ALL-STARS TEEN TITANS
CHAPTER TEN: DEUCE AND NANO, PART I
Thousands, millions, billions of tiny little shapes, squirming and wriggling and crawling along in a huge pile, like bugs…yet these are no insects. These things were much smaller, and they were metallic…countless tiny robots…though from up close an unorganized mess, we take distance and soon the tiny components fade in a larger, smoother, blobbish metallic component, and it just happened that two scientists were studying them.
"We're getting close to a breakthrough, these nanites will be revolutionary!" one of them said. This scientist was a short, obese, middle-aged geeky looking man. He had red hair which was long in the back but was balding on top, small beedy eyes, an unshaven look and the t-shirt he wore under his unbuttoned lab coat was too small so his potbelly stuck out.
"I better hope so, after the last few mishaps, Roark is on the tips of his toes-es." The other scientist had a prominent overbite, glasses, red hair, and spoke with a thick British accent.
"Oh come on, we managed to make these nanobots with limited resources. It's cheap, but genius" the geeky scientist said.
"The reason our resources are limited is because you used the funds we received for a stupid antenna dish so you could watch that worthless 'Tar Truck' cartoon. Not to mention that bloody monkey game you downloaded." The British scientist said.
"First, it's 'Warp Trek', the most brilliant sci-fi series ever made. It's not just a series, it's a way of living…and Mega Monkeys 5, the game all gamers agree on to be a 'perfect game'…so what if I wasted a bit of money, we still managed to make the nanites. Besides, you're one to talk. You wasted fundings too to get that special tech all the way from Britain." the geeky scientists said.
"At least I used it for tech. Besides, British engineering is the best in the world, governor." The British scientist replied.
"You didn't use it for the nanobots, you used that tech to build giant tin soldier based robots." The Geeky scientist noted.
"Well, if the nanites failed we can at least give Roark some good robotic footsoldiers." The british scientist said.
"Oh sure, like giant toys will strike fear in the hearts of the Teen Titans." The geeky scientist said sarcastically.
"It's still a lot better than your ridiculous monkeys!" The British scientist bit back.
"Limey!" the geeky scientist said.
"Wanker!" the British scientist replied.
It was then that the two received a transmission. They were nervous to pick it up, since they knew who it was. The two scientists were startled and turned around to see Mayor Roark, appearing on the screen. The tiny man looked intimidating at them. He walked down and the two backed up shivering. "Dr. Polinsky…Dr. Richards…I gave you time, I gave you resources…but I can give only so much…and with what you've given you should have finished this nanobot project eons ago."
"Well, boss…we got kind of delayed, no thanks to this tubby little ball of lard I'm supposed to work with." The British scientist, Dr. Neil Richards said.
"I'm the source of the delay, you ." Dr. Henry Polinsky, the geeky scientist replied.
"I don't care how you do it. My crime empire is getting threatened by the Titans and a newcomer I haven't managed to find out anything about yet and these little machines are the key to getting it back! So if you don't finish this project in the next three days, I'm afraid…you know what happens to people who can't prove themselves useful." Roark threatened. Both scientist gulped. "Three days…or I'll send Mojo down!" Roark said as the transmission ended.
"Well, we have to kick this into overdrive. We have no other choice then to initiate Project Armageddon!" Dr. Polinsky said.
"The Apokalips tech we bought from Luthor? Are you out of your mind? We don't know how alien tech and our nano tech will blend correctly." Dr. Richards replied panicky.
"It's either that or swimming over Blood Lake with concrete boots." Dr. Polinsky reminded him.
"All right…it's a bad idea, but we got no choice. Just do it!" Dr. Richards said reluctantly. They opened a closet, from which they pulled a suitcase. In the suitcase lay a small, technologically advanced looking box-shaped object, with a single red round optic. "Well, here goes nothing!" Dr. Richards said as he puts the thing in between the nanites.
Dr. Polinsky pushed a few buttons as an electric current ran through the tech, and both the box and the nanites glowed, as the nanites started absorbing it. "Yes…yes…YES! It works!" he said gleefully, but the glow on the nanites started to grow brighter, to the point that one should be worried. "Uh-oh!" with that, there was a small explosion, and both scientists were tossed into a wall. When they stopped being dazed and looked up, they saw the container with nanites was broken, and there was a huge hole in the wall. "Not good…they're gone."
