TRANSITION
(I still don't own the Teen Titans, nor will I ever. They are still appearing in this story WITHOUT the express consent of their creators. But then, they are a spirited bunch, especially Jinx, and are inclined to do that sort of thing on a regular basis. Talk to them if you have issues with that. Just leave me out of it. -Concolor44)
CHAPTER 2
Four months earlier …
"What I don't get," observed Cyborg, dodging one of See-More's laser blasts, "is why you yokels insist on pulling heists in Jump City." He twisted, bringing his sonic cannon to bear on the skinny villain and firing in one seamless, rolling motion. The concussive blast lifted See-More off the ground and hurled him through a display case and into the stone wall behind him. He slid to the ground and didn't move again. "Because you always get your asses handed to you."
Starfire's perfect form came zinging by, narrowly missing him before she put out a hand to catch a signpost, slingshotting around it and back the way she'd come. Cyborg got a quick glimpse of Mammoth, his arms raised to strike, before Star rammed him in the middle of his chest, knocking him back inside the bank building.
"I think I can answer that one for you, Vic."
Cyborg glanced around the other direction and spotted Robin. The team leader was trotting his way, dragging a sincerely unconscious Kyd Wykkyd by his cloak. "Oo, good catch, there, Rob!"
"Almost didn't get him. Blasted teleporter. But he has to be solid some of the time if he wants to strike, and frankly he isn't that good at hand-to-hand." He grinned. "Or, in this case, hand-to-bo staff." He dropped the villain and dusted off his hands. "It's because Jump City is a financial center. There are four times as many banks here as in any of the surrounding cities."
"Oh. Guess that helps explain it." He shrugged. "Where are the others?"
They both flinched as the pavement vibrated. Then Mammoth's huge bulk came flying out through the roof of the bank, making a beautiful, textbook arc before coming back to earth, where his head left a small impact crater in the road. After that he appeared not to have any interest in getting back up.
Cyborg held up three fingers. "That's three."
The limp form of a sadly battered Billy Numerous fell to the ground in front of them. "I count four," said Terra, in a deadpan imitation of Raven. She couldn't hold it for long, though, and followed up with a giggle.
Cyborg grinned up at the geomancer, her agile body balanced perfectly on a small boulder. "Okay, four, then. But where'd Gizmo and Jinx go?"
"They were headed for the bay." She pointed off to the west. "Raven and BB were chasing them."
"Then I shall go and help our friends!" Starfire's enthusiastic shout wafted down to them as she streaked off in that direction.
An amused chuckle welled up from the metal-man's chest. "Can't keep a good alien down."
"Hey, save some for me!" called Terra, speeding after Starfire's rapidly diminishing figure.
"Certainly not that alien," agreed Robin. "Come on, let's get these four trussed up for the police." He pulled out his communicator and got in touch with the Special Forces team that he knew by now had to be close. "Ah, Sergeant Grant! Good to hear from you. Yeah, we've got four candidates for your 'special' paddy wagon.
####
"Can't this thing go any faster?"
"Quit screamin' in my ear, snotbrain!"
Jinx looked back toward the city, her eyes dangerously narrowed. Stupid fucking Raven and her stupid fucking pet flying monkey! Yeah, that's right, come on, just a little closer …
She raised one hand and fired off an immense hex-bolt. It clipped Beast Boy's wing, and the pseudo-pterodactyl took a precipitous dive toward the water. Raven instantly veered off and followed him, tendrils of dark energy reaching down to ease his descent.
"Hah! Gotcha, you son of a bitch!" Jinx pumped one fist in the air and then grabbed the machine's handle to keep from falling. She snickered and said, "Hey! Come to think of it, I guess he can become a bitch, so I'm right on both counts! How 'bout that, Giz?"
"Will you shut up and let me drive?"
"Such charm! Tell me, Giz, how is it possible that you're still single?"
"Fuck you very much."
Jinx decided not to respond to that. Baiting Gizmo was usually pretty fun, but she suspected he might just pull a barrel roll and dump her off this flying bicycle if she pushed too hard. Maybe later.
####
Starfire was close enough to see Beast Boy become a casualty, and immediately changed her flight path to intercept. But by the time she got to the spot, he had already morphed into a dolphin, and Raven was hovering just above him. He was, however, still wounded, and blood leaked out into the water. The dark Titan caught Starfire's gaze and said, "Can you get him back to the Tower?"
The Tamaranian was troubled by the deep red glint in Raven's eyes, but she gamely answered, "I will aid him in getting to the room of medical assistance!"
"Good." She rose and took off, calling back over her shoulder, "I've got some bitch-hunting to do."
"Good luck in your hunting of the bitch!" She floated down to the water's surface and called, "Beast Boy! Please come up! Can you turn into something smaller, like a frog or – oh, I know! I know! A kitten! They are soft and furry and easily carried great distances!"
