Titans International Issue 3: The Doom Patrol

"You are my comrade, I see you as my equal. Meaning I will not take orders from you." Northwind

~Doom Patrol Headquarters~

(Chief) Welcome to the headquarters of the Doom Patrol. Now step aside, Incubus' lungs have collapsed. Bring him Rita.

Elasti-Girl quickly wheeled Incubus on a stretcher into the surgery room.

(Ravager) Where are you taking him?

Ravager pulled out her swords and quickly tried to follow her friend but Beast Boy turned into a bear and held her by her shoulders.

(Beast Boy) To the lab Rose. Would you please calm down, and put your swords away. Your friends in good hands.

Ravager shook herself off then placed her blades calmly back in their sheaths.

(Red Robin) Plasmus ripped open Incubus' lungs, and the rest of the brotherhood put dozens of cops in critical condition. We need to get back on their trail...

Robotman put his in front of Red Robins face as if signaling him to be silent.

(Robotman) That's the idea Red Robin. Now you kids take a step back. Hey Vox! We need a portal.

(Cassie) Kids?

(Robotman) Sing us another song.

An ethic man shrouded in a in a dark cloak with a silver device wrapped around his neck, walked up to a bare wall.

(Vox) Open!

The command came from the device instead of Vox's mouth which created a giant blue portal swirling with energy. Robotman as well as the rest of the Doom Patrol entered the portal, soon closing it behind them.

(Cassie) Hey! Wait a minute!

Cassie went up to the wall the portal vanished from just seconds before.

(Cassie) Open it back up! Tell them to open it back up Gar!

(Beast Boy) They can handle this, Cassie. The Doom Patrol have been fighting the brain and his monster for years.

(Cassie) I've been the one fighting them for the last month, until the Titans joined in! And now you guys!

(Cyborg) Gar, what's up with Vox. He didn't even say a word to me.

(Beast Boy) That's because he can't. Vox's sub-sonic weapons blew up in his face. His lungs and vocal cords had to be replaced. After his operation the chief offered him a spot on the team. Rescued from disaster, like the rest of the Doom Patrol. The chief told me a dozen times when you woke up, he'd make you the same offer. That is... unless you happy being with the Teen Titans.

(Cassie) The Teen Titans? You call this the Teen Titans? Since Superboy died the Titans have gone through over twenty members. But no one wanted to stay very long. No one got along. Isn't that you left and went back to the Doom Patrol, Gar?

(Beast Boy) Not it's not. My adoptive parents are here, Elasti-Girl, and Mento. And my mother can't handle my fathers problems on her own.

Ravager snickered loud enough for the entire room to hear.

(Ravager) So let me get this straight, you live with your parents and you work with them?

(Beast Boy) The Doom Patrols family.

(Cassie) Which is a lot more then can be said for the Titans right now!

Ravager whispered under her breathe.

(Ravager) What the hell do you know?

Cassie stepped up so that she was only inches from Ravagers face.

(Cassie) What? You got something to say Ravager?

(Ravager) Yeah, I want to see if Eddie's okay.

~Doom Patrol, Surgery Room~

After the Titans all calmed down, Beast Boy led them to the Surgery Room where the Chief and Elasti-Girl were vigilantly working to save Incubus' life.

(Cassie) Why was the entrance behind a painting?

(Beast Boy) The chief hates normal doors. He say you should have to work to get to where you want to go. Now look down their if anybody can stabilize Incubus, it's the chief.

(Cyborg) If Incubus is fine the shouldn't we be helping look for the Brotherhood of Evil? If your Dad's here Gar, he can help us do that.

(Beast Boy) He's not really in the mood.

(Cyborg) Can you at least ask him?

(Beast Boy) Yeah... I can do that.

Beast Boy exited the surgery room the same way they entered. Red Robin suspected the Chief was up to something ever since he arrived, just at the right time to save their dieing friend. Just like what happened to all of the current Doom Patrol members. Red Robin easily snuck away from the group into the shadows, and found a safe hiding place where he could clearly hear the Chief and Elasti-Girls conversation as they operated on Incubus.

(Elasti-Girl) Are you serious about what you said before? About what you want to do with Incubus. I'm not sure it's the right idea, for him or his friends.

(Chief) Rita! Your questioning me again. Imagine if I listened to everyone else when you were supposed to be dead. Look at his black scaly skin. He'll be labeled a monster.

(Elasti-Girl) I was only...

(Chief) I took your skull from the waters of that island where Colonel Zahl and the Brotherhood tried to blow us to kingdom come! I treated it with synthetic protein for years, until you were able to regrow your malleable body. Back into Elasti-Girl. You should be dead, all of you should be dead ten times over.

(Elasti-Girl) I know Chief, and were thankful, for everything you've done for us.

(Chief) But my work is not done. You may look relatively normal, but you and I both know that's far from the case. Your elastic brain have extreme difficulty thinking straight. Your synapses is constantly moving through uneven territory. You need to let me think for you. You follow my orders like the others, and one day, maybe one day you won't be a freak anymore. And people will love you like they used to my starlet.

All Red Robin could do was listen as the Chief belittled Elasti-Girl taking away piece by piece of her confidence with each word he spoke.

(Elasti-Girl) Your right, Chief... I'm sorry.

Red Robins communicator suddenly started to go off alerting the Chief of his presense.

(Chief) You their! Leave immediately! My surgical equipment is highly sensitive to electromagnetic interference.

~Doom Patrol, Main Hallway~

(Crimson Canary) Did anyone else notice that it was snowing in the Ballroom?

