ALL-STARS TEEN TITANS
CHAPTER TEN: DEUCE AND NANO, PART II
"One hotdog with all the toppings, please!" a somewhat obese citizen said as he was at a hotdog stand. The vendor put the huge sausage on a bun, and put on ketchup, mustard, cheese, sauerkraut, crispy onions and relish on it. The citizen licked his lips as he paid the vendor and prepared to take a bite with his eyes closed…only to bite his fingers. "Ouch! What the…"
The hotdog now was in the possession of Nano, who had stretched out his limbs to quickly snatched it and give it to Deuce. "Thanks friend…Deuce was really hungry!" she said as she took a bite of it. "You have been nice to Deuce, Deuce should do something in return…oh, I know a nice place we can go. It'll be fun!"
"Fun?" Nano asked.
"Yes, fun! Pleasant activity. Deuce will show you!" Deuce said as she took Nano's hand and dragged him off.
"I studied remnants of the nanobots on my arm from the last fight…those nanomachines are a fusion of Earth tech and technology from both the New Gods and Apokalips." Cyborg said.
"Past experiences with that kind of tech resulted in Sphere, a device in possession of the justice league with a pet-like mentality, as well as a Wonder Woman foe named Egg-Fu!" Robin said.
"Egg-Fu? You're serious?" Beast Boy laughed.
"Ignoring BB's comment, so yeah, there is proof that there are truly fully sentient machines. Sorry Raven, but in your face!" Cyborg said.
"Real or not, that girl doesn't know what she is playing with and we need to contain it. That's all what matters." Raven said.
"It's not a question of whether it's real to you, but how it's real to that girl. Say Raven, you ever had a doll or a stuffed animal as a little girl?" Beast Boy asked.
"I don't know how that's relevant." Raven asked.
"Just answer the question!" Beast Boy asked.
"Yes, what kid doesn't have at a young age?" Raven answered annoyed.
"And when you were a kid, wasn't she as real to you as that nanomachine was to that girl?" Beast Boy asked.
"This has nothing to do with me." Raven said.
"It has anything to do with you. You are also lonely, and you are also deluded. Your delusion is that you believe you have to be alone. While you don't have to be." Beast Boy said.
"But…I…" Raven stammered. It was then that, due to bad or good timing depending on one's opinion, the alarm sounded. "Oh, there's the alarm, let's continue this conversation never." Raven said.
"My computers have picked up the energy signature of the nanobots…and they're somewhere near an abandoned theme park?" Cyborg wondered.
"That thing absorbs technology…it will become enormous when it has consumed all technology there." Starfire noted.
"What it's going to do? Throw cotton candy at us?" Raven said.
"It may not be evil, but it doesn't know its own strength, so we have to do something. Titans, we move out now!"
At the said amusement park, Deuce and Nano, which are in one of the rides. Nano hadn't absorbed it but used his powers to repair and activate it. "Whee!" Deuce said raising her arms in the air as she felt the wind blow through her hair.
"Whee?" Nano asked, raising his arms as well, trying to figure out the 'fun' behind this. As the ride was over, the two stepped out.
"That was fun…The ride itself was fun, but Deuce found it the most fun that you were there to enjoy it with me." Deuce said happily as she hugged Nano.
"Fun…together?" Nano asked.
"Yes, the best fun is the one to be had together." Deuce said as she smiled. Nano half closed his optic, as the liquid metal face ovaled itself more to the sides, as if Nano tried to show he smiled as well.
"We couldn't agree more." A voice said. It was the voice of Dr. Polinksy, and he was joined by his colleague, Dr. Richards, both now had some kind of suit which has the same circuit-like patterns as Nano had. "So allow us to take back our experiment and have fun with it."
"Leave Nano alone! He's Deuce's friend. He doesn't belong to you, he is his own person!" Deuce said as she split in three and confronted them.
"You poor silly deluded lass. He's a machine, he can't be his own person, and he can't be a friend, he's just metal and circuits. He's created to serve and he's going to serve us. Now step aside!" Dr. Richards said.
"Deuce will fight you!" Deuce said as she created several more clones.
"You can try, but you can't beat us! You see, we got ourselves new toys!" Dr. Polinksy said as he pulled out something that could be best described as a four-pronged lightsaber. "And it also lets me live out my dream of being a Space Warrior!"
