Title: The Nighthawk Chronicles 22: The Out of Towners (1/?)

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Rating: Maybe a little harsh language, certainly some violence, but nothing worse than on BtVS.

Spoilers: Up to Chosen for BtVS and... Betrothed for Teen Titans, though it's set around the time of Crash. Also some spoilers for JLU: For the Man Who Has Everything.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: The Titans find themselves with visitors from out of town. Wayyy out of town.

Author's Note: Special guest star appearances!

"No."

"'No'?" Supergirl blinked in disbelief.

"No," Xander repeated firmly. "Sorry, but I've never been that fond of having people tell me who and what to protect."

"Would that be such a bad thing, though? You wouldn't have to wing it anymore-"

"And then I'd always have one of them watching over my shoulder," he said, "stopping me from doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done." He met the Argoan's gaze and said, "I will not have someone dictating to me the places and people that my life is worth risking for."

Without looking, Xander added, "And Star, don't try changing my mind. You either, Raven."

Cyborg leaned over at Robin as the two girls closed their mouths in surprise. "How'd he do that?" he murmured.

Robin shrugged.

"You can go ahead and handle all the cosmic menaces and out-of-control nuclear war machines you want," Xander said. "I'm going to stay here and keep the crooks running scared of a forty-five in the night. Green Arrow can keep you guys grounded just fine." He shrugged, "Besides, someone's got to handle the second-stringers. It's what I'm best at."

"Wait. 'Out-of-control nuclear war machines'?" Supergirl repeated. She flushed and squeaked, "You heard about that? How did you find out? We didn't tell anyone, and the Chong-Mai government put a media blackout on the whole thing."

"I have my ways," he shrugged.

Robin looked between them, "What are you two talking about?"

"Never mind," Supergirl shook her head. She looked at the others, "What about the rest of you?"

"I don't think the offer really extends to me," Jinx said, shaking her head. "I'm... kinda new to the team."

"The offer's open to all Titans," Supergirl said. "Including you."

"Oh..."

"I'll have to think about it," Robin said.

"Me too," Cyborg nodded.

"Mm-hmm."

"Yeah."

Aside from Xander, the consensus was unanimous: They needed time to think it over.

"Hey, Bats."

Batman looked at the Flash and tilted his head. They were in the Watchtower, and Batman was actually just about to leave. Things had been tense in the Watchtower since the League -- just before opening membership worldwide -- had been taken down by Ra's al Ghul, using plans that Batman had conceived, just in case. They still didn't know what had happened, but Batman had his suspicions.

"Where's Supergirl?" the scarlet speedster asked.

"Why?"

The Flash shrugged, "Well, with that break-out in Metropolis, I figured she'd be there. I mean, it's Supes's birthday, so I get why he's not there, but what about Supergirl?"

"She's on a mission."

"Mission? What mission?"

"To recruit the Titans."

The Flash blinked, then frowned and muttered, "Oh, guess I'll have to update the odds..."

"Oh?" Batman's eyebrow rose slightly.

The Flash flushed, "Uh, you know. The odds. On Nighthawk."

"Oh?" the eyebrow went a little higher. Batman seemed to loom a little more.

"On all the girls who have been expressing interest in him?" the Flash stammered as he shrank back.

"Oh."

"Um," the Flash said, "if that'll be all, I'm outta here."

"Wait."

The speedster froze in the doorway and turned, cringing slightly as Batman approached him, reaching into his utility belt.

"Hold out your hand."

"Yessir," the Flash acquiesced, closing his eyes. He felt something press into his hand.

"Twenty on Raven."

The Flash blinked and stared at the two twenty-dollar bills in his hand. "Uh, and the other twenty?" he asked dumbly.

"On Jinx."

With that and a billowing swirl of his cape, the dark knight was gone.

Batman's immediate destination was the command center, where J'onn was monitoring Justice League operations.

"Situation?" he asked.

"Only one escapee has eluded pursuit," J'onn said, bringing up the file. "Edward Lytener, aka Luminous. He's also apparently reacquired his equipment from police impound. I have Doctor Light and Obsidian patrolling Metropolis for him."

