When Cinderblock smashed the ground, Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, the little girl, and the little Raven all went flying back from the impact. Robin immediately got up, and got his staff nearby. He lunged at the stony creature, only to be smacked back to the ground. He got up, and Cinderblock laughed. "What did you to do to Starfire?!" Robin yelled.
"We didn't do anything to make her this way. I guess it was too much evil for her to handle!" the stony creature bellowed, mockingly. Cyborg got up and blasted Cinderblock in the head, sending him backwards a bit. This time, Beast Boy let out a frustrated yell, and morphed into a T-Rex. He then rammed the stony creature, sending him back even more. The stony creature grunted, and said, "Very good. You're using your love for Starfire, Robin. And you two are using your care for your friends."
"But now.." he paused. "Now you're going to have to face your friends."
Suddenly, Raven's black aura surrounded Cinderblock and he phased down through the ground. Raven rose up right in front of them, and knocked Beast Boy, now back to human form, with a black swipe.
Cyborg then began to say, cannon primed, "C'mon, Raven, I don't want to do this to you. You're still our fr-"
But he was interrupted, by a huge green blast sideswiping him. The two little girls were cowering together in fear behind the group, and screamed when Cyborg slid in front of them, on his side.
Robin looked over at Starfire, and said softly, "No.. Star.."
After Robin said that, the look in Starfire's eyes, for a split second, looked worried, confused, and frightened. Caring. Unwilling to hit him. Like the Starfire he knew. But then immediately turned back to Evil. Robin smirked a bit, and thought, "She's still in there…somewhere. I just need to get her out."
Suddenly, Starfire made a small bolt in her hand, but a super-charged one, gleaming with red fire. The little girl ran up behind Robin and grabbed the back of his waist, right as she fired the bolt. The impact was near the size of a nuclear bomb, and the green flash was large. Then the being in Starfire used her personality, apparently, and squealed, "We have done it! I got them!"
But in the middle of the blast, remained Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, the little girl, and the little Raven, all covered in a white aura. "Yeah, she got us alright." Cyborg said, bitterly, rubbing his metal side.
"I can't believe they'd turn on us." Beast Boy muttered, in the same bitter tone as Cyborg.
Robin said slowly, "It's not them, guys. It's something inside them."
Beast Boy said, "Huh?" and Cyborg yelled, "Come on man! They just tried to destroy us. Star just dropped a bomb on us bigger than Hiroshima! They obviously want us in graves now."
Robin yelled back, "They're still our friends! That sign didn't say the Leaders were Starfire and Raven! They were someone completely different!"
Cyborg said, now with a softer voice, "Yeah, so?"
"So it's something Evil INSIDE them, not them." Robin said loudly.
The little girl then spoke. "He's right. Starfire told me to run before whatever's in her captured me."
Then the little Raven spoke, "And I'm always left behind if Raven still wants a piece of her left, for any reason. So she's still in there. If Robin showed me anything when the World ended, it's that you can do the impossible if you believe!" she said loudly.
They both nodded, and Robin said determinedly, "Ok then. We to need to have a plan to get them back to us."
Cyborg then asked, "But how? They'll know our every move if they're inside our friends." Robin thought for a moment, and said aloud, "We need to capture Starfire somehow, then Raven will follow us..."
"What?" Cyborg replied.
"Listen. Star always had a habit of running after things when she shouldn't really be. Remember the chase with Red Star that worried us to death?" Robin replied. Cyborg and Beast Boy nodded, and Robin continued, "And Tokyo proves we really love each other, and some part of her is still in there. I saw it in her eyes."
Robin continued, "Now, we need to get her to chase after us, find a warehouse or something we can catch her in. I'll handle it from there."
Beast Boy then said aloud, "What? Are you going to try to smooch her back to normal?"
Robin hesitated, and then Cyborg said, grinning, "Well what if she bites your lips off?" The two little girls behind Robin giggled. Robin then said, "Then it happens. But it's worth a shot."
Cyborg replied, "Alright then, it's your plan." Robin then muttered, thoughtfully, "But what do we use to get her to chase us…?"
Beast Boy said, "Just don't use me. Knowing Star, even if I turn into a Cheetah she might get close enough to murd-"
Cyborg gave him a quick glare, and Beast Boy stopped mid-sentence noticing Robin was beginning to get upset.