"Not gone, they kind of ran off…" Dr. Richards said as he pulled out a scanner. "We have to recapture them, and fast! If Roark finds out we lost control of them, we're two dead ducks!"
"Then we have one thing left to do: 'borrow' Desmond's pet project to get them back!" Dr. Polinksy suggested.
"What? They haven't been tested and besides, Desmond would rat us out!" Dr. Richards said.
"We already are up Crud Creek without a paddle, it can't get any worse. We'll have to risk it." Dr. Polinsky said.
Meanwhile, somewhere else… "Stop that little brat!" A couple of policemen were running after a little girl. The little girl was in her pre-teens, had white hair, grey eyes, and a mismatched outfit of a blue dress, purple tank tops, fingerless gloves and boots. She was holding a box of donuts, which she had snagged from the cops. The cops were bigger and taller, not to mention faster, but the girl had some tricks up her sleeve. She came across a fork, and then…she splits in two, each of the two running of in a different direction. "How did she do that?"
"I don't know, don't care, I just want my donuts back!" The other cop said as they split up and go after one of the girls each. The first cop caught up with the first girl, but saw she didn't have the donuts. "I'm going to make you pay for that, little thief. Bad girls like you need to be disciplined." But the girl created another duplicate, which sweep kicked him and knocked him to the ground, letting go of the duplicate he was holding. The two duplicates then ran off.
The second cop got after the girl as well, and cornered her in a dead end. "Now I got you, you little…" but he was taken by surprise as something was dropped on his head and he was dazed. Another duplicate, from up a nearby rooftop, had tossed down a box on top of him. The duplicate climbed down and along the other duplicate ran off.
The four duplicates regrouped and ran off in an alleyway, where a fifth, which was actually the original, waited with the donuts. The duplicates merged back into her. The girl sat down with the donuts and licked her lips. "Tonight Deuce eats well for a change." She said as she scarfed down on the glazed dough-based treats. Apparently, her name was Deuce, and she was alone…and lived on the streets. And she could only survive by stealing food.
Deuce started munching on a donut with pink frosting and sprinkles, but as she was stuffing herself, she still felt empty…she created three other duplicates, who sat around her, and each gave them a donut. "Here you go Deuce, for you!" she said to her clone. "Why thanks Deuce, you're such a good friend." The duplicate said. "Yes, Deuce, you are the best." The other duplicate said. The duplicates could eat as well, but as soon as they reintegrated in the original, she would still profit from the donuts the duplicates ate. "Deuce is glad to have you…" Deuce said, making a face like she fought back tears.
However, the donuts were greasy, and one of the slipped out of Deuce's hands. "Oops!" she said as she went as the donut started rolling away, as she got up to get it. The donut came to a halt as it bumped into something and fell on the floor. The something picked the thing up. It was vaguely humanoid, but not completely as it had long arms with three thick digits, and it had smooth metallic skin with light blue circuit patterns and a single red optic. It stared down on Deuce. Deuce at first seemed intimidated as the creature stared down at her, gulping. But it surprised her when it reached out the hand with the donut, as he tried giving it to her. Deuce was doubtful at first, but then took the donut. "Er…thank you." The creature didn't reply. "My name is Deuce, do you have a name?"
The creature remained silent for a bit. Until it remembered a few sound clips. About nanites…nanobots. "Nano!" it said in a digital sounding tone.
"Nano. Nice name. Are you lost? Do you have a home? Or do you have nowhere to go?" she asked Nano.
"No…home…" Nano replied.
"Oh…Deuce doesn't have a home either. Deuce is alone. But you are alone too. Oh, you can stay with Deuce, so neither of us will be alone. You can be Deuce's friend." Deuce said as she reached out her hand.
"Friend?" Nano asked as he stared at her hand, and then gently took it, as Deuce shook.
"See, that is a handshake. That shows we are friends. Deuce and Nano, best friends." Deuce said with a smile on her face. Nano just looked at her. "Are you hungry, do you want the donut?" she asked. But Nano didn't react. "You don't eat donuts? Then what does a Nano eat?" Deuce asked.
