The Liberation of Jump City
A colossal military robot goes on the rampage through Jump City and only the Teen Titans can stop it. Meanwhile Raven and Beast Boy do some bonding.
Adventure, Humour, Friendship and Romance
For the second time when writing a Teen Titans fanfic I must begin by saying that this is technically a crossover fic. However I decided to upload it as a regular fic because at least 80% of the story is about the Titans. The only reason it's even kind of a crossover is that the robot that does the rampaging isn't of my own invention.
I do not own either the Teen Titans or Fallout 3
Please Review
The morning of Wednesday the 8th of May, a day that would forever afterwards be, ironically, referred to by the citizens of Jump City as Liberty Day, began much like any other. By 9:00 AM the city's streets were bustling and its roads packed with commuters, making their unenviable treks to their various places of employment. Walkers pushed and shoved their way through crowds, elbowing obstructions aside with cheery abandon. Motorists bellowed well chosen and frequently anatomically improbable abuse at one another. And none of them would have dreamed of living anywhere else. The citizens of Jump tend to be optimistic, cosmopolitan, stoic, open-minded and always very, very good runners (the slow ones die out). When a person has witnessed their city being assailed by tsunamis, earthquakes, invasions of giant moths, evil warlords, psychotic madmen, giant golems, fiery colossi, demons from dark unspeakable dimensions and any number of other less than appealing phenomena, and they still refuse to move somewhere safer, then you can guarantee that such an individual is made of some pretty tough stuff.
Out in Jump Bay, the beautiful expanse of blue water around which the city was built and had originally attracted the first settlers to the site some four centuries previously, upon a small craggy island, stood Titans Tower. It was here that the five Teen Titans, the city's resident superheroes, made their home. There had been very little for the vigilantes to do in recent weeks, by way of fighting crime and righting wrongs, and so on that fateful morning they were each amusing themselves in their own ways. Cyborg was hard at work putting the finishing touches to his latest upgrades to the T-Ship, which he intended to take for a spin latter that day to make the most of the fantastic weather. Starfire was sitting happily in her bedroom and, in her own words, "performing braiding manoeuvres upon her hair so as to appear more pleasing for boyfriend Robin". Robin himself was, not unsurprisingly or uncharacteristically, but nevertheless regretfully, locked in his study and brooding over the lack of recent activity from his arch-rival Slade. It was at such times as these that the influence of Robin's mentor Batman could most clearly be seen. Raven had decided to forgo her usual practice of meditating in her dark and claustrophobic abode, and was instead hovering peacefully on the roof of the tower, enjoying the view and the tranquillity. Finally, last but by no means least, Beast Boy was, naturally, still fast asleep. After all, according to the cheery shapeshifter, getting up before at least ten was nothing short of a crime against nature.
In conclusion all was, for the moment at least, well. However it is not in Jump City that our story actually begins.
To find the location of where the events of that memorable Wednesday originated, we must travel some ten or so miles east of the metropolis. Here, far beyond the city's outskirts, we find ourselves looking upon Fort Stonewall; a small rugged military base, home to some two hundred soldiers of the United States Army and under the command of one General Edward Crow. General Crow, a veteran of the Vietnam and Gulf wars, and a recipient of the Medal of Honour, the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit, was tall, grey haired and in his mid sixties. A powerfully built man with a hooked nose, piercing eyes, broad shoulders and a bristling moustache; he resembled an elderly and uniformed polar bear. But despite his unnerving appearance he was a kindly old soldier, if he was not crossed, and under most circumstances a reasonable man. However whenever he spoke to Professor Arthur Twine, of Experimental Weapons and Military Research, he felt his patience being worn dangerously thin.
General Crow's attendance had been requested by the most senior scientist at Fort Stonewall in his lab soon after breakfast. Gloomily Crow had finished his stake and eggs (Crow had never really seen the point of continental breakfasts), drank his coffee and then had proceeded to the underground laboratory. Having scanned his thumb, iris and identification card, and then walked down the concrete ramp that descended approximately two stories beneath the sandy floor of the fort, Crow had found himself in the realm of Professor Twine. Twine, a spindly man with round glasses, a goatee, protruding eyebrows and of course a white lab coat, was actually hoping from foot to foot with excitement. He had immediately launched into a lecture that had seemed to suck at Crow's very soul until he could stand it no more. "I'm sorry sir, but can you please get to the point, I really haven't got all day" Crow said at last, cutting of Twine in mid lecture. "Could you possibly give me the short version?"
Having had his progress arrested, Twine frowned irritably for a moment, before the uncontrollable enthusiasm that was coursing through him overtook him once more. "Oh very well general, military history and science in a nutshell it is. Tell me have you ever heard of Operation Goliath?"
Crow grunted "well...it rings a sort of bell. That's one of the old Cold War defence projects isn't? I couldn't tell you the details about it though".
Twine appeared to be pleasantly surprised "well done general, yes you are quite right. Operation Goliath was indeed a security initiative developed by General Constantine Chase during the Cold War, the 1950s to be more precise. Its aim was to build a supreme super weapon that could be employed to defend the west coast of the United States, and particularly Jump City, against a perceived threat of a communist invasion from China. However the project took so long to complete that by the time it was finished the scare had past. Besides it was felt by many that simply using conventional weapons, such as aircraft and long range missiles, would be a more economically viable and realistic approach in any event".
Crow had no idea why they were discussing Operation Goliath but decided to humour the professor for the moment. "And what became of this super weapon they'd built, you did say they finished it didn't you? Was it decommissioned?"
"Yes!" Twine shouted exuberantly "Yes, that's what it says in the official files, that's what you'd think, that's what everyone thinks! But late last night, I couldn't sleep, so I came down here to do a bit of work. Well I don't know how I've never found it before but I discovered a hidden button, which naturally I..."
"Pushed?" asked Crow resignedly.
"Yes of course I did, what would you have done?"
I, thought Crow exasperatedly, would have tried to discover what it did first, rather than just pressing a mysterious button that could very well have blown this base to kingdom come. However the general merely sighed "never mind, carry on".
"Well it opened a concealed door; I walked through it and found...I found...I..." words seemed to fail the scientist. "You'll have to see for yourself, follow me".
