JUMP CITY - TITANS TOWER

The dark portal opened soundlessly in the middle of Titans Tower’s living room, shadows folding outward like black silk before Arthur and Raven stepped through together, the familiar room was exactly as chaotic as Arthur remembered.

The massive television on the wall was still running some loud action movie Beast Boy clearly had chosen. Empty pizza boxes were scattered across the table. Cyborg sat near the couch with one mechanical arm connected to a holographic screen. Jaime was halfway through drinking something. Robin stood near the central computer terminal reviewing holographic mission data while Starfire floated slightly above the floor, talking excitedly about something no one else seemed to fully understand.

The moment Raven appeared, Starfire’s face lit up instantly.

"Raven!" She flew across the room and wrapped Raven into a tight hug that lifted her slightly off the ground.

Raven immediately looked mildly suffocated.

"Star... air..."

Starfire gasped softly and released her at once. "Forgiveness! I was overcome with happiness!"

Then her bright green eyes moved toward Arthur and her smile returned warmly.

"And Arthur!" she greeted cheerfully. "It has been many weeks since your last visitation to our tower!"

Arthur smiled faintly. "Good to see you too, Starfire."

Beast Boy awkwardly raised a hand from the couch.

"Uh... hey man."

Jaime rubbed the back of his neck with an uncertain laugh.

"Yeah... hi Arthur..."

Arthur immediately noticed it.

The hesitation, their awkward behavior, and even Cyborg and Robin were unusually quiet.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Raven noticed it too almost instantly.

"What’s wrong?"

Robin finally looked away from the holographic screen toward them.

"I thought..." he started carefully, "...you were in Japan."

Arthur and Raven both froze for the briefest moment.

Then realization hit them simultaneously.

Arthur sighed deeply.

"Oh."

Raven pinched the bridge of her nose.

"...Oh, shit."

Cyborg leaned back slightly in his chair.

"Yeah," he said. "It’s kinda everywhere now."

He gestured toward the television.

The screen immediately switched from the movie to a news report.

Arthur’s own face filled the screen alongside footage of the destroyed Samurai Guild office and dramatic headlines in Japanese and English.

"THE SHADOW MAN ATTACKS JAPAN’S STRONGEST HUNTER."

"POSSIBLE JUSTICE LEAGUE CONNECTION UNDER INVESTIGATION."

"NO SIGN OF ARTHUR BLACKWYND OR HIS SHADOW SUMMONS."

Arthur stared silently at the screen.

Raven slowly crossed her arms.

Cyborg awkwardly continued.

"I mean... we figured something didn’t add up with the story but..."

Raven turned her head toward him slowly, her violet eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You never know with Arthur," she said flatly. "Is that what you wanted to say?"

Cyborg immediately raised both hands.

"I was trying to say it nicely!"

Arthur sighed again.

"We talked to the hunter, something unexpected happened but he is fine." he explained calmly. "That’s all."

Robin crossed his arms.

"Arthur, everyone knows who you are now. You’re connected to the Justice League publicly whether you like it or not."

His expression grew more serious.

"And now half the world thinks you attacked one of Japan’s greatest heroes."

Arthur barely reacted.

"I honestly don’t care what the world thinks of me."

The room quieted slightly at the bluntness of his answer.

Arthur walked further inside casually before continuing.

"I have a responsibility to fulfill. I don’t have time to waste energy trying to convince every random person on Earth that I’m some noble saint."

His violet eyes flickered faintly.

"And if people genuinely think I’m evil after Gotham..."

A faint scoff escaped him.

"Then they lack critical thinking."

Beast Boy quietly muttered, "That’s one way to say it..."

Robin shook his head slightly.

"You realize masks and secret identities aren’t for us, right?"

Arthur looked toward him.

"They protect the people around us."

Arthur’s expression softened just slightly at that.

"And who exactly would dare target my loved ones?"

The shadows beneath his feet moved subtly.

"I appreciate the concern, Robin. Truly."

Then a faint smirk appeared.

"But I have eyes everywhere."

Robin narrowed his eyes.

Arthur added casually, "Besides, I always thought it was strange the world didn’t figure out my identity sooner."

That made Robin finally smile.

"And who do you think helped with that?"

Arthur stared at him for a moment.

Then realization dawned.

"...Bruce."

Cyborg pointed at him immediately.

"Exactly."

He grinned slightly now.

"I helped too. At Batman’s request."

Arthur blinked once.

"For a long time Bruce actively buried information connected to you. Facial recognition. Surveillance leaks. News manipulation. Every time someone got too close to connecting Arthur Blackwynd to Gotham’s shadow man..."

Cyborg gestured dramatically.

"Gone."

Arthur stared silently for a second longer before exhaling through his nose.

"...That explains a lot, but I don’t think it was necessary."

Robin nodded.

"You made hiding your identity almost impossible. Bruce compensated."

Beast Boy leaned forward slightly.

"Not gonna lie, though... now you’re cooked."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

Beast Boy pointed dramatically.

"You can’t walk outside anymore. You’re either getting mobbed by fans or people screaming that you’re secretly evil."

Jaime laughed nervously.

"Or both at once."

Arthur shrugged casually.

"I’ll fly."

That answer made Cyborg bark out a laugh.

Beast Boy suddenly blinked.

"Wait."

He sat up straighter.

"What about your giant mansion in Gotham? People are definitely gonna swarm that place."

Arthur looked entirely unconcerned.

"My estate is under George’s ownership."

Silence.

"I technically own almost nothing."

Beast Boy stared.

"...That’s actually genius."

