Customary Disclaimer The author in no way shape or form owns the places or characters used in the following written work, and is in no way profiting off of their use in any way except when concerning his own ego. This story, and the situations depicted in it, is entirely for entertainment purposes for those that may stumble upon it.

Note There is no dialogue or speech in this prologue. Dialogue begins in chapter 1. The reason I wrote this prologue without speech is that I wanted to distinctly differentiate this from the actual chapters. This is a prologue, and as such, it is not meant to feel like just another chapter.

Prologue Hero's Fall

As it did to everything that surrounded it, time took its toll on Jump City and its denizens. With each passing year, buildings were torn down and new, more modern designs rose from their ashes. Eroded sections of the streets were mended and repaired with the utmost care, as to ensure the safety of those who drove on them. The trees and plant life hidden in the city took root and multiplied rapidly, much to the duress of those who were employed to tend to them. The animals of the fair city, human or otherwise, too grew with time, slowly maturing and playing their part in society. It had been 5 years since the Brotherhood of Evil nearly succeeded in eliminating an entire generation of heroes, and many things had changed. However, on a small island off the coast of the city stood a monument that seemed to glow as it silently proclaimed to the world that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The inhabitants of the tower were older now, and they had all grown and matured with age, though some considerably more than others. The Titans were no longer teenagers, and their shortened name was not the only thing that proved it to be so. To the naked eye, it was obvious that each of them had changed. However, it was impossible for anyone to truly say how much they had changed without first hand experience, and only other Titans were privy to those experiences.

Nightwing, or Robin as his close friends still called him from time to time, had become more like his mentor personality wise than anyone would have thought healthy. Though, anyone who voiced their opinions on such matter would be met by a broody glare from the Titan's leader and a frown from his first girlfriend and current fiancé. He still led the Titans, unwilling to pass the torch just yet, though all of his fellow teammates were certainly qualified for the position. Richard Grayson, as few people on Earth knew Nightwing by, had grown considerably taller since venturing forth into his early twenties. He now stood only slightly shorter than his robotic teammate, Cyborg, but taller than two out of the three remaining Titans. He still hid behind a mask, concealing not only his own identity, but that of his mentor as well. However, his facial features had lost their boyishness and grew more sharp and manly. In battle, his eyes and facial features seemed to mold to the shape of a permanent glare as he stared down his opponents. Locking eyes with Nightwing was intimidating, to say the least.

Kori Anders, a name which the other four Titans decided to give Starfire after numerous failed attempts at pronouncing her actual name given to her on Tameran. Still, Starfire fell in love with her new name, and was more than pleased to allow her friends to call her such outside of battle. Kori had grown taller in years past, but sat between her fiancé and Cyborg in height. Although, that fact is to the former's chagrin, as Richard is slightly disturbed by the fact that his fiancé is taller than he is. The situation does not fall within his comfort zone in the least, but the two of them are very much in love regardless, even if Richard still has trouble expressing himself sometimes. Starfire's cooking improved greatly, though is still inedible for the most part. From time to time, she stumbles onto a dish that is unlike anything the Titans have ever tasted before, but often finds that she is unable to recreate the feat at a later date. The excitement of seeing her friends actually enjoy something she made oftentimes results in Kori innocently forgetting some of the minor details in the process. Still, she continues to try.

Victor Stone, or Cyborg as people on the opposite side of the law knew him by, was probably the Titan who had changed the least physically. His mechanical half simply did not allow himself to age as a normal human would. Instead, he aged mentally and emotionally. In his teens, he was one of the few Titans, honorary members included, who could match the sheer volume and level of immaturity that his green skinned teammate and best friend could achieve. Now, nearing his mid twenties, Cyborg had molded into the role of the wise older brother of his teammates, always seeming to come up with the answers people needed or being able to say what people needed to hear. The price for such wisdom was, for the most part, giving him an extra hand or two when the mechanical man was working on his beloved car, which had undergone countless modifications where the newest and best accessories and parts were installed. After all, nothing was too good for his "baby." Even with his endless wisdom, Cyborg oftentimes found himself regressing to his early teenaged attitude and banter whenever challenged to a video game. He was the best at them, after all, and there was nothing wrong about allowing a healthy amount of ego show from time to time.

