Disclaimer's note- I do not own Teen Titans. All original characters and related features are of my own creation. Rated for language, blood, violence, and possible adult situations. This fic does contain original characters and will contain OCxcanon pairings.
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Prologue: When the Night has come
Jump City, USA. One of the most well known cities in the world. On one hand, there are the numerous banks, larger-than life malls, and the fabulous pizza parlors and night-life. On the other, the old rundown apartments, rats as common as the homeless men sleeping in alleyways, and the garbage so abundant one could find just about anything lying in the streets if they fancied a look. And then there were the burglars, gangs, drug dealers, guys that looked just plain shady and of course, the occasional ten-foot tall sludge monster that broke into the waste factory for a late-night radioactive shake. Thankfully, monster rampages were the least frequent occurrences in the city but everything else was an almost weekly event.
Take tonight as an example. A group of armed men had barged into the First National Bank with the intent on getting some money in their pockets. They had thought of everything: recently stolen Glock 18 machine pistols for intimidation, large cloth sacks to carry the loot, and of course, the traditional black ski-mask that was a must for any respectable robber. They even had an armored van waiting in front of the building to transport the men and money to a carefully selected hiding spot. So far, everything was going according to plan.
"On the ground!" one of them yelled, gesturing wildly with his gun, "Don't even think about going for the alarm!" All around him, his fellow robbers were issuing similar demands to the panicking bystanders, who were hastily dropping to their knees and placing their hands over their heads. Although this was what they had been taught to do in events such as this, they were too engrossed in their fear to realize that their positions would do little to save them should the robbers open fire. The said men quickly scattered into three organized groups, one going up to the front desk while the others went about ransacking purses and wallets. "The safe," he growled, pressing the barrel of his weapon into the teller's chest, "Now!"
"A-Alright…" the teller stammered, sweat staining the rims of his collar, "Just…just follow me, please…" With the gun still aimed at him, the teller led the small group into one of the back hallways and towards a large door of steel, designed to withstand anything up to a grenade. He swiped his identification card into a nearby slot and punched in the security on the panel beneath it. The panel beeped twice to confirm the code and the door slid open with a heavy hiss, only to reveal the circular door to the actual safe.
"The hell is this?" the robber scowled, jabbing the teller with his gun, "You tryin' to be smart with me, pal?"
"No! Not at all!" the teller exclaimed, hastily going over to the lock, "Just…an added security feature..." Saying that, he spun the lock to the right, then to the left, then to the right one last time before pushing on the door. It eased open and the teller was shoved aside as all but two robbers stormed inside and began stuffing the carefully sorted bills into the sacks. One of the remaining robbers went back to the lobby to tell one of the other groups the news while the last one continued to hold the teller at gunpoint. "Please, sir," he said quietly, his forehead glistening now, "I-I have a wife at home…and a kid to take care of…"
"Quit your bitchin'," the thug interrupted before adding in a somewhat softer tone, "As long as we get the money, no one gets hurt. End of story." He was silent as the second group appeared, the last one remaining behind on crowd control. By now, the first group had filled up their sacks and had left to start loading up the van while the second group began grabbing as much as they could. The robber sighed and grinned inwardly in content. After tonight, they would have enough cash to make all of them happy and with his share, he could go and a few twelve-packs and maybe even go clubbing. He visibly relaxed at this thought; he hadn't gone clubbing in a while.
"Steve!" a voice shouted, startling him from his reverie and he growled a bit in irritation, "Steve, you there?!" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a radio and held his thumb on a button.
"Whaddya want?" he asked irritably, "This better be good."
"Steve, we gotta get outta here!" the robber on the other end shouted in a panicked tone and Steve's eyebrow arched when he heard what sounded like gunfire in the background, "Now!"
"What is it?" Steve sighed, "Cops?"
"Worse!" At this, Steve began to get nervous. The only thing that was worse than cops were…
"The Ti-?"
"There's no time! We gotta go!" the other robber practically screamed and by now, the second group had gathered around to listen, "Whatever these things are, they've got teeth! Sharp, pointy teeth and lots of it!"
"Look, will ya calm down for a sec' and tell me just what…"
"OH GOD!!" the other robber suddenly cried, "OH GOD GET AWAY!! GET AWAYAAAAAAGGGH!!" All Steve and everyone who was listening could only stand there with their mouths hanging open as the robber's screams, what sounded like snarling and loud squishing sounds blared from the radio in his hand. Then, as quickly as it had come, the racket ended and silence filled the hallway. For a few moments, all of them just stared at the radio, even the teller who had forgotten all about the gun being pointed at him.
