Author's Note: Thought or Emphasis; Flashback; Thought or Emphasis in Flashback

I don't own Teen Titans. But maybe, in another timeline, I worked in it? Voicing a hero or villain on there would have been sweet, I think...

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Teen Titans: Another Time and Place

Universe 3

Titans Tower.

A building in the shape of a T would seem simple, maybe foolish. Even after all this time, the older generations still questioned the design. A popular query:

"Just how do those end rooms on the T stay attached, anyway?"

Despite the criticism, and more, it endured. For almost twenty years, the five-story-tall metal letter was a beacon of peace for Jump City. Villains both veteran and in-training, demons, dimension-hoppers, even a plague of mutant moths—all of them failed to permanently topple the Tower.

As for the answer to the T... well, that was Cyborg's secret.

The mechanical man himself, currently in the Tower's multi-story garage, had gone through some changes over the years. After another electronic mishap, Cyborg found himself on an alien planet ravaged by war, at first unwillingly facing a government that oppressed its people, sending them to mine a gem to boost the emperor's psychic powers. The rebels were led by a man known as Jarras, who sent out a interplanetary signal for help that, coincidentally combined with Cyborg's tinkering, transported the titanium Titan to the planet. Fortunately, that same combination of devices allowed for the metal man to get in contact with the team, assuring them that, despite the always-cautious Robin's misgivings, he would be okay for the moment.

Eleven months and a grand coup d'état later, Jarras became the leader of a new government. The president offered his comrade a place in the republic, but after everything, despite the friends he made, the half-metal hero just wanted to go home.

Even so, Cyborg was still rewarded for his trouble. Jarras saw his skills in technology and his strength in battle—as well as their use for good. All three things were what the president respected most. With the greater minds of the new government also knowledgeable in science beyond Earth's medical advancements, the Earthling received a new body that gave him the ability to shift his form to suit his needs, be they for battle or stealth.

When he returned to Earth, he returned as the 22-year-old Victor Stone, able to become Cyborg at will.

Yet he found himself accustomed to his "old" face. So many memories had been made with his metal hand shaking the hand of a new friend, so many photographs taken with a half-human visage smiling in the frames. So, more often than brown, blue-and-silver tended to meet him in the mirror, and Cyborg, not Stone, often walked the streets of his hometown. Whatever guise he drew, his friends and family grew to call him by that special name...

"I'm back, Vic."

He decided to take a break from his hover car engine. The T-Car was blasted apart... again, this time by a villain named Rave, a metahuman with the power of plasma manipulation, ranging from concussive rounds and beams to explosive flashes. He liked to make fireworks and wreak havoc in the same afternoon. Cyborg thought of him as a successor to old Dr. Light, who finally retired after the third fateful encounter with Raven.

At first glance, one could say that time barely touched her. Maturity gave the woman a bit more height and curves, of course, and her hair now fell to her mid-back under the hood (she finally decided to experiment with the length), but her cloak and clothing were the same indigo and black hues as always.

Raven's time on Earth and the bonds she made, though, changed her within. In her teen years, the half-demoness sometimes scared away young children from her meditation in the park with a foreboding aura (usually an accident). Now in her early thirties, the experienced heroine reserved that atmosphere for evildoers, and some of those children, matured as well, asked to meditate with her.

Speaking of children...

"Hey, Rae. How were your kids?" The mechanical man smirked at the old in-joke among the Titans.

"They're fine." With a chuckle, she knew he was talking about Timmy, Melvin, and Teether, who she watched over for a small time, protecting them from the Brotherhood of Evil years ago.

The super-powered trio had grown up well since their days in the monastery. Now called Tantrum, Mistress Mind, and Bullet respectively, the youngest Titans of Raven's generation now taught a new generation themselves with some help from the Justice League.

