Chapter 11: Titans
Autobot HQ…
The door opened with a silent hiss, and the pitch black form of Voidwalker entered her quarters. She held a servo to her side, ignoring the protests of pain. Her fight with team Anti-Prime had injured her, but she refused to let Ratchet look at her wound this time.
Voidwalker sat on her berth and hissed as she eased major piece of her stomach armor, Energon oozed forth. She inhaled sharply and pressed her servo to the wound, inciting another flare of pain.
Getting run through by Dreadwing had done her no favors and when Arcee's clone hit her, it reopened the wound. She touched the scared area around it, bare wires instead of golden skin twitched under her fingers.
The area was sensitive, but besides that the wound would eventually heal on its own. Her modifications would make sure of it. But in the mean time…
She scooted back on her berth and laid slowly down, her injured side flaring in protest. Primus it hurt. Recharge would help speed the process, she willed stasis lock onto her form. There was no reason for her to naturally enter recharge, the nightmares would not help her heal…
The next day…
The base was almost silent as Jack and Arcee enjoyed each other's company. Optimus and the others had gone on an Energon raid while Voidwalker and Kara went out doing Primus knows what. The two had become very good friends with Void almost acting like an older sister to the Kryptonian teen.
Ratchet was the only other bot in base at the moment, and unfortunately that meant the two couldn't be more intimate. The medic was worse than anyone else in base when it came to commenting on their relationship. Bee, Bulkhead, and Starscream simply accepted it for what it was.
Optimus encouraged their relationship, as did Void the few times she chose to comment on it. But Ratchet was, well, Ratchet. Every chance he got he would make sure the two were broken up or busy. Jack should have figured, the old bot was set in his ways. But at least he never vocally said anything.
But at the moment the medic was looking at his terminal, searching for more MECH or con activity. After the incident with Nemesis Prime, surveillance for Team Prime duplicates had increased with little luck. For now.
The terminal beeped and Fowlers face appeared on screen, "Ratchet, we got cons attacking a military outpost outside of Jump City," he stated.
"For what purpose?" Ratchet asked.
"We're not sure, there isn't anything of use to them there, but that doesn't matter. Point is we need help here," Fowler said.
Jack and Arcee got up, "Ratchet open a bridge, Arcee and I can handle the cons," Jack said confidently.
The medic nodded and began inputting the coordinates into the bridge while Arcee reverted herself to full size. The bridge swirled open and Jack flew off the platform next to his partner.
"Ready?" he asked.
She smirked, "Aren't I always?"
Military Base…
Jack and Arcee exited the bridge which swirled shut behind them. They looked over the base to see over two dozen cons scattered across the base. Oddly enough though, there was no sign of any leader. At the mines this made sense, but assaults normally had Dreadwing, Starscream, or Knockout leading them.
In this case though, only the Vehicons were there, firing at hangars and roadways and the occasional human who'd yet to evacuate. The Vehicons turned to look at the two and stopped their assault. The two sides watched each other for several seconds, neither one moving.
Then all hell broke loose.
Arcee unsheathed her blades and charged into the cons, Jack flying up to get a better vantage point. He saw several cons attacking a hangar with several soldiers trying and failing to fight them off. Most human weapons were useless against cons unless there joints were attacked and even then…
He shook his head and shot forward, slamming into one con. The con stumbled back only to lose its head as Jack uppercut it off its neck joint. Vehicons were delicate, simple as that. If he did that to an actual Cybertronian they'd go flying back. That said, the remaining Vehicons were screwed.
He shot towards another one, roundhouse kicking it in the side. There was a loud crunch as its armor gave way and Energon leaked from the plating. He flew up and slammed down on the con, crushing its helm under his fists.
A blast deflected off him as the last con tried firing at him. Jack flew forwards and gripped its arm before pulling. There was a loud tearing sound as its arm came loose and he sent it flying away. Energon spilled from the stump of its shoulder and the drone stared at its missing arm dumbly.
Until Jack shot a beam of heat vision through its helm, offlining it. The large drone fell backwards, crashing into the ground with a thud. Jack landed next to the dead con and frowned. Even by normal con standards this was too easy, Jack could hear Arcee finishing off the other cons at the moment.
Question was, where was the ringmaster? The answer to his question came in the form of a loud hissing sound followed by a thick sticky substance slamming Jack against a wall. He grunted as he hit the wall with a loud thud, and looked at said substances.
It was a thick grey… webbing. Jacks eyes widened in horror. There was no way that his luck could be that bad. No way.
