Chapter 12: Explanation

Recoil started his run, streaking low to the water. The tower loomed in the distance for a minute, then it was overhead. He jumped high, phasing onto the second floor and landing in a crouch. He looked up and...

"What the heck happened here?"

"Oh, hello Recoil," Starfire looked over from where she was lifting a massive support beam. "We are, ummm, redecorating!"

"Yeah, the holes were great, but it started getting' breezy at night." Cyborg was working on repairs too, as was Raven. She said nothing.

"Well I'd love to help, but I'm not really built for construction work."

"Right now I could use a hand with this," Starfire mentioned.

Twenty minutes Robin came in. "I'm getting nowhere. Is there anything I can help with down here?" He stopped short when he saw Recoil. "What are you doing!?"

"Uh, human nailgun?" the teen jumped down from his position on the wall. "Care to go another round?"

"Actually, I have a job to do. Slade's planning something 'big'." He made quotes with his fingers for the word "big."

"Oh, so he did all this?"

"No, he outsourced the job. What they stole was already broken, so we have to find out what Slade's going to do next." In the background, Starfire was struggling with another massive I-beam. She managed though, and flew up to weld it in place.

"What was it? And actually, who is Slade anyway?"

"Oh Blarf! Help me!" Above them, the beam hadn't stuck. It started to fall from its place.

"I got it!" Recoil shouted and threw up his hands. "Tracia Alivon BOROS!" The beam was enveloped in golden light and slowed, but didn't stop. "Holy crap, I don't got it," he panted.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" cried Raven, and a claw of black went up to support it. Recoil gasped and his energy shot up away from the beam.

"Hey!" Raven called as the beam fell full-force on her support. It held for a moment, then broke through.

"Well SOMEONE catch the dang thing!" Cyborg yelled. He stood square beneath it and caught it above his head with a shout of exertion.

"Metrion, huh?" Recoil mumbled to himself. Raven dispersed her power and glared fiercely at him.

"What was that!?" she demanded. "You decide to just let someone else handle it?"

Recoil retracted his field back into his body, carefully. "Come here."

She walked over to him, stopped a few feet away.

Recoil held out his arm. "Okay, so here I am, minding my own business and improving the universe." A small blob of golden light rose from his arm and formed into his shape. It walked around on his arm and waved. "...and here comes you." A little black Raven came up behind the little Recoil.

"Ooh, the miniatures are very cute!" Starfire had come down and joined them.

"Touch him," Recoil commanded Raven. The tiny Raven tapped the tiny Recoil on the shoulder, and the real one reached out to poke him. There was a loud POP and smoke swirled up from the spot where he'd been. Raven felt confidence surge up inside her for a second, and Recoil winced. When the little smoke plume cleared, the tiny Recoil was gone and there was a burn on the skin where he'd been standing.

"Woah." Cyborg's timing was good for the moment. "The little guy's toast."

"All members of the Metrion line can do this," Recoil explained. "They say it can be resisted but I have no clue how to do it."

"So when it comes to people like you, Raven's like our secret weapon!" the changeling commented.

"Beast Boy! When did you get here?"

"He was working on the circuitry," Cyborg explained. "guess I forgot to mention that, huh?"

"So I really am poison," Raven said simply.

"It's considered an incredible accomplishment when someone outside the Metrion line masters the siphon technique," Recoil explained. "You're really amazing Raven!"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Robin broke it first.

"Recoil, I don't think Raven-" "I'm not from outside the Metrion line," Raven interrupted him.

"Oh," Recoil looked at her strangely. "That's cool."

"We're gonna get back to work." Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy, who morphed into a mouse, and threw him up to one of the gaping holes in the wall. Starfire flew off as well.

"...So Robin, you were telling me about how Slade stole something from you!"

"Yes, I was! It was an artifact he called a 'ring of Azar' and we originally got it from him anyway. He was using it to resist a demon called Trigon."

Recoil's eyes widened and he slapped his forehead. "Wait. Wait just a second. This is the ring that he stole, right?"

"Yes, but it was in pieces. It didn't survive the fight with the demon."

