Hello again. Hoodman returns with a new story. It was inspired by this picture. Kudos to whoever drew it.
h t t p : w w w . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m / d e v i a t i o n / 5 0 3 4 5 3 1 /
Simply remove the spaces to view the page.
I hope you enjoy this one. From what I intend it will be similar to Lifeline, but without the whole video game thing. As to my other stories, I am doing my best, but I am having a severe case of writers block that hopefully this story can break. This one has nothing to do with any other storyline, it is completely new. As befits my liking, Terra is in here, so think of it as an AU, in a way. Enjoy, and as usual no flames, but reviews are always welcome.
The Titans are all clad like Terra and Beast Boy in the picture.
I think it goes without saying I don't own the Titans or Lifeline.
Many apologies, but for some reason a can't make my tags for separating sections of story appear, so bear with the replacements until they get working again.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Robin walked solemnly ahead of his team as they headed towards the shuttle that would take them to the final frontier, outer space to the layman. He was in a thoughtful mood, pondering on why they were going to the moon base of all places. He mentally walked through what he had been told as he held his helmet against his side with one arm in movie style fashion as he approached the vehicle that would take him to earth's natural satellite.
The alarms still blared out around them. The sirens hadn't been shut down, which meant that the creatures were still alive. He still held the bo staff in his gloved hand, finger on the button that would extend it almost at once. The others had become excited again, the prospect of entering deep space titillating them like a child with a new toy. Raven was the only one other than Robin who was paying any attention. She was on the alert for anything in the shadows, the fluorescent lights having been shut off and the only source coming from the red alarm lights posted high on the wall, their quick rotations providing the only means of visibility in the hallway.
Terra herself acted calm and childish for her teammates, but was inwardly as alert as Raven and Robin. She knew there was a time to play and a time to work, and the latter was applied here. For the sake of confidence she laughed and acted indifferent to the creatures that could pop up at any second, ripping them to pieces like they were tissue paper. She saw Beast Boy wander from the group and hastily pulled him back, not wanting him to be isolated form the protection of the others. He looked at her with confusion, and she smiled warmly at him, acting as though it was all a big joke.
"Can't let the big scary monsters eat anybody, now can we?"
Beast Boy was not fooled by her smile, seeing the urgency in her eyes like she was a book.
"Wouldn't be good to lose the comic relief, now would it?"
She forced a laugh at this, but Beast Boy noted to stay nearby so she wouldn't worry too much.
Robin saw the doors leading to the launch pad near them, and he remembered what had gotten them here in the first place.
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Naturally there was always an open line between moon base, named Home One by the builders, and multiple installations around the planet. The actual base on the moon was named Cleopatra, but Home One was where all the research actually happened.
Of course the Titans knew about it, the news had been all over it like ants over candy. But unknown to them was what kept the men and women of the space station was the installations that ran the place.
Robin remembered when they had been summoned to the control room of one of the installations, the commander appearing calm and indifferent but Robin could almost see the worry coming off of him like heat waves from the hood of a car after being out in the sun on a hot summer day.
The room itself was not that big, only the size of a small single story house, but it was jammed with all kinds of equipment and computers that kept various data charts that monitored the different things going on at the moon base. Men and women were sitting at the screens, staring intensely as they concentrated on their work, making sure that nothing was going amiss at the base, the lives of all inside depending on them and the computers that gave them power. A supercomputer was in the center of the circular room, running from the floor to the ceiling, maybe a distance of eight feet from top to bottom, the cylinder shell protecting the delicate insides from harm by dust and other things that could gum up the inner workings of the machine. There were several computer screens on tables that were built into the floor around the computer to monitor it while it monitored the station. There a few screens in the back of the room, and the only lighting came from fluorescent lights near the center of the room. The commander looked like he was a war general, and Robin wondered why the military was so concerned about the moon base.
"Ah, you've arrived. We've been expecting you."
