Legends Never Die

By Talitha the Little Girl

Summary: Three hundred years in the future, the Teen Titans have been revived - but not as you know them. As they unravel the mystery of their origin, they must battle new and old enemies alike, and prove once and for all that legends never die. AU... sort of

Warning: This is an AU, and contains a few OCs. However, the characters are based on the canon ones, and the canon characters will show up later. I hope you enjoy the characters!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, however I do own - though yet to copyright them - my OCs.

It Begins

Something hit his leg and trickled its way past his head. Many more followed. His body began to squirm under the gentle tickling. Finally, he opened his eyes, but he saw only blurs. His eyes closed again for a moment before blinking a few times. His eyes widened as the blurs came into focus; the blurs were odd spherical objects, the cause of the trickling feeling.

But they certainly were strange: there were uneven lumps, as if many smaller lumps had attached themselves to larger ones, and their shape changed constantly, almost as if an unknown force was pushing at them.

Beyond, a barrier separated his body from the outside. There were blinking lights of many colors, but the names of these colors were unknown to him. Shapes – more like outlines – hovered close to the barrier.

His eyes moved, drinking in new sights. There were more… his mind couldn't conceive of the numbers… cylindrical objects that appeared to contain… something. In those objects, the same strange lumps rose from the bottom of their containers and lazily drifted their way to the top. The somethings seemed similar to the outlines outside the barrier… a small object covered a part of them, but his mind could not interpret the scene, and so he closed his eyes, leaving the mind to puzzle out what it had witnessed.

"NT-37's brain waves are spiking!" An elderly male scientist exclaimed as he stared at the monitor above the large test tube, big enough to hold a three-hundred pound man, which held Clone NT-37. "Don't lose that clone! We're at our wits' end keeping it alive for this long! DON'T LOSE IT!"

His colleagues ignored the volume of his voice as they scurried from and to various life-support machines, attempting to control the dangerously fluctuating brain waves and heartbeat with multiple chemicals and medications. This clone was the first of its kind to survive more than three weeks, and they weren't planning on losing it.

If they did… well, one could say that it was in their best interest that the clone didn't die. After all, the HIVE always got what they wanted, regardless of the cost, and the punishment for failure could be… severe.

Report.

"NT-37 has survived the first three weeks, a new record for the NT clones. After a minor episode, its brain has matured and stabilized; its chance of survival has increased dramatically. The clones CB-91, CB-104, SR-110, and SR-112 also show a great chance of survival after their brains mature. It appears that at long last, we have successfully created thriving Titans clones."

Good. The HIVE is pleased with the results. Tell us more about those clones.

"Yes, of course. The NT-37 is male, and its brain shows great potential for advanced mental duties. The body is lean and flexible. It appears to be the next Robin."

And the clone CB-91?

"From appearances, the clone is a normal, if not underdeveloped and discolored, male. However, its DNA had proven to be flexible without rendering it unstable. It is fit to be Beast Boy or Changeling."

We will call it Beast Boy. CB-104.

"CB-104 is also male, and the body is strong. Several of the limbs have developed deformed, however. We will replace those incorrect limbs with the more perfect robotic limbs, and the clone will fulfill the role of Cyborg."

Excellent. Tell us about SR-110.

"The clone SR-110 is an exceptionally powerful female. It had shown the ability to absorb ultraviolet rays like a living solar battery, and the body had been fairly stable throughout the last three weeks. It is created to be Starfire."

SR-112.

"The female clone has an amazingly powerful mind. We finally managed to stabilize its DNA along with the body. SR-112 will survive to be Raven."

The HIVE is very pleased with your progress. Yes, very pleased. Indeed, it appears that at long last the Titans shall return, this time to serve the bidding of the HIVE!

For more than three hundred years, there has always been a team of Teen Titans to protect the world from disaster, minor or major: invasions by various aliens, repetitive attacks by a large four-eyed demon who was, for whatever reason, obsessed with destroying the world, or even halting the devious attempts by vegans to effectively end the meat industry "for good." However, the average lifespan of a Titan was twenty-five years, perhaps even thirty if they were particularly fortunate. But for every Titan's death, there always was a new Titan waiting. Now their bases could be found north, south, east, and west in nearly every country of the world.

