Wing: Hello again mah Readers, I apologize for the delay in my last chapter. School and lack of interest before I got some new ideas.
Blackfire: Yeah she's not going to give up on one of her most popular stories...which is saying something... (In the background Gecko had smoke coming out of his ears with swirling eyes)
Raven: Alright who broke him? Red Dragon if it was you... (Tries to revive Gecko while glaring at Red Dragon.)
Red Dragon: I had no hand in this, blame Baka Authoress's reviewer I be Sporks.
Wing: Welp, let's not delay anymore, I no own Teen Titans. Enjoy the chapter.
It was a few days after the HIVE students now known to them as Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo were taken away by the authorities after their sound defeat at the Titan's hands. The spires of metal and tiles had been removed from the island by barge and would be recycled for various uses. When the mayor asked why the three teen-villains of them would go to all the trouble of making the Tower H-shaped, Robin simply answered that it was meant to be a psychological attack. With the apparent use of construction drones, the three of them must've meant to turn the city's current symbol of hope into a symbol of despair. Since Titans Tower had been completed, crime had dropped wherever the Tower itself could be seen, thus the cops weren't stretched that thing. If it had worked, the three teen-villain's plot would've thrown the city into a state of anarchy.
At the moment the night sky was dark and filled with thunderhead clouds, flashes of lightning illuminating their contours. It was inside the hall that Beast Boy was setting something up, using the form of a buffalo and straining as he forced the mother of all rubber bands back until it caught on a nearby hook. Ducking away with a mischievous grin on his face, he then held up a pink balloon filled with who-knows-what in his hands, letting off a wicked little chuckle.
"This is gonna be sweet!" he chuckled rubbing his hands together like a madman.
"What are you doing?" Raven suddenly asked form behind him, the changeling shrieking and nearly losing his balloon, which was on the verge of bursting. Catching it with a sigh, the mage could only state- "Please tell me this isn't another ridiculous prank."
"Okay. It's not a ridiculous prank. It's a brilliant one!" he said trying to get a laugh out of her, only for the mage to wearily roll her eyes. "Alright, check it out. 'Member how Cyborg put red dye in my shampoo and I turned brown for three days?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah, and I remember how annoying you were when you reached the third day..." Raven answered as an eyebrow twitched at the memory. "So annoying we put poor Gecko up to taking you out to get some dye remover..." Though she did get some... payment for having Gecko take BB out...
"I wasn't that bad!" Beastboy denied. "Anyway, I give you the Beast Boy Insta-Lube 9000," he said suddenly pulling down a blue white-marked blueprint with a crude drawing of the hallway like the kind you'd see on Wile E. Coyote's drawing table. "See, when chrome dome steps around the corner, his toot tugs the wire. The wire trips the lever, the lever releases the mother of all rubber bands, which sends a balloon-load of motor oil flying right at him, and BOOSH! Pretty clever huh?" he said before waiting to get the girl's take on his plan. In all honesty however, he should've known that she wouldn't care one way or another, as long as it didn't directly affect her.
"You're a genius," she said with a hint of obvious sarcasm laced into her tone.
"It's just a little good clean dirty fun-," the changeling stated before he was cut off by a face appearing in his vision upside down. "AHHH!" the Green Bean screamed as the hanging Gecko nearly scared the crap outta him. "Dude don't do that!"
"Hey Gecko." Raven greeted naturally, having sensed him coming and smirking inwardly as BB tried to get his heart-rate back to normal.
"Hello Raven, Beastboy," he said giving short bows to each of them, which was amazing considering he was standing on the ceiling. "Question: Have either of you seen a spool of tripwire anywhere? I was doing inventory on my gear and found a spool missing."
"Uhhh... No..." BeastBoy laughed nervously as he tried to hide the trap, him being the one that had taken said missing spool of wire in the first place. Because he was the smallest member of the team, Gecko obviously saw the metallic glint in the darkness when a streak of lightning had cracked through the sky.
"Beast boy...Why did you take my wire?" Gecko sighed, making the teen slump. "We talked about this, you are not allowed near my tools."
"But why not?" BB whined as he waved his arms around. "Your ninja weapon's are so COOL!"
"Because if we wouldn't trust you with a toaster you think we're going to trust you with dangerous weapons?" Raven asked blandly with a raised eyebrow. The Green Bean then started to protest before footsteps echoed down the hall.
"Here he comes," BB said ducking away, then whisked her and G off as well. Surprising since the ninja was still on the ceiling...
