A/N: Apologies for the long wait, took a long break from writing and am trying to get back in the swing of things. This chapter is the result.
The sound of Michela's revolver firing broke Nadia from her thoughts, she saw the blue ray of light pierce the red-skinned infected's skull. It jerked suddenly and then went limp falling on top of Nadia. The young police officer quickly shoved the dead creature off her and turned to say thanks to the gun-slinging girl for saving her life.
She never got the chance. As a second infected dove toward Michela, who managed to get off one more shot that pierced the thing's left shoulder. It staggered, slowing a little before delivering a vicious backhand, slamming it's right forearm into the gun-slinging girl's stomach. Michela went flying against the steel wall, slamming into it hard, she let out a grunt of pain, but still managed to fire another shot at the creature. This one went right through the infected's sternum.
Surprisingly the thing wasn't dead yet, it collapsed to it's knees from the force of the blast, but it was still crawling towards Michela, snarling like a maniac. Before the white-haired girl could fire another shot a three-foot long wooden spike impaled it's skull. Finally the infected ceased it's relentless pursuit, lying still. Michela looked up to see Beastboy standing over the now-dead infected, the wooden spike protruding from the outside of his right forearm.
"I had it!" Michela told him, highly annoyed. The former Titan didn't even respond, turning to face the door from which they came as more infected came through it.
"No time to be indignant. We got more incoming." He finally replied, sparing a quick glance to Nadia who was getting to her feet. "Get your damn radio and tell your people out there that we need reinforcements NOW!" He shouted to her, impaling an infected through the chest with his spike and slamming it into the ground spine-first. Nadia wasted no time and set to work finding the last place she had seen her radio fall to.
Unfortunately it looked like life wasn't going to make it that simple for her. While she did indeed find the radio, it was broken, probably when that damned infected tackled her.
This was bad.
"Beastboy!" She called out to the fugitive superhero, "The radio's no good! not even static!" She heard the morphling curse, he was fighting yet another infected, the previous one was still pinned to the ground by the wooden spike, which he had broken off to keep it there.
The changeling ducked under a horizontal slash the infected delivered with it's left hand. The former human snarled and followed through with a vertical swipe with it's right hand, intending to cut Beastboy in half from skull to groin. With quick reflexes, the former Titan managed to grab the infected's right wrist with his right hand before it could reach his face. Immediately he delivered a boot to the thing's chest with his right foot, it slid back a good twelve feet before stopping, still on it's feet.
The infected's lips peeled back to reveal it's sharp teeth in all it's glory, it then opened it's mouth and delivered a piercing scream. Not only did it play hell on Beastboy's ears, but an invisible force also hit him like a sledgehammer, sending him back into the wall. He let his left shoulder take the brunt of the impact, reaching out with his right hand and summoning a giant yellow anaconda. The huge snake wrapped itself around the infected and bit down on the infected's neck. The former human roared in pain and rage, in a manner of seconds though it's struggles became weak and it collapsed to the floor.
Beastboy steadied himself on his feet and mentally berated himself. He had gotten rusty since he had left the Titans. With Nadia's radio out, they had no way to communicate to anyone outside the boat. The injured SWAT officer didn't look like he had one on his person either. He should have brought one of his own communicators with him just in case or at least asked Michela if she had some, after all, inventing a device like that would be simple for her. However, using his communicator would quickly allow the Justice League to home in on his position and that would just add another problem to their mounting troubles.
He shook his head to try to shrug off the doubts building in his brain, there was no use worrying about it now. He had underestimated his enemy, all he could do now was damage control. There might still be a way to salvage this mission, it was a longshot, but his immediate choices were slim. He made eye contact with Nadia.
"We have to get you off this boat." He said to her, Nadia's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
"Are you kidding me? I don't think these things will just let us leave!" She responded.
"That's why Michela and I are going to hold them off. We have to warn the city about this or more people are going to die." Beastboy replied, his face grim. "Take your man with you and go."
Nadia nodded and hoisted the SWAT officer up. Draping his right arm over her shoulder and wrapping her left arm around his waist, supporting his weight. The officer moaned in pain, but didn't complain. Once he was secure she turned to the changeling once more.
"Are you sure you guys are going to be okay?" She asked in concern, clearly these infected people weren't human anymore and were strong enough to slow down even a former Titan. If there were a lot more of them...
The sound of Michela's revolver firing jarred Nadia from her thoughts as she watched the white-haired girl shoot the infected that was pinned to the ground from Beastboy's wooden spike. The blast completely destroyed the thing's head and it finally ceased it's struggles.
"We'll be fine, I wasn't leaving until I settled my score with Talthas anyway." Michela declared, her eyes devoid of any compassion.
"We'll cover your retreat, probably be best to go back the way we came since we checked those areas already, it should still be clear." The changeling told her and without saying another word he stepped back out into the dining area where they had just come from, Michela close behind him. Nadia followed, the SWAT officer in tow.
