Humble Beginnings

On a lonely road in the middle of nowhere stood a young teenager. A baggy, tattered grey hoodie adorned his thin frame, hood up as if to hide him from the world. Black jeans adorned his bottom half, complete with black combat boots. Above him the sky darkened as clouds gathered, rumbling in quiet discontent. Raising his eyes to the sky, the young man watched as a single bolt of lightning illuminated the night sky.

"Looks like rain." A voice, as soft as a whisper, escaped from his mouth even as his lips curled in a thin smile. He liked the rain. There was something about it, something calming about feeling the soft touch of raindrops across his face. Lowering his hood, he closed his eyes and let the first few drops hit his face.

As the water streaked down his face, he gave a sigh of contentment. Life on the run had taught him many hard lessons but it was times like these that reminded him how important it was to stop and enjoy the little things, where he could. As he stood enraptured in his revere, he never noticed that his feet had begun to carry him forward once more. Never noticed how dirt gave way to concrete, or the car that he was now in the path of. It wasn't until the driver sounded the horn that he snapped out of it, eyes locked on the incoming headlights.

In the heat of the moment, instinct won over reason.

Brittany gave a tired sigh, eyes focused wearily on the road. She was an assistant to a business executive, and a sorely underpaid assistant at that. Her boss had business a few cities over and had need of her. And like the good underpaid assistant she was, she had come running.

"Fucking asshole." She grumbled, still wondering why her boss had refused to pay for a plane ticket and instead insisted she drive. "Oh, don't be like that Brittany. It isn't that far, you'll likely get there before I do. Dick." She shook her head, taking a moment to rub her eyes to ward off sleep.

It was for that reason that she didn't see that there was someone in the road until it was too late. Eyes wide, she screamed and honked the horn. Not having it in her to see the impact, she closed her eyes and waited.

But it never came. Seconds past with nothing. Peaking between her eyes, she slowed to a stop and pulled to the side. She looked once at the front of the car, then back at the road behind her. Neither showed any sign of impact with anyone. A quick glance further revealed that there was no one there that she could have hit anyway.

"Great! Now I'm seeing things!" Lamented Brittany, even as she slowly pulled back out into road. Wide awake now, she put the strange incident behind her and continued on, content to resume ranting to herself about her cheap boss.

"Fuck." Shaking his head, he loosened his grip on his ghostly powers and allowed himself to fade into visibility once more. "So stupid. God damn it." He face-palmed, moving quickly out of the road as he did. Sliding to the ground, he took a moment to breathe. 'What if… no.' He shook his head again, fighting off paranoia. No way that lady went to the police about the strange, disappearing person she'd nearly hit. And even if she did, she'd be laughed out the door. There would be no report on it. And even if there was, no way it got as far as the Guys in White. No way. "Right?" He asked out loud, blue eyes turned up to the unforgiving sky.

The only answer was the soft patter of the rain.

His feet started carrying him forward once more, doing his best to fight off the growing sense of unease. Stopping to inspect a sign, he managed to force a chuckle at the contents. 'So stereotypical.'

"Welcome to Jump City." Shaking his head, Danny Fenton let his feet carry him past the sign and toward the city. Despite the sign, he certainly didn't feel very welcome. But then, these days it was rare that he ever was.

Far, far away from the young halfa was another hooded figure. Unlike his similarly clothed counterpart however, this one was large. With a physique that lead to him being close to twice the size of most people and a certain sense of anger in his step, people on the sidewalk moved quickly to get out of his way as he walked.

'Where the hell am I even going anyway?' He asked himself bitterly, having no answer.

He stopped, giving a tired sigh. He wasn't sure how long he'd been going, but the sense that he hadn't really managed to get anywhere was prominent in his mind.

"Hey mister, you ok?" The voice of a child, full of innocence, reached his ears. Head bowed, he sighed again. He knew what came next.

