GO! (Teen Titans)

Titans Tower was the single most recognized monument Jump City had to offer. The Teen Titans had risked their lives, their souls, and pretty much anything and everything they had to protect others time and time again. And to honor them their Tower was left as a beacon of their accomplishments. This was a symbol of those who believed in justice for all. This was a home for heroes. This...was a calling to those ready to dedicate their lives to fighting crime and evil. This was also a place JaK Sage never expected to find himself. Nor was he even sure he belonged here. But the message had had found was too enticing to pass up:

Flashback to last night - JaK had been trekking along the slums of Jump City, an area of town he had become very familiar with at this point. JaK had been enjoying listening to a demo album he had been working on when the woman in front of him had her purse stolen by a guy walking in the opposite direction. JaK sighed because of course he had to pause his classic CD player to clothesline the perpetrator before he could get too far.

The thief wasn't knocked unconscious but still took a hard fall on the back of his head and was left rolling around on the hard cement clutching the back of his head with both hands. JaK didn't even look in the female's direction when she made an attempt to thank him. The victim then ran past JaK, grabbed her bag from the thief, after giving him a good swift kick, and ran off clutching her bag. JaK just kept walking and reapplied his headphones to his ears but stopped as two objects whirled past his head. The first object was pinned into the brick wall adjacent JaK by the second. The first object was a small red velvet bag, the kind that usually had chocolates in it for Christmas. The second object that had pinned it was a black shuriken that was shaped like a bird. "What in the &$@#?" JaK whispered as he slowly walked over towards the objects and put his CD player into his leather jacket pocket.

JaK examined the shuriken first. It was impressive that the bird shaped metal projectile had even dug so deeply into a brick in the first place, very sharp, what was it made of? JaK pulled the bird-a-rang from the wall and examined it a bit more before turning his attention to the velvet bag. Then opened the bag and pulled out a yellow and black walkie-talkie like communicator with a big white letter T on it, along with a hand-written note. "From Nightwing?"


Fast-forward to present day; JaK stood firmly looking upwards at the structure - it's entire shadow engulfed the teenager as he walked across the bridge to the island. The note stated that it was from the former Teen Titan, Robin. The leader? JaK also had seen his new protégé zipping around Gotham once or twice but that was a story for another time. What was important was that the note stated that this Ex-Titan leader had been observing JaK for a while now; his heroics, his skills, and most of all his willingness to spring to action without regard for himself. (This may have more to do with over confidence in his healing factor than anything else.) Nonetheless, JaK had been chosen to join  the New Teen Titans! As a founding member of the new team in fact. If he was willing to join, he was to meet at Titans isle the following day for orientation. JaK nearly laughed at the offer. Him an official hero with a codename and stuff? A street rat kid from Gotham with a bad attitude, worse manners, and no real powers to speak of other than healing a paper cut in 10 seconds flat. What did this Nightwing even see in him?

Despite all his reservations, here JaK was, at Titans isle staring up at the Tower front door with a black jansport backpack slung over one shoulder. In the front of the Tower was a gold statue of the original 5 Titans. He walked up to Robin's statue and sighed. "What are you even doing here, Sage?" JaK said as his pale reflection appeared within the statue.

Suzuki wasn't from around here, and it was generally obvious to everyone around her that she had little clue of American customs. Driving, cell phones, TV's... she had no standing with the pop culture that this world worshiped. Part of the price one had to pay to grow up in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She had, of course, heard of the Titans. Rico's dream was to join them and Suzuki had heard her lover talk about them more than once.

As she walked the house claimed to be haunted, her purple eyes scanning the shadows lazily, the last thing she had expected was to think about the Teen Titans.

She spun quickly on her heel, blue lightning brightening the dark hall as it jumped through the shadows, piercing the shade hidden between the cracks of light. The house actually was haunted after all, but her divine magic sent the poor trapped soul to the afterlife instantly. Suzuki waited a moment to ensure all the energy was gone, but was caught off guard when something flew through the open window. Instinctively she caught the birdarang, a slight echo of pain running up her palm at the force it was throw.

"...huh?"