Deuce and her clones screamed as they attacked. One group of clones took on Dr. Richards. Three clones charged, but Dr. Richards pushed a button on his belt, and his outfit changed to have long khaki pants, a blue vest with the motive of the English flag and a pair of small sunglasses, and a cane with a ruby on top. The clones pounced on him, only to find it was a hologram and they crashed onto the ground. Richards reappeared somewhere else. The clones charged at him as well, but it appeared to be another hologram.
Several more reappeared all over the field, and the clones spread out to tackle each one, but they would fade upon being struck. Deuce tried creating more clones to cover more ground, but she had reached her limit and couldn't create more, not that it would help since brute force and numbers were useless. "Hello there, my lass!" a giant projection of Richard's head appeared to the clones in the sky and fired an energy blast from his mouth, knocked all the clones down, leaving only three and dispersing the others.
The other clones pounced at Polinksy. Polinksy grabbed a disc entitled 'Kung-Fu Lessons Nr. 5' and put it in his belt. The suit did all the work and enabled him to do several fast and fierce Kung Fu moves Polinksy wouldn't have been able to do without the suit, as he knocked the clones down in an impressive display of speed and agility, the clones being knocked down or fading upon being hit by his lightsaber. "Another dream coming true, space warrior, kung Fu master…I wonder what else this suit will allow me to do!" he said happily.
The remaining Deuce clones charged at him but he just reached out his hand, and the three Deuce clones were held in the air, slammed into each other, and then smacked into the ground.
Deuce couldn't keep up her copies any longer as she was getting tired. All she could do is stand in front of Nano, her arms spread out, panting. "Deuce doesn't care what it takes, you won't take him away!"
"So be it, my ducky. Time to for the fat lady to sing!" Richards said as he raised his cane, and Polinksy did the same for the lightsaber.
However, a pair of birdarangs flew at them and hit them square on, knocking the two of them back. They picked themselves up and saw five more figures standing in front of Nano. "If there's one thing I can't stand, its big bullies like you. Picking on a little girl like that, just gutless!" Robin said.
"Oh my gosh, the Teen Titans in person, it's so cool!" Polinksy said, but Richards whacked him on the head. "Ouch, what did you do that for?"
"We're not here to be fan boy, we're here to get our experiment, and focus will you!" Richards said.
"Oh Mod, don't be mad…" Polinksy said. "I know we got a mission at hand, but you have to admit we have done something pretty big if the Titans want to confront us personally!"
"Don't call me Mod, you know I hate that nickname, and we can't allow to let those Titans to get in our way! So stop acting like a geek and help us regain control of our experiment." Richards growled.
"Hey, Mod…control…oh, you two should be called Mad Mod and Control Freak!" Beast Boy said, having heard it all.
"Beast Boy!" the others said.
"Sorry, can't resist. But you got to admit, those are some pretty good names." Beast Boy said, once again unable to resist the naming of super villains.
"I don't like it, I already told you I hate being called 'Mod'…" Dr. Richards, aka Mad Mod said, clearly annoyed.
"But I do! You see, we're now officially recognized as super villains, if Beast Boy used his trademark on us. We're going to be big names from now on. Once we have Nano, we don't have to take orders from anyone ever again. And true to my new name, I'll take control of the city, you helping me of course, and to prove myself as their greatest fan, I'll be the one to best the Titans!" Dr. Polinksy, now renamed Control Freak said.
"Well I don't know about the fan boy behavior, but being our own villains is something I can get behind. Let's go and teach these young brats how to respect their elders then, shall we?" Mad Mod said as he slammed his cane in the palm of his hand, showing he means business.
"You aren't going to get away with anything. You shall now harm this girl, you will not get the experiment and you will not defeat us!" Beast Boy said, more seriously than he was earlier.
"You are protecting Deuce and Nano? Why? I thought you didn't like Deuce?" Deuce asked.
"We never said that…believe it or not, each of us Titans have known at one point what loneliness feels like. No one should feel that way. We'll protect you, and your friend…and when this is over, hopefully we can be friends too, so you don't have to be lonely again." Beast Boy said.
"Thank you!" Deuce muttered softly, touched by his worlds.
Raven also heard Beast Boy's words…and it started to come together for her now…and now she understood, she gained a new drive to fight. "Then what are we standing around here for, let's get take these geeks down!" Raven said.
"Titans go!" Robin ordered as all the Titans charged at the bad guys.
