A Showdown in Uptown (TT/Alpha)

JaK was on patrol; his first official team patrol really, and his partner for this one was none other than the gun-slinging southern bell, Mystery Anne. She was little a out of touch to say the least but over the last week JaK, Misty, and Rico had really begun to bond over their love for tech. Well more so Misty and Rico - JaK loved to test the toys. Which was great because if something blew up he'd be fine...ish.

JaK especially loved the modifications that had been made to the new T-Cycle. Rico had begun working on Cyborg's original blue prints for the model. Then with the application of Misty's cliffjumpers the birth of the Teen Titans' first practical hoverbike was born;

Spoiler:

JaK was parked/hovering amidst a hill located within a playground park overlooking Uptown just by the jungle gym. JaK had never really been to this area for good reason - People here were dull and wealthy. The neighborhood was littered with luxury vehicles and fancy restaurants. And because people around here were so filthy rich they paid extra, via donations, for local law enforcement to patrol here often. Meaning crime was usually a non-factor in this area.

"She's purring like a kitten, and it looks like she's the only thing that's going be making any noise around here tonight. Lucky &%$#s Bright Eyes and Karma got Downtown patrol." JaK's entire head animated into a chibby format as a fanged frown enveloped his face and a thought bubble of the two girls beating a line of bank robbers on a continuous loop while laughing projected visibly from his mind. JaK's head returned to normal size as he waved away the thought bubble and spoke, "I bet they're seeing all kinds-a-action right now," JaK moaned out the sentence and leaned back on the hoverbike with his eyes closed.

They were supposed to use codenames while out in the field. Codenames ensured no one's families would be put at risk by an accidental name drop. JaK opened his eyes and peered up at the skyline. A sea of endless stars twinkling overhead painted his entire view. JaK smirked and shot a glance at his partner. "What'dya thinks going on up there right now? Think anyone up there is more bored than us? Bet not. Bet zipping through the stars like comet must be pretty awesome, huh?" JaK put his hands behind his head and continued to idolize the dark glittered canvas up above.

Misty was perplexed by codenames. Maybe it was because she had no one to worry about, or maybe it was just because her name was so odd, it seemed like a codename anyways. Either way, she was glad that she wasn't exactly the only one with a similar situation- JaK Sage's codename was simply "Sage", a level of simplicity and straightforwardness that she could only empathize with and admire.

...Misty also didn't exactly get this whole "superhero" thing, either. They didn't really have those types of folks around in her era, and even when she was offworld, vigilantes more often than not got shot down in one way or another. It was a dark place, up there, at least on the backwater worlds she often found herself on. "...Huh?" Misty asked, suddenly snapping back to reality.

While JaK was leisurely lounging against his sweet new ride, Misty was sitting high up in one of a few large oak trees within the park, a few feet down the southern rise of the hill JaK was on. "Awesome? Tch. Hardly! Ain't nothin' but vipers' an' crooks n'- pardon m' tongue- indignant bastard fools up there in the cosmos. Trust me, Sage, I couldn't be more content bein' Earthside even if I were a fat ol' hog with a full belly an' no thoughts in my head," she said, before immediately sighing. She didn't like to rant, especially around these other... "Titans". She still wasn't used to it.

"...But I guess it ain't too ugly a place to spend some time," she said, hopping down from the tree, but keeping her distance from JaK, for the time being. "Can't really see it with all th' city lights, but those stars take on a whole new color, whole new shape when they're up close. Nebulas n' all that bullhonkey."

JaK scoffed. "Nebulas? Well aren't you well traveled? Like a regular old Space Stewardess, eh?" JaK was poking fun at her a bit by being cheeky. Gotta do something to lighten up this dark and drab evening. Although it looked as if something else was about to light it up - high beams in fact. The high beams were following a woman who had just come tumbling down the street running for her life. At first it seemed as though the woman wasn't running from anything at all but then around the corner a big rig performed a SHARP turn that knocked aside two parked vehicles then pulled up onto the curb as it drew closer to mowing the woman over.