She peeked out the window in time to see the back of the muscular man, who would be invisible to normal eyes, jumping away. She didn't recognize the figure. She looked at the device and... had absolutely no idea how to use it! She'd have to ask Rico later, apparently. Who was that guy, too?

Today.

Rico and Suzuki had both received the invite to the Tower, but Suzuki had wanted to get there first. If only to see it with her own fresh and deductive eyes. The Tower was an impressive building, at the least. She hadn't expected to see anyone standing in front of the building when she landed on the Island, though. Much less a boy talking to himself. She stepped with trained and silent footfalls behind the boy, her voice cutting into the quiet.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." She said, tossing the birdarang up in her palm. "Did you get one of these as well, stranger? I am Suzuki Uchiha. Who are you?"

Last night...

The thug falls onto his knees with pained curses, clutching the top of his head as the small, but all too fast figure uses it as a jumppad (adding in a little stomping force into his push for good measure.) Running a couple steps off the wall, he uses a lowered fire escape to redirect himself and dropkick the thug's partner. Touching down onto the pavement with an agile landing, Taz finds himself spun around and socked in the shoulder by the first thug. As he falls into a crouch and clutches at his arm with a pained wince, the thug gives a hateful chuckle and draws his fist back for another blow. Snarling, Taz lashes out and grabs onto his jacket. "What're  you?...!!!" His question fragments into pained, chattered yelps as the young hero sends electricity pulsing through him.

Thoroughly stunned, the thug collapses onto the ground, and Taz breaths a sigh of relief only to whirl around as he hears a crack. Fists raised and crackling with elecritiy, he was ready for round two...but his head tilts in confusion (and, admittedly curiosity) as he spots what made the noise. A....strange birdshaped thing holding up a bag? He hesitantly walked over to take a closer look. It actually looked like the bird was a throwing weapon of some kind...and it was piercing actual brick too! Cool! Pulling the shuriken out, Taz examines it with a small smile on his face before shaking his head and stashing it in his hoodie pocket. He had other things he needed to look at. Opening the bag, he examines first the strange device, head tilted quizzically, before looking at the note. As he reads it, his eyes widen in shock and surprise before he glances at the T-shaped tower just barely visible from where he was standing. He bites his lip, seeming to think it over, then gives a nod.

Today

A figure raced down the bridge connecting the island to the rest of the city, and soon Taz arrived. As he wound down, he gradually came to a stop and gazed up at the tower. Even if he was still rather new to...well, everything, even he had heard of the Teen Titans in his time here. Legendary Heroes and Heroines who gave their all to protect this city and world, and who had continued even till today. And now one of them thought he might be a good fit for the next team. Suffice to say Taz was a little nervous, especially when standing in front of the capital T Tower itself. He gazed up at it, then gave a sigh. He could do this. To become a guardian, a hero, like the rest of his family would be amazing...And this had to be a better, a safer, place to stay.

WIth that in mind, he adjusts his hoodie, gives himself a firm nod, and approaches the tower. Seeing two older teens standing in front of the statues and talking to each other, Taz pauses. Did they get invited too? He probably shouldn't interrupt. Besides, he was a little wary of approaching strangers anyway, even if they were soon to be his teammates. That said, if either of them noticed him, they'd see a younger, and noticeably smaller, boy with a spiky mane of strange blue hair who was clad in beaten up clothing, with a small, equally worn looking pack carried over his shoulder.  Said boy would also give them a small wave in greeting upon being noticed.

This was one of the best days of her life. All of the work that she had done in the city and in California, all of the struggles she had gone through- they were finally paying off. She received an invitation from the Teen Titans! She and Suzuki both! Recently the amount of hard work she was putting into her work to keep the city safe was at extreme levels- but it was good to know that she was finally getting the recognition that she deserved.

And it was awesome that they knew Suzuki was doing good work, too! They wouldn't invite her partner just because of the fact that she was her partner; that wouldn't be logical. So that would be a considerable boost to Suzuki's self-esteem.

A very loud, energetic machine growl would be heard coming closer and closer in the distance. They would see a blue Demon roaring down the bridge toward them, which Suzuki would of course recognize.


