Legends Never Die
By Talitha the Little Girl
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or Deathstroke the Terminator, though the OCs are mine.
Captured!
The tower had observed the events between Jericho and Ravager's father and the three Titans, honorary Titan, villian Frost Queen, Cyber Storm and Delphia's daughter, Tsunami's son, and its Titans with great interest. Was it really true that the information on its Titans had been lost? The very idea was ridiculous! After all, its Titans were right there!
And yet... its Titans seemed to have forgotten themselves - or, the tower realized with dread, its suspicions were correct; its Titans were actually not its Titans. After all, the tower mused, Raven certainly would never forgot the fact that she was half-demon, nor would Starfire forgot her royal hertiage, nor Troia her god-like origins. (Granted, Troia was female, not male like the odd Nightwing-and-Troia persona that had baffled the tower thus far.)
Sighing, the tower turned its ponderings to other things; its plan was far from over. It didn't have the time to puzzle out the mystery of its Titans - if they even truly were its Titans. The monitor in the secret, dusty room lit up as the tower linked itself to the government's computer center.
After several keywords and coding, the tower had established an untraceable number and dialed a specific holovision. The tower waited for the person to answer; the tower had taken care that they would converse via typing instead of face-to-face, a snag the tower still hadn't managed to avoid.
WHO CALLS?
YOUR AGENT, DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR.
WHICH ONE? I HAVE QUITE A FEW JOBS, AS YOU KNOW.
YES, I AM AWARE OF THAT. I WAS REFERRING TO THE JOB I HANDED TO YOU - INFORMING THE CLONES OF THEIR PAST.
I DID THAT ALREADY. WHY HAVE YOU CONTACTED ME? I WAS PAID IN ADVANCE.
THAT IS CORRECT. HOWEVER, AS YOU HAVE PERFORMED EXCEPTIONALLY, YOU WILL RECEIVE A SMALL BONUS.
HOW KIND OF YOU. I'M SURPRISED YOU ALREADY KNEW I COMPLETED THE JOB - I ASSUME YOU WERE ABLE TO BYPASS THE TOWER'S SECURITY? JUDGING FROM THE FREQUENCY, YOU ARE CALLING ME FROM A GOVERNMENTAL NUMBER. INTERESTING THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD GET INVOLVED.
I DO NOT SHARE MY SECRETS, DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR. REGARDLESS, YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR ASSIGNMENT ADMIRABLY - YOU MAY EXPECT AN ADDITIONAL TEN THOUSAND IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT BY TONIGHT.
MUCH APPERICATED.
I WILL BE CALLING AGAIN SHOULD I HAVE NEED OF YOUR SERVICES, DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR. DO NOT BOTHER TO TRACE ME - YOUR ATTEMPTS WOULD BE FRUITLESS.
Before Deathstroke could type in a reply, the link was severed. "...Who are you?" The elderly man frowned as he stared at the dark screen. Then he shrugged and shook off his frown. "Ah, well! Just made nearly a million just for telling those clones their history - I'm not going to complain."
As Deathstroke turned his attention to other things, the tower had already moved on to the next part of its plan. Still poking around in the government's network, the tower created yet another untraceable number and contacted a government agent's communicator. The tower could barely contain its excitement; this was it! One more push before things set into motion.
YES?
AGENT TWO-SEVEN-SEVEN-FOUR, YOUR ASSIGNMENT HAS BEEN CHANGED.
WHO IS THIS?
SUPERVISOR TWENTY-EIGHT. REPORT.
THE MISSION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR. I TIPPED OFF THE HIVE, AS PER ORDERS, ON THE LOCATION OF THE CLONES. THE CLONES, ALONG WITH THEIR GUARDIANS, ARE CURRENTLY IN HIDING IN THE TITANS' TOWER. HOWEVER, DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR CAME TO WARN THEM OF A TRAITOR IN THEIR MIDST.
