Around midday in the town of Taromak, an army group could be seen marching down Main Street. The soldiers marched in an eight by four column, taking up about half of the cobblestone path, their wooden rifles shouldered. Leading the march was a slender, golden-blonde haired beauty of a Solari Elf (High Elf) with a no-nonsense look upon her face. The people on Main Street parted as they passed while quietly forming conversations about the new arrivals. The police magistrate, a red-haired gentleman with a blue uniform meant the elf near the center of town, right near the café' Dick was still sitting in.
"Bloody Hell!" The police magistrate exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd get here so soon." He quickly dashed his hand out for a shake.
The Solari elf took it and shook it casually. "I am Colonel Linera Windwalker of Hellbound company. We have been ordered to stay here for a two day stay to defend against any incursions of hostiles."
"You mean the beasties?" The police magistrate asked.
"Yes, the 'beasties.'" She answered. "My company killed two of them on the outside of your town. They were very near its borders, where were you sentries?"
A virtual sweat drop appeared on the police magistrate's brow, "I er… didn't post any."
The elf lowered her long eyebrows. "You didn't post any."
"Well I didn't think it was too much of a serious-"
"Our runner did make it to this town, yes?" Linera asked bluntly.
"Why y-yes." The nervous magistrate stammered.
"Obviously any news dispatched by a military runner should be taken as significant." Linera said matter-of-factly. "Grab some coffee, magistrate, we need to get together to coordinate how to best rid the countryside of the menace that's threatening to overrun it."
"Just how dangerous are these damned things?" The magistrate asked, flabbergasted.
"Most of the creatures coming through the portals are harmless." Linera said assuringly, but was quick to add, "However, a few of them are much more dangerous than any wildlife in the local area. We've killed two of them that were over a story tall. It was pretty well armored too."
"By god." The magistrate gasped. "Miss, if ya don't mind me askin, quite a few residents in town are curious as to where these portals are linked to.."
"They're linked to the eastern woods as far as we know." Linera was quick to say, having rehearsed this line before. However, the magistrate was not keen on detecting liars and bought the story. Dick, however…
"Eastern woods, eh?" Dick mused. "Her response seemed a bit forced."
"Think she's a liar, sweetie? You always were good at spottin' em." Kory noted.
"She's definitely not tellin' the truth on them portals." Dick remarked. "Definitely not."
A sudden commotion in the ranks of the army group and the townsfolk on main street began when thunder crackled overhead.
"What the devil?" Dick exclaimed. "There aint a cloud in the bloody sky."
A ball of white glowing energy began forming two hundred meters above the center of Main Street. Lightning began cascading from it in all directions. Screams and turmoil followed as every man and woman on the street, including those that were part of the army, ducked for cover. They dashed into buildings, under street vendor's tables, anywhere that may prevent the deadly bolts of electricity from striking them.
An elderly gentleman was not so quick on his feet. A bolt struck very close to him, shocking him into an unconscious state. Seeing this, Dick immediately dashed outside, despite his better judgment, to the center of the street, knowing that at any second he could be the next victim. He managed to make it to the older gentleman and was able to check his pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the man still had a beat. In the meantime, the police magistrate and Linera watched from a nearby shop, the latter with cool and calculating eyes.
In an impressive show of strength for his light build, Dick managed to place the old man over his shoulder. He moved as quickly as he could back to the safety of the café, white streaks of lightning crashing all around him. His feet began to feel funny as residual electricity travelled through the stone and entered his body. Nevertheless he pressed on, the green eyes of Kory being his beacon out of the storm. One last bolt of lightning struck the ground closer than it ever did, forcing his legs to crumble as electricity surged through his body. He managed to set the old man down with his last bit of strength before he collapsed onto his stomach.
Luckily, that was the end of the storm. The ball of energy in the sky began to expand, flatten, and become transparent. Its radius reached about 30 meters before it finally stopped widening. There was now a hole in the sky whose center seemed to be composed of blue and green liquids swirling about. Its outline resembled a circle of electrical energy, fluctuating violently but never too widely.
As soon as she was certain it was clear, Kory rushed outside and quickly turned her crush over. Remarkably, he was breathing and after a second his eyes flickered open. Kory sighed with relief. "Always the hero, eh?"