Rico slowed down when she neared the end of the bridge, in no way endangering any of the people gathered there. Especially the blue-haired kid that had shown up. She also saw an older boy with black hair there, who was speaking to Suzuki. She didn't have to ask what they were talking about with the way they were holding up Nightwing's wingdings. She parked off to the side of the statues and got out of the car, shutting the door as she gave the two guests a brief look, and then smiled at Suzuki as she approached her. She looked at the communicator that she had in her hand. She couldn't wait to disassemble it and learn everything that she could about it! She just hoped that this opportunity wasn't too good to be true. She was wearing her black leather jacket over some casual clothes; her usual attire when she went out on her hero business. Her collapsed sword in a sling behind her and her gun strapped to her thigh. She smiled brightly at Suzuki. "Looks like we made it in time."

JaK was interrupted by a thin female with dark black hair and even darker eyes.  His first teammate was a sword toting woman named, Suzuki Uchiha. Sounded Japanese. JaK turned to her fully and smirked. "Yeah, and one of these." JaK lifted up the Titan's communicator. "JaK Sage," JaK said as he extended his hand to shake hers and looked directly into the girls dark orbs with his own golden ones. "I like your sword, all black, very meta." JaK said as he finished processing all information on the female within view. He also didn't miss the fact that she had somehow snuck up on him in broad day light without him noticing until she was in speaking range. Not an easy thing to do to JaK.

"I guess I'm here to join the circus. And I'm assuming they're with you?" JaK pointed to the vehicle that had just pulled up and the boy, who somehow seemed to have arrived at nearly the same time as the dodge challenger looking vehicle, although on foot. Another mid-sized girl stepped out of the car with a sword as well. This one also notably sported white hair, had very oddly styled eyes, and a gun on her hip. But what was most noticeable about her was that she had a crazy looking arm. So first confirmed NOT human. And then there was the runt kid standing by quietly. This kid had wild spikey blue hair - None of them looked like natives of Jump City to be honest. "Yo spikey hair boy, where's your T device thingy?" JaK held his Titans communicator up in the air. "These two look like they know each other but since they don't know you, sorry, gotta ID ya."

While this was supposed to be a joyus occasion safety was still a big deal. It wouldn't be the first time JaK had been led somewhere only to be captured or attacked. "I'm JaK Sage, sixteen, Gotham City native. Been slumming it in the slums here for a good month or so now." JaK repeated his introduction again one last time for the other two as they drew closer to him and Suzuki. "So were all on the same page; am I the only one here who was apparently stalked and then sent a very cryptic but warm hearted letter with an invitation to come here and join a super team with a bunch of strangers?" JaK was making light of the situation but also finding out if everyone else had more information than him on this meet-up.

Earth was a different place than it used to be. Sure, she'd gotten used to the high-tech from her time offworld, but it still felt... different. However, the work was all the same. Even staying low, under the radar as she was, it was plenty easy to stumble into a job. There was this, but there was also last night...


Despite only having been on Earth for a couple of months, Misty had no trouble finding jobs. She often had to lie about her age to get paid, of course, but forgery was no fickle task for the likes of her. But this time, it seemed, she didn't even have to take a job for it to find its way right into her lap. While resting on a rooftop, Misty was shocked to see an old tracking signal pop up on her receiver. "P'arugg...?" she asked of no one in particular, incredulous.

Obviously, investigating was the only option. Using her Cliffjumpers, Mystery-Anne jumped between several rooftops, and as she got past one last block, noticed the sounds of screams and running feet. Before long, the cause was made obvious to her- a poorly disguised P'arugg in a long coat and wide brimmed hat, along with his same old gang, were holding up a bank! (The disguise was poor because P'arugg was a lanky seven feet tall, had four arms, and was pale green.)

P'arugg had a bounty out on him... and that was more than enough reason for Misty to step in here. It helped that he was kind of a huge jerkbag. Stepping off of the rooftop she was currently on, and using her boots to lift up and slow her descent, Misty walked her way up to the bank. As soon as P'arugg's more regular, two-armed cronies noticed her, they turned to fire their plasma weapons, only to have swinging metal bolas knock their footing out from under them, their guns clattering away from them on the linoleum.