Raven groaned softly.

"I knew meeting that idiot hunter was going to create problems."

Arthur looked toward her calmly.

"It doesn’t matter, we learned what we wanted to learn from him."

Raven looked at him for a second before sighing.

"If you say so."

Robin finally straightened away from the terminal.

"You’re here for the mission briefing, I assume?"

Raven nodded.

"Yeah."

Then she added dryly, "Last I checked I’m still a Titan."

Jaime immediately smirked.

"One might debate that considering you spend more time in Gotham’s creepy rich people mansion than here now.."

Raven slowly turned her head toward him.

That single glare carried enough threat to silence a dimension of demons and Jaime visibly froze.

"...I value my life," he muttered immediately.

Arthur actually laughed quietly at that.

Starfire tilted her head curiously toward Raven.

"Does this mean you shall remain with us for many glorious days?"

Raven immediately answered.

"No."

Starfire deflated dramatically.

"Cruel."

Cyborg grinned slightly.

"Nah, she still loves us. She’s just emotionally allergic to admitting it."

Raven rolled her eyes.

Arthur leaned casually against the wall now, watching the Titans interact with an expression that had softened considerably compared to earlier on Mount Fuji.

Even Robin noticed that expression on Arthur’s face, the boy wonder crossed his arms and smirked faintly.

"You know," he said, "for someone the world currently thinks is an international superdemon..."

His gaze flicked toward the news still playing Arthur’s face repeatedly on television.

"...you look pretty relaxed."

Arthur glanced at the screen briefly, then toward the Titans.

Beast Boy kept glancing at the television, then at Arthur, then back again like he still couldn’t fully process how someone could casually walk around after becoming global breaking news.

Arthur noticed.

"You keep staring at me like I’m about to summon my army in your kitchen."

Beast Boy immediately raised both hands. "Hey, man I’m sorry okay, It’s just..."

Robin crossed his arms and smiled.

"Oh, there it is," Arthur said, pointing at him. "That smug little expression. I missed annoying you, Robin."

"Funny. I missed having peace and quiet." Robin replied.

"After all I’ve done for this world." Arthur said calmly.

Starfire laughed brightly, even Raven’s lips twitched slightly.

Arthur walked further into the room, hands in his pockets, violet eyes calmer now compared to the overwhelming presence he carried during battles. Here, around them, he looked almost normal.

Almost.

Robin looked at him for a moment before speaking again.

"Will you join us on this mission?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Robin nodded toward the large holographic display hovering above the central table. Several dungeon locations blinked across the eastern coastline.

"After the incident in Gotham, hunter forces are stretched thin everywhere. The guilds took massive losses. The Justice League got through it mostly intact, but the hunters..." His expression darkened slightly. "Not everyone came home."

The room quieted.

Even Beast Boy lost his grin.

Robin continued calmly.

"Most of the top-ranked hunters in the country gathered in Gotham to help stop the gate. Some cities barely have enough experienced teams left to manage dungeon activity now. And with gates still appearing..." He exhaled slowly. "People are in danger."

Cyborg pulled up several reports on the screen.

"Some guilds are operating at half strength now. A few smaller ones can’t handle this."

Robin gestured toward one highlighted location.

"We’re handling multiple raids over the next few days to ease pressure on the local hunter guilds. One of them got reclassified this morning."

Arthur looked toward the screen.

"S-class."

Robin nodded.

"We think it changed for some reason."

Arthur stared at the projection for a few seconds before looking back at him.

"You’re confident your team can handle an S-class gate?"

Robin’s smirk returned immediately.

"If we can’t handle one after everything we’ve survived, we should probably retire."

Arthur stared at him for a second longer.

Then he laughed quietly.

"Confident."

Robin shrugged. "Maybe with you around it ruined my sense of danger."

The others chuckled lightly.

Arthur walked toward the massive window overlooking Jump City. Sunlight reflected across the ocean outside. "You know," Arthur said quietly, "At this point, hunters around the world should panic at A-rank gates."

Cyborg leaned back. "Yeah well... it’s happening since things escalated, now everyone is on alert that a Gate like Gotham could appear anytime, anywhere."

Arthur looked toward Robin again.

"So," he said, "what’s the plan?"

Robin tapped the hologram and multiple files expanded.

"Three standard A rank raids first. Then the S-class gate tomorrow night. We were originally going to coordinate with local guilds, but after Gotham most of their elites are either injured or recovering."

Arthur nodded slowly.

"So, they’re short on manpower and The Titans will have to do this solo."

"Exactly."

Arthur stared at the map for another moment before a faint smile appeared on his face again.

"Very well," he said calmly. "I’ll tag along."

The reactions were immediate.

Beast Boy sat upright. "Wait seriously?!"

Jaime blinked twice. "An S-class dungeon with you there sounds unfair."

Cyborg laughed.

Robin, however, simply looked relieved.

Not because Arthur was powerful, but because Robin trusted him.

Arthur noticed that too.

"You look way too happy about this."

Robin smirked. "You’re useful."

"There it is," Arthur said, pointing at him again. "Cold and emotionally unavailable. Batman really raised you well."

Robin rolled his eyes while the others laughed.

Raven moved toward the couch and sat down, clearly already preparing herself mentally for whatever chaos this mission would become.

"You realize," she said dryly, "If Arthur joins us, things would become ten times worse."

Arthur looked offended.

"How can you slander your own boyfriend."

Raven laughed and Starfire tilted her head innocently.

Arthur stared at her with a smile of his own and simply stood there among friends, listening to their voices fill the tower with life.

/-\

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