Apex Predator

By Bubbajack

Beta: Diller

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Marvel, or DC comics.

Ch.6: Tournament of Mad Fists pt1

It was early the next morning, and Gar, Gali, and Gala had spent the night in the village in King Tawaba's own hut. Thankfully it was more than large enough to hold them all due to its size. After eating a breakfast of consisting of banana's and some of the left over boar meat that the villagers had cooked in a pit in honor of his return, Gar decided to walk around the village.

'I forgot how peaceful this place was.' He thought as he walked through the rows of huts which were primarily made of banana trees and massive leaves or thatch roofs. The paths through the village were simply well tread earth and at the villages' center was the well, where fresh water was drawn. Letting out a contented sigh, he just stood there for a moment before he picked up a familiar scent approaching from behind. Feeling slender yet powerful arms wrap around his neck as an ample bosom pressed into his back, Gar turned his head to meet the smiling face of Galacta.

Giving her changeling a kiss on the lips when he turned towards her, she said, "Morning Gar, what are you doing up so soon, hmm?"

After giving her a return kiss of his own he replied, "Nothing Gali, just reminiscing and enjoying the peace and simplicity of the village."

Letting go of him, she replied, "Yes, this place has a certain serenity about it, it's very calm and peaceful. It makes me more determined than ever not to become like my father." She said with a bit of ferocity.

Placing a hand on her shoulder he said comfortingly, "Hey now, you've been doing great so far. Plus, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. So don't worry about it ok?"

Galacta looked into the changelings reassuring emerald eyes that shown with warmth, conviction, and most of all, love for her. She smile in turn, "Thanks, I needed that. So, what are you going to do now that you have the tatau?"

Before I answer that what's with the new look?" Gar asked while taking in her appearance.

Gali's hair was now in a loose ponytail, strands of her dark brown hair were braided and intertwined with beads made out of bone and ivory. Her outfit resembled Citra's own it consisted of a purple belly shirt made of leather that had a circular hole in it to reveal some of her bust, and she wore a leather skirt of the same color and simple sandals on her feet.

"While you were catching up with Tawaba last night, the children braided my hair, and I figured since I'm here I should blend in. When in Rome, you know? Why don't you like my new look?" she asked while pouting as her lower lip quivered slightly.

Waving his hands he quickly said "No, no that's not what I meant! You look great, really, I just never expected you to go native so quickly is all."

Shrugging Gali replied "Like I said, I like it here the people, their way of living, it appeals to me for some reason. But back to my original question not that you have your tatau what are we going to do next?"

Shrugging Gar said, "I dunno, the dream never stat-"Suddenly the changeling was hit in the face by a piece of paper being carried by the wind.

Pulling the offending piece of paper off of his face he looked at it, it was an advertisement for a fighting tournament. On the front was a man in a black and red checkered suit wearing a fedora who was pointing a white-gloved finger at him.

Underneath were words written on a ribbon saying "I want you to come and join the first ever Mad Fist Fighting Tournament. First prize is The Tesseract also known as the Cosmic Cube or the Power Cosmic that will allow its user to more or less become a God."

As Gar stared at the paper, he heard it. The sound of drumbeats that mixed Swahili chanting that translated to "Fight, fight, fight! Prove yourself!"

He then looked at Gali who was staring at him curious "Gar is everything ok you looked somber for a moment there."

The World Eater didn't tell her beau that he had that same serious look when he told her he wanted to come here in the first place.

Handing her the flyer, he said, "This is what we're doing next."

After reading what the prize was, Galacta's jaw stiffened. Her eyes narrowing her eyes she said, "How did someone manage to get ahold of the Power Cosmic, let alone find an inanimate object able to contain it?"

Shaking his head slowly Gar replied, "I dunno, but I'm pretty sure stopping someone evil from getting their hands on this falls under provision two of our contract. So, with your permission I would like to enter this tournament and try and claim the Tess-sir-rect for myself."