Leading the way towards a section of the back wall of the laboratory, no different than any other as far as Crow could see, Twine stopped. Extending his hand he pressed a pressure sensitive pad that was completely invisible to the naked eye. Discovering it must have been through sheer luck. The result was immediate and obvious; a large section of the wall slid back, revealing a doorway easily wide enough to have admitted an armoured car. Beyond the newly opened entrance lay a secondary chamber; high ceilinged, liberally coated with dust and containing many aged control consoles. In the centre of room, supported by scaffolding, there stood a titanic steel soldier. The robot towered over the general and the professor at well over fifty feet high, was roughly humanoid in shape, with heavily built forearms, lower legs and shoulders, a vast barrel chest and a helmet with a thin slit through which the giant presumably perceived it's unfortunate foes.
Struck dumb by the sheer size and awe inspiring nature of the leviathan before him, General Crow could at first do nothing but stare. At last however he managed to croak "what is it?"
"This is the super weapon, finished and ready to defend Jump City from an invasion that never came. I've been checking it over ever since I discovered it and it would seem that it can be reactivated from this consol here" Twine indicated a nearby computer.
This was enough to snap Crow out of his trance, who shouted in horrified amazement "hang on a cotton-pickin' second! Are you suggesting we just fire up a fifty foot robot and see what it does?"
"It's perfectly safe general; I have put a number of inhibitors in place to prevent it from becoming fully activated. Only it's most basic systems would come online" Twine beamed reassuringly. "Who knows what we might be able to learn from this engineering marvel; it is a scientific, historical and military artifact of incalculable worth".
Crow's attention was caught "military? Do you think that this thing could still have military potential?"
"Why of course, once we have learned how to operate it this wondrous creation could be dispatched to any battlefield of our choosing. Think of it, what enemy of our great nation would not tremble at the sight of this mighty engine of war charging towards him with righteous furry in his mechanical heart?"
Crow hesitated once more. His long military career had certainly taught him the value of caution, but then again taking risks was a necessary part of command. If there really was no danger and through his actions he, General Edward Crow, might go down in history as the man who had given America back one of its greatest weapons, long since thought lost... well, could he really pass up such an opportunity? At last he made a decision that would cause him many sleepless nights in the years to come "alright Twine, if you're certain there's no danger, do it".
Without a seconds hesitation the scientist ran forward and started tapping away at the consol. "The machine seems to have quite an intuitive activation system, it should simply be a matter of feeding it the power it requires; it should do the rest and send it to wherever it is needed. Or rather send it to wherever I'm allowing it to go". Twine muttered to himself as he worked, seemingly having forgotten his commander officer. At last was finished "there we go, now, when I flick this switch it should start up". He paused for handful of seconds and then, seemingly satisfied that all was well, flicked the aforementioned switch.
At first nothing seemed to happen, and Crow had just released a breath he had not realized he had been holding and Twine had just started to check to see if he could possibly have made a mistake, when a small creak echoed around the room like a gunshot. The robot stirred in its supportive housing of scaffolding and a fait glow began to emanate from the slit in its helmet. Suddenly, and without the slightest warning, it spoke in a voice like thunder that shattered the silence. "Voice module online. Audio functionality test initialized. Designation: Liberty Prime".
"Magnificent!" Professor Twine said with something approaching ecstasy "a marvel, a work of genius, military science elevated to an art form; never have I dreamed of such a machine!" Eyes sparkling he called up to the iron goliath "Liberty Prime; what is your primary directive?"
After a brief pause whilst the giant computed the question it replied "Mission: the liberation of Jump City, California".
"He is still ready to fight for his country, you see general? What a solider! After all these years he is as ready as ever to carry out his assigned task. All that remains is to recalibrate his sensors for new targets and then programme him with a new mission".
General Crow had to admit that he was both impressed and relived. For a moment he had felt horribly certain that he was about to live the plot of a science-fiction B movie; the creature would be awakened, run amok and he, and an honest-to-God mad scientist, would be the architects of the disaster. Crow was just opening his mouth to congratulate Twine on his discovery and its successful reactivation when a spark flashed from the robot. "What was that?" asked Crow whipping around to stare up at the giant.
"Oh, um, it's nothing to worry about I shouldn't think general" answered Twine slightly too hastily.
"You don't think it's a problem? Would you mind being a little more precise professor?" snapped Crow.
"Well let me see, I can't see anything wro..." Twine began, before being cut off by yet another, rather more violent, flash of electricity. Now he was starting to appear agitated. When a third and then a fourth discharge flashed from the metallic body of the fifty foot warrior standing over them, his brow became slick with sweat. "I...er...think that the inhibitors I put in place may not have been s-strong enough. It's possible that his central computer is overriding them and allowing all of his systems to become fully operational".
"Then shut it down now!" bellowed Crow, undoing the clasp on the leather holster at his hip and drawing his sidearm.
"Y-yes of course" said Twine distractedly. Hurrying across to the consol he pressed several important looking red buttons that had an air of finality about them. Unfortunately they were to prove not quite as decisive as they appeared.
"What are you waiting for man? Turn this bloody tin can off!" roared Crow, now taking aim with his pistol.
"I can't!" squeaked Twine almost hysterically "it's not responding, nothings responding! I can't even..."
But what Twine couldn't even do Crow never found out, because at that moment the great robot straightened itself to its full height in its scaffolding, took a step forward and said in a deafening voice "Liberty Prime is online. All systems nominal. Weapons hot. Mission: the destruction of any and all Chinese communists!"
"Perhaps if, if, if I, I..." stuttered a terrified Twine.
"Get moving you damn fool!" Crow shouted, grabbing the professor's shoulder and shoving him hard towards the exit. Backing away from the advancing robot Crow opened fire with his pistol. It was an old Colt M1911, a gun long since superseded by the military laser sidearms that were now being issued to the army. But like many veterans he preferred to use the weapon he had grown to know so well. The heavy duty .45 ACP rounds each found their mark, smashing into Liberty Prime's chest. However, apart from producing a cacophony akin to an angry man attacking a church bell with a sledge hammer, the bullets failed to have even the slightest effect.
