Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners and not me with some exceptions. Only this story is mine, nothing else. Please read and review. Helpful reviews welcome, flames shall be ignored and/or deleted. This is the sequel to Stone Prison so I would suggest reading that first before reading this. Enjoy.

Stone Outlaws

By Demonabyss

Chapter 7: Searching

This is not good. My power is drained from using a Key of the Dark and from fighting that madman and his robots and now we're both stuck out here in the middle of Satan knows where. By the infernal pit, everything hurts; my head hurts, my arms hurt, my legs hurt, even my wings hurt all four of them. I'm so tired, barely able to stay conscious. I need to feed on someone … anyone! I would gladly drain anyone right about now; even a measly old human would taste good right about now. Maybe Alex then? No, what am I thinking? If I feed on him then we'll be even more vulnerable to that lunatic. I'd be in no shape to much of anything even if I had a decent "meal". Besides, he can move while I can't.

Damn it, why is it so cold and white everywhere? Snow? There is no snow in this part of Demon World. That means that we made it to the Mortal Realm. At least something went right. Heh, the Elders would have a fit if they knew of me retreating, to this plane of all places. Mom and Dad wouldn't mind though, Dad lived in this plane for years building his great power and mom, heh, she said this plane was far more interesting then home. In any case, we need to find shelter and … food before Jedah and his little metal pets find us on this plane. Huh? What's that? I sense humans … a lot of humans, a city then. There's also something else … I sense two half demons, some creatures that feel similar to humans but aren't, and some that don't feel like humans at all. Wait; is that …the power of the Dark? I thought no darkstalkers had entered this plane for years as it was decreed forbidden by the Elders. Perhaps we may find allies on this plane or at least lunch.

(Normal POV)

Terra sat and watched as Ria linked with her main computer in her fortress, looking for targets for her new "team" to hit. She needed more intelligence on why CADMUS was experimenting with portal technology and what they planned to do with it. Orbis Terrarum was worried about this, especially after the Justice Lords incident. In that instance, alternate versions of the core founding members of the Justice League had come to this dimension and had tried to "correct" the problems here the same way they did on their own world. Basically taking it over and violently subduing any resistance, even resorting to murder when they felt it was necessary, which seemed to be often. They had failed when the Justice League made a deal with Lex Luthor who had created a device to strip the Justice League of their powers. Instead the device was used on the Justice Lords and they were immediately incarcerated. During that incident, there was a portal between the dimensions that was opened several times. During those times, Orbis had made contact with her counterpart and was shocked and scared at what she learned. The counter Earth had been completely enslaved by the Justice Lords, its people beaten and their spirit broken. They would suffer for even the tiniest of law infringement and freedom was reduced to a mere mockery of what it was. It was basically a Brady Bunch totalitarian hell. After the portals were closed and she lost contact with her counterpart, Orbis had been paranoid of something like that happening again hence she called in Terra and her three allies to look into it.

"Any luck XP?" Terra asked the bioandroid. Ria had taken the code name XP as it was simple and most of their enemies would refer to her as that anyway. It made more sense then Red in any case as she could alter her coloring at will.

"Negative captain. My readings show nothing. I will widen the search," the metal girl said in a perfect imitation of Lieutenant Spock, hell she even copied the ears. Terra just sighed, she was actually getting used to this and that scared her. At least Ria hadn't copied Scottie … yet.

"So any news yet?" Kali asked walking up. The feline had just come from the highly modified gym Terra had set up for them and thus was wearing only shorts, sneakers, a towel over her shoulders, a tight tank top, and specialized training weights on her arms, legs, tail, and torso. The weights not only weighed 500lbs each, but they also acted as restraining devices that made it hard for the wearer to move. Slade had originally designed them to hold down either Starfire or Cyborg but never got the chance. Kali had claimed them as her personal exercise equipment and had said something about making them heavier later. No one had argued with her.

"Not much. The data we acquired from the lab was heavily encrypted; it'll be awhile before we can decode it. Until then we have no leads on CADMUS and why they were experimenting with portals. Where's Riochi?" Terra absently asked.

The cat girl snorted. "How should I know where sword boy is? He could go jump in a lake for all I care," she stated arrogantly.

"At least I would be cleaner then you. I thought cats cleaned themselves on a daily basis, but you seem to do the opposite. I'm surprised we haven't been discovered from your stench," Riochi said as he walked into the main room, all his swords present and accounted for.

"What did you say mutt-face?" the Ctarl-Ctarl snarled as she took an aggressive stance.

"Knock it off you two. We have bigger problems like how we're going to get more information on CADMUS?" Terra said before another argument erupted. Their arguments were similar to Raven and Beast Boy's but they sometimes got a little violent. True they did work it out half the time, but it was usually better to diffuse them before that.

"Well, who else knows about can bus?" Kali asked as she turned away from the half demon swordsman.

"It's CADMUS, and other then the Justice League and the Government, there isn't anyone. I do have a possible contact on the inside of the League, but getting a hold of him might be a problem." Terra explained.