Raven, after much deliberation, decided to take her mother's maiden name as her own. And thus, Raven Roth emerged… in a sense, which is to say it was a name only four others knew her by. The half demon had actually changed the least out of all five Titans, though she did not care for such trivialities. Emotionally, Raven was the same as ever, keeping herself at a safe distance from those around her, but also seeming so close at the same time. To anyone but her team, she would have seemed cold and unemotional, but years living together had taught them all a thing or two about her, and they realized that she was anything but. Physically, however, she was a few inches taller than she was as a teenager and her form more womanlike. Her hair now rested just below her shoulders, which were still covered along with the rest of her figure by her trademark form fitting leotard and cloak. Despite her best efforts, the purple haired woman found that she had a rapidly growing fan base, which consisted of the rebellious Goth youth, the overly appreciative elderly, and men. Oh, not a day went by when the hormonal, male inhabitants of the city did not praise the higher powers for allowing beauties such as Raven Roth and Starfire to live in and protect their city. Life was good.

Garfield "Beast Boy" Logan had become a fine example of a young man over the past five years. To his sheer joy, he had surpassed Raven in height, leaving his female friend as the new shortest member of the team, but now stood several inches shorter than their leader, Nightwing. Gar was not too particularly happy when he stopped growing, but he took his small victory over Raven as consolation. Over the years, Gar Logan's code name was continuously changing. Upon his eighteenth birthday, he officially changed his name to Animal Man, signaling his reach into adulthood. Upon Raven's admission that his new name was in fact God awful, and the fact that the other Titans quickly agreed and were relieved that someone had finally had the courage to say it, the changeling quickly dawned a new and highly original name, Changeling. His run as changeling lasted a few years, but it was on his twentieth birthday that he threw it out and retook his original code name of Beast Boy. After all, the name fit him perfectly. He was still a kid at heart, and much of his antics remained the same after five years, though they were more tolerable and subdued now that he had matured slightly.

As a group, the Titans were stronger than ever, going into battle as a unit and following through countless battle tactics like a well oiled machine. Years of experience led them to victory after victory against old and new foes alike, though the names and powers of their adversaries seemingly were getting more and more ridiculous with each passing year. Though some villains managed to come close to victory, the Titans always prevailed in the end, earning the gratitude of their city and, in many cases, the world.

The days seemed to blur together as life for the Titans settled down into a comfortable routine. The siren that wailed throughout the tower whenever there was trouble in the city had become a part of the five young adults' lives, albeit a hectic one and they were quick to react and set things right whenever called upon. They were fortunate, and they knew it. Each of them was blessed with a group of friends that they wouldn't trade for the world, a home that was better than anything they could imagine and a profession that they could willingly dedicate themselves to. Not only that, but throughout their careers as heroes, not one of them had ever had to face a serious, life threatening injury. Together, they looked out for and protected each other, making sure any and all injuries sustained in battle were minor. Life was routine for them, but never boring.

It was on one of these routine, midsummer days that the Titans were interrupted in the middle of their lunch by the familiar sound and red glow of the siren that signaled something amiss. Nightwing quickly contacted the police and was informed that a group of three men had attempted to rob a bank an hour prior to the call. Fortunately, one of the Bank's employees had managed to trip the silent alarm without being caught by the three armed assailants, alerting the police to their peril. Within minutes, the bank had been surrounded by a squadron of police forces, and negotiations had been attempted for the release of the hostages. However, much to the horror of the police, it seemed that once the three attempted robbers noticed that their situation had turned from profitable to something altogether undesirable to them, panic and fear ran rampant through their minds. None of them were prepared for the consequences of what they were doing, and their state of minds quickly became unstable. All forms of negotiations were met with either near untranslatable gibberish or threats on the hostages' lives. It was obvious that something had to be done.

And so, the Titans were called in on a routine mission to save an unknown number of people from three armed and possibly mentally unstable would be bank robbers. They had handled plenty of situations like this before, so they were confident that this mission would be nothing less than simple. Within minutes, the team was suited up and on their way to the scene of the crime.

Nightwing arrived first, having left the tower on his signature motorcycle as quickly as he could. He swiftly, yet precisely surveyed the area around the bank and spoke to the police officer who appeared to be in charge as he waited for the rest of his team to arrive. Things had not calmed down in their transit to the scene, only escalating dangerously as each of the three robbers now held a hostage tightly in their arms with a gun to their heads. They needed to act, and it had to be soon.

Starfire arrived moments later, touching down next to her fiancé. The alien princess had flown there since she could easily fly faster than her robotic teammate's car. Not only that, but in all their years as a couple, she had never let Nightwing out of her sight in a battle, and neither did he. He was hers and she was his, and they vowed to protect each other and their future they had yet to live.