Rolling her royal purple eyes and crossing her arms before glaring slightly at the changeling, Gali replied "Forget about the damn contract Gar, I think we've moved past that don't you? And I'll come to this thing not just because we'll be fighting in it, but also because I would like to meet the genius or madman who was able to contain cosmic power."

Gar gently hugged his world eater and said "You're right we're beyond the contract now, sorry for bringing it up. Oh, where does this thing start anyway?" he asked.

Holding the paper Gali looked it over and said "Let's see, says here the preliminary rounds will be taking place in Kenya in one week."

"Ah, well we should be able to get plane tickets quickly enough." Gar said.

"Or, I could just teleport us, seeing as I have plenty of access energy available." Gali pointed out.

"I don't want you to tire yourself out." Gar said worriedly.

Gali pulled him close and kissed him passionately. Pulling back so their faces were only a few inches apart, she said,"You worry too much. Besides, I have my sexy green love machine here to recharge my battery if I need it…that is unless you don't like having sex with me?"

"Wha-no I-that's not it at all! I mean, I'm not hanging around just because of the sex you're a great person too, and-and you're messing with me aren't you?" He deadpanned as he glared at her causing her to giggle and kiss him again before saying "Yeah, but you make it so easy Gar."

Once they broke apart again, she said, "I have a question Gar."

"What is it?" he asked as he went over to the well and began pulling up water via a crank.

"How come you didn't go all the way with me back at the apartment? I wouldn't have minded you know?"

Gar almost lost his grip on the crank. Finishing pulling the water up, he placed it on the lip of the well before he looked her in the eyes and said "Are you sure you wanna know? You might not like the answer." He warned.

Gali had frowned a bit before she nodded causing Gar to sigh and say, "Ok just try and keep an open mind alright? See, on this planet, ninety percent of the fauna are polygamous while the other ten percent mate for life. I have some very malleable DNA. Now, call it a feeling, but I-I have an attraction to more than one woman in my life. More than that, I just know that if I have sex, I will love them forever no matter what happens. That is part of the reason I didn't go all the way with you." He explained evenly.

Gali stared at the changeling silently for a moment before nodding and asking "So, who else is there, which one did you promise your virginity to, and is she stronger than me?"

The Green teen blinked before he shook his head like a dog and said "Ok, first off, you're not mad? And what's this about her being stronger than you or not?"

Lowering her head and shaking it, Gali enveloped the changeling in a hug squishing but not quite suffocating him between her cleavage, before she said "Silly Gar. No, I'm not mad at you for following your instincts. However-"Her grip suddenly tightened considerably. Then her tone became that of Galacta Daughter of Galactus the World Eater, as she continued, "If you think I will allow someone weaker than myself to have you before me? Then you are wrong. This girl, whoever she is, can either prove she is more worthy than myself or stand aside and wait her turn, so says Galacta."

Gar looked into her eyes as she spoke, and saw that they were brimming with untold amounts of cosmic power, and he thought 'You might be in for a tough fight Rae.'

Gali then cleared her throat and to get his attention. Her eyes now back to normal she asked, "What is her name?"

"Whose?" he asked, playing dumb.

Giving the changeling a slight shake, she said in a warning tone "Garfield…"

Sigh he relented and said "For the record while she's strong, I don't think she's on your level. Then again, I've never seen her use her full power, mostly because she can't."

Gali had looked at him for a moment before she said "Explain."

Now, let it be said that Garfield considered lying…Let it also be said that he wasn't as foolish as he often acted and realized he was in the arms of someone who could easily turn him into a pulp.

This thought in mind he said "Much like how your power is connected to how well fed you are, her power is directly linked to her emotions. The more she feels, the more shit blows up. Hence, she's always kept a lid on her emotions less someone gets hurt."

Both Gali's grip and gaze softened considerably upon hearing this 'Oh that poor girl...'

"That's right." Gar said nodding before adding "I didn't need to read your mind, it was written on your face."