"Hello Jack," the seductive voice of Airachnid cooed as she climbed down from the ceiling. It was that bad.
The spider-femme climbed down from the ceiling, her long spider legs clinking quietly against the concrete flooring. Jack struggled against the webbing, only to find it was much stronger than he remembered. Even so, Airachnid launched another stream of the sticky stuff at him pinning him in place even further.
"I wouldn't bother struggling my little Jack," she said kneeling in front of him with a coy smile, "I've created a new formula for my webbing. Even you would have some trouble breaking free of it without enough time,"
She chuckled sadistically, "And that time is running out, my reinforcements have arrived to keep Arcee busy,"
Jack glared at her, "If you're going to kill me, get it over with Airachnid," he growled.
An offended look crossed the spider-femmes faceplate, "Jack, I'm hurt. What on Earth made you think I intended to kill you?" she asked innocently.
"Chasing me in the forest and coming after my family are two good reasons," Jack growled.
Airachnid waved a dismissive feature as she crawled up the side of the wall until she was staring at him upside down, "Maybe at first I wanted to kill you Jack," she hissed before her features became softer. Or as soft as a psychotic spider-femmes features could be.
"But after our last encounter, I'll admit I find you quiet…" she paused for a moment before smiling and exposing her fanged denta, "Attractive,"
Jack closed his mouth as he gagged, "Your disgusting!" he accused.
She shrugged, "Maybe, but that doesn't matter. Once I take you back to the Nemesis, Megatron will greatly reward me. And maybe I'll be able to keep you," she said rather cheerfully.
Jack renewed his struggles against the webbing, using his heat vision to cut through the webbing. There was another hiss as she entrapped his eyes in the webbing and made a tsking noise.
"We'll have none of that now will we Jack. If you keep struggling, " she shot another shot of webbing at him, sealing over the damage he'd caused to it, "I'll have to kill Arcee, and you wouldn't want that, now would you?"
Jack looked through the webbing covering his eyes and glared at the wall-crawler, though she didn't know. He wanted to end her so badly right now, but he was trapped and she would see his heat vision coming. Right now he was trapped until Arcee broke through the Vehicons… Or so he thought.
There was a loud boom against Airachnid's side, knocking her from the wall onto her back, "Titans, go!" a young but gravelly voice ordered.
Airachnid got up to her spider legs and hissed at her attackers. She fired off several blasts at them, when a barrage of green orbs slammed into her, exploding against her chassis. She snarled and swiped the smoke away, looking for her assailant.
She turned around only to run smack dab into a 25 foot tall green T Rex. She looked up at the giant green creature in shock, before it roared at her, causing her to stumble back. She quickly regained her composure and fired several violet Energon blasts at the beast, only for a shield of black energy to block the blasts.
Airachnid narrowed her optics, "What is this!?" she demanded.
Her answer came in the form of a powerful sonic blast slamming into her side knocking her back, "Booyah!" an excited voice yelled in triumphant, "Take that spider bot!"
Jack heard someone land in front of him and rip the webbing off his eyes. He let out a hiss of pain as it tore at some of his hair before blinking, "Thanks miss…" he trailed off at the site before him.
His rescuer was a teenage girl, but one he'd never seen before. Her skin was an odd shade of orange, highlighting with the purple outfit she wore. A purple skin tight shirt that stopped above her midsection, a purple skirt, and boots along with silver gloves that didn't cover her fingers, and a silver collar. A greenish black stone adorned the collar and gloves.
Her eyes were the oddest part, a bright emerald green. And not just green irises, but even the whites of her eyes were green. All in all, one look at her screamed non human. Jack wasn't exactly sure what to say, when the girl said it for him.
"I am glad to have been of service. My name is Starfire, yours?" she asked.
"Ugh… Jack," he answered, "Can you let me down from here now, Airachnid's going to tear this place apart if I don't stop her," Jack said when a loud explosion caught their attention.
He turned to look and was shocked by what he saw. A group of four teens were fighting the spider femme. They weren't winning, but they certainly weren't losing either.
The biggest of the four, was an African American teen covered from head to toe in cybernetics. His shoulders, forearms, shins, and parts of his face, were covered in blue circuitry with glass covering it. His torso was silver and white, with the midsections colored black. Most of his body had this coloration, and part of his face was covered in cybernetics, giving him a red eye.
He was big, bigger than Jack almost 7 feet tall. His whole body appeared muscular, and one of his arms were shifted into a cannon of some sorts. He leapt back to avoid Airachnids blast and fired, a stream of blue sonic Energon knocking her back again.