"I do not think-" Raven.
"Shhh!" BB.
"What's going-" Gecko.
"Shhh!" BB said shushing them again.
"Why are we hiding?" Cy then asked.
"Shhh!" he shushed again, only for his eyes to go wide as saucers realizing that his target was nowhere near ground zero, Cyborg currently hunched down behind the three of them. "Cyborg? You can't be Cyborg!"
"I can't?" he asked.
"If you're you, then who's...?" he cried pointing at Cy as he looked down the hall. At that moment, a violet boot stepped onto the wire and caught it, the wire pulled taut, moving the lever and pulling the hook away from the rubber band. "NOOOOOOOO!" Beast Boy cried as he ran at it, the world seeming to flow in slow motion as the projectile was propelled forward by the built-up tension, his hands barely scraping it before it shot forward. On the other side, so taken by surprise was Starfire that she literally couldn't see straight, releasing a small- "Eek!" – as the balloon collided with her face, splattering her with the viscous contents and knocked her onto her back.
"Are you harmed friend?" G asked as Star propped herself up with her hands.
"This is punishment?" she asked puzzled as she wiped some of the motor oil and only god-knows-what-else out of her eyes. "I did something wrong?"
"You didn't. He did," Raven said pointing a finger at Beast Boy.
"Star! It was... You weren't meant to… I didn't… uh, heheh. Just remember to change that oil every three thousand miles," he said jokingly, though no one was laughing.
"On my planet, we have a name for those who do such terrible things," Starfire said as she stood over him with steadily building rage. "You are a... a... CLORBAG VARBLERNELK!" she cried angrily, her rage causing the oil to disappear at the last two words.
"I'm a what-bag?" the changeling asked.
"You heard the lady," Cy stated.
"You are such a clorbag," Raven stated.
"I'm dissapointed in you clorbag." Gecko stated as he retrived his wire from the trap, winding it into a spool again. Even though he had absolutely no idea what Starfire called him...
"Come on you guys. Can't anyone take a joke?" he asked, gluping from the looks shot at him from the others.
Titans! Trouble!" Robin said form down the hall, his silhouette lit up by the lightning's glare.
Meanwhile at the Jump City Bridge, cracks of lightning flashed across the skies and thunderclouds rumbled ominously. A few moments later, a clap of lightning suddenly struck the roadway, a big rig on the road cutting sharply to the right, the truck stopping short of the smoking, flaming strike point, many cars slamming their brakes to avoid a collision, creating an instant traffic jam.
As the smoke began to clear, two figures were revealed. Both of them were wearing outfits akin to that of a samurai's armor but without the upper body protection. The larger one was bulky and blue-skinned with black clothing trimmed blue, a samurai-style helmet on his head. There was a thundercloud emblazoned on his chest, and he had long black sideburns. The other one, much thinner than his cohort, had light yellow skin and hair, his outfit red and yellow with a lightning bolt on his chest. He had a headband on that kept his upswept hair out of the way and had a guard plate stretching down covering both his cheeks. The two of them wore armbands, wrist, and shin guards.
"May we have fun here, brother?" the large one asked.
"Of course!" he answered creating a blue bolt between his hands. "We are Thunder and Lightning. We may do whatever we please," he said referring to his brother first and himself second, throwing the bolt upward at the cables connecting the bridge to the roadway. "Look brother! I command the sparks to dance!" he laughed as the sparks from overhead fell around them in a shower.
"Amusing. Now listen as I make music!" he said clapping his hands, creating an intense shockwave and sending it radiating outwards, a few bridge cables jarring loose as they began to whipsaw back and forth.
"Tell all who pass this way know- Lightning was here!" Lightning cackled as he carved a five-lined lightning bolt down the side of the semi.
"And Thunder too!" the blue-skinned elemental said banging his fists together knuckle to knuckle, creating an earthquake that stopped the cars on the road, every alarm within a quarter mile going off, the brothers laughing and Thunder patting Lightning's shoulder.
"Most amusing," the yellow-skinned elemental spoke.
"Hate to break it to you..." Robin said from the truck trailer causing the two to snarl, the others in attendance. "But you guys have a lousy sense of humor! This ends- Now!"