Leaping backwards through the hidden doorway Crow punched the pressure pad, causing the retractable wall to slide back into place. A second later the wall cracked in several places as a monumental fist was slammed into from the other side. "Come on Doctor Frankenstein, we've got to get out of here. That door won't hold him off for long and I want to be behind a dozen tanks when he breaks through!" Crow snarled, once again dragging a stunned Twine towards the ramp that led to the great sliding steel doors that, in turn, led the surface of the fort.
Running up the corridor, the sounds of crashing echoing up the corridor behind them, Crow and Twine at last reached the exit. Activating the doors they wasted no time in sealing the portal behind them and raising the alarm. Within minutes the entire garrison of Fort Stonewall was up in arms and poised with every weapon they possessed covering the entrance to the laboratory. From deep underground, beneath the feet of the soldiers and the scientist, the sounds of splintering concrete and metal squealing under immense pressure continued, but the robot failed to launch an attack on the sliding steel doors.
"What's he waiting for?" hissed Crow.
"I can't image" admitted Twine "unless, unless..." and suddenly he actually laughed in amazement "why how stupid I am! Naturally Liberty Prime hasn't tried to breach the exit; there is no way he could fit up the corridor to reach it!"
"You mean he's stuck down there?" Crow asked, hardly daring to believe it.
"Yes! Now general you can take care of him at your leisure. But" Twine added as an afterthought "try not to completely destroy him; it was entirely my fault that he malfunctioned. He could still be immensely useful".
"I'll see what I can do, but no promises" growled Crow. In truth the general had no intention of sparing the rod at this stage; the rogue robot would surrender or be reduced to a pile of scrap metal. "Alright men; I want a guard on these doors at all times and no one is to enter the lab under any circumstances. I think our best bet would be anti-tank rifles or anti-tank missiles, which we haven't got here. Get me a line to the headquarters at Presidio of Monterey; tell them I want as much heavy ordnance here as they can give me ASAP. In the meantime..." Crow suddenly broke off, listening. The destructive noises from bellow ground had ceased some time ago, but now they had begun again. "What's he doing now professor?" Crow asked.
"Well he was engineered to overcome any obstacle in his path and to adapt his tactics to the situation at hand. I expect he's looking for another way out. Don't worry though sir, there's no other exit other than the one we left through, and as I said he couldn't possibly get out that way" Twine finished airily.
The grinding and crunching sounds continued and, somehow, seemed to be getting louder...and closer. Suddenly, just as he detected the first vibrations through his boot soles, the truth hit General Crow like blast from a combat shotgun. "He's not using the corridor; he's going though the God damn ceiling!"
No sooner had the words left the general's mouth that a massive hand, the size of tractor tire, punched through the earth, not five feet away from where Crow was standing. In a matter of seconds Liberty Prime was pulling himself out of the makeshift tunnel he had created. Looking around at the stunned faces of the soldiers surrounding him he intoned "commencing tactical assessment: red Chinese threat detected!"
"Take cover!" bellowed Crow, throwing himself behind a sandbag wall and clamping his arms over his head. In less than a minute Fort Stonewall was a smoking ruin. The armoury was ablaze; small secondary explosions occurring ever few seconds as grenades and boxes of ammunition were cooked off by the heat. A line of Humvees and a couple of stalwart M1 Abram tanks were now burning wrecks. The thick concrete walls of the main command centre had crumbled like those of a sandcastle under the unrelenting attacks of the robot's massive fists and the fiery blue laser beams he unleashed from the eye slit of his helmet. None of those who had tried to resist the iron leviathan's wrath had lived to regret it.
Taking in the destruction he had caused, Liberty prime said at last "communist forces eliminated, proceeding to primary objective. The liberation of Jump City is imminent!"
With the air of an unstoppable juggernaut the giant turned and began to stride away in the direction of the unsuspecting city. Slowly and cautiously General Crow raised his head, before getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "Alright, whoever isn't dead raise your hand". A mercifully large number of men began to warily rise, holding up their hands to acknowledge their status as still remaining amongst the living. Thankfully it seemed that Liberty Prime had been more concerned with destroying 'communist' vehicles and resources, rather than wasting time on massacring a small group of foot soldiers.
"Lieutenant Green" said Crow quickly, as he glanced around the ruined fort and made an instinctive mental inventory of anything that could still be potentially useful. It was not a long list.
"Sir?" asked a young officer who appeared to be unharmed apart from a gash on his forehead.
"Contact Travis Air Force Base immediately; inform them that unless they scramble a squadron of fighters immediately Jump City will be in ruins. When you've finished giving those flyboys their marching orders you can get in touch with the Jump City Police Department; I don't know how much good the heads-up will be, but at least it ought to give the cops slightly better odds".
Lieutenant Green grimaced "I'm sorry sir but the robot's energy weapons seem to have shorted out the forts electricity, we'll have to send out runners to find somewhere to send the messages from".
"Damnation!" swore Crow angrily "then there's no possibility of the jets getting here fast enough to intercept Liberty Prime before he reaches the city. Those cops, God help them, are on their own".
"Not quite sir" ventured the young officer, slightly nervously.
"Eh, what are you talking about man?" barked Crow irritatedly.
"Well general, there's always the...Teen Titans."
The Teen Titans, as mentioned earlier, had been enjoying a period of near complete tranquillity. Ever since their defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil and their return from Tokyo, the number of crimes and public disturbances that the Teen Titans were called out to resolve had dropped dramatically. Days and sometimes even weeks would flow by without the strident tones of the Titan's alarm disturbing the peace of the tower. Since we last heard tell of the activities that were occupying the attentions of the five young heroes it should be noted that a couple of hours had past. Cyborg had finished making his modifications to his beloved T-Ship, had taken her for a test drive around the crystal blue waters of the bay and was now back in the ship's boathouse; hard at work on yet further improvements. Starfire had completed her braiding manoeuvres and sought out Robin. For Robin's own good Starfire had decided to drag him from his claustrophobic office and demanded, happily but forcefully, that he must take her for a walk around the craggy shoreline of the Titan's island. Beast Boy was at last awake and, having breakfasted and found that neither Robin nor Cyborg were available for playing video games, was now looking for something to stave off the inevitable boredom that would shortly engulf him.
