Bernadette and the Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

**Bernadette and the Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo**, shortened to **Bernadette and T.T.: Trouble in Tokyo**, is the ninth episode of the Punch Time Exploders. The plot involves Bernadette helping the Teen Titans looking for a criminal called Brushogun said to be a myth by all Japanese, while also focusing on Robin and Starfire finally revealing their feelings for each other.

**Disclaimer: This is not, I repeat, NOT Teen Titans Go... we get that one later.**

## Plot

Bernadette witnesses the Teen Titans spring into action when a new threat, the dichromatic ninja Saico-Tek, appears in their city. A chase across the city ensues, which leaves Titans Tower heavily damaged. Saico-Tek is interrogated by Robin with the aid of a translation program (since the captive only speaks Japanese) and reveals the identity of the one who sent him: Brushogun. The ninja then vanishes mysteriously after destroying a fire sprinkler, and the Titans' only choice is to head to Tokyo to search for his mysterious master.

Beast Boy is overjoyed to finally get a vacation, but once the Titans are in Tokyo, the language barrier poses some trouble until Starfire uses her inherent skill to absorb language by kissing a passer-by (much to the shock of most of her teammates, especially Robin). With directions to Shinjuku thus acquired, the team heads off, but they don't get very far before trouble shows up in the form of Deka-Mido, a gigantic reptilian monster that is tearing its way through the city. The monster shares the regenerative powers of Saico-Tek, and the Titans' abilities have no effect on it; thankfully, Tokyo's own super-normal defence force - the Tokyo Troopers, led by Commander Uehara Daizo - arrives to stop the beast in its tracks with an energy cage.

Daizo shows the Titans around the Tokyo Troopers headquarters, and when Robin questions him on Brushogun, he informs the Titans that he is nothing more than an urban legend. Left at a loose end, the Titans can do nothing more than bow to Beast Boy's desire to enjoy Tokyo as tourists. Cyborg takes in the local cuisine at a sushi restaurant, where his bottomless appetite under an "all-you-can-eat" offer quickly rouses the ire of the chefs. Raven's desire for reading material leads her to a bookshop where she learns of the myth of Brushogun. Beast Boy, meanwhile, attempts to visit Wakamono Shuppan, the publishing house of his favorite manga, only to find it closed. Instead, he relaxes with a manga on the steps of the building, and soon catches the eye of a cute girl. The girl leads Beast Boy to a karaoke bar, where he finds more girls who love his performance and don't want him to leave. All the while, clones of Bernadette seem to be following our heroes.

Robin and Starfire, meanwhile, visit a video game arcade with the real Bernadette, where Starfire's game skills attract a lot of attention. Afterward, she and Robin retreat to a rooftop to discuss more intimate matters - Robin recalls how Starfire kissed him when they first met, and now understands that it was to learn English, but Starfire has now learned that on Earth, the action means "more." They come to explain to each other that they are best friends and nothing could ever get in the way of that, Robin and Starfire are about to kiss but Robin, starts to focused on his mission to apprehend Brushogun again. Robin then tells Starfire that they are heroes and that they can't be anything "more", hearing this Starfire flies away crying, and Bernadette sarcastically admonishes him for it.

Investigating alone, Bernadette and Robin is attacked once more by Saico-Tek and a clone of Bernadette, and they get into a very violent fight which ends with Robin pummeling the ninja into the ground. But when Saico-Tek does not rise and the real Bernadette is left battered and bruised, the crowd watching believes Robin has murdered his opponent, who was believed to have assaulted his lady partner. Commander Daizo apprehends Robin, despite the hero's protestations of innocence.

Beast Boy and Cyborg are now being chased by Beast Boy's fangirls from the karaoke bar and the chiefs from the restaurant. Meanwhile Starfire is alone by herself surrounded by other couples, she is in front of a store where she watches two mechanical mice kiss each other making her depressed, when Bernadette comes up to her and asks if she's still upset. Starfire puts on a brave face and says that everything is fine, but then she admits that ever since the day she and Robin first met each other she has had feelings for him. Starfire then starts to think that maybe it was a foolish idea to think that Robin had feelings for her and that even if he does they would not be anything else but heroes. Bernadette then gives Starfire a bright smile, which makes her finally realize that Robin does have feelings for her and heroes or not there has always been something more special between her and Robin.