Melvin realized that Bobby, her sometimes-visible giant teddy bear, was a manifestation of her telekinetic powers, and figured out how to use that to her advantage, changing him into different forms as needed. As a teacher for psychically-powered children, Mistress Mind taught them how to channel their own powers through objects, such as pendants, toys, and even their own hands, until they could harness them on their own. Meanwhile, Tantrum's expertise was in using emotions to work with your ability instead of against it, a skill he appreciated when he not only got control over his sonic screams, but later manifested super-strength. Lastly, Bullet focused on using the environment as a weapon—not too difficult a feat when your teeth can tear through almost anything and make it a deadly projectile.

Raven checked up on them from time to time, as she did this morning. "Bullet had a bit of a mishap, though. A student made him laugh at lunch, and he started to hiccup..." She sighed. "He turned into a one-man food fight. It's a good thing some of the students can fly, or we'd never have gotten the hall clean." Her lips upturned to a smirk. "So how is yours?"

"Real funny, Rae." She had a running gag for him as well, but he did not take it so lightly. "You've been riding that train for years. He's Mal's kid, not mine."

Raven watched as his soldering tool receded back into his index finger. "I'm not so sure, not with how Bumblebee keeps leaving him here more often."

"I'm his godfather. And me and Bee have been friends for years. Of course we're gonna see-"

"And don't think I can't sense something between you two whenever she passes him over to you." An eyebrow raised. "Or did you forget I can do that?"

His old argument rose again. "Why would I even try that? You know she's holding out for-"

"Herald's been gone for three years, Victor." The portal-jumper's weapon of choice was damaged in a battle, and he warped away before the energies of the mystical trumpet destroyed everything for miles. Whether he was lost in another dimension or simply disintegrated in the explosion... no one was certain. "Ever since then, even though she lives a whole city away with four other teammates, she's only come to you about her problems." Cyborg gave off an indignant huff. "Just think about it."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her words away, even though the very idea of Bumblebee and himself together lurked in the back of his mind far before Herald ever joined Titans East.

Now was not time for this, however; he had someone to check up on. "Anyway, he should be in the living room with-"

"Awfully quiet, isn't it?"

While he grew a little annoyed at her interrupting him all this time, the metal man had to agree. "Yeah... like the calm before the-"

"YOU CHLORBAG!"

Another interruption brought a sigh. "And there's the storm."

The short walk to the room came with an ominous soundtrack of thumps, laughter, exasperated groans, and an alien language, not necessarily in that order. Soon the familiar T-door met the heroes, opening with a woosh to show the living room.

On a quiet day, the nearly wall-size television's flat screen would gleam in the light as it displayed both normal and 3D programming; 3D had not gone out of style like some had expected. The newest game console, GameStation 6, a wireless device the size of a toaster, its controllers equally but optionally wireless, would have neither a spot on nor a crack in its shell, thanks to the carbon fibers added in manufacturing. (Games came digitally now; after the fourth generation of the Maroni GameStation and its MacroSoft counterpart, the X-Cube, companies grew tired of the disc and found it easier to sell purely downloadable content.) The couch, still long enough after all these years to accommodate guests and possible additions to the team, would have no stains or tears in the fabric. The adjacent kitchen would be spotless, thanks to the hours of effort the Titans all took to keep dishes out of the sink for long. It wasn't until they all neared their twenties, in fact, that the quintet finally agreed on a cleaning schedule.

Today was not a quiet day.

Today, a remote was wedged into the TV screen, having made a crack in the screen's right corner (Cyborg prayed he could fix that or buy a new one soon; the Jump City Jaguars were playing tomorrow night). A dent not unlike a hand print somehow presented itself in the GameStation, and the controllers were missing from their usual spot. The couch was in pieces about the room—but fortunately, it had that function to separate and join already.

Those renovations to the room, however, were nothing compared to one.

The kitchen counter was covered in what appeared to be the ingredients of a ham, Swiss cheese, ham, roast beef, ham, chicken, ham, cheddar, and ham sandwich... and only one man could even stand to eat that dangerous delicacy.

Incensed, said man demanded the presence of the culprits to the murder. The culprits, in fact, made the centerpiece of the living room disaster, a furious purple blur and a jeering green one zipping about in a dangerous chase. These streaks' names:

"MARTIN, MAR'I, DOWN HERE, NOW!"

