Author's Note: All right I'm back with another chapter as you can see. I honestly didnt think I'd get this out before the weekend but I did. It just took some tweaking and revisions to finally get what I wanted. Hope you enjoy.
Teen Titans All Stars, Vol. 2
Chapter 11
Deathmatch, Part 2
Later that night, Terra the last of the remaining Titans made her way towards the East Coast. Since gaining the information she needed from Black Alice, Terra has been flying nonstop in the hope of rescuing not only her team, but also the entire organization. With most of the reserve teammates having gone on to other teams or dropping off the radar completely Terra knew that had only herself to rely on.
She could ask the League but they're not exactly on the best of terms. Though she's certain Superman would vouch for her. The Bat was another issue; ever since her public betrayal he'd been keeping close watch on her. The Dark Knight's always been a little weary of Metahumans especially in his town. She always felt uneasy around Nightwing especially the first few weeks after she got her powers and memories back. It was a long road but she eventually managed to win back their trust, in time Nightwing learned to trust her again and even vouched for her infront of the Bat taking full responsibility for her from then on. Only three people in the entire world have ever stood up for Terra Beast Boy, Nightwing and Superman. It was because of them she was allowed one last final chance to redeem herself publicly and become the heroine she's meant to be. She wasn't going to fail the Titans, never again.
Back at the club the chamber containing Beast Boy slid open after the drug had been administered to him. A group of guys entered the room and grabbed a hold of him.
"Beast Boy your up." one of them said as they dragged him out.
Starfire clutched her stomach and went down to her knees feeling ill. Her face contorted a bit as she fought the urge to throw up. Her husband caught a glance of her from the corner of his eye after seeing Beast Boy out.
"You all right?" he asked arching an eyebrow.
"Ugh. Not sure." She said still holding her gut, a strange symbol started to form on the back of Kori's neck. But was obscured by her hair. Which went largely unnoticed by Dick and the rest of the Titans.
"Hey we need someone in here!" he yelled.
A few minutes later Gar was brought up to the entrance floor of the arena. Standing beside him was a Hispanic boy a few years younger than him wearing a blue jacket with a white t-shirt and jeans. Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck in annoyance as he popped his neck bringing himself up to speed.
"Guess its my turn already." He said to himself.
"Mine too." Said the boy.
"Who are you?" he asked still rubbing his neck.
"Jaime Reyes the Blue Beetle. Your Beast Boy aren't you?" he asked.
"Yeah so…how'd they get a hold of you?" he asked.
"It's a long story." Jaime said as the door opened.
"Well better get into costume." He said taking off his shirt.
"Uh what are you doing?" he asked and saw a small blue scarab like device on his back.
"Whoa." He said.
"You better stand back. Ready Scarab? Let's go to work." He said.
The eyes flashed red on the Scarab as the A.I. came to life and grew in size encasing Jaime's back as bands of armor raced around his body in circles quickly encasing the teen's body. The armor interlinked together forming the basis of his black armor while a blue diamond shaped breastplate covered his chest with the beetle antlers for his symbol. A pair of large blue shin guards covered his knees. The Scarab's legs wrapped themselves around his chest and torso as a black and blue Luchidor styled mask covered his face in rubber with a blue widow's peak and blue lining across his jaw line and big red insect eyes finished off the look while the Scarab's antlers rose above his head emitting a spark of lightning between them finishing the change.
Jaime pounded his fist into his opposing hand as he looked up at Beast Boy and smiled.
"Pretty cool huh?" he asked.
"You said it. So like where are you from?" Beast Boy asked.
"El Paso." He told him as they walked thorough the entrance.
Once inside the arena they heard the crowd cheering as the newest fighters entered. The two teens looked up at the crowd as a skycam circled around them. The door on the opposite end of the arena opened up and the combatants entered. Beast Boy's eyes narrowed as he saw an all too familiar scarlet mech suit step into the light. The armor stood about 8 feet tall with giant Gatling gun like weapons wrapped around its forearms and had a silver robotic skull for a helmet with a tall red antenna protruding from the back. The helmet split open along the mouth showing the face of it's pilot.
"You again?!" he yelled.
"It's been a long time Gar." Galtry said.
"You know him?" Jaime asked.
"All too well I'm afraid. His name's Nick Galtry, bastard was once my legal guardian as you can see that didn't turn out so well." He told him.
"The hell kind of family did you grow up with?" Blue Beetle asked.
"Trust me my real family's better than this jerk." Beast Boy said.
"And now you're going to get what's coming to you." Galtry sneered and closed his helmet.
"We'll see about that." Gar said to himself.
"So what about this other guy?" he asked Blue Beetle.
"Oh crap." Jaime said.
