Tried to update fast, thanks to all my followers, favorites, and reviewers. Thanks for the support, ILoveTeenTitans2705! It means a lot to me, especially since this is my first fanfic. Going to try to make this whole Cobra thing work out and make longer chapters. If you ever have any suggestions for plot details or edits, please put them in your reviews. I love all you guys and hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer: Same as last chapter- I don't own Teen Titans or whatever else I mention here.
Chapter 5-
Starfire gasped and almost dropped out of the air. "You." As it turned out, her worst fears had been confirmed. Somehow, her past had found her. More importantly, Kobra had found her. And...T'irance. She gulped. Somehow, those beautiful turquoise eyes still pulled her in. The evil in them repulsed her, but she couldn't help staring into their depths. Given the chance, could she kill T'irance?
"Uh...Star? You know them?" Beast Boy questioned. "I...yes, Beast Boy. She is K'oba, or Cobra, as you may call her. She is an evil person and must be stopped. T'irance is...her…" Starfire struggled. Who was T'irance? Cobra finished her sentence. "King. T'irance is the King of the Cobras, AND my adoring, handsome husband. Mine." She smirked openly at Starfire, mocking her with her slanted ruby eyes. Starfire's lips curled into a snarl. The Teen Titans gaped at the alien girl. They had seen her look of "righteous fury", but this was more. It was a snarl of revenge and pure hate. They slowly fanned out behind Starfire. Even Robin, the proud leader, shuffled behind her. Clearly, this was Starfire's battle. She screamed and flew forward, starbolts once again at the ready and her emerald eyes blazing. Cobra merely laughed and dodged the charge nimbly, simultaneously transforming into an armored cobra. "You cannot defeat me. Essspecially not now." Cobra's snake mouth stretched into a gruesome evil grin. Robin frowned, deep in thought, and then his eyes widened behind his mask. "The lab's testing with recombinant DNA! She's using it to combine her DNA with other animals!" Cobra whipped around, her tail effortlessly knocking Starfire out of the air, also sweeping away Raven, who had been trying to stealth-attack the reptilian villain. "Smart, aren't we? But you haven't figured out my whole plan. When I combine my DNA with the DNA of the other creatures, it is not just me with recombinant DNA. Allow me to demonstrate." The folds of her dress shifted, and a wave of slithering cobras seeped out. At first glance, they were just cobras. Suddenly, each cobra's body shifted. Some grew talons and claws. Others sprouted giant stingers. Many developed wings and barbs. One cobra even sprouted a row of spikes along its back. Raven muttered,"Of course. Her minions also have new DNA. After all…" Starfire completed the sentence,"They originate from her." Beast Boy shuddered. "Ew, snake babies. From her DRESS!"
Cyborg aimed his sonic cannon at T'irance as the others spoke. He pursued the King Cobra into an empty room in the lab. It was pitch black. Cyborg activated his powerful flashlight, and spun, eyes widening too late. The King rushed at him with...spinnerets? Apparently the Queen Cobra wasn't the only one experimenting with DNA. Cyborg found himself pinned to a wall, with powerful spider silk shrouding him completely. T'irance appeared in front of him, barbed legs ready to deliver the killing blow. Just then, a crackling tendril of dark energy dragged T'irance back, tossing him to the ground. Raven's violet eyes glowed, dark as obsidian, as she took over pursuit of T'irance. Robin eagerly chased after her, bo-staff drawn. Starfire would have smiled, because, after all, Robin was chasing...a little too eagerly after Raven. Considering the situation, however, the Teen Titan exhaled, feeling battle jitters rising. It was one thing to face someone like Doctor Light, and another to face Cobra. She was a seasoned warrior, and a ruthless one too. Starfire knew Cobra would not hesitate to melt Starfire into a bubbling pit of colorful goo. Like thorvok stew, Starfire thought, shuddering.. Starfire summoned two starbolts, keeping them at the ready, and her eyes shone bright green, preparing to fire their powerful lasers at Cobra when she appeared. As she was bound to. It would be smart to stay put, as there would be a reduced risk of an ambush, but Starfire was impatient. She was just as impatient as Cobra to get her revenge. The girl hovered slightly above the ground, and floated into the darkness. "Come, friends." Her voice echoed back to Cyborg and Beast Boy from far down the hallway. "Better help her in case something happens," Cyborg rumbled in a deep, serious voice. Beast Boy grinned, and transformed into a T-Rex.
Cyborg's grim expression had vanished, and he was wearing a foolish grin identical to Beast Boy's. "T-Rex TAKEDOWN!" he repeatedly whooped, mounted on a massive green dinosaur with razor sharp teeth. He and Beast Boy loved this attack, and they never missed a chance to use it. Starfire sighed. "Could they not be more obvious? I could hear them if I was the planet of Pluto." A feminine voice hissed,"Yesss males can be quite oblivious and tiresome. All except my darling T'irance." Starfire spun in midair. "Cobra! I am no longer in fear of you! Show yourself!" Cobra immediately retorted,"Be careful what you wish for...Princessss." Starfire screamed in terror as a snake's face materialized in front of hers, the forked tongue practically poking her in the eye.