The next oddest of the group was a teen slightly shorter than Miko. He wore a black jumpsuit with a purple stripe going down the middle and a belt across his waist. He wore a pair of sneakers, but that wasn't the oddest part.
His hair and skin were both green, and his ears were pointed. His teeth also were pointed slightly. To Jacks shock, he revealed his oddest feature when his whole body grew into a T Rex and roared at Airachnid, charging her.
The spider-femme knocked him away with one of her legs, causing him to de-morph. He hit the ground with a hard thud and rolled across the floor, dazed but unharmed.
Next was a girl with pale grey skin. She wore a blue cloak with the hood up obscuring her face from view. A pendant with a raven emblazoned on it held it on her shoulders. She wore a black leotard that covered her entire body, but left her legs exposed. She wore a golden belt with circular blackish red stones embedded in it.
Her eyes burned black as black energy encased her hands and two large crates on either side of Airachnid, "Azaroth, Metrione Zynthos!" she cried and the two crates slammed into the spider bot.
It was to no avail though, as Airachnid easily flung the containers apart, knocking the girl back. The last member of the team fired some sort of grappling hook and leapt off the crate he was on, catching the girl in midair.
He landed on the ground and set her on her feet, looking back at Airachnid. He was slightly taller than the green teen, and had a set of black spiky hair offsetting his paler white skin. He wore a black cape that was yellow underneath, and wore a dark red shirt with an R stitched onto the side.
He wore green pants and steel toed boots, his sleeves and gloves colored green as well. He wore a yellow utility belt, which he pulled three disc shaped objects out of, holding them between his fingers. He tossed the disks forward, which exploded against Airachnids frame.
There was no damage from them though, and the femme snarled swiping her leg out and catching both the boy and girl off their feet.
"Robin!" the alien girl called Starfire cried. She went to go and fly after her friend when Jack called her back.
"Wait, Starfire, help me get this webbing off, I can help you take Airachnid down," he insisted.
Starfire looked from her team to Jack and back, "I'm a lot stronger than I look, trust me you'll need the help," he said.
Starfire looked back at the others again before sighing. She raised an arm, and a green ball of energy formed around her hand. With a sudden blast, it collided with the webbing, burning a good chunk of it away.
Jack tore what remained off him and got off the wall looking to Starfire, "Thanks," he said before swiftly shooting towards Airachnid.
There was a loud crash as Jack knocked the spider-femme through a wall, causing her to roll across the ground. She quickly got to her feet and swiped at Jack with one of her extra legs. The result though, was Jack holding the leg in place.
With a slight grunt, Jack twisted and flung Airachnid over the hangar, shooting after her as he did. He slammed his fists on her midsection, and watched her plummet to the ground fast. There was a loud boom as she left a crater in the ground and leaked Energon from her wounds.
Arcee by now had finished off the remaining Vehicons and had turned her attention to Airachnid, firing at her. The spider-femme quickly got up and called for a bridge as Jack, Arcee, and this group of super-powered teens charged towards her.
The bridge swirled to life and the femme leapt through, right as Arcee's blade missed, slamming into the ground. She pulled it free and let out an angry yell as Airachnid escaped her grasp again. Jack landed next to her and placed a hand on her arm.
Arcee looked at him, "Sorry I didn't have your back there partner," she said softly.
Jack smiled, "I'm fine Arcee, had a little help," he said pointing to the teens who were looking at the femme in shock.
"Ugh, did we miss something while we were gone?" the green one asked, his voice was somewhat high pitched and scratchy.
Jack looked at them, "I could say the same for you, who exactly are you five?" he asked.
The only normal looking one, the one in red stepped forwards, "We're the Teen Titans. I'm Robin, and this is Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire," he said introducing each of his teams members.
Jack narrowed his eyes for a moment before realization passed over his face, "Now I remember!" he said excitedly, "You're the group of super-powered teens who live in Jump city!"
Arcee looked at him confused, "You know about them?" she asked, confused.
Jack nodded, "Rumors and stuff at home, but never paid that much attention to them," he admitted.
"Not that your enthusiasm isn't thrilling, but exactly what were those things?" the one called Rave asked with a hint of dead sarcasm. Her emotionless voice made Voidwalker sound cheerful.
Robin interrupted Jack before he could respond, "Perhaps it'd be best if we discussed this back at the tower," he suggested.
"The tower?" Jack and Arcee asked in unison.
"Just follow us, we'll take you there," Robin said and nodded to Cyborg.