"What?" he asked. Standing before them was a 7 ft tall albino weretiger.
"It's a Splicer!" he said.
"What the hell's a Splicer?" Gar asked.
"Guys that splice animal DNA into their own bodies. I deal with these all the time." Blue Beetle said getting into fighting stance.
"Fighters take your positions! On your mark, get set…go!" Roulette yelled from above.
"Showtime. You go after the armored dude. I'll take on the Tiger." Beetle told him.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Gar said cracking his knuckles.
As Jaime went after the weretiger, the Splicer threw back his head and shot acid from his mouth. Blue Beetle yelled and jumped aside at the last second as it ate away at the floor.
"Whoa! Judas Priest they never did that back home!" he yelled.
"I am not your average splicer. I am The Siberian you will die by my hand yes?" he spoke in a Russian accent.
"Thanks but I kind of like everything the way it is, intact." He replied as the Siberian came after him. Beetle's right arm transformed into a hand cannon and pointed it at him as it lit up.
"Fire in the hole." He smiled and shot a blue laser blast at Siberian's chest throwing him back.
On the other side Armory opened fire on Beast Boy as he raced towards him. Beast Boy morphed into a rhino and barreled towards him with the bullets deflecting off his hide.
"You really think your going to use the same trick on me twice?" he yelled.
"As a matter of fact yeah!" said Gar as he plowed his horn into the armor. But it was thicker this time and Beast Boy couldn't impale it much less make a dent in it.
"Sorry kid but your going to have to do better than that!" he yelled.
"I'll show you old man!" he yelled and used his weight against Galtry's armor and started to skid back an inch. Armory grabbed his sides and dug his feet into the ground.
"I'm not going to let you beat me!" he yelled as he tried to push him back.
"Really? I thought you'd be use to losing by now!" Gar said as he continued to push forcing him back another inch.
Beast Boy put all his strength into his legs and started walking forward pushing him back little by little.
"No!" he yelled as two metal sheets on his back flip up revealing rockets underneath and fired. Beast Boy narrowed his eye knowing exactly what to do. The changeling reared up on his back legs and propelled him over his head the villain yelled as he flew head long into wall on the field and crashed through it. The rhino doubled back and went after him.
Siberian hurled himself through the air at Blue Beetle and roared with his claws extracted. Beetle created a large shield with his left hand in the shape of a beetle shell and threw him over his head. Siberian landed on his feet and turned around to see Beetle lunge at him with a blue boxing glove and nailed him between the eyes. The tiger barreled over backwards and hit the stadium wall. While Galtry was still down Beast Boy shape shifted into a triceratops with his horns aimed straight at Armory's back. Galtry saw him from the corner of his eye and turned firing his gatling gun at Gar. The bullets ricocheted off of his bill at he barreled towards him and stabbed him in the side with his horns rooting him in the air. Sparks flew, as he seemed to hit a vital area and threw him in the air before shapeshifting again into a T-Rex and slamming his tail into him as he came down as Galtry crashed into the force field blanketing the stadium wall. Which promptly threw him to the ground as a result.
Stunned from the hit he looked up and saw gorilla Beast Boy body slam him forcing him into the ground. As the dust cleared he continued to beat Galtry smacking him upside the head with his massive hand before driving his fists together on opposite sides of Galtry's helmet causing massive damage as several large cracks splintered the face of the helmet. Beast Boy drew back his fist and smashed in the left eye of the helmet obliterating the left side of his mask. Beast Boy picked him up over his head and threw him several yards across the stadium floor and chased after him on his knuckles. Galtry struggled to get up as sparks shot from the joints in his suit of armor and couldn't get to his feet before Beast Boy caught up with him again.
"No! No!" he yelled as he grabbed his ankle and started to pick him up.
"Beast Boy that's enough! You won!" Blue Beetle yelled.
Beast Boy glared at him still in animal form and out of breath.
"You know what kind of hell he put me through?!" he yelled at him.
"This man tried to kill me. Now I'm returning the favor." He said as he turned his attention back to Galtry.
"That's not what we're about. We're heroes! We don't kill them no matter what they did to us. We're not in the business of revenge Beast Boy." He said.
"And why don't we? Why cant we just take out scum like him?" he yelled.
"Because if you did, then you're no better than he is." Beetle told him.