EXCELLENT. AS I HAVE MENTIONED, YOUR OBJECTIVE HAS BEEN CHANGED. IRONICALLY, THE TRAITOR TO WHOM DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR REFERRED TO WILL BE YOU. CONTACT THE HIVE AND INFORM THEM THAT YOU WILL HAND THE CLONES OVER TO THEM.
WHAT? NO - I - I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT IS WISE. AND HOW DID DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR KNOW OF MY OBJECTIVES?
DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF - DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR DOES NOT KNOW YOUR TRUE OBJECTIVES; HE ONLY KNOWS THAT YOU ARE A HIVE AGENT. WHAT HE DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU WERE ACTUALLY PLANTED IN THE HIVE. YOU WILL INFORM THEM THAT YOU HAVE THE CLONES, AND THAT YOU WILL DISABLE THE TOWER'S SECURITY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. THE TITANS' TOWER'S SECURITY IS HIGHLY ADVANCED, MUCH MORE THAN ANYTHING I HAVE EVER SEEN.
THE GOVERNMENT RARELY SHARES ITS SECRETS WITH LOW-RANKED OFFICERS, AGENT TWO-SEVEN-SEVEN-FOUR. AS SUCH, I WILL PROVIDE THE CODE TO DISABLE THE TITANS' TOWER'S SECURITY. YOU WILL GIVE THE HIVE ACCESS TO THE CLONES.
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. MY ASSIGNMENT WAS TO PERFORM AS A SPY WITHIN THE HIVE -
YES, AND THIS WILL GIVE YOU GREAT STANDING WITHIN THE HIVE; THEY WILL PROMOTE YOU TO A HIGHER RANK AND YOU WILL BE IN A BETTER POSITION TO STRIKE THE HIVE DOWN FROM WITHIN.
AND THE CLONES?
YOU WILL RECEIVE REINFORCEMENT. HERE IS THE CODE - TYPE IT INTO THE TITANS' TOWER MAINFRAME, AND ITS DEFENSES WILL SHUT DOWN. ONCE THAT HAPPENS, CONTACT THE HIVE AND HAND OVER TO THEM THE CLONES ALONG WITH THE OTHERS IN THE TOWER. REINFORCEMENT WILL ARRIVE WITHIN THREE HOURS AND YOU ARE TO MAINTAIN THE APPEARANCE OF A LOYAL HIVE AGENT.
UNDERSTOOD.
DO NOT FAIL, AGENT TWO-SEVEN-SEVEN-FOUR.
The tower signed off, and let out a huge sigh. Everything was balanced on that agent - should the spy fail... the tower shuddered at the thought. The "traitor" could not fail - the plan needed to succeed!
The tower turned its attention to the people inside it; soon, the HIVE would attack. When that happened, the tower would have to be ready to contact the reinforcement.
"Clones!" The cold voice rang out in the dark room - the subjects glanced at each other as they stood at attention. "The spy within the tower has informed us that the tower's security will be disabled. Your job, clones, is to distract the Titans as our specifically-trained agents detain the primary clones."
BR-13 glanced at his brothers BN-66 and SN-23, along with his sister CR-70 before turning his attention to the purple-robed figure. His wheezing voice piped up, "But... but... it is... OUR jobs... to capTURE... our brothERS and... SISters!"
"Enough, BR-13." The clone in question fell silent as he cowered before the HIVE representative. "You have failed in that, clones, and so that job will go to properly-trained officers. You will serve as a distraction. Stand at ready, clones. We depart in an hour."
After the figure had left the dark, moldy room, NR-130 glanced at her brother CN-5 and sister SB-47 before speaking up, "We will not fail, my brothers and sisters - we will prove ourselves to be better than the primary clones!" Cheers answered her, and the high voice of CS-54 sliced through the rabble:
"Indeed. Should CS-54's brothers and sisters cause CS-54 to fail her duty, CS-54 will not be... pleased."