That got his attention. The alien bank robber turned to Misty, drawing all four of his six-shooters at once. "Ah-ah-ah! Not one step closah, Wilkinson," he said, and seemed taken aback for just a moment. Misty should have been a very old woman, if not totally dead by now... but here she was, standing in front of him, possibly no more than a year older than the last time he'd seen her. "What the blargh's goin' on...? Some kinda trick?!" His big yellow eyes narrowed, wondering if she was actually a hologram or not. But then again, he looked at his downed compatriots... It had to be the real deal.

"Universe's a big ol' place, 'Rugg," she said, shrugging. Just as she'd hoped, P'arugg was slowly backing up as soon as he'd seen her. That old fish never could shake his habit of running away, could he? Right into the opening of that big open vault door. No one else within ten yards of the door... Perfect. "No closah, y-ya ghost!" he shouted. Misty shrugged. "Sure." Before P'arugg could even react, Snake Eyes came out to play from around Misty's shoulder, already set to Rattler mode. An explosive cartridge impacted the space behind the open door, sending more than enough force through it to make it fly closed, the impact knocking the alien off of his feet and into the now shut and locked vault. For a moment, all was quiet. And then, all the bank tellers and guests cheered for their hero, much to her chagrin. "Ain't nothin'..." she muttered, and turned to access her communicator. But before she could react herself...


""Cryptic" ain't the half of it," said Misty, who came down from seemingly somewhere up above, maybe even from atop the tower itself. Her boots slowed her fall as she landed, just beside JaK, Suzuki, and Rico. Her red cloak and long, braided white hair flapped a bit around her from the wind, but it settled eventually. She held up a Titan communicator as well as a familiar Birdarang. "Y'all have a weird way of talkin' to each other in these here modern times..." she said, but seemed to pull back into herself a moment. She wasn't exactly used to working with people her age, but it didn't quite register until she saw all of their faces up close. She backed up a step. "...Name's Wilkinson. Mystery-Anne Wilkinson. Err, just call me Misty." She also took notice of Taz, and gave him a polite nod. "So, what now? Sure y'all know way more 'bout this than I do. Kinda new here... For starters, what's this big fancy T for?"

The boy Suzuki had approached seemed nice, turning around to offer his own introduction. Oblivious to the handshake he was offering, she bowed her head low and politely. She still wasn't used to the usual greetings in the States and always seemed to default to her traditional upbringing. "Arigato. I actually have another one, but it's too valuable to carry openly. Very strong, is all."

She explained, trying her best to make small talk over some of the few things she was confident in. Weapons and fighting. Better than flexing her knowledge of manga she's been addicted to since coming to the states. Before she was exposed for her lack of personal skills, however, a familiar purr of Rico's car came off from behind her. She looked back with an excited smile, seeing another spikey haired boy who was apparently able to keep up with the car on foot next to it. Impressive speed. She waved slightly to him, giving a smile before looking at Rico.

"Mhm. The waves were fun to run over today, honestly. I didn't expect to beat you here though, heh."

She walked over to Rico, her communicator still out as she stood by her lover now. Whatever they were supposed to do next like involved the foreign technology that Suzuki hadn't the first idea how to use. That's why she stayed near Rico, for instructions. Before anything rumbled, though, another person joined. Seemingly falling from the sky.

Now, Suzuki thought that her English was excellent. She was good at speaking it but generally understood everything said in it. This girl was an exception. She spoke with this thick and heavy accent that only made the shinobi tilt her head in confusion.

"...huh?"

Taz turned to look at the sound of a roaring vehicle behind him. As the older girl driving it got out and gave him a look, he gave a small wave and an hesitant smile. That arm...Was she like him? She seemed kind of well-armed...And so did that other girl, while he was thinking about it. Said girl looked over to look at the new arrival with a excited smile, then turned her attention to Taz. As she gave him a smile and wave, he blinked, then gave a wave and smile of his own.  As she walked over to the gun wielding girl, Taz tilted his head slightly. Ah, they knew each other? And 'run over the waves'? Was she able to move fast like him?