Beast Boy panted as he looked at his teammate and then back at Galtry who was at his mercy. Armory yelled and pointed his Gatling blaster at the gorilla's face. Beast Boy growled and threw him towards the ceiling. Galtry yelled as he flew 50 feet up and crashed into the force field electrocuting him. The man screamed as the current raced through his system and explodes. A trail of smoke raced down and crashed a few seconds later. Beast Boy shape shifted back as he and Beetle raced towards the wreck to see a critically injured Galtry lay in the shell of his armor before passing out. The crowd cheered at the spectacular finish of the match as Beast Boy and Blue Beetle looked at each other. A team of medics raced onto the field not long afterward to see if Galtry was still alive. The two boys looked at the medics as they rushed past them to aid Galtry. A fellow medic kneeling beside his head signaled for a gurney as one was rushed onto the field.
Back in the holding bay Starfire's health continued to worsen the young Tamarian had curled up into the fetal position trying to sleep. Nightwing looked on at his wife not sure what to make of her situation. The Dark Knight prodigy kept rubbing the back of his neck feeling only a slight abrasion, not knowing that the mark that appeared on Kori's neck was on his as well. Beast Boy clutched his stomach suddenly feeling sick. He wasn't sure if it was from the smell of Galtry's burning flesh or something else. Blue Beetle put Gar's arm around his shoulders as he helped carry him off the field. Once they were beyond the door he slid down against the wall and continued to clinch his gut feeling like he was on the verge of throwing up. Jaime's mask receded back exposing his face to Gar.
"You all right buddy?" he asked.
"I'm not sure." He said clutching his jersey tightly.
"Maybe the docs will take a look at it." Jaime said.
"If they even bother you mean." He said as he struggled to get up, neither of which were aware of the brand on the back of Gar's neck.
In the control room above the arena, Iscariot watched each of the monitors as the situation unfolded before him. A smirk crept across his face as he watched the virus begin to overtake the Titans bodies.
"Soon they will be ready." He said to nobody as a golden eye symbol appeared on screen before him. The door opened behind him as Waller entered the room. He stooped down and pressed a button changing what was on screen as she walked towards him.
"What's going on in here?" she asked.
"Just making sure the prisoners don't try anything." He said focusing one on Starfire.
Waller looked at the screen intently noticing that she was doubled over in her tube.
"Is she all right?" she asked.
"I'll have one of my men look into it. So what did you think of the match?" he asked.
"Hmm, a bit too brief for my liking. Though I am starting to wonder. What is the actual point behind these matches?" she asked him.
"I thought you enjoyed watching them destroy each other?" He replied with a smile.
"While I admit it is entertaining there should be more to it than meaningless violence." She told him.
"They seem impressed. What more is there to like?" He said gesturing towards the audience. Amanda nodded and turned to leave as Brandon leaned against the council seeing her off with a smile. Once she was the door Waller put her hand beside her ear.
"Keep a close watch on them. I want to know what he's up to." She said softly.
Iscariot turned back to the control and resumed his work with a grin as he focused on the screen monitoring Starfire. In the holding chamber she continued to groan in pain as a piece of circuitry appeared on her right thigh and another piece appeared next to her left elbow.
"It's only a matter of time now and then finally the master plan will be unveiled and nobody will be able to stop Me." he said to himself.
Out in the hallway Beast Boy continued to feel worse as he clutched his stomach. Under his white jersey a patch of circuitry started to form.
"Whatever it is we need to get you treated." Jaime said as a shadow loomed over them.
"We'll escort him back, you return to your cell." a guard told him.
"I want to make sure he gets treatment." Beetle said.
"And we'll make sure he gets it. Back to your cell." the guard repeated. Jaime stared the two men down as one of them cocked thier rifle.
"You think that'll hurt me?" he asked.
"Let's not make this any more difficult than it has to be son." he replied sternly.
Although he didnt like it, he stood down not wanting to escalate any further.
"Just make sure he gets what he needs." he said before walking off.
"Oh we will." the guard said softly.
A few minutes later the door opened as the guards brought Beast Boy back to his containment unit. Several corridors down the hall, the Scarab antlers blinked as it spoke to Jaime in R2D2 fashion.
"Yeah I know. Believe me I dont like it anymore than you do Kaji Dal." he said as he continued down the hallway. The Scarab responded to his further.
"Well what am I suppose to do? Yeah we're a walking arsenal but how exactly are we going to save everyone that's here?" Jaime asked. The Scarab responded.
"No we're not going to pick and choose who stays and who goes. We need to be smart about this. I wouldnt doubt Cadmus has a file on us, just like every other costumed hero. And likely they know most of our secrets and probably have a countermeasure in place if we try to escape. We cant solve every problem by blowing the crap out of whatever comes our way. We need help from the outside, are they still blocking transmissions?" he asked the Scarab and it replied.
"Dammit. Well Scarab I guess we're on our own then." he sighed and punched the corner of an entrance.