"Just can't help myself sometimes." Dick said before coughing a few times. "What smells like burned bacon?" Dick asked before sniffing himself. "Oh."
Kory rolled her eyes before moving over to the elderly gentleman who was just coming to.
"W-what happened?" He asked, moving his head about a bit. Kory held out a hand to help him to his feet.
"You were struck by a bolt of lightning. I can't believe you're already on your feet!" She said as she helped him to them.
"Well, can't say I haven't felt worse I suppose." The old man said nonchalantly. He was quick to spot the hole in the sky out of his peripheral. "What the hell is that?" He asked, pointing to it. A flash of light followed.
"The real question is who the hell are they?" Dick asked, now on his feet and pointing at eight figures who had just appeared in the center of town. They were unlike anyone he had seen before. Five were in one group who all appeared to be teenagers. There was a young man whose hair seemed to be able to defy gravity, an orange haired girl with orange skin to match (who looked a bit like Kory), a raven haired girl whose skin seemed to be as pale as a ghost, a taller young man who appeared to be part machine, and a furry green young elf.
They all seemed to be glaring at a large masked man in some sort of mercenary outfit who stood near two other men wearing black suits. The two men held what looked like firearms to the head of a young looking blonde-haired girl on her knees. A small pile of wooden crates also could be seen near them.
Thirty soldiers quickly surrounded them from all angles, bayonets fixed. "Bloody hell, I knew it! Those portals are a precursor to an invasion army!" One amongst them shouted.
Another one groaned, "Ugh, keep your conspiratorial nonsense to yourself Harry. Most of them look like they're teenagers. My, what a terryfing army. "
"Will you idiots shut up!" Linera Windwalker barked before taking a bold step towards the new arrivals.
"Yes ma'm." They both piped in unison.
The group paid Linera no attention and were instead looking about, studying their new surroundings she assumed.
"What the hell Slade, your plan was to take us back in time?" Robin remarked, gazing at the cobble-stone street, horse-drawn caravans, and people wearing oldish clothes all around him.
"This was not exactly my intended destination." Slade admitted "However, I believe we are near it…."
"Wherever we are, can you let Terra go already?" Beast Boy demanded.
"Not just yet, Beast Boy."
"Whoever you are, do not attempt to make a move!" A feminine voice shouted from the crowd.
Robin, in the meantime was examining his surroundings. The soldiers were all wearing a strange gray uniform much like those the confederates wore out of the civil war with a small iron serpent attached to the upper-right of it. Their rifles seemed very old-school as well, wooden and fixed with bayonets.
However, he knew they couldn't possibly be in the old South for 1. Some of them had British-like cockney accents and another a Russian accent and 2. Not all of them were entirely human. Some had pointed ears like him but did not have green fur; they looked somewhat like elves in the Lord of the Rings. A few others were human, all Caucasian. He could have swore he saw a few dwarves in there as well. One other looked completely different from anything he'd ever seen, a strange bipedal hulking beast with four arms, two much larger and muscular than the others. Its torso was bulky and its face looking somewhat like a vampire bat. It was a creature of nightmares yet nobody seemed to react to it in any way. What the hell was this place?
"We aren't in the past, are we Slade?" Robin stated.
Slade smiled under the mask, "More astute than ever, aren't we Robin?… oh how they grow up so fast…"
Robin was disgusted by that statement. His enemy was acting even creepier than usual, constantly referring to the Titans as his children. Slade turned to the origin of the one who shouted at them to freeze, most likely the go-to person.
"Are you the commander here?" He asked a blonde-haired elf of sorts.
"That I am." Linera replied.
"Good, than may I bother you with a question?" He asked.
"One question, and then I have a few of my own." She stated.
"Very well." Slade said. "Is this Astermis?"
Linera paused for a second before answering, "Yes, it is." She said slowly. "Where do you hail from? And why did that boy mention something about being in the past?"
"The west." Slade answered on a whim. "I mean no offense by saying this, but our cities are a bit more advanced than yours. It was a simple mistake to make."
Robin growled before shouting, "He's ly-"
"Silence!"Linera barked, causing Robin to shut his mouth. She lowered her eyebrows, "Why did you come here? Do you have anything to do with these portals?"
"I am not the cause of these portals. However, I come with a purpose. I need to speak with Premier Dent immediately. "
Linera chuckled at that. "You're not seeing anyone until you're thoroughly interrogated. Who are those with you?" She asked, pointing at the five Titans.