Raven rose out of a pool of darkness in front of T'irance. Tentacles of dark power slithered out from beneath her cloak, and Raven suddenly had four slitted eyes. She towered far above the Cobra King. Robin and Raven had learned to communicate telepathically through their bond, which had proven itself immensely useful on more than one occasion. This particular occasion was no exception. Raven. Snap out of it. It's Rage. Raven kept her eyes narrowed at T'irance. Damn you, Robin. She had plans! ROBIN! I know what I'm doing, okay? This is not a feeling. It's a tactic. And it's not Rage. It's INTIMIDATION, bird brain! Use your head! A stray tendril of energy lightly smacked Robin's spiky hair. Robin smiled, hidden in the shadows. If Raven had been truly angry, he would be in a different dimension by now.
T'irance gasped in shock as the empath appeared out of a dark pool of energy, growing enormously in the span of a few seconds. By the time she sprouted demonic eyes and writhing energy tentacles, he was on the verge of pure panic. Those eyes...being an alien, he had seen them somewhere before. Trigon. "Demon spawn!" Raven's eyes suddenly returned to violet eyes. Shocked violet eyes. Of course, Raven. He's an alien, too. She mentally slapped herself for showing signs of discomfort in front of T'irance. He made her uneasy with his eerie blue eyes. They weren't attractive in the least, no. But they made her uncomfortable. And how Starfire had reacted definitely suggested a dark past between the two. Quickly, Raven's eyes returned to slits. A wicked, twisted smile spread onto Raven's pale gray face. Robin shivered. Raven really knew her scare tactics. He visualized the Dark Knight's face in his mind. Robin, focus. The teen superhero's expression shifted to determination, and he creeped up to T'irance, his feet never making a sound. Robin smirked as T'irance turned. "Lights out, snake boy."
T'irance turned to find himself staring at a black-and-white mask. It was the leader of the team. T'irance had no chance. "Lights out, snake boy."
As soon as Cobra felt T'irance's thoughts fade through their connection, she knew this would be a tough trap to get out of. But snakes had always had a reputation for their wicked cunning. However, now was definitely not the time to scheme. It was a fight or flight situation. Always choose fight. She turned back to face Starfire, just in time to watch a pair of blazing emerald eyes fire their twin laser beams. Right at her chest. Cobra may not have been fast enough to dodge the attack completely, but she had time enough to twist her body. The lasers bounced off Cobra's impenetrable back scales and struck Starfire, who toppled out of the air. "Starfire!" Beast Boy transformed into a massive hawk, and, gripping his teammate with his talons, he set her down behind a metal lab bench. Cyborg ducked behind a freezer, avoiding a sudden jet of venom shot out of Cobra's mouth. He carefully aimed his sonic cannon, but misjudged Cobra's extraterrestrial speed, which had only been enhanced by her new DNA. She grabbed the barrel of the cannon and forced it down, so the laser simply shot a neat hole in the floor right as it fired. Cobra prepared to finish off Cyborg, but she also underestimated her opponent. He reached into the freezer and found a frozen steak. Cyborg swung at Cobra with the steak, gripping it like a club. The rock-hard chunk of meat bruised the side of Cobra's face and sent her flying back. She smashed into a wall, denting it, and her red eyes burned with anger. "Uh-oh. Time to run!" Cyborg, still holding the steak, frantically dashed toward the bench where Beast Boy and Starfire hid. Sensing Cobra behind him, Cyborg swung, once more, with the steak, knocking her to the ground. Her snake-like coils knotted together as she rolled along the floor of the lab. Hissing in rage, Cobra attempted to untangle herself. Cyborg grinned at the steak. "Man, I need to get me one of these!" At that moment, a pair of fangs clamped down on his newfound weapon of choice. Cobra swallowed the steak whole. Smirking, she lashed out at Cyborg with deadly lion claws. The tide had turned, clearly not for the better, as Cyborg now slammed into a concrete wall. Beast Boy cracked his knuckles. "Hey snake-face! Over here!" Cobra directed her attention at the small, lean boy. Aside from being green and turning into a dinosaur, he didn't seem to possess any especially rare talents. I'll take him down easy, Cobra thought, with an unnerving, charmingly wicked smile.
