FicWad

First off, allow me to say that I do not happen to own any of the characters detailed within; be them theirs who owns them. I needs must also warn you that while I plan to use as much information as I can from both the comics and cartoon, I will also, in the tradition of the finest Hollywood stories, alter what I must for dramatic effect.

Also, I will not be using any materiel from the third season, seeing as the all-wise (sic) buggers who run CN here in SE Asia haven't decided to show it here.

Now that that's over, let us begin with a bang...

Something In Common

Chapter One: Flights And Landings

-A Centauri high-security orbital penitentiary facility orbiting a small moon-

Alarms and klaxons blared throughout the facility. A moment before, the sound of a massive explosion had rocked throughout its corridors. Within the complex, heavily armed guards struggled to keep order. Outside, Centauri patrol ships scanned the inky darkness. Their captain heard their reports and sighed. His superiors weren't going to like this very much.
"Warden, it appears that all prisoners have been accounted for, except Prisoner 49."
The Warden cursed. "The Lord Caretaker is not going to be pleased. This is not only a matter of security, but a matter of diplomatic sensitivity."
"Sir?"
"Prisoner 49 was a member of alien royalty."
"With all due respect, sir, I thought she was ... disowned."
"That does not reduce the volatility of the situation. It may even worsen it."
"Yes sir."
"There is nothing more your troops can do?"
"Not without faster ships, sir."
"Very well. Get back to your work then. I must contact my fellow Wardens."
Officers Kai and Cron strode into the Centauri Hall Of Judgment, where the Lord Caretaker, head of Centauri law awaited them.
"You requested our presence before you, my Lord?" Kai asked.
The Lord Caretaker nodded. "I know that the two of you are familiar with the fugitive known as Komand'r. A year ago, you were sent to apprehend her, a task that you completed with more than expected success."
"With all due respect, we had help from a group of Earthbound metahumans, one of which included her sister, my Lord." Cron said.
"Your modesty is commendable, Officer."
"With all due respect, my Lord, it is not modesty, but truth." Kai added.
The Lord Caretaker smiled. It appeared that what he heard of these officers was true. "Very well then. I trust you have heard of the incident at the station where she was being held?"
"Yes, my Lord. If I may say so, I have seen the report on the incident, and both I and my colleague believe no one save Komand'r deserves blame." Cron added.
"Agreed. But that does not change the fact that one of the Galaxy's most notorious criminals is now loose. The Tamaranians are demanding an explanation of why we did not hand them over to their authorities, and, considering the political situation there, I could not tell them that their facilities aren't adequate without undermining King Meand'r's authority. We need to prove our ability to them."
"Yes sir."
"Do you know where she may have gone? With the disgrace of the Thanagarian warrior caste and the Imperium still in tatters, I have advisors telling me she has gone to ground with any of them, not to mention the ever present galactic underworld. It may even be possible that she has joined one of the rival houses of Tamaran."
"Permission to speak freely, my Lord?" Kai asked.
"Permission granted."
"I believe she may be returning to Earth. After we apprehended her, she vowed vengeance upon the sister who had helped us capture her. The Thanagarians and Imperium might be useful only as auxiliary information sources."
"And you believe that she would put vengeance over all other criminal concerns?"
"During our pursuit, we discovered that Komand'r was a prideful woman, more than anything else. It is a logical conclusion."
"Very well then. As long as you do not break standard laws, do what you think is necessary. I will give you as many resources as I can."
Mad Mod scratched out yet another chalk mark as he sat in his jail cell, but he couldn't care less how much longer he had to rot in the clink. He had survived Napoleon, two World Wars, an' 'oo knows how many Yankee wars, and he'll be damned if he was going to allow a bunch of tiddlers to break 'im. He had plans for 'em, he did.
Too bad all of them involved being on the other side of the cell doors.