"Nano, let's find a place to hide, our new friends will cover us!" Deuce said as she led Nano away. However, they were cut off by a few huge machines that looked like giant tin soldiers, and what appears to be a huge mechanical bipedal shark. "Oh no!" she said.
Starfire charged at Control Freak, who held out his hand to stop her in mid-air. She struggled but couldn't break free from the grip. "Oh Starfire, you're the most beautiful girl on Earth, or the universe…a shame I have to hurt you! Maybe you should be my queen as I rule over this town." he said.
However, this distraction allowed Beast Boy in the form of a rhino charge at him and knock him back. Control Freak picked himself up. Beast Boy turned into a gorilla, jumped up and tried slamming down his huge gorilla fists down upon him. But Control Freak jumped up and kicked him in the stomach and sends him flying. "As you can see, I know Kung Fu!"
"You cheated to get your powers…at least Robin's got his through hard training. The rest of us trained to master ours. So you're nothing but a couch potato with a sooped up suit!" Beast Boy said.
"I'm a scientist, of course my physical skills are low, that's why I have the suit in the first place. Well that, and the cool gadgets!" he said as he fired a purple lightning bolt from his hand.
"Dude, lightsaber, telekinesis, dark lightning…you use the technology to emulate the Clash of the Planets?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yes, isn't it cool? It's like a childhood dream come true. Shame they ruined the perfect trilogy with such a sub-par prequel trilogy." Control Freak said.
"I dunno, the cartoon spinoffs of said trilogy are actually pretty good." Beast Boy replied.
"Er…May I remind you two that we are adversaries and that we are supposed to be engaged in combat ?" Starfire asked.
"Oh right!" Beast Boy said as he turned into a Sasquatch and punched Control Freak right into the face.
The rest took on Control Freak, who thanks to his odd suit, managed to elude the Titans. Cyborg fired his arm cannon, but pressing a button on his belt, Mad Mod's outfit changed into a typical British black tuxedo with a bowler hat and umbrella, the latter which he somehow uses as a shield to protect him from the blast, as the tip of his umbrella sported a sharp bladed point. He charged at our heroes, but Robin jumped in, birdarangs in hand and used them as makeshift weapons to fend off the attacks.
"His and Count Raul Freako over there's suit are also made using Apokalips tech." Cyborg noted as he finished scanning.
"You got that right, my duckies, and you haven't seen all I can do!" Mad Mod pushed his belt button again and turned into a Blue Meanie-esque being and then started to bounce around like a rubber ball. Cyborg and Robin threw their sonic blasts and Birdarangs around, but they missed the rapidly bouncing villains and they villain bumped into them, knocking them over. "Hah, can't touch me!"
"Calculating trajectory…" Cyborg said as he kept an eye on Mad Mod. "…I can!" Cyborg said as he saw Mad Mod soaring at him, jumping aside in time, shooting a hole in the floor as he was close to bouncing, and ending up getting stuck. "Now, pick a bodypart Robin!"
"Oh crud!" Mad Mod muttered.
Deuce multiplied herself and pounced on the Tin soldiers, but they seemed unstoppable as they didn't slow down, even with a dozen clones on top of them, and while Deuce could multiply, even then she couldn't break through the armor. "I can't stop them!" Deuce muttered.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven's mantra sounded as the robots were engulfed in black energy and bolts and nuts flew off, as they were disassembled and collapsed into piles of robots. She then approached Deuce. "Deuce…I'm sorry about…insulting your friend." She said.
"Deuce forgives you. You saved Deuce.
Nano himself found that he was unable to absorb the robots because they were clockwork, the mad doctors having anticipated this. However, he was able to assimilate nearby tech, as he fused with a Ferris Wheel and use it to run over the shark as a big wheel..
"All right, Nano!" Deuce said happily as she saw how her friend literally ran over the robots. However, one surviving robot pulled out something from a hollow compartment from his chest. He tossed it at Nano, and it seemed mechanical as Nano was able to absorb it. However, Nano seemed to be in pain by this as he reduced to normal size as his circuits turned from red to blue. "Nano!"
The Titans turned away from Mad Mod and Control Freak as they saw what happened to Nano. "What has happened to him?" Cyborg asked.
"One of our robotic minions has tossed a Father Box into him. It is told that's how the warriors of Apokalips control their technology." Control Freak said as he pulled out a remote. "And now we have total control over him. Now, my pet project, get them!" Control Freak ordered.