The woman didn't seem particularly dangerous or anything. She was wearing a skin tight dress. She was young, early 20s maybe. She had some nice pump heels on, a banging diamond necklace, and some pretty expensive looking earrings to match her necklace. The female tripped as she fled, flinging her gucci purse aside, and losing her fox fur coat as she staggered. The Young Caucasian woman screamed as her blonde hair swayed violently about. Although something was off about her face....It seemed to be glitching? One moment it was normal and then the next it turned static like? As if that wasn't weird enough, the rig was being driven by someone donning a metal helmet and a cross logo upon his chest. Kind of an odd uniform for a driver. Not to mention the side of his vehicle was also rocking a throne symbol, what kind of company was that?

JaK and Misty would perk up as work finally presented itself to them. Even if it was a high-class citizen, they needed saving too sometimes. And this was definitely one of those times. "You distract the driver while I grab the girl," JaK yelled out as he sat forward and revved the engine.

To call it "work" was no understatement on JaK's part. One moment, it was a simple, quiet evening, one of Misty's first in quite some time. And unlike JaK, she seemed more than happy to let it be just that! And besides... "Keep yer eyes peeled, Sage. Somethin' ain't right here," she said, narrowing her eyes, but she followed his lead regardless. As he zipped off on the T-Cycle, she clicked her Cliffjumpers together, activating their thrusters.

As for "distracting" the driver... Mystery wasn't so sure about that. At the speed he was going, there would be no stopping the truck easily. A plan started to formulate.

To start, the gunslinger flew off in a straight line toward the truck, flying close enough to the girl that her hair was whipped up by the winds as a result. She wasn't gonna steal JaK's thunder in saving his damsel in distress, but she also wanted to get a closer look at her strange visage while she could. And sure enough, it glitched like a malfunctioning digital display, confirming her suspicion that something was fishy here.

"Be on yer guard. This is prob'ly a trap," she said, and continued in her flight to the truck. With a loud KLUNK, she landed on the roof of the cab. From her belt, Misty whipped out her blade, whose edge lit up with burning red light. With a flash and a spark, Misty started to cut a circular hole into the metal top of the cab. "Open er' up! We're the, uh... Teen Titans, right Sage? Basically the law 'round here!"

Sage zipped across the road and onto the sidewalk ready to grab the damsel when Misty passed him. Wow, those rocket-things on her feet had some zip! She called back to JaK that this could be a set-up leaving Sage to be a little more hesitant on he was about to handle this fair maiden. Especially when he saw her face when Misty passed her. She recognized Mystery Anne, she definitely did.

JaK scooped up the female just as the truck was about to run her over and then drifted his bike around, almost spinning out of control...almost. He came to a halt just as Misty hollered at the driver and asked Sage for confirmation of who they were. "That's right! But the real question is who are you?" JaK said as he threw the woman off the bike onto the ground and hopped off landing with his foot on her throat. "Sorry I'm not the knight in shining armor type lady, so you're gonna explain what's going on here or I'm gonna---"

"Hold on wait!" The woman made a squeaky noise as she spoke, but more odd than even that was that the squeaky voice sounded male. Not female? "First of all I'm not a lady, second of all I'm not even human!" The alien ripped off the flickering and malfunctioning mask to reveal a very extraterrestrial face.

".....HUH!?!" JaK jumped back in shock. This was the first time the city boy had actually encountered a real life alien. "Umm Mystery, friend of yours?" JaK said even though he hadn't even checked to make sure his teammate had safely handled stopping the big rig. I mean the first day he had met her she handled stopping laser fire, this should be cake.


The driver of the rig slammed on the breaks in a panic after missing his target and then having the roof of the vehicle carved into. However there was too much momentum to stop the entire vehicle all at once and the truck ended up colliding with a tree, then skidding into a telephone pole where it crashed and dented it after knocking over the fifty year old oak tree.

