Introducing...

[Violet Schultz]

They were whirring through the city on his chopper, her arms clutching his midsection tightly enough to hang on. A landmark such as the Titans' Tower was one which could be seen throughout the city, and it didn't take long before it was in sight. It was just like the Eiffel Tower and Niagara Falls. They were so immense, you could be heading toward them for miles and they wouldn't appear any closer. The amber glass windows reflected off of the water in the river, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the symbol of the Titans' power and dominion over the city. This was the kind of power that only came from goodness, that evil dreamt of but could never understand.

They made their way through the city, weaving through traffic as they did. It was apparent to Violet that Tim was as fond of motorcycles as she was, maybe moreso. She had learned motorcycles a few years ago, but with the financial situation she had been in at the time, she had never had one of her own. Still, she couldn't help but admire his. It was fabulous. As they started to slow, she looked around for a means to enter the island.

What now? she wondered.

[Tim Drake]

Driving past the northern part of the river and to the inlet area near the long Seagal Bay suspension bridge, Tim then drove along the narrow two lane street that skirted the larger of the two bays that made up the northern coastline of Jump City, until he came upon blank area near a street that led to a major intersection.

Pulling right up to the guardrail he paused and then pushed back hard with his feet, rolling his bike back several yards before he locked the front brake with his left hand, held the clutch open with his right and then gave the throttle a good hard twist as he thumbed a small red button on the left side of his handlebars...

As soon as the engine started to drop from its peak rev, Tim popped the clutch and tapped the up shift lever with his toe, the the rear tire griping for a moment, the front straining to hold until he fed the engine more fuel and the rear tire spun, as the guardrail suddenly folded back, and up and a single lane of steel grid and mesh raised up just above the surface of Seagal Bay, the small waves lapping at the bare sides.

Letting the break go, Tim felt the familiar surge of power and speed as the rear tire slowly gripped the road and pushed the darkly painted R-Cycle forward over the curb, and down onto the steel roadway that led straight to Titans Island.

He never got tired of doing that...

[Violet Schultz]

Violet looked around as they headed for the Tower, watching the lapping water speed by in a blur. Presumably, this was the way that the non-flying Titans got to and from the island on which the Tower stood. It was an impressive system. The lack of a land bridge would give them a lot of defensive advantage if the Tower was attacked, and the high-ground added to that advantage. The only downside to that strategy was that it made it so that all attackers would have to be flying attackers in order to reach the island, so the high ground wouldn't do a whole lot of good. Tactically, she was sure that they'd run every scenario that they could possibly think of.

She couldn't help but be struck by the immense size of the Tower. She could only imagine what the inside was like. If it was anything like the outside, it was bound to be impressive. She couldn't see anyone on the island, and she began to wonder about Tim's earlier words. He said that she might meet Beast Boy. What about the others?

[Tim Drake]

Tim drove the R-cycle across the bridge and to a small cutout in the rock face that ramped up to the leveled grassy area that dominated the island, the tires gripping the hard packed clay with ease as the bridge lowered back into the water almost as soon as they had left it, the cycle surging forward to the side that faced away from the city, the back part of the tower, which opened up as he rolled forward, and allowed him to drive right into the base, where for a moment, they where engulfed in darkness, until the walls lit with a row of lights, forming a square of pale yellow light bathing a round platform under them, which was slowly lowering down a full story into the ground.

With a low solid clunk, the platform stopped its decent and a normal sized door slid open directly in front of them, a soft white light greeting the two teens.

Tim switched the bike off and then kicked his right leg over the front of his cycle and hopped off, his helmet moving from his head to his hands and onto the handlebars and fuel tank where it rested perfectly, his mop of lightly spiked black hair none the worse for wearing a helmet, as he shook his head, then looked over his shoulder and waved at Violet to follow him into the elevator, a simple greeting flowing from his lips as his free hand placed his mask on and he once more became Robin; "Welcome to Titans Tower..."