BR-13 gulped; there was no doubt to whom that was aimed. "BR-13... will... NOT fail!"
"Good. CS-54 is pleased with that."
Rapid yawned. "Ugh, monitor duty, how I hate you!" The bored Titan moaned as he squirmed in his seat. "C'mon, clock, go faster!" He yawned again; he had stayed up late the previous night and was quickly regretting it. His eyelids were growing heavy... surely a catnap wouldn't hurt...
Barely a moment later, Lucy's voice jerked Rapid out of his slumber: "The city's under attack!" The redhead was at the Titan's side. "What're y' doin, sleepin'!?" Rapid shot out of his seat.
"No - no! O-only for a second!"
Lucy snorted. "Only fer a second? Ya were sleepin' fer hours!" Rapid swirled around and gasped upon seeing the clock - Lucy was correct. He had fallen asleep for two hours. With a sinking sense of dread, he turned to the monitor; the city was indeed under attack. Rapid immediately scambled for the speaker.
"Titans! The city is under attack! Go to Central Park! I repeat, go to Central Park!" Rapid turned to Lucy. "Lucy, get Mark and tell him to keep an eye on the tower. I'll be back!"
With that, he was gone in a literal flash. Lucy nodded, and whirled toward the door leading to the stairs.
"Dearies, stay close ta me, an' don't worry! Everythin'll be fine!" Mama tried to reassure her foster children as they crowded in close to the holovision. Lucy sat next to Mama; Mark had gone off to supervise the tower's security. Mama glanced at Lucy. "Oh, I do hope they're careful."
Lucy nodded, her face white, as she glued her eyes on the holovision and the battle as it unfolded.
"What are you!?" Rapid cried out upon catching sight of them - monstrous, twisted creatures.
The green one with four black eyes snarled out, "I... am BR-13! They... are... my... brotHERS and... SISters!" With this declaration, BR-13 roared and hurled toward Rapid as a mutated bear. Rapid was gone, however, by the time the clone reached the spot where he had once stood.
Healer took to sky, but two of the clones had followed her. SB-47's lone arm glowed with a green starbolt as her face exploded into a muzzle full of sharp teeth. Healer barely managed to dodge the clone, but SN-23 was right behind her; his mouth stretched into a feral smile as he grabbed Healer's feathery wings with his bony, webbed hands.
As the trio struggled overhead, Psy was tackled by CN-5, but he easily sent the clone soaring with a telekinetic blast - a shimmering wall that came out of air itself. A lumbering tiger on three legs leapt at Psy: BN-66. Psy ducked before hitting his mind with a powerful telepathic burst that invaded and twisted the clone's very conciousness inside out. CN-5, upon hearing BN-66's roar of pain, lauched his robotic arms toward the telepath. Psy barely managed to stop the objects with a telekinetic shield, only to drop it when BN-66's hunchbacked wolf form slammed into him.
Rapid wasn't faring any better; BN-13 had cleverly transformed into a cobra, and despite the cobra's squashed face and unusually wide body, maintained all of the snake's deadly speed. Rapid barely dodged the strike when a black wall appeared out of nowhere. NR-130 had entered the battle; her four blue eyes glared at Rapid in hatred as she raised her two-fingered hands and slammed them together. The black wall erupted forward; Rapid narrowly managed to slip free from the living trap and circled the two clones, his mind scrambling for a plan.
CS-54 and CR-70 glanced at each other before tiptoeing behind Psy; CS-54's robotic hand transformed into a cannon that glowed with green solar light as CR-70's two human eyes - one above the other - glowed with a sickly black sheen. Before the two cyborg clones could strike, however, an icy lance slammed against their backs; Frost Queen had seen the battle on the holovision and rushed to her brother's protection.
The elderly woman abruptly rose into the sky on an ice pillar; as CS-54 shattered the pillar, Frost Queen leapt onto a new ice slide. CR-70 growled, and leapt toward the slide. Her robotic arms caught the ice and dug in; she pulled herself up, only to discover that Frost Queen had abandoned the slide! The weathered villain eased herself to ground with an blast of ice, and CS-54 swiftly backpedaled to avoid the blizzard.