The other Titans spread out to examine the installation, Beast Boy looking at various computer consoles while Cyborg fascinated over the supercomputer running the whole thing, seeming to know exactly what was happening by looking at the complex machinery. Raven was talking to one of the scientists who worked on human brain patterns at different times, and Starfire was looking at a screen that another scientist, eager to please the alien girl, showed different screens that made her jump with delight at the colors that meant absolutely nothing to her. Terra was with Beast Boy, examining various parts that were strewn about a table while several scientists worked on 3-D models of the installation, searching for any faults in the design of the base that could cause the inhabitants to be exposed to the cold unforgiving vacuum of space. Robin talked to the commander with urgency, time being a factor if the army was involved in the running of the space station.
"What's the problem?"
"We don't know for sure, but we recently lost contact with the moon base. I'm sure you know all about it."
"We heard enough on the news."
The man nodded and walked over to the screens, pushing a button to reveal what appeared to be a ballroom, with guests that were obviously in the upper class of society, having been able to pay to go to the base were scientists also worked on their projects, keeping a solid barrier between them and the guests for reasons unknown to the Boy Wonder.
"Here is the last transmission we received from them, almost twelve hours ago."
He hit another button, and the rest of the Titans came over to hear what the army commander was playing for them. It was fuzzed over with static, but a few words came through, striking fear into the hearts of the heroes as they heard the panic in the man's voice, who sounded like he was barely twenty years of age.
"Home One to... copy? Need... help... loose... eating everyone... hundreds... assistance... anyone hear me? Need... God, they're getting... door! Help, help us... Get away from me... Repeat, need... Tom! Tom, get up! Hurry... need to get out of here..."
There were gunshots, a monstrous roaring, then the radio cut off, but not before the Titans heard an agonized scream come from someone. The military man was grim faced, hitting another button on the console, activating a screen that activated the screen with the ballroom. It was from a camera mounted on the wall high above the guests' heads, keeping watch over them like a guardian angel. It was panning slowly, and the sounds of idle chatter were heard but indiscernible as they looked on at the screen, ready for whatever happened to the guest of the base. Suddenly, there was a violent tremor throughout the base, knocking the camera down so that it hung straight down, the screen becoming extremely fuzzy as a few cords became loose and stopped the flow of information to and from the camera. Robin heard a loud banging, then screams of people in fright as they watched as several red dots went across the snowy screen, seeming unearthly in their glow as they swept across the floor effortlessly, seeming to ooze quickly across the screen like a liquid as the sounds of snarls and bestial growls and snorts started, along with a tearing sound that Robin knew in his heart was the ripping of meat from bone. He was sickened. Whatever the red dots were, they were eating the guests alive. The screen cleared for a moment, and he saw an outline of the creatures that emitted the red shine.
They were all different shapes, but he could see that all were carnivorous, judging by the way they moved and how they stalked the dancers of the ballroom who fled in terror from whatever the creatures were that were ripping through them with tooth and claw. Soon, the screams stopped, the hiss of a door closing could be heard, then nothing but the sound of ripping flesh and the occasional grunt from the creatures. Without warning a creature came out from a corner of the lens, baring it's teeth that were made for ripping instead of chewing, its mouth open in a high-pitched roar. Then the screen went blank, leaving a shocked and silent group of teens, who were all shocked and horrified by what they had seen and heard. The army man was grim faced as he addressed the Titans, his tone one of that who is in the room of a dying man.
"That is all we have heard from the base. We need you to find out exactly what is happening on that station, and get any and all survivors out. This will keep us in touch with you."
He handed Robin a small headset that would stick to his head and put the microphone and earpiece in perfect positions for optimum performance without having it go over his head and become easy to knock off. He put the radio in one of the pockets of his utility belt, turning to face his team, who looked at him intensely, ready for the order to leave.
"Guys, we're going to the moon base."