[Violet Schultz]

She removed the helmet as she stepped off of the side of the motorcycle, her dark eyes taking in the unfamiliar environment. She left the borrowed helmet next to his, balancing it on the seat, and followed him to the elevator, feeling conspicuous and out of place. Violet usually hung out in places which were run down and could use a serious overhaul. This place was ultra-modern, like the latest in everything had conglomerated to build this tower. Knowing the members of the Titans, she wouldn't have been surprised. It was definitely a change from the norm. What she wouldn't have given for even a fraction of the money it took to build this kind of thing, back when she had all of those kids to feed.

She took her place next to Robin on the elevator, pushing her long black hair out of her face; a rare nervous gesture. It was unlikely that most people would've noticed the slip in her confidence, as it wasn't abnormal for girls to do that sort of thing, but with her appearance it was hardly necessary. While her hair looked disheveled from wearing a helmet, it was stick straight, and it actually looked good on her. And it wasn't likely that the gesture would go unnoticed by the ever vigilant eyes of Robin. His face was always so alert, and when she was around him, she could feel his eyes on her face, trying to decipher her few facial expressions. Like most street kids, she wasn't accustomed to wearing her heart on her sleeve.

[Tim Drake]

Robin waited until she joined him at his side, before he pushed one of the seven square buttons, the currently lit square a glowing pale yellow and red "B" for Basement (of course) the button he pressed being a 6, the top most button being a small "R" for the roof (duh?) the doors sliding shit quickly and quietly, a soft hum sounding as the moving steel box surged up quickly, starting slow, then increasing its speed until it suddenly slowed, a kind of "Boost" being given to the two occupants, a slight spring in the step of the boy wonder showing as the doors snapped open and a darkish intersection and hallway appeared before them.

Robin stepped out and walked down the hallway straight to the next set of doors, another pair that slid out of the way into the wall, the black and gray details giving way to a large by huge common room, that could be described as "Minimal Retro Futuristic" what with the fairly plain light gray floors, black accents on the angled "walls" that helped denote the smaller middle area, which held a small but fully equipped and stocked kitchen, a dining area directly across from that, a half ring couch facing the massive center windows that overlooked the city, and three largish spheres set into the lower black dividing wall and oh yeah, read carpeting denoting the main pathways both to the couch and to the other two doors leading into the room, the side walls covered in supercomputer banks, giant red circuits glowing softly and matching the carpet in some ways, the steps leading to the top most levels by the main frames also covered in the red carpet.

The fact that it looked like some middle twenty ought kids take on retro late 60's futurerism design, what with the almost quasi geometric shapes and bright bold primary colors over simple bases, didn't seem to faze Robin as he walked into the middle of the room and then turned around to face Violet, and smiled, his mask not making the smile wholly human, but the smile was big and bright enough to be kind.

"This is the main room of the tower, and the center of the Teen Titans universe, welcome to the common room Darkbrand." he said as the doors shut behind her and he glanced at the kitchen and his big smile faltered somewhat when he remembered that he had forgotten to do the dishes over the last few days...

'Oh great, way to make an impression Tim...' he scolded himself as he tore his gaze away and looked back at her, waiting to see if she seemed to notice or care that there where plates and pans stacked up a foot tall in one side of the sink.


{ Here's a link to the picy I used to base my description from, the rest is just from memories of the show, which are fairly fresh thanks to YouTube xD
teentitans.toonzone.net/tt/backstage/production/43.jpg }

[Violet Schultz]

Violet looked around the huge living room, her face impassive. It was just as impressive as she'd been expecting, if not moreso. There was no sign of want around here, but there was the sign of teenagers living together. The game system and the dishes were proof of that, and she didn't look down on them for it. It was still way cleaner than anywhere she had lived. Most of the places she stayed were rundown and abandoned. It was the only way she could be sure that someone didn't find her when she slept.

"Where is everybody?" she asked. She'd been wondering for a while.