"No one gives orders to Thunder and Lightning!" Lightning cried shaking his fist at the spiky-haired teen. "Taste my power!" he shouted as he threw a lightning bolt at the Titans, who scattered in five directions as the trailer got a big hole blown through it, wiping out the graffiti. Performing a U-turn and swooping down with her starbolts blazing, Lightning leapt onto a line of cars as Starfire did likewise, the two running along the parallel tracks and trading shots for several dozen yards until the elemental got a hit on the Tamaranian and knocked her down. Raven then dodged a lightning bolt and launched herself downward with a flying kick, the yellow brother throwing his arms up to block the flurry of kick as he was being driven back. Finally getting clear, he socked her with a bolt of lightning and sent her flying, Gecko catching her before she landed on the ground and cringing as the electricity arced across his body. Transformed into a giant panda, Beast Boy lumbered towards and catching Lightning in a bear hug. For a moment the elemental struggled, but then he electrified his entire body and gave the shape-shifting teen a few thousand volts, forcing him back into human form and causing him to let go.
"Your powers are strong, but mine are stronger!" Lightning cackled.
"Then test mine." The ninja stated as his foot came down on the elemental's head. A clone coming from the side to side kick him with a leg charged with green KI, sending Lightning crashing into a car. "If you are from my country, then you should know what I am." G took a stance as he drew his Katana, holding it in a reverse grip as the enraged elemental got out of the wreckage. The rest of the group fighting thunder in the background.
"Kawanageru..." Lightning whispered in awe before shaking his head violently. Gaining his anger back as his hands electrified. "Who cares!? You will pay for ruining my fun!" he then forced the lightning into the shape of a sword and charging at the ninja, who met his strike with his own. Gecko then struck his foot into the elemental's jaw, his sword absorbing the lightning as he swung his other foot into the back of the elemental's head. Sending Lightning into another car, but he had to quickly bring his sword up to block a lightning bolt aimed at him. A pissed off Lightning came out of the wreckage of the car, tired of his fun being ruined by this shinobi...
"Fine then. I'll leave. There's fun to be had elsewhere!" he said launching a lightning bolt across the air, striking Beast Boy who appeared to be talking to the elemental's brother before said elemental rushed over to his brother's side. "Ah, the thrill of victory," he sighed throwing an arm over his brother's shoulder. "Come Thunder. We shall seek more amusement!" he said flying away with his brother, not really wanting to deal with the ninja with the cursed blade...
"Kami why do they always run?" Gecko sighed as he sheathed Kawanageru, the katana making a-click-sound as the sword rested on his back. Beast Boy rising out of the pile of rubble he'd been blasted into, smoking, disheveled, and drooling a bit.
"Well, that was a shock," the changeling told Starfire, only for the girl to turn her nose up to him and float on. "So... I'm guessing you're still mad?" he asked as the team regrouped.
"Okay team. We have to find those guys before they do any more damage. Cyborg, search he west side, Raven, the east. I'll take downtown. Beast Boy, Gecko, you and Star scan from the skies." Robin ordered, causing BB to uneasily look up to his female partner, where as the other one gave off a look that said, "You make the mess, you clean it up."
"Um... Maybe Cyborg should come with me instead," he said trying to get away from the red-head.
"Cyborg can't fly," Robin stated evenly.
"Oh. Yeah," BB said nervously before his eyes widened. "Hey Gecko can't fly either so why is he coming?"
"Because he's the best choice for it, and he can easily keep up using the rooftops." Robin explained shortly. Truth be told he only wanted Gecko there to keep an eye on Star and BB, just in case that the earlier prank got in the way of the goal.
"Have a nice flight, my little clorbag," Cy said teasingly as he pulled on the greenette's cheek, the changeling groaning as the group scattered, leaving him with the other flier and runner.
"So... Clorbag Varblernelk huh?" Gecko asked the red-head, said red-head nodding while huffing in Beast Boy's direction. "Come, I shall take the lead. And if the Lightning deity Teme shows up I'll be the first to know." Voicing his theory that the two were Japanese deities. Breaking out into a run and jumping over the high roof tops with ease as the fliers followed.
Twenty minutes later, the group had flown through the skies -or ran in Gecko's case- to come upon a ruined courtyard for the museum. Several stone slabs had been toppled over, resembling giant dominos, and if Gecko's memories were correct, there used to be a stone globe on that one pedestal, which had probably been used to smash the stone slabs.
"Well, either they were just here, or this is the ugliest modern art I've ever seen," Beast Boy joked.
"You are not funny. You are a clorbag varblernelk," the Tamaranian girl stated adamantly as she walked past, Gecko following a few paces to her left to give the girl some space.