A scientist came up to them and ushered them over to a computer that had many readouts flashing by at blinding speeds. The scientist talked to them with speed and clarity, having a slight British accent as he typed hurriedly on the computer, bringing up all sorts of data to aid the Titans in their mission.
"I've compiled maps of the entire installation, along with access codes to low level security areas. Higher security requires an ID card, so you'll have to find them on your own. Here's a list of low level security experiments."
As Cyborg began to download the maps into his system, Robin looked at the experiments. Some were not too extraordinary. Testing of plant life in space, creation of alloys in the zero gravity environment of space, all manner of dull studies on various things. But one in particular caught his eye.
Biogenetic research.
He put this aside for future contemplation as Cyborg finished his download of the maps.
"Got it. Anything else?"
"Yes. Here is my ID card. It should get you past a few of the lockdowns that were triggered by someone. Good luck. The installation itself is not actually on the moon. It is in orbit around earth, but it serves as a halfway point between earth and our satellite. All findings are sent to Home One, so we call it a moon base since all of our samples are examined there. There are no civilian travels to the moon, but that ID card should be able to get you to a shuttle that leads you there. You might want to explore there first. We've sent a team ahead of you to send you to the moon, then back to the station. Be careful. Whatever those things are they seem to be related to something on that station."
Robin stepped forward. "What is it?"
The scientist shook his head. "I don't know, I've never been myself. But something happened on that station, something bad. Way bad. If those things get to earth and multiply..."
"I see. Keep us informed of anything new."
"Right. Oh, and, I have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"Well, I sent my daughter up there, you know, to have a good time. She was so eager to look down on earth and wave at me from the stratosphere... could you bring her back to me?"
"We'll do what we can."
"Thank you so much. You don't know what this means to me."
Robin nodded when the commander came up to them with armed guards behind him.
"My men will escort you to the launch pad."
Robin reached towards his bo staff, nervous about the guns that their escorts were totting.
"And the guns?"
"A precaution. We don't know if any of those creatures made it to earth, so we have all personnel require an armed escort to go from place to place. It is for safety."
Cyborg went over to the guards. He looked them up and down, then brought out his sonic cannon. Charging it up, he held it pointing at the ceiling next to his head as he smiled cockily at the commander.
"I think we can take care of ourselves."
The commander was not impressed by this, but complied with their wishes.
"Very well. I shall lead you to the launch pad."
He turned and walked towards the exit that led to the hallway, and the Titans followed him, passing by silent workers who were busy trying to uncover what had happened at the station that fateful morning. The Titans were led into a room that contained space suits, each with their name written on one side and the Titans symbol on the other. They were otherwise nearly pure white, and unlike space suits of old when man first landed on the moon. They were designed with a high insulation padding on the inside, but not so much that it hindered movement that much. Tests had shown that a gymnast could perform the same complex maneuvers that they used in the Olympics. The only problem was that the suit added a few extra pounds to them, but otherwise they were quite an advance in the field of space exploration. The helmets all had multilane communication systems that allowed talking between everyone that was in a team of astronauts.
The Titans immediately sprang on them, each one being tailored to their size to where it was a near perfect fit but not exactly to allow more flexible motion. They simply slipped the suits over their clothes and put on the gloves and boots and were all set to leave. Momentarily forgetting the plight that lay before them, they each played around in their new apparel, only Raven staying on the side as she watched them horse around, shaking her head in amusement.
Robin was soon suited and left unknown to the others. He needed to think alone. What were those... things that had killed the guests? And how did that scientist have an access card if he'd never been to the station? Perhaps he was to be sent in the near future? The Boy Wonder rubbed his skull. What on earth could have happened in there? Raven came out to see what was wrong. Despite his best efforts, he could not his from the sorceress, who could sense him leaving better than if she had seen him leave with her own two eyes.
"What's got you like this?"
"Nothing. Just... worried."
"About what?"
"We know absolutely nothing of whatever those things were. How can we hope to stand a chance against packs of them? Come to think of it, how is that supply team going to survive out there against them? There could be hundreds swarming around. What if..."