"Fuck." Michela's curse wasn't shouted, but it might as well have been for how good it carried. Nadia looked up to see why the gun-slinging girl had cursed and the color drained from her face.
The doors that posed as the main exit of the dining hall were shaking and rattling. They appeared to be made from heavy oak and looked quite durable. However appearances were deceiving as an arm suddenly punched a hole through the door like it was made of cardboard, an arm with skin that was scarlet in color. As Nadia and the others watched another arm punched through, and then there was another. Multiple angry growls were sounding from the other side of the doors. Like demons that were trying to break out of Hell. An icy chill went down Nadia's spine.
"Go!" Beastboy barked, readying himself for the incoming onslaught of infected, Michela too, was taking aim with one of her revolvers. Nadia couldn't believe it, there could be dozens of those things beyond those doors and they were actually going to try and fight them!?
"There's no way you two can take all of those by yourself!" Nadia shouted in disbelief, she was shocked when Beastboy rolled his eyes in response.
"Everyone always loves to underestimate the good guys don't they?" He remarked, Michela actually smirked.
"I actually agree, fancy that." Michela responded not unkindly to her old friend, "Don't count us out yet Nadia, we'll hold our own. Just bail out of here and warn the city. We got this." The revolver-wielding girl said. Nadia shook her head, they were incredibly brave, and incredibly crazy.
"But...you guys might not make it." She protested, Beastboy waved her off.
"This is what a superhero does, putting themselves at risk to ensure the people's safety. It won't be the first time." He replied. "I do have one favor to ask though."
"What is it?" Nadia asked, curious. Beastboy didn't take his eyes off the besieged doors.
"I need you to go back to my house, there's a communicator there. I want you to contact my former team and warn them of what's happened here." The former Titan ripped something from his neck and tossed it to the female police officer who caught it easily. A quick study of the object revealed to Nadia that it was a golden necklace, an emerald attached to it.
"What's this for?" Nadia questioned, genuinely confused.
"That's proof that the warning is legit. Raven will recognize that." Beastboy answered. Nadia nodded and pocketed the necklace. She looked back at the two, feeling she should say something more, they were putting their lives on the line after all. Words failed her though.
At that moment, the doors finally gave. The first two infected that charged in were met by a blast of Michela's revolver, knocking them back through the doorway from where they came. Beastboy quickly followed by sealing the door back up with a barkwall. Unfortunately it meant little as one infected had snuck into the ventilation system and dropped in from the ceiling, seeking to pounce on the changeling's head.
To the infected's surprise the only thing it struck with it's claws was the floor. The former human looked around frantically with it's violet eyes trying to locate it's prey, a small green fly quickly caught it's attention as it took a moment to stare at the small bug curiously. In an eyeblink, the green fly quickly morphed into a giant green sasquatch. In another eyeblink, the sasquatch slammed the bottom of it's meaty right fist into the back of the infected's skull, sending it face-first into the floor. It did not move again. The sasquatch quickly morphed back into the form of Beastboy who spared Nadia a glance.
"Less staring, more running Nadia! We're counting on you!" He shouted at her, which stirred the female police officer out of her stupor. Readjusting her grip on the wounded SWAT officer, Nadia started to make her way back the way they had come in.
She was halfway up the stairs leading back to the cabin area when she heard some feral growling from behind her. Nadia felt the panic rising as she turned around, drawing her handgun in the process while still keeping the SWAT officer supported with her left arm. Sure enough, one of the infected had somehow gotten by Michela and Beastboy.
The infected was drooling, breathing heavily and excitedly as it dashed towards it's prey. Nadia fired three times with her gun, hitting the red-skinned creature in the abdomen, left shoulder and it's right eye. The infected didn't miss a beat, continuing to run at them. The young female officer bit her lip, trying to quickly decide what to do.
"Shoot the pipes!" The SWAT officer exclaimed, not wasting another second, Nadia followed his instructions and readjusted her aim, firing two shots into the pipes. Two jets of very hot steam shot out from the holes in the pipes, catching the infected unawares. The steam had blown into the red-skinned creature's remaining eye and it howled in rage and agony. Now blind, the infected was making wild swings with it's claws, slicing up anything within range.
Figuring they had overstayed their welcome, Nadia practically dragged the poor wounded SWAT officer the rest of the way up the stairs and into the cabin area. Where she shut the heavy steel door and locked it. The two law enforcement officers took opposite walls and leaned against them, trying to catch their breath.
"I...I think I can stand on my own now..." The SWAT officer announced, putting some weight on his injured right leg to test it. Nadia was dubious.
"Are you sure? It looked pretty bad." The female police officer stated, her fellow law enforcement officer's lips were compressed in a tight grim line.