"Come on Star. You can't stay mad forever. What? Do I have to do the face? You know you can't resist the face," he said as in no time flat, he had transformed into a small kitten with huge, shining eyes. The changeling meowed as endearingly as possible, the girl looking at him for a long moment before huffing, turning her nose upwards, and walking away. "She resisted the face!" BB cried in shock.
"Your humor does not appeal to everyone Beastboy. There are limits to what is deemed funny and what is not funny, and I believe that you have crossed into the boundaries of not funny" Gecko stated looking around the corner of the remaining slabs. Ignoring the ninja even though he had been correct, the changeling ran over to star as she examined where the globe had once been anchored, smoke rising from the stump while she had her hand to her chin in thought.
"Just talk to me, Star!" BB cried kneeling. "Come on, this is no fun!"
"Wrong again, green one!" Lightning said from overhead, he and Thunder floating down and firing their own attacks, the two off-guard Titans scattering. While Starfire ran down one side and kept just ahead of Thunder who was also on foot, Beast Boy and Gecko ran at Lightning.
"Seppu!" Gecko called out as he took to the air in a spinning kick, Lightning throwing his namesake at the shinobi, only for it to arc around him and into the ground much to his surprise. So surprised was he, that he was unprepared for the heel that crashed against his left cheek, sending him tumbling across the ground.
"Grrr..." Lightning growled as he rubbed his sore face, which was becoming slightly discovered. "You! All you did was kick me! How is it you can inflict harm upon a deity?!"
"Rubber-insulated soles," Gecko said with a smirk before he sent his fist into the elemental's gut, making him double over before he spun around and kicked the deity's behind. Sending him into the stone wall, but Lightning wasn't done by a long shot as he made a lightning jump at the ninja. Only for him to place his hands on the deity's shoulders and vault over him, Gecko created his clones as he snaped his foot into the back of Lightning's head. The enraged Lightning rounded on him with another lightning blast, making Gecko jump in the air before he was hit, Lightning smirked at his victory before his eyes widened at an unharmed Gecko landing on his feet. Sparking a bit but unharmed...
"Nani?!" Lightning shouted as Gecko smirked behind his scarf.
"Easy, lightning always goes into the ground, passing through anything it hits in order to get to it." Gecko explained before he took his stance. "But I believe we aren't done here yet." Making Lightning growl before he charged at the ninja.
A few minutes earlier on Starfire's side
After performing her high backflip over Thunder's head, GeckoLightning clashing in the background, she leapt off to the end of the courtyard as he closed in on her. As the blue-skinned elemental projected a beam towards her, she countered with a mighty starbolt, the two attacks meeting in the middle and cancelling out. After a few seconds however, her energy began to overwhelm his, reaching him and knocking him across the open expanse to land squarely where the globe once stood. Now a giant bear, Beast Boy moved against him and fought, the ursine titan getting to his hind legs to plow into Thunder, driving him into the courtyard wall while Starfire opted to watch Gecko fight Lightning. As much as she enjoyed the grand battles of her new career, there was something akin to a rush watching two people fight fist to fist, their bodies on the line. "Listen, I don't want to hurt you. And I know you don't want to hurt me," Beast Boy said resuming human form and holding Thunder up by his collar.
"Pain does not amuse us," the elemental returned plainly.
"Could've fooled me. Keep playing rough, and innocent people will get hurt," he said with a clenched fist, causing the blue figure to think. Elsewhere, a sudden puff of smoke rose before solidifying at the fence that separated the courtyard from the museum lawn. Stepping out of the shadows was a tall figure with long white hair blowing about an old but strong male face, his thin moustache and beard giving him a vaguely Oriental appearance. He wore a broad flat-crowned hat, red traveling robes, and black robes underneath. Watching Gecko and Lightning battle with high interest, that only hightining when Gecko drew Kawanageru and absorbed the lightning bolt the deity threw at him. The man then pulled out an old wooden box on a tripod, resembling an old-style movie camera. Smiling wickedly, he then began to turn the crank, the front cover falling away to reveal a glowing red camera lens which began to turn white, the ground trembling as a broad energy them and smashed cleanly through the intact row of concrete slabs. Just missing Starfire as she watched Gecko and Lightning duel, she then gasped as a shower of ruined stonework came tumbling straight towards her and Beast Boy.
"Starfire! Beast Boy!" Gecko cried as he ran over to the pile of stone slabs, Lightning and Thunder shocked at the sudden display of power, the prior's rivalry with the Shinobi forgotten as he looked for the source of that magnificent display of power, finding a silhouette hiding at the chaos' mouth as it were.