A cry to the left informed Frost Queen that NR-130 had trapped Rapid within her soul-self wall and that BR-13, as a mutant cobra, had bitten the speedster. The Titan collasped to the ground, thrashing under the effects of the clone's deadly venom. NR-130 and BR-13 glanced upward before leaping out of the way - just in time, for Healer had sprialed down to the ground.
The unconsicious woman crashed into Rapid; SB-47 landed next to BR-13, her toothy mouth giggling at the mess. SN-23's unusually long arms flexed casually as he glanced toward Frost Queen; the woman could tell that he was itching for another fight. The villain, however, didn't give herself much time to despair over the fate of the two Titans as she threw up an ice shield - just in time, for CR-70 had hurled herself toward the elderly woman.
Frost Queen unleashed a blizzard upon the six clones before whirling around only to witness BN-66 spitting into Psy's eyes as a three-legged llama; the telepath cried out and grabbed at his eyes - the spit was acidic. CN-5 took advantage of the hesitation and threw a vicious punch toward Psy's head that took the man down.
Frost Queen screamed as she shot into the sky on an ice pillar. The Titans had been beaten! Those - those monsters were too powerful! Before she could think out a plan, CS-54, annoyed at the fact that her enemy had evaded her thus far, blew apart the foothold with a blast from her solar cannon. CR-70 and NR-130 thrusted out their hands; a black, inky force caught Frost Queen as the elderly woman tumbled to the ground, unconsicious.
BR-13 wheezed happily as he glanced at his brothers and sisters. "We... have... succEEDed! We... beat... thEM!" BN-66 nodded, tottering on his one leg as SB-47 giggled with her frighteningly large fanged mouth. NR-130 glanced at CS-54.
"Contact the master. We have completed our objectives."
The cyborg girl nodded. "Very well. CS-54 is pleased; she has succeeded in her mission." CR-70 allowed herself a cruel grin as she glanced between the beaten Titans and Frost Queen. CN-5 grabbed the elderly woman's arm and dragged her over to Rapid and Healer's bodies; SN-23 was close behind with Psy's body.
"Yes... CS-54 is very pleased. Excellent job, brothers and sisters."
The only sound left in the oddly empty park as the clones departed was BR-13's wheezing laughter.
Seven pairs of wide eyes stared in disbelief at the holovision. Mama swallowed. "Oh, my. Dearies, dearies?" The five teenagers glanced behind themselves at her. "Don't worry, kiddies. They'll be fine. They'll be fine - really." Her voice trailed off, trembling.
In all honesty, the Titans were doomed.
Lucy swallowed and stood up. Blinking away tears, she ran toward the stairs and disappeared beyond the door. Mama glanced at the five troubled clones, who stared miserably at the mutated clones on the holovision. "Oh..." Instantly understanding, she knelt between Logan and Danielle. "Y'all ain't monsters."
The teenagers glanced up at her, eyes heavy with tears. "Lookie, jest because they're... like that an'… well... it don't mean yer monsters. You ain't like 'em!" Mama glanced at the holovision which still showed the eight twisted, monstrous clones. "Y'all human! Y'all knows how ter love! That's important!"
The woman immediately scooped up her children into a group hug. "Never think yer monsters, y' hear me?" The five clones nodded as they huddled in close to their foster mother. Mama's eyes closed as a tear fell out. "My dearies, my dearies..."
"Mark! Markie?" Lucy's voice rang out in the hallway leading to the tower's mainframe. "Where y' at?" The redheaded woman paused upon nearing the shattered door. "Wha... Mark!" She rushed inside, only to cry in shock. Mark was lying on the floor, blood pooling around his head.