The green blur rushed behind Cyborg to escape the pursuer's wrath, then peeked over the Titan's shoulder. "Uncle Vic, she's crazy!"

"I'll show you crazy, you frecking-mmph!" The other speeding shape was captured by a hand of black energy, including a finger over the mouth.

"What is going on here?"

Sure that the hunt for his hide ended for now, Martin came from behind his godfather. The twelve-year-old dark-skinned boy wore a sleeveless dark-green shirt, with black horizontal stripes across the torso to make a pattern. A look closer would show circuits running through the material—more than mere fabric. His pants, of the same material, also shared the same green, but a black vertical stripe trailed down the outside of each leg. His tinted glasses continued the color scheme, as did his boots, green with metallic black soles. His hair was cut into a bald fade.

Martin also wore electronic wrist bands, used to help regulate his ability to release blasts of bio-electricity. While keeping the wit and looks of his father, he discovered he inherited similar powers to his mother at the age of ten (after a Zeta Beam accident, her supersuit encoded its powers onto her DNA). While flying came fairly easily, he could not shrink (at least not yet), and when he did not wear gloves, his fingers would often zap anything they touched. Cyborg and S.T.A.R. Labs worked together to create his accessories, which were unlocked just this year for battle capability. Tazer-like "stingers" would unfold from the bands and fire energy bolts of varying force, from a mere joy-buzzer jolt (he liked to prank his friends in class with it), to immobilizing shock (he wanted to try it in a spar, but no one wished to test him), to destructive neon-bright lightning (only used on the training dummies fairly recently).

Indeed, his journey was still just beginning, but in time, Martin Beecher-Duncan would follow his mother's insect-sized footsteps as Hornet.

Mar'i also inherited much from her parents, Starfire and Richard Grayson. Her clothes were based on Tamaranean royal clothing, an appropriately royal-purple unitard with baggy sleeves. The sleeves tapered at the wrist due to small bracelets made of a refined ore from the same world; her boots matched in color and metal, the latter tapering the shoes at her shins. Starfire also passed down her luminescent green eyes and skin tone with a hint of orange to the fourteen-year-old, but straight black hair, her father's gift, spilled down her back. Unfortunately, she inherited her father's temper as well, which, combined with her alien strength, sometimes led to such catastrophes as the living room's current state.

Lastly, her names tied to those of her family. Her first name derived from her paternal grandmother Mary, while her heroic handle came from a fusion of her parents' names: Nightstar.

"Mari's just mad 'cuz I know about her little crush on Damian."

Damian was the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and the new Robin. He forged his own path at a young age, helped by the lack of his grandfather's dangerous influence on the League of Assassins. After Ra's al Ghul's and Batman's final clash in the Near-Apocalypse of 2009, the then-pregnant Talia changed her ways, turning her League into a force for good instead of genocide. The "Son of the Bat", as he was called by the League, honed his skills and learned his heritage through his mother and, with her blessing, set off to find his father. He wanted to earn the surname Wayne, but also another name...

For the latter, he took a stint in Titans Tower to meet the rest of the Bat-Family. He made an indelible mark on Mar'i's memory, astounding her with his confidence and skills—as well as his penchant for capes and cloaks, which seemed to be a family trait at this point. It was at this time Richard, after a test of his own, officially passed down the title of Robin to him. He promised to work with them again, something the girl hoped would happen soon.

"It's not a crush! It's simply admiration." Nightstar's mood cooled for only a second upon recalling the older teen she respected, before angry emeralds glowed. "And don't try to change the subject! You looked in my diary, you little twip!"

Hornet merely shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, it's not my fault you keep leaving it everywhere and unlocked." Despite the technology of the times, Nightstar's diary was made the old way, with paper and a key lock. It came out of seeing her mother's old diaries from her home planet and her time on Earth, something the loving Starfire was happy to share with her.

"I like to write, okay!?" Mar'i figured a glare would make up for her forgetfulness. "At least I have thoughts to put somewhere, instead of brainlessly staring at Atlee when she came by." Terra's return to heroism surprised everyone in her former circle (Beast Boy the most, of course), but even more shocking was her taking a partner for a short period.

