen Titan was honestly dumped in JaK's lap just like that and he could've chose to go against destiny or to run from it, but instead he took the responsibility and look at him now. His name is up there with the likes of Robin, Superboy, and many other heroes now. However, he wasn't in it for the fame. It was the fact that it changed who he was becoming and set him in the right path or at least one he liked working towards.

"...and the rest is history?" Scope asked although is was more rhetoric than anything. The Titans that he was rooming with were truly great. Sure, they had simple begins like Scope had just come from, but, they also all have amazing talents that Scope really couldn't compare with! They all had powers that seemed to be made for combat...like that's what they were born to do, but, Scope wasn't sure that he was really a fighter like everyone else here. He just had good aim...What did Lance ever see in him!?

Scope stopped pacing and turned to face JaK again. "Why am I here, JaK?" he asked grabbing the back of his neck as if in pain or in wonder. "I mean, Lance didn't find me beating up some super human like you were found...I was just playing ski ball." Scope chuckled for a second. Now where was Lance anyway? One day he's showing Scope the way to being a Titan and the next day he's as good as dead over with the HIVE. Things looked pretty bad for Scope.

After a moment of silence, Scope realized what he was doing to the true Titan. He probably didn't really care. It wasn't his job to take care of him anyway. "Uh, sorry if I'm just talking nonsense...um..." Scope thought for a second, scratching the back of his head "...I guess I'm just venting..."

He picked up another stone amongst the branches and twigs that seem to drop on the roof. He closed an eye and skimmed the surrounding forest for something to aim at. Suddenly, about 200 yards away, he saw an apple that seemed to have fallen on a branch. He chucked the stone and a moment or two later, the apple flew of the branch and onto the forest floor. Scope smiled and mumbled, "...gotcha..." Life was so much simpler when it was just air hockey...

Guest

"Pretty much."

JaK could tell his answer hadn't satisfied the boy at all. What was wrong with him? Did he feel alienated by the team or something, JaK was trying his best to connect with all the newbies, but Scope was just so distant. Then he asked JaK why he was here....

"That's something you gotta answer for yourself dude. I can't tell you why you want to be a hero, why you would be willing to lay down your life for people you don't know and most likely wouldn't like, or why you were even chosen. All I can tell you is that I brought Lance here and he's been a great asset to the team ever since. He's proved time and time again that I made the right choice in making him the leader when I ran away and I trust his judgement more than my own at times. I'm sure he picked you for the same reasons I probably chose him."

At that Scope apologized he looked like he was so awkward to be sharing his personal thoughts. Again, JaK could identify, although he usually wore his feelings on his sleeve and told you what he thought.

"It's ok man. We all have doubts and if you didn't I don't know if you would even belong here, because to make sound judgments you have to question your first call originally."

JaK then watched as the teen hit another bulls-eye. JaK saw something in Scope that he didn't see in himself, and it wasn't a coward, or a weakling, he saw a hero...A future savior just waiting to be let out, if only he'd trust himself enough to let it.

At JaK's last statement, Scope gave a nod. Although he was still a little dissatisfied since it seemed like Sage was sort of trying to avoid giving Scope a definite answer. Riley understood now that JaK is still a teen just like him. From hearing about the former leader, Riley had expected an extremely wise boy with all the answers he'd need, but, that was obviously unreasonable. The Titans were supposed to be a team, not a group that lined up behind a single person...They all had to contribute in some way to be a team...and they'd never make it if Scope didn't pull his weight.

At that moment, something dawned on the new Titan. He smiled in embarrassment."So, uh, I don't think I've really met everyone on the team yet...I know you, Stone, Toji...and that's all I've met...I've seen the others, but, I have no clue who they are...so, uh...who do we got?"

Scope needed to catch up in strides and an easy start was to try to unite the team a bit more...He smiled slightly, maybe there was something he could do something to help out...

Guest

JaK raised an eyebrow at this, a little confused actually.

"Hmm, I thought you came to the team with both Toji and Brianna? Eh, anyway uhhh ya...Well you have Superboy. His stories a little complicated because he's not this world's Superboy. Then there's Grace, erm, she's definitely the hot-maid of the team and a bit on the strange side. Apparently she's from some tribe in the arctic that was plagued by demons or something...I dunno, we don't get a long much. Uhh, you know Lance AKA Stone. Finally we have my personal friend and the only other veteran here besides me, Psychosis. Will are the only two remaining of the original four Cyborg recruited. He disappeared on us for a while and came back...Different, but he's back now, so there ya go. That's the whole team in a nutshell."

JaK was rather uncomfortable talking about the team roster, it was like a wave of emotion washed over him when he spoke of each member and thought about the one's lost. He realized he had very different relationships with each person.

"Right..." Scope said quickly after Jak mentioned Brianna. He was surprised he forgot to mention her, too, but, he really hadn't spent much more time with her as she did with the other Titans. As Jak continued, Scope could see the emotion in his eyes as he spoke about a few of them. He could tell that they really had a lot of history together. Part of Riley really wanted to have a chance to have some memories with them, too, but, another part of him wanted to high-tail it away from the tower right at that moment.

Riley gazed off. He really hated how cowardly he was being, but who could really blame him? All of his life, he really didn't have to be responsible for anyone other than himself. Now...there was an entire city for him to help look after...

Anyways, Riley really didn't like the subject as it sat and he could tell that Jak was feeling pretty awkward, so he tried to move away from it. "So...you know what I can do...I'm a decent shot." he said without trying to sound conceited although he was pretty proud of what he could do (even though he thought it was rubbish compared to what the others on the team could do). "What can you do?"

Guest

"Decent, huh? A bit of an understatement if you ask me. I think Green Arrow wouldn't mind having you as some back up or maybe even Deadshot for that matter."