"Your gifts are your own. Who are they to tell you how to use them?" the man said as Gecko dug through the piles of stonework.
"And who are you that command such power? Show yourself!" Lightning demanded, resisting the urge to rub his aching body, those KI-packed punches being one of the few things on the mortal plane to do him any real harm.
"As you wish," the old man spoke as the haze around him cleared. "I am but a humble old man, whose power is drawn from nature like your own," he said as the now-abandoned camera rested with the stones. "Come with me, and sow as much destruction as you please," he said turning away.
"Yes! More fun! And with no interruption!" Lightning cheered, Thunder restraining him with a hand on his shoulder, not noticing his brother flinch from the right hook.
"Will we harm anyone?" Thunder asked worriedly.
"What? The green one has poisoned your mind."
"This destruction- Will we harm the innocent?"
"Would it matter if you did? You are unique. Gifted. Better. Why should anything interfere with your enjoyment?" he asked as he left the courtyard. "I am going. Follow, if you wish."
"Come, brother, and leave your foolish thoughts behind," Lightning said following the old man. For a moment Thunder turned back to the pile of rubble to see the black-haired human who had been dueling his brother digging through the rocks, an almost scared look on his face as he heaved slab after slab of stone away. After a few moments, he left to follow his brother.
"Come on Starfire, Beastboy you cannot die! Pease be alright, please!" Gecko said digging at the pile of rubble, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Meanwhile on the opposite side of the pile, a small green spider scuttled out of a hole in the stone and climbed up the side a bit before returning to human form.
"Star? Starfire? Where are you?" he asked as he climbed down. "Come on! Gimme a sign here!" he shouted out as he began to dig. "you have to be all right, okay? 'Cause I-it was just a joke, you know? Back at the Tower, and... I'm sorry. I never said it, but I'm really, really sorry. It was supposed to be funny, and you couldv'e been hurt, and..." he said as he strained to heave a good-sized fragment off the pile. "... I'm a total clorbag," he said softly before looking over his shoulder, her warm forgiving smile instantly perking up. "Starfire!" he cried in joy as he once more took the form of a kitten and jumped into her outstretched hands, cuddling to her chest and mewling happily.
"I am glad to see you are unharmed as well," Starfire returned as she put BB down, who upon returning to human form kneeled before her and clasped his hands together.
"Star, I am so sorry. You gotta forgive me," he begged.
"I already have," she said helping him up. "Now those evil brothers must be made to apologize."
"I don't think they are evil. I think they're just like me. Trying to have fun and looking for an outlet," he explained, he and Star suddenly pulled into a crushing bear hug a moment later.
"FRIENDS YOU ARE UNHARMED!" Gecko shouted in pure glee as he hugged the two, Starfire patting his shoulder with a giggle while Beast Boy transformed into a snake to try and pry himself free, only for that form to be squeezed just as much. "I was so worried! I thought you two had gotten really hurt!"
"Yeahthat'snice! Canyoupleaseletgonow?" Beast Boy begged as his spine was on the verge of being snapped like a dry twig. Man the guy was way stronger then he looked...
"Oh I apoligise." Gecko letting them go so fast that BB didn't have a chance to keep himself from collapsing. The ninja looked embaressed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I hope I didn't impeed on any boundries...friend Raven warned me about thatTTTTT..."he then fell to his knees, electricity racing across his body as he jerked.
"I will call Raven and ask for her to heal you," Star said bringing out her T-Communicator. No matter the warrior, if they were injured, regardless of skill they could fall at a moment's notice.
Elsewhere up in the mountains outside Jump City, forty three scarecrow-like dummies arranged in a seemingly-random formation from the ground. They consisted of two crossed tree limbs with a blanked wrapped around them, some with characters painted onto the cloth.
"Sticks and leaves?" Lightning demanded contemptuously. "Is this a joke? There is no fun in blasting such frail targets?"
"Are you certain, young master? Try. You may like what you see," the old man suggested, using a tone one may use when getting a child to try a new food for the first time. Groaning, the young master in question then threw a bolt of lightning at one of the dummies, which instantly caught on fire and made him rethink his earlier opinion on the whole exercise.
"Dancing lights! Pleasing."
"Let Thunder try his hand," the blue-skinned elemental said throwing a blast towards his target, causing it to disappear in a small explosion and a great clap of sound, the explosion clearing to reveal it on fire like the first. "Wondrous noise!"