"Maybe…" one of the robbers present finally said, "Maybe we'd better take a look."
"Are you nuts?!" another exclaimed, "We just heard something rip Carl to pieces! And now you want to see what it was?!"
"Shut up, both of you!" Steve snapped, silencing both of them, "This ain't like the Titans…that had to be something else." Before he could get out another word, though, the radio crackled again and everyone's attention snapped back to it.
"Helloooo?" a voice said, "Any body home?" The robbers would have laughed if it hadn't been for what they had heard previously, for the voice sounded like it belonged to a little girl. "I know you're there…" she said in a much too cheerful manner, her voice almost taunting in tone, "Come on out and play…the moon's real pretty tonight…" Then, with a playful giggle, the voice went silent and only static could be heard over the radio.
"That's it," Steve said, "We're getting the hell outta here." Without another word, he led the group back into the lobby, still holding the teller at gunpoint. Before they reached it, though, there was a terrific crash much yelling and screaming, mostly from the civilians. Rushing into the lobby, Steve's jaw fell open again as did everyone else's. Lying just a few feet away from a newly made hole in the wall was the van, although it was safe to say that it had seen much better days. Every window was smashed, the doors were missing from the hinges, and gaping holes were covering the body. That alone didn't worry Steve too much, as he knew that powerful explosives could have easily caused such damage, even to an armored vehicle. In fact, he would have been able to keep his cool if it weren't for the unholy amounts of blood smeared all over the sides and the fact that the five inch-thick steel armor looked like it had been chewed through. Normally, such a sight would have just irked Steve but this was a different matter. Having a getaway vehicle used as chew toy and then tossed through a wall was a definite morale-killer for any criminal.
And then he noticed it, the figure standing just a little ways off to the side of the van. Upon his first glance, he rubbed his eyes to make sure that they were working properly because the figure looked a bit smaller than five feet in height and he could also just barely make out the physique of a very young girl. A hood shadowed the top portion of her face but left her mouth visible, which was curled up in a very wide smile. If it weren't for the intimidating black robe that she wore over what looked like a dark grey tunic, he would have found the situation rather laughable and even a bit cute.
"I'm so glad you made it!" she suddenly giggled and Steve realized in horror that her voice was the same one that he had heard over the radio. She was practically bouncing on her feet now and was behaving like she was very excited about something. "I met your friends outside," she added, suddenly pouting a bit, "But they were kind of boring." At this, Steve chanced a look outside and did a double take when he saw the carcasses of the first group strewn across the street, several of them sporting slashed throats while the rest of them looked like they had attacked by a lawnmower. "But now, I can play with you guys!" the girl grinned, the sickeningly sweet smile returning to what was visible of her face, "And I can introduce you to my friends too!" As she reached into her robe, every robber suddenly snapped back to their senses and raised their guns, hastily clicking the safeties off. "Ooh, you brought your own toys too!" she said in an almost delighted tone, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there were about twelve Glocks now aimed at her and pulled out her hand. Steve blinked when he saw that her hand was clenched around something that he couldn't see and almost lowered his weapon when she sprinkled whatever it was onto the floor in front of her. "Ee hee hee hee! We're gonna have so much fun together!" she giggled excitedly, still beaming at them from under her hood, "I can't wait to get started!" Steve couldn't help but wonder just what she was about to start when she suddenly looked down at the floor.
It would only take a few seconds to make him wish he hadn't.
--
As the leader of a well-known team of superheroes and the former sidekick of the famous Batman, Robin had seen and experienced his own fair share of strange and terrifying situations. Twisted alternate realities created by a deranged British gentleman, taking the daughter of a breeder of genetically-enhanced moths to her prom, and even the end of the living world that was brought about by one of his own teammates. Few things were capable of disturbing Robin, Boy Wonder and head of the Teen Titans. And it was rather safe to say that what he was seeing now had been added to his list.
Approximately fifteen minutes ago, the Titans had received a distress call stating that an armed robbery was taking place at the First National Bank, a common target for such crimes. The mood had been fairly relaxed when they departed from their tower, which was considered nothing short of a landmark, and entered the city, fully expecting to make a dramatic entrance at the bank, kick around some bank robber ass, and maybe stop for a well-deserved pizza or two on the way home. What they hadn't expected was to show up at what looked like a slaughter house with police barricades set up all around trying to keep away curious citizens and prying new teams. And as Robin led the rest of the team past grim-faced officers and the yellow police tape, he allowed the words that every member of the team had on their minds slip through his lips.