JaK had a bit of extensive knowledge of the heroes and villains who visited Gotham City often.

"Hmm, I guess you didn't see a whole lot of me when you came into the whole battle with possessed Primarch Joshua. Considering I was knocked out and had a few broken bones I don't blame you...Well to state the obvious, I heal pretty quickly, which is why I didn't have to visit the emergency room after that battle. Oh, and I can do this...."

While sitting on the tower still, suddenly and abruptly JaK's skin and clothes completely coated themselves in the same material the tower was made of. Additionally, JaK brought one of his hands forward immediately afterwards and grew it to be the width and length of his chest.

"But anyway, this stuff isn't what really makes me a hero even though it seems cool and all. We fight guys who can rip the city bridge in half, ya know? It's really through hard work, planning, and a bit of luck that we can do what we do. Like you, I've gotta utilize some weapons/gadgets, I train my mind and body everyday in a lot of different martial arts styles, and I practice parkour to get around without a vehicle."

The tall pessimist shrugged at JaK's compliment. It still seemed quite obvious to him that he'd soon be gone either because the other Titans kicked him out or he would probably be killed. Either way, he had a feeling that his stay would be short. He didn't like it, but, he sort of accepted it as fact and when Sage changed form and his hand grew about as big as his torso he became even more certain that, at some point, he just wouldn't be able to compete.

Then, Sage said something that really interested him. Their powers didn't make them heroes it was something that everyday people had. Scope tried to imagine himself without his powers...he was a coward! The way he was asking was disgraceful to a Titan...why was he a Titan? Why did Lance choose him? He wasn't even around to ask anymore...nice timing.

Once Sage mentioned parkour, Scope got excited! JaK and Scope might have something in common! Riley had recently started to practice a little parkour because he knew that he'd have to figure something out that would protect him as a Titan...

"No way JaK! I try to do some parkour, too! You wanna show me some moves?" he smiled. This could be fun!

Guest

"Can't say I'm surprised, it's getting pretty popular lately, especially in big cities. Sure, I'll show you a few things I know if you want."

JaK stood up and stretched a bit as he spoke and then looked about for something to work with, finding it rather quickly. So the boy did a bit of free running to, eh? JaK would have to test him in the obstacle course one day, but for now he would just see where he was at.

"I've been having to do it since I was 10 years old or younger. Being homeless on the streets of Gotham without knowing how to get around or defend yourself was like asking for a death sentence or to be locked away. Now lets do this, you've seen Tarzan right?"

After making the quick reference JaK got a running start and then leaped off the top of the tower down at least 5 or 7 feet before grabbing hold of a tree branch and swinging around on top of it. From there he rode the long bark appendage as if surfing and whirled around through the trees until finally stopping in the middle of a canopy a few yards away from Scope.

"Follow me, but if it's too hard to repeat don't worry. You said you were just starting so I'm not going to judge you or anything for not being pro. yet."

"I think I'll be able to handle it" Scope said with a confident grin.

He took a couple steps and sprinted off the roof and into the air, the sun shimmering off the metal of his suit. He fell to the tree branch and similarly swung around it and onto the canopy although landing a bit less steadily than the senior Titan.

"Newbiee's got some game?" he asked with a big smile as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. He probably needed a haircut soon but the slightly emo look was sort of growing on him.

Before moving on, Riley noticed a pricking in his finger. A bee! He was just stung by a bee! Looking back towards the tree that they had swung from, he saw a hive surrounded by near a hundred angry bees.

"Maybe I'll have to learn on the fly?" he asked looking towards the rest of the forest and motioning that they'd better hurry.

Guest

"Ok then lets see."

JaK was actually impressed, he didn't tree surf like Sage did, but he did manage to get the first part down pact. Nice for a beginner, it took JaK months to work up the nerve to do something like that to a street lamp, much less a flimsy branch of a tree.

"Haha, follow me and well lose em' come on!"

JaK was actually having fun, he hadn't had anyone to free run with since his brother unharmoniously left the team way back when. Running across tree branches much like they did in Naruto, JaK used his precisional balance and extreme leaping ability to cover big gaps and ones he couldn't cover he swung across by grabbing a limp tree branch that much resembled a vine and either swung across or used them like unsturdy monkey bars.

Doing his best to keep up with the veteran Titan, Scope tried to use his skills at aiming to fling his body the right distances and speeds to keep up, which seemed to be working well enough, but, it was obvious that he wasn't quite as adept at free running as Sage. Scope wasn't quite coordinated enough to be able to use certain branches as monkey bars so he simply threw himself further to get to the next tree trunk.

They both continued to maneuver strategically through the forest and quickly out ran the wasps. It seemed that they just kept going because they were having fun free running. It felt nice that Scope could finally just have a fun time without freaking out about everything that was going on with the Titans. Eventually, the treeline did end however and Scope flipped onto a long parallel hanging branch that was looking over the city. Scope sat and laughed while heavily breathing, leaving room for JaK to have a spot on the branch if he chose to sit, too. Looking into the city, you could look over the city, the lake and the other Titan's Tower. The sky was showing hints of orange and red as the sun was barely breaking the surface of the lake. It kind of amazed Scope that they had been up for so long but...as the saying goes: time flies when you're sprinting through forest tree tops being chased by killer hornets.

"Wow...when there isn't any giant monsters or apocalyptic beasts roaming about...Jump looks like a pretty nice place..." he said bewilderingly. So far, Scope really had nothing to fight for...nothing that really inspired him to fight...but...maybe this was enough: the wish to keep Jump the way it ought to be.

"JaK...why do you risk your life for Jump?"

» Earning Your Way (Open but read the OOC part!)
» There's something down there!(open to two)
» Left the Window Open (Open to 1)
» First Day..(Open to All)
» got to get away (open)