Sticking her tongue out at him before letting him go, she said "You still haven't told me her name. I promise not to hurt her if that's what you're worried about." She said reassuringly.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding Gar said "That was my primary concern, yes. Her name is…"

Rachel "Raven" Roth was hard at work in her CEO office at Dayton Industries. Thankfully for her, the main branch of the company was also based in NYC. What she couldn't understand was how Gar managed to not only be a hero full time, but also do all this damn paperwork!

"This is insane." She muttered as she looked at a leaning tower of paperwork in her inbox.

'How did he manage to do both at the same time? Did he never sleep or something? I'll bet his photographic memory has something to do with it, regardless I will NEVER insult Gar's intelligence again once I see him. By Trigon, I might even apologize to him for all the times I insulted his intelligence.' The gray skinned empath thought.

There was a sudden knock on her door causing her to stifle a grown before she called "Come in."

In came Gar's secretary, a young man in his early twenties by the name of Daniel Evans, who was wearing a black suit red tie with messy brown hair and green eyes. In his arms, were yet more paperwork.

"Did I come at the wrong time, Miss Roth?" he asked with concern.

Shaking her head, she replied "No, of course, not Daniel. Though I've half a mind to banish this damnable mountain of paperwork to another dimension…Can I do that? Please say yes." Raven all but begged in her monotone.

Chuckling Daniel said, "While there is no law against doing such a thing Miss Roth, I don't advise it, and please, call me Soul."

Rolling her eyes, she thought 'Gar and his Otaku phase.'

Still, she found Gar's and Daniels' story heartwarming. Daniel didn't have a real home life. His father was neglectful some would say emotionally abusive man due to his wife dying due to complications of caused him to blame his son from complications that came from his own drug abuse. Daniel, for his part, did everything in his power to get his father's approval including getting straight A's in school to the point he was actually allowed to skip a grade or two.

However, it was all for naught. It wasn't until he found himself in the Big Brother program that the two met and Daniel found the acceptance and appreciation he'd always been looking for in the green changeling. When Mento was declared persona non grata by the courts, the first thing Beast Boy did as the owner of Dayton Industries, was a track down Daniel and hire the boy as his assistant. The slightly older boy seemed more than happy to fulfill the role, and since Gar was going through his Otaku phase at the time, he gave him the nickname of Soul Evans. A name of some anime character or another.

Rolling her eyes, Raven replied "With all due respect Daniel, I would prefer to call you by the name you were born with."

"Can you at least call me Danny, or Dan then Miss Roth, I don't like Daniel." He said with a frown.

"Fine, Danny it is then. Now, what other hellish demands do the minions make of me?" she joked.

Clearing his throat, Danny placed the pile of papers on the desk and taking the one from the top of the pile with a smirk he said "I think this one will amuse you."

Picking up the document with a raised eyebrow, she scanned it and smirked. It reads:

Petition: The new CEO is hereby being requested to no longer throw members of the board into another dimension just because they say something that upsets her.

She smirked upon reading this. On her first day in office in a board meeting, some arrogant old fogey dared insinuate the only reason she was put in charge, was because she was sleeping with the CEO…That fool was never seen again.

Suffice to say, she made a lasting impression on the board members, one that mainly said: "DO NOT FUCK WITH ME!"

Smirking at the memory, she asked in a slightly better tone "What's my schedule like today?"

"You have lunch with a Kitty Pryde, and a Miss Rogue at noon, a meeting with the board at one, and your afternoon is clear after that." He replied reading off a PDA.

'Right, today I'm supposed to have lunch with the girls.' The empath thought happy at the fact she would be able to unwind a bit.

"How did Gar run things around here Danny?" Raven asked curiously.

"Logan, he was very hands on when it came to running the company. Four times a month he would go to the Jump City branch of Dayton Industries' and via conference, call contact different department heads and listen to what their concerns for a bit. Then he contacted the other people in the same office like the project administrators, the staff, he was always a big hit in the break room as it was always stocked with donuts and coffee."

Raven remembered that the changeling would disappear for a day at a time here and there. When he returned, he always said he spent the day out flying or out on the town. Someday's he'd return with a bag full of the latest comics signifying he'd spent the day at the comic store.