"Look, it seems bad, but even if they are in as many numbers as you think, we can handle them. If two hundred armed robots can't stand against us, then neither can two million creatures. They're flesh and blood, easier to kill than steel and iron. And we're leaving right about now."
Immediately as she finished her sentence the commander came walking down the solid white hallway, his army uniform sticking out like a sore thumb in the glimmering silver shine of the passageway.
The shuttle is loaded and prepped for launch. You will find enough rations to last you a week. There will be food on the station, so you can find more there. Allow me to lead you to the platform."
Robin grimaced. The thought of whatever "rations" were, he knew that it wouldn't be anything delectable.
Without warning his radio went off. Robin heard the usual static hiss that always seemed to be on all military walkie-talkies.
"Sir, we have a problem."
He answered the call immediately, reaching for the pistol in his holster. "What is it?"
"It's a... hang on..."
The radio clicked off, but only for a few seconds. When it came back on, the voice was still as calm as could be.
"I think it's dead now. There's some kind of thing here. We keep shooting it but it never dies. I hit its mouth, so that should... Oh God, kill it, kill it now!"
The radio clicked off, but a split second later gunfire came from the black broadcasting system, and roars could be heard coming over, then a horrible screech, then silence. The army commander looked horrified at the sounds. He drew his pistol and loaded it, heading over to an intercom system. Switching it on, he announced the warning, his voice sounding mechanical over the speakers that broadcasted his alert all over the installation.
"Warning. Creatures from Home One are inside the loading bay. All soldiers report to loading bay three. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill."
He then punched in a passcode on the console next to him. he hit the enter button and a siren began to sound, reminding Robin of an air raid siren from WWII, the long slow crescendo echoing through the halls. He switched onto the intercom system again, repeating his orders again.
"All soldiers report to loading bay three. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill."
He turned to the Titans, running past them towards the launch pad.
"Come on, we're gettin' you to that pad. Hurry, no time to waste!"
Robin saw the Titans stare at the commander charging down the hall, confusion stamped on their faces as the army man ran as fast as he could down the hall towards the waiting shuttle.. Robin took off past them, waving his arm to follow the man as he dashed after him, bo staff clenched tightly in his fist, ready for action at the slightest abnormality.
"Titans, go!"
They all recovered from their shock and dashed towards the door, snatching up the helmets that were also their own custom sizes. Tossing one to Robin, Beast Boy snatched up his own and took off down the hallway after the boy, making sure that the others were in close pursuit. They came to a T-junction, and the commander headed left.
"I'll head to the launch station. Head right, it leads straight to the launch pad. Go, Now!"
Robin waved his team to move ahead, and he looked back at the hallway they had just come from. Seeing movement and hearing shouts and gunshots behind him the assumed the fight was going poorly for them and they were retreating down here to the safety of the control room. Robin took off after the Titans and, catching up to them, halted them in their tracks. He began to walk forwards cautiously, and the Titans followed suite, being alert for anything in the shadows of the hall that would take them towards the infinite depths of the final frontier.
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Robin was snapped out of his memory by Raven, who was shaking his shoulder.
"We're here. Come on, we need to hurry."
Robin looked up and heard the sounds of battle coming towards them, and saw that some creatures had made it to the hallway that they were in. The other Titans had already dashed aboard the ship, and if not for Raven's intervention he would have surely been eaten. He dashed into the shuttle, followed by Raven, who hopped into an empty seat. Robin sat in the pilot seat and flipped on the radio between the tower and them.
"We're ready for launch."
The commander's voice crackled on.
"Good. Opening launch hatch."
The roof opened above them, and they were slowly raised to the surface, where he saw nothing but the vastness of the launch pad and the stars above, seeming to twinkle with merriment as chaos reigned below. The army man came on again, guiding them through takeoff procedures.
