Chapter 9
Battle
Robin, Beast Boy, and Crow are surrounded by Slade's minions shaking in anger. Slade had approached them from a distance standing on a balcony just above the Titans. Robin with his fighting stick, Crow in his angered demon state, and Beast Boy poised in animal instinct waiting for the chance to pounce.
"You can feel it can't you. The hostility and anger. All that you've ever felt is boiling over to the breaking point. An exhilarating feeling isn't it." Said Slade in his sadistic manor.
"Enough, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH RAVEN!!!" Robin growled.
"You never seem to amaze me Robin. You have never been able to solve puzzles like your protege'. But I understand that this puzzle might be a little hard. After all that's exactly how it was suppose to be, and it's working perfectly."
"Titans GO!" Robin screams everybody jumping into action. Robin leaps up using a shoulder of one of the drones to catapult himself to Slade. Striking him with the metal rod in his hand. Crow begins blasting the drones surrounding him with slice like maneuvers from his hands punching and thrashing some and blasting energy at the others. Beast Boy has become a T-Rex and proceeds to tear them apart with his mouth and slam other with his tail. Robin still duking it out with Slade who's toying with him as he does. Slade knows he's better and he's taking great pleasure from leaving the Titans so stumped and manipulated like never before. Everything has fallen into place. Crow slams one more drone and turns back to shout orders to Beast Boy.
"Beast Boy, Get Raven I got this!!!"
Beast Boy changes back to himself and nods. He then goes kangaroo to leap over all the drones between him and Raven. In mid air he changes back to himself and is blasted by a sonic wave. Landing on the ground winded he looks up to see what happened and he's shocked beyond belief at what he sees.
"No...CYBORG!" He Shouts. Robin and Crow turn simultaneously to see their cybertronic comrad in a drone like state. Completely red and unfeeling. exhibiting no emotion. He continues to attack opening up his shoulders launching rockets at Crow and Beast Boy. Beast Boy changes into and armodillo after letting out a scream to take all the blasts. Crow uses his powers and grabs them mentally and hurls them at the never ending horde of drones directing them away from Beast Boy and himself. He shouts to Robin.
"I told you!!" Robin just turns back and looks at Slade.
"What did you do!?" He snarls
"Remember you little tiff with the Hive students at the bank. It was easy for Gizmo to insert overload into Cyborg's neck" Robin begins to pummel him in a blind fury.
Starfire and Blackfire continue to duke it out over an increasingly violent city down below. Starfire hurls starbolts at Blackfire who dodges all but a couple. But those that do make contact barely do anything. As the Dust clears around Blackfire from the blasts she spots Starfire flying at her with a drop kick. She grabs Star by her ankle and swings her around and releasing her to fly backwards into a building. Starfire flys out and blasts Blackfire in time to notice a semi-tanker with an angry driver hurling down the street toward a broken down bus with a fight breaking out on it. She flys straight to the ground and on two feet in front of the semi braces for the impact from the speeding semi. It slams into her crushing the entire front inward, the massive weight pushing her until she it a foot or so from the bus. The tank of gas it's carrying jacknifes slightly Blackfire hurls a couple energy bolts at the tanker. Thinking quick Starfire grabs the bus and flys it into the air avoiding the massive explosion from the tanker. Balckfire taking this chance to do some damage knocks Starfire from the bus which is now a few hundred feet in the air. Without her carrying it the bus falls down toward the ground tail end first. Starfire flips around in mid air and catches the bus from the top of the roof slowing the bus. She strains to hold up the massive weight heading to the street. The back end smacks the ground crushing slightly. She lays the front end down and the bus is back on all fours. Blackfire lands in the street a few feet away from Starfire.
"This is quite fun sister, I'm not even breaking a sweat!" Blackfire says
"Enough of this, I know you will never stop harming anyone so now I WILL END YOU!!!" Star catapults forward into Blackfire continuing the fight.
Robin and Slade still battling it out the same way they always do. Robin striking and Slade blocking most of them leaving him with the time to tell Robin how they are the same person. Beast Boy tries to reach Cyborg while Crow keeps smashing away at Slade's minions. Crow is growing tired and winded from all the heavy fighting he's doing.