Atlee came from an underground world called Strata, where exposure to a unique mineral allowed her to become a geokinetic. When she came to the surface after learning of the Titans, she sought out her fellow earth mover, whose powers had reemerged stronger by the day. Perhaps to atone for her past sins and reteach herself, the blonde fought beside the brunette. Eventually, though, both took their own paths on the earth they could shake with but a thought. The last Hornet and Nightstar heard, Atlee was teamed up with Power Woman in Manhattan, while Terra lived in a distant land called Markovia.

"What can I say? It's admiration." Martin mocked the half-alien with her own words, giving a smirk. "Plus, she's hot." Cyborg, while around 10 years Atlee's senior, agreed with the boy, but kept his head from nodding and instead flicked the boy in the back of his head. "Ow!"

Raven followed up. "It still does not give you the right to invade someone's privacy. Would you have liked Mar'i to go through your things once you left your room?"

Hornet's eyes momentarily widened behind his green glasses, knowing that she would never let him live down keeping a bean-bag bumblebee his mother gave him. "No, ma'am."

"And look at this mess!" The cloaked Titan gave a glance at the carnage (shaking off the sense of deja vu) before looking at the girl in her magical grip. "Even if Martin was in the wrong, do you think your father would be happy if he saw this right now?" She placed Nightstar back onto the ground, where the potential heiress to a throne a world away was reduced to a child looking at her shoes.

"No, Aunt Raven."

"Alright then. I'll bring what you need to clean this up. Both of you." She caught the boy trying to slip away before Cyborg barred his path. She then heard a slight cracking sound, and looked up. "That includes the controllers stuck in the ceiling."

"Yes, Aunt Raven/Auntie Rae." The latter picked up the nickname from his "uncle."

The faces, shoulders, and moods of both preteens dropped at the task before them. As the two got to work, Cyborg had to comment. "Maybe I never said this before, but look at you, Raven! That motherly instinct's been kicking into overdrive." He remembered just a few weeks ago, when she almost rushed over to Mar'i falling off the roof during a volleyball game, before she realized her "niece" could fly. "Did you even have these kinds of problems where you came from? I mean, even when we were kids, you were still as a statue."

"Not really, but..." The empath admitted this to herself, even if a small part of her took it to boost her ego: "Having children around the house can change anyone, I suppose."

"Yeah, I guess so." A thought suddenly occurred. "You know, I'm surprised you haven't-"

He stopped both word and thought at Raven's deadly stare. He should have known about raising that subject. Godchildren, yes, as they were right there in front of them; her young charges at the academy, sure, as they had a soft spot in her heart; but speaking of those were something else. She may have opened up more over the years, but when it came to the "b-word," Raven certainly valued her privacy. It was partially because opening that line of discussion could then open up awkward discussions about her time with a certain someone, who would be coming home soon enough.

While not the person of Raven's interest, someone did indeed arrive with the door's familiar woosh, and Nightstar dropped her towel in joy.

"DADDY!"

The floating girl slammed herself into a man wearing a black bodysuit, a simple blue bird design, wings unfurled, across his chest. His dark hair was short, though not spiky; formerly his hair was as long as his daughter's, until he cut it just last week.

The former and first Robin took on a new persona right after Cyborg's return. Hearing what happened to Victor on a distant planet, constantly worrying if his own friend would even come back, spurred Robin to look back at what he had almost lost in his adventures, but more importantly, what he gained in life. He knew he had gained a wealth of skills, a legion of friends and comrades, and a very unique family—including who would soon become his significant other. Still, he felt one more change was needed, and remembering a certain story from Starfire, called his new self Nightwing.

"Hey, Mar'i. Sorry I'm late. The mission with Flash lasted a little longer than I thought." The winged wonder hugged his daughter, but his smile dropped upon looking at the room. "What happened in here?"

Martin piped in while picking the last of Cyborg's sandwich off the counter. "Your daughter's crazy, Uncle Nightwing." (For some reason, perhaps the hero's persistently chilly aura, the boy never called the man by his first name.)