Japan had two, Australia had three, and the United States could boast five. But, as anybody knows, the most important base was the Titans' Tower in New York City, New York in the United States of America. That tower was where the oldest and most experienced Titans awaited their deaths.

It was inevitable. Every Titan died doing their duty. Aqualad. Bumblebee. Mas y Menos. Speedy. Red Star. Pantha. Wildebeest. Flamebird. Hawk. Agent. Danny Chase. Hot Spot. Joker's Daughter. Countless more Titans had died. Among the more known were Aquagirl, Dove, Golden Eagle, Robin II, Terra, and Jericho. But the most famous was the Golden Age team, undoubtedly the greatest Titans who ever lived. They died before they could even reach the ripe old age of twenty.

Robin I. Wonder Girl I. Starfire. Cyborg. Beast Boy. Raven.

Those six legends had lived in the Titans' Tower. Cyborg's father was, in fact, the one who built the tower, but nobody else knew the tower's secret: the truth had died with its original occupants. Now only the tower knew, and it was lonely.

The secret, which had been hidden for centuries, would soon be revealed, though the tower didn't know which Titan to tell. It missed the Golden Age Titans horribly. It trusted only them. Only Robin I, Wonder Girl I, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven. Nobody else. The tower wanted them back, to be able to share its secret again.

But… those Titans were dead.

"It has been two months, sire, and the clones haven't died yet. Two weeks ago we began to install basic knowledge – the colors, numbers, words, and letters – into their brains. When they awaken, we will teach them the skills of life," a young, pretty woman said, tilting her chin high in pride as her co-workers behind her nodded in agreement.

A mysterious figure draped in a purple cloak softly spoke, "Excellent. The HIVE is pleased with your work. When will the clones be awakened? The HIVE is quite eager to put their purchase to use."

The young woman's grin faltered as a middle-aged man bravely piped up, "Beg your pardon, sire, but it would be far better to allow the clones wake on their own terms. If we were to awaken them prematurely, we run the risk of damaging their brains and losing them. The longer they sleep, the greater the rate of survival." The man shrank back under the glare the cloaked figure directed at him.

"…Very well. The HIVE commands that no one is to force the clones' awakening and that the greatest care is taken to properly mature the clones." With this, the figure whirled around and took his leave from the laboratory. A wave of relieved sighs and smiles broke out amongst the scientists.

As they strode here and there between the machines, chatting amongst themselves, the middle-aged man who had dared to speak back to the HIVE representative frowned as he peered at one of the many flickering monitors. His eyes widened and he turned around swiftly to stare at the five clones floating inside the tubes. The air masks were functioning perfectly fine, but the monitor indicated that something was wrong.

His eyes opened. What they saw was the same as before, though the shady outlined figures were now in different locations. Humans. The word rang throughout the mind. One of the many strange lumps trickled gently past his face. Bubble. Bubble? Underwater bubble. Underwater? Immediately, the mind became aware of a cool sensation pressing on the body. Water. Liquid. Yes. Water. Orange. Orange? Yes, the water… the liquid is orange. The new information was overwhelming the bewildered mind, so his eyes closed, gratefully welcoming the blissful darkness.

The man gulped. One of the clones had opened its eyes, and he seemed to be the only one who noticed. Which clone was that? The man walked towards the tube holding the clone in question, and he observed it closely. It was a lean male who appeared to be about fifteen years old. When its eyes opened… something was wrong. The eyes… he shuddered and leaned forward to peer at the monitor next to the test tube.

NT-37.

He swallowed. Their prize clone had opened his eyes. Great, just great. And to make matters worse, according to the printout near the monitor, it wasn't the first time – how had they missed that? That was not good: if the clone awoke too soon, its mind could become overwhelmed.

The scientist reached over to the keyboard, intending to increase the sedative dosage… and he paused. A long moment passed, and when one of his colleagues called him, he turned without hesitation and didn't look back. Unknown to him and the others, NT-37 opened his eyes for the third time.