Timmy was a curious and kind boy, always asking questions about the world around him. So, when he saw a large man standing in the middle of sidewalk and give a sigh like he was full of naught but sadness, he had to know why. Maybe he could help?

But when the stranger slowly turned his head to look at the boy, an action which came strangely with the sound of creeking metal, he wished he hadn't gotten his attention.

For while he could see that the stranger had one normal brown eye, where the other should be all Timmy could see was an ominous red light and the light sheen of polished metal.

Timmy did the only thing that seemed natural. With his pants significantly wetter now, he let a scream and ran away. Away from the sad stranger with the strange, sad eyes.

Victor Stone watched him go almost numbly. He was so used to that reaction now that it didn't affect him. All he felt now was anger. Anger at the world for his lot in life, his father for saving his life but turning him into this half metal monstrosity, or himself for the once bright future that would be now forever closed to him.

Angry at metallic and cold hands, which could no longer feel.

He didn't know really. All he knew was the urge to punch something. Securing his hood in place to protect against the coming rain, he continued walking. It was all he felt like he could do now, really. Unless he found something to punch.

Garfield Logan, better known to the world as Beast Boy, sighed in boredom. Crouched in the corner of a hotel room, he stared out into space. Lost in thought as he mindlessly bounced a ball against the wall. 'What now?'

He'd arrived in the city a few hours ago. And in that time, he'd done nothing more than get some food, a rubber ball to amuse himself with, and a hotel room.

Which was where he found himself now, haunted by the memories of his former mentor's last words. About how he wasn't fit to be a member of the Doom Patrol, much less a hero. 'What do I do now?'

He wished he could easily just shake off the man's words and move on, but it was proving easier said than done.

He'd done the right thing, of that he was certain. Or at least, that's what he wanted to believe.

He let out a sigh. Bringing his hand up, he clenched his fist. With a thought, he could assume the form of any animal, big and small. Extinct or not. 'Am I really supposed to just do nothing with this? Just go on and try to live a normal life?'

His parents had believed what he could do was a gift, not just a freak medical accident. They'd believed in him, helped him to learn about and control his abilities as best he could.

He could still see their proud faces, when he'd finally managed to get his transformations under control. And he remembered the sadness he'd felt when he heard they were gone.

They believed he could do good with what he could do.

'And they weren't wrong.'

Determination filled him. He didn't need the Doom Patrol. All he needed was to believe in himself. He might still wear their purple and black uniform but starting now he was free of them.

Opening the window, he put on his mask and took the form of a hawk. 'You're wrong, Mento.' Was his last thought as he began an aerial patrol of the city.

After all, nothing was stopping him from going solo and Jump City was the perfect place to start.

Somewhere near the center of Jump City, in a grimy back alley, a slow wind began to pick up. As it did, the shadows in the area began to shift, pooling in a small circle on the ground and started to grow. Runes appeared at its outermost edges as the circle grew even larger, slowly beginning to orbit around it.

Spinning faster and faster, they suddenly stopped and flashed white. With a sound like thunder, a bright light flashed at the center of the circle.

And just like that, the whole thing faded. Standing where the center of the circle had been was now a young teenage girl.

Wearing a blue cloak held together by red gem in a gold setting, she opened her eyes slowly. 'So… this is Earth.'

She breathed in, noting the musky city air. Taking in her surroundings, she frowned in distaste. "Azarath is so much cleaner." She murmured, sighing with a shake of her head. The action made her hood fall dawn, revealing ashen skin and purple eyes, with short purple hair and a red gem embedded in her forehead.

Still, it would do. "As long as I can get away from him." She reminded herself, pulling up her hood to ward off the coming rain.

Besides, no one knew who she was here. No one knew she was a half demon from another dimension who was fated to play a key part in destroying the world. Maybe she could even do some good here, before it all ended.