As it turns out, Cobra was, once again, underestimating her opponents. She transformed into a tiger, only to find a humongous green elephant facing her, with its ivory tusks lowered. Cobra decided it wasn't the right day to be impaled or flattened into a reptile pancake. The elephant charged straight into thin air as Cobra honored her namesake, transforming into a king cobra and slithering nimbly out of Beast Boy's path. Before he had the chance to turn and face her, Cobra delivered some swift marsupial jujitsu as she transformed into a kangaroo. Beast Boy, now in human form, plowed straight through a wall. Moaning, he tried to summon the strength to rise. Starfire winced as she stood up, and leaned heavily on one of the few tables left intact after Beast Boy's charge. Cobra hissed, "Well, well,well. If it's not the little princesss. Come to play the hero?" Starfire rose into the air. "I am not playing a hero. I am a heroine, and I am not here to do the playing around." Cobra prepared to snare Starfire, sprouting her spider spinnerets again. But Starfire, unlike Beast Boy, had a legitimate plan. She expected the trap, and quickly flew under the webbing before it closed around her. Cobra wailed with fury, and slithered across the floor. She drew closer and closer to Starfire, who backed into an empty room. Cracks in the walls had appeared in the room as a result of the recent fights in the adjacent rooms. Starfire aimed a starbolt at one specific crack.
Cobra looked up just in time to see a massive slab of rock come crashing down on her head. She barely had time to widen her eyes. Starfire breathed heavily. Any minute now, the rest of the room would also come crumbling down. But here was the flaw in her plan. Really, she should have foreseen it. The entrance to the room was blocked with gravel and debris. It would take time to move it all, even with her supernatural strength. Too much time. Starfire shut her eyes, waiting for death's cold embrace. Darkness enveloped Starfire.
EARLIER…
Robin and Raven chased T'irance together. Their steps were perfectly in sync as they pounded down the hallway after the extraterrestrial villain. T'irance concentrated hard, and summoned several small cobras from within his ruby red cape. K'oba had taught him well.
Robin kicked the door, expecting it to dramatically crash to the ground. There was nothing wrong with wreaking a little mass panic through fear tactics. Instead, the door merely rattled. Embarrassed, Robin turned to Raven. The dark empath rolled her eyes. Leave it to Robin to notice every small, obscure detail in every situation and forget about the more obvious ones. "Have you ever heard of a BARRICADE, Bird Brain?" Still, she couldn't help but find it adorable. In a strange way. She shook her head to clear her mind of distracting thoughts. Robin cleared his throat, and said, "Uh, Raven...I think you could put your powers to use now." Raven nodded, and dark energy surrounded the door, which instantly ripped off its hinges. She kept the door floating midair. A last-ditch weapon. Robin leapt through the doorway, landing silently in a crouch. He straightened up, listening carefully for a sound of movement. There. From a dark corner, there came a rustling noise. As Robin prepared to investigate, he whipped around, bo-staff extended. More rustling. From every direction. Raven's heart pounded as she felt something curling around her leg. Something cold. She looked down, and her blood froze. Cobras. But Raven wasn't worried about the snakes, because as she slowly turned around, her suspicion was confirmed. They'd walked straight into a trap. T'irance leaned towards her, and whispered, "Boo." Somehow, this sent Raven scrambling into the center of the room. She and Robin stood, back-to-back, facing an impossible dilemma. They were trapped, with no options aside from death by snakes or death by snakes. Unless…
NOW…
Beast Boy and Cyborg recovered from their assorted head injuries, their battle training kicking into gear. "For once, I'm glad Robin made us learn about snapping out of blackouts." Cyborg wasn't paying attention to the chatter of his green teammate. "Starfire? Where are you?" He felt like he would explode with guilt. He was supposed to be the protector of the group..The big brother. And now, he had no idea if Starfire was alive, let alone Raven and Robin. It was all his fault. A green hand touched his shoulder. "Hey, Cy. They'll be fine. It's Raven! It's Robin! And Starfire! Come on, they wouldn't just give up without a fight." Cyborg smiled weakly at Beast Boy's futile attempts to cheer him up. "That's the thing, BB. I know they put up a fight. They always do, and always will. But...who won?" Beast Boy's smile dropped off his face, revealing his inner worry as well. "They'll be all right. They have to be." Both Teen Titans thought of never seeing their masked leader again. Their friend. Of never celebrating Blorthog again or hearing Starfire's infectious laugh. Of never hearing Raven's sarcasm again, or eating her burnt pancakes.
It was, after all, just a bunch of snakes. He'd fought off much worse. But, then again, these snakes had the DNA of at least a dozen other animals on their side and paralyzing venom. And, to top it all off, Robin found himself drowning in the creatures. It was, quite literally, an ocean of snakes. I hope the others survived. We never got to say goodbye. Come to think of it, who was we? Where was Raven? Panic engulfed Robin. No. Nononono. Not her. Please. As though reading his thoughts, a voice said, "I don't need saving. Come on, princess. It's time we show Reptile King his place."
Yay evil cliffies! I know, this chapter was more fight than feels, but yeah, you'll find out what happened to Star next chapter. I'm so evil MWAHAHAHA. Just remember to R+R and bear with my stupid, irregular updating. I'll do more RobRae bonding later. And stuff. Just remember to give me suggestion and all that, kay? Probably won't have time to update until late next week, by the way, so...yeah. That's it.