Then suddenly, Robin got an idea. The green fog was still around them. And the Seiveka person in Starfire thought she destroyed them. And if he knew Starfire well enough, something missing off her would get her chasing them.
"Alright, I've got it. Here's the plan." said Robin.
After a few minutes discussing the plan, Cyborg said, "What? You want me to—What?! This sounds more like some erotic daydream you've had than a plan!"
Beast Boy then said, "So, the plan is… Cyborg's going to throw me towards her, and with me an octopus, I'm going to steal her skirt, and get it back to you?"
"What kind of plan is that?" Cyborg said loudly. "We don't even know if she likes skirts anymore. We could steal it and then later she gets some assassin boots or something with built-in knives."
Beast Boy then added, "Then she could burn AND stab us to death!"
Robin then acted defeated, but the little girl stepped forward. "Your responses are even more ridiculous than his plan! Try it!"
Cyborg muttered to Beast Boy, "She's got a point."
They both looked at each other, and Beast Boy shrugged. Cyborg then said, "Ok. Let's do it."
Seiveka was posing outside the thick dust from the aftermath of the blast using Starfire's personality still, and saying, "Yes! I got them wondrously good!"
The deep voice inside Cinderblock laughed, as the being in Starfire continued to rant with her personality. "It looks like Seiveka is having fun in that body. Too much fun." It bellowed. "Glorious! Magnificent! Intriguingly.." Seiveka began, using Starfire's voice. Suddenly she smiled evilly, finished her sentence, "Disastrous.." she muttered, bellowing the deep voice now.
The deep voice inside Raven replied, "Seiveka is having fun belittling that mortal with her own personality. Belittling is one of Seiveka's greatest skills."
The deep voice in Cinderblock asked, "But what of the mortal girl's interference? What if Seiveka can't be trusted with her presence?"
The deep voiced Raven answered, "Their resistance shall come to pass. Our reign is inevitable. They will do nothing worth attention. No mortal can defeat us."
She then turned to him. "And don't ever throw accusations of untrustworthiness towards Seiveka again, or I'll have your head."
Cinderblock and Raven both looked back at Starfire's body. But then Raven looked down below and spotted a shadow in the green mist. It was right in line with Starfire's body though, so she figured it was just her shadow.
The Titans still concealed by the green mist around them were hearing that whole conversation. Robin muttered, in his usual determined tone of voice, "Beast Boy, are you ready?"
Beast Boy said, right under Starfire, "Suction cups away!" He morphed into a green octopus, and Cyborg dashed forward and grabbed 6 of the Octopus arms. He spun Beast Boy around, and let go. Beast Boy got on target, caught Starfire's body in surprise, and slid the skirt down and off her legs. He then fell back down, back to human form, and started dashing towards Robin. Beast Boy said loudly, "I got it!"
Starfire's voice, and apparently "Seiveka" was still using Starfire's personality, exclaimed, "How dare you?! Come back here, fool!"
Beast Boy handed Robin the skirt and kept on running away. Robin said, "Alright, Titans. Let's move!"
They all started dashing towards a nearby subway entrance. Starfire was quickly flying down, and flew right into the entrance after them.
"Seiveka!" Raven yelled. Cinderblock then bellowed, "I told you." Raven growled, and took off after them.
A nearby grid-patterned security gate was the perfect spot. Beast Boy tossed Cyborg a rope, then turned into a green gorilla. Robin said, "Cyborg, Now!", holding up the skirt taunting Starfire like a red cloth would taunt a bull.
Cyborg blasted the top of the entrance, which caved in, trapping her, right as Starfire darted towards Robin. He dodged her charge, and Beast Boy slammed her against the nearby metal security door. Cyborg then took a rope, and constrained Starfire's arms behind her back. Beast Boy then carefully tied a rope around her feet and thighs, as she repeatedly tried to kick at Robin's arm and fire eyebeams at Cyborg, which only hit the roof above them. "You shall pay for your insolence!" she yelled.
Cyborg then took some sort of metallic goggles made from scrap metal, and put them over Starfire's eyes to prevent any more eye lasers.
Her body gave up the fight, tired and restless.