His mind was frightened, but he wanted to know more. So his eyes opened again, and this time he recognized the underwater bubbles that tickled the body, and the humans milling outside of the barrier. His eyes moved around, and like the first time, there were four cylindrical objects – tubes – nearby. Inside each tube, four humans floated gently in the orange liquid. How odd. They were different from each other.

The largest one had shiny arms and legs. The smallest one had pointed ears and fangs. The other two… they were different somehow, though he had no idea why. The larger of the two had long hair trailing from the head. The smaller one had a strange face. They each had a shining gem in their foreheads. Now the mind was tired, so he compelled the eyes to close again, but not before the eyes noticed something else.

NT-37.

With this, the eyes closed fully as the mind drifted into sleep.

The unfortunate scientist who had to stay for the night shift groaned as she sipped her coffee, which had an abnormal coppery taste. Why did the laboratory have to be underground, the young, pretty woman thought bitterly as bits of dirt fell from the ceiling and splashed into her mug. Yawning sleepily, she trudged over to the clones. NT-37. Check. CB-91. Check. CB-104. Check. SR-110. Check. SR-112. Check. All clones appeared to be perfectly fine. With a long, drawn-out sigh, the woman returned to the main monitor. She stopped halfway there… Aw, what the hell. The clones wouldn't be going anywhere – why should she suffer the despicable night shift? Nobody would ever know.

After gathering her things, the woman checked on the clones for the last time – all perfectly fine. After bidding them a good night – why did she do that? It's not like they could hear, let alone respond or understand – the young scientist hurried out of the dimly lit room.

With almost perfect timing, NT-37's eyes opened just as the door closed behind the woman. Only this time, the other clones opened their eyes as well.

The mind, already used to seeing, knew what to expect. However, the absence of the humans made it nervous, and the eyes moved around, trying to find one of those humans. Wait. If the eyes could move… then the body could! Looking down, the mind was pleased to see the hand flexing. Then it saw the letters and numbers again. There, engraved onto the arm. NT-37.

NT-37? Was that its name? Wait. It was not an 'it.' It was NT-37.

NT-37… it has a name! The eyes glanced down, trying to see its body. It counted ten fingers and ten toes. Hmm. The body seemed to be complete, yet… something was nagging at the mind. It didn't know what… wait. It. No. NT-37 was not an it… NT-37 was a he. But what was a he? Were the bubbles a he? Was the barrier a he? NT-37 had no idea. Glancing into outside, he saw the four tubes again – as the previous two times, four humans were in the tubes. They also had their eyes open and were staring around, amazement etched on their faces.

Suddenly he became furious! They were his… his… he didn't know what, but NT-37 wanted to be with them. Something burned within him as his eyes saw only red. Without thinking, the mind commanded to the hand to rise and…

Something sharp and cold rushed around him. Air. The pieces of the barrier had broken away, glistening. The liquid sloshed down onto the floor. Now he longer saw in orange, but saw things as they were supposed to be. Bubbles were gone, he noticed mournfully. NT-37 liked bubbles. He tore off the object that covered his nose and mouth, and he tasted the air for the first time. It smelled… funny. He glanced at the remaining tubes.

The humans in the tubes all stared at him, and then did as he had done. They smashed their arms and legs against the barriers, and the tubes broke into tiny pieces. They tore off the items off their faces, and they all gaped in wonderment as they took their first unfiltered breath. NT-37 noticed with delight that like he, they all had their names engraved on their arms.

The large he with the shiny arms and legs bore the name CB-104. The smaller he with the pointed ears and fangs had the name CB-91. The two different ones – the strange voice in NT-37's mind told him that they were she. What was a she? Was a she like a he? Was the floor a she? Was the pretty blinking lights a she? NT-37 wasn't sure. The larger she, the one with the long hair, was named SR-110, according to her arm. The other she with that strange face was SR-112.

NT-37 felt his face stretched as his lips smiled. He doesn't know why, but now everything was right – there was nothing wrong anymore. CB-104 towered over NT-37 as his dark green eyes stared intently at NT-37. Then NT-37 got an idea; he had seen that large human, as large as CB-104, do this once. He put his hands on the floor front of him, and he carefully pushed himself up as his feet flattened against the floor and his legs straightened. NT-37 grinned as he stood up, tottering uneasily on unsteady legs, much like a baby.