"Accomplices," Slade said. "I will need them to come with me."
"Don't listen to him!" Robin interjected, ignoring Linera's call to shut-up. "He forced us to come here! He's a power-hungry criminal and can't be trusted!"
Linera lowered her eyebrows, studying the eight of them. The bound girl was near the man with the metal mask when they arrived which did lend evidence towards.
"I will speak to a representative from both parties in private." Linera announced. "You first." She pointed to Slade. She than pointed to a the police station nearby, "In there. Make any attempts to escape and you will be fired upon"
"Very well." Slade said, his voice as calm as ever.
Slade began walking over towards the police station, a number of soldiers following his movements with their rifles.
"Robin, do you have any idea where we are?" Starfire asked.
Robin shrugged, "I don't know… it looks like we're in some sort of old town, but that can't be true unless history just forgot that elves and…" He shot a glance at the abomination amongst the soldiers, "…monsters lived side by side humans." The monster seemed to notice the glance and its snake-like slits for eyes narrowed. "I think we need to get out of here though, Slade knows more about this place than us. He obviously came here with a purpose and seems to know what he's doing. I think it's more likely they'll believe whatever he says over whatever we say. Raven, do you think you could knock those guns" He pointed to Slade's minions "out of those robots' hands and then shield us from gunfire while we make a break for it?"
Raven nodded an attempted to perform a bit of magic. Dark energy encircled her hand before flickering out after a brief millisecond. She immediately collapsed on her knees, bringing fingers up to her forehead as if she was suffering a migraine.
"Raven?" Robin asked, kneeling down beside her. "Is everything alright?"
She nodded, taking a few deep, painful breaths. After a few seconds she raised to her feet again, her head still throbbing. "I don't think my powers are working, Robin." She said in an almost embarrassed tone.
"Are you sure?" Robin asked.
Raven nodded before a thought occurred to her, "Wait, let me try meditating."
She began whispering her normal chant. In the meantime, the soldiers were joined by many of the townsfolk.
"What the hell is she doing whisperin' to herself like that?" A soldier asked another.
The other soldier merely shrugged, as baffled as anyone at the odd strangers. "I dunno. You know what's weird though? I always thought aliens would look a bit differen' from us." Another soldier remarked.
"You twat, they're obviously extra-dimensional beings." The second soldier argued.
"What makes you say that? Maybe they came from another planet via those portals instead of cylinders like in the novel."
"And what are the chances that they'd look like humans?"
"Infinite universe means infinite chances of there being humanoid lifeforms out there, smart one!"
"Pffft, astronomy is such a bogus science. Like they know if the universe if infinite or not."
"My powers seem to be working, Robin." Starfire whispered with a small, barely visible starbolt formed in her palm.
"Not sure if fighting our way out of here is the best option, Star." Cyborg said. "Those guns they're using may look old but they have the advantage of numbers."
"There's Slade's lackies too." Robin said, motioning at the motionless Sladebots. "I don't think they'd just let us waltz over, grab Terra, and leave."
"So, what do we do?" Starfire asked.
Robin thought for a moment before saying, "We'll have to play t-that elf's game or whatever she is until Raven's good to go. Hopefully she'll believe us over Slade."
A moment or so later, Slade and Linera exited the police headquarters. Almost immediately, Linera ordered two of her soldiers over to one of the crates Slade had brought with him. They walked over, keeping a wary eye on the two Sladebots who were still holding a now-struggling Terra. Using their bayonets they quickly pried open the wooden crate to reveal it was a cache of MP7 submachine guns. They both looked at them oddly before reaching in to draw one.
"Is this the thing?" The soldier asked Slade.
"Indeed." Slade replied.
"Hand it to me, Maybourne, but not before you close up the crate. Shoot anyone who goes near it." Linera ordered. The soldier quickly complied. Linera examined the weapon for a moment before finally giving up on figuring it out herself.
"How do you use this thing?" She asked Slade, and the armored mercenary quickly explained the features of the weapon. Linera then pointed into towards the horizon, away from the portal above. She shouldered it and pulled down the trigger. To her amazement, twenty reports seemed to come from it all in a matter f two seconds. It was faster than even the gattling guns their army used. A smile crept onto her face as the shock wore off. She felt the power of the device she was holding, a device that could wipe out an entire squadron in the blink of the eye. The technology was beyond anything she had ever seen. She gazed at the two soldiers under the command of Slade and knew that if the mercenary wanted to he could have fought his way out if he needed.