He pressed a button on his forearm and the squeal of tires could be heard. A white and blue car came squealing around the corner and stopped in front of the Titans. Jack let out a whistle.
"Nice car," he commented, receiving an indignant grunt from Arcee, "Present company excluded," he whispered.
Cyborg grinned widely and hopped into the driver's seat, "Thanks man, put my heart and soul into her, now come on ya'll BB still owes me a rematch!"
"Dude, I won fair and square, let it go!" Beastboy shot back as he and the others got in.
Cyborg stuck his head out the window, "Dude, don't you have a ride?" he asked.
In answer to his question, Arcee transformed to motorcycle mode and revved her engine…loudly, "That answer your question?" she asked rather smugly.
Cyborg blinked a few times, "Oh," he said sheepishly and ducked back in.
Jack got onto Arcee, and the Titans took off, Arcee and Jack tailing behind them easily, "Shouldn't we contact Ratchet and let him know where heading off?" Jack asked.
"Already did while you were making friends," Arcee replied simply.
Jack looked at her confused, "You alright Arcee, you sound upset about something,"
Arcee flicked a mirror at him before sighing, "Truthfully Jack, I'm a little reluctant to go with them," she admitted.
Jack raised a brow confused, "Why, they helped save me?" he pointed out.
"I don't know, but something tells me that if we go after them… I might lose you for a while," she said softly…
Titan Tower…
Jack gaped at the large tower as he and Arcee came to a stop next to the Titan's car. It was huge, easily twice as big as the Autobot base. It had large blue windows covering the face, and was shaped in a giant T. It was also built on an island in the middle of the harbor over-looking the city.
"Not exactly inconspicuous is it?" Arcee asked from vehicle mode.
The Titans couldn't hear her, they were still in the vehicle. Though Jack had to wonder, how did they get out from the base if they had driven? They couldn't have ground bridge tech, could they?
In answer to his unasked question, a low hiss was heard from their car, and it lifted off the ground. Its wheels folded in, and it floated a good five or six inches off the ground before taking off towards the base. Jack got off Arcee and watched them go as she transformed.
"Huh, they have hover tech," she said.
Jack looked to her, "So should I carry you across or?"
Arcee smiled down at him, "This should help," she said and pointed at her waist. It was then that Jack noticed a belt like device strapped around her waist with a familiar button on it.
"Is that?"
"The mass-shifter," Arcee finished, "It is, I had Ratchet convert the second one into a belt based device. It only can shrink me to my human size or normal size and can't be adjusted, but,
she shrugged, "Don't need to be much bigger or smaller,"
With that she pressed the button and shrank down to her standard 6 foot 5 height and lifted her arms, "Well, let's get a move on," she said with a grin.
Jack lifted her bridal style and shot off after the Titans who were half way across the bay. He quickly flew up next to them, and saw that Cyborg had a smug grin on his face. Clearly he thought he'd impressed Jack with his car's abilities.
He had, but he wouldn't let him know that…yet. He flew up next to the car, and Arcee tapped on the window. Cyborg looked to the side, and his jaw dropped as Jack and Arcee innocently waved before shooting ahead of them.
Several minutes later, the Titans pulled up onto the island were Jack and Arcee were waiting, the latter having returned to normal size. A door in the side of the tower opened up and they pulled in, the couple following after them.
The garage was a fairly tall section of the tower, large enough to hold Optimus in it with ease. Tools and parts were scattered everywhere, and several platforms dotted the area. Their car was parked on one such platform, where the Titans got out.
They all looked at Jack and Arcee expectedly. Beastboy opened his mouth to start to speak, but Raven slapped a hand over his mouth, "Not a word Beastboy," she warned. He visibly deflated.
"So now that we're here, exactly what did you want to know?" Jack asked, crossing his arms.
"For one, what the heck is she!?" Beastboy said pointing at Arcee and ignoring Ravens warning.
Arcee raised an optic ridge, "Where have you five been the past month?" she asked.
"Deep space mission, we just got back yesterday," Robin answered.
"You have FTL capabilities?" Arcee asked surprise, "I thought humans hadn't achieved that step yet,"
"I don't mean to brag or nothin'," Cyborg said stretching his arms behind him, "But I'm a bit of a mechanical genius,"
"Anyway," Robin continued, "Beastboy has a point, what are you, and what were those things attacking that military base?"
"Decepticons," Arcee answered," That's what was attacking that base. They're a faction of scum that have been fighting the Autobots, my faction, for eons,"
"Whoa," Beastboy and Cyborg said in unison.