The others stared at him with awe in their eyes. SR-110 soon put her hands on the floor like NT-37 did, and copied him. She stood tall, and seeing this, SR-112 and CB-104 also stood up unsteadily. Seeing their success, CB-91 imitated them and soon was gleefully tottering on his legs. NT-37 gazed gleefully at the four, his grin still as wide as ever. Yes, everything was right.

Suddenly, a terrible sound rose screeching from an unseen source! The two shes immediately grabbed their ears, moaning. CB-91 had decided to pull on his ears instead of covering them, and CB-104 was groaning as he clutched at his head. NT-37 tossed his head around, bewildered, and spotted the flashing red monitor.

Without thinking, NT-37 grabbed a large steel chair that he had once seen a human sit on, and threw it at the monitor. Sparks and flames flew as the horrible sound faded, dying into nothing. Then the lights high on the ceiling abruptly ceased, leaving the frightened clones in darkness.

A small, dim red light flickered on, and NT-37 gulped. It was not very nice here, and there were no bubbles. What to do? Wait… he had seen the humans do this; he stepped forward, wobbling dangerously, but he didn't fall. The swaying lessened with each step he took, and soon he was striding confidently. Hearing something, he turned his head to glance behind him. The other clones had copied him, walking as smoothly as he was. When his head turned backwards, they eagerly imitated him and looked behind them as well.

Because of this, NT-37 tripped, and the other clones, being much more occupied with walking while looking backwards, collided into him. NT-37 felt the wind being blown out of him as their bodies slammed into his – ouch! NT-37 did NOT like it here, so he got up quickly, and then he spotted the door. Aha!

He swiftly reached the door, cautiously touching it with his hand. Turning the doorknob as he had seen humans do, he waited. Nothing happened. Then CB-91 tripped over SR-112's foot, and he slammed into the door, forcing it forward, and NT-37, whose hand was still on the doorknob, was dragged along to the floor. The duo stood – by then they'd become experts at standing – as SR-110 pushed lightly at the door. The door moved, startling them all. CB-104 grunted, and kicked it.

The door shattered into pieces around the hinges. Eleven wide eyes stared at the mess, and someone gulped. The sound echoed in the tunnel, snapping NT-37 out of his stupor. Without thinking about it, he sprinted down the tunnel. CB-91 whimpered before running after him, and CB-104 immediately followed. SR-110 was close behind, pulling SR-112 along by her arm.

And so, the clones departed their birthplace, leaving behind the shattered test tubes, the smoking monitor, and the poor splintered door as evidence of their passing.

It sighed. They'd been gone for such a long time. It missed them; it wanted them back. But they would not be coming back, and so the tower wept for the Teen Titans.

Within the dark of the night, one could hear the tower crying. It was a sad thing to hear, and they had been hearing it for years and years now. They had no idea what it was; only that somebody, or something, was weeping. All they know was that the ghostly wailing started the day the Teen Titans disappeared.

The Teen Titans hadn't returned for a long time. Nobody had seen a Titan for thirty years. As far as the world was concerned, the Teen Titans had taken up their place in history, alongside famous forefathers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Antimony Carver.

Still nobody knew who was weeping, and the tower cried because nobody knew; it cried because it still longed for them. As the tower mourned the Titans, its haunted sobs rang over the still waters, and nobody knew why… not even the Teen Titans themselves.

They could scarcely believe their eyes. So many strange things! Things they had never seen before! Eyes huge in wonder, they all gasped as they saw the tall brown cylinders towering far above them, carrying huge bundles of green lumps. But the lumps weren't bubbles – they were leaves. Leaves? Trees. Trees? They were called trees?

Yes. They were trees… many, many of them! And underneath their feet, millions and millions and millions of tiny, bright green trees all fluttered in the breeze. Grass. The tiny trees were grass, and the piles of leaves on the grass were bushes. Bushes…okay!