"Mark!" She grabbed him, and Mark's eyes fluttered open. "Oh, thank God. Only a scratch," Lucy muttered as she tugged Mark upright. "Y' alright, Markie? What happened here?"
Mark groaned. "I don't know! The computer exploded on me!" Lucy frowned and glanced at the control board - Mark was right, it looked as it had blown apart. "Lucy, I think the attack in the Central Park was a distraction."
Lucy's eyes widened. "Momma!"
Mark gasped; he scrambled to his feet, and the duo rushed from the room, dreading what they might discover.
The door slid open; several figures silently stepped through it, leveling their blasters at the unsuspecting Mama, who was still clutching at her clones. Caity frowned; she opened her green eye and gasped.
At that gasp, many things happened: Danielle's eyes snapped open and immediately took on a dangerous glow - the girl blasted off, flying toward an agent; Will leapt up and hurled himself at another man; Logan transformed into a lightning-quick leopard; Rich's white eyes flashed as a force field appeared out of nowhere; Mama gasped and clutched at her chest; Caity's eyes narrowed as a black force ripped out of her, and an henchman managed to fire off a shot a spilt second before Rich's force field appeared.
The stunning blast hit Mama squarely in the head; the elderly woman collasped, and her children cried out in horror. Caity shrieked as the black force was shattered by a light beam from one of the goons' guns; Danielle was hit by two tranquilizer darts and fell to the floor, unconsicious. An officer calmly hit the leopard on the skull; Logan fell next to Danielle, and Will was knocked out by a stunner. Rich's force field had disappeared, as the boy had lost concernation when Mama was stunned. He was quickly taken care of by an agent.
Only Caity remained, and she was quickly handled with a single tranquilizer dart. The henchmen glanced at each other. "Report to the Mistress. We have captured the clones and the old woman."
"No!"
The surprised men barely had time to turn around when Mark slammed into one; the boy grabbed the agent's gun and aimed it toward the other goons. "Drop your weapons!" The lackeys glared at him, but complied. Lucy ran toward Mama, a pipe wrench gripped in one hand. "How's Mama?"
"Momma's fine!" At Lucy's answer, Mark's face melted into a look of relief.
"Lucy, go get the first aid kit!" The redhead nodded and took off. Mark glared at the officers. "Huh-uh, don't even think of it. Back up!" The henchmen immediately took a step back when Mark raised the blaster to their level. "I know how to use this, and I'm not afraid to!"
Mark was deadly serious, and the HIVE agents could tell. Mark ran down the room toward the unconsicious clones and Mama, and dropped next to Danielle, feeling for a pulse. "You're really lucky they're not hurt bad," He snarled out. "Lucy!"
Her voice rang out behind him; "Ah'm on mah way!" Mark nodded and stood up, training the blaster on the goons. What he didn't expect was Lucy's shout of "Markie!" and a heavy object slamming into the back of his head; stars flashed before his eyes before he fell to welcoming darkness.
The tower waited until the HIVE henchmen left the borders before turning its attention to its access in the government's central network. Everything was proceeding well according to the plan - now only it has to contact the reinforcement. Agent 2774 had done the job admirably well.
DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR.
AH, I RECONGIZE THE FREQUENCY. MY MYSTERY AGENT.
I HAVE NEED OF YOUR SERVICES ONCE AGAIN.
WHAT IS IT?
THE CLONES HAVE BEEN BETRAYED BY THE HIVE TRAITOR. THE HIVE AGENT IS AN UNDERCOVER GOVERNMENT SPY ACTING ON ORDERS. HOWEVER, THE AGENT IS UNABLE TO RESCUE THE CLONES ALONE. YOU SHALL DO IT. I WILL PROVIDE THE COORIDANTES AND YOU WILL INFILTRATE THE PLACE WITHIN THREE HOURS. UNDERSTOOD?
THE TRAITOR IS ACTUALLY A DOUBLE-TURN COAT? FASICANTING.
DEATHSTROKE?