Raven was sitting, her legs crossed, on the sofa in the tower's living room/command centre. She was feeling uncharacteristically charitable towards the world in general. She had enjoyed a pleasant morning's meditation, followed by a light breakfast and naturally a cup of her customary herbal tea. The empath had then decided to take advantage of the deserted common room and begin her latest book; only purchased the day before from her favourite second-hand bookshop. Raven had recently finished Voltaire's novel Candide and, as she settled herself into the comfortable couch cushions, she remembered the title characters famous phrase; "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds". Although that particular young man had generally used it in an ironic sense, Raven felt that it summed up her feelings at that moment rather well. Peace, quiet and no distractions.
Opening the old but well preserved book, Raven gently turned the pages and began to read. She was quickly immersed in the story; she saw the characters and scenes as clearly as if she was watching the giant television screen that dominated the Titan's living room. Soon, and the other Titan's, had they been present, would have scarcely believed their own ears; Raven was not only smiling but actually uttering the occasional giggle. Contrary to popular belief (Beast Boy) Raven had not been tragically born without a sense of humour; she may not have enjoyed childish pranks and appallingly bad jokes (Beast Boy), but she had a great fondness for sarcasm. The author of her latest book had clearly been a master of the art; high praise from Raven, who was herself, no novice when it came to pointed comments and barbed remarks. "How can anyone be that politically incorrect?" she thought, stifling another giggle.
"Watch'a doing Rae?" shouted someone from directly behind Raven.
The interruption was so sudden and so unexpected that Raven actually let out a small scream of surprise and fell unceremoniously off the sofa. She was up again in a heartbeat and purple with fury. "Beast Boy!" she snarled "one of these days I swear I'm going to pull your stupid green head off by its pointed ears and then dropkick it into the bay!"
Grinning guiltily the shapeshifter took a few precautionary steps backwards, away from the enraged empath. "Oops, sorry Rae, my bad. I was just, you know, err, checking up on how you're doing and, err, stuff" Beast Boy said disjointedly.
"Well I was fine, but now I'm extremely annoyed. But don't worry Beast Boy; you can fix that problem very easily. Just go up onto the roof of the tower and take a running jump!"
"Oh come on Rae, go easy on me. I've only been up for like an hour and you're already after my blood. I'm sorry I sneaked up on you alright? Pax?" said Beast Boy holding up his hands in mock surrender.
"Beast Boy..." began Raven with undiminished ferocity, before suddenly breaking off in mid sentence to stare at the young green Titan in stupefied amazement. "B-Beast Boy, did you just say Pax?" she asked incredulously.
"Err sure Rae; you know as in peace, timeout, stop threatening to rip my head off".
"Beast Boy how in Azarath's name do you know the Latin for peace?" demanded Raven, completely forgetting her anger such was her shock at this display of intelligence from her teammate.
Beast Boy scratched the back of his neck and shrugged "I don't know, I guess I must have read it in one of my comic books".
"Well wonders will never cease. I suppose those childish picture books of yours are good for something after all" said Raven, smiling slightly and shaking her head in disbelief.
Catching sight of the almost undetectable smile on the empath's face, Beast Boy knew at once that he had been, for the moment at least, forgiven. Grinning he walked across to the sofa and leaned on its back. Raven had returned to her seat, picked up her book and was already engrossed in it once more. "So Rae...what you reading?" he asked at last.
"A book" Raven answered without looking up.
"What's it about?"
This time Raven snapped the volume shut and glared up at Beast Boy sternly. "Beast Boy do you actually care what I'm reading or are you just killing time until Cyborg is ready to play Mega Monkeys V: The Platinum Super Extended Limited Edition with you? I strongly suggest you consider your answer carefully before voicing it".
It was Beast Boy's turn to look at his team mate in bewilderment "wow Rae, you remembered the name of one of my games!"
"Well when one has heard something shouted enough times one tends to memorize it after a while".
Beast Boy was on the point of launching into an oration of praise for Raven's achievement when he suddenly caught the dangerous glint in the girl's eye and remembered that he had not yet actual answered her question. "I'm not just killing time Rae; Cyborg told me he's too busy working on the T-Ship to play today and I've already completed the single player mode twice. And as Robin and Star are off doing...whatever...I thought we could chat".
"So I'm a last resort am I?" asked Raven, raising an eyebrow.
"No, no, no! Come on Rae you know I didn't mean it like that!" wailed Beast Boy.
Raven let the shapeshifter stew for a few more seconds and then relented "I know Beast Boy. Very well then, if you really want to talk, just don't make me regret it".
Beast Boy gratefully took a seat beside the empath and, after a moment's slightly awkward silence, decided to play it safe and fall back on a simple topic of conversation. "So Rae, what are you reading then?" he asked for the second time.
Raven decided that she was prepared to answer her green comrade "after your little Pax remark I suppose I have to answer you. The book is called The Satires, by Juvenal. It's a collection of sarcastic, cynical stories and poems about things that the author encountered in his daily life or heard about and thought were just so ridiculous he had to write about them".
"I've never heard of him or the book" said Beast Boy, grinning apologetically.
"Why am I not surprised?"
"No but I mean I don't read much, not many proper books like you do, but I generally have heard of an author and their stuff even if I've never actually read it" explained Beast Boy.
"Well as Juvenal was writing almost 2,000 years ago in ancient Rome I suppose you do have some excuse" said Raven, smiling.
"2,000 years? So it's like a history book then?" asked Beast Boy.
Remembering Beast Boy's less than impressive grasp of the past, Raven rolled her eyes before answering "you could use it as one yes, but I'm just reading it for entertainment".
Beast Boy frowned "err I don't get it; your book sounds kind of boring, but I swear I heard you...laughing just now".
Raven glowered "Beast Boy just because it isn't one of your puerile comics doesn't automatically mean that it is boring. Juvenal is a highly enjoyable, witty and extremely rude writer".
Beast Boy seemed to have been cowed by Raven's scolding and for a few blissful seconds he was silent. However before she could pick up her place in The Satires, something highly amusing suddenly seemed to occur to Beast Boy and he started to laugh. Glancing at him Raven asked suspiciously "what?"
The changeling stifled his sniggering and said "Juvenal sounds like juvenile, you know as in immature!"
"Oh the irony" murmured Raven.