"See, brother? There is no harm in our fun," Lightning said putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"And there is so much fun to be had," the old sorcerer spoke, the two thrill-seekers grinning at one another before taking off, blasting targets one after another with lit fervor. Soon the two were working in tandem an dturning one another into blazing torches.
"More targets, old one!" Lightning cheered.
"Yes, please, give us more," Thunder pleaded.
"That won't be necessary. You've done quite enough," he said as he strode forward and pulled a metal disc from underneath his robes, the kanji on it Chinese and resembling a stylized S. Pulling his arm back, the elderly man shucked the object over the clearing as Thunder and Lightning watched, totally baffled as it flew much higher than it should've off the end of a throw from an old man. Suddenly, the disc began spinning in place as electricity crackled across it, building up speed and culminating in a mighty orange flash as rays of light began to strike each target. Soon beams began to shoot out of the dummies themselves, forming a rough humanoid shape on the ground, a final beam igniting the heart torch. As the outline began to burn intensely, the sorcerer then held up a staff topped with the same kanji from the distk he threw. "Rise," he commanded, a flaming apparition with a massive charcoal body rising from the flames and screeching unearthly, roughly humanoid in shape with demonic features, with the same kanji carved onto its skull. "Burn, Fire! Burn it all!" he commanded, the thing turning towards the mountainside and the city proper, only to stop upon finding the Titans some distance away.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you? Play with fire, you're gonna get burned," Robin said with crossed arms. In response to the supposed threat, the flaming beast swung its forearm at the team, forcing them to scatter as a wall of flame shot towards them. Looking up from the duck-and-cover position, Robin and the others look up to see Fire pushing the nearby trees aside and making its way toward Jump City, the flora burning at its touch as it made its way down, smoke and flames billowing as it marched forward, the sorcerer lazily waving the fumes aside with his staff.
"Good. Very good," the man said walking into the shadows "Now try long range" The beast did as it was ordered and threw a fireball in a random spot in Jump. But the old man clicked his tongue. "Sloppy, leave long range and go." It then resumed its gait , leaving Thunder and Lightning to shudder under the sight of the monster they had just had a hand in unleashing.
"Brother, what have we done?" he asked, the Titans rushing after Fire and fighting it.
"Titans! Go!" Robin shouted as he ran at equal speed to Fire, Raven doing the same from the air. Pulling a couple grenades from his belt, he then threw them at its feet, only for them to throw up a wall of smoke when they blew up.
"Flames can't spread if there's nothing to burn. Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she chanted as several trees in the thing's range were uprooted. It may've been quintessential to killing them, but it was better only a few dozen trees die than a couple hundred.
"Good idea, Raven. Beast Boy! Starfire! Help her out!" Robin ordered, Beast Boy transforming into a buffalo and using a crushing headbutt against the base of a tree, causing it to topple over in a row in and bring the others down. On the other side, Starfire took up a high position from the boughs, throwing starbolts that blew the clumps of potential matchwood t smitherines. Leaping towards Fire, Cyborg leapt forward and released his sonic cannon with a terrific blast towards the ground, throwing up a wall of dirt in the beast's face. The equivalent of dumping sand on a campfire to put it out.
"Is he out?" BB asked, Gecko resisting to urge to slap the green teen as Fire rose up again roaring mad.
You had to ask," Raven groaned, Cy getting a beeping sound from his arm before he checked, his eyes widening when he heard the brodcast transmitted.
"There's a fire at the orphanage downtown!" Cy yelled, making Robin growl.
"Alright Gecko get to the orphanage ASAP, we'll take care of Fire!" The Ninja nodded before taking off, leaving a dust trail in his wake. In the high distance a figure watched all this go on with a sour look.
"Those bakas, looks like I have to do something again..." The figure's voice was clearly feminine as the titans did all they could to put the creature out.
"Go young masters, Fire is your creation, who are they to stop your fun?" The old man smirked, Lightning grinning at this prospect while Thunder looked conflicted.
"Yes! We must fight!" Lightning grinned before his face turned sour as his brother put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"But brother-" he was cut off as Lightning shrugged him off and swivled to him.
"Do not annoy me with your foolish concerns, come!" Thunder hesitated for a bit before nodding, the two deity's standing together before a bright light came down. They dissapearing in its wake as the man allowed himself to savor his victory as he swept his arms out-SMACK-only for the staff to be knocked out of his hand by Robin's kung-fu kick. The old man grinned before holding out his hand, and in a similar manner to the jedi the staff went back into his hand on its own.