"Yeah well, we've only slowed that freak down back there, it'll be back on us in no time and if that happens there will be no way we can make it off this ship with you carrying me." He told her, any further conversation was interrupted by loud banging coming from the steel door. Giving the duo just enough warning to move away.
"Go!" Nadia shouted and to the wounded SWAT officer's credit, he was able to move at a brisk pace even with his hurt leg, maybe it was the adrenaline. The sound of metal giving away and the growls of infected in the ventilation shafts spurred the two law enforcement officers to greater speed, they only had precious seconds before they were swarmed by them.
The emerald-colored stegosaurus batted a pair of infected away with the swipe of it's mighty tail, shifting back into the familiar form of Beastboy afterwards. He took a moment to assess the situation. The infected were coming from everywhere, the ceiling, the walls and even the floor. Just how many were there?
He was jarred out of his thoughts when an infected tackled him. Thanks to training and reflexes, Beastboy was able fall on his shoulders rather than his spine and roll backwards. While he was doing this he tucked in his legs and straightened them with all his strength. The kick tossed the infected from him before it could take a bite out of his right shoulder. He quickly sprung to his feet, but before the changeling could continue his counterattack he heard the telltale sign of Michela's revolver firing. A moment later the infected fell at his feet without a head, unmoving.
"Thanks." He called out to his old friend, turning his attention back to three charging infected. With a gesture of his right hand, light brown roots exploded out from the floor under the trio of red-skinned monstrosities, ensnaring them.
Meanwhile Michela was ducking under a diving infected, letting it sail over her head. The white-haired girl then slammed the handle of the revolver in her right hand into the face of one of it's brethren that was foolish enough to get in her melee range. Michela put a round in the infected's head as it was falling, killing it before it even hit the ground.
"These assholes are really starting to get annoying Garfield." Michela remarked, the former Titan winced as the roots he conjured crushed the life out of the three infected they had captured. They were beyond saving, but he couldn't forget the fact that they used to be human beings. He felt himself clench his hand into a fist.
"Then lets end this little party." He replied, summoning a yellow mountain goat with his power. The horned animal instantly took off, running towards Michela. She didn't have time to react and put her hands in front of her defensively. The yellow mountain goat lowered it's head and leapt into the air. She was mentally berating herself for misjudging Garfield, the gun-slinging girl never imagined he'd turn on her like this. And then the mountain goat struck it's target.
Michela's eyes widened in surprise when she didn't feel any pain. She quickly snapped her head to her right, where the mountain goat had whizzed by her, missing her by inches and ramming into the infected that was sneaking up on her in that direction. The sneaky infected roared in frustration as it went sliding across the dining room floor.
With his old friend out of immediate danger, Beastboy grit his teeth and slammed his right palm into the ground. Yellow lines of energy originating from his palm began traveling rapidly across the floor, walls and ceiling until they reached the general area of where the remaining infected were. Once close enough, the yellow energy quickly exploded outward and transformed into a bundle of sharp wooden spikes. The spikes impaled the rest of the infected that were occupying the dining room, some feebly tried to pry themselves from them, but ultimately succumbed to death.
Michela looked on in amazement. Beastboy had single-handedly taken out every single infected in the room. It was a rather impressive sight, she could see now why he had become a member of the Doom Patrol and later a Titan. She didn't show this on her face though when she turned to glare at the changeling.
"Idiot! Why didn't you do that sooner?!" She yelled at him, but quickly dropped her angry expression when she caught sight of her old friend, he looked troubled.
"Because I wasn't sure if I could be this precise." He replied, drinking in the scene before him.
The scene of a massacre.
Blood was running everywhere from the bodies of the impaled infected. It flowed like a waterfall from the walls, dripped from the ceiling and pooled on the floor. Blood everywhere he looked, from people just trying to enjoy a cruise and were infected with some killer virus. Even though they had lost their minds, even though they had tried to kill him and his friends, it still filled him with regret. That regret soon turned into a boiling anger, anger at Talthas for unleashing this virus and turning innocent people into monsters.
"My, my." A new male voice suddenly sounded, with his ears Beastboy quickly pinpointed the owner of the voice coming through the double oak doors that were demolished by the infected. "And people call me a bane on society, look at how many people you just killed." The man walking into the dining room was unmistakable, not for the long black leather jacket or the dark green cargo pants and black boots. But for the blue mask he wore that completely covered his face except for his blood-red eyes with black sclera surrounding them.
"Talthas." Michela hissed, wasting no time in aiming her revolver at the masked terrorist. Talthas regarded her with a nod of his head in her direction.
"Ah the white-haired girl with the super-powered guns. While I admit it's good to see you again, I have some business to settle with your green friend here." The masked villain announced, Beastboy smirked, which had as much humor in it as Batman's scowl.
"That makes two of us then." The former Titan stated, excitement filled his veins at the thought of finally paying back the person responsible for destroying his old home village.