Beast Boy knew that it wouldn't go down well with Raven, but when a bad joke suggested itself to him he just never could resist seeing it through to the end, for better or worse. "So you're book is written by someone who sounds like they're immature and you're always saying how you hate me being..."
Raven's eyes turned a threatening white and she was on the point of banishing, temporarily (probably), Beast Boy to some dark and terrible dimension populated by creatures with eyes where their teeth should have been, when the alarm sounded. Dropping whatever they were doing all five Titans rushed to the command centre and Robin immediately activated the large monitor. An instant later the screen was taken up with the masked face of a Jump City police officer. He was Captain Whites; a blunt, veteran cop, who generally took a fairly dim view of vigilantes. He had however come to respect and even to like the Titans. Whites and the young heroes had worked together on a number of occasions and he had even once saved all their lives. The captain always preferred to handle situation himself and if he was calling now for aid that meant the situation was very serious.
"Titans, I hate to say this, but we need you out here" said Captain Whites, speaking hurriedly and glancing away from his communicator every few seconds. "This is going to sound cliché in the extreme, but a giant robot's cutting a swath through the city! We've begun evacuations and are trying to hold him back, but nothing we've got even seems to scratch this thing!"
Robin punched his right fist into his left palm "don't worry captain, we're on our way". Turning to his team he shouted "Titans, go!"
When the T-Ship landed in the road that had been indicated by Captain Whites they found a scene of total pandemonium. Civilians were sprinting this way and that, the air was thick with smoke and dust, and a constant stream of wounded police officers were staggering or being carried towards a field hospital that had been established in a nearby department store. Beside a stout eight wheeled armoured riot control vehicle stood Captain Whites and a handful of other officers, pouring over a street map of the city spread out on a table. Catching sight of the approaching heroes Whites turned and grunted "good to see you ladies and gents".
"What's the situation captain?" asked Robin.
"We've been driven back over and over again; we're pretty close to total collapse. We've pulled all are available forces together to this position here" Whites indicated a crossroads on the map. "We've barricaded these streets with anything we can get our hands on and are hoping to concentrate our fire on the robot from three sides at once when it attacks. But quite frankly I don't know if we stand a chance".
"Please where is this cross of the roads?" asked Starfire.
Whites turned and pointed towards the end of the street, where a line of police cars, civilian vehicles and any available detritus had been pulled into a makeshift wall. "That's the western of the three barricades; the giant is approaching rapidly from the east". No sooner had the captain finished speaking when an explosion, louder and nearer than those the Titans had been hearing ever since they arrived, shook the very ground beneath their feet. Raising his communicator to his ear Whites nodded several times before turning to the young heroes. "It looks like we're out of time; here it comes, ready or not".
Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy sprinted down the street, passing fleeing civilians, until they reached the makeshift wall. Beyond the hastily erected police cordon, smashing his way through the northern of the three barricades, was none other than Liberty Prime. With one massive fist he proceeded to crush a fire engine as if it were no more substantial than a tin can, sending the defenders that had been taking cover behind it running for cover. "Chinese blockade attempt: futile!" roared the robotic warrior.
Robin immediately decided that there was no time to waste; drawing one of his iconic birdarangs from his utility belt, the Boy Wonder drew back his arm and let fly. The razor sharp weapon flew straight as an arrow through the air and connected with a clang with the giant's metallic head. Although the only visible damage this initial assault seemed to achieve was an almost invisible scratch on the side of Liberty Prime's helmet, it served its purpose. Ceasing his attack on the police barricade the giant turned, surprisingly quickly, and took in the appearances of his new assailants. The glowing slit of the helmet seemed to be particularly drawn to Robin and his scarlet uniform. "We will not fear the Red menace!" snarled the robot. He began to stride towards the teenage heroes, the sapphire blue glow emanating from his helmet burning with a sinister intensity. "Engaging Chinese invaders!"
"Titans go!" shouted Robin, leading the charge.
The first to attack was Cyborg, unleashing a blast from his fearsome sonic cannon. The jet of blue energy took Liberty Prime full in the chest, forcing the giant to take a step backwards. "Booyah!" yelled the cybernetically enhanced teen triumphantly, sensing victory.
However the metallic giant quickly righted himself and replied to Cyborg's challenge with his twin head mounted energy beams. The lasers scythed towards the Titans, forcing them to separate or be destroyed. Observing his opponents running in the face of his power, Liberty Prime bellowed, with a surprising degree of satisfaction for a being with only artificial intelligence, "Communism is the very definition of failure!"
Taking to the skies Starfire soared above the iron goliath, hurling starbolts down upon him like a deadly hail storm. Standing stock still, and turning his head this way and that, following the girl's maneuvers, the mighty robot at last intoned "Communist target acquired!" Despite Starfire's natural speed and agility, Liberty Prime's inbuilt targeting relay had been designed to bring down still faster targets, such as fighter jets and enemy missiles. One blast of his blue lasers struck Starefire like a bolt of lightning. A human would have been vaporized instantly, but Tamaraneans are made of rather sterner stuff. With a scream of pain Starfire shuddered in mid air and then spiraled down towards the earth, temporarily out of the action.
"Starfire!" cried Robin in horror, seeing the fall of his girlfriend. Expanding his collapsible combat staff Robin charged the giant and began hacking and slashing at his vast tree trunk like legs. For all the good it seemed to be doing he may as well have tried to demolish Titans Tower with a teaspoon.
Completely ignoring the insignificant assault upon his shins Liberty Prime turned and cast his baleful viewing slit upon Raven. Anticipating an attack the empath used her powers to create a black dome like shield to protect herself. The iron leviathan halted; obeying his programming he scanned the new and mysterious obstacle. "Obstruction detected: composition – unknown energy force barrier. Probability of mission hindrance: zero percent!" Having calculated that the defensive shelter would prove no match for his own abilities, Liberty Prime fired both of his fiery blue lasers towards the Titan. As the beams impacted against her shield Raven felt a thin trickle of sweet creep down her brow, such was the effort necessary to maintain the protective spell. A thin spider web of hairline cracks began to spread across the black energy, and she knew that at any moment they would break through and reduced her to a pile of ash.