She now knew that wasn't, in fact, the case, and that the changeling was, in fact, running a multi-billion dollar company behind his friend's backs.

'All those times he made Robin pay for pizza…speaking of Robin and the others, I wonder how they are doing?'

Back at the Titan Town in Jump City things were not going so well since the absence of the changeling and the empath. Since Aqualad showed up he and Robin had become best friends, mostly due to the fact that Aqualad was a kiss ass, but it also helped that they both despised a particular green changeling.

Raven's replacement was a silver-skinned Goth girl from Brazil by the name of Antonia "Toni" Monetti that went by Argent. She had quickly bonded with both Starfire and Cyborg, but for the life of her, she couldn't stand either the fish stick or the walking traffic light. The main reason being that they were not only putting down someone who wasn't here and couldn't defend themselves, but also they were putting down someone she idolized.

Yes, although he didn't know it, Beast Boy had quite a cult following amongst minority populations in the USA and abroad. Due to his radical appearance, he was both respected and loved both adults and children all across Africa. She was fairly certain if he ever went to Japan, he would get raped at some point by the sheer amount of fangirls he had there.

'He's the reason I got in'ta the hero biz in the first place an' now I gotta put up with 'earin him be insulted every damn day.' She thought.

"What a bunch a bullshit." She said to herself.

"Friend Argent, is something wrong?" a somber sounding voice asked.

Turning around, she found a concerned looking Starfire standing next to her, but Toni knew something was wrong with the girl. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying, plus she was walking, something she never did if she was even remotely happy, Argent knew.

"I could ask you the same question, sumthin' wrong luv?" Argent asked, concerned.

After looking around the hall briefly, Starfire asked, "Could we perhaps speak of this in my room Friend Argent?"

The silver-skinned girl nodded "Sure thing luv, lead the way."

The two heroines soon found themselves in an all pink room that almost offended the half-alien Goth's sensibilities. Sitting on a plush bright pink bedspread, the two girls faced one another silently for a moment before the Goth asked "So, what's got you so down Luv?"

The Tamaranean was quiet for a moment before she burst into tears and threw her arms around the alien hybrid, sobbing into her shoulder.

Argent was surprised for a moment before she patted the older girls back till she calmed down. When she finally pulled away, she said, "I am the sorry for my outburst Friend Argent."

"Don't worry about it Luv, but do ya feel up ta telling me what happened now?" Argent asked kindly.

Taking a deep breath, the alien princess nodded before saying "Klorbag Aqualad did the groping of me."

"What?! Where the hell was Robin when this happened?" Argent asked as her hands were coated in a silver aura.

"He was sitting on the couch watching it happen. This has me upset the most," Starfire said beginning to tear up again before she continued, "And when I asked Robin to tell the Klorbag off, do you know what he said?"

Argent shook her head no.

"He said it was all in good fun and I should think of it as a compliment!" she said angrily.

Her hands now glowing Argent stated in a creepily sweet voice "Would you like me ta' castrate him Star?"

Seeing the alien girls confusion, she whispered what the word meant in her ear. She seemed to seriously think it over for a moment before she shook her head and said, "No Friend Argent. Do not waste your time. I doubt Klorbags Robin and Aqualad have venlucks big enough to cut off."

Chuckling darkly at the warrior princesses' joke she couldn't help but ask "How do you figure?"

"There attire does not leave much to the imagination, no?" the redhead retorted with a wicked, knowing smile on her face.

The two teenage superheroines had stared at one another for a moment before they burst into laughter.

Their giggle fit was abruptly cut off when a rapid knocking came at Starfire's door. The two had stared at the door curiously for a moment before Starfire called "Who is it?"

"It's Cy Star, can I come in?" came the clearly agitated voice of the metal titan.

"Of course friend Cyborg, please enter." She called.

Seconds later Cyborg stomped into the room grim-faced.