He got a glowing-eyed girl's glare in return. "You started it!"

"Mar'i..." The leading Titan's face grew as stern as Raven's. "We've talked about your temper a thousand times, haven't we?"

"I know." She soon realized Raven was right about her father's reaction. "But Dad-"

"No buts. You're not only going to clean this, but I think the Bluebird could use a nice-"

"Just leave her be, Richard." A new voice interrupted the punishment. "She has enough to do as it is."

"Starfire, you know I told her she'd be punished next time."

"Come now. You are only shoving your chore upon her." She wrapped her arms around her husband from behind and spoke over his shoulder; they were at about equal height. "Besides, I always thought you liked cleaning your bike?"

"Maybe..." He softly mumbled his real reason. "But that monster's smelly spit got all over it."

Mother and child shared a giggle at Nightwing's expense before they embraced. "Welcome back, Mom."

"It is good to be back, my little bumgorf."

The years were good to the Tamaranean Titan, bringing a surprise second "transformation" of sorts. Instead of the slim figure she had as a teenager, her body's curves now pressed against her clothing, drawing the eye of hero, villain, and civilian alike. Her red hair now naturally curled as well (she did not know why it did, but she liked it). All combined with her skin's orange hue gave her an exotic appearance that resulted in quite a few modeling job offers—offers which, despite Nightwing's objection, she accepted.

Her uniform also changed; while in the same color as years past, it now matched the armor once worn by Blackfire.

While on a mission in the east, Starfire discovered her sister hiding out on Earth once again, having run away from her former home with that "snot-spewing slimeball", as she called the prince to whom Starfire was once betrothed. With nowhere to go, she ended up on Sol's third planet living as a bodyguard to those who did not like or ask questions. When some enemies Blackfire once crossed came to get revenge, however, the kinder sibling could not resist offering her refuge at the Tower, much to the heroes' reluctance. They had good reason for it, of course; while she took up the offer, the alien outcast was staunchly against following in her "sister dear's" crime-fighting footsteps. Even so, the ex-con softened after spending time with her then four-year-old niece.

That bond was tested when Blackfire's hunters followed her to Jump City, stealing Mar'i away as a bargaining chip while the others were distracted in battles. The furious aunt and parents located her, but while freeing her child, Starfire was vulnerable to an attack from the sword-wielding leader. Blackfire jumped in the energy blade's path and fired a starbolt point blank, defeating the last hunter at the cost of her own life.

Since that night, Starfire wore a memorial to the woman who redeemed herself in the eyes of the Titans, her home planet, and her family.

"Heh, bumgorf." Hornet broke the touching moment. "That's funny to hear every time." He tested the word on his tongue, even though he had done it before. "Bumgorf... bumgorf."

Cyborg tried to get back on topic. "Quit the wordplay and get back to the mess you and the little hothead made."

"I know, I know..." The boy remembered another word he thought was hilarious. "...Sparky."

He thought he mumbled it quietly enough, but he did not count on his god-father's robotic ears. "What... did you call me?"

"Whoa! Take it easy, Uncle Vic!" To Bumblebee's legacy, the robotic eye's glare was set to kill, and he shrank (not literally) behind his new refuge, the kitchen counter. "M-m-mama said she used to call you that all the time."

Cyborg's temper unleashed. "BEEEEEEEE!" Fist clenched and raised in vendetta, the metal man screamed to the heavens at a woman who he swore was laughing it up right now. Instead of cursing her name, though, he turned to the current offender. He saw Martin half-afraid, half-unable to stifle a laugh, and he lost his fire with a sigh. "You are just as messed up as your mother sometimes, you know that?"

"Heh heh... yep." The growing smile on his face only confirmed it further to Cyborg:

He's getting more and more like you, Karen.

"Did somebody call my name?"

A parrot, green from beak to tail, flew through the open window. It circled a bit over the group of heroes/heroes-in-training before landing in front of the resident magician. In less than two seconds, the small bird changed shape into a man half a head taller than her. His hair was messy, his suit was dirty, and he had what appeared to be a claw mark on his left arm.