Well, that was unexpected. Without exactly intending to, Misty's attack drove the rig straight into a tree. And with all of that momentum, it was only natural that she went flying from the top of the cab, sent rolling through the dirt with Snake Fang in hand. Groaning, Misty eventually got to her feet, looking around with shaky vision that eventually came back into clarity. "Ugh... That'll leave a mark," she said, and then shot a glance toward the crashed semi. The driver's head was slumped back, and the helmet he wore seemed heavily damage. At best, he was unconscious. At worst...

Misty's attention was drawn, momentarily, back to Sage and the lady who'd been chased... No, not a lady, and in fact, an extraterrestrial. As Misty limped over, not quite having her proper footing back yet, she took notice of the alien man's face. Then she looked, incredulously, into Sage's eyes. "Really? Ya think just 'cause I'm from space, I know every feller from offworld? Ain't ever met this chump," she said, looking down at the runner.

Still, his presence warranted action. Without so much as a word, Misty pulled out one of her bolas, clasping it around the alien's body, making it so he couldn't move his arms. "Stay there," she said, and turned back towards the rig, which now had smoke coming from the front. "Sage, help me out?" she asked, doing her best to run back to it and pry the door open, working to drag the driver out. She wanted to make sure he was alive, at least.

“No, don’t go in there you two don’t understand—-“ JaK ripped off a piece of the alien’s coat and stuffed it in it’s mouth, or what JaK assumed was it’s mouth at least.

“Shut up, we got this. Were heroes dude.” JaK said as he tore another longer piece and bound it’s legs as it mumbled hysterically. JaK turned towards Mystery Anne and began walking that way. Maybe the alien’s words were pause for alarm. He listened carefully, something was rattling inside the crashed truck. Something in it’s cargo, something that sounded like...chains? As Misty worked to free the driver the chain sound grew louder and louder, but you would need near perfect hearing to hear how feint it was that was until the chain sound grew almost buzzsaw like in nature. Now that was cause for alarm. JaK mad dashed as fast as usain bolt and scooped Misty out of the way without another moments hesitation. A moment later the door burst off it’s hinges and struck JaK but luckily Misty was pushed out of the way. JaK was sent flying along with the door and flew about eight feet through the air before landing hard on the asphalt with the door on top of him. But there would be no time for Mystery Anne to check on her teammate. For as soon as the surprise attack was mounted four more knights exited the hull of the crashed truck with riot police level armor and shileds styled as knights armor, in addition to iron swords.

“That will be unnecessary young lady, he was mere follower of our creed and in death he will contribute to our cause,” A raven haired woman exited the blown driver’s side door with high-tech armor similar in style to the other nights but the level of tech was similar to Misty’s gear. She also sported a sturdy looking shield and a motorized chain mace which had assumably been used to blow the door from it’s hinges and send Sage flying. “Oh praise be, praise be....Titans? In this day and age?” She waved her hand and the other four men fell in line. “This is no longer a training exercise, crusaders prepare to subjugate and eradicate the targets.” The four knights all briefly kneeled and broke off in two groups. Two headed towards Sage and the other two towards the helpless alien.

Meanwhile, the commander approached Mystery Anne while gently swinging her mace. “Titans,” she said disgustedly while raising up her shield. “Ruffians, and scoundrels. Utilizing arcane and evil powers of destruction while masquerading as saviors of man. You should’ve stayed relics of the past.”

Everything always happened so fast on Earth! At least out in space, there was usually some time and distance between all the action. But this place was like a melting pot of constant conflict... But Misty didn't hate it. Except for, of course, if it led to her new friends getting blasted in the face with metal truck doors in her stead. That wasn't so fun.

