Thanks to all my readers for their reviews. Hopefully, you all received the replies I sent to all my reviewers. Writing this story has been a real joy for me, and it's not over yet! I decided to go with a "Part III" title for this story even though it is separate from my last 2-chapter update because I thought the title best describes the chapter, a continuation of the main events of the last two. When we last left off, Strata had escaped the HIVE 5 by throwing a flash-bang grenade only to mysteriously collapse some 6,000 words ago. The HIVE 5's disorientation was quickly interrupted by the return of the Raging Ragnarok, his first appearance since Chapter 1. After defeating the HIVE 5 in a clearly one-sided battle and destroying a lot of real estate in the process, Ragnarok now faces the Titans who have arrived to try to stop the infernal beast and save their city despite their very bleak odds against mighty monster…
"The Bird, The Boy, and The Mighty Beast"
Chapter 12: Ragnarok Redux (Part III)
"WHERE IS MY ENEMY?" roared the Raging Ragnarok, turning to flatten a second parked car with his mighty foot. "RAGE…RAGE…RAGE!" hollered the hulking armored giant.
Beast Boy gulped, "Do you think he eats animals? I'm really worried about him eating animals."
Cyborg shrugged and glanced at the fires raging around them, "He doesn't seem to have a mouth, only those flaming eyes."
Beast Boy stuttered, "I…I…I'm worried about those too." Water sprayed out of the ground as Ragnarok punched a fire hydrant.
"I am surprised at how much the Ragnarok will burn entire buildings from far away yet stop to make sure he punches the strange water objects," said Starfire.
"It's like Strata said," replied Robin, "He attacks without reason or purpose—a fire hydrant might as well be a skyscraper to him; it is something to break."
"Yet he does seem to be looking for someone," said Starfire, "This 'enemy' he continues to as about, we still do not know who that person is."
Raven rubbed her temples, her head still throbbing from sensing Ragnarok's appearance into the city. "Whatever that beast's mission is (if it even has one), Strata was not accommodating enough to enlighten us. We are, again, without a lead." The water spouting turned to a cloud of steam as Ragnarok seared it with his heat vision.
"RAGE! RAGE! I RAGE!" roared the monster.
Robin glanced at Raven, "You going to be okay?"
"Yes," said Raven, "The initial shock to my senses is fading; that monster is powerful on many levels—I've never felt such a sudden jolt to my system. Usually, I can sense power like this coming, but Ragnarok was sudden, unannounced."
"Do you still feel the rage, Raven?" asked Starfire.
"Yes, he is even angrier than before. I can still sense the sorrow deep within him; it has also grown more potent, but the rage…the rage…it is intense." The ground shook as more explosions were heard nearby. Ragnarok was punching his fists into the pavement, sending dust and rubble flying into air—destroying what little whole pieces of asphalt that he had not already destroyed in this section of the city.
"We can't wait any longer," said Robin, "Ragnarok might move toward a more populous section of the city. We have to try and stop him. We will open with this: I will run to his left; Cyborg, you run to his right. Raven, try to materialize behind him. Starfire, fly overhead. Beast Boy, Cyborg and I will begin and then when he's distracted, make your move. Titans, GO!"
Cyborg and Robin charged right at Ragnarok, who had turned towards them earlier. Cyborg