Things might well have gone badly for Raven if Beast Boy, having witnessed the plight of his fellow teammate and friend, had not chosen that moment to come to her aid. In battles of this magnitude Beast Boy generally preferred to rely on extinct animals rather than those alive today. Life on earth was currently just to tame for combat this fierce. The first warning that Liberty Prime received of the shapeshifter's attack was when a twelve hundred pound Gigantopithecus, an ape resembling an orang-utan but five times the size, landed squarely on his shoulders and began attempting to rip the robot's head off. This is something that no one can ignore.
With Cyborg punching his left leg and Robin going to town on his right, Liberty Prime staggered around, stepping on wrecked cars and trying to pluck the shrieking ape from his back. At last one powerful iron hand managed seized a hairy arm in a vicelike grip. Hurling the great primate to the ground the robot raised a huge foot, intending to crush him where he lay. At the last moment the Gigantopithecus vanished, to be replaced by a thumb sized hummingbird, which darted away before the descending foot could flatten it. With a sweep of one massive arm Liberty Prime sent both Cyborg and Robin flying through the air. The giant used the brief rest bite to intone threateningly "Democracy will never be defeated!"
Returning to his human form Beast Boy crouched behind a burnt out pickup truck and watching the mighty machine advancing once more on his friends. "Hmm, not big enough apparently" he muttered to himself.
Having recovered from her injuries Starfire now stood beside Raven, facing down the advancing metallic warrior. Together the girls decided to attempt a tactic they had recently practiced during combat training. Raven used her mental powers to pick up abandoned vehicles and then hurled them towards Liberty Prime. Starefire struck each flying car and truck with one of her starbolts, turning them into fiery missiles that exploded on impact. Such was the ferocity of the assault that even the mighty robotic solider found himself giving ground.
Shielding himself with his large forearms Liberty Prime growled "Established stratagem: inadequate. Activating primary armaments!"
"Wow, hold up" said Cyborg incredulously, as he clambered out of the wreckage of a bus he had been flung into "those blue laser things aren't this things main weapon?"
From each of Liberty Prime's shoulders emerged a wide pipe, similar to the air intake vents aboard ships. Both pipes were connected to the large backpack like structure on the robot's back. An orange glow emanating from the yawning mouths of the pipes and a rumbling sound deep within the giant forewarned the Titans of impending danger. A brace of explosive projectiles, the size of human heads, burst forth and hurtled towards Starfire and Raven. The young women took to the air, and only just in time. The resulting explosion created a crater in the road so deep that it looked as if it had been made by a meteorite. A follow up pair of missiles demolished a post office and an adjoining restaurant, nearly burying Robin in an avalanche of descending masonry. The Boy Wonder was whisked to safety a second before tragedy struck by Starfire, seizing his hand and pulling him aloft effortlessly. The robot was on the point of unleashing another volley in the direction of Raven and Cyborg, when he was unexpectedly interrupted.
Beast Boy, in the form of a colossal prehistoric Deinotherium, charged Liberty Prime from behind. Fourteen tons elephantine rage crashed into the steel giant and the creature's downward turning tusks actually succeeded in driving through the thick shoulder armour of the robot's right arm. Pulling himself free of the grasp of the animal's short but powerful trunk, Liberty Prime seized the ancient and mighty cousin of the elephant and began to wrestle with it. Although Beast Boy put up a heroic struggle the hydraulic muscles of the robot proved superior to the organic ones of even the Deinotherium. Driving the Titan back, with punches that would have reduced a fully grown rhinoceros to a pulp, Liberty Prime sought to open up enough distance with his large foe to allow him to employ either his lasers or explosive shells. At such close range both weapons would have been equally dangerous to himself as his enemy. No doubt eventually the giant would have achieved this, had not Raven created two large black taloned hands out of thin air, seized the robot, holding him in place and therefore allowing Beast Boy to make good his escape.
As the changeling, human again, ducked into a doorway and planned his next attack he thought angrily to himself "still not big enough!"
Just as the strength of the Deinotherium could not match that of Liberty Prime, neither could the binding power of Raven's magic. With a great effort the giant broke the empath's grip on him. The violent shock of which, like the recoil of high calibre rifle, knocked Raven clean off her feet. As the Titan's mustered for a fresh attack the metallic colossus, with implacable will, advanced once more, saying with something almost approaching a sneer "Tactical assessment: Red Chinese victory – impossible!"
"That's what you think!" called Robin "Titans attack!"
And so the fight raged on; Cyborg, utilised every gadget, weapon and tool at his disposal, Starfire lit the street like a firework display with her starbolts, Raven hurled anything within reach with her powers, Robin fought like a man possessed with staff and birdarangs, and Beast Boy attempted to overcome the robot in the forms of a Sarcosuchus, Ankylosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex and even the great and aptly named Titanoboa. The end result was that Liberty Prime had suffered nothing more fatal than losing two fingers from his left hand, a few dents and scratches here and there, and couple of puncture wounds. The giant's only reply to the ultimately insignificance damage inflicted upon him by the Titans was simply to say, stoically and with indifference "Communism is a temporary setback on the road to freedom!"
Indeed it did seem that all the five heroes could hope for was to be nothing more than a nuisance to the mighty mechanical solider. They had been lucky thus far, but soon this luck would run out. As Cyborg unleashed a volley of miniaturized missiles, Starfire conducted a strafing run from above and Robin dashed forward to engage the giant in melee, Raven prepared to do what she could to bring about a victory that seemed to be slipping further away from the Titans grasp with every passing second. Suddenly she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Spinning around she half expected to find that the H.I.V.E. Five or perhaps General Immortus's legions had turned up to join in the fun (nothing would have surprised her by that point). However what she saw was Beast Boy and he was inexplicably grinning.
"Rae, I've got!" he said, hopping from foot to foot.
"Got what?" snapped Raven.
"I've got an idea about something that might be enough to put this scrapheap down for good!"
Raven glanced over her shoulder towards Liberty Prime. Round about now any plan, even one cooked up by Beast Boy, might well prove better than nothing. "What is it?" she asked apprehensively.