"Oh no." Recoil walked over to the couch and flopped down. "Well, this makes things complicated."

"What do you know?" Robin demanded. Raven hadn't said anything but she was obviously intersted.

"My mission here is to retrieve the ring of Azar. We understand that there was a shockwave of demonic energy here so there was a two man team. And Seraphic just received her orders to assist us as well."

"Does that mean Terra will be with you?" the changeling asked suddenly.

"Yo Beast Boy!" Cyborg called over. "I don't mind if you wanna sit and listen, but at least say so first!"

"Heh, sorry."

"Yes, 'Terra' will probably come along too."

"What are you talking about!?" interjected Robin. "Terra is gone."

"Okay dudes, Terra explanation, super-short version!" Beast Boy filled them in.

"That is fascinating!" Starfire exclaimed. "It would be wonderful to have our friend back."

"We're really not gonna get any work done with this guy in the house," Cyborg realized.

"Okay, your turn," Raven turned to Recoil. "What do you know about Trigon and the ring?"

Recoil sighed. "The ring left Azarath a long time ago, but only the higher-ups were informed. It was sent to this planet to contain Trigon of flames, who I heard was in exile here. There were two other artifacts, but they were both recalled to stop attacks elsewhere. Now this one has done its job apparently, so I'm here to recall it as well."

"Wasn't there anybody here whose job it was to look after it?" Robin asked.

"Not really. The artifacts are next to impossible to destroy, have a fairly large area of effect, and can't be used to harm anything but a demon. It would have been entrusted to a local authority, since the guild has been short on personnel for a while."

"That's really irresponsible," Raven commented.

"Well, Metrions are very rare these days, so I'm sure they didn't think it would come near one. It's just a good thing you never touched it."

"But I did touch it, after it was broken."

"If you had touched it before it was broken you wouldn't be here right now. Now...I'm screwed."

"Raven sensed it before, there's still a bit of power in the ring. We can use that to find it, and get it back," Robin suggested.

"No, it's..." Recoil stopped. "Eh, what the heck. I've already filled you in this far. The artifacts are all remotely linked to senior Guild members, so they can use their power to fight demons that are far away. If the ring was broken, the man who it belonged to is probably broken too."

"Well, like I said, there's still a trace of power in the shards. What does that mean?"

"Honestly? I have no clue."

"Oh, I would have been much more careful with it if I had known what it was!" Starfire cried.

Raven spoke up. "That's probably why Slade didn't tell you. He was a soldier, and we couldn't have saved this world without him."

"That's...kind of cold isn't it Raven?" Beast Boy added. "This dude saved you as well."

They were all quiet for a minute.

"Well, we can start by looking for Slade," Cyborg decided, "Stopping whatever he's doing is always the quickest way to fix these things."

"Actually, I think you should finish fixing your tower first." Recoil stood up. "No offense, but the fight doesn't even start until Jack gets here. And when he does, the fight ends fast."

Beast Boy frowned. "Are you kidding me? We've protected the city this whole time. I think we can handle Slade one more time."

"Actually, I agree with Recoil." They all stared at Robin after he said it. "Slade will be waiting for us to come, ready to move everything somewhere else if he has to. The only way to pin him down is to bring a big force all at once." he looked around the room and headed for the pile of materials Cyborg had brought in. "Besides," he added as an afterthought, "I bet Slade needs to fix the ring before he can use it for anything. We both want the same thing, for the moment."

"Good thinking!" Recoil looked around as well. "So, what should I do? When we're done you can show me where my room is!"


Critic: exposition, short and sweet. It would have taken a very long time to have all that just come out as they went along.

Xephyr: Fanfiction style cop-out, short but questionable. Half the stuff you could have saved for later is now out in one big wad.

Critic: Shut up.

Critic: At least the story's really moving now. I think I might start pacing the chapters, so that it stays on the front page longer. That's the only fast way to get discovered on this site, especially when you only have one story in one genre. If you're reading this and you enjoyed it, go tell all your friends!!!

Xephyr: he's all alone.

Next Chapter: Retribution.

"I...will...kill...you." She stood, but there was nobody there.

((how's that for a cheap teaser?))