The small group of Titan's took a look around at the strange decorations the Doom Patrol kept as they waited to see if their teammate was okay.

(Cassie) How could they live in a place like this?

(Ravager) Because their totally insane!

(Cassie) Say's the girl who carved out her own eye for "Daddy".

(Ravager) That was temporary insanity. Ask the judge.

The Chief emerged from the shadows rolling up in his wheelchair with Elasti-Girl following closely behind him.

(Cyborg) Chief... Hows...

(Chief) I'm happy to announce that my efforts were a success. Incubus is out of surgery and healing remarkably well. Ten times faster then normal. Right now I need you all to come to the meeting room with me. I'd like to discuss Incubus' future.

(Red Robin) Before we talk about Incubus, I'd like to speak with him.

(Chief) Of course Red Robin... of course.

~Doom Patrol, Patient Recovery Room~

Incubus was awake, a staring blankly at the wall away from the entrance.

(Red Robin) How are you feeling?

(Incubus) Like an idiot... I read Plasmus' file. I should have known a sonic cry wouldn't do anything to a man made out of radioactive protoplasm.

Incubus groaned in pain after he spoke for a little to long.

(Incubus) Man it still hurts to breathe. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

(Red Robin) It sounds like your really are feeling better. Listen... I have to rejoin the other Titans right now, but the Chief is going to try to convince to join the Doom Patrol. He isn't what he seems, trust me. Do not accept his offer, okay?

(Incubus) Sure thing Tim.

(Red Robin) Good, I'll come check on you later.

~Doom Patrol, Meeting Room~

The Titan's all sat around the meeting table, alongside Beast Boy, Chief, and Elasti-Girl.

(Chief) Incubus does not belong with the Teen Titans.

(Ravager) What? Why the hell not?

(Chief) Because child, he is not like the rest of you. He can't blend in with a crowd. He'll be shunned and feared all of his life. But the Doom Patrol can offer him something the Titans cannot. A family. His special needs both physical and psychological aren't going to be serviced by a group of selfish teenagers.

Cassie stood up and slammed her palms into the table, breaking off the end on her side.

(Cassie) Selfish teenagers?

(Chief) I'm simply stating facts. If you had been working like a team from the beginning, this would never have happened. For his sake I suggest Incubus stay here, as the newest member of the Doom Patrol.

Red Robin emerged from the shadows surprising everyone.

(Red Robin) He's not staying here. Not under your questionable care Dr. Caulder.

(Chief) You need to stop sneaking up on people young man.

(Red Robin) Sorry, habit.

(Chief) A bad one I might add.

Beast Boy stood up and blocked Red Robin from getting to the Chief.

(Beast Boy) Tim! You need to show the Chief a little respect.

(Red Robin) Why Gar? He doesn't have respect for anyone but himself.

(Chief) That's absurd.

(Red Robin) I've seen it. He's keeping everyone on this team so desperate to be accepted, to be liked, they'll listen to any word he says! You should have heard the way he spoke to your mom.

(Beast Boy) He saved my mom's life. He saved Cliff and Larry's...

(Red Robin) From what Batman's told me the Chief caused their accidents. He created the Doom Patrol on purpose.

(Elasti-Girl) We've forgiven him for that.

(Red Robin) Why? He destroyed your life once Elasti-Girl, why let him do it again.

(Chief) How dare you, you little twit! You come into my house with a half dead team member you weren't able to take care of, and you lecture me on leadership? I'm only trying to help the people you can't!

In the middle of the heated argument, a blue portal opened with Negative Man flying through screaming in pain.

(Elasti-Girl) Negative Man!

Negative Man's energy form immediately returned to it's mummy wrapped body. Everyone soon gathered around him to find out what went wrong on the Doom Patrols mission.

(Negative Man) They got them... Cliff, Mal... Karen, and the experiments started... already too late... always too late... nothing ever works out right...

(Beast Boy) Where are they Larry? The me and the Titans will rescue them.

~Paris, Denfert Rocherau, Catacombs "Empire of the Dead"~

The Titan's with the exception of Incubus, Beast Boy and Elasti-Girl ran through the underground maze in search of the Brotherhood's cloning facilities.

(Crimson Canary) What is this place? It feels like... death.

(Elasti-Girl) A maze of catacombs that stretch across the entire city. It forms a massive underground tomb. Larry said their cloning lab was off the northern tunnel.

Cassie's lasso was bright enough to light everyone's path but it also gave the catacombs an eerie red glow. Eventually the team came across a fork in the rode.

(Beast Boy) Looks like we better split up.

The group didn't need to decide who was going with each group since it was painfully obvious who wanted to stick with who. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Elasti-Girl took the right path while, Red Robin, Cassie, Ravager, and Crimson Canary took the left tunnel.

Red Robin saw a large tube filled with a green liquid and instantly ran after it.

(Red Robin) The missing piece! It has to be here.

(Cassie) Red Robin, wait up!

(Ravager) What's his hurry?

Cassie flew after her friend as Ravager followed on foot, and in her rush Ravager slipped on a thick pile of liquid.

(Ravager) Ew! Sick! What the hell is this stuff?

Cassie flew back to Ravager and pointed out the brains broken containment unit, which explained the goo spilled on the floor.

(Cassie) It's where the brain kept his... brain.

(Red Robin) Oh no...

(Brain) Oh yes. For to many years I was without being. No body. No heart. You will try to fight us. You will try to stop our rampage of revenge, but you won't be able to Titans. Because love is on our side.

When the Titan's looked to see where the unfamiliar voice echoed from they saw the Brain in his new body, with his gorilla companion by his side.