Concerned, Starfire asked "What is wrong Friend Cyborg? You look as if you were just forced to swallow a Tamaranean muck beetle."

"Look, I dunno about you two but I've officially had it with Boy Blunder and Deep Sea Diver acting like assholes ya'll."

"What did they do mate?" Argent asked.

Wiping a tear from his human eye, he replied "They took my baby out for a joyride, and then they totaled her."

The girls covered their mouths in shock, they knew how protective Cyborg was of 'his baby' he built her from scratch not once but twice, the second time with Raven's help. For it to be destroyed a third time and by his so-called 'teammates' no less, must've been spirit crushing.

Getting up from the bed, Agent placed a comforting hand on the metal man and asked "You gonna be alright chrome dome?"

Smirking a little bit, he said, "It'll hurt for a while, but I'll be okay-" He paused for a moment before saying "I've uh been thinking you two…"

They perked up immediately, Cyborg was never nervous, this must be something. "Yes Friend Cyborg?"

"Well, I was thinking of…" he muttered something causing Argent to say "Speak up and just spit it out mate! It's not like we're gonna kill ya for speakin' your mind ya know?"

Taking a deep breath, Cy said "I'm thinking of quitting the Titans. It hasn't been the same since BB and Rae left. Don't get me wrong Argent, you're great! But, I've had it with hair gel and fish boy talking ill of my little buddy. So, I've decided I'm heading to New York and I'm gonna find em and see if they want to form a new team."

Starfire looked downcast at this announcement and said "So you are leaving too Friend Cyborg? Is this the Rekmas?"

Shaking his head, Cy replied "Actually Star, I was wondering if you and Toni wanted to join me on my little road trip?"

In response, the Cybernetic Titan was almost crushed by the strength of the Tamaranean princess' as she happily yelled "Yes, yes, yes!"

Patting her back awkwardly, he said, "Star, I'm glad you're happy, but you're dentin' my chassis girl!"

He was promptly let go of, and apologized to by the purple clad alien. The silver-skinned Goth asked "Road trip, why not take a plane, and how we gonna get there if your car's totaled Tin Man?"

Clearing his throat, the Cyborg replied, "Look, I may not like hair gel or fish boy, but if an emergency comes up, they may need the T-ship. I don't have money for tickets for three to fly all the way to NYC…What I do have though is a Volkswagen camper from the 70's in the garage that we can use to get to New York."

"I'm assuming it's tricked out?" Argent asked she may be a superheroine, but she needed a good night's sleep damn it.

Nodding, Cy replied, "The drivers' seat doubles as a recharge table for me. In the back are some memory foam mattresses. I've fully stocked the fridge, tricked out the kitchen, and there's a thirty-two inch flat screen with surround sound, Gamestation, satellite dish with over three hundred channels, and Sirius satellite radio. Plus, it can go from zero to sixty in three seconds, is as impregnable as a tank, can store up to a years' worth of food in the undercarriage. Finally, she gets seventy-five miles to the gallon."

Argent had blinked for a moment before she whistled "Dang mate that's impressive. So, when do we leave?"

Smirking Cyborg answered "How soon can ya both pack?"

As the three Titans made their way down the interstate, leaving a note taped on the fridge door that just said, "WE QUIT!" Along with each of their names and in Toni and Starfire's case their communicators. As Cyborg drove on I-80, he saw a familiar figure holding a cardboard sign that said "NYC or Bust."

'I should just keep drivin'.' He told himself before BB's popped into his head and said 'Dude, you can't just leave her out there to be picked up by some pervy trucker named Bubba or something.'

"Damn it grass stain, even when you're not here you manage to annoy me." Cyborg muttered as he pulled the tricked out RV over to the roadside. He opened the doors to the RV just in time to hear her say "Thanks for stopping it really means a lot. I promise I won't be any trouble-Stone?"

He waved awkwardly and said "Hey Jinx."

Her usually soft pink cat-like eyes turned into stone amethyst at the sight of him and crossing her arms over her chest she said archly "What is hitchhiking illegal now? You gonna bust me for trying to leave the state hero?" she finished with pure venom lacing every last syllable in her tone when she called him a hero.