They giggled, glancing at each other. Already they had identified the trees, grass, and bushes! They liked it here! A flash of yellow caught their eyes, and all eleven eyes snapped to the big bushes holding up yellow, pink, white, and red leaves. Flowers. Flowers? Oooh, they were pretty! There were yellow flowers, pink flowers, white flowers, red flowers, and flowers with many colors! Pretty!

The flowers' gentle leaves – petals – caught their attention, and they all skipped over to the bushes, where they saw the small pointy leaves. Thorns. CB-91 reached out with his hand; his finger pricked against a thorn, and he let out a small exclamation. Withdrawing his hand quickly, they could all see the tiny drop of a red liquid. Blood. Oooh, the thorns were sharp!

But the flowers were pretty… SR-110 reached out with her hand and carefully maneuvered around the thorns, wrapping her fingers around the stalk of a red flower. She pulled it towards her, and gasped when the stalk broke! The flower came free of the bush, and she gently settled it in her hand. SR-112 peered over SR-110's shoulder at the red flower, and CB-91 stood on his toes, craning his neck over SR-112's shoulder, trying to see the flower. CB-104 effortlessly looked over SR-110's head, staring at amazement at the red blossom as NT-37 stood at SR-110's side, admiring the flower's numerous (is it possible for a flower to have so many?) soft, large petals.

Then SR-112 reached out and broke off a white flower, then carefully deposited it into SR-110's hand next to the red flower. All five stood there in silence, marveling at the similarity of the flowers, though they were so different in color. SR-110 smiled softly as she returned the white flower to SR-112 and carefully held the red flower in her hand. After ensuring that the flowers were safely in the shes' hands, NT-37 tugged impatiently at their arms – he wanted to see more!

They followed him obediently, and the ground they were walking on… changed. Downhill. Downhill? They're going down? But wouldn't they fall? Yet, despite going down, they didn't fall, and CB-91 spotted something; he squealed and pointed at something.

The something had tiny leaves all over its body. Feathers. It emitted a sound out a protrusion on its face – beak. Beak? Its tiny head titled at the sight of them, and suddenly it leapt! No, not leapt. Flew. Flew? Flying. SR-110 let out a delighted laugh as she watched the thing flying. Bird. Bird? Bird! The bird disappeared in the big blue ceiling. Sky. The sky had white lumps. Clouds.

They all laughed gleefully; what a great day! They were learning so many things! Trees, grass, bushes, leaves, flowers, thorns, feathers, flying, birds, sky, and clouds! Yes, everything was right!

"Damn cat, keeps tippin' over the stupid trash can… damn trash can, damn trash, damn this day!" An obese, elderly woman raged as she heaved the trash can upright, and as she glanced over the mess, she groaned. "Don't wanna clean this up… damn cat!" With an irritated sigh, she knelt down to pick up the trash. "Damn, damn, damn…"

A clatter quickly drew her attention. "Bet it's that damn cat… ain't gonna tip over no more trash cans!" She grabbed the baseball bat that she had left leaning against the wall and began moving towards the alley. "Kitty, kitty… c'mon out. Mama's gonna show ya some love. Kitty, kitty, here, kitty… c'mon out, Mama promises she won't hurt ya. Much, that is."

The woman halted upon hearing a gasp, her brows furrowing. "That ain't a kitty," she declared as she stepped near the end of the alley sandwiched between her house and the nosy neighbors who refused to control their demon of a house cat. "Who's there?" She called out, clutching at the bat so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She jumped back as a boy tumbled out from behind the pile of trash bags. He began to cry when he hit the rough asphalt; the woman quickly dropped the bat and rushed to him. "Oh, you poor dearie! Just stay put, Mama'll get ya fixed up! Hush, hush, it's all right. Mama's here." She glanced up upon seeing several other figures emerge from behind the same bags and gasped. "Oh, dearie! Ya have friends! Oh, don't worry, kiddies. C'mon inside, Mama'll get y'all dressed up an' warm!"