"So why are you here?" Starfire asked flying up to optic level, "Is it because you are stuck here? Do you wish for human help? Or are you just passing by?" she began to ask questions faster than Miko, and Arcee held up a servo to stop her.
"We're here because the Decepticons are here. Without us they would have conquered Earth years ago," she paused, "We're also here because our home world, Cybertron, died from the war. It can't support us anymore,"
"But if your home can't support you, how can Earth?" Robin asked.
"During the war we sent caches of Energon, our fuel, to various planets. Earth was one of them and the mineral has started to grow and form here," Arcee explained.
"It's a very long story," Jack summed up when he saw the questioning looks on their faces.
"So why are you involved in it?" Raven asked him.
Jack rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Sorta an accident, saw the bots when they were still a secret and was brought to base to keep me and my family safe,"
"Didn't look like you needed that much protection while you were kicking the spider-bots but," Cyborg commented.
"I didn't do a lot of fighting before I met the bots, but being Kryptonian and all, I'm stronger and tougher than most of them. Even if I did stay hidden till about a month ago," Jack explained.
"You are Kryptonian?" Starfire asked.
"One of the last, why?" Jack replied.
"I heard stories of a race known as the Kryptonians on Tamaran, stories of an intelligent people who once traveled the stars," she explained, "Tell me, do they still explore the stars?" she asked eagerly.
Jacks face fell, "No, Krypton's golden age passed thousands of years ago. Our home world is nothing but a barren asteroid field, me and my sister are the last living Kryptonians," he answered.
"Oh," Starfire said, drooping, "I apologize, I did not mean to insult," she said.
Jack smiled slightly, "It's fine, you didn't know. Heck I didn't know until a few months ago. All I knew was that I wasn't human. Long story how I found out,"
"So if you're an alien," Beastboy started out carefully, "Does that mean you have all other kinds of superpowers!?" he asked excitedly.
Jack was about to answer, before an alarm rang through the tower. He covered his ears as it caught him off guard, "What is that!?" he demanded.
Cyborg lifted his arm up to check and looked at Robin, "It's Slade,"
Unknown Location…
He watched the screens as his henchmen began carrying supplies out of the warehouse. He had no need of them, but it was necessary to draw the Titans, and more importantly, their new friend Jack Darby into the open.
He knew that his plan would never work if Jack had not met the Titans. It was a stroke of good fortune that the Decepticons had attacked so close to the city, soon to be his city. But of course, he had a single obstacle to remove.
Right on cue, several explosions ripped through his robotic henchmen as the Titans attacked, lead by Robin. The boy was so much like him, yet refused to embrace the similarities. His attempts to make him had failed, he had his chance as his apprentice and rejected his offer.
But Jack… Jack was different, always had been. He'd watched the teen for some time now, watching him grow more and more powerful. He would either prove to be a powerful ally, or an unstoppable enemy.
Regardless, it was time to set his plan into motion…
Warehouse, Jump City…
Jack tossed the limp form of a robotic henchmen at a wall, watching it shatter as he did. He had to admit, these things were pretty advanced, almost Cybertronian in nature, though he saw no sign of Energon leaking from them.
They were mostly covered in black armor, with silver, gloves, boots and a belt as well as orange circles on their faces. A silver collar covered their necks, and they lacked any sort of visible eyes outside the white holes on their blank masks. They were somewhat creepy, but not very tough.
In proof of this concept, Jack kicked ones head clean off, the body falling to the ground limp. Though the titans had slightly more difficulty than him, it was obvious that this Slade built the robots to be expendable, not dependable.
Arcee knocked several of them away with a simple swipe of a servo, the robots were no match for her. Jack didn't have time to watch her fight though, two of them had leapt at him. He narrowed his eyes his heat vision cutting the robots cleanly in two.
He blinked a few times to shut his heat vision off, and looked around and saw that the rest of the robots were taken care of. They rested across the ground in pieces, arms, legs, and heads lying everywhere.
Arcee and Jack made their way to the Titans who had handled the rest of the bots. Beastboy had shifted back to his human form and was currently picking out bits of metal out of his teeth. Robin and Cyborg were examining the wreckage for something.
"Man, even for Slades Hench-bots that was easy!" Beastboy exclaimed confidently.
"A little too easy," Robin said kneeling next to a relatively intact Hench-bot.
Arcee kneeled to be on a better level with the Titans, "Maybe this Slade wasn't expecting a Kryptonian and Cybertronian to help you out," she suggested.
