Evil?
The night was peaceful enough. So peaceful that the Titans had decided to visit at the movie theatre. They were now walking back to the parked T-car, chatting as they went.
"Dude, that was awesome!" The ever enthusiastic Beast Boy walked backwards as he talked to his friends. "The part where its' hand reached out at him from under the door; I was all like 'Whoa!'"
"We know, Beast Boy." Said Raven. "The entire theatre heard you scream."
"Well… I wouldn't have screamed so loud if Cyborg hadn't detached his hand and had it crawl up onto my shoulder; which, by the way, was totally not funny!" The green Titan directed the last comment to Cyborg.
"Then why was I laughing so hard?" Cyborg replied with a grin. He then rubbed his mechanical hands together. "Okay, before we go back to the tower, who wants donuts?"
Before any of the team could answer, a voice cried out,
"I'm afraid your fun is at an end, Titans. The time has come to face defeat!"
As one, the Titans turned to face their antagonist; each one falling into his or her attack stance. The challenger stood just across the street from them. He was wearing black and white armour that sparked with yellow energy. His face bore a malicious grin as he made ready to attack.
The Titans; having now gotten a good look at their opponent, all visibly relaxed.
"Oh. It is just the Dr. Light." Starfire said as the green glow faded from her eyes.
The skinny villain pointed dramatically at the young heroes and spoke again,
"That's right! And I'm here to -" He suddenly stopped as he registered what Starfire had said. "Wait. What do you mean it's just me!"
"Well, when you yelled at us, out of nowhere, in that loud voice, we thought it might be somebody dangerous." Beast Boy said, with his hands placed casually behind his head.
"You know, you really shouldn't startle people like that." Said Raven.
Dr. Light's left eye twitched. He almost exploded with anger, but remembered what his physician had told him, so he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Don't think your cocky banter will get the better of me!" He said loudly. "The only reason you got me, last time, was because you had your friends to help you! Um…" He cast a quick look around the area.
"They're not here, are they?"
"No, they all went home." Robin answered.
"Oh, good – er – for them that is!" Dr. Light raised his hands; the light from his suit intensifying. "Now, prepare yourselves!"
He was about to attack again, when Beast Boy suddenly spoke up,
"Hey, Doc, can I ask you something? Y'know how nearly every bad guy we'd ever fought was with The Brotherhood when they attacked us? How come you didn't go with them?"
Dr. Light looked at the small changeling for a moment, confusion etched on his face.
"Say what?"
"He is referring to the alliance the Brotherhood of Evil made with many of our past enemies." Said Starfire. "I am also curious as to why you chose not to join them."
The Titans looked at the blank face on Dr. Light.
"Or, didn't they ask you?" Said Raven.
"What? Oh, of course. Of course they asked me! It's just, um… I prefer to work alone. Yes, that's it! I'm a one-man show!" Dr. Light stood with his hands confidently on his hips. Although his malicious grin looked a little forced.
The Titans all looked at each other.
"They didn't ask him." They all said in unison.
Dr. Light's teeth ground together. He could feel the anger rising in him again. But, no! He had an ulcer to think of. Remain calm.
But, the Titans hadn't finished talking.
"I guess they didn't think he was evil enough." Said Cyborg.
"What!" Dr. Light was livid now. "Not evil enough! I am extremely evil!"
"Are you?" Cyborg crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow. "Think about it, Doc. Aside from robbing banks, what exactly have you done that's so evil?"
"I, um…" Dr. Light held his chin in his thumb and forefinger as he thought. "Oh! I stole the energy of the Northern Lights to power my suit. And I kidnapped an innocent girl in order to do so!"
"Yeah, but didn't that plan kinda blow up in your face?" Robin said with a slight smirk, causing Dr. Light to start seething again.
"Dude, what your problem is, is that you don't think big enough." Said Beast Boy. "All the really evil villains always have these diabolical plans. Plans that involve mind control, and robot armies, and talking space tofu."
Talking space tofu?
"So what, we're giving the villains free advice now?" Said Raven. "Can we just defeat him again and go home?"
"Alright, that's enough!" Dr. Light stamped his foot on the ground.
"I believe this is the part where he throws the 'hissy fit'?" Said Starfire.
"Now listen, you!" The irate criminal pointed an armoured finger at her. "I did not come here to be insulted!"
"Where do you usually go?" Said Cyborg.
"Ha, ha! Dude, good one!" Beast Boy slapped Cyborg a high five.
That was it! '10 Easy Steps to a Calmer You' be damned!
Dr. Light raised both hands above his head. A blinding white ball of energy formed between them. He thrust his arms forward and released the ball in the Titans' direction. Unfortunately for him, at the exact same time, a black dome manifested around him. Ergo, the resulting explosion was trapped inside, with him.
When Raven's dome dissipated, and the smoke cleared, Dr. Light stood twitching in the middle of a small crater. His armour had absorbed most of the blast and was mainly lying on the ground in pieces.
The villain took a staggering step forward, pointed his finger towards the Titans, opened his mouth and keeled over sideways onto the ground.
It didn't take long for the police to arrive to take Dr. Light away. As the Titans watched the prison van drive off, Raven spoke up,
"You know, sometimes I actually feel kinda sorry for the guy."
"It can be frustrating, trying so hard and never getting anywhere." Said Robin.
"I guess." Said Cyborg. He then let out a small chuckle. "But, you gotta admit, he is fun to mess with!"
The heroes turned to head home. Starfire was floating above Beast Boy, when she slowed for a moment.
"I have just had a thought." She said. "Do you think the Dr. Light is even a real doctor?"
"I don't know, Star." Beast Boy replied. "Let's ask him that, next time."