With that, she quickly carried the wailing boy, who couldn't have been much older than twelve years old, inside and then returned to usher in his four friends, who seemed either too stunned or too scared to protest. Before long, she had the five teenagers sitting in her living room, crowded together on the couch, all dressed in clothes left over from her former foster kids. The woman hummed as she hurried around in the kitchen, preparing something for them to eat.

"Aha! Here ya go, dearies. Delicious sandwiches an' lemonade, perfect fer this hot day!" She placed the food and beverages on the small coffee table before the teenagers; they stared at her, obviously bewildered. "Hmm? Not hungry? Oh, but yer stomachs told me so! Can hear 'em miles away, too. Poor dearies, ya must be hungry! Go ahead, Mama didn't poison the lunch, y'know."

They simply stared at her with wide eyes. The woman clucked, "Hmm. You dearies sure are strange. Showin' up in the alley with no clothes, an' none of yer spoke a word since! Go on, eat up." They didn't move. "Hmm, well, yer loss if ya won't eat."

With this, the woman promptly dug into her own lunch, and after a few moments of watching her chowing down, the small boy – the one who fell over the trash bags – carefully plucked his sandwich off the plate and bit into it. His eyes widened as he slowly chewed it. He chewed, and chewed, and chewed… finally he swallowed. And…

"Whoa, whoa, slow down! Can't do havin' yer choke!" Perhaps hearing the urgency in her tone, the boy slowed down. The four others, having seen their comrade doing the same, began to eat their lunch as well. After they had finished their sandwiches, they stared at the glasses of lemonade. The woman raised her eyebrow, "Silly dearies. I sure didn't poison yer lemonade, y'know. Safe ta drink." She took a gulp from her own glass as though to demonstrate that she wouldn't drop dead.

The large girl grasped her glass, and tried to drink from it, but some lemonade sloshed down on her clothes. She looked down at herself in surprise. The woman chuckled, "Clumsy, dearie? Don't worry, lemonade's easy ter wash out. Drink up, kiddies. Drink up!" The teenagers stared at her before attempting to drink from their glasses – and spilling nearly all of their lemonade in the process. The woman shook her head. "Silly kiddies. My name's Marcy, by the by, but you can call me Mama. Everybody calls me Mama, an' don't bother callin' me Marcy, I don't recognize who Marcy is no more!"

Chuckling, Mama titled her head as she surveyed the five teenagers. "Hmm. Quiet bunch, eh? Well, that's alright, y'all just need time ta adjust. Feel free ta take a nap… you dearies look wiped out! C'mon, I'll show y'all the rooms my foster kids used ter sleep in – four rooms in all, you girls can share a room." Before the teenagers could react, she had them all herded upstairs and tucked away in beds.

"Sleep tight, dearies, an' later we'll figure out what ta do fer y'all. I'll wake ya up fer dinner," She waved merrily at them before leaving them. "Hmm, strange kiddies. Strange, very strange…"

NT-37 was tired. He didn't think the day was good: after they saw the bird, they observed a dawn, then they saw a tall wall, and CB-91 climbed over the portion of the wall that was shorter than the others, and he fell over. The others immediately followed, but then they heard something loud. They all hid and watched as a large woman stomped around, picking up things and waving around a large metal stick.

When CB-91 fell over, the woman made a lot of noise when she ran up to them. Before they could figure how to escape – they didn't want to go back to the room with the tubes – she had them inside and she put… strange things on their bodies, and she… fed them food and gave them something to drink. Then she moved them up some strange steps and put them into something called beds.

She certainly made a lot of noise, NT-37 observed, but that was not important. He needed to escape – he had to escape! He didn't want to go back… but he was tired… he couldn't think…

He dreamed about bubbles…

Author's Note: Clones are not a new concept in the Titans universe - after all, Superboy is a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor. This story came around as a result of me wondering what mixtures of the other Titans would be like, and I also decided to challenge myself: how would a brand-new clone see the world?

Consider it a fun little experiment, if you will. I hope you would enjoy the ride, dear readers, as I did! Also, fear not - the Titans we know and love will appear in the story, though probably not immediately. If you absolutely have to read their piece, jump ahead to chapter 11: Divided We Fall.

In the meanwhile... buckle in!