Chapter 8: Security Breach
Bumblebee slid into a chair as the huge double-doors of Titans' Tower slammed shut behind her, resting her forehead on one of her hands and doing her best not to fall asleep then and there. The city had been secured, for the most part, but it was now almost midnight and the Titans East had only just finished bundling off the last of the supervillains, villain-wannabes, and ordinary criminals they'd captured into the city prison facility. She could only hope that tomorrow would be at least marginally saner.
Unfortunately, the Jump City Titans' condition hadn't changed at all. Bumblebee had given the police the access codes to bring them over to the Tower's sickbay, thinking that maybe the familiar surroundings might help them snap out of whatever had happened to them (and then she'd reset the codes, just to be on the safe side), but to no avail. They still lay there, eerily still, showing no signs of awakening. Villains, criminals, and monsters Bumblebee could deal with, but this was something different, and though she hated to admit it, it scared her.
Pulling herself to her feet, she set her wings buzzing and flew upwards (taking stairs did not appeal to her right now) shrinking so she could fit through the air ducts and making her way to the sickbay. The Titans were laid out on individual beds, staring at nothing, while Aqualad checked their lifesigns and Speedy watched a security monitor.
"Where are Mas and Menos?" Bumblebee asked as she slipped out of a vent and resumed normal size.
"Asleep," Speedy said without looking up. "Which is where I'm going to be after I finish with this. Cyborg's put in some new upgrades since we were here last- force-field and everything. Ought to keep just about anything that wants to get in out."
"That's a relief. At least something's working out today." She glanced over at Aqualad. "Any change at all?"
The Atlantean shook his head. "Nothing that I can tell. Some of my people do magic, but I'm not one of them- I'm pretty sure this is some sort of curse, but I couldn't tell you how it was done or how to fix it." He looked up at Bumblebee and sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault," she told him. "I think we all need to get some sleep, or we won't be any good to anyone. See you in the morning." She turned to leave the sickbay, then glanced back at the Titans' beds. "Wake up, Sparky," she muttered to Cyborg under her breath, though of course he gave no sign of having heard. "We need you guys."
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Madame Rouge watched Titans' Tower across the bay from one of the city's beaches and allowed a satisfied smile to creep across her face. The Titans were all bottled up together, and the only able ones among them were exhausted and weak. Her employer had given her the go-ahead- it was time to rid the world of them once and for all.
She reached into one of her coat's pockets and withdrew a small device that resembled a remote- one of the Brain's lesser inventions, into which she'd plugged in the security codes from the Tower she'd acquired in her policewoman disguise earlier in the day. Pressing a button, she transmitted a signal out to the Tower that would disable the security systems and allow her free access to the Titans within. Rouge waited several moments and then glanced down at the device's small screen, snarling in frustration when she saw the error message flashing there. They must have changed the codes already, and while the device was designed to hack them, she knew better than to pit its limited abilities against security systems that had initially been the best money could buy and then further upgraded by Cyborg. Alternate methods would be required.
Rouge tossed the device aside and slipped off her coat, then allowed her body to flow and mold itself like putty. In an instant she had contracted into the shape of a small bird, and then she leaped into the air and sped across the bay.
Her new form's keen eyes made out the faint shimmer of energy that formed the Tower's forcefield, and she darted at it, only to be repulsed by a burst of shocking energy. She worked her way around the field, repeating the process, until finally she simply landed on the edge of the island and resumed her natural shape. The forcefield was flawless, or at least, it had no flaws that were large enough to grant her access.
But Madame Rouge was considered one of the greatest criminals of her time for valid reason- she did not give up lightly, and though not truly a leader of others, she had a devious mind for executing missions alone. Slowly, the pieces of a plan came to her, and she allowed herself another smile at the thought of how the Teen Titans would be taken.
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Bumblebee felt like she'd barely fallen asleep when she was awakened by the loud blaring of one of the proximity alarms. Muttering angrily under her breath, she leaped to her feet and grabbed her stingers from where she'd left them beside her bed and darted out of the spare bedroom and in to the hallway.
Speedy was already there- his bow was out and he was glancing around nervously. A moment later, a door further down the hall opened up, and Menos stumbled out, followed closely by Mas. "¿Cual es ese?" one of the twins asked- Bumblebee couldn't tell which.
"An alarm," she said tiredly, "I'm pretty sure it's the one that means there's someone outside trying to break through the forcefield. We'd better go check it out." The other Titans East, joined by Aqualad, followed their leader down the halls until they came to the living room, where Bumblebee pulled up camera footage from outside on the viewscreen. At first it was blurry, but then it came into focus and Bumblebee felt her eyes widen, all trace of exhaustion vanishing.
Robin was stumbling along the beach, his uniform shredded and body covered in fresh injuries. He seemed to be barely able to stand, but still he pounded on the field, trying desperately to get inside.
"That's not possible," Aqualad breathed. "Robin's still in the sickbay- how can he be out there at the same time?"
"What I want to know is, who beat him up?" Speedy asked. "I've fought with Robin and against him, and he's almost as good as I am- whoever did that to him, it wasn't just some punk off the street. It was someone serious."
"He's saying something," Bumblebee said, watching the video intently. "Be quiet and let me pull up audio." She punched several more keys in succession, and then suddenly Robin's voice, weak and desperate, filled the room.
"-East, if you're there, you have to listen! You've been tricked- Mumbo was working with somebody else, and he provided a distraction so that they could abduct the team and replace us with some sort of duplicate. These people are serious- they had weapons like I'd never seen before, and the others still need help. I repeat, Titans East-" His voice cut off as Bumblebee hit mute.
"It could be a trap," Speedy said.
"Yeah," Bumblebee said, "but if that is really Robin down here, and the one we've got is some brainless clone, then he needs our help- he doesn't look far away from dropping right there. Let's go check him out- if it's a trick, I think the five of us can handle one lookalike."
She hurried down to the lower levels, followed closely by the rest of her team. Reaching bottom, she pressed a hand to the control panel to deactivate the security system, and then pushed a button to allow the doors to slide open. The Titans East hurried outside to where maybe-Robin stood, now standing with his hands on his knees and panting heavily.
"All right, Robin, we're here," Bumblebee said. "Now what's going on?"
"We need to get inside," Robin gasped. "I think they're coming- you don't know what they're like…"
"Wait a minute," Speedy said, holding up a hand. "We've got one just like you upstairs in the sickbay, so first off, we need to make sure it's you. How'd we meet?"
"The Master of Games abducted us and made us fight in some tournament, but it was all a trick to steal our powers," Robin said. "Happy?"
"All right," Speedy said, frowning. "That'll do for right now." He grabbed one of Robin's arms and slung it over his shoulders, and Aqualad took the other. Together they walked him into the Tower's entrance hall and sat him down in one of the chairs. He lay there, breathing heavily and clutching his sides for several minutes, until Bumblebee finally stepped forward and looked him in the eye.
"All right, Robin," she said, "you said the bad guys were after you. Think you could tell us anything else about them?"
"Yes," Robin said- his voice sounded strange, and much stronger. Then he sat up slowly, and his whole body began to twist and mold itself into a tall woman in a combat jumpsuit, who regarded the Titans East with cold disdain. "They're already here," she finished in a thick Russian accent.
"Madame Rouge," Bumblebee breathed, and she barely had time to bring her stingers up in defensive position before the shapeshifting assassin struck.