"Oh my…God…"
The sheer carnage of the scene was simply staggering. Bodies and body parts were scattered all over the sidewalk and street, with dropped guns, bullet casings, and what looked like horribly like mangled organs littering the ground. A particularly disturbing victim was lying with his arms and chunks of his legs missing and the entire length of his intestines spilling out all around him. Another was torn in half down the middle, his spinal chord dangling out of one of the halves. And yet another had been so violently torn apart that he was still in his death throes, what was left of the body jerking in spasms as the nerves continued function past the removal of his heart.
And that was only the outside of the bank. After entering through a hole in the wall, he spotted a bloodied and badly damaged armored van lying on the floor and even more bodies. Many of them were in similar states as the bodies outside, although Robin noticed that not all of them had been brutally ripped to pieces. Bending over one that was completely intact, he spotted a bloody but clean gash across the victims' throat. And speaking of blood, Robin could barely even begin to imagine how much of it was splattered on the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling like fresh paint. The stench of it burned his nostrils and when he tried breathing through his mouth, he nearly gagged as the odor had become so concentrated that he could almost taste it in the air. The soles of his steel-tipped boots were already stained a deep crimson but he ignored this as he began to formulate a possible explanation, the small black mask he wore over his eyes narrowing in thought. After a few minutes of thinking, however, he sighed and ran a hand through his spiked hair, held in place by a daily sizable glob of gel, before looking over to see how the others were taking this.
His gaze automatically went to Starfire first and he felt a pang in his heart when he saw the expression on her face. The red-headed princess of Tamaran was trudging across the floor, unable to summon the joyful thoughts needed to help her fly. Her face, normally occupied by a cheerful smile, was now transfixed with horror and sorrow as tears threatened to fall from her brilliant green eyes. Being the most sensitive of the team, it was little surprise to see that she was taking the sight rather badly and deep down, the side of Robin that was Starfire's loving boyfriend wished that he could walk over and embrace her to make her feel better. However, the ever dominant instincts gained through years as Batman's protégé told him that now was not the time for such things and as long as he was at a crime scene, Robin knew that he had to maintain a professional image for the whole team, if not for himself.
Over by the van, Cyborg was looking over the damage with a stoic face but Robin could still see the disgust in his normal and bionic eye alike, even as the latter was most likely scanning the vehicle to see what had caused the damage. As the oldest Titan, Cyborg was more than capable of stomaching the sight of blood but even he was disturbed by the amount he was seeing. Being mostly machine didn't mean he was without feelings and he was definitely appalled by the sheer violence in how most of the victims had died. If he looked closely enough, he could see Cyborg's blue circuitry glowing a bit to show his mood and slight curiosity of the origin of the holes in the van.
Glancing over at Beast Boy, Robin would have been amused had the situation not been so serious. The changeling was looking a rather unnatural shade of green, which was quite something considering Beast Boy's skin, hair, and eyes were all green in color already but Robin understood this reaction, since Beast Boy happened to be the youngest member of the team. Even though he was the resident comedian (or at least, he tried to be) and often acted without putting too much thought into it first, Robin was well aware of Beast Boy's more serious side and that when put under the right circumstances, he was capable of formulating plans of his own. Unfortunately for the changeling (and often everyone else), he was usually far too caught up in the heat of a moment to ever stop to use his head and often wound up getting himself in trouble.
And then there was Raven, the antisocial, brooding empath. Knowing her history, Robin had no doubt that she was probably the least troubled by what they were seeing but even then, he could see a hint of shock on what was visible of her otherwise placid face underneath her hood. Judging from the way she was focusing mostly on the bodies, he figured that she was looking into how they had died using her dark powers that no one else on the team had ever fully understood. Lately, though, Robin had noticed with surprise that Raven had begun to behave somewhat more openly with all of the other Titans, even if it was just a tiny bit. In fact, prior to leaving the Tower, she had openly displayed irritation towards Beast Boy and even showed a trace of a smile when she used her powers to give the poor changeling an atomic wedgie. When he saw her glance in his direction, however, he realized that his thoughts were probably distracting her and turned back to the grim matter at hand.
"Well team," Robin said, glancing at each Titan as they regrouped a few minutes later, "What've we got?"