Nano didn't react again as he was scanning a nearby garbage container. He reached inside it and pulled out a broken vacuum cleaner. His smooth metallic body started to spread out over the device and it was absorbed into him. "Oh…you eat machines?" Deuce noted. "Deuce then will find more machines for Nano to eat."
"Hey Raven!" the happy sounding voice of Beast Boy said as he knocked the door of the Goth Girl. "I have this cool new game, want to play with me?" he asked.
"No." Raven said bluntly.
"Oh come, it's co-op…Cyborg won't play because he's busy with his new car, Robin is training and Starfire…well, after she fried my last game by accident no way I'll let her go near. So pretty please?"
"No. I suggest you started to do something more productive with your free time." Raven noted.
"Can you at least join me for breakfast, I always have to wait until the others are done with their non-vegan breakfast. You haven't shown your face today." Beast Boy asked.
"I didn't get to meditate last night because of constant emergencies. I need to catch up. I can eat later. And I'll eat alone." Raven replied.
"Can't I just bring in the food, and you can take a bite in between meditations. Say, maybe you can show me how to meditate. All kung fu masters need to be zen, and if I can be zen, I can be cool too!" Beast Boy asked.
"No. You don't have the patience or attention span for meditation, and I don't want you to disturb my meditation any longer. Go away, please!" Raven said.
"I try to be sociable here. You are always cooped up in there. How can you stand being alone all the time?" Beast Boy said as he stormed off.
"I don't want to be alone…but I have to be!" Raven muttered silently to herself as she sadly continued meditating and hovering.
Somewhere in the city, late at night, when most shops have closed. A closed electronics shop is where Deuce and Nano went. "Just leave this to Deuce!" Deuce said as she multiplied herself, and all the duplicates all pushed the back door at the same time. She created more duplicates as she went on to put more force on it and downright push it out of its hinges. "Now we can get in."
Nano followed Deuce inside. "Here, help yourself. You must be starved." Deuce said. Nano then spouted several metallic tendrils out and started grabbing electronics and absorbing it into his body. Once he was done absorbing, a screen popped out of his stomach and started airing tv shows. "Oh! You are your own tv now!" Deuce said delighted. The channel then changed and Deuce saw a Japanese video clip with several anime girls wearing some decorative headphones.
"Oh…Deuce would love some of those. They look pretty." Deuce said. With that, Nano tore off a piece of his metallic body (which grew shut again) and molded it into a pair of decorative headphones and put them on her head. "Nano, these are beautiful. Thank you!" Deuce said as she hugged Nano.
Nano just was confused at the gesture of affection. "Hug! To show you like someone! Hug!" Deuce said. Nano looks at his arms, and then at Deuce. He reached out his arms for a 'hug'. Until Nano sensed something, then formed his body in a dome-shaped construct around Deuce, to protect her, as something blew up the wall and sent rubble everywhere. Nano morphed back in standard shape as he and Deuce looked at what hit them.
A huge hulking shape, obscured by the dust that has risen, though Nano could detect mechanical components, mixed with organic ones. Cybernetically enhanced thug. Nano and Deuce prepared themselves. "Nano, Deuce is scared…" she said.
"Halt!" aside from the cybernetic thug, five others entered the scene. The Teen Titans. Apparently, the signal that the scientists were tracing was also picked up by Cyborg's systems.
Beast Boy then noticed the cyber-thug. "Dudley Soames?" Indeed, the cybernetically enhanced thug was the former corrupt police detective, Dudley Soames. Though now he was much taller and had more armor than before, and aside from his face he was entirally covered in it. He now had armor that combined aspects of construction workers with elements of military grade technology. The most notable feature were his two cone-shaped arms. Soames however, didn't seem to react.
"Not much of a free thinker anymore, is he? Not a problem, we're going to take him in anyway." Robin noted.
"And I can also see what he's after…that thing!" Raven said as she pointed at Nano.
Soames didn't speak himself, but a through a component in his body, the distorted voice of Dr. Polinsky spoke. "That thing belongs to us, it's our research on nanotech, and we're getting it back."
"You bloody wanker, you don't tell them that!" the distorted voice of Dr. Richards also spoke through the speaker.
"You're not getting it back, whatever it is, we're taking it somewhere where it can't cause any trouble." Robin said.
