Hello again! Hope you all have been doing well. I found some time to be able to write out this chapter so I figured why not. Thanks for reading the story, I hope you all like it!
Chapter 2: Friend or Foe?
Ed was sprinting down yet another alley for what seemed like the umpteenth time. He kind of understood why the Teen Titans wanted answers from him, but he was not the kind of guy to just spill all of his secrets, especially about his past. He saw that the super group spilt into 2 groups, one group being the cybernetic boy and the shapeshifter, while the other was the masked traffic sign, the tan redhead, and the blue hooded girl. Ed knew he should try to avoid fighting them at all costs, but figured if he had to fight one of the groups, he would rather take on the two than the three. He felt he would fare with the changeling and the cybernetic boy a bit better since there were just 2 of them. The way the other 3 moved, plus taking into account that the two girls had powers Ed did not expect to exist at all, he would be at a great disadvantage.
Ed turned down a corner and found a dumpster, jumping into the bags of garbage to hide himself. He slowed down his breathing and calmed his nerves down, trying to hide his presence as best as he could. After a few minutes went by, Ed saw a pair of feet run by him, no doubt the masked fighter. He also heard 2 objects fly just above his head, no doubt the two girls. It was still a wonder how they could fly without anything to help them. Putting the thoughts as to how that was possible aside, he waited a few minutes before he got out of hiding and walked the other way.
"Damn they are persistant." The alchemist thought as he walked away. Considering he was new to the area, he felt that his chances of staying hidden were very slim, so he figured to try to find some shelter. He saw a sign for what seemed to be an inn and began to walk to it when a fly began to buzz around his head. Ed tried to swat it away but kept missing by a few inches. Then the fly did something Ed did not see coming: it flew above his head and then suddenly transformed into an elephant, trying to fall on top of the blonde teen. Ed let out a yelp and dodged at the last sec, just narrowly saving his hide from becoming smashed.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" He yelled in shock. Just as he was getting up he heard what sounded like a sonic cannon come at him. Thanks to Ed's military instincts, he dodged the blast just before getting hit. He looked up to the location where the blast came from and noticed the robot teen he saw before running at him. Ed looked to the elephant and saw it transform into the boy who tried to put the handcuffs on him.
"So, you're a chimera and you're part robot. What the hell lives in this place?" Ed half-asked.
The robot glared a bit at the alchemist. "This coming from a guy that can control the environment around him at will!"
Ed's head showed a tick mark. Before he could go off on a rant about equivalent exchange, another blast came at him as the green boy turned into a tiger and lounged at Ed. He expertly dodged the blast and jumped on the tiger, riding it like he was in a rodeo. Ed steered the beast towards his ally, jumping off at the last sec, sending him into each other. Before the impact, the boy changed into a little cat so that his friend could just easily catch him. Ed clapped his hand and touched the ground, using alchemy to create a sword. Ed charged in at the both of them, swinging it in attempts to try to hit them. The only major success he had was hitting the cyborg teen, however the sword just bounced off the metal.
The green changeling then turned into a monkey and jumped on Ed's back, distracting the alchemist for a bit while his teammate landed a solid punch to Ed's midsection, making him cough in pain and drop his weapon. Ed jumped back a bit, falling to one knee as he eyed his opponents. "I guess this is how it feels when I slug someone with my automail. This is not going well…" Ed thought.
The cybernetic teen and the green changeling then charged at Ed, showing no signs of backing down. Ed tried his best to dodge some of the attacks, but due to the stress from being sent here, plus the lack of rest and food, he was not able to move as fast and got hit with a few of the attacks. Ed backed slowly to the wall behind him, panting heavily as blood began to drip from a few of his cuts and his head and arms. Seeing that the alchemist was already weak, the two began their final advance. Ed eyed them like a severely wounded animal, his clothes a bit ragged and ripped. "At this rate, I will easily get my ass kicked… there has to be a way to stop them…" Suddenly an idea hatched into his head. As the two superheroes came closer to Ed, the alchemist charged in at them. The cybernetic teen was barely grazed by the alchemist's hand, but that was all it took. After a few seconds, he felt his body seize up, noticing his metal parts began to rust and not be able to move, causing him to tip over.
"Cyborg!" the changeling yelled, worried for his friend. While distracted, Ed landed in a few solid punches. The changeling flew into the wall, hitting his body hard onto the solid cement wall. Just as he was getting up, Ed used his alchemy to make a pair of hands hold the green kid down. The changeling struggled a bit to get out, but was freed after about a minute's time. He looked to see where the alchemist was, only to see that he was gone.