"This is… amazing." She remarked. She gazed at Slade. "Very well, it seems you may have been telling the truth."
"Like I said, I'm only here to help Astermis." Slade repeated.
Linera then turned her attention to the group of teenagers. "Whoever represents you come with me, now."
Robin was quick to step forward. Linera led towards the police station and the crowd around him parted all wearing curious and slightly fearful expressions on their faces. One man in particular would not avert his gaze, a man who could very well have been an older version of him with long black hair.
"I don't like this." Dick whispered to Kory, gazing back and forth between the gun Linera was holding and Robin. "I think I'm going to need a bit more sugar in my coffee."
In the meantime, Robin had entered the police station. After a quick walk through a lobby he made his way to a private interrogation room in the back complete with only a table and a chair. There didn't seem to be any windows for external viewing unlike most rooms of these types. Robin sat down in the chair as Linera moved to the other side of the table to face him.
"Where are you all really from?" She asked.
Robin shrugged as he looked her straight in the eyes, "We're not from this planet, I can say that."
"I take it you've never really heard of Astermis before then."
Robin's mask thinned. "Where are we exactly. What planet?"
Linera smiled slightly, "Planet Rallas. And the name of yours?"
"Earth."
"Why are you so clueless but your friend is not?" She asked in a suspicious tone.
"I don't know. We're not friends with him though, I can tell you that. We're a team of superheroes. That man is our polar opposite. The city we protected has been constantly harassed and tormented by him ever since he first crawled out of whatever hole he had been in, and so have we. The only reason we are here at all is because he lured us into a trap and then activated some sort of device."
"Super heroes?" She asked, a smirk forming on her face.
Robin nodded. "On our world crime is a major problem; Many with special abilities beyond those of normal people often rise to the challenge of thinning it."
"So this man, what's his name… Slade(?), is a criminal." She stated as if she was on to something. Robin nodded slowly. "What would you say his goals are?"
"Well, he usually wants nothing but power." Robin stated flatly.
"And on your world power would be hard to achieve for him despite his obvious intelligence?" She asked.
"No, he could gain power through other means, but not the kind of power he wants. He desires complete control over people. He came close to conquering half of an entire nation, once. I know what you're thinking, but he did not come here just so he could get a political position in your government, that's not what he wants. There'd be way too many people telling him what he should and shouldn't do. However, I don't even think power is his goal here. He wants something else."
"Like…" Linera trailed off.
"I'm not sure. Something to do with discovering whether or not there was divine judgment waiting for him after death… this sounds nuts, doesn't it?" Robin admitted.
"Yes…" Linera replied. "Though I will take your advisement under consideration. However, at the moment all I have is your word versus his." She turned away from Robin, pacing to and from the door to the room, obviously in deep thought. After a while she finally spoke, "At the moment, my nation has been blockaded by two powerful forces from the West and the South. We do not know their true motives for doing so but we feel it could be a preparation for invasion. If this invasion happens…" She paused, "our nation most likely not be able to defend ourselves. That is unacceptable. If we don't find an adequate defense…" She trailed off again, "Well let's just say the nation blockading us from the south is very fond of slave labor."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Robin said sorrowfully, but was quick to add, "But still, you should complete this deal with Slade. I can say that he definitely does not have your best interests in mind and will likely screw you over the first chance he gets."
"Perhaps…" Linera pondered. "However, I've agreed to take him to our Premiere, Harvey Dent. He claims to have already been in contact with him. Therefore, I'll let the Premiere make the final decision. Personally, I'm all for this deal. We need those weapons if we're to survive this war. Not only that, but Slade seems to know how to end these portal storms that have been plaguing us."
"Really convenient that he'd know how, isn't it? How long have these 'portal storms' been raging" Robin asked. Linera merely ignored him.
"He wants me to take you all with us to our capital city. If we don't, he says there won't be any deal."
Robin sighed, Slade had won again. "You do not know what you're getting yourselves into by dealing with him."
"Perhaps, but we do know what we will be getting ourselves into if we don't."