As the other boy addressed him, he gave a surprised, chirping hum and looked over. As the elder teen asked where his 'T Device Thingy' was, Taz tilted his head slightly, only to perk up as he saw what was meant. He gave a rapid nod of understanding, and rummaged around in his pack for a second before pulling out the strange little device and presenting it triumphantly. Slightly more reassured that everyone was friendly, the boy drew a little closer.

As JaK repeated his introduction and then asked if they'd essentially all had the same experience, the youngest member of this gathering gave a nod in affirmation and prepared to agree in a more vocal manner and return the introduction with one of his own. It would be polite, after all...Then Misty came floating down from above. Taz looked up at her with slightly widened eyes. Granted, it wasn't anything too different from what his relatives were capable of, but still a very cool entrance!

As the new arrival spoke, he blinked, then tilted his head to the side. He hadn't heard anyone speak like that...Due to that, it was a little hard to parse...He thinked he got it, though? She introduced herself, then seemed to notice that he was there. As she looked at him and gave a polite nod, he blinked, then gave a nod and wave back, a small smile darting across his face. As she asked about a T, he blinked, then glanced over at the older teens. They could probably explain better....

Noticing that the swords girl was befuddled by Misty's accent, (perhaps even a little more then himself) Taz couldn't help but give a quick, small grin of mischievous amusement. He would give a apologetic look and gesture if anyone would actually take offense, though. It wasn't exactly that he was amused by the fact she was confused, especially not when she seemed kinda nice but, he had to admit, her reaction had been a little funny.

She smiled at those gathered as she stood near her lover. Even in the span of a few seconds, they had yet another person show up. She watched as the older boy there questioned the blue-haired boy on whether he had received the communicator. "I think it's safe to say that the headquarters of the most prominent heroes in California for the past decade is fitted for keeping intruders out. Which is to say... if we weren't all invited by them, we'd be under attack as the island's intruders." She then clarified, "Nothing more than a wingding and a note for us, I'm afraid."

She kept close to Suzuki, clearly inside her personal space. She didn't think it would be necessary to keep anyone away, but she kept near. Especially since Suzuki was the only one she knew here. "I'm Rico. This is Suzuki. We've been working around Jump City for a long while now." She then looked at Suzuki and smirked, poking her in the hip slightly in a playful manner. "Of course you beat me here. You seemed more excited than I was."

She then looked at their new arrival when she asked what the big T was for. A heavy Southern accent, that one. She couldn't help but giggle slightly when she saw that Suzuki was being thrown for a loop by it. Well, it was bound to happen eventually. "Not a local then? This is Titans Tower. It is the headquarters and base of operations for the Teen Titans. However, the Teen Titans have been dealing more and more with the Justice League in recent years. If you have an invitation... it should mean that they're interested in you for the team."

Did this chick just say she can run on water? Actually...JaK might have to try that. Wait, did this country bumpkin just walk on air? And then she asked what the purpose of the tower was altogether. "Uhhh," Luckily the white haired one spoke up and answered the question before JaK had too. Which was good because the runt literally hadn't said a thing and was kinda just standing sheepishly, although he did flash the communicator like JaK had asked. And the Asian girl seemed to be confused just from hearing the southern gal speak. JaK sighed a bit, half in relief and half because as he thought all of these people were kinda weird. Except for the white haired one - she more so just seemed like a know-it-all. For example she had immediately rebuttled JaK's request for a communicator before he could even ask the Mystery Anne girl. JaK folded his arms and listened as Rico explained that explained that Suzuki and herself were veteran crime fighter's apparently. "Finally making it to the big leagues huh?"

Suddenly all the communicators began to blare a siren like sound which caught the group of teens off guard. Then a voice chimed through the communicator's all at once. JaK held his dead center while all 5 teenagers stared at it: "Hello Titans, this will be the first and last transmission left behind for you all. Thank you, for heeding the call. I'm not going to lie to you. The future will be full of many trials and tribulations but if you work together as a team, never give up hope that you can do the impossible, and stay true to the ideals that got you here. It'll all be worth it. And this city, and possibly even the world one day, will know who to call when there's trouble. But Before you earn the right to truly call yourself Teen Titans I want you all to finish a simple team building exercise. Goodluck Titans! From here on the future of the Teen Titans Legacy is in your hands. - Robin, over and out..."