Then the deep voice suddenly bellowed, "Great, you've captured me. But now you're doomed. The entire organization will be after you fools. And as for you, mortal boy." The being inside Starfire said, at the end staring down Robin.
"The 'Star' you knew is gone now. I'm the one in control. And you can't change that."
Robin asked softly, "I'm not the one in control?"
The deep voice snickered. Robin leaned in, and took off the glasses, and the scared and confused look returned on Starfire's face. And then she started panting softly. "I'm sorry. You're wrong." Robin said, smirking. He then kissed her, and Starfire gently went from tense to relaxed. She closed her eyes calmly, as Robin stayed in with the lip lock.
Cyborg and Beast Boy backed up towards the caved in entrance and hastily turned around.
Beast Boy started whistling.
"I bet he won't have lips after they're done." Beast Boy joked.
"He won't have just his lips after they're done." Cyborg muttered, grinning.
"What?" Beast Boy asked, confused.
"He'll have hers too." Cyborg said, grinning wider.
Beast Boy chuckled, and said, "Yeah right."
Beast Boy said a bit louder, "Wait what?" Then he calmed down and said, "So you're saying he'll have 2 pairs of lips? Or two mouths?"
Cyborg sighed, and then they heard the kiss stop, and turned around.
"Robin.." Starfire said softly. They both hugged.
Cyborg turned around swiftly, and froze. Beast Boy turned then his eyes bugged out, "Dude, who's going to kiss her?!"
They all turned quickly, and there was Raven, who had phased through the entrance, black swipe at ready.
Starfire quickly got her skirt from Robin and put it back on.
Raven then bellowed, "You may of gotten your precious mortal girl back, but you shall not defeat ME!!"
Robin said in a hurry, "Titans, run!"
Starfire then turned around, and easily bent a hole in the metal bars of the door. The Titans all retreated though, Beast Boy last, making a nervous whine on the way out.
Raven floated downward, and with ease, enveloped the door in her black energy, and pushed it like a rocket off the wall and into a nearby circle pillar in the subway, causing the entire floor to ripple.
The other four Titans hurried around the corner, and she saw it, and approached the corner.
It was a dead end. Starfire gasped as the others looked around.
Cyborg asked, "What do we do?"
Starfire said, "Beast Boy!"
Beast Boy looked at him in shock, and then said loudly, "No, I'm not kissing her!"
Starfire then whispered, "No, make her laugh."
Starfire then pushed him forward, and said, "Go on, friend! We shall have faith in you! Make the joke good!"
Cyborg turned his head and muttered "We're doomed." He then turned back, and grinned nervously as Beast Boy glared back at him.
Beast Boy then said, piping up a bit, "Alright. I have a laugher."
He walked up to her as she rounded the corner, but with his eyes closed, said, "Hey Raven. Knock knock!"
"Who's there?" she replied, smirking. Right as Beast Boy was about to continue with the joke, she interrupted him, saying, "Oh, I know. A wall."
"Huh?" Beast Boy sounded, in surprise.
Raven immediately smacked him with her black energy, sending him flying back to the wall between Cyborg and Starfire and then dropping to the ground. "I was right. We're doomed." Cyborg muttered.
Then the little sister of Raven ran through the station, and shouted, "Trigon's coming, hide!"
Suddenly, fear grew in Raven's eyes. Seeing that, Robin tackled her as she was distracted. The little girl Raven then scurried over, put her hand on Raven's forehead, and phased into her forehead.
Raven then stood up immediately, and then looked around. "What happened?" she asked.
Beast Boy, now standing up, exclaimed, "Wait, Trigon?! Now we're definitely doomed! Hey, does someone have the Ring of A-something?"
The little sister shrugged, and said, "I thought it would help if I made that up to distract her. You're not mad at me, are you?"
Robin kneeled down, and said, "Of course not."
The sweet moment was short-lived, as the same black entity that had entered Starfire and Raven before came out of them, causing them to moan in agony.
They then both flew into Cyborg and Beast Boy, causing them to gag and groan.
The little girl yelled, Starfire and Raven now fine, "No, no! RUN!"
She then took off towards the other entrance, the others close behind. Robin then Starfire followed close behind, as Beast Boy stood up, black eyes, and so did Cyborg, only with his human eye black only.
Now outside and all of them airborne, Starfire asked, "What must we do?"