"No! You are not going to take Deuce's friend away. He isn't going with everyone. Deuce won't let you." Deuce said angrily as she stood in front of Nano and spread her arms, in a defensive manner.
"We owe the rights and deed to that thing, he belongs to us, now move aside little ducky!" Dr. Richards' voice sounded.
"That thing is a machine, it's not sentient, it doesn't know anything about friendship. It's a cold, mindless machine…no offense Cyborg." Raven noted.
"None taken. Not all machines can be like me." Cyborg replied.
"Deuce won't let you, if you want Nano, you have to go through Deuce." Deuce said as she created a dozen duplicates, ready to engage the heroes. "And Deuce will not go down easily!" all the clones said at the same time.
"Dude, either I've played the new Mega Monkeys 5 game too long or I see twelve of her." Beast Boy noted.
"There are really twelve of her, but that doesn't mean you didn't play that videogame for too long." Raven added.
"Titans, Go!" Robin ordered. The three groups would soon engage each other.
Starfire and Beast Boy would confront the enhanced Soames together. Soames was the first to receive hits as Starfire smashed away against the now hulking cybernetic behemoth. However, he barely flinched as he recomposed himself. "I have to warn you, despite your new status as a cyborg, as a Tameranean warrior I am quite lethal." Starfire, always the gentle soul, held back not to harm a human, but Soames wasn't that willing as he lashed at her with one of his cone-shaped arms.
Starfire flew around to dodge, as she flew up and avoided him. She charged up some starbolts, intending to stun, but the starbolts barely did anything to him. Soames roared as he jumped up, snagged her out of the air in his arms and smacked into the ground, on top of her. Starfire was dazed as Soames raised his arms, before Beast Boy charged into him in rhino mode.
Soames flinched as he staggered back, but he recovered quickly as he fired a stream of liquid concrete out of his stomach, which engulfs and hardens around Beastboy, leaving only his rhino face uncovered. Soames then put his cones-shaped arms together, akin to a steamroller and charged, readying to flatten him. Beast Boy turned into a tiny bird in time to get out the hardened coat as he avoided being turned into a pancake. "The dude's a steamroller…hey, that could be his new name. Steamroller! Soames sounded like a cleaning product anyways. 'My white clothes are whiter than ever, thanks to Soames!'"
Soames…or Steamroller as he's now known as, roared, probably taking that as an insult as he charged at the green bean, who turned into a mammoth and charged into him, pushing him back again. Steamroller spouted a grappling hook from his shoulder, tied up his legs, and then pulled, knocking him down. He then held his cone-shaped arms out in front of him, and fired missiles from them. However, Starfire recovered, jumped in front of her friend, and kicked the missiles away, to shoot into the sky to explode harmlessly. "You have proven to be a challenge, time for me to stop holding back…" Starfire noted. Beast Boy, in wolf form stood by her side and growled.
Robin took on Deuce. "Ok, I don't want to hurt you, I just want to settle down and talk…" Robin said.
"No! You want to take Deuce's friend away. Deuce won't listen to you." Deuce said as several of her duplicates charged at Robin, whom tossed a few bola's at them to trip them.
"I don't want to fight you." Robin said.
"Are you afraid to hit a girl?" Deuce asked. Another duplicate landed a kick on him, but he caught the foot, and flipped her in the air, only for the duplicate to split in two in mid-air and launch a double flying kick.
"Ok…maybe I'll fight you a little." Robin said as he tried to kick one of the Deuce copies, but she split in two, and the two caught the two, and pulled, pulling Robin down to the ground.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven said as she trapped several Deuce clones in a black orb, but the Deuce clones started to divide some more, causing Raven to receive mental strain trying to contain so much, to the point the black orb broke and the Deuce clones rained down on her.
Cyborg went up against Nano. "Fascinating…nanotech assimilated in a single somewhat self-aware artificial organism. Shame I have to damage it." Cyborg said as he fired his sonic cannon, but Nano created an opening in his stomach to let the blast pass through it harmlessly. He closed the hole and then fired a single red beam from his optic, which knocked back Cyborg. Cyborg got up and then punched Nano…not the brightest idea since he got stuck and Nano's nanite biology started to absorb the arm. Cyborg pulled himself loose, but saw parts of his arm were eaten away by the nanites. "Not good!" he was even more surprised when Nano morphed his hand in a replica of his sonic cannon and blasted at him.
