A/N: Finally getting back around to this, sorry I've put it off for so long.


The Lost Pyramid

seven years ago

Hieroglyphics covered the pyramid's light brown walls, the artistic design was quite good. However, young Garfield Logan and Michela didn't have the luxury to stop and look at them. They were currently running for their lives.

"Garfield I don't think I can run for much longer!" Michela breathed, her footsteps beginning to falter. Garfield reached back with his left hand and grabbed her outstretched right as he continued to run through the wall of hieroglyphics.

"Just hang on Michela we're almost at the exit!" He exclaimed, the green boy couldn't believe it, Zalthien, the one who taught them the basics on controlling their powers, was dead. Killed by an ancient and terrible evil that resided within this pyramid. In their mad dash to escape they also had lost Baruzar, but Garfield had no time to worry about that now.

The young changeling looked into his right hand, in it was a single sheet of paper with strange words written on it. Zalthien's final words were for him to get back to the Lost Pyramid's entrance and say the strange words out loud, then they would be safe. He felt Michela's grip tighten and looked back to see her stumbling, she collapsed to her knees, breathing hard.

"I...can't...Garfield...I can't go...anymore..." She said, breathing heavily, Garfield nodded and knelt down with his back to her.

"Grab on, I'll carry you." He told her, she nodded and climbed onto his back, the young green boy then began running again. He sprinted for thirty more full seconds and was afraid his cardio would fail him when he saw it, the exit was a beautiful sight, light shining in through the square doorway that marked their freedom. With renewed vigor, Garfield ran towards it.

As soon as he was past the entranceway he set Michela down and put the paper down in front of him. There were so many words, did he have enough time to say all these before whatever got Zalthien caught up to them? He had to try at least.

The young changeling began to say the words on the paper, as the words left his lips he felt an invisible pressure around him, a pressure that continued to build as he said more strange words. He was almost finished when a familiar voice shouted to him.

"Garfield! Michela! Help me!" Baruzar screamed, he was running full sprint towards him, but just behind him Garfield saw the unmistakable sight of two giant glowing yellow eyes, tendrils of smoke reached out from the shadows behind Baruzar, swiping and lashing at his heels.

"We have to help Baruzar!" Michela told him, trying to rise to her feet and failing, she collapsed back down in exhaustion.

Beads of sweat permeated Garfield's brow as he tried to come up with the best solution for the current situation. The monster was too close to Baruzar, if he waited for his friend to arrive and then tried to finish the page's spell, he would be far too late, and Zalthien's sacrifice would be in vain. His young face set into determination, though tears still escaped his eyes as he spoke the last words on the page.

The strange words began to glow on the page and change shape, turning into some sort of rune. The rune then flew forward and attached itself onto the Pyramid's entrance, the rune glowed a brilliant light-blue color. When Baruzar ran up to it, he slammed into it as if he had hit a brick wall, the young boy was dazed for a moment before he came to and began slamming his fists onto the rune.

"Garfield! what are you doing!? undo the spell! Let me out!" Baruzar wailed, the tears flowed freely from the young green boy's face as he shook his head.

"I-I can't...!" The young changeling managed to get out before a smokey tendril wrapped itself around Baruzar's neck. The young boy gasped and gripped the tendril tightly, trying to pull it off his throat, but to no avail. More tendrils appeared from the shadows, wrapping themselves around Baruzar, who was looking towards Garfield, eyes full of fear.

"Help me!" Baruzar shouted, before the tendrils roughly yanked him back into the darkness. For a full minute, Garfield continued to hear Baruzar's screams before blessed silence finally settled over Michela and him. The young changeling collapsed to his knees, his tears wetting the sand beneath him.


Some distance from the Cape Town Harbor

Present Day

There was fire, there was pain and then there was an eerie quiet. Beastboy opened his eyes to the inky blackness of the water he was currently in. The explosion must've knocked him out of his senses momentarily, looking above him he could see the red and orange colors of fire and a black shape that must be the bottom of the Aphrodite. Michela was fortunately still in the grip of his right arm, she was lying limp, probably still unconscious from the narrow escape. He realized that his makeshift left arm was gone, probably from his loss of concentration, no matter, he could worry about that later. Using his feet, the former Titan began to swim towards the surface.

As he swam he felt fire in his back as his muscles worked. It looked like he didn't escape the explosion completely unscathed. The changeling figured he'd worry about it later, when Michela and him were safe. Spotting the underside of another boat ahead and above him the exiled Titan made his way to it, hoping that was Michela's boat.