THREE HOURS? YOU WANT ME TO SNEAK IN THE HIVE'S MAIN BASE TO RESCUE THE CLONES?
YES. I WILL PAY THE USUAL FARES.
I'M AFRAID THAT WON'T DO. ON SUCH A SHORT NOTICE, NOT TO MENTION FOR SUCH A HAZARDOUS MISSION, I DEMAND FIVE TIMES THE USUAL PAYMENT, AND IN ADVANCE AS ALWAYS.
THAT IS ACCEPTABLE. TEN MILLION WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT IN AN HOUR.
OH, TEN TIMES THE USUAL AMOUNT? HMM, THIS JOB TAKES THE PRIORITY, THEN.
DO NOT FAIL, DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR.
CONSIDER IT DONE.
The tower sighed as it signed off the link; ten million was quite a blow; however, three hundred years was a long time to earn interest on the Titans' accounts. Ten million was nothing compared to its Titans - the tower would gladly empty its account of every last penny to ensure the safety of its Titans - or its Titans' children.
Now, there was nothing to do but sit back and wait for Jericho and Ravager's father to do his job. Only then would the tower finally be reunited with its Titans - no, that was wrong. Only then would the tower finally meet its Titans' children (the tower prided itself on finally puzzling out the mystery; its Titans-look-alikes were actually their clones, though the tower preferred the term 'children').
The only thing to do was wait... and pray.
Mark groaned, and immediately regretted it when his head throbbed. "Mark?" Mama's voice greeted him out of the darkness. "My boy, are ya okay?" Mark opened his heavy eyelids and met Mama's worried eyes.
"Wh... where are we?" He croaked out as he craned his head around, soaking in his surroundings. The two were bound in chains latched to the wall; a single door was the only exit to this windowless room.
Mama frowned as she answered, "I'm not sure. I think we're in some kind of prison," Mark nodded as he glanced at the moldy walls. "When we were bein' brought in, I saw a sign... Markie, I think we're in the HIVE base."
"What?" Mark gasped. "Where's Lucy?" His eyes widened. "Oh no! She tried to warn me before I was knocked out – where is she?"
Mama began to speak, however the door opened. Mama squinted against the onslaught of the light. "You! Where's my girl an' my kiddies?"
"They're bein' held in 'nother room," The HIVE agent stepped down into the room and came to a stop before the chained duo. "The Mistress was awful pleased ter finally git 'em. So much, in fact, tha' Ah'm bein' promoted ta manager o' this base."
Mama's mouth dropped as Mark snarled out, "Lucy!"
Rich moaned as his eyes slowly slid open. Blinking, he peered left and saw Logan and Caity. To his right were Danielle and Will - they all were in some sort of tubes. Rich struggled to his feet, but abruptly collapsed - he was far too weak to stand. He groaned as he pounded at the glass holding him prisoner.
The spacious room was filled with machines that beeped and monitors that flickered. Rich shuddered when he saw the large honeycomb logo printed on the wall opposite of them - the sign of the HIVE.
He began to gasp, and as he continued to pound at the glass, Caity's eyes fluttered weakly. Death. Rich halted, staring in bewilderment at his sister. Had he just heard her voice in his head?
Graveyard. Rich's eyes widened as the scene before him began to swim; he slammed his hand into the glass as he fought to stay upright. Pain. Danger. No... no... the world spun wildly as Rich slumped against the glass. Dimly, he could see Danielle's eyes open; Logan and Will had began to totter. Caity's face had gone pallid.
Death.
Everything was going dark... with a final moan, Rich blackened out after one final whisper from Caity.
Graveyard...
Author's Note: Well, things are certainly heating up! Lucy betrayed her family, and the Titans' Tower is planning something...
I hope the fight scenes aren't too dull for you - it's certainly a tricky balance to maintain in fiction!
I don't have much to say, other than that the next chapter will be an exciting one - that's right, we will finally be seeing the Titans we know and love!
Read on, my dear readers!