The green changeling sighed and ran to help his friend. "Cy, u ok?"
The cybernetic teen nodded slightly. "Yea BB, he didn't hurt me, but he caused my parts to rust, stopping me from moving. I guess he got away."
They looked to where the alchemist was. "Beastboy, don't be too upset. He was really good, despite being injured. We were both caught off guard."
Beastboy nodded and helped his friend up, taking him back to the tower.
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Ed was panting heavier as he ran through the backstreets of the city. His body totally ached from the fight, but he knew he had to keep moving. After a half hour of running, Ed found a corner in yet another alley way to sit in to let his aching body rest. "That was too damn close. I knew they would be tough to fight, but that was brutal." He whined in his head. Ed took some cloth he found in his jacket and wrapped the cuts on his left arm and head, at least trying to stop the bleeding. After dressing his wounds, he let his hair droop down in front of his head as he closed his eyes.
Ed was more than happy for the rest he was getting. It was the first moments of relaxation he got. Something told the alchemist that it wouldn't last long, and he was not wrong.
"Seems like you got hit by a train." Said a familiar voice. It was accompanied by two other people, whose footsteps could be heard approaching Ed's corner.
Ed knew that the voice belonged to the masked boy, thus assuming the other two were the girls he was with. He let out a bit of a laugh, causing his sides to scream in agony, making him clutch his side. "Na, more like a shapeshifter and a steel fist. But there really is no difference." He replied weakly. Ed looked up to the masked teen and the girls, semi smirking at them.
The orange skinned girl looked to the boy. "Robin, Fullmetal is injured, we should not cause him more hurt!" She pleaded. Ed was surprised to hear her say that and mean it. She seemed like the girl that was too innocent to lie. Though, it didn't mean he would just throw his hands up in surrender.
"Starfire, he is dangerous and he came out of nowhere. We have to take him in." The blue-hooded girl stated emotionlessly.
Robin nodded. "Raven is right." He looked to the alchemist. "I have to give you props for beating Cyborg and Beastboy, but it ends here."
Ed brushed the hair out of his eyes, looking into the masked boy's eyes with his golden ones. Ed used the wall to stand up, still holding his side. "Look, I get why you guys want to question me. I do understand. However, now is not the time." Ed coughed weakly. "I am not an enemy, just someone trying to figure out where he is and what is going on. If you let me go, I will prove that I am not bad."
Starfire and Raven looked to their leader, who replied back to Ed. "I understand how you feel, but we trusted someone once, and they backstabbed us in the end. Even though they made up for it, I learned not to trust someone until I am 100% certain." He pressed a button on his belt, making a metal pole appear in his hands. Starfire's hands began to glow green as she floated in the air, while Raven's hands and eyes glowed black while she floated as well.
Ed smirked a bit as he clapped his hands and touched the wall behind him, creating his signature spear. "I get that, but don't assume I will go that easily. I don't like getting the shit kicked out of me or telling everyone about me."
With that, he charged at the three with unexpected speed. Raven put up a shield to block the attack, causing Ed to bounce back. Starfire flew to the air and threw star bolts at the alchemist while Raven sent a wave of attacks of her own. With pure adrenaline fueling his body, Ed dodged the attacks as best as he could. Out of nowhere, Robin came down at Ed with his bow staff, trying to whack the alchemist on the head. Ed out of instinct raised his spear, narrowly blocking the attack Robin gave, only to be hit by Starfire's and Raven's attacks, causing him to slam into a nearby dumpster. Robin, not wanting to let up on the offense, swung his weapon into the alchemist's gut and flipped him away. Robin then charged in, landing a dozen punches and kicks at the alchemist, sending him flying off his feet.
Ed landed on his side, wincing in pain from the onslaught. Raven used her powers to try to bind the alchemist up like she did before, hoping to get him while he is down. However, Ed rolled away before he could be snared, sending the spear at Raven. While she dodged, Ed touched the ground, creating a pillar of stone, sending him up at her and swung a kick with his right leg at her. Raven blocked in time but was still sent back to the ground. While Ed was distracted, Starfire landing a solid fist to his face, sending Ed back to the ground, skidding off it before bouncing into the stone wall. Ed yelled in more pain from not only the impact of the attack but the impact of the landing. As Ed was trying to get up, Raven threw rocks at the alchemist, halting his movements while Starfire and Robin both land solid punches on the alchemist. Ed was not battered and bruised, leaning on the wall behind him.