The now mindless minion Nano let out a metallic screech as nanite-based tenctacles shot from his body and rushed at the Titans, ready to impale them. The Titans jumped aside, dodging all attacks. "Yes, it works. Now, with a creature like this under our command, we command all technology in the city." Control Freak said happily.
"Oh, make him possess the rides!" Mad Mod suggested.
"Excellent idea!" Control Freak dialed buttons on his remote, as Nano shout out small blobs out of his body at varying rides, turning them into monstrous versions, a rollercoaster turning into a giant serpent-like machine, the bumber cars growing jaws and teeth and a blob he shot at the haunted house summoned several weaponized movie monster animatronics.
Robin fought off these animatronics as he dodged the biting maws of a vampire and jumped away in time as a Frankenstein tried to punch him. He used his bo staff to knock their heads off but they kept going at him, so he impaled them through their chests, only to be knocked down by a werewolf, wrestling.
Starfire fired starbolts at the animated roller coaster but the blasts only seemed to be concussive in nature, as they barely did anything to him. He opened his maw and gnawed down on Starfire, whom despite her strength barely managed to keep the maw open from being chewed upon. Beast Boy tried coming for the rescue, only to be smacked by the tail, knocked into the air and land inside a seat on the rollercoaster, as several belts came down and held him tightly, so tight he couldn't transform to get out.
Cyborg blasted several monstrous bumper cars who advanced on him, but more kept coming. One was coming too close to shoot so he smacked him down, only to see some leftover nanites eating away at his arm. Cyborg screamed and climbed to higher grounds as the bumper cars growled at his feet like dogs cornering a cat in a tree.
Raven wasn't stupid however as she focused her attention on Control Freak, who had the remote and flew at him, however, she felt a tentacle wrap around her leg, courtesy of Nano. She couldn't be absorbed, but the nanites could still cover her. She was up to her waist in the nanobots.
"You were right, this feels so great…I can't believe we're defeating those meddlesome Titans, and we can move on to become the masters of Blüdhaven!" Mad Mod said enthusiastically.
Raven struggled to break free. The nanites were crawling up to her chest. "Azarath, Metrion…" she spoke but the nanites had crawled up to her mouth, making her unable to speak her mantra.
Deuce looked around, Robin about to be ripped apart by a werewolf, Raven wrapped up, Beast Boy and Starfire in the grasp of a monstrous rollercoaster and Cyborg about to be consumed by nanites. "STOP! NANO, PLEASE STOP!"
Nano eyed Deuce. "Nano, don't you remember Deuce, we are friends, remember?" Nano fired a bolt from his single optic, but Deuce barely dodged, and continued talking: "Deuce was always alone…even if Deuce made more of herself, it would still be just Deuce, and Deuce still is alone. Deuce had nothing, no home, no family, no friends, but you came in Deuce's life!" Nano just latched with a nanite tentacle like a whip, making her flinch and giving her a red mark on her cheek. "Deuce knew you were a machine but Deuce recognized something more. Deuce knew so that why Deuce wanted to be your friend…please Nano, don't hurt anyone anymore. You're not a bad guy's tool, you are Deuce's friend, and you are not a bad person!"
"Save your breath, little brat, he doesn't remember you anymore. He's a loyal pet and he's our ticket for conquest!" Mad Mod mocked.
"Nano, don't let them use you, they'll only want you to do bad things, destroy, hurt people. But you don't want to do that, Deuce knows! NANO, REMEMBER!" she begged.
Nano looked at her menacingly, but then he started to spark with electricity, as if he short circuited. And the rides under his power started to short out as well, allowing the Titans to break free form their bonds as Nano grabbed his head. "No…friend…not hurt!"
Control Freak dialed his remote wildly. "He's resisting, I can't reestablish control, do something, that little girl is ruining everything!"
"On it!" Mad Mod said as he rushed at Deuce.
"Not…hurt…friend…save…Deuce!" Nano said as he stretched out his arm and grabbed Mad Mod, his nanobots integrating with his suit. He stretched out his other hand and grabbed Control Freak, integrating in his suit as well, as well as the remote.
"No, don't, you're making it very unstable!" Control Freak said panicky as the circuits on the suits turned white and started to glow brighter, especially the remote's core started to go critical.
Nano retracted his limbs, taking the suits and the remote into himself and leaving the two scientists in their underwear. The Fatherbox and the control remote inside him grew more unstable due to Nano's resistance. "Nano…do good! Save…friends!" Nano said as he morphed into a flying machine and rushed up in the air.