None of that stopped him from grabbing his still-clean wife and hugging her with all he could muster.

Her lungs were losing precious oxygen, but Raven managed to eke out a feeble "Hi, Gar."

As he released his grip with a meek grin, it was easy to see that the youngest Titan was no longer the shortest or smallest. Beast Boy's—or as he insisted, Beast Man's—once skinny limbs had been tempered by heroics into jade muscle, to him the perfect reason to show off his arms; he altered his black-and-purple uniform to have short sleeves. He also let his hair grow a bit and stopped wearing gloves, adding a slightly more feral look. Even with the changes, though, he still sported a green skin tone one could see for miles, his fang still poked out... "Hey, Raven!"

...and he still loved a good joke. "Hey, Sparky."

"RAAAH! YOU TOO!?"

"Heard it from Hornet before I left." He forced his words through a laugh at Cyborg's reaction, before looking into the kitchen. "What's goin' on, bug boy? Sounds like you made Cy short-circuit."

"I just said the name Mama used to call him, Uncle Gar. I don't know why he got so mad."

"Me neither, dude."The others took it in stride, the children especially, that he still called people by that word."Especially when we know he really likes her." His green eyes seemed to glint with mischief. "Isn't that right, Cy?"

The half-robot caught the second meaning. Must have talked to Raven about that. "Yeah, sure." Better change the subject. "So what happened at the high school, B-Man?"

"Some lady with these weird clawed gloves was making a mess. She said there were 'demons possessing the young generation' or something. I think she was talking about us super-powered folk." Nightwing subconsciously inched closer to his family. "I tried to talk her down, but nothin' doin." Noticing Raven's eyes on his arm, Beast Man reassured her and the team, "She got a scratch on me, but she's down. Dang it if I can't remember her name, though..."

"It doesn't matter right now." Nightwing leaked out a small smile. "What matters is that the team is back together."

"Yeah. So..." Once again, another noticed the room's state. "...what happened in here?"

The children felt eyes bearing on them, and Mar'i spoke.

"We know, we're cleaning."

Just as the duo would return to their duties, the crime alarm sounded. Red light washed over the room, flashing off and on, and the TV screen displayed its second function. A map in the upper right corner displayed the location of the disturbance with a dot, while the larger picture showed the criminal in action. While not the most formidable villain in the Titans' rogue gallery, he was quite familiar: Red from top to foot, a veritable walking tank, and a grizzled but pompous expression on his face...

"Is that... Adonis? Jeez. Looks like Father Time beat him with a stick." Jade eyes turned to Raven. "And shouldn't he be locked up for trying to attack you again?" The chauvinistic charlatan never forgave her for spurning him, nor the shape-shifter for his first defeat.

Rather than looking at the loved one, a violet glare turned cold at the ex-offender on screen. "I guess he got out for good behavior."

"So much for that." Cyborg's annoyance turned to mild interest. "Huh. Looks like he got shoulder cannons this time. Who's up for it?"

The winged wonder took charge. "If Adonis is in a new suit, then he's sure to have new surprises. Everyone should go, just in case."

"Sweet!" Hornet looked down to his hands, the tiniest of green bolts arcing between his fingers. "I finally get to really try these out!" Nightstar agreed, eyes glowing bright green in excitement, and both began to race for the T-Car.

"Oh, no, you don't." The technological Titan intercepted them at the door. "I'm not letting you two get hurt out there." He looked at one in particular. "Especially, you, Martin. Your mother would flip!"

"Aww, c'mon, Uncle Vic! Mister Nightwing did say everybody, right?"

"And we won't get hurt if you guys are there!" The young half-alien popped in. "Besides, you taught us well!"

Nightwing tried to appeal to his daughter, a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Mar'i, you're too-"

"Too young? You said that a year ago!" Teenage rebellion had firmly set in, but fortunately, she had a mind sharpened by her father's teachings. "How old were you when you started, Dad? Thirteen? Twelve? What about when you started the Titans?" He did not answer; he knew the answers too well to dispute. She calmed and gently pulled his hand away. "You have to let us try eventually."