A minute later, the T-car sped to a halt behind the barricade of police cars that surrounded the bank's entryway, signaling the arrival of their three remaining teammates. Cyborg got out of his car and went to Nightwing's side to get an update on the situation. More than anyone, Victor was most comfortable in a leadership position, and without even knowing, the cybernetic man seemed to try to put himself on even footing with his leader. Garfield was out of the car next in a flash, and seconds later was opening one of the back doors for his purple haired teammate. Raven looked up at his smiling face with an emotionless expression before rolling her eyes. Mumbling to herself about being perfectly capable of getting out of a car on her own, Raven slid to the opposite side of the back seat and exited the car on her own accord. Garfield frowned as he shut the door, but his happy demeanor returned in full force when he noticed the ghost of a smile that played on Raven's lips as she beckoned him towards the awaiting Titans. Chuckling to himself, he followed, though he never needed a reason to. The Titans were assembled, and they were more than ready.

After a few minutes discussing tactics with Cyborg, Nightwing decided that stealth would be the best course of action for taking out the three bank robbers inside, and the team instantly separated, each knowing by heart the role that they would play. Cyborg and Starfire, having attire (or in Cyborg's case, body parts) that consisted of mainly bright, noticeable colors; each guarded the front and back areas surrounding the building. Since they could not stealth as easily as their other three teammates, their job was to apprehend the criminals if they attempted to escape.

By now, the robbers had noticed the presence of the Titans, and their fear of being captured grew exponentially. Without thinking, the leader grabbed his hostage and called back to his comrades that they were moving to the roof. Even in his panicked state of mind, he knew that the Titans could oftentimes appear from the shadows in a heartbeat to take down their foe, and that inside the bank were numerous shadowy corners for them to use. All he wanted was a quick payoff, and he was not about to end the day in jail if he could help it. The sun shone directly down on the roof, and the only shadows there would be from their own bodies, and he was certain that they would be small enough and close enough to them to prevent Nightwing or the other Titans from using them as cover. Nodding silently, the other two would be bank robbers followed their leader to the roof.

Nightwing hung upside down from the roof of the bank, clutching the line of his grappling hook tightly as to not fall down. To his right levitated Raven normally with an unreadable expression on her face as a small, green mockingbird sat perched on her shoulder. The Titans' leader envied his female teammates greatly. The ability to fly was a great asset that many meta humans seemed to possess. He, however, had to do without; oftentimes spending an unhealthy amount of time laying in wait in a position similar to the one he was in now. Fortunately, their time to strike came sooner than he anticipated. He gave a small nod to his green friend, and watched as the small mockingbird transformed into a near invisible green fly and took off towards the roof. Their operation had begun.

In fly form, Beast Boy observed the situation on the roof. The three criminals stood back to back in a triangle formation near the edge of the building, each with hostage in hand. Garfield's mind's eye narrowed, finding it impossible to get his fly eyes to do so, as he saw the look of terror on the hostages' faces. All three were innocent, and scared to the very core. No doubt each of them only wanted to go home, and Beast Boy promised them mentally that they all would. Silently flying above the six people hurtled together, the green fly poised himself for attack as he waited for Nightwing's signal.

With beast Boy in position, Raven signaled the information to Nightwing and he nodded in return. It was time. In one swift motion, Nightwing extended his Bo Staff to full length and carelessly tossed it up onto the roof. Normally, such an action would both alert their prey that something was wrong, and give away their position. However, that was exactly what he was planning.

On the roof, Nightwing's staff let out a metallic clang as it landed on the roof, immediately getting the attention of the three criminals. They each reacted predictably, aiming their guns away from the innocent people in their clutches and towards the area of the roof that the staff had landed on. Noisily, the weapon settled to the ground and eventually rolled to a stop, but the guns pointed in its direction remained unmoving. Fear surfaced in their minds again, but before they could determine how they should react, the attack had begun.

In the blink of an eye, the green fly that had been previously unnoticed morphed into a much larger octopus. Gravity took its course, and the octopus fell hard onto the group of people. In panic, gunshots were fired, but the weapons were still aimed at nothing but thin air. Nightwing and Raven heard the gunfire, and the leader frowned. Neither of them was fond of this part of the plan. They could do nothing but wait for their green skinned teammate to complete his mission.

Upon landing, Beast Boy used the confusion to wrap one of his tentacles around each of the three guns and the three hostages in the possession. The robbers were all too easily relieved of their weapons, and recovered from the shock of having an octopus fall on top of them just in time to see a large, green gorilla sprinting towards the edge of the roof with hostages in tow. They were weaponless. They were hostageless. They were afraid of what they knew was coming next.