Robin placed a hand under his chin as he thought, "Even so, Slade isn't one to take chances, this isn't like-" he was cut off as the Hench-bot suddenly shot to its feet.
Moving before anyone could react, it flung a disc shaped object at Arcee's midsection. There was a clang as it stuck to her side and several small claws stuck into it. She let out a yelp of pain and ripped the device off, flinging it away right as it detonated.
Jack on the others hand moved forwards fast and slammed a fist through the Hench-bots chest. Wires sparked and the bot spasm as its energy drained and it fell off Jacks fist offline.
"Arcee, are you okay?" he asked hurriedly.
The femme rolled her optics, "Jack I'm fine, it's just a bit of scratched finish, nothing you or I can't fix," she answered simply.
"You're sure?" Jack asked worried.
"Jeez man, calm down, pretty sure the girl knows if she's fine or not," Cyborg said calming the boy slightly.
"Yeah, your acting like she's your girlfriend or something," Beastboy said, receiving a slap upside the head from Raven.
"Ow, what was that for, I was only kidding," he said indignantly rubbing the back of his head.
"Well you weren't far of Beastboy, Arcee is my girlfriend," Jack admitted with a slight hint of pride. He'd gotten over his embarrassment over their relationship after their first date.
Robin, Cyborg, and Beast boy's jaws dropped in unison at this while Starfire giggled at their shock and Jack could have sworn he saw a faint smile on Ravens face. Before the male members of the team could barrage him with questions though, the sound of a recording flicking on caught their attention.
The group turned towards the sound and saw the "mask" on one of the robots fall off its face. What was revealed underneath was a small video screen and speaker. It was flickering slightly, but the picture was clear enough.
The video showed a man dressed very similar to the robots. His body was covered in black armor that looked similar to Kevlar if one looked close enough. He wore silver and black gauntlets, a silver belt and midsection, and two silver pieces of armor that were bolted to his suit on his upper arms. A silver collar was also bolted to his upper body.
But the mask was the most defining feature of this man's dress. One side was all black with no sign of even an eyehole. The other was bright metallic orange with a single eyehole with a blue eye looking through. Four vents lined the bottom of the mask, creating a skull like appearance on his mask.
"Slade," Robin growled.
"Hello Robin," Slade responded. His voice was slick and cold, hinting at a level of sophistication and intelligence that made Zod and Megatron sound like Neanderthals.
"What do you want?" Robin demanded.
"Calm yourself Robin, anger won't get you anywhere. I simply wished to challenge the Titans once again. A game if you will," Slade answered simply, his voice never falling or rising in pitch.
"We're not playing any of your 'games' Slade," Robin growled.
"Oh you will Robin, if you want the city to stay above sea level," Slade stated.
Everyone looked at the screen with rapt attention, "You see, I have placed seven bombs at key points throughout the city. If more than three manage to detonate, the city will flood,"
"Why tell us this?" Starfire asked.
"It's Slade, there's more to this than he's letting on," Robin answered, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"Very good Robin," Slade praised, "But I'm afraid that you'll have to figure that out yourself," he said and the screen flicked off. A set of coordinates for each bomb appeared on the screen flashing.
"Titans, we have to disable these bombs, we can figure out Slades plans later," Robin said and looked to Jack and Arcee, "Don't suppose you'd want to lend a hand?" he asked.
Jack smiled, "Not a problem, I'll take the one on the outskirts, I'm faster than anyone else here," he said lifting into the air.
Robin nodded, "I'll handle the one closest, Beastboy, you and Cyborg get the two along the docks, Raven you handle the ones near the damn, Starfire, get the one in the sewer system,"
"I'll handle the one at the dikes," Arcee stated.
"Before you go, take this," Robin said and tossed something to Jack. He looked at the small yellow device in his hands with a white T emblazoned on it.
"It's a communicator, it'll help us stay in touch," he explained.
Jack nodded, "Thanks," and slipped the device into his belt. With a slight whoosh, he took off into the air towards the location of the farthest bomb…
Bomb Location…
Jack slammed the door down with ease as he walked into the large abandoned factory. Light filtered in through the windows casting eerie shadows over the abandoned factory equipment. Cobwebs and dust coated the building, adding to the sense of age.
Jack took several steps forward before he felt his foot trip a wire. The whole building rumbled and Jack turned back towards the door. He tried moving to it, only for a large metal door to slide into place, coated with lead. The same could be said of the windows and the entire place was consumed by the dark.
Jack sighed, "Nice one Darby, you walked right into a trap," he muttered.
He shrugged, "Well, I could leave… Or spring the rest of it and stop this bomb," he said to himself, and started forward.