"Activate the rocket thrust, hit the go button, and you're off. We have no time for a countdown, you need to leave as soon as possible. Hang on... Crap, they're getting through!"
He spoke to Robin hurridly, but the sound of gunshots and screeches in the background horrified them, reminding the Titans of what they were up against.
"Hurry up and launch! They're swarming the landing platform, they'll get in if you don't leave now!"
Robin spoke to his team, not looking back at them as he gave them orders.
"Starfire, get ready to stop anything getting through. The rest of you, strap up and hang on."
They all put on the harnesses that were built into the seats. As Beast Boy put his on, he groaned.
Here comes the worst part of it." He sighed, remembering when they took off after Starfire.
Robin activated the rockets that were attached toget them into space, and left the engine running. Cyborg looked at him nervously.
"Uh, aren't we gonna leave? Before those things get into the shuttle?"
Robin ignored him, and waited. A few moments passed, in which they heard some of the creatures scraping against the sides. They all looked around anxiously while Robin sat calmly in the pilot seat, Raven acting as co-pilot, sensing his intentions. She too waited for his plan to get working as the others began to get worried. Terra spoke first.
"Um, Boy Wonder? The launch button? Hit it, already!"
"Come on, man, this ain't funny!"
"Please, let us leave this place before the creatures enter and eat us!"
"Dude, launch already!"
Robin still waited, the Titans shouts of anxiety falling on deaf ears as he saw one beast get on the windshield. Another joined it followed by another, and another. Soon the scratching could be heard all around, and Robin finally reached towards the launch button.
"Prepare for departure."
He hit the button, and the ship began to vibrate, the rockets powering up to send them into the stratosphere, while the things on the ship continued to try and find a way in to the meals that they could smell inside the armored casing. Soon they heard a loud wind, the sound of takeoff, and felt themselves begin the ascent into space as the entities on the shuttle begin to screech in pain as the fire from the exhaust hit them, incinerating many within seconds, destroying all on the platform and near the bottom of the shuttle, where they were concentrated the most. As they all felt the G-forces take hold of their bodies, only Raven retained her calm expression, the others grimacing with the feeling of having their bodies exposed to such extremes.
Beast Boy was close to passing out, and had to slap himself to remain awake. Terra just squeezed her eyes shut and let the pull move her wherever it went, knowing resistance was suicide at such high forces. Cyborg remained completely stationary, thinking of other things to keep his mind off of what was happening. Robin simply sat there, not caring whether he blacked out or not, which, thankfully, he didn't. Starfire was not affected by this, having done this same procedure countless times when going to other planets. Raven was seemingly unaffected, her mental concentration pushing the feeling out of her mind and letting her move about freely as long as she was harnessed in so she wouldn't hit the back of the shuttle. They all felt the pressure around them, being shoved into the backs of their seats as they began climbing a thousand, two thousand, three thousand meters into the air. As they neared their destination they felt the G-forces subside, and soon they were in the weightlessness of space.
They all kept in their seats, knowing that they would reach their destination within minutes. Robin unhooked his harness and pushed off of the chair towards the back, checking to see if any of the creatures had made it onboard. Seeing none, he was about to shove back to his seat when a motion caught his eye. He saw something wriggle into a box that was labeled BLOOD PACKETS. Robin wondered what they could be for, but then, they might need to give some to wounded guests and workers. He shoved over to the box and opened it slowly.
A circular sucker mouth with dozens of sharp teeth lunged at him, and his reflexes made him swipe the thing to the side. The creature appeared to be a leech like creature, although much bigger than any leech on earth, almost the size of a small pumkin in mass. It went sailing through the door towards the others, and he grimaced and tried to catch it. Despite his efforts, it made it to the Titans, who did not know the danger of the creature. The the thing used an air pocket to shoot itself towards Terra, where it latched onto her shoulder, trying to break through to her skin, but the suit kept it at bay while Robin lunged at it and threw it off of her, sending it at Raven.
"Hurry, kill it!"