Hearing the thumps of gorilla feet approaching, Nightwing knew that things were going as planned. He was in motion without a sound, jumping onto the roof and quickly retrieving his discarded staff. It was about to serve a much different purpose than as a distraction. As he and Beast Boy passed each other, Nightwing wordlessly told him that the he would take care of the rest. He was going to have a few words with the criminals in front of him, and he did not intend for them to be pleasant ones.

Raven joined Beast Boy on the roof as he changed back into his human form, depositing both the guns and the frightened people on the ground. Raven sighed to herself as she looked down upon the projectile weapons the changeling had confiscated. Too many people on the wrong side of the law that the group had come across had found a false form of bravery by merely possessing a gun. It was sickening, and she quickly made a point to dismantle any such weapons they came across by using her powers.

The hostages watched in horrified fascination as a black aura enveloped the guns that had been previously threatened their lives. With a glare from the pale Titan and a clenched fist, the soft sound of metal being ripped apart could be heard from within the dark aura. Seconds later, the aura vanished, and all that remained were hundreds of broken pieces of dark metal. It was almost unbelievable that so many shards of broken metal could have once been a gun. The police were not fond of Raven's tendency to destroy evidence, and Raven knew that this occasion would be no different but she did not care. The world was a little better off now than it had been a minute before.

Raven then looked down at the three civilians with an expression as comforting as she could manage. She knew that she must have looked ridiculous and she could feel Garfield holding back his laughter, but she ignored it. Instead, she wrapped the three civilians in another dark aura, slowly lifting them off the roof and beginning their short descent down to the ground below. She felt Garfield's caring smile aimed at her, and could not fight back a smile of her own. His smiles seemed to be her weakness nowadays, and she hated it… somewhat.

The shock of losing both their weapons and their leverage in mere seconds sent two of the three robbers to the ground, and the fact that Nightwing was closing in on them made the third's knees nearly give way. But he refused to give in. He was grasping at straws, he knew, but there still had to be a chance he could escape capture. His eyes darted from Nightwing to Raven and Beast Boy frantically as a plan quickly formed in his head. Their three guns may have been destroyed, but he had been smart enough to carry a few extra weapons with him just in case.

Nightwing clutched his staff tightly and fell into a battle stance as he saw the only criminal left on his feet quickly reach into his pocket and pull something out. To his relief, it was only a switchblade. It was a predictable weapon for someone to make their last stand against the Titans with, but not one that he had not encountered a thousand times before. However, to his shock, the man reacted quite differently than any other like him had before. In seconds, the knife was flying towards Nightwing as the man threw it at him in what seemed to be panic. However, as the dark knight in training dove to the side and glared at his careless opponent, he saw something that made his blood run cold. It was another gun, but it was not aimed at him. It was aimed at the person whose attention was focused on her current duty to get the hostages to safety. Raven had no idea what was coming.

Nightwing moved with a quickness he had never thought possible as he pulled out one of his boomerangs and threw it at the gun. Time seemed to slow down in an ominous precursor to what was to come. His attack was headed towards the man far too slow. The man's finger was puling the trigger too fast. He was not going to make it in time. In a panic, he struggled to find his voice to call out to his teammates, but it was drowned out by the sound of a single gunshot being fired.

In their world, there were man heroes, and not all possessed special abilities. Contrary to popular belief, the heroes of their world were more often than not just regular people. A hero stood up for what they believed him. They embraced what was right and just. And they did not hesitate to throw down their lives for those around them. Police officers were heroes. Firemen were heroes. The meta humans of their world were not all heroes. They chose either good or evil when using their powers, but at that moment, one meta human chose them more than ever to be on the side of good. He chose to be a hero.

Raven barely had time to register the sound of a gun firing when she felt a pair of strong, green arms shove her to the ground. Anger washed over her as she hit the ground, but confusion was predominant as she whipped her head around to glare at the person who shoved her. For the first time in years, she was terrified at what she saw.

Beast Boy's eyes were unfocused as a numb feeling slowly spread throughout his chest. When he had heard the gunshot, he had reacted with animal swiftness before he could think. His instincts knew what was happening, and before he knew it, Raven was on the ground and he had taken her place in the line of fire. He was only vaguely aware of his surroundings now. He could not think straight, and hardly noticed when he began to fall backwards off the roof. He recognized their voices as he fell, but could not make out what they were saying. His body had gone into shock, and his eyesight was starting to blur.

Nightwing was in shock, and Raven was no better. Both were frozen, unable to react as the scene slowly played out before them. All too soon, it ended as the sound of Beast Boy's limp body crashing into one of the police cars below echoed around them. The sound brought tears to Raven's eyes, and she reached out to him calling his name to no avail.

Garfield "Beast Boy" Logan had fallen.

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