"The trouble is I've been thinking too small all day. Nothing I've transformed into has been big enough for the job" explained Beast Boy. "But then I thought what if I transformed into the biggest creature possible. Well that would have to be something aquatic right?" Under any other circumstances Raven's jaw would have dropped that Beast Boy knew a word as scientific as 'aquatic', but instead she simply nodded. "Well if I did I wouldn't be much use, I'd just be a fish out of water" he grinned, but did not dwell on the pun. "But what if you were to throw me; like really, really hard?"
"You want me to throw you? Are you crazy, you could be hurt!" said an amazed Raven.
"Would you be able to lift me?" asked Beast Boy simply.
"Well...yes, but I really don't think this is a good idea" answered Raven reluctantly.
"You got a better one?" said Beast Boy. Without waiting for a reply he continued "OK let's do this, stand back". Raven took a few steps backwards. "No Rae further back". Rolling her eyes the empath retreated a couple more paces. "Look Rae just back up as far as you can OK, I'm serious". Raven did as she was told and walked until her back was pressed against the wall of a nearby shop. "Right" winked Beast Boy "here goes nothing" and he changed.
Raven gasped. She had seen Beast Boy transform into a Blue Whale (or to be precise a green Blue Whale) before, but only when the Titans had been conducting a mission at sea. In the ocean even the largest of creatures was dwarfed by the near limitless waters surrounding it. But here, on dry land, the sheer scale of the biggest animal to have ever existed on earth became truly apparent. At a hundred feet long, the length of three buses, and weighing in at two hundred tons, as heavy as forty elephants, it was truly an awe inspiring sight. Although Beast Boy could no longer speak the eye facing her, in itself the size of a beach ball, seemed to say "well what are you waiting for? This isn't exactly comfortable you know". Although in its natural environment, the sea, the whale's size was completely supported by the water; on land its own titanic weight was slowly suffocating it.
Not wasting another moment Raven held up her arms parallel to each other and began to chant her mantra "Azarath Metrion Zinthos". The great marine mammal became shrouded in black energy and very slowly began to rise into the air. Raven gritted her teeth, but kept up the pressure. Rarely had she ever lifted anything so heavy. At last the empath managed to manoeuvre the creature to such a height that it was above the shattered buildings on either side of it, therefore not inhibiting its movements. Raven kept her left arm extended before her, pointed directly at Liberty Prime (who was currently shouting "embrace democracy or you will be eradicated!"), whilst with her right arm she began to make circles in the air as if she was using a lasso. Above her the whale started to move in great, wide circles; mirroring the girl's movements. Like David with his sling as he prepared to slay the Philistine warrior Goliath of Gath, so Raven increased the speed of the circles until the whale was a blur. Then...she released.
As the vast creature shot through the air like a flesh and blood freight train going at full tilt, Liberty Prime seemed to sense the danger he was in. Breaking off from attacking the other three Titans he turned, intoning "Warning: forcible impact alert. Scanning for Chinese artillery!" But before the giant could do anything to prevent the collision all two hundred tons of Beast Boy made contact.
Both whale and robot flew backwards, crashing into an office building and reducing it to rubble. After a few agonizing seconds Beast Boy emerged from the ruin, human once more. His left arm hung limply at his side and he was weaving unsteadily left and right. The shapeshifter managed a weak but triumphant grin and wheezed "OK guys, just so you know, I'm NEVER doing that again!" A moment later he slumped to the floor unconscious.
Raven was so exhausted by her efforts that she could do nothing but cling to a convenient lamppost, but Robin, Starfire and Cyborg all started running forward to Beast Boy's aid. However they stopped before they were even half way to the changeling, as a second individual rose ponderously from the rubble. Liberty Prime had not survived the impact unscathed; his right leg dragged uselessly at his side and his right arm was missing completely below the elbow. However the major damage had been done to the giant robot's chest armour; the breastplate was nothing more than an expanse of twisted and broken metal, like a sheet of screwed up tinfoil.
Robin pointed towards the wounded giant "Titans, on my command, attack. Starfire go!"
Starfire's eyes glowed with green fire before she unleashed a pair of twin beams of superheated starbolt energy. The beams struck the damaged metal, making it glow red hot.
"Cyborg go!" shouted Robin.
Starfire ceased fire and her position was taken by Cyborg. The half-robot Titan activated both of his sonic cannons and sent a tsunami of sonic power straight against Liberty Prime. When the blue jets connected with the now near molten metal the armour burst asunder, revealing the giant's inner workings.
The leader of the Titans now stepped forward and with a throw that would have put an Olympic shot putter to shame hurled one of his disc grenades deep into the gaping hole in robotic soldier's chest. The explosion gutted the giant completely; sending wires, shards of metal and other mechanic detritus spewing out of the wound. Liberty Prime staggered, before placing a hand to his chest and then raising it before the slit of his helmet. He observed his thick iron fingers dripping in oil and internal fluids, as a man might look at his own blood. At last he said "I die, so that democracy may... live..." before collapsing backwards like a Californian redwood, felled at last by an army of lumberjacks.
"Well done Titans!" Robin called triumphantly to his team "let's get Beast Boy back to the tower and then we can..."
The Boy Wonder was interrupted by a voice like an angry thunder god about to smite an impudent mortal that issued from the collapsed form of Liberty Prime. "Emergency communist acquisition directive. Immediate self-destruct. Better dead than red!"
"Run guys, it's gonna blow!" bellowed Cyborg, grabbing Beast Boy and throwing his body across one of his broad metal shoulders. The Titans all sprinted for cover and not a moment too soon. A second later the very ground beneath their feet shuddered violently as Liberty Prime exploded in a massive fireball, reducing the cadaver of the robot to a pile of burnt and blackened scrap metal.
Before the Titans could do anything more than climb hesitantly to their feet they heard the sound of an engine behind them. A battered looking Humvee pulled up next to what remained of the abandoned police barricade. From the military vehicle emerged an impressive looking man in his mid sixties, wearing the uniform of a general, and a thin worried individual in the white lab coat of a scientist. The general cast his eyes over the scene of total destruction before him and the five young heroes. "You'd be the Teen Titans I presume? The names Crow, General Crow, and it looks as if you've saved the city" he said after a few seconds of impressed silence.
"That's right general" said Robin, nodding "and I suppose this is your robot?"
"Not exactly, it's his" grunted Crow, indicating the scientist.