Raven gathered all the atoms near her hand together, creating monstrous pressure which she shot at it, the bolt of black energy keeping the pressure constant until it hit the thing, whereupon it exploded, the force of the atoms hitting the creature stunning it. The body began to float through the air, and to make sure it was dead Robin thrust the point of a birdirang into its gut. It began to writhe in agony, and he slung the birdirang sideways, sending the thing into the trash depot. He threw the door closed and Raven hit the button that sent it hurtling into space. They watched as it tried to suction onto the ship, but the lack of air meant no pressure for its grip. It was soon caught by earth's gravitational pull, and they saw it flare up as it entered the atmosphere, the extreme heat turning it into a fireball that burned up in an instant, seeming to anyone on earth watching to be a shooting star, not knowing what it really was as it was vaporized quickly, producing a hypnotic flame that amazed the Titans to no end, staring at it as they thought about what had just happened.
Cyborg recovered first and looked over to Terra.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, it didn't even tear the suit." She said hazily, looking at where it had latched onto her. Robin spoke up.
Good, then we better get ready for anymore of those things. Cyborg, you get a reading on it?"
The mechanical teen looked at him curiously, then slapped his head in annoyance.
"Aw man, I didn't even think about it! Dang it!"
"Forget it. Let's just concentrate on survival. We're arriving at the docking bay. Guys, be ready for anything and everything."
They all prepared themselves for the worst as the ship guided itself into the docking bay. As the landing gear set down, they all felt the gravity from the rotation of the station take hold off them. The hiss of the airlock opening as the doors to space shut filled the air. Robin went down first and was met with a gory sight.
Bodies of creatures littered the area, with some type of goo splattered all over that he took to be blood. Bullet holes where everywhere, and there were expended shells all over. Someone had given Hell to the monsters.
Or a group of people.
Robin felt himself yanked to the side by an unseen arm, and he instinctively lashed out at it, connecting with something and being released s a shout of pain filled the air. Whirling around, he saw a man holding his shoulder, while a woman attended to him.
"Doesn't seem to be dislocated..."
She turned to him. She had long brown hair, and was wearing an armored suit that had metal woven into the fabric, making it much like a a flight suit but a little tighter for more protection and reinforced to give the most resistance possible without hindering movement. She had brown eyes, and looked at him in a business-like manner.
"He'll be fine. The Teen Titans, I assume?"
Beast Boy hopped down, followed by Raven and Starfire.
"All present and accounted for."
Cyborg and Terra took up the rear, and she jerked her head towards another man, who looked to be someone of importance by the way he stood proudly.
"Talk to him, he'll tell you what you need to do."
She went back to the man that Robin had struck, and the Titans passed the two, heading for the one she had indicated. Upon arriving, he turned to them, urgency stamped all over him like the commander back on the base had been.
"At last, the Calvary arrives! We've been holding up here, but as you can see, everything's under control, at least here it is."
Robin looked at him, one unseen eyebrow raised, the mask moving with his face, making him seem to have different sized eyes.
"Here?"
"Yes, there are bio signs all over the place. A few might be survivors, but we assume the majority are those things. They keep coming like clockwork. If we could just find out where they're coming from, we might have a chance at stopping them, but every time we try to move out another wave of them shows up. Hold it..."
He looked towards the far wall, where a door stood wide open. There was scraping coming from the darkened hallway, as well as a grunting that no human could make. He called out orders to his men.
"Here they come again. Come on y'all, let's give these scum a good old earth welcome!"
The Titans heard a massive yell go up from all around them, and Robin finally saw all the men around them. They were all wearing the same suit that the brunette had been wearing, man and women aiming their assault rifles at the open doorway. The creatures burst into the room. Many were like the ones that had attacked Robin and Terra in the shuttle, but there were many others, some like catapillars with humongous teeth, having a circular mouth much like the leeches, but instead of sucking blood they used the muscles in their gums to slowly push prey into their gut, where they were digested alive. Some looked like hands that crawled on five legs, a long tongue whipping out threateningly as they tried to lap up the men that began pouring bullets into them like rain, the sounds of gunfire and screams of pain filling the air as the humans tried to stop the advance of the creatures.