Cyborg had winced with his remaining eye before he said calmingly, "No, actually I was gonna ask you if you needed a ride to New York. See that's where Argent, Star, and I are headed..?"

He let the sentence hang as a question allowing her to make up her own mind for herself. Finally, she nodded narrowing her eyes and saying "Fine, since your offering. BUT-"She said pointing a pale finger at him that sparked with pink hex energy, "There is nothing and I mean nothing between us anymore got it?"

The cybernetically enhanced Titan winced at her tone and the grimace he was sporting made it appear as if he had swallowed sour milk as he nodded silently.

"Good." She replied curtly before stepping into the mobile home. Walking past Cyborg without looking at him, she placed her bag down in the booth that constituted kitchen seating before sitting down herself across from a surprised Argent and Starfire and saying "Sup?"

Starfire, being her usual bubbly open self, immediately took to the villainess turned traveling companion, saying, "Greetings Jinx. Are we now Friends now that you are traveling with us to the New City of York?"

Jinx was sat there silently with her mouth open as she attempted to decipher what the red-headed alien had said to her. Once she did, she replied "Um, friend might be a bit of a strong word. But as long as we're traveling together, I promise not to attack you as long as you don't do the same to me. And I won't be committing any crimes either." Jinx promised.

Slowly Starfire nodded, thinking, 'So this is an alliance of necessity. Still,' she mused, 'that does not mean she may not become our friend on the way down to our destination.'

While Starfire was in thought, Argent asked, "So Luv, what makes you want ta git outta town all of the sudden?"

Narrowing her pink cat-like eyes, the hex sorceress replied "Probably the same reason you all are, those two teammates of yours."

Sighing in disgust, the alien hybrid asked, "What did they do?"

A look of distaste still on her face, Jinx replied "I was just walking down the street minding my own business right? Then; out of nowhere, tweedle dee and tweedle dum are standing in front of me, smirking, saying they were going to search me for stolen goods."

Starfire, having a feeling she knew where this was going, asked, "Then what happened Ally Jinx?"

"They pushed me into an alley and after handcuffing my hand behind my back, started feeling me up, the pervs." She spat her eyes briefly turning pink in her anger before she managed to calm herself down.

"Hmm, funny thing, that Luv, the as same thing happened to poor Star here earlier today, which is why we quit." Argent said while putting a comforting arm around the Tamaranean princess.

Jinx's eyes became sympathetic and she said "You too huh, wish I could say I was surprised but considering Robin's history…" Jinx suddenly cut herself off catching herself seemingly saying something she felt she shouldn't have.

Starfire fixed her temporary ally with an inquisitive gaze and asked "What about former Friend Robin's history Ally Jinx?"

Signing the pinkette replied "Are you sure you wanna know?"

"If she didn' wanna know she wouldn' ta asked Luv, now spill." Argent said curious to know what Argent knew about the Titan Leader that they didn't.

Jinx shrugged before saying "He hates mutants. In the year before your Tower was built, he would spend every night hunting down mutants and threatening them to get out of town. Those that refused got their shit kicked in. Eventually, those of us that refused to leave even after the beating got tired of his assholism and decided to fight back. Which lead to the foundation of HIVE as you know it."

Argent interrupted then, holding her hands up and saying, "Whoa, hang on a tic Luv. You mean ta tell me that HIVE was founded all because Robin was a mutant hater?"

Jinx narrowed her eyes and said "You heard of See-more right?" Seeing the Aussie nod, Jinx continued "He didn't always need to use that helmet you know. He just had normal eyes at one point…Then, Robin got his hands on him after he ignored his warning to get out of town. By the time, Boy Wonder was finished, Seymore was permanently blind, with a broken left tibia and right wrist. He had his eyes gouged out by a Bird-a-rang."