Professor Twine, who didn't seem to have even noticed the Titans, walked slowly forward, towards what remained of the robot. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" he moaned "what a pity, what a great pity, I had so hoped that we might be able to recover him intact. My poor Liberty Prime, it's all my fault". He at last came to the helmeted head of the giant, which lay where it had fallen in a shallow crater in the road. "I wonder if...if we were to recover as much as we can here...I suppose I should be able to reassemble him...given time".
"Stark, starring, bloody mad!" growled Crow, shaking his head in disbelief. Suddenly he seemed to remember something and raised his communicator to his ear "this is General Crow to Squadron Leader Carter; the threat has been neutralized, stand down". Turning to the Titans he smiled and said "you've saved the army and the air force one hell of a job
As the general turned and strode after the professor to remonstrate at length with him, Raven, still feeling rather shaky asked in her usual monotone "can we go home now?"
Beasy Boy awoke a few hours later in his own bed back at Titans Tower. His left arm was in a sling, he had remarkable collection of bruises, cuts and abrasions and his head was bandaged. However he barely noticed his collection of injuries, his eyes instead being drawn to the girl sitting beside his bed reading. "Err, hey Raven" he said at last.
Raven immediately looked up "Beasy Boy you're awake! You've been out ever since the fight with Liberty Prime. How are you feeling?"
Beast Boy felt is left arm gingerly and winced slightly "OK I guess, I've felt better though. Rae, have you been sitting there the whole time?"
Raven blushed slightly beneath the shadow of her hood "not alone no. The others were all here as well for a while, but when it became clear that you weren't coming to any time soon, I volunteered to keep watch over you until you did".
"Umm thanks"
Raven stood up "I'll leave you to get some rest then. Good job today".
"Thanks, you too" answered Beast Boy, smiling. Raven had almost reached the door when the changeling said hesitantly "Rae...?"
"Yes?" asked Raven, turning.
"Well I've kind of been sleeping for ages, so I'm not really tired now. So...would you stay and...read to me?" asked Beast Boy hopefully.
Dozens of snide replies reared their ugly heads in Raven's mind, such as 'not going to happen grass strain' and 'what am I your babysitter?' But instead she hesitated and then said "alright then". She sat on the end of Beast Boy's bed and glanced towards the teetering mountain of comic books piled up, on and around his bedside table. "I suppose you want me to read one of those do you?" asked Raven resignedly.
"Umm no, I've read them all like hundreds of times. I was wondering if you could read me something you'd enjoy. You know some classic, with adventure and stuff in, oh and a few jokes of course!" Beast Boy beamed across at the empath.
"Oh...alright then; I'll be back in a minute" said a surprised, but pleasantly so, Raven. She teleported back to her own bedroom in a swirl of black energy and shortly returned clutching a book under her arm. Resuming her seat on the end of Beast Boy's bed she looked at him and said "excuse me for taking you at your word Beast Boy. This is defiantly a classic, one I've read a couple of times, but it's really intended for children". She looked again at the pile of comics and graphic novels "but then again I doubt that really matters".
Beast Boy sniggered, grinning "what are you suggesting Rae?"
Not bothering to answer the green invalid Raven began. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. By Lyman Frank Baum. Chapter one, the cyclone. Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies..." Although few would have guessed it of her, Raven turned out to be a superb narrator. What's more she proved to be exceptionally good at doing different voices for the book's numerous and varied characters (something that would not have been expected from somehow how usually spoke in a dull monotone). The voices that she chose were all very familiar. Starfire was an upbeat and cheery Dorothy, Cyborg a tough and good-natured Tin Man, and Robin a loyal and resolute Scarecrow. Beast Boy himself was the Cowardly Lion (this elicited cries of mock indignation from the shapeshifter), the Munchkins sounded very similar to the diminutive aliens of Raven's acquaintance the Shallas, and Raven cast herself as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Raven ended up reading for far longer than she had originally intended, but eventually she came to a convenient stopping point and closed the book. "But what happens next?" asked Beast Boy sitting up in bed and starring at Raven round eyed.
Raven smiled "I'm sorry Beast Boy but I've been reading for hours, you may not be tired but I'm exhausted".
"OK Rae, but that means you've got to read to me again tomorrow" grinned Beast Boy.
Raven hesitated and then said "Oh very well, but this is only because you're injured. This is not the start of a pattern alright?"
"Yep, sure thing Rae" answered Beast Boy, winking at the empath and laying his head back on his pillows. "Oh and Rae?"
"Yes Beast Boy?" answered Raven.
"Just one complaint; you should have voiced the Good Witch of the North. I should hate the Wicked Witch of the West, but because it's you I can't".
Raven once gain hid her blush under her cowl. Smiling she said "good night Beast Boy".
"Night Rae" replied the changeling.
As Raven got up and walked away she couldn't help feeling that she might well have just begun a tradition that would be very hard to break. She foresaw herself reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Treasure Island, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, The Wind in the Willows and who knew what else? When she reached her bedroom she glanced towards her bookshelves that covered several of the walls from floor to ceiling. They were cramped with novels, romances, fairy tales, adventure stories, poetry, thrillers, spell books, ancient tomes, plays and historical texts. Raven smiled again. All in all, she decided, she didn't think she minded.
Authors Notes:
In Fallout 3 Liberty Prime was actually built in 2077 to liberate to the city of Anchorage, Alaska, from a Chinese communist invasion that occurred in 2066.
The base located at 'Presidio of Monterey' is the largest, most important and most active army installation in California. I reasoned that, when in trouble, it was from here that General Crow would summon reinforcements.
Travis is the largest Air Force Base in California, and is home to pilots and aircraft from seven different squadrons. I thought that it would be from here that Crow would be most likely to ask for a strike force to take down a rogue robot.
Juvenal's The Satires, written between the 1st-2nd centuries AD, are much as Raven describes them; sarcastic stories that lampooned daily life in Rome. Juvenal's wit was very sharp and often extremely rude. The Author recommends them to any with even a passing interest in the Romans; but be warned, they are not for the easily offended!
I have written a short story about Captain Whites of the Jump City Police Department, entitled 'A Cop in Jump City'. To hear more about the officer and his relationship with the Teen Titans please feel free to read it.
I really hope you enjoyed reading this story, I certainly enjoyed writing it.