"Sage, what the-" At first, Misty's head was spinning as she was thrown to the ground, having knocked her head a bit from the sudden motion. What her hazy vision came back up to was a bit of a sight right out of a fantasy book- a bunch of knights in shining armor, only she got the sinking feeling that these were no heroes of old. She searched for JaK- he was still pinned under the wrecked metal door, but she figured that he wouldn't be under there long.

The woman was... well, in a way, she was kinda pretty. Misty could acknowledge that, but there was an aura of pretentiousness that pervaded the air around her, and immediately set Misty's jaw. She didn't like this woman at all. Maybe she would do something about that. As the woman, the leader, finished up her speech, Misty struggled onto one arm, grunting as she went.

"Girlie, I sure as hell ain't gonna take that from someone who's younger n' me," she said. Without warning, Misty rolled onto her back, initiating her cliffjumpers and darting rapidly past the mace-wielding woman. She threw out a bolas as she went, aiming for the woman's ankles. Whether she missed or hit, she kicked her feet up and rolled her body backwards, catching her rifle as it flew forward from the sudden change in her momentum. She swiftly chambered an explosive round, aiming the ironsights directly on the leader's head.

She glared at the others. "So, knuckleheads! If n' ya know what's good for ya, y'all're gonna step away from my pals, 'r else yer gal pal over here is gonna get ta see all of Jump City, one splattered brain cell atta time." She took stock of the battlefield. They were outnumbered... And even if this wasn't the "heroic way", this could potentially be the quickest route to ending this with everyone alive.

The woman was caught off guard and rose her shield to defend against whatever Misty was about to do but instead had her legs ensnared by the southerner's bolas. The cultist dropped to the ground and immediately began to chuckle as Misty made her demands. "Amusing, very amusing girl..." Saint Guinevere peered up at the Titan and rolled over, glancing at her own arrested ankles. The technology was advanced in this contraption, too advanced for modern technology in a way.

Meanwhile, JaK's finger started to twitch from under the unhinged truck door showing his body was regaining signs of life.

The Partiarch replied brazenly. "Unlike you Titans, who are bound to each other for strength, our order transcends such childishness. MEN, SHE TOLD YOU TO STAND DOWN, WHAT IS YOUR REPLY!?"

Every Crusader in the area began to pound their fists to their armor and chanted. "NO ASH, NO BONE, FOR THE GLORY AND THE TRHONE!" The Crusaders then continued towards their targets without a second glance towards their leader.

"What now, girl?" The holy saint of the Order said with a poised eyebrow. "My death won't save either of these miscreants from my crusaders.."

"Yeah, but I bet 42 inches of flying metal will!" Suddenly the door on top of JaK was lunged like a frisbee at the men approaching the alien. The door struck the first one and the momentum built up from how hard JaK tossed it carried one crusader into the other, knocking them both over. JaK's face was still badly damage, it looked as it he had been struck dead center with a sledgehammer. On top of that he wheezed and spurted blood with every breath he took, showing his airway was still severely damaged. yet and still he had sprung up, pushed through the pain, and saved their target from being skewered. However, this focus had left Sage wide open to attack from the Crusader's after him! But he wasn't too worried, the best sharp-shooter JaK knew had his back.

Saint Guinevere snarled as the boy suddenly sprang back to life. How!? She was sure his face had been crushed. What kind of monster was he?! This boy needed to be cleansed, IMMEDIATELY! Guinevere shattered the bolas around her leg by utilizing her high-powered mace to cut through them. Guinevere immediately shot up to her feet and charged towards JaK with her shield and buzz saw like mace at the ready. "Crusader's forget the original target, eradicating the Teen Titans is top priority!"

JaK wanted to make a witty retort, but not being able to properly breathe was kind of ruining that for him. That last thing he had said actually had kind of winded him. Which means JaK's super-human feats of stamina wouldn't be available to him currently. Meanwhile, one of the Crusader's JaK had knocked over brandished a cross bow from his back, sat up, and took at shot at Mystery Anne.