"Dude…" Beast Boy moaned, still clutching his stomach, "I've sat through the goriest of gory movies and stomached a jumbo tub…but this just makes me wanna puke out everything from last night's dinner on…"
"I agree most heartedly with Beast Boy, this is much worse than the movies of the last destination…" Starfire nodded sadly, her face still a bit downcast, "I simply do not understand…who could ever do something like this?"
"Star…it's Final Destination…" Beast Boy grunted, not noticing the ever so slight glare that Robin sent him behind his mask.
"There are…" Robin began, facing Starfire, "A lot of bad people in the world, Star. Some worse than others."
"Well, one thing's for sure," Cyborg said, jerking his thumb at the vehicle to get them back on track, "That van wasn't turned into Swiss cheese by explosives or even firearms."
"Are you sure?" Robin frowned, glancing at it, "Then where did all those holes come from?"
"Whatever made them forced their way in," Cyborg told them, "And…" At this, he trailed off, as if nervous about something.
"What? What is it?" Beast Boy asked, his nausea overcome by curiosity.
"Yes, friend Cyborg," Starfire added, "Please, do tell us the methods in which these things forced entry into the vehicle." Cyborg hesitated again before leaning closer to everyone.
"Alright, but y'all gotta promise not to panic," he whispered.
"Cyborg," Raven said, the first time she had spoken all night, "I think we're mature enough to handle whatever it is you're going to tell us. Most of us, at least."
"Yeah, dude," Beast Boy nodded, not realizing that Raven's last statement had been implying him, "Besides, what could possibly be more disturbing than this?"
"Okay, if you say so," Cyborg said and then gestured at the van again, "When I was scanning that van, I noticed that the holes didn't show any signs of being made by drills, so I figured that it had been punched through. Then I found this smeared near the holes." He opened up a panel in his leg and held up a vial, one of the kinds they normally used for collecting evidence. Inside was a very small amount of a thick, clear substance that had a few air bubbles on its surface.
"What is it?" Robin asked, taking the vial from the biomechanical teen and inspecting it closely.
"If my scanners aren't giving me bogus results, which they're not," Cyborg told them, saying the last part hastily, "That stuff is pretty much just everyday spit." There was a brief silence as the Titans glanced quizzically at him and he shrugged before adding, "Well…that's what it is! It's drool!"
"Okay, so now we know that whatever did this is super strong and slobbers," Beast Boy grinned, trying to lighten up the situation, "That kind of helps…right?"
"It does, actually," Robin nodded, "We can get this stuff analyzed and use it to determine just what it came from." Putting the vial in his utility belt, he gave a small smile and said, "Nice work, team. Cyborg, is there anything else that you found?"
"Well…" Cyborg said, suddenly hesitant again, "There is one more thing…"
"Oh, do tell us, friend Cyborg!" Starfire exclaimed, the sudden excitement causing her to float a few inches off of the ground, "We must have more information if we are to catch the culprits!"
"Alright, but this is where it gets really freaky," Cyborg sighed, "I was scooping some of that drool into the vial when my scanners picked up something else near the holes. At first I thought it was just scratches but then when I looked closer, I saw it was something else." He paused again and Robin became concerned.
"Yes?" Beast Boy blinked, motioning for Cyborg to continue, "Come on, dude, what did you find?" Cyborg glanced at all of them before muttering two words.
"Teeth marks." There was another silence, this time resulting from the other Titans being too stunned to respond.
"Dude…" Beast Boy gaped, "That's…that's crazy! And not in a good way either!"
"Yes," Starfire nodded, her green eyes wide, "This sounds like a most formidable creature."
"We have to find it," Robin frowned, pounding his fist into an open palm, "This thing's clearly a major threat to the people…we gotta track it down and take it out before it does something like this again."
"Then I guess you won't like what I found out," Raven said darkly, "When I looked into the minds of the witnesses, I saw that there were several of these creatures here. This thing isn't traveling alone."
"Don't you think we should call in some back-up?" Beast Boy asked nervously, "You know…maybe the Titans East can come lend a hand. Or we can call up Kid Flash and Jinx."
"I understand what you're saying, Beast Boy," Robin said, sounding grateful for the advice, "But we're dealing with something that we've never seen before. These things ripped through five inches of fortified steel with their teeth. We can't risk having one of the others get seriously injured while helping out."
"And besides, they wouldn't be able to make it anyway," Cyborg added, "I just called Bee yesterday and she told me there's been a major crime surge over in Steel City, so they've got their hands full as it is. And from what I've heard, Kid Flash is still helping Jinx make the full transition to hero."