Cyborg got up, and missile launches came from his shoulders, but Nano sent out tendrils of nanotech to lash at the launchers, and pull them off Cyborg's shoulders, and absorb them in it. "Ok, can't we talk about it?" Cyborg asked. Nano launched more tendrils, which connected to Cyborg's chest and the nanotech started to spread out to the rest of his body.
"Nano, don't!" Deuce said. The original Deuce had remained in the background as her duplicates did the fighting. "We don't have to hurt them, we just have to leave, to make sure they don't find us." Deuce said. Nano looked at her, and saw Deuce looked worried. Nano lets go of Cyborg, though our cybernetic hero would still be disabled for a moment. "Good, now let's go." She said.
Nano and Deuce left the store, her clones and Steamroller keeping the Titans busy. They saw a parked motorcycle outside. Nano turned liquid and wrapped around it, merging with it. Deuce sat down behind the steering wheel, as Nano drove himself and Deuce away.
Steamroller charged at Beast Boy, who turned into a jellyfish, latched onto his face and began stinging him, which made Steamroller roar in pain. Beast Boy let go and Starfire, this time cutting loose some more, delivered a strong punch, knocking Steamroller out. Starfire used some nearby lantern poles and bent them to make binds to tie him up. Meanwhile, the Deuce clones Raven and Robin fought vanished.
"The nanomachines and the metahuman girl got away. But at least we managed to get something…it may prove a lead to either Roark or Deathstroke." Robin noted.
"Cyborg, are you all right?" Starfire asked as she helped the cybernetic Titan up.
"Just a bit scrambled. The machine tried to absorb me, but the girl talked him out of it. It's like the machine is attached to her or something, as a matter of speech." Cyborg noted.
"Maybe it imprinted on her. Baby animals often imprint on the first living thing they so, often their parents." Beast Boy noted.
"It's a machine, it can't imprint. It probably has a glitch where he believes the girl is his mistress." Raven noted.
"What about Red Tornado, he's a sentient machine!" Robin asked.
"He houses an air elemental within him, that's different. This machine has nothing mystical to power it up, I can sense it. The girl is obviously delusional that she thinks the machine can care for her, and she needs help." Raven said.
"Raven, do you not think you are being harsh on the duplicating young female? Maybe she is just starved for affection that she latches onto the nanomachine. I thought of all people, you are one to understand." Starfire pointed out.
"I'm not like that girl, I can difference reality from delusions. What I feel and she feel are not the same." Raven said.
"Maybe you cope in different ways, but you are both in essence lonely. But it doesn't have to be that way." Beast Boy said.
"I am completely fine with a professional relationship between us, and I'm perfectly fine being alone." Raven lied as she pulled up her hood. "Now, I suggest we get the data we need from this mechanical behemoth and then we take him to prison." Raven suggested.
"That's something I can agree with. Cyborg, you get the data, as I call Adler to arrange a pickup team. Then we need to find that girl and this…Nano thing, they're a danger to themselves and others, even if they don't realize it." Robin said.
Dr. Richards and Dr. Polinksy lost the signal to Steamroller. "Oh great, now the bloody Titans are on it. We're sitting ducks out there. We need to do something!" Dr. Richards said.
"I can't think of anything else…unless…yes, there is some Apokaliptean tech left in the lab, maybe we can improvise something." Dr. Polinsky said.
"You saw what that did to the nanobots, no telling what else it might do." Dr. Richards said.
"We got no choice. Besides, this time we won't mix it with nanobots, we add as few exotic tech as possible. Besides, if it works out, we not only have nanomachines to deliver to Roark, but also cool new extra Apokalitean based tech that would make fortunes on the black market, we may become his new head scientists instead of that arrogant little Desmond." Dr. Polinksy said.
"How will we explain we have borrowed Soames?" Dr. Richards asked.
"I'll think of that later, but right now, we have to take control of this situation…" Dr. Polinsky said.
NEXT TIME ON ALL-STARS TEEN TITANS
The heroes continue the chase on Deuce and Nano, but the two mad scientists are once again meddling with tech they don't fully understand and create something that may be even more dangerous…stay tuned!