"John, look out! Leech on your left!"
"Sarah, crawler below you, watch it!"
"Got 'im! Bill, catapillars on the right!"
"I see 'em. Eat metal, freaks!"
The captain himself pulled out a handgun and began to fire at a slow but steady pace, hitting the creatures in all their weak spots, sending blood and screeches of dying beasts flying everywhere. He looked worried, firing at everything that got near his men.
"There's more of them than before. We'll be overwhelmed soon if something doesn't happen now."
Cyborg armed his sonic cannon. "Then let's make something happen."
Robin pulled out his bo staff. Charging into the midst of the creatures, he swung left and right, nothing coming close to touching him as he reigned death upon the hapless beasts.
"Titans, go!"
Cyborg and Starfire ducked behind crates that had been set up as a line of defense, firing sonic blasts and starbolts all around the creatures, adding to the fire of the man and women who began attacking with renewed spirit, seeing Robin the Boy Wonder laying waste to dozens of the things armed with nothing but a staff.
One man spoke up, shouting to the others around him.
"Keep the Nazis off of him! Sam, you and Patricia keep your fire on the ones around the kid! The rest of you, don't let anymore into this room! Come on, fight like there is no tomorrow!"
The captain shouted up at them.
"You heard him! Get moving, soldiers!"
They. All rushed to their assigned tasks, keeping the pressure on as more creatures tried to file into the room. Raven grabbed the doors with her powers and set them upright, cutting off the creatures from the hallway to the room. They began to pound against the reinforced glass, and she shoved back with all her might, trying to keep them from entering the room and getting to the squad of soldiers inside.
Beast Boy became a raptor and took into them like fire, ripping apart dozens of the foe that got too close to the line of defense the squad of foot soldiers had set up. A leech attached itself to him, but he swiped it off with a clawed hand, lashing out with his tail at one of the caterpillar creatures that was trying to strike him from behind. He leapt onto it and clawed it to ribbons within seconds, pouncing on another as he brought his tail down on a leech, squishing it flat as he ripped through another caterpillar on his mad dash around the defense zone.
Terra, since there were no rocks around, snatched an assault rifle from a nearby rack. Trying to figure out where the magazine went in, the soldier that Robin had hit came over to her.
"Clip goes in here, cock it here, hold the trigger and kill anything that doesn't have a weapon. Hurry, there about to reach us!"
Loading it, she began firing into them, strafing the creatures that began to back away from the new source of pain as they roared threateningly at her. One bold beast Began crawling toward her, dodging the bullets as she tried to hit it, but it simply jumped hither and yon as it approached her with speeds unimaginable for it's size. Hit leapt at her, opening its hand-like legs, ready to clamp on her skull, but she pointed the weapon straight up, sending bullets hailing into it as it jerked with every strike. It fell next to her dead, and she returned to the fight, hitting anything and everything that did not look human.
Cyborg and Starfire where trying to find out a way to advance to the doorway, where it would be easier to kill the things in the close proximity of the hall. Cyborg saw an opening and jumped the wall, shouting to Starfire as he dashed towards the doorway.
"Star, keep my back!"
She followed behind him and fired at everything that moved towards the metallic teen. Raven saw his move and tossed aside the doorways, sending hem skidding across the floor, killing many of the creatures as they slid across the floor, squishing all that stood in their path. Cyborg arrived at the door in time to fire on the creatures that made a dash for the room, stopping their advance cold as Starfire kept the creatures in the room already at bay as Robin fought his way towards them. Arriving at their location, he sent an explosive disk into the room, exploding and killing hundreds of the foe as the shrapnel rebounded around the metallic hallway, the walls and ceiling not even scratched by the explosion, a tribute to its strength. The floor, however, having a carpet on it, caught fire, the flames licking their way up the hall, killing more of the creatures as they ran around, flailing about in an attempt to put out the flames. Soon, the room was clear of creatures, only a few mortally wounded ones still twitching about in their death throes. The Titans gathered to the door. No noise could be heard. The soldiers were already talking amiably with each other, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Robin talked to the Titans with urgency, explaining what they were to do.