"Robin, we meet at last." The old man greeted as if it was normal.
"Who are you?" Robin growled as the old man grinned, not saying a word before they both charged at eachother.
After the talk he had with the green one in the astral plane, Thunder now knew what he had to do. He had to stop his brother before he could hurt anyone else. He charged a blue bolt in his hands as he went to find his brother, suddenly stiffening when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he slowly turned his head to look, his neck sounding like a rusty door before-
"AHHHHHHH-"
(After)
A few moments later, the Titans had been able to hold Fire off for only so long, but thanks to Thunder and Lightning's combined efforts, they were able to create a deluge and put out the flaming demon. As everyone celebrated, Thunder and Lightning came down, but surprisingly with an addition who was currently dragging the two by their ears as they cried out in pain. But what really made her stand out was the fact that she was floating while she was dragging the boys...
She was a silver-haired maiden with alabaster white skin, her hair tied in a high ponytail that fluttered slightly in the wind. She wore a thin fishnet mesh that covered the entirety of her body, stopping at her neck, wrists, and ankles. Over that she wore segmented silver black-trimmed samurai armor on her forearms, shins, hips, and a breastplate on her chest with a spiral and wisps on the right side decorating it, a matching knee-length loincloth billowing in the wind. She wore wooden geta on her feet, carried a fan made with three large leaves in her hand, and had a decorative mask of some long-nosed deity on the left side of her head like an over-sized hair accessory.
"Iteiteiteiteite!" The boys yelled out before they were thrown in front of the titans, rubbing their ears gingerly as the silver-haired deity glared at them.
"Say it bakas so we can go home." The woman growled, making the two deity's gulp.
"But Zephyr-" Lightning started to protest.
"NOT CARING!" Zephyr shouted. "NOW APOLOGIZE FOR MAKING TOTAL ASSES OF YOURSELVES!"
"Gomenasai! Gomenasai! Gomenasai!" the two brothers apologized, confirming Rae's suspicions that they were Japanese-born supernatural beings.
"And thank you green one, you have taught us much..." Thunder said, still sending nervous glances to the wind elemental, who seemed calm for now...
Don't thank me," Beast Boy said pointing to Starfire. "Thank the person who taught me," he finished, the three exchanging bows.
"And thank you for helping to defeat the flame monster," she said in gratitude.
"Yes yes, now lets get out of here..." Zephyr then glanced at the group, noticing something..."By the way, you all are forgetting something..." she didn't elaborate, suddenly shooting off into the heavens in a gale-force wind, a streak of yellow and blue electricity being dragged behind her as the three entered the heavens.
"...GECKO!" The group sounded in unision before they all scrambled to get downtown.
(Downtown)
Gecko was in the process of getting the orphans out of the blaze of the building. The firemen down on the streets catching the kids in the trampoline on the fall down, luckily the building was only three storys high as the childeren landed in the trampoline unharmed. Having inhaled a lot of smoke but relitively unharmed. Gecko was in the process of getting the last child out when the support beam collapsed, sending even more smoke in his already failing lungs and causing him to hack and cough.
"Mister ninja are you ok?" The little girl he was holding asked him as he tried to recover. Tears coming from her eyes as she tried to be brave
"I'm fine little one, you'll be safe soon I promise..." Gecko soothed as he patted the girl's blond hair.
"What's the situation?!" Robin ordered as Starfire set him down in front of a firemen, BB setting Cy down before taking the form of a large elephant and spraying water on the blaze. Raven helping the firemen as she did what she could for the burns covering the children.
"The guy got out almost all the kids!" The Firemen answered as he fed oxygen to a kid through the mask. "He just needs to get one more out before getting the hell out himself! But I'm not sure that the building will hold long enough!"
"The men down there will help you, do not be afraid." Gecko smiled at the girl as he held her out the only window that wasn't blocked.
"Thanks mister..." The girl sniffed before giving him a peck on the cheek, causing the ninja's cheeks to darken in embaressment before he let her fall into the trampoline below. She coming out unharmed and into Starfire's arms before-
*CRASH*
"Gecko!" Raven cried out as fire filled the only remaining window, the firemen on duty holding her back from the blaze as another wave of heat rolled out from the sides.
"Ku...so.." The ninja coughed from in side the blaze, vision becoming blurry from the smoke...