His footsteps echoed against the concrete floor, the only sound to accompany him in the darkness. His X-ray vision was useless, these lead doors blocked his vision into the outside world. He mentally kicked himself for not using it before he flew in. But it was too late to do anything about it now.
The sound of footsteps from above caught his attention, and he looked up at a walkway above, "Who's there?" he demanded.
He received no answer at first, "Whoever you are, show yourself," he ordered.
There was a slight flicking sound and suddenly several ancient light bulbs flickered on weakly. They only illuminated several choice spots including the platform above. Feet tapped against the metal as the figure walked into the spotlight.
"Hello, Jack," Slade said calmly.
Jack immediately tensed, "Slade," he growled. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed the perfect way to greet him.
Jacks eyes widened as a he realized something, "How do you know my name? We have never met," he stated.
"I know a lot about you Jack," Slade explained, "I've known about you for a long time, I've been watching and waiting silently, I'll admit your fighting capabilities are astounding," he praised.
"I don't need praise from you," Jack growled, "Where's the bomb,"
"Bomb? What bomb," Slade said his voice suggested he was smiling behind his mask, "My dear boy, haven't you figured it out yet? This was all a trap set for you,"
Jack scowled and shot towards the platform, floating above Slade, who stepped back slightly, "You are one stupid human, you know that?" Jack asked.
"I think you'll find the opposite to be true," Slade said, and ran off away from the Kryptonian.
Jack flew ahead of him and stopped in front of him, "Going somewhere?" Jack asked arms crossed.
Slades response was a running roundhouse knocking Jack off the platform to the ground. The teen stopped himself in midair and flew after him, rubbing his jaw. Slade was even stronger than his muscled form suggested, he wouldn't underestimate him again.
Jack saw the criminal running along the platform still, and shot a beam of heat vision ahead of him. The metal melted with ease and there was a shriek and groan as the platform bent forward, causing him to stumble. Slade quickly regained his footing and leapt forward, rolling forward as he hit the ground and running forward without breaking a step.
"Okay, enough of this," Jack growled, and flew right into Slade. The man let out a surprised grunt as Jack tackled into him. The two crashed through a wall into a large empty room with a single light illuminating it.
Jack rolled away from Slade and got to his feet shaking himself. He looked up to see the criminal casually brushing dust from his suit, like he hadn't been thrown through a wall, but merely inconvenienced. Jack frowned, this guy was starting to get on his nerves.
"Alright Slade," Jack started, "Why did you lure me here, what do you want with me?" he demanded.
Slades one eye looked up at the boy with disregard, "As I told my former apprentice, I wished to play a game of sorts. But then again I suppose a…test, would be a more fitting title," he said casually.
"A…test? You realize I could tear you in half with no effort," Jack pointed out, a minor bluff, but Slade wouldn't know that.
Slade let out a single chuckle, "Oh I am well aware Jack," his eye narrowed, "But you and I both remember how well that went over the last time you so easily killed someone. Tell me, when you killed those men, did you enjoy it?"
Jack stepped back, eyes wide with shock, "H-how did you know that?" he demanded.
Slade crossed his arms behind his back, "I told you boy, I have been watching you for some time. Since you arrived on Earth I have been watching. I knew you were special the day your first powers appeared in the first grade," he stated casually.
"You've been spying on me!?" Jack demanded angrily.
"Watching observing. If I had been spying on you I wouldn't have admitted it, now would I?" Slade asked calmly.
Jack narrowed his eyes, "I've heard enough, I don't care how much you know about me, I'm taking you in," he growled.
With that said, Jack ran forward and punched at Slade. The man dodged out of the blow to Jacks shock, and kicked him in the stomach. Jack doubled over as the breath was knocked out from him, and Slade kneed him in the face.
He stumbled back from the blow, shocked by this development. He shook his head and flew towards him this time, only for Slade to jump over him and use his chest as a springboard as Jack turned to try and grab him.
Jack slammed into the ground and rolled to his feet. The blow wasn't hard, but Jack wasn't used to fighting someone his own size. His time fighting Zod had been different, he hadn't had to hold back, same with Void and Dusk to an extent. But he didn't dare try to hard here with Slade, lest he risk killing him.
Slade cocked his head slightly to the side before striking a fighting position, "Come now Jackson, I expected more from you," he said arrogantly.
Jack ground his teeth and attack Slade with a vicious flurry of blows. Again, he was holding back significantly, but it seemed Slade didn't need it. He was easily dodging or parrying each blow with ease, until the two locked their arms against each other.