"The commander said to check out the moon, so we head there first."
Starfire spoke up next. "But our ship..."
Robin looked at it and saw that the thrusters had been hit with some liquid and were now melted, useless for even scrap now that they were untouchable. He slammed his fist into his hand.
"Rats! Then how do we..."
"That's where we come in."
A blond headed soldier walked up to them. He spoke with the air of casualness, his assault rifle held across his neck so it wouldn't point at his comrades.
"We have you another shuttle. Come, I'll show it to you."
He walked over to a door that Robin had not seen before on the wall to the side of where they were. Upon entering, they were in another hangar, where they found a ship that looked as though it could bring down an entire squadron without taking a single hit. The blonde-headed man told them all about the craft while Cyborg, Terra, Beast Boy, and Starfire went to examine the small battle cruiser. It was longer than it was wide, and the wings gave it the appearance of the shuttle that had brought them up, only it was pure white instead of the black on the underside. The wings had a curve on the front that ended in a point that served as a warning to other craft that it was armed. There was a turret on the top and bottom, but otherwise she was unarmed. The blonde explained all that Robin would need to know to pilot the ship to the moon while the others amazed over the ship and Raven listened in on the conversation, seeing as she was to be co-pilot.
"She's the pinnacle of technology. There's a main cannon on the top and bottom, and that's all she has on her, but her storage has enough guns to support an entire garrison of troops. The lower cannon have an automated targeting system, but the top one is manual only. Someone else'll have to man the guns, but that's understandable. I've installed her with various tracking systems, so anything you find on the moon won't be able to hide. She's not that armored, but she wasn't designed for a drawn out fight. Anyway, you'll find some supplies in the back in case you need to eat something before you get back."
Robin inquired the man. "Why would we get hungry?"
"Space does weird thing to a guy. I'd leave if I were you. The sooner we can leave this Hellhole, the better. We'll hold out here, you worry about anything on the moon. Good luck."
With that, he turned on his heel and returned to his post, while others tended to the wounded, some of the people even beginning to cry with fear and exhaustion and longing to go home. Robin felt bad leaving them there in that state, but like the blonde man had said, the quicker they finish, the better. Turning around, he found the others continuing to marvel at the ship, and he found the lever that lowered the stairs to the inside. As he began ascending, the others followed suit, only Robin and Raven remaining serious as the other Titans began to fool around with the inside, trying to figure out everything the ship could do before having to sit down for take off. Robin took the pilot and Raven the copilot, each prepping for liftoff. The whine of the engines turning over filled the room, and the four teens quickly got into seats, snapping in the harnesses as the whine grew in intensity and pitch. Within seconds they were hovering off the ground, Robin slowly moving the ship forward while Raven kept them on course. They exited without trouble, and Robin took the controls and flipped them around so that they flew underneath the station. Hitting the throttle, they sped off towards the moon where all the trouble had started with the building of the real moon base, named Cleopatra by the designers of the small installation that sent all their samples to Home One for processing.
Robin grit his teeth as he took a good pace to reach the moon installation and give enough time for relaxation before the real fight began, unaware of the horrors that were staring at the bright light of the ships thrusters approach, teeth glinting in the night as they waited the arrival of more food as the Titans began relaxing, the events to come not passing their minds as they traveled across the infinite reaches of space to the source of trouble below.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
If your reading this, please tell me whether I should comtinue this or not. I have great plans for it, but only if your willing to read it. Constructive criticism, no flames, and I hope you enjoyed chapter one of "The Invasion".