"Can't you do anything!?" Cy asked the firemen in a panic as he held a hose.
"We can't, the fire's too hot and the building's about to go down!" The man shouted back as he and the other firemen as they contained the fire.
The next moment, the whirring of an engine of some sort cut through the air, a crimson streak sailing through the air above the Titans heads and at the nearby lightpost. With raging inferno reflecting off its hide, the oncoming shape could not be identified before it rebounded, throwing itself into the building that was nearing its last legs. One by one columns of brick and cinderblock began to erode away under the intense heat before it suddenly collapsed, one figure carrying another bursting out of the flames at the last possible second before the building collapsed into its own footprint. As the slightly smoking and unconscious Gecko was lowered to the ground, the Titans were able to get a clear look at what had leapt into the raging inferno with no form of hesitation whatsoever.
Humanoid in shape, the figure was covered head to toe in a segmented metallic black hide that reflected the light of the dying inferno behind it. Its feet were encased in crimson-colored boots, pads on its knees and two clawed toes on the ends of its feet. Matching armor was located on its forearms, shoulder, and chestplate, which bore an angular groove reminescient in shape to an M that divided the front of the plate into upper and bottom halves. A ring of armor was coiled around the figure's neck, head encased in a matching red helmet not dissimilar to Marvel's Iron Man, though the black faceplate was completely smooth, a pair of crimson rings with angular claw-like ornaments surrounding a pair of yellow lensed eyes. Attached to its back with two legs around each side and one over each shoulder was a large red beetle, its pincers jutting upwards behind the figure's head.
"DIAGNOSIS:..." the new figure spoke in a dull monotone, not unlike that of a robot's as it looked down at the unconscious Gecko. "MINOR CASE OF SMOKE INHALATION AND BURNS: NO PERMANENT DAMAGE DETECTED," the figure spoke as it, though shaped like a male, rose to its feet and began to walk away from the crowd, paramedics administering emergency oxygen to the shinobi.
"Oh thank azar..." Raven murmered as she rushed over to the ninja, healing the burns on his arms as he stirred. The red armored man tuirning to leave before-
"Wait..." Gecko groaned as he regained consciousness. "Who... Who are you?"
"DESIGNATION: SCARLET SCARAB," the beetle-like figure returned in monotone before the beetle on its back reshaped itself into a jetpack, two prongs folding out with transparent wings beneath them before the Scarlet Scarab shot off into the night sky faster than most eye could follow.
(Next Day)
The titans were all relaxing with a good lunch of pizza, it went as usual, Cy and BB arguing over toppings, Robin and Star trying to mediate, and Raven and Gecko just watching the chaos. Gecko then decided it was time to change the topic...
"So, Slade wants to destroy the city. Question is, why?" Gecko asked, this seeming to work as the group stopped bickering.
"I don't' know, but I will find out, and he won't get away with it," Robin said adamantly.
"Hey ah speaking of which Star...am I, you know... still a clorbag?" Beast Boy asked nervously.
"Mmm-no. I believe you are more of a... milnip wusserloop," she said with a bit of mirth.
"SWEET!" he cackled as he started dancing on the table, making Raven's eye twitch as she saw the horrible sight of BB's butt wiggling... "Go Beast Boy! I'm a milnip! Who's your wuserloop? Huh?" he said before turning to Starfire. "That is a good thing... right Star?" he asked, the girl simply giggling.
"Hmmm... Teen Titans save city from flaming monster... Very interesting," a nondescript figure in baggy cargo pants and a short-sleeved black shirt commented as he read the headline, crimson-colored eyes darting over the articles.
"Hmm...?" Gecko then stopped listening to BB and the others as he felt a familar presense, only to see a person with messy brown hair reading the paper. "...Was it my imagination?" Gecko shrugging after a bit as he turned to the others...
If only he knew how wrong he was...
Wing:Well here we are, I hope it didn't take too long.
Red Dragon:Who the fuck is Red Scarab?
Wing: You think I'd tell you that you red baka! (It was then that Wing and Red dragon dissapeared into a cloud of fists and feet, making Raven sigh)
Raven: Here we go...oh yeah Authoress over there said she'd give you guys a cookie if you can guess who Red Scarab is.
Gecko:Nani? Why does my head hurt so much? (Rubbing his head, returned to normal.)
Blackfire:Who cares, see you all next time. Oh yeah all rights belong to NeoNazo356 for Zephyr, like Wing would even have it in her to create her...
Wing:Urasei!