A few confused glances were shot between the 5 heroes before the entire island itself began to rumble. The floor seemed to be moving? Multiple camouflaged coverings and small silos opened up in the ground and out popped multiple laser cannons, explosive disc launchers, and was that a giant version of Cyborg's sonic cannon mounted on the front of the tower!?! All of the weaponry immediately shifted and locked onto the five teens standing by the golden statue of the prior team. Each new member of the team stood by their relative counter part from the olden days. "What was that about being attacked as intruders?" Is all JaK had to say as tiny red dots began to litter his body indicating that all the high-tech weaponry was locking on to their target! Of course each Titan would notice this as well, as red dots appeared all over each of them individually. "What's the call!?" JaK said to Rico, since she had set the flag in the first place with that top-notch security comment.

Moments later the lasers, explosives, and sonic cannon all fired upon the teens' position. If evasive maneuvers or some kind of miracle blockade wasn't made immediately the new Titans and the golden monuments of their former predecessors would also be history.

All of this was happening so fast... Misty felt herself drawing back as the others drew closer, seeming to get along fairly well. And it wasn't as though they were excluding her, either- it just felt very off to her. She almost had half a mind to fly off right then and there, when all of a sudden, their communicators all went off at the same time. The pinging, siren-like noise reverberated between them, before a message was played.

...And not a word of it seemed to register with Mystery. "Robin? Who'n tarnation is that?" she began to ask. But it wasn't long before that rumbling shook the whole island. If that didn't bode well at all, it wasn't any better with a myriad array of weaponry being pointed at the five at them without so much as a warning. And Misty was no stranger to this sort of situation... sort of.

"On me!" she shouted. Before they were all blown to smithereens, Misty flew into action. Her cloak was thrown off, and as it unfurled, the gunslinger's finger sliding down to a set of buttons on her right wrist bracer. At the press of one of those buttons, the cloak flashed an electric blue, becoming rigid and sticking itself into the dirt a couple of inches, like a dropped blade. In the form it was frozen in, the cloak-shield was about eight feet wide and five feet tall, which created enough room for all of them to take cover... But Rico's car wouldn't exactly be safe.

And not a second too soon, either. Almost as soon as Misty's shield went up, it was impacted with powerful lasers, sonic blasts, and explosions. Misty huddled behind it, gesturing for the others to do the same. "Quick! Ain't got long and we need a plan!" Without the cloak, it was pretty clear that Misty was armed to the teeth- and instinctually, Misty pulled the long-barreled rifle from her back, notching back its bolt and loading a round into its chamber.

It seemed nobody had any specific directions on what they were supposed to do after responding to the invitation. Suzuki was sure it'd have something to do with the strange gadget that they were given, but if that were the case then her chances of figuring it out were slim to none. She messed with it a bit, hoping it was sturdy enough to withstand her strange prodding and poking. She thought she might have broke it when she heard a strangers voice come from the communicator.

Well, it didn't sound like this would be as simple as walking up and knocking on the door. Weapons appeared out of seemingly nowhere, pointed at all of them. Red dots appeared over their bodies and Suzuki hummed in confusion. She wasn't sure about red dot sights or the like, so was caught off guard when the Tower attacked.

Her eyes bled red and purple, preparing to call a Susano'o, but instead the girl with the strange dialect produced a shield that would easily cover them all. Perfect. Yes, this would require cooperation. Suzuki was thinking of a plan, the pressure of the shield cracking making her more than a little nervous.

"The speedsters, anyone who can dodge easily, draw it's fire away from the shield. Acy, can you copy the shield, buy us more time? I have the firepower to take out some of these guns, I'm sure, but... I'm not sure I can handle them all." She frowned. She wasn't confident in her ability to do the damage. "I can join the speedster team, then."

