Tales of the Teen Titans: Kidnapped, chapter 3: Contact
The Titans' T-ship hove to within visual range of the Gordanian battle cruiser. "Stealth mode..engaged," confirmed Robin. It had already been engaged some time before, and they were relying on the Orb for directions.
While the T-ship might not have state-of-the-art weaponry, at least where the Gordanians were concerned, they did have some advantages. One was Hank's ability to scramble electronic systems. Another was Terra.
"Terra? You're on. Give 'em hell." And the blond girl concentrated…
The space around the Gordanian cruiser was not empty. It just so happened that there were a number of asteroids about, not to mention a goodly amount of space dust. It was on this she concentrated, thickening it around the cruiser, clogging up sensors, and working its way into the guts of the ship itself.
"Hank?" Haywire concentrated, causing the sensitive electronics to malfunction further, rendering the craft blind, and, not incidentally, causing external docking bays to open—without alerting anyone. Carefully, the T-ship docked at one of the open bays…..
"Orb? Do your thing." And the piece of the Orb in Raven's pocket unfolded, streaming out through the solid matter of the T-ship, and wrapping itself around the very core of the battle cruiser's power reactor…..
…..and snuffing it out like a candleflame.
On board the cruiser, the lights flickered, and went out. "Now what?" muttered Trogaar. He was on his way back from the medical area with the triacitin, ready to administer it to his "guest," when the sudden power failure left him, literally, in the dark. Then the emergency lights came on, ghostly beacons along the hallway that he could at least see by. He touched him communicator. "Engineering. What's going on now?" This was becoming annoying.
No response. Just static over his communicator.
He grabbed a passing crewmember. "You. Go down to engineering and see what's happening. Come back and report to me."
"Yes, sir!" And off he went.
Trogaar turned and went back to his office. The addicting of the Tameranean would have to wait until things were a bit more stable; right now, the ship was of greater importance. And the ship seemed to be falling apart around him.
…..
The Tower of Fate, Earth: Earth's magical protector, Kent Nelson, aka the Lord of Order known as Dr. Fate, was meditating in his study when Inza interrupted him, something she never did. "Beloved? I think you need to see this." And she led him into the room containing the Eternal Flame.
Because the Flame was flickering, dying down, then flaring back up again. "It just started this, only a few moments ago. What can it mean?"
"That someone is trying to contact us. But that someone does not mean us any harm; this is a way of politely asking for recognition. Like knocking at a door." To the Flame: "We are here. Speak."
A face appeared in the Flame, one Dr. Fate recognized. It was the face of the Fallen One who dwelt in the subterranean city. "I bring dire warning. He is coming. You should take heed."
Fate was puzzled. "He? Who is he?"
"He has no name. He is from….beyond." The face in the Flame paused, and Dr. Fate could almost see an expression of fear come over the normally stolid, sober features. "He is the Taker and the Giver, the Liberator and the Enslaver. You must take warning. Already, his Adversary orbits this world. The twain shall meet. Much devastation will result. Much."
"When will he arrive?" Nelson knew better than to ask more particulars as to the nature of the beings involved. He'd dealt with this particular being before, and, while not friends, they were not enemies, either. Their spheres of activity seldom coincided.
"Unknown. Soon. His Opponent is already here. Take heed, Kent Nelson. Warn all whom you care about." And with that, the image in the Flame faded.
"Beloved? Who was that? And of what did he speak?"
Dr. Fate closed his eyes, searching with senses scientists didn't even have names for. "That was….an old…acquaintance. As to whom and what he spoke of, I….am afraid I know. Or I suspect. I must go." And Dr. Fate rose and disappeared into an ankh-shaped glow of light.
…
The Watchtower: in the space station's infirmary, J'onn J'onnz was protesting his good health for what seemed to him the hundredth time. "I am fine, Batman. There is nothing wrong with me."
"It never hurts to be cautious. Do you know anything about that crystal sphere? Or it's, it's occupant?"