Starfire is about to go and find Robin when suddenly the mayor of Tokyo announces Robin's arrest and that the other Teen Titans must either turn themselves in or leave Tokyo at once. Starfire and Bernadette call the other titans and tell them about Robin's arrest, they are about to regroup when Brushogun sends out his minions to destroy each of the titans. Cyborg is attack by a giant yellow robot who keeps trying to eat him, Beast Boy is attack by a pink cat girl who turns out to be the cute girl he was following earlier, Raven is attack by a ghostly figure in a graveyard and Starfire and Bernadette are attacked by a small blue robot boy in the sky, each of them being pursued by a clone of Bernadette.

Robin is transferred, and during the ride a slip of paper bearing the name "Brushogun" flits into the armored car carrying him and explodes, freeing him. Now on the run, Robin co-opts the identity of a Shinjuku mugger to collect information that Brushogun is in fact real. He is eventually found by the Tokyo Troopers which leads to a car chase, Robin is surrounded front to back and is about to be arrested when Starfire and Bernadette come to his rescue. They takes Robin to a secret hideout where Starfire explains the situation, he and Starfire spend another tender moment again, which is suddenly interrupted by the other Titans. Cyborg, overjoyed, has good news for Robin. The ooze from Saico-Tek wasn't blood on Robin's uniform, but ink. The same goes for the stains on Cyborg's armor, the streaks from Raven's cloak, the lipstick mark on Beast Boy's face (from the cat girl), and the bruises on Bernadette's body. This means Robin never harmed anyone, nor was Saico-Tek real. Brushogun, as Raven relates, was an artist who had fallen in love with a woman he had drawn, and had attempted to bring her to life using Japanese black magic. But the spell turned against the artist, and was transformed into a being of paper and ink - ink that he could use to bring any creation he could imagine to life.

With this new information, Robin has no trouble deducing Brushogun's hideout: Wakamono Shuppan. Breaking in (after being chased by a majority of Tokyo's citizens, including Brushogun's creations, Beast Boy's fangirls, Cyborg's angry chefs, and the Tokyo Troopers), the Titans discover a horrifying sight: the frail, withered form of Brushogun, wired into a printing press that draws on his powers to create the enemies the Titans have been faced with. The true villain turns out to be Commander Uehara Daizo, who has used Brushogun's powers to lie and create the villains and monsters that his Tokyo Troopers (also Brushogun's creations) were made famous by capturing. Robin was framed for the "murder" of Saico-Tek because Daizo did not like his persistence in uncovering his secret.

A massive battle between the Titans and freshly-printed versions of Brushogun's creations ensues, culminating when Robin faces Daizo on a walkway above the factory floor. With no options of escape left, Daizo hurls himself from the catwalk, into the ink reservoir of the press below, taking control of Brushogun's powers and transforming himself into a giant, hulking mass of ink and machinery, with Brushogun himself at the centre. As the other Titans battle the warped creations that Daizo hurls at them, Robin frees Brushogun from the monstrous conglomeration. As the old man fades away in his arms, like ink fading with time, his powers disappear and Daizo is left defeated and exposed.

After the battle, Robin tries to explain his true and strong romantic feelings for Starfire, but getting the message, she silences him by simply saying, "Robin, stop talking." The two romantically share their first proper kiss as the other three Titans look on, with Cyborg stating, "Well, it's about time." A short time later, with Robin's name cleared, and Daizo sent to prison, the Titans are awarded medals of honor by the mayor for their actions of unlocking the truth, and the inhabitants of Tokyo welcome their new heroes. Beast Boy gets excited and tells his teammates that he wants to go to Mexico on their next vacation, prompting Raven to slap him again.

Meanwhile, Bernadette is discovered by the elusive Japanese Kids Next Door, who proceed to tell her Numbuh 362 would like a word.

## Trivia

* Ami and Yumi from HiHi Puffy AmiYumi make a cameo in the karaoke bar where Beast Boy performed his team's (poorly translated) theme song.

## Links

* deviantART
	+ Prologue: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-and-T-T-Trouble-in-Tokyo-Prologue-764981753
	+ Part 1: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-and-T-T-Trouble-in-Tokyo-Part-1-765667945
	+ Part 2: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-and-T-T-Trouble-in-Tokyo-Part-2-766466236
	+ Part 3: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-and-T-T-Trouble-in-Tokyo-Part-3-767205024
	+ Part 4: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-and-T-T-Trouble-in-Tokyo-Part-4-770847371
	+ Part 5: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-and-T-T-Trouble-in-Tokyo-Part-5-771221980
	+ Part 6: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-and-T-T-Trouble-in-Tokyo-Part-6-771235150
* Full story: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rAvX6HXKKr5TAULEiWXlTARNFspdjuGdpy33eMSxWk0/edit?usp=sharing