She pointed to the boy that had arrived on foot, faster than the car that Rico had driven over. "Me and you, we'll lessen the fire. Be safe. If you need to rest, come back here. We'll let them come up with a plan to get us inside..."

If agreed upon, Suzuki would hop out into the chaos, her eyes and agility letting her see the paths of the lasers and dodge them. She wasn't nearly as fast as Taz, but she could keep this up for at least a little while.

Taz gave another quick, small smile of his own as Rico smiled at the group. When she commented on them having received nothing more then a note and a wingding, he tilted his head before nodding. Wingding? Was that what that thrown weapon was? It'd been that way for him as well. As she followed up by introducing herself and Suzuki, the young speedster gave a wave.

When Rico comments on her partner and self having protected Jump for a while, Taz's eyes gleamed in awe. So they were actually experienced in being heroes?! Cool! He glanced up at JaK for a few, wondering if he was the same, before glancing down at himself. Hopefully he'd be able to keep up... Somehow the boy got the feeling he was going to be least experienced one in the group.

As Rico explained what the tower was and what their invitation meant to the newest arrival, Taz settled back and listened to the older kids talk. Then an alarm sounded out from the device in his hand, causing him to jump with a startled yelp. For a brief few seconds, he seemed to almost shift slightly, his ears lengthen and becoming slightly pointer for a small moment in time, but he seemed to notice. Giving a sheepish seeming shiver, Taz was back to normal by the time he glanced first at his communicator, then the one held out by JaK.

As he listened to the voice of the young man coming through and heard what he had to say, Taz's eyes widened and shone. One day, the world would be able to call on them...And one of the very Titans who's statues stood above them was leaving everything in their hands! He glanced up at the others, giving a small, excited grin, before blinking and tilting his head. Wait...team building exercise? What'd Robin mean by that? He shared a confused look with the others. Soon after, Robin's meaning was clear, as what seemed to be every defense that the tower was aruptly activated. ....Oh. Oh no.

As the various weapons trained on them, Taz's face paled and his jaw dropped. He gave a glanced down at his hoodie as various target dots traced across it, and finally, wearily spoke up. ["Aw, squall..."] Though they wouldn't understand it, the meaning and feeling behind the somewhat childish curse was definitely clear. As JaK asked Rico what the plan was, Taz looked hopefully at her. Then the weapons fired. To-too late!! He braced himself,arms raising in a futile effort to block what was about to come their way. As Misty activated a sort of cloak barrier, he gasped in surprise, and instintively ducked behind it. As he took it in, he gave a awed little grin. That was definitely cool! Was it magic?! Or maybe technology?

He reached forward to give the cloak shield a curious, if slightly hesitant, tap before glancing up at Misty and giving a grateful smile. "Thank you!" He tilted his head as he saw how heavily armed she was, but blinked as she commented on them needing a plan now. Right, imminent pain! No time to be distracted.

As Suzuki spoke up, he turned to look up at her, listening carefully. As she laid out a plan, he nodded along, before giving one last, firmer nod of agreement. Brows furrowed in determination, he raised a fist to give his opposite upper arm a gentle bop in a slightly archaic salute.  "Will be safe. You be safe too, winds...guide you." He gave a hesitant smile, then peeked out into the chaos before taking a breath. Right...let's do this...

He ran out from behind the shield, skidding slightly to avoid the first volley sent his way, then started running around. It took a moment (and a couple of close calls), but the young speedster soon picked up speed. Though he didn't have the advantage of Suzuki's eyes, he was a smaller target, and particularly agile, not to mention the speed itself. Taz charged and pingponged around the area, giving the turrets a particularly annoying target to fire at.

Rico grinned a bit when JaK remarked that she and Suzuki were finally getting into the big leagues after she mentioned that they had considerable experience guarding the city already. "Something like that, yeah." Then she blinked as one of the Titans, Robin, appeared in a hologram from one of their communicators and addressed them, officially telling them why they were here. And then, something about a training exercise- Shit. Sure enough, the tower's defense systems activated. She expected she would hear something about it from Jak, and he did make a remark. "I guess that's fair," she admitted.