Mad Mod slumped even further than he normally did. Yeah, he had survived Napoleon, two World Wars, an' 'oo knows how many Yankee wars, all by not being stupid, and that was exactly what he was being when he thought he could be able to escape this hellhole before he bit it.
"Tch, tch, tch, feeling sorry for ourselves, are we?" someone said in a sinister whisper from the darkness in a corner.
"Wot? 'Oose dere?" Mod croaked.
"Someone very interested in your freedom, Mr. Mod."
"Yeh? Must b' someone int'rested in plastic surgery too, wot wiff you 'oidin' in th' shadows an'all."
The voice laughed. "You could say that. After all, shocks like me aren't exactly what a decrepit old man wants to see, especially if he's got a weak heart."
"Roit yew, Oi don't know 'oo yew are, but Oi'm pre'ey sure this old man can learn yew a thinger two," Mad Mod said angrily, voice rising with his body.
"Please sit down, Mr. Mod. I don't wish to fight you. In fact, I'm here to offer you the two things I know you desire most: Your freedom, and the destruction of the Titans."
Mad Mod paused. " 'Ere, wot?"
"As I said, your freedom, and the destruction of the Titans."
"Yeah, pull the other one, 's got bells on."
"Oh well, if that is the way you feel, I'll just have to leave you here then."
" 'Ello-'ello-'ello, no need t'be 'asty! Wot's th' catch then? Yew must want sumfink too, roit?"
"All I want is what I'm offering you: Freedom to do what I want and the destruction of the Teen Titans."
Mad Mod settled down, smiling. "Oh, so those stroppy li'l buggers did done yew over too, eh?"
"And all I want is a little help in finishing them off," the voice finished. "With the option to extend a working relationship, of course."
Mad Mod sat silent for w while, thinking, but there was only grim resolve in his voice when he said, "Orl roit, let's say Oi'm in. Just show me where yer escape tunnel is, and we'll discuss-"
"No, no escape tunnels. Just you, me, temporarily disabled security systems and two pairs of fast feet."
"Oi, Oi don't know if yew've noticed it, but me Eton days is over, yeah?" Mad Mod said, indicating his aged self.
"Oh, that won't be a problem," said the voice.
A blue shaft of light flew from the darkness and impacted Mad Mod, washing him over with what seemed like endless waves of pain so intense he could not even scream before he passed out.
When he came to, it was still night, but Mod was in no mood to care about that. He lunged into the darkness and pulled out-
"-a puppet? Orl this toim've been tawkin' t' a bleedin' toy?"
"Yes, Mr. Mod," the Puppet King replied, "Except this time, you're not as far 'and up', as you were before," he continued, indicating the mirror behind Mod.
Mad Mod turned around, and what he saw was infinitely more unsettling than any talking doll.
He was a handsome young man in his mid twenties, at most.
"I don't think your Eton days are very far behind as far as your body is concerned. Now, the alarms should be activating in at least three minutes, so shall we go?"

The stolen Centauri cargo ship escaped from warp outside the asteroid belt of the Sol System, while inside, Blackfire contemplated her options.
She knew from her sources in the Thanagarian underworld that they were forced to leave Earth in a hurry after their defeat, and that the humans would have undoubtedly used the technology left behind to their advantage, including Thanagarian tracking systems.
But as they left a few things behind, they had come away with something, including system data. One of the interesting things about Earth was that unlike most other planets, it was constantly being pelted by interstellar debris-indeed, it may have even caused the birth of life there. And that's where opportunity presented itself.
Blackfire went into one of the small shuttles. As the shuttle left the ship, she remotely activated the ship's self-destruct. She smiled when she thought of the crew of the ship, left stranded on a Centauri Star Prison, reacting to the fact that the cargo onboard, mostly valuable ores and the like, had been turned into the interstellar elements they had come from.

-At one of the new STAr (Stellar Tracking Array) facilities near Washington-

Lt. Gwen Berman shifted her rifle to her other shoulder as she patrolled, a foot still on Cloud Nine over her recent posting here. These STAr facilities were Earth's first usage of adapted Thanagarian technology, and everyone staffing these facilities, from the janitors to the heads had been handpicked from all over the world by the newly formed UN Stellar Council. Used for both military and scientific purposes, these facilities were a symbol of the increasing cooperation between the different peoples of Earth.
Not that Gwen minded, especially if it brought her into contact with someone like Dr. Indra Vijayendran. He was the reason she was willing to work the graveyard shift, alone apart from him. She knew that at 28, she was too old to be having this kind of schoolgirl crush, but-
/Oh my God, he's looking at me/, she thought to herself as she walked toward his console. He smiled, and Gwen almost dropped her gun.
"Hi Gwen." he said pleasantly.
"Hi Doc. See anything interesting lately?" Like a certain girl in uniform perhaps?
"Nah, just the same old sky night in, night out. But who knows, interstellar anomalies are fickle things. For all you know, a star might go nova while I'm talking to you."
"Oh, cool." It was a sound of polite disinterest, and maybe, a hint of resentment that he spent so much time looking at the sky he forgot about what (and who) was on Earth. "Well, I better get back to my patrol now."
"Wait." Indra said, as her back turned.
Gwen turned. "Yes?" she asked, a bit of trepidation in her voice.
"What time do you get off work?" he asked. Was that nervousness? Gwen was too nervous to notice.
"Er, 8 a.m., same as you, Doc."
"Oh yeah, right."
"Yeah, 8 a.m. I go home take a shower and go to bed, you know, what with me staying up all night and all, you know," Gwen babbled. Stop it girl! Stop it!
"I was thinking, that maybe, after work, we go to the cafeteria and have a little breakfast together maybe?"
Gwen's mouth felt strangely dry as she replied, "Yeah, why not?"
"Okay...well, um, I've got to get back to work now, you know how it is."
"Yeah, Doc, well, see you."
"Gwen?"
"Yes?"
"Call me Indra."
Gwen smiled, that cute smile that Indra saw every time his mind wandered even a little, and walked off. Indra leaned back in his chair, and sighed happily, his mind far from work.
Even had he been paying full attention, however, he would have still been hard pressed to notice the small speck entering Earth's atmosphere...