In the skies above New York City flew six figures four males, two females and at the head of the group was Terra. Behind her flew two guys, one wearing white spandex with red gloves, boots and briefs and a white cowl with red on the front and five red jagged strips for a cape. The one next to him wore blue spandex with white superhero gear, along with a blue and white mask and white cape resembling bird wings. The two appeared to be brothers due to thier simular motif and color swap. Behind them flew a young Arabic boy in black spandex with yellow lightning bolts lining the front, back and sleeves of his jersey. On the far side of the guys flew a far more familar figure. A girl in a blue and red outfit with a big 'S' on her chest and was carrying a green and black speedster by the shoulders.
"Hang on guys." thought Terra.
"So everyone's clear on the plan right?" she asked aloud. Her teammates nodded in agreement.
Back inside the lab Iscariot gave the order to his workers.
"Begin the final download." he told them.
The workers typed in the commands iniating the final sequence allowing the program to run its course. Inside the Titans preservation tanks the water changed to a dark yellow as enzymes inside the water was absorbed through thier pores beginning the molecular transformation cycle. Outside Kori's body the circuitry started to grow and multiply in areas turning itself into an armor casing. The casing quickly swallowed it's host leaving only her head exposed as the armor hardened around her body turning steel blue, as lines of intricate circuitry glowed under and throughout the armor as a soft yellow light appeared in the middle of Kori's chest and beams of light burst forth creating the OMAC eye symbol in white and red above her bust. The same process followed as the armor quickly encased all of the Titans members in mere moments leaving only thier heads exposed. The Titans opened thier eyes as they glowed yellow and miles of circuitry mapped itself across thier internal systems. The OMAC symbol on the back of thier neck flashed gold as the needle was raised up and the fluid started to drain out of the tubes lifting the glass containers seconds later. The Titans stepped out of their chambers and walked calmly towards the door.
"Now to treat them to a show that's sure to kill." Iscariot said with arms folded.
"Send in Infinity Inc." he added. The scientist quirked an eyebrow and turned in his chair towards Iscariot.
"Sir they dont have the OMAC system embedded like the Titans do." he replied.
"I know." he said darkly. The man at the controls looked at him questionably.
"Do it." he told him.
The scientist sighed and turned around in his seat.
"Yes sir." he replied and typed in the commands.
In the hallway behind them stood the Red Hood with a foot against the wall. The hoodlum narrowed his eyes and walked off silently.
"You want us to what?!" Kid Zoom yelled.
"Look if we dont do something Infinity Inc will be slaughtered tonight." Jason told him.
"And that matters to us how exactly?" asked Renegade.
"If he's able to do that to the Titans then what good will we be to him?" Jason asked through his mask.
"Your saying they're going to off us once they're done with Infinity Inc?" Kid Zoom asked.
"Seems that way. Why else would he turn them into mutant cyborgs?" he asked.
Kid Zoom and Renegade looked at each other before laughing.
"Yeah as if. The more villains we have the better, and the easier it'll be to take over the world or whatever the hell they're plan is." Kid Zoom told him.
"The plan wasnt sanctioned by Amanda Waller. At least not from what I can tell." he told him.
"Yeah, yeah like I really care what happens here. They can do whatever they want to any of these yahoos. I dont care about them or anyone else for that matter. If you want to get yourself killed be my guest. But I wouldnt want to be standing in your boots when the shit hits the fan." Kid Zoom told him.
"There's a saying that goes around my hometown. I'm sure you've heard of it at some point. Snitches get stitches or wind up in ditches and unless you want to end up in one you'll stay away from those Titans. If you can call them that anymore." he said before walking off.
"Dont worry I wont be the one taking a dirt nap when this is over." Jason told him. Kid Zoom blew him off and raced out of the room.
"What about you? Your sister is one of them." he said to X. Grant appeared out of the shadows behind him.
"Why should that matter? Incase you havent noticed, we're not exactly close." he said pulling off his mask.
"Then how about Nightwing? You always want to take a crack at him." he said turning to him arms crossed.
"You expect me to save someone who threw me out a window a few weeks back?" he asked.
"Honestly? No, but I'd think someone who based thier entire grudge around that one thing. Wouldnt stand to see someone else take him down. Plus you get to fight him anyway so its a win-win. And if he lives then you'll have the chance to fight him again as many times as you please. Your like his Joker after all." Jason said inticing him.
Red-X looked down at the floor contemplating what was said.
"That's what you were trying to convince the others." Grant said.
"That was the idea." Jason said.
To be concluded.
Author's Note: All right what'd you think of that. I certainly took me a while to figure out how to set up this chapter but I finally got something I know I like. Sometimes the worse thing about being an author is not knowing what you want to happen. Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter thanks for all your support in your previous reviews. And let me know what you think.
Please review,
Green Gallant.