Mystery-Anne- Misty- asked who Robin was. Rico blinked and then chuckled as the turrets raised from the floor, jerking her thumb at the figure of Robin directly behind her. "What, you haven't figured it out? Well, plenty of time for that later!" She got ready to shield everyone from the lasers, but then Misty activated a shield. She ducked behind it with the rest of the team, already formulating a strategy as she tried not to think about how her car was going to end up. JaK was looking to her for a plan, and so were the other newcomers.

"Suzy, you and he are the fastest people I've seen here. Could you...?" Suzuki seemed to know what she was getting at, walking over to Taz and instructing him on what to do. She smiled at her. But Suzuki said she should copy the shield. She nodded and turned to Misty, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for the save. I'm going to borrow..." She looked at the shield again, and her lips formed a line. "Oh. It's tech. Okay. In that case... it's up to us to bust down the turrets while they're firing at our friends. If you feel up to it, then go for it. Misty, your shield is really good. Whatever stray shots get towards us, try and repel those if you can." She flicked out her hand with the metal mechanism drawn, and it unfolded into a sword. "If not- it's a training, so I'm sure the cannons won't kill. Probably."

Her eyes became red like Suzuki's, and she suddenly dashed out from behind cover before dancing in the opposite direction, dodging some of the cannon fire with ease, especially now that a lot of them were firing at Suzuki and Taz. She formed her demonic arm and punched a turret into pieces, before ripping another out of the ground and throwing it at yet another weapon. This was going to take some impressive teamwork.

The veterans seemed to know what was going on. That was good. For JaK and the others this seemed to all be so new. Misty's quick thinking had protected them all but as the others spoke and took action, JaK of course listened but he also was making a plan of his own. His powers derived from the Slade serum - as in THE super soldier serum. Battle is where JaK shined. His ability to assess the battlefield and listen to the plan Rico and Suzuki had concocted was bar-none. He could multitask on levels similar to that of a super computer. However, in general everyone seemed to be stepping up. Nightwing had chosen all leaders to form this super team. Evil definitely should be wary after today. Just two of these teens could lead a seal team at their current level. Their quick thinking and calm nerves in this situation; meta-human, demon, alien, or otherwise was like a super power on it's own.

Destroy the blasters? Draw their fire? Would destroying things really be such a simple way to get into the tower? That's when JaK saw it - this wasn't just an obstacle course - it was also a timed race. JaK looked over Mystery Anne's shielding just before Suzuki and Taz ran out and saw that in the midst of all the weaponry aimed to fire at them there was also a podium which had started to rise up out of the ground that looked like it required all five of them to place their hands on it at once. The control panel! What a perfectly corny team assignment - avoid getting turned to swiss cheese, as a team, and reach the podium all together. "Yo, look at that!" JaK yelled to Suzuki who's eyes he had seen shift before she ran off, and to Rico who was still rather close in proximity to him. If JaK could see it from this distance with his keen vision Suzuki could probably see it in detail with enhanced eyesight, and notice that there was an area for all five of them to place their hands on the podium to end this exercise.

JaK front flipped over Misty to cause some of the lasers to shift their aim and as he landed began to cartwheel, somersault, and dash through the laser fire. He would hop-scotch across the tops of the blasters and stand in front of a few of them just before last minute dodging, causing the blasters to destroy each other and themselves. All things considered, everything was going well until the sonic cannon began to fire off continuously! The output on that thing was similar to Cyborg's own max shot itself and drew clear crater-like trenches in the ground wherever it struck. This monstrosity was mounted on the side of the tower itself. The sonic cannon didn't seem to be willing to let anyone get close to that podium either, which meant until it was taken care of the teens would all just be stuck playing the most ultimate game of laser tag ever created. "We gotta do something about that thing," JaK yelled out as he performed a very gymnastic triple handspring combo to avoid being shot. "I heal very very fast so if someone wants to toss me at it, or use me a shield, we can nail that %!#&$." If anyone could tell from the comment he had just made and how dangerous he was being about letting himself get shot at, JaK's expertise seemed to be sacrificing his body to muscle through most obstacles. However, with this team maybe nearly killing himself wasn't necessary in this scenario.