Before any of them could say anything, the large black sword on Riochi's back, Dhylec, started to pulse with a strange dark glow. The eye mark glowed red as the sword seemed to growl. Riochi brought it to bear as they all stared at it. Kali was the first to break the silence. "What the hell is that creepy sword of yours doing now?" she asked as she backed away. Truthfully, Kali didn't understand much about magic, demons, spirits, and things of that sort, just enough to know to be extremely cautious around them. Riochi's swords just freaked her out, especially the large one he was holding now. That thing just gave her the feeling of a predator watching her, just waiting to cut her down for its next meal. Of course, that shark sword of his wasn't much better as it could actually talk but was usually asleep and never said much beyond "num-nums" and "snackers" in the short time she had been around it. You can guess what it meant considering it was a sword with a working shark mouth, complete with teeth. His other swords weren't so bad, but they still gave her the creeps.

Riochi ignored her for a moment as he concentrated on his blade. "It's reacting to something … something with power similar to its own," he said in a slightly confused manner.

"Another sword?" Terra asked interested. She knew that sword he held was powerful and dangerous, even to her. If there was another one out there like it then they had to get it first.

Riochi shook his head. "No, not another sword. Something or someone with a power source that is identical to Dhylec's. Whatever it is, it's in the city and getting closer to our location," he said seriously.

Terra silently cursed. This was one of the reasons she traveled alone, it was much harder to account for all possibilities of being tracked with more people. Oh well, deal with it now and curse later. "All right then, suit up and we'll head topside to intercept whatever is coming towards us before it reaches our base. This is a stealth mission, so try to keep things quiet. We don't need the Titans or anyone else finding out we're in this city. Let's move out!" she ordered as all four headed to don their armor.

Each of them donned a type of armor, all of them of similar design. Terra wore a suit identical to the one that was blasted off by Slade minus her guns, which she still had to reclaim from Titan's Tower sooner or later. Riochi wore a similar suit of black armor but with solid red outlining it instead of gold and instead of the stone symbol on his chest he had a sword symbol with the blade pointing up. He had metal holsters that clamped onto each of his swords, making it easy to draw them as needed, as well as a helmet identical to Terra's with his silver hair flowing out the back. His helmet had an extra feature, it could open up somewhat to allow him to hold a sword in his mouth if he chose, though few situations required him to do that. Kali was also in a black suit, with the outline being dark green. Her suit and helmet morphed as she did so it allowed her to use her animal form if needed. Like Riochi, her hair flowed out the back and was in a tight braid with a large blade ring with the handle being where her hair was tied. It weighed about 50lbs but was nothing to her and was one more weapon she liked to have despite preferring guns to blades. Kali's suit had a number of guns, explosives, and such built into it, making it heavier then the others but was fine for her. The most notable feature was the double-barreled, beam-gatling guns on each of her arms. Again, adding to the weight that would immobilize anyone else who didn't have her immense strength. Her symbol was a circular targeting symbol. Ria also wore an identical black armored suit, outlined with silver instead of gold. Actually she didn't wear it as much as assimilated it. It was the same as Terra's but sported a pair of thrusters on her back that XP added on another of her weird whims. Her symbol was stylized, silver X. All and all, they all looked similar, like a swat team or specialized force.

In the damp warehouse, two figures could be seen in the darkened light. Well, actually three, but the third was a dried up corpse so he didn't really count. One figure was decidedly female with two bat wings sticking out her back with a similar pair sticking out the top of her head. The other figure was a boy, about 6'1" with back-length spiky, dark blue hair with white stripes similar to a tiger's stripes. He had amber slit-like eyes, fangs, and large claw like hands and feet. He had fur with a similar pattern to his hair covering his forearms, lower legs, part of his chest, and part of his back where a long semi-fluffy tail extended from. Both were sitting up against some crates, looking tired and cold. The female was dead asleep while the guy was half awake and trying to fight unconsciousness. However, he snapped to full attention for a very brief when he sensed a power of the Dark coming towards them. 'Damn, old blue butt followed us. Well, if he wants a fight, he'll get one. Bring it on!' he thought as he wobbly got up and took a fighting stance.

Riochi took point as the four black armored fighters moved through the docks towards a specific warehouse. XP and Terra flanked him with Kali bringing up the rear. In the darkness, away from most of the lights of the city, only the highlights of their suits could seen, making them look like neon ghosts. They came to the door only to find someone or something had already gone in. Terra made a count with her fingers and when it reached zero all of them quickly headed inside, ready to take on whatever was in there. They stopped when they saw a teenage boy with animal like features standing in a battle stance, barely, and an unconscious young woman behind him with bat wings sticking out of her back and head. "Well, this is unexpected," Riochi said calmly as he lowered Dhylec and stared at what he assumed was a Dark One judging by how his sword was reacting to him. His was voice was distorted to sound metallic and almost unrecognizable but there was just enough of his original to tell who it was.