The Dr. Light J'onn was speaking of was Kimiyo Hoshi, who by unfortunate coincidence, shared a codename and similar costume design with the bungling villain who occasionally harassed Jump City.

"What about Stargirl?" Batman prompted. "Her cosmic rod should be able to affect light."

"She's been promised a solo mission next," J'onn replied. "Or at least one without adult supervision. I have her on standby in case Luminous appears elsewhere."

"Good enough."

"Will you and Wonder Woman be informing Superman?"

"It's his birthday, J'onn," Batman replied. "He deserves at least one day off."

Kara leaned forward, her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her hands, gazing across the restaurant table at Xander.

"This is not what I had in mind," she complained.

Xander looked at her helplessly and then at the other occupants of the table. Raven sat at his left, Jenny -- that is, Jinx -- on his right, and Kori one down from Raven, leaving an unoccupied seat between Jenny and Kara.

"I'm still wondering how I got roped into this," he muttered.

"Because you love us?" Jenny suggested, batting her eyes sweetly.

"Because you have a functional survival instinct?" Raven deadpanned.

"Wu wike ush?" mumbled Kori through a mouthful of food.

"Make way, girls," a chillingly familiar voice called as its owner slid into the empty seat. Blackfire smiled at him, "Hi, there, handsome."

The room exploded.

Three travelers landed in the middle of what looked like a warzone. The street was wrecked, windows were shattered, cars were overturned, and a few fires blazed merrily away.

Warrior barely had time to register that before he was tackled, arms wrapping around him and... yes, those were definitely breasts pressed against his chest. While not necessarily a bad thing, it did raise a question: What the hell was going on?

"Hi, handsome," his assailant whispered huskily.

Warrior was a Green Lantern, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 of his universe. His power ring, like all Green Lantern power rings, relied on willpower to work. The confusion and the sudden surge of hormones made concentrating a little difficult.

That is, until the sexy brunette looked over her shoulder and called out, "You can keep that one, as long as this one's mine!"

"Way to go, War!" Warrior's companion, Superboy, cheered, then leaned over to her. "Do you have a sister?"

"Sure," she purred. She nodded to the side, "The redhead."

Superboy pivoted like a weather vane.

Redhead, redhead, redhead... he thought, scanning the horizon. Hmm, Raven, Supergirl, some Batman-wannabe, a chick with pink hair, and...

"Starfire?!" he sputtered. Then he looked at the brunette again, pointing weakly at her, "But... but... that would mean... you're..."

"Her name's Komand'r," an amused voice supplied. That was the Batman-wannabe, a part of Superboy's mind noted. "Or you can call her Blackfire. She's wanted by the Centauri police for quite a list of felonies, mostly grand theft."

The third traveler, Buffy, stared. The voice clicked, and several things fell into place. She opened her mouth... then shut it as the darkly-clad native superhero gently touched a finger to her lips.

"Hiya, Buff," Nighthawk grinned. "Long time, no see." He looked at Warrior, "Hi, me."

Warrior frowned, remembering the last world he'd been to, "You're not a vampire are you?"

"No," Nighthawk quipped, "I just dress like one."

Patrick Dugan -- behind the helmet of the S.T.R.I.P.E. suit -- glared at Flash's book on that new kid, Nighthawk. He loomed over the scarlet speedster menacingly, "All right, Flash, what's the big idea, putting odds on Stargirl? And only at three to one against? She hasn't even met the guy."

"Hey," Flash replied, holding up his hands helplessly, "I had to set odds when someone placed a bet. Considering who it was, I figured I ought to fudge the odds a bit."

Pat frowned. Now, who in the Justice League would bet on...

His eyes widened in realization, and he turned and thundered toward the teleporters.

"COURTNEYYY!"

Author's Postscript:

For those who don't get the joke, Pat Dugan's stepdaughter is Stargirl, aka Courtney Whitmore.

And for those who don't know what's going on with Warrior, Superboy, and Buffy, read Cobra's Journey of a Hero: Hypertension. Of course, you should probably read the earlier JoH 'fics first, which I would strongly recommend anyway, as they are excellent stories. You'll find him in my list of Favorite Authors.