A heavy silence decended upon the mobil home after Jinx finished. After a moment, Cyborgs's voice called out in a near whisper showing her been paying attention all along, "What about BB? Why didn't Robin kick him out of town right away?"

Upon mentioning the changeling's name, Jinx actually smiled fondly for a moment, she then replied, "I have no idea, but it's really thanks to him that a lot of us stuck around town at all."

This caused all three Titans to blink in confusion, and Star asked "What do you mean by this Ally Jinx?"

Jinx was shocked "You mean guys don't know?"

"Know what?" Cy called curiously from the driver's seat.

Shaking her head at the sheer ignorance of the changeling's teammates Jinx explained, "BB sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into Jump City. Opening up animal shelters, spending huge amouts of money to open specialized private practices, so people like me and other mutants can get treatment without getting discriminated against and treat any unique aliments we may get due to our unique physology, and generally just helping out the superpowered community in Jump."

Moment's later, Cyborgs steps could be heard and then he was in front of the table motioning for Jinx to scoot over.

"Umm, Metal Man, if you're here…WHOSE DRIVING THE BLOODY VAN?!" Aregent yelled.

Cleaning out his human ear to stop the ringing Argent caused, Cyborg replied "Chill girl, this thing has a built in autopilot. What, you didn't expect me to drive the whole way did you? A man's gotta eat ya'll!" he defended upon seeing the incredulous look on the Gothic Aussie's face.

Clearing his throat awkwardly Cy said "What's this you were saying about BB sinking money into Jump? He barely has enough money for the comic books he's addicted to every month, let alone enough to sink hundreds of thousands into Jump City."

Jinx merely closed her eyes and shook her head saying "You guy's lived with him for almost two years, and didn't bother to learn a thing about him did you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?! Beast Boy is our Friend." Starfire said angirly her eyes becoming a luminous green.

Unimpressed, Jinx allowed her eyes to become a glowing vibrant pink before she said "Calm down before I make you calm down princess. I may have promised not to attack you, but that doesn't go so far as me not defending myself."

Starfire shut her eyes, and when she opened them, they were her normal vibrant green color and full of remorse. "I apologize Jinx, it has been a long day, full of the stress and bad feelings. I did not mean to lash out at you."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Jinx allowed her eyes to return to normal "It's fine, I was pretty high strung after my encounter with…Anyway, Beast Boy's loaded. Don't you guys know who his adoptive parents are?"

The three Titans shook their heads and Cyborg replied "BB never talked about his folks. It's kinda an unspoken rule with us, we don't talk about our pasts."

Jinx rolled her pink cat-like eyes and decided to fill them in "Well FYI chrome dome, Beast Boy's adoptive parents are Steve and Rita Dayton…or they were, before they died in that terrorist bombing with two of their friends in some third world country." She finished solemnly.

The three Titans gained were shocked upon hearing this, but none more so than Cyborg himself.

'BB, you coulda told me man, that's what best buds are for.' he thought solmnly before a Cheshire Catlike girn spread across his face.

Seeing the girls raising their eyebrows at his inapropriate grin he told them "It's just funny when ya think about it ya know? BB always came off as the most immature of us, but then we find out he's runnin' a multi-billion dollar corperation behind our backs. All thoes times he had Robin pay for things, all thoes times he asked me to build him a moped when he could've bought any vehicle he wanted." Cy said whistfully.

"A moped from you probably meant more to him because it came from you rather than something he could've bought." Jinx remarked offhandedly, "Rich people don't have many friends, just allies and enemies seeking to undermine them at every turn. The only difference between the two is your enemies try to stab you in the front, while your allies stab you back when you least expect it. Or so I've heard."

Now the Bionic Titan felt bad for never making that moped for his little green friend. 'I promise.' Cyborg vowed to himself 'I'm gonna make BB the best damn moped he's ever seen right after-'

Cyborg was suddenly hit in the face with a piece of paper. 'Right after I get this trash off my face.'

Pulling off the piece of paper and slapping it on the table he groused "Ok, who opened the window ya'll?"

"Wasn't me mate." Argent said.