The Martian thought. "Only that he intends us no harm. That, however, is of limited value." Batman raised an eyebrow. Oh? "One does not have to mean harm to do harm. Your Earthly construction companies probably mean no harm to the mice and voles they displace. Yet, from their perspective, harm ensues."
"It's that far beyond us?"
"I was not able to sense much, but I received the distinct impression that it—he—is a great deal farther beyond us than that. And his resolve is great. Great power and great resolve….sometimes prove devastating for those in the way."
"Indeed," said a voice behind Batman. The Dark Knight didn't even flinch; he was used to Dr. Fate's sudden appearances, and recognized the voice of his colleague. "I have just received word that an impending confrontation may be in the near future."
"So who are these beings?"
"I can tell you who they are not. They are not Lords of Chaos, nor of Order. They are something other, and perhaps more, or less. I have checked the Akashic records. They do not appear in them, save peripherally. They are not part of our reality, either mundane or magickal."
"What can you tell us about them?"
"Their appearance often coincides with a catastrophic disappearance of all life, throughout the stars."
Why did I know you'd say something like that, thought Batman.
…..
Missy didn't know her last name. It had been too long since anyone called her by it.
For that matter, she wasn't sure her first name was "Missy." That was just what everybody called her.
She'd been living on the streets now for almost four of her earthly nine years. She barely remembered her home, with her mother. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she seemed to remember something about her home, she'd lost it, or somebody had done something bad, or something. But, quite by accident (though of course she didn't know that), she'd found some nice people here, in the alleyways, who looked after her, told her where to get food and water.
But they'd cautioned her that not all the people in the alleys were nice, especially to a little girl, and if she didn't know someone, it was best to keep away. And then there were the others, the ones who said they meant well, who called themselves truant officers, but wanted to take her someplace. She'd had enough experience with going places she didn't want to go, to feel that was a bad idea. So she'd learned that if she simply kept away from people, she'd usually have fewer problems. But it was a lonely, fearful life. And often a hungry one.
Here was one alley she'd found that she'd come to think of as a kind of home: it was usually warmer than some, and twisted in such a way that the wind didn't blow down it quite so bad. And, for some reason, it was usually deserted; she'd developed an almost sixth sense for when there were people around.
Now….now that sense was telling her that there was someone here…..and yet, it wasn't like it was a person, like she was normally used to seeing. There was someone…or something…here…or someone or something coming here…..
A blue flash of light startled her. When her eyes adjusted, she saw a tall, dark haired man standing in the alleyway, wearing dark trousers, and what looked like a brown leather or suede jacket. His face was solemn, and he had the look of one in authority. As another friend of hers, a grownup the others called Fast Eddie, would say, "he had 'cop' written all over him."
Unerringly, his dark eyes turned and zeroed in on her. She blanched; already, it was too late to hide, in case he was one of the not-nice men. But he saw her, came over and knelt on one knee in front of her. For some reason, she wasn't afraid. His eyes were….odd looking. Normal enough looking eyes, just incredibly deep, somehow. She couldn't see any back to them. She imagined falling into them, like falling off a really tall building, falling, falling, and still having a long, long ways to go. He didn't smile, but he didn't look unfriendly, either. He looked at her as if she were another person, not just a little kid. "Who are you?" he asked. His voice was soft, his demeanor kind.
"I'm Missy. That's what everybody calls me. Who-who're you?"
"I am called Typhon. What is happening here, Missy? Is there trouble on this world?"
"I-I don't know. I don't know what you mean."
He studied her. Then, "You are..hungry. Would you like something to eat?"
The fears the others had instilled in her woke up. This stranger was offering her something she wanted….what would the cost be? She hesitated….
He straightened up. "Fear lies heavily upon your heart. But you need not fear me. I am here to help. Now, come. We will talk."
She took his offered hand, and it was warm, a strangely comforting sensation to her. It had been so long since she'd actually dared get close enough to another person to touch them….but she sensed, somehow, that the being—she did not think he was a man, not like other men, at least-who called himself Typhon would not hurt her. She'd found a friend and protector.
To be continued…