"Damn, how is it that her fist hurt more than fucking steel? Is she made of metal too?" Ed winced as he tried to stand up.
Starfire smiled sheepishly at the alchemist. "It is because I'm not from this planet. Tamaranians are stronger than humans. I am sorry I hurt you, but you attacked my friends."
Ed leaned on the wall n shook his head with a small smirk. "So, we got an alien from another planet, a boy that can change into whatever animal, a cyborg, a mage girl, and a powerless masked vigilante that just so happens to be a master martial artist. And to top it all off, I have to fight them while being pretty injured, tired, and no rest whatsoever. I don't think that these are equivalent sides."
Robin laughed a bit. "Yea, but it is what it is. Seems like you got an unlucky break."
Ed panted as he watched them close in. A last idea formed in his head. "You're right… Seems like… I got an… unlucky break… however…" Ed then smirked defiantly at them. "I don't believe in luck." He said as he slammed his hands to the ground as a puff of smoke came up. Raven and Starfire fired their attacks while Robin threw a disc at where the alchemist was, hoping that they got him. However, as the smoked cleared, they noticed the alchemist completely vanished.
"Where did he go?!" Robin said in an agitated manner.
"Did he turn invisible?" Starfire asked her teammates.
Raven just shook her head, looking at the ground. "If he was able to, he would have tried it already. He used his ability to make a quick hole in the ground and then seal it up, making his escape." She replied monotonely, eying the ground that was obviously tampered with.
Robin growled and kicked a rock that was nearby. "We should head back to the tower and try to find out anything we can about Fullmetal. He seems like he is telling the truth about not being a threat, but I don't want to assume anything."
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The Titans spent a few days in the living area and computer labs, trying to find out anything they could about this "Fullmetal" guy that appeared out of nowhere the other day. The only things they found were a few articles talking about how they chased him around most of the night.
"I don't get why we are doing this. We know he is from another world, so there would be nothing on him!" Beastboy complained.
"I know, but there might have been something." Robin replied.
Cyborg just shrugged. "We aren't getting anything done though. Maybe something has happened on TV?" He said, looking for the remote. After a few minutes of searching, he eyed Beastboy. "What did you do with the remote?"
Beastboy glared at his friend. "Nothing, why did you lose it?" He growled back. This lead to the usual argument between them about who loses what and when. After a few minutes, Raven used her powers to seal their mouths. "Just get up and press the button on the TV. It isn't that hard." He annoyingly replied as she turned on the TV. Just as it came on, a breaking news bulletin came up, titled "New Resident Fixes Destroyed Building in Seconds!" The only person that could be capable of this that the Titans could think of was their target. They watched as the reporters described Fullmetal perfectly. They went on to describe how a building that was in ruins from a fight a few weeks ago was repaired by the alchemist in seconds. Out of gratitude, the residents paid him a decent amount of cash, which he denied at first, but took after some insisting. They mentioned how he was also chased by the Titans as the question arose as to whether he was a friend or foe of the Titans. Arguments could be made for both, but no one could truly say.
"Seems the boy of Fullmetal is a good guy." Starfire commented, smiling. "He helped the people fix their home and caught the Hive fighters."
"Yea, but he ran from us like he had something to hide. That is a little fishy." Robin added, playing devil's advocate.
"True, but we did just go and attack him without letting him explain himself." Raven butted in. "Though, he did try to fight us back."
"Yea, and he totally kicked our butts!" Beastboy moaned in defeat.
Robin looked to Beastboy. "I wouldn't say that. You guys did weaken him greatly. If it wasn't for his quick escape, we would have had him here. To be honest, I am surprised he was able to fight at all considering the state he was in."
"I think I know why. I noticed the way he moved when we fought." Raven commented. "It seems like he has had experience in combat. Maybe even military training. If that is the case, it makes sense."
"But he looks like he is no older than me! How could he be in the army?!" Beastboy asked.
"He is from a different world, maybe the restrictions are different." Cyborg commented.
"Whatever it is, we still need to make a unanimous decision about if he is a threat to Jump City." Robin announced.
Before they could do anything, the alarm blared in the tower, signaling that something was happening in the city they protected. "Titans, trouble!"
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Ed was gingerly walking around the city after fixing about a few other buildings along with a residential building that was apparently destroyed about a few weeks ago. The residents begged him to take the cash they wanted to pay him. If it wasn't for the fact he desperately needed money, he wouldn't have taken it.