"Nor I friend Cyborg." Starfire replied.

"Jinx did your powers open a window eariler?" Cyborg asked

"…" There was no response.

Looking over at the pinkhaired villainess he saw she looked disturbed by something and asked "Jinx?"

In response she nodded down at the paper, it the image of a man in a red and black checkered suit with white gloves. Upon reading what was on the flier itself, the metal man's remaining organic eye widened in shock.

What is the matter Friend Cyborg, you look the frightened." The Tamaraniean princess noted.

The half alien brizilian nodded saying "Yeah mate, wot's got you lookin like you seen a ghost?"

In response, he turned the flier around for them to read it before asking "So, what do we do?"

"We should go ta NYC first and pick up BB and Rae then head to Kenya. The more the merrier right?" Argent replied.

"No." Starfire said in an unsusally serious tone while frowning at the paper, "I believe we should head straight for the Kenya. I have a feeling we shall meet Friends Raven and Beast Boy there."

"You sure Star?" the mechanically enhanced hero of the group asked her, only to receive a nod from the alien princess.

Upon seeing her curt nod, Cyborg turned to Jinx and said "Looks like we'll be takin' a little detour, hope your ok with that."

Leaning back in her seat the pink-haired villianess replied "I'll live, seeing as this looks like one of those 'possible end of the world' senarios." She then perked up as a thought occurred to her and added, "But how are we going to get to Kenya in this thing? We can't exactly drive there." She pointed out.

Getting up from his seat, Cy replied, "I'll just activate flight mode and change the cooridinates on the autopiolet. We should be there in a few hours."

"Wait!" Jinx said suddenly standing up and glaring at the tin man, before she said "You mean this thing could've flown to New York?"

Seeing him nod she continued, "Then why didn't you do that in the first place?"

"I was trying to be inconspicous Jinx." Cyborg said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world before he headed back up front towards the driver's seat, leaving the villianess to stare at his retreating form in disbelief, thinking, 'For someone who is so smart, he can be really, really dumb sometimes…still, I suppose I shouldn't complain. I mean, I do get a free ride out of this after all.' She thought,sitting back down as the RV began a slow veritical ascent and, once it was airborne made its way towards Kenya.

A bordeline smug grin spread across the aristocratic face of an englishman wearing a red and black checkered suit. His blue eyes narrowed in glee as he saw his plan coming together. Fixing his red fedora with its tiger-stripped band across his head so that it shadowed his eyes, Mad Jim Jaspers, the worlds most powerful reality warper. With a white-gloved hand, he tapped a hawthorn cane on the ground, causing various portals to open up.

Looking into these various screens, he noted The Justice Leauge were sending in their All-Star team, The Avenger's were assembling, and Raven had gathered the X-men. From an entirely alternate universe, several very powerful fighters were making their way to their version of Kenya. In another screen a ragtag group of street urchins had just stowed away on a shipping boat headed for the dark continent. He also noted a flying RV was winging it's way towards the African country as well, at the same time a certain green changeling and his paramore were preparing to leave a certain village.

"This is gonna be good fun. A grand ole time if I do say so myself." Jim said to himself as he stroked his pencil mostache. His blue-eyes once again flicked to a certain green changeling as he thought 'M'boy, I expect great things from you. I do hope you won't disappoint me.'

Chapter length: 6,562 words Number of Pages: 14 Date completed: 1/28/17

AN: Hello all, hope this week finds you all well. I have a bit of a confession to make. This is the only chapter I've managed to write for this fic since reposting. Why? Well, I started replaying Bloodborne on NG+7 and after that, everything is kind of a blur…Damn Orphan of Kos! That, combined with the fact that there are like, nine videogames are coming out within the next two months that I'm really looking forward to playing (Horizon Zero Dawn, Neir: Automata, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Nioh, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, and Mass Effect Andromeda to name a few.)

This means it may take a bit longer than usual to post the next chapter. So patience please? Anyway, that's all for now, so till next chap, Bubbajack out! Peace!