"Huh, How many, huh, are there?..." He says exhaustively then continuing to strike in his attacks. Beast Boy manages to slam Cyborg a few times but just enough to not harm him. With over load in control of his body he is powerless blasting at Crow and Beast Boy. They are able to dodge some blows allowing the drones to walk into his fire. Slade continues to lecture Robin in the battle.
"Your getting better Robin. Tap into your anger it just might give you the strength to pose a threat."
"Shut Up!!!" Robin shouts before smashing Slade with his baton. "Just tell me what you did to Raven, what you're DOING!!!"
"Alright, it's to late to stop it, the damage is being done." Crow listens in on what is being said.
Slade continues. "You see Robin, when I was working for Trigon I saw something incredible in Raven. Deep in her mind lies dormant the anger she holds against her father. It was a force fueled by the power she possessed. Just like the dark side in everyone Robin, it could take control as soon as her guard was down. All I needed to do was tap into it allow it to fester in the entire city and it would be only a matter of time." Slade explains. Robin is growing evermore angered against his great adversary and so is Crow. "Every machine in the city the is capable of tapping into and analyzing the mind is plugged deep into her subconscious. Radiating throughout the city reaching everyone. All there hate and anger and pent up rage boiling over until the breaking city will destroy itself and all who are left will be under my control."
"And what's in it for Blackfire?"
"Revenge. and this the southern part of Jump City. Everybody else including you were merely pawns, and I'm in position to declare check mate!"
"That's it!" Crow shouts flying through the air Slade and Robin look up and jump out of the way of his landing. Slamming his fists on the ground blasting a energy wave the cracks the floor.
"You take care of Beast Boy. I've got this psychopath." Crow says in a grim tone. Knowing that he'd best not try to stop him Robin goes to aid Beast Boy. Crow kicks at a pillar and breaks it. Slade still being a better fighter is able to block man of his insanely powerful blows.
"Beast Boy get Raven out of that machine I'll free Cyborg!" He commands. Beast Boy nods and jumps over to Raven landing on the machine holding on with one hand and his feet braced he tries to figure out what to do. suddenly he's getting a message from Crow mentally.
"Beast Boy. The spell is the only way. Say 'Azarath, Ceron, Metrios!' SAY IT!"
Starfire Slams Black fire through the wall of an apartment and up against one on the inside and wraps her hands around her neck.
"Now it ends Blackfire you wil never cause any harm or pain again!" She grunts through her grit teeth strangling her sister. Blackfire sinks down the wall trying to loosen her sisters vice like grip but to no avail. As she sinks down to the floor for the first time she shows a look of terror on her face. She truly fears that Starfire will kill her.
Beast Boy whispers the chant in her ear and she awakens from her transient state. Realizing her predicament she destroys the Machine as it begins to blow Slade snaps and pulls out a pistol and aims it at her.
"NO!" Crow screams. He uses his powers to slam Slade to the back wall of the building. The impact sets off the gun. It fires hitting Crow in the gut. A pile of rubble collapses on top of Slade. Crow falls to the ground. Robin jumps on Cyborgs back and grabs a small piece of metal he knows shouldn't be there. He pulls it with all his might sparks and electric arcs flying everywhere. He frees his friend the impact of the act causes Cyborg to scream in pain and pass out. Raven has now completely destroyed the machine the damage is causing the building surrounding them to collapse. She looks and has to get them out of there fast.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!!!" She shouts casting darkness over her friends and pulling them into the ground. They emerge on the street out in front of the warehouse. It crumbles rocketiing a cloud of ash and dust down the street.
With her free the city begins to regain it's sanity, friends holding each other at knife point suddenly realize what they are doing Police lower there weapons and others lay down there arms. The damage is already done. People are dead and buildings are burning. Starfires eyes stop glowing and she releases her sister and steps back.
"I...I cannot." She says in shame. Blackfire coughs for a moment then picks herself back up with a smile on her face. grinning at her sister she exclaims.
"I knew you never had it in you. Honestly for a moment I actually thought you would go through with it. But as always you have demonstrated how OOF!!" Starfire punches her in face to shut her up knocking her unconscious. Starfire then looks out the whole in the wall and see's the rising cloud of dust in the air from the collapsed structure.