She could see the city through the glass wall, and it made her feel exposed. She wasn't afraid of heights, but she knew that it sometimes provided a target. As if the giant T wasn't big enough a target already...

[Tim Drake]

Robin glanced around and then walked to the couch and sat on the back of it, still facing Violet, as he folded his arms across his middle and looked at the ground between them, since he wasn't picking up much from her body language, he was now sub-consciously trying to gather more input through her vocal inflection instead, but he had learned that wasn't as easy with Darkbrand either...

"Well, Cyborg was in Steel City a few days ago, but just got to Gotham last I heard, Starfire is in or around Australia and Raven's... Somewhere else, uhh, Asia is where she was headed."
That last point was only mildly frustrating, since he trusted Raven with his life, but like any semi-normal person, worried and wondered about his friend, still he deal with his stress and strain better than some.

He looked back up to Darkbrand and then smirked; "Beast Boy just got back from Africa and other parts of the world, as part of our effort to keep the Titans strong, we've been out looking for young supers and recruiting who we can, in a way you're my recruit, since we all said we'd try to brink at least one new member back or at least get them to ally with us."

The fact that Robin had been getting some cryptic vibes from sources around the world that where hinting at Slade not being as dead as everyone hoped, was a well hidden secret that not even his fellow teammates knew of yet, but he wasn't planing on keeping them in the dark forever, at least not at the moment...


"In the meantime, a few quick rules, one, don't eat ANYTHING that Starfire cooks or has her name on it, Tamarinan cooking tends to involve lots of items that... Are not normally thought of as food anywhere on Earth, and she has a mustard addiction, and puts it in everything. Rule two, the large wooden boxes that look like tiny crates, that's Raven's herbal tea, which can also double as a paint thinner, so unless you want a burned throat and a caffeine buzz worse than a case of Monster with a quad-shot of espresso, don't inhale too deeply around them. Three, the green cans with the red stripes are Cyborgs, and they contain nanites, so again, don't touch unless you want a strange reaction, other than that, the kitchen is free and open, as is the rest of the common room. The north end of this top floor are where the boys rooms are, and the south end is where the girls rooms are, and both ends have guest rooms."

He stood up and walked to the south side of the room, up a small set of stairs and into the door, waving at her to follow; "We'll get you a room to crash in, and I'll cover the last two rules on the way."

Tim reflected for a moment and realized that life in the tower was far from normal, but as Cyborg had pointed out to Raven when they had all first met; "She's from outer space, he's green and I'm half metal, you fit in perfectly."
If Violet could deal with some of the strangeness and not blink too much at it all, then she would fin it just fine...

[Violet Schultz]

"If you're staying here, there's bound to be some normal food somewhere around here. By the way, why would you get new recruits?" she asked as she followed. "I thought your team was already plenty strong without adding new members."

She had heard of their exploits, like anyone who lived in a modern country, and she had to admit that teams of five or six always did best on missions which required coordination. On the expeditions she organized, she always made it a team of five. Two scouted ahead, and three made up the main force. Of course, they weren't generally fighting expeditions. They were more of thieving expeditions, like gathering food from a grocery truck for the homeless kids she had looked after. In fighting expeditions, she always brought as many people as she could. Of course, she had to leave a few home to protect the kids who were too young to fight in a gang war.

[Tim Drake]

Robin looked at her hard over his shoulder, his masked face glaring at her in a way that was neutral, yet also somehow condescending, wary, and blunt; "I'm guessing that you don't know about the massive room full of frozen super villains located deep under the ground in Paris then..."

Not that it was common knowledge, and anyway, she hadn't been in France since she was very young, still, the aparent short-sightedness was surprising, Darkbrand had yet to strike Robin as stupid, uninformed maybe, but not foolish or assuming in the least.