The young joker grew serious. "We can do this if you give us a chance. We won't mess it up, we promise!"

Both begged in unison.

"Please?"

The parental figures needed to think fast: every second they stewed over the question was a second when Adonis harmed Jump City's citizens. Yet the worry for their charges and children seemed to combat the pleading eyes boring into their hearts...

...until a voice spoke up. "They should come along."

"Starfire?"

"Mar'i is right, Richard. We have trained them for years. It is only fair they get a test of their skills."

"I'm with Star on this one." Beast Man looked down at the kids. "I was barely half Martin's age when I figured out how my powers worked, and younger than him when I was in the Doom Patrol.

He continued. "Ya see that look in their eyes? It's the same we had when we started. They've wanted to be Titans since before they could even spell the word. If they're gonna be one of us, they're gonna need the experience."

"I agree." Raven added her piece. "I know from watching Melvin and the others: they'll never be able to make their own way if we don't give them a chance."

"Hmm..." Nightwing admitted, seeing his daughter as leader of the Titans one day did have a nice draw to it... "Alright."

"YES!" The children screamed in rejoice, their old squabble forgotten. Hornet spoke for the group: "We're finally in!"

Cyborg interrupted. "You're not quite Titans yet. You still need one more thing." The metal man pressed a button on his wrist-computer, causing a compartment to eject from the wall opposite the kitchen. On it were symbols of great importance, of teamwork, and of pride for Titans around the globe. While the form had changed a bit to be flatter and shot up a hologram instead of using a regular screen, the small devices still kept the classic white T in the center.

The children's brains attempted to start working again, starting with Hornet—"Are those..."

—and then Nightstar. "Our communicators?"

"They're all yours." A flesh-and-chrome countenance grinned. "Welcome to the team!"

Twin blurs swiped the T-Coms and rambled out thanks to the gift-giver. Over the cacophany, he managed to assure them, "Hey, it's all part of the Titan package."

"Uh, guys, not that I'm not loving this, but shouldn't we get a move on?" Beast Man pointed toward the exit. "That tin can's not gonna kick itself."

The leader agreed. "Right. There's no time to waste!"

"This is gonna be SO EPIC!" Mar'i and Martin practically jittered in anticipation as they started to talk about the special tricks they wanted to use.

Surpressing a laugh at their youth, Nightwing took a moment to truly see his team:

His wife, one half of the team's raw strength, with a fighter's fist and a lover's heart;

His second-in-command, the gearhead of the team, and the closest thing he had to an older brother;

His sister in all but name, the mistress of mystic arts, her calm exterior belying a warm love for her family and home;

The little brother of the group, the team's wild card, a source of fun as well as determination;

And the new generation, ready to prove itself, eager to face any troubles the future may bring.

And they all waited for him to say those two words.

Those two words he hoped would carry on, beyond his life, perhaps beyond even that of his child's, until the world no longer needed heroes.

Those two words he prayed every mission would go forward and span outward, to another time, another place, for criminals to fear and for legends in the making to proudly proclaim:

"TITANS! GO!"

END

Well, that's that for this story, or at least, it should be for a while. Remember, the story is called "Another TIME and Place," so it's only fair I give a future setting for our favorite crimefighters.

Truthfully, I've been wanting to write this setting for quite some time. Yes, I could have gone outward and explained where everyone was at this point, but I wanted to fit a pattern of focusing on the original five for the most part. Still, you'll see the some stuff about others in there, and if you look even harder, you can see I even used and tweaked ideas from the comics (those pre-2011 reboot, of course).

I honestly think this is one of my best-written pieces ever (it's certainly one of the longest), but what's more important is what you think. Give me a shout-out, tell me what went wrong or right for you. And check out my other stories. You never know, you might like love 'em!

UPDATE, 7/21/14: At least one of you fans asked for it, and after all this time, here it is: Universe 3 has a "sequel" of sorts that follows up on this timeline. But it's not here; instead, read the Teen Titans one-shot "The Titans of Tomorrow."

Until next time, my Titanic readers.