She left the alley behind her, leaving behind no evidence she had ever been there. Scanning her surroundings and noticing the odd looks she was getting for her clothing, she decided to just go with the crowd for now. It was the only option she had, until she learned more about this strange and alien place she had found herself in.

Jump City was a rather big city. While it was nowhere near the size of places like Gotham or Metropolis, it was still big. 'Perfect.'

Standing on top of one of the city's tallest skyscrapers stood a young teen. Many would recognize him easily as the Boy Wonder himself, Robin. Right hand of the Dark Knight, and vital member of the dynamic duo that haunted the nightmares of the criminals of Gotham. Clad in the advanced red, yellow, and green body armor that had been bestowed on him so many years ago, his visage was unmistakable. Even the black and white domino mask which hide his eyes.

As he scanned the city below him, a grin soon broke out across his face. He couldn't help it; this place was full of opportunity. It was, as he'd observed, big. But that wasn't what brought him here. As far as his investigation had revealed, it was home to no heroes and had a crime rate that meant it could certainly use one. Which was where he came in.

It was the perfect place to prove that he could do what he did best without the Batman looking over his shoulder.

As he stood there, he felt a few drops of water on his head as it began to rain. It reminded him that there was still a lot of work to do. Namely, where to place his things for the night. Turning, he went to grab his duffle bag when he heard a nearby scream.

Stashing his things in a nearby vent, he was off towards the source of it. The sooner he made his presence in the city known, the sooner he could get out from underneath the Bat's long shadow.

Far outside of Earth's atmosphere was a Gordianian prison ship. They weren't there to make trouble, far from it. They knew better than to earn the ire of the Justice League, Earth's legendary protectors.

No, they were just passing through. Transporting prisoners to the Citadel, where they would be broken and forced to serve as slaves. Or at least they were trying to. Currently the ship was in chaos, lizard-like humanoids clad in armor and carrying high-tech laser guns rushing this way and that. Explosions were going off as parts of the ship were destroyed in a pitched battle Their most valuable and dangerous prisoner had escaped her cell, and now they needed to subdue her.

Easier said done, as Koriand'r, the warrior princess of the proud race of Tamaraneans, wasn't going down without a fight. She, like many of her race, had green eyes with light-green scleras, orange skin, and long fiery red hair.

Clad in a black and metallic grey outfit, even with her hands restrained by cuffs which covered her entire lower arm she was a force to be reckoned with.

Her movements were naught but a blur as she struck this way and that, delivering quick and powerful blows to her opponents. This was her chance! She had been bidding her time since she had been captured, waiting until they were close enough to a planet that she could escape to. Now all she needed to do was hijack an escape pod, get these cuffs off, then she'd have a chance.

"You'll never escape!" Roared one of them to her right, raising his weapon to fire. He never got a chance, as she smashed her hands into his face and pushed him to the ground.

With him out of the way, she quickly dove into the empty escape pod, smashing the launch button on her way in.

The doors closed quickly, earning screams of rage from her former captors as they fruitlessly banged on the doors. Koriand'r smirked, sticking her tongue out at them in a childish display of victory. Further explosions rocked the ship, evidence that her battle with the Gordianian's had done quite a bit of damage.

'Hopefully that should stop them from being able to pursue me immediately.' Koriand'r thought, sliding down to relax. The pod had no controls, or at least none that she could see. Still, the rockets on the side carried her faithfully toward the green and blue planet below. She'd let the pod carry her to the planet and bear the brunt of reentry, then ditch it hallfway through. No doubt they'd be tracking it, so she wouldn't use it any more than needed.

The Tamaranean looked down, eyeing the thick restraints that still held her. 'As soon as I land these have got to go.' She'd done well on the ship, but that was because they were caught off guard and were uncoordinated, their large numbers making it difficult to fight in such an enclosed space.

On Earth, they'd have no such handicaps. They'd be prepared and ready. If she wanted to have any chance at all, then she needed to get these cuffs off. Whatever it takes.