He turned and walked into the hallway, and rounded a corner into the main corridor and walked bast first Starfire, and then Raven's rooms, so marked by the nameplates on each door, speaking as he walked; "One thing we learned in almost loosing to the Brotherhood of Evil, is that as strong as the Titans are, we're spread out over a world that's millions of square miles, and over two thirds covered with water, and as many of us as their are, there are always more anarchists waiting in the woodwork... And with the recent crop of villains popping in Jump, Brother Blood at large, and a few other notables starting to rumble about, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. There's not going to be a next time if I have anything to say about it. And you can help me with that."

His memories where still fresh, being captured by Madam Rouge, and then frozen along with a number of other Titans by Malla and the Brain, only to be rescued by Beast Boy and a ragtag gang of the few Titans that had thwarted capture was something that, while a testament to the will and cunning of the Titans as a whole, was also a lesson in the folly of being overly confident in ones strength, something the wise would call a by-product of youth.


He walked to the middle of the hall and then punched in a general access code into the small six digit key pad, which opened the door with a small sliding noise; a simple 20x30 room in plain gray, with alternating shades of dark and light gray on the carpet, bed, desk, chair and small couch, as well as the window and its thin frame told of a room just waiting for a personal touch such as a splash of color, or a new arrangement of items, a bed spread, or special pillow cover or even posters and other trinkets, things Robin knew Darkbrand had none of, but then, the City, State and Even Federal Government pitched in to help with the grants that Wayne Industries and Queen Enterprises had set up through various partner and ghost companies...

"I know this may seem kinda, well strange and even ironic, but... Well, welcome home Darkbrand, even if you don't make the cut to be on THE Teen Titans, I'm sure you'll always be an ally and friend to us, and our alleys and friends are always welcome here."

He turned and stepped into the room a few feet and then looked at her, his face cool, relaxed and proud, a smirk like half-smile on his face, the mask again changing the feel of it from something human, to something almost inhuman, which was just one part of its job as a mask.
"Don't worry, you can do just about whatever you want to your room, we'll hook you up, Starfire's is almost totally pink, Cyborg has enough computer equipment to crash the internet and Beast boy... Well, his is really simple but a mess..."

[Violet Schultz]

"In Paris, you say?" her tone was politely casual, but behind the surface, there was something burning. Her eyes were flat and hard, almost angry; her neck locked tightly.

Paris was...what, 500 kilometers from her hometown? The distance from Phoenix to Los Angeles. A cache of supervillains existed underground in Paris? She didn't regret the decision to move to America, but deep in her heart, she still loved the rural hills of her first home... the rolling green crowned by blue mountains on the horizon... water lilies in the pools near whispering streams... purple irises in a field of green... And here a who's-who of the most evil were residing so close to it. Anger flushed her eyes purple for a second before she regained her composure. Despite the endless feel of the moment, her reaction had taken less than a second before she was herself again.

And yet her eyes were still hard as he explained his reasons.

"No, there isn't," she agreed quietly, her voice still casual over a wealth of real feeling.

She walked into the room he indicated and smiled lightly, though it barely touched her eyes. It was good to know that even if she didn't join up with them, they would still be allies. One could never have too many allies. She listened to his account of the others' rooms with some amusement. He didn't mention Raven or his own room, but she wasn't nosy or curious enough to ask about them. If he didn't want to tell her, it wasn't any of her business.

"I don't think there will end up being a whole lot I need," she said, looking around the room, "since it's not the best idea to keep flammable things in the room where I sleep. But I'm sure I'll figure something out."

[Tim Drake]

Robin arched an eyebrow at the tiny display from Darkbrand, his experience with most super powered girls being the emotions where the one weak link as it where, since Raven and Starfire relied on emotions to either activate or control their powers, (as did most other of the Female Titans) so his guess that Violet wasn't all that different seemed to be spot on, as her reaction to the news about where the brotherhood was triggered a reaction, and he couldn't blame her; if someone told him that somewhere under east Gotham was where the Joker and other such scum where being kept, frozen or not, he would not be all that happy about it...