"I don't know (pant) who you weirdoes are (pant) but you're not taking me (pant) back to that nutcase (pant) without a fight," he rasped, barely able to stay awake and standing. The fight against the Hutzil had lasted for hours and he hadn't had anything to eat or any real chance to rest since then. Hell, he couldn't even see clearly. All he saw were four black shapes outlined in gold, silver, green, or red.

There were a few moments of silence before XP spoke up. "Danger, Teen Titans approaching. Estimated time of arrival, 10 minutes," she said in a metallic voice that was distorted even more by the helmet.

"Damn," Terra swore under her breath as she quickly thought the situation over. Before anyone could do anything, she lifted a rock behind the barely conscious boy and smacked him in the back of his head, effectively knocking him out. "Riochi, grab the guy and I'll get the girl. XP, locate the nearest entrance to the sewer. Leave the corpse, it's of no use and will confuse the Titans. We need to leave and pronto," the elemental ordered as she hoisted the unconscious batgirl over her shoulder while Riochi did the same for the guy.

"You can't be serious! I am not going into a stinking sewer! Do you have any idea what's down there or how long it would take me to get the smell out of my fur?" Kali complained as they headed outside, her armored tail lashing around in indignation at the thought of going down there.

"It'd be an improvement," Riochi muttered as he quietly headed outside, the form of the unconscious boy not hampering him in the least. Kali just glared at him from under her helmet, tempted to shoot him in the back, while XP giggled and Terra sighed. They found a large grate leading into the underground maze that was the city's sewer system. 'I think I agree with the fuzz ball from hell on this one,' he thought dimly as some of the smells hit his enhanced nose.

Terra sighed again, she really didn't want to deal with this right now. "Look, which would you rather have, put up with a smell for a short time and require a bath when we get back to base, or blow our cover and have every damn super powered freak on our backs by morning?" she said dangerously.

All three looked at each other before XP answered for them. "High ho, high ho, it's off to the sewer we go," she sang lightly before jumping into the opened grate. Riochi jumped in followed by a reluctant Kali and lastly by Terra who closed the grate before anyone noticed.

The Titans arrived at the warehouse district fifteen minutes after getting a strange call about a bat woman riding on a large wolf creature being seen in the area. Each of them took a different area to search while Starfire and Raven searched from the air. So far they had found nothing until Beast Boy's voice came over the communicator. "Guys, get over here quick! There's something you gotta see!" he cried. The Titans reconvened at Beast Boy's location and were shocked by what they found. It was a corpse of a worker on the docks, a simple janitor, or what was left of him. His body looked shriveled up, his skeleton showing through the loose skin. His eyes were white, completely blank, his skin an albino white, and his hair a very faded brown color. The man had been 32, in his prime and yet this guy looked like he had died from some horrible disease and yet he still had a strange smile etched on his cold face.

"What happened?" Starfire asked, barely able to even look at the body.

Cyborg silently scanned the corpse with a grim expression on his face. It became even grimmer as he saw what his scanner picked up, or rather what it didn't pick up. "Whoever or whatever did this drained this guy dry of all his blood and most of his bodily fluids. The point of entry seems be on his neck," he said, pointing to the exact area where strange bite marks could be seen.

"Ah! Vampires!" Beast Boy screamed as he darted behind Cyborg.

Raven just scowled at him before kneeling over the stiff body, raising a hand as if to feel it but not touching it. "No … this wasn't done by a vampire. Whatever did this also drained this man of his life force. It basically drained his body dry and ate his soul for dessert," Raven said darkly. Starfire gasped while Beast boy gulped nervously. This was all they needed, first Brion, then Terra, and now this.

Robin scowled. He had done murder cases before in Gothem, but ones like this were rare, in fact he had never had a murder case like this before. "Beast Boy, sniff around and see what you can pick up." The green boy saluted before changing into a green blood hound, sniffing over the entire area of the warehouse. He transformed back to normal, with a sad and confused look on his face. "Well?"

Beast Boy sighed before telling his teammates what he had found. "There were six people here, not including … um," he trailed motioning to the corpse. "One smelled of cat and wolf at the same time, the second was female and smelled of demon," he explained. Ever since the Trigon incident, he had never forgotten the smell that had come off the creature and was likely to never forget it. "The other four's smells were fainter, covered up somewhat. One was metallic, another smelled of dog, the third smelled of cat and gun oil, and the last … the last smelled like Terra," he said dejectedly. Robin and Cyborg just scowled at this new information, Starfire just shook her head in disbelief, and Raven's eyes just narrowed as all of them wondered what was going on now.

Who or what were those two creatures?

Who is Jedah and what does he want with them?

What will the Titans do now that they suspect Terra is back in town?

What are the Justice League, CADMUS, and Brion up to?

AN: If anyone can think of good code names for Kali, Riochi, and the two Darkstalkers I'd be glad to hear them. Also, if I get enough reviews, I'll consider putting up a special bonus of sorts at the end of this story. To find out you'll just have to read and review. Later.