She ducked and let out a small eep! as Terra streaked by overhead.
####
What's his plan? Why is he headed out toward the open sea? This makes no sense. Raven smelled a trap. Nevertheless, she put on a burst of speed to catch up to the fleeing criminals.
Up ahead, Gizmo was adjusting one of his control banks. "Hey, snot-rag, we're almost in range. Anybody back there?"
"Yeah, the Crow and the Dirtball. They'll be on our tail in, like, a minute, and I'm gettin' some major bad vibes offa that girl."
"You zorched her bud. Whaddaya expect?"
"I expect you to go faster, that's …" Her voice died as her eyes got much, much bigger. "Giz, is that yours?"
"Holy hell …"
Ahead of them the sea was rising in a tall, narrow dome. The air all around it swirled, pulling spray off and creating a world of diamond-bright rainbows. Gizmo pulled a hard right and floored it, running north, parallel to the coast. "We'll hafta think of somethin' else. That damn witch musta pulled a fast one and screwed up my gate."
Raven saw them veer off, but was so focused on catching them she missed the oceanic anomaly going on beyond them. She altered course, closing the gap quickly. Darkness roiled under her cloak; two massive black wings spread out, and her speed increased. Had anyone been in a position to do so, he would have seen four glowing red points under her hood. When she was maybe fifteen meters above and behind them, she launched her missile of shadow.
The concentrated beam of psychic plasma hit the flycycle just behind Jinx's seat, severing the machine's engine neatly. Both passengers screamed as their forward momentum abruptly changed to a nosedive.
They needn't have worried. In a trice, each was securely fastened into an inky strait-jacket. With a thought, Raven stripped all of Gizmo's devices from him, along with most of his clothing and not a few small patches of skin. Jinx she encased fully, and then set her to spinning rapidly in random directions. Being blind and horribly disoriented would lessen the possibility of her getting off a hex blast, much less hitting a target.
Raven was just about to begin her return trip when one of her other senses sounded an alarm. She whirled around to look behind her and stopped, utterly becalmed at the sight.
The dome of ocean towered a good five or six hundred meters above her. Within a hundred meters of it the air glowed purple, as if the mother of all lightning bolts were about to let fly. Panic flooding her system, Raven shot away from the approaching mountain of doom with every erg of power she could muster.
It wasn't enough. Not even close.
####
Terra was quite a way back from the main action, giving her a good enough vantage point to see all of the slow-motion tragedy unfold. When the water started rising out of the sea she thought, as Jinx had, that it was Raven's doing, but when the prey and the predator both veered off and the dome kept rising, she got a very unpleasant feeling that they were all about to be, as it were, out of their depth. Urging her rock forward with all due haste, she aimed for the tiny figures in the distance.
She saw Raven strike. She saw her catch the two criminals. And then she saw her turn, spot the looming menace, and high-tail it away. But the weird anomaly moved after her, closing the gap effortlessly. The purple nimbus enveloped them, the monstrous thing stopped, seemed to shudder through its length … and then it collapsed. Along with the uncountable millions of tons of water, there was a shrieking explosion of psychic energy, a corona of power that raced out from the falling dome like a shockwave. It hit Terra long before the mini-tsunami got there, nearly knocking her out of the sky. With a huge effort she righted herself, got her bearings, and tore off toward the last place she'd seen her best friend.
####
Starfire's communicator beeped. "Hey, Star, you get anything yet?"
The warrior princess studied the scanner she carried, but it told her nothing that it hadn't for the last two hours. "No, Robin. The device of scan still shows no sign of dear Raven."
"… Thanks, Star. Please … continue the pattern."
"I will do this, Robin. We will find our dear friend. We will."
"Yes, Star, you're right. Robin out."
"Hey, Rob," called Cyborg, "I got the Watchtower on the line."
"Good. What'd they get?"
"Ah … not much. Not yet, anyway. Their sensors picked up a general psychic disturbance, and one hell of a strong warp anomaly. Batman's studying it, but he's not finished, and you know how he is."
"Yeah. I do. He'll tell us when he's good and ready."
His communicator came to life. "Robin, Robin! The device of scan says a human is below! I am going down to see."
Robin's heart rate jumped drastically. "Down in the water? Or floating on top?"
"… Ah … floating. … Oh. … Oh, dear." The distress in her voice was stiff and heavy with sorrow.
"What? What'd you find?"
"It is … the one called Gizmo. It is, um, most of him. I think."
Robin fell into a seat. "… He's dead?"
"Yes, Robin. The one called Gizmo is most truly very dead. Do you want me to bring him back?"
"Ah … yeah. Yeah, bring him in. Maybe … maybe his … remains can tell us something."
"I will do this for you, my friend. But now this makes me worry so very much more for dear Raven!"
"Yes, Star. I know." He rested his forehead on a fist. "I know."