"The Brain and monsieur Malla had built their headquarters there, when we beat them, that's just where we all happened to be..." he paused and then looked about the room again and then shrugged; "We have access to all kinds of advanced material and tools, so we can fire proof the room, as a rule it's how we make our uniforms, which brings me to something else; I'll need your sizes, first for under garments, kinda like the under-armor pro Athlete's wear, and then for the main costume, pants, shirt and anything else you might need or want, then you can either design your own, or I know a few people that will work with you to draw one up, sound good?"

[Violet Schultz]

Violet nodded, regretting allowing her emotions to reach her powers. Like Raven, Violet's emotions could cause her powers to go beyond her control. She had to learn how to be virtually emotionless if she was to stay in control all of the time. Despite Robin's belief that she was almost entirely stolid, she knew her own limits. She had a long way to go. It was her fiery temper that had killed her parents. Ever since, she'd been working to control it. The problem was that her very nature was what she was fighting. The nature of fire. The more fuel you gave fire, the greater its power. The problem was that no matter how powerful the fire, both the fuel and the flames lost out in the end. One ran out of fuel, the other was consumed...

Her anger was the fuel. The only way to keep the fruitless circle from starting was to cut off the fuel.

"I was doing some research in my spare time," she said, abandoning that train of thought in favor of something a bit more trivial, but equally pressing. "I found out that the lab made a breakthrough just before you busted me out. They managed to splice a piece of my DNA into a cotton plant."

She didn't know if he realized what that meant, so she lifted her finger and set it lightly aflame before extinguishing it. Her finger was completely unmarred.

"The plant produces a type of cotton that is completely fire-proof. Not just fire-retardant, but fire-proof. I, for one, don't like the idea of them using it for their own purposes."

[Tim Drake]

Robin looked out the window then back at Darkbrand, his eyebrow still arched as he turned and faced her; "Hmm... That could be a major breakthrough in making fire proof suits, a good thing for firefighters, since Asbestos has been outlawed so many years ago, and every synthetic to date has a time limit, however..."

He brought his hands up, one supporting his elbow as the other went to his face and tapped gloved fingers on his chin; "If they used a part of your DNA, then they might have also gotten other parts they may not have wanted, or been looking for, working with one's genetics is more understood than mastered, so there is lots of trial and error... While it might be a great leap forward in safety, I doubt that's the only reason they worked on such a thing... We'll need to find out more."

The implications of this could be as little as safer beds and clothing for the world, to as big as super villains who had an extra feeling of immunity...


Shrugging, Robin walked back to the door and stopped at the key pad and cleared the lock down settings then looked to Violet; "Setting this is easy, its just six keys, punch in the combination you want, between four and ten digits, then press and hold both bottom buttons to set the new code, then test it out, from the outside is best in case you get the locked, since we have a heavy privacy rule, getting trapped in your room is a real possibility, so lets try to be smart about that."
Smiling at her he walked out and then hooked his thumb at the hallway; "I'll be in the main room, we'll get to the rest of the tower later, in the mean time, there's extra bed things in the smaller closet in the far corner."

He nodded and then left to go and start some work on the main frame...

[Violet Schultz]

Violet nodded at his words, though she wasn't so optimistic. Sure, it would've been great if the firefighters were safer, but she still didn't like the idea that someone was going to make money because of what they did to her. They were going to get ahead because they kidnapped her and did experiments with DNA unwillingly given. It was probably juvenile and foolish to ignore the leaps forward in safety in favor of a grudge against some immoral scientists, but she couldn't help but feel bitter about it. Besides, fire was one of the advantages that kept her alive. If someone took that away from her, it would be all that much harder to stay safe.

She listened to his explanation attentively. Security was never far from the front of her mind, and something like this was a safety measure she wasn't likely to ignore. Doing as he instructed, she input a new code which no one was likely to guess: her mother's birthday in European standard notation. Six digits. Year, month, then day. She tested it twice to make sure of its reliability before heading into the room. Robin had already departed, so she sorted through the room, not really thinking much about what she found. She was more concerned with the fabric, and with Shane Wilson...