Now, finally having some cash, Ed decided that he should now take a better look around. Ed changed his clothes using his alchemy to hide who he was as he put up his hood to hide his hair as he walked out of the building.
Now that it was daytime and he was taking a more relaxed walk (rather than sprinting down alleys), he was truly able to appreciate the technology the city had within. It was truly amazing how behind Amestris was. He then thanked his luck for not having Winry here, knowing she would be going crazy at everything around him. As he thought this, his mind began to wonder how they were doing, and if Al did get his body back.
Getting lost in thought, he ended up in a park that had a peaceful river, where kids played ball and people had picnics going on. Ed smiled at the scene, reminding him of Risenbool where people would have picnics on the hillside. The more he thought about home, the more he worried about how everyone was. Last he left them, they beat Father and he attempted to bring Al's body back. What if it didn't work? What if Truth lied to him and still held on to Al's body? What if Al's soul was gone forever? The alchemist figured he would end up staying in this world forever, but the thoughts about his brother still haunted his head. Ed's body began to shake in fear with the new thoughts that clouded his mind. The only thing that got Ed out of his head was a scream of terror that began to spread throughout the park.
Ed looked over to where it came from and saw something that threw Ed off completely. The park that was once filled with happy people was now covered in debris, with robot soldiers with half their face being orange and the other half black marching down the field, firing lasers at everyone and everything that was in their way. "HEY! Ever hear it is rude to shoot at someone?!" Ed yelled.
This only got the robots to turn to him and being firing at the alchemist. Luckily for Ed, he was able to rest up a bit and eat beforehand, meaning he was mostly firing on all cylinders. Ed clapped his hands to the ground, creating spikes that appeared from the ground and stabbed a few of the robots in the gut, stopping their movements. The others just walked around their fallen allies and charged at Ed. He then transmuted his arm into his trademark arm blade, charging into the robots. He swung at the assailants, cutting them down one by one. One of the robots tried to stab his side with a hidden blade, only to miss and get his head chopped off. Ed flipped back a bit and smirked as more and more of the robots came towards him.
The robots then decided to kick it up a notch, sending bigger waves at the state alchemist. Ed smirked at the challenge he felt was being issued and ran at them, continuing to cut them down as he ran forward. He even used the trick he did on Cyborg, causing the robots to rust. Unlike what he did to Cyborg though, he made the metal rust so bad that the robots felt to pieces as if they have been rusting for years.
After an hour of cutting down the robots, the waves began to get smaller and smaller. "Come on, is this it?" Ed said, victoriously.
"No my dear boy, it isn't." Answered a menacing voice.
Ed turned around to see a metal fist collide with his face. Ed flew back a bit but landed on his feet. He looked to the man that attacked him, noticing his mask was the same as the robots. His fists had metal gloves on with his black outfit with an S on his left pectoral. The man stared into Ed's eyes with intensity. "I knew a new visitor came to my city, but I didn't know how much of a nuisance a runt can be."
"WHO YOU CALLING A LITTLE RUNT THAT SHOULD BE BACK IN GRADE SCHOOL YOU DERRANGED CLOWN?!" Ed yelled in rage.
The man chuckled at the alchemist's outburst. "And have such a temper as well. You really are a child. My name is not important. However, you being in my way is. I suggest you move before I kill you. How about we go the easy route and you run away like nothing ever happened?"
Ed laughed back at the masked nutcase. "Man, if I had a coin for every time someone said that to me, I would be able to buy my own house in cash." Ed got himself in a defensive stance. "I suggest you move before this 'runt' kicks your sorry ass to hell!"
With this, the two charged at each other, exchanging blows with each other. Ed tried to use his alchemy to breakdown the metal fists, only to have the attacks countered expertly. The guy Ed was fighting would try to land blows on the alchemist, only to be countered as well. After a few minutes into their skirmish, they backed off to assess the damage dealt, if any. "I have to say boy, you are definitely better than I thought you would be."
Ed just starred back. "I don't take compliments from assholes behind a mask."
The man cracked his neck. "How about we make a deal: we call off this fight and you become my apprentice. We can rule this city together. I saw the way you fought the Titans, even being in the state you were in. Now that you are in better shape, we can take them out easily. And with my guidance and your powers, you would be unsto-"
"Can it, Tinman." Ed interrupted. "I am not a fan of takeovers for personal gain. I'll pass."
The man's fists balled up. "Very well, let's kick tis up a notch." With that he charged at the alchemist.
Well here is Chapter 2. I'll try to have Chapter 3 out soon! Hope you liked this chapter!