"Alright then, let's move out," Robin told them, "I'll search ground-side with Cyborg. Starfire, you and Raven search from the air. And Beast Boy, well…" Robin trailed off and an apologetic smile broke through his leader face as the others cringed a little. The changeling immediately knew what this meant and he was more than ready to protest.
"Oh, come on, Rob'!" Beast Boy groaned, "Not the sewers again!" Since he was the one with the ability to turn into animals, Beast Boy was more often than not the prime candidate when the Titans needed some reconnaissance done. Most times, the changeling didn't have a problem with this but there were a few places where he tried to avoid going if possible and that included Jump City's sewage system. In fact, even most villains were more inclined to turn themselves in than resort to escaping through the sewers.
"Sorry, Beast Boy," Robin apologized, knowing how unpleasant it was to be in such a place from personal experience, "But you're the only one who can get in and out of there at a reasonable speed."
"Don't worry about it, BB," Cyborg said, giving his green friend a pat on the shoulder that almost made his knees buckle, "We'll make it up to you when we get back."
"Alright…" Beast Boy sighed, "But I get to cook breakfast tomorrow!"
"Eh, fair enough," Cyborg shrugged, "I'd rather eat your tofu crap than go through the sewers." And coming from the mainly carnivorous Titan, this was quite a statement to make.
"Hey, Titans," the police commissioner called out as he walked over, "Sorry to interrupt the briefing, but we've got some new information that might help you out."
"Alright," Robin nodded, "Let's hear it."
"According to several witnesses, one of the robbers was able to flee from the scene during the struggle. We're thinking that it may have been the leader," the commissioner told them, "Anyway, when he high-tailed it out of here, they're saying that the monsters that attacked the robbers chased after him. No one knows where they went, but they're most likely still in town. If you hurry, you can catch up to him before those things do."
"Thanks, Commissioner," Robin said, "Anything else?"
"Two things, actually," the commissioner replied, "When we looked at the bodies and other witness statements, we found out that there had been no civilian casualties." The Titans were slightly surprised by this but listened as he added, "And several witnesses claim to have seen a figure inside the bank wielding some kind of blade. They're saying that this figure was somehow commanding the creatures to attack."
"What did this stranger look like?" Starfire asked, now curious and the others nodded in agreement.
"We're not too sure. The security cameras were damaged when the truck got thrown through the wall, so we don't have any footage of the fight," the commissioner told them a bit sheepishly, "But the people who saw it say that the figure was short, probably a little less than five feet in height. The figure was also wearing a black hooded robe over a grey tunic and apparently had the voice of a young girl." This only served to puzzle the Titans further but nonetheless, they thanked the commissioner for the information and after getting a general description of the robber, headed out of the bank.
"Alright, team, new objective," Robin said as they approached the police barrier, "We now have to keep an eye out for the surviving robber while we're looking for this creature. As soon as you run into either one, signal us and we'll get to your position as soon as we can."
"But Robin," Starfire interrupted nervously, "We do not even know of the creature's appearance. How will we know if we have found it?"
"If it looks dangerous, call," Robin replied, "Okay, let's move!" Raven and Starfire nodded and took to the skies as Robin hit a switch on his belt. A few minutes later, the red R-Cycle came screeching to a stop next to him and he climbed on, adjusting his helmet as he turned to Cyborg, now outside of the barrier. "Make sure you've got your sensors on at as high of a sensitivity level as you can allow," he told the bionic teen, "We've got to make sure we look everywhere." Cyborg nodded and ran off as Robin turned to the remaining member and said, "Well…good luck, Beast Boy."
"Yeah, yeah," the changeling sighed, waving dismissively with his hand, "You worry about your turf…I'll just go get a little smelly while looking for this thing." Robin nodded and revved the motor of the R-Cycle before racing off down the street. Looking around to watch his teammates fade from view, Beast Boy sighed before saying to himself, "They just don't pay me enough for this…" With that, he willed his molecules to rearrange themselves and in a matter of moments, he had shrunk down until he was out of sight. No one paid any heed as a jade-green mouse suddenly appeared where he had been standing and darted off into a nearby storm drain.
-End of Prologue.
Next time- The Titans track down and face off against the new vigilante, only to find more than they bargained. Meanwhile, Terra's petrified state has caught the attention of a stranger. Could this mean trouble for the helpless geomancer? Or does this stranger have something else in mind?