Jack began pressing forward, Slades arms slowly bending back as he applied more strength. But this wasn't right, no human no matter how strong should have been able to hold their own against him. But then he heard it, ever so subtle, but it was there. The creak and whirr of servos and electric engines.
This wasn't Slade, it was a robot!
Jack growled and ceased holding back. With a sudden increase in force, he tore both the Slade-bot's arms off, wires and pieces of metal spilling from the stumps of its shoulders. It stumbled back as Jack kicked it away.
His eyes glowed bright red, and its head was reduced to molten metal, the robot standing stock still. With a creek, it tipped backwards and crashed into the ground with a loud thud. It sputtered once, and stayed dead.
Jack sighed and tossed the disembodied arms away from him, turning to fly out of the building. He'd wasted enough time here, he needed to get back to the others.
"Going so soon?" Slade asked, and Jack whirled back at the body.
"No, not there Jack," Slade said, and a large television screen flickered to life, "Here,"
Another flicked on, "And here,"
Another, "And here,"
And another and another, until the entire room was illuminated by Slades face on television screens, "Like I said Jack, I am always watching, always waiting," the Slades said in unison.
Jack whirled between each of them, scowling, "Okay, cut the scrap Slade, what do you want!?" he demanded angrily.
"It's not what I want Jack, but what you want," Slade stated simply.
"What I want?" he asked confused.
"Of course, after all, I know how you feel about human society. You've always been the outcast, the loner, the freak. They would never accept you, and even after you saved them they reject you," Slade explained.
"So, I still have the Autobots," Jack countered.
"Ah yes the Autobots, the sentient machines that use our home as their battleground. Tell me, do you think they were ever once interested in you?" Slade asked.
Jack uncrossed his arms, "What do you mean?" he asked.
"When they first found you, you were a burden to them, a chore. Once they found out what you could do though, they used you to further their agenda. Think about it, you have fought for them ever since you returned, and have they ever once thanked you?" Slade asked.
"I… that doesn't matter, I offered to help, and Optimus doesn't try to endanger us. He looks out for our well being," Jack countered.
"But what if I told you there was a way to get the respect of the humans, and keep your friendship with the Autobots?" Slade stated.
"How are the two even linked?" Jack asked.
"Don't tell me you forgot about you and your partners trip to the mall. You had enough time fitting in as you, add her to your list and the public will never fully accept you," Slade replied.
"If you're trying to get me to join you Slade, you're not doing a great job," Jack deadpanned.
"Oh no Jack, this is not how I'm going to have you join me," Slade said, "This is,"
Several screens flickered to show the vital signs of several humans. Each one had a label that read: Miko, Raf, June. Jacks eyes widened as he took that in.
"What have you done to them!?" he demanded.
"Relax Jack, I have not done anything to them yet," Slade answered calmly, "But inside each of them is a device, a device that has connected itself to their spinal columns. It is far too small for anyone to notice or reach, but if you do not listen to me, I will activate it. Then, their own nerve impulses will be turned against, them causing a rather painful death," he explained.
"And what if I just melt your face off," Jack snarled.
"The devices are linked to my vitals. If they spike to high, like say from extreme blood loss or a combat scenario, they activate. If they drop too low, the same result," Slade replied.
"And if that isn't enough motivation…" there was a beep and a fourth name appeared: Arcee.
"No…" Jack said in horror stepping back before whirling to glare at the screens, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" he screamed.
"Nothing yet, but you recall the device my henchman used on the femme? It did in fact pierce her metal skin, and injected a series of nano-bot's that are residing in her spark. With the push of a button, I can cause her to feel excruciating pain. If it goes on long enough, it could even kill her," he stated, his voice calm yet smug.
Jacks shoulders drooped and his eyes fell, "What is it you want?" he asked.
"Simple, I give you two choices: Come after me and kill me now, but lose everyone you hold dear," he paused," or become my apprentice,"
Jack looked up at the criminal via the screen. He didn't like this, not at all, but what choice did he have? If he didn't do as Slade said, everyone he cared for minus Kara would die. Jack opened his mouth to respond…
A/N: MWAHAHAHAHA CLIFFHANGER! Oh man, I am so EVIL! For the record, before you start pelting me with tomatoes, this idea originally belonged to Guardian of Azaroth. But besides the point, more detail will be put into the respective ransom devices next chapter. So what do you guys think though? Did anyone expect this minus those who I told or GoA? Let me know in the reviews, and PM me for plot ideas or questions! Bye!