Robin replied, being carried by her, "There's nothing we can do for them now. We need to hide somewhere."
Raven, levitated with her little sister, then said, "Look, over there.", pointing down.
There was a teenage boy down below them near a Fortress-shaped building, with a blue roof. The boy had blue hair and blue eyes, and was yelling up to them.
"Come, come! I offer safety! Escape Evil's reign! Hurry! It's the only way!" he yelled up in the air to them.
They all levitated down to the building. It was small, and underneath a battered bridge over the river. It was also right behind a huge skyscraper with a series of holes in it. The nearby docks were littered with pollution and ashes from explosions. A sign read "Evil's Reign ends here at The People's Fort.", next to a battered stop sign, with street signs that read '24th Street' and 'Dewey Street'.
He all shook their hands in a rush, saying quickly, "My name is William. If you need to take shelter, go in there. Go, go, go."
He then hurried them inside and shut the door. There was a caved in area that looked like what remained of an assembly line near them. Robin asked the boy, "What happened there?"
He looked sad, and said, "That's where my own workers killed my girlfriend."
Robin looked at him with sympathy, and so did Starfire.
"That's the worst a Hero can ever fear for." Robin said, sympathetic.
"Well, I'm no hero, but apparently I was a threat. Even though she really wasn't." he replied staring off at the collapsed area. He then quickly looked away and said, "Well, this is my creation. It was the "Stronghold Project". Meant to fend off Evil's forces. Outside there are 20 giant ray guns, all of which that can take out anything coming my way with high-volt beams."
Raven then muttered, "They didn't work too well inside."
The boy then replied, turning around, "That's because my own crew turned against me saying resistance was pointless when they couldn't take living in a steel fort anymore."
"Even though that's all they had left to live for." He muttered.
Robin thought, "I can't even imagine how this guy feels right now."
Raven muttered, "My… evil creator… told me that 'resistance was pointless'… well, more like me resisting my fate as the 'Gem' was hurting my friends. But it wasn't. He was hurting them through me, and I stopped him. Resisting isn't pointless when you have a good reason to."
"I'm surprised I'm even standing up to evil right now then. My good cause to fight them was protecting her. She told me I should of watched out for my crew turning against me. But they told me they were loyal. I guess words come easy though." He replied, depressed.
They all followed him down a small corridor, and to a steel room.
"There are five cots laid about on the floor. Make yourselves comfortable, please. Whenever you want to leave, you can leave. If you return, I'll let you back in and take care of anything following you."
The 3 others packed into the room, and Robin left William face to face.
"Thank you for taking us in… I'm sorry about your girlfriend." Robin said.
William said, smirking, "No problem, and thanks for feeling sorry for me. I see you have a girlfriend of your own, so you know how it is to fear for the life of a girl you love."
Robin then replied, "Yeah, I do.", looking over at Starfire.
"All the time." He added.
"She's a beauty. Just make sure you're overprotective. VERY overprotective. It always pays off when battling evil. Trust me." He said, smirking.
Robin said, "Well, we're all really exhausted, so we need our rest now. There's no telling what tomorrow will bring."
William looked in the room at the 3 girls, and back to him nodded. "Rest all you need." He said, smiling.
He then walked off, and Robin laid down on the remaining fifth cot, closing the tightly sealed metal door.
Starfire, who was near him lying on a cot, reached out and held his hand. He smiled and so did she, and he was left wondering what to do next.
"We'll get through this, Star. I know we will." He muttered to her.
She nodded slightly, as she drifted into sleep.
Robin then closed his eyes, whispering very softly.
"We will… we all will.."
--
In the Fort's control room, the boy William sat down. He checked the status on the Ray guns. He then noticed a sensor was beeping, and pushed the roll-wheel office chair towards the box with the beeping sensor.
"Unknown Energy Source?" he muttered, looking up the details on a nearby screen.
"It's in Cabin 6." He said, eyes a bit bugged out. "That's where those 4 are staying…"
He then got the system to determine the type of energy it was.
"Plasma? I run my guns off plasma coils…" he muttered, interested.
He did an in-depth scan, and he found the source.
He looked in total surprise, and shock. He squinted at the screen, and blinked.
"It can't be…" he said, in disbelief. "That's the plasma source?"
"Her?"