"Nano!" Deuce shouted sadly, as the machine gave her one last smile before he blew up in the sky, being slagged in the explosion. "No…NO!" Deuce said as she sank down on her knees, crying.
"He sacrificed himself. To save all of us. I can't believe I was ever so mean when it came to him." Raven said sadly.
"YOU!" Deuce said as she and a dozen of her clones surrounded Control Freak and Mad Mod. "Because of you, Deuce's only friend is dead!" With their numbers, the Deuce clones could easily trounce the now defenseless villains.
"Don't do it, look at them, they're pathetic without their toys…they're not worth it!" Beast Boy said, touching Deuce's shoulder. Deuce saw the cowering baddies, hugging each other for comfort. Deuce recalled her clones and broke down crying in Beast Boy's shoulder. "It's ok…he was a brave robot and we'll miss him. But now you're no longer alone, you're with friends now!"
"You…you really mean that?" Deuce asked.
"We mean it." Raven said as she approached Deuce as well. "You don't have to be alone anymore. I should know, because I was alone most of my life, and I thought it's what I was supposed to be. But now I know…no one has to be alone. Someone goofy but wise told me, but I was too stubborn to listen."
"It's ok, Raven. We all have a thick side. I should know." Beast Boy joked.
"Now is the question if Deuce wants to be Raven's friend?" Raven asked as he reached out her hand to Deuce.
"Deuce…would like that!" Deuce said, shaking Raven's hand.
"These kind of scenes always make me cry!" Control Freak said.
"Oh shut your yap! It's making me sick!" the Titans gave them both dirty looks. The two squealed and hugged each other in comfort again.
A while after the two scientists were hauled off to jail, the Titans had taken the time of finding Deuce a home. "The next cab will bring you to your new home. They're a couple who are unable to have kids, they always wanted a daughter." Robin noted.
"Don't they think Deuce is weird?" she said. In her arms she was hugging the headphones, the last thing she had left from Nano, tightly.
"They are people who see weird things on a regular basis. They are maintenance workers at the Justice League Watchtower." Robin assured them. "They won't think less of you." Robin assured them.
"I also want to give you a gift." Raven said as she pulled out a communicator. "With your powers, you may make a fine Titan in the future. And friends also need to stay in touch. It has a secure channel and only reacts to you, so it's safe to use. That way, we're together as friends, even when apart!"
Deuce happily took the communicator, before hugging Raven around the waist. "Er…yes, that's nice. Not too much please, babysteps! I'm still socially awkward!"
"GROUP HUG!" Beast Boy shouted as the other Titans joined in. Raven sighed, but smiled and went along with it.
"You are the best friends Deuce could ever hope for. Deuce wants to thank you for everything. Deuce was glad to meet you." She said.
"Same here, kiddo!" Cyborg said.
"It was most glorious." Starfire said smiling.
"What they said." Robin added.
The cab arrived, Deuce went inside, waved her friends goodbye as they set off on the horizon, ready to meet her new family. After that, Raven turned to Beast Boy. "You were trying to teach me a lesson, but I didn't listen at first. I want to make up. I want to join you…only this once…for videogames. And then you're welcome to join me in meditating." Raven said.
"Really? That's so awesome of you Raven. Say, I'll make a few tofu snacks while I'm at it. Does that sound ok?"
"Babysteps, remember?" Raven said.
In the cab, Deuce stared at the communicator and the headphones, half sad and half happy. She lost a friend but gained five more soon after. It's that she's still taking it all in. "Thanks Nano. Thanks to you, Deuce made new friends, and found a family. Deuce is no longer alone now…" a tear ran down her face, on top of the headphones.
The headphones then started to glow with blue circuits, as they melted into one tiny metallic blob, with one red optic. "Deuce?" the blob asked.
"Nano!" she said happily as she hugged the tiny blob. Tears ran down her face, happy to see her friend back, ok.
"What's going on back there?" the cab driver asked.
"Nothing…Just Deuce getting in touch with an old friend."
TO BE CONTINUED
NEXT TIME ON ALL-STARS TEEN TITANS…
Roark is not only tired of our Titans ruining the day, but when the new Titan Aqualad joins in when Roark's actions cause pollution to the water, Roark sicks Mojo on them, and also hires one of Aqualad's enemies, the Black Manta, to kill them. Can the team of six pull through? Find out next time!