Beastboy broke through the water's surface and inhaled deeply, getting some much needed oxygen into his lungs, a quick glance told him he'd been correct about the boat being Michela's and so he quickly tossed his white-haired friend into it. A cry of alarm sounded as the gun-slinging girl's limp form flopped onto the backseat of the boat suddenly, the voice belonging to Nadia. The changeling inwardly sighed in relief, she had made it out alive after all.

Climbing into the boat, he saw that she in the driver's seat, her eyes still wide from surprise when he had thrown Michela in. Quickly the young police officer composed herself before fixing her stare onto the changeling.

"What the hell happened in there?" She demanded, Beastboy shook his head, doing a quick examination of Michela to make sure she didn't have any serious injuries.

"Talthas threw some sort of grenade at us and blew up the Aphrodite." He answered her.

"A grenade did that to a cruise ship?" Nadia asked, her tone disbelieving.

"It was a big grenade." Beastboy replied, sounding slightly offended. "Michela seemed to know about it. You can ask her when she's awake."

"What about Talthas? Did he escape?" The young police officer questioned, Beastboy nodded, his expression severe.

"Probably, he's not a normal human being so it's safe to assume he got away." The former Titan replied.

"Damn it." Nadia cursed, a cruise ship full of infected people was destroyed and they had nothing to show for their efforts. Her superiors were not going to be happy with this.

"Let's head back for now." Beastboy suggested, "Inform your buddies on the other boat that we're heading back to port. We'll probably have to revise our strategy with this guy." Reluctantly Nadia complied, relaying Beastboy's suggestion to her fellow police officers in the patrol boat via radio and bringing the boat to bear in the direction back to Cape Town.

The boat was silent as the two were lost in their own thoughts. Beastboy's mind was a whirlwind, the hints that Talthas dropped of who he really was had shocked him to his core. It could only be one of two people, Naji, Michela's brother who's life was lost at the ivory coast all those years ago or...

...or Baruzar...when they had journeyed to the Lost Pyramid...

"Any ideas on where Talthas will hit next?" Nadia asked, Beastboy didn't answer right away, still deep in thought.

"Yeah a few..." He said distractedly, Nadia turned her attention from driving for a moment to look at him in the passenger's seat.

"Mind filling me in then?" She asked, this seemed to bring the changeling back to reality and he turned to look at her fully.

"Sorry just realized something important about Talthas and I'm..." Beastboy was cut short when the sound of gunfire was heard behind them. The former Titan snapped his attention back there in an instant, he was greeted by the sight of police officers desperately firing into what looked like a humanoid grey cloud of smoke.

"Talthas...!" Beastboy hissed, the masked maniac didn't wait long to continue his assault, attacking the law enforcement officers on the police patrol boat. Talthas was brandishing a sword that was emanating smoke and the exiled Titan could only watch helplessly as he knocked a policeman overboard with a vicious upswing. As he fell over, Beastboy couldn't help but notice that there was not a single mark on the man, no blood, no nothing. The officer fell lifelessly into the ocean with a quiet splash.

The azure-masked villain continued his slaughter, moving fluidly across the boat's deck as he slashed at the bewildered crew, one by one the police officers were cut down, their gunfire going harmlessly through Talthas. Some of the more scared crew, seeing that bullets weren't working, began diving overboard in a vain attempt to save their lives. One of these was the boat's driver and once he jumped the boat began to decelerate, falling behind Michela's boat. Nadia began to slow down so she could circle back around.

"Don't slow down! Get back to the harbor!" Beastboy barked out, Nadia looked at him like he had just grown two heads.

"Those are police officers he's killing back there!" She yelled back, matching his volume. Beastboy turned his gaze away from the patrol boat to glare at her.

"I know that, but if you don't get back to the harbor and warn your superiors and my friends, then this disaster is only going to get worse!" He replied, Nadia shook her head helplessly

"I can't just leave them!" She told him.

"If you don't want their deaths to be in vain then you will!" The changeling argued.

"What's wrong Garfield?" Talthas called out from the derelict police patrol boat. "Did you forget where you put your spine?" The masked villain spread his arms wide, "That's just like you! Running away from your problems! Deep down you're nothing but a coward and you know it!" Beastboy turned and glared at the man, he knew exactly who Talthas was now, but that still left the big question of how this man could still be alive, there was just no way, and yet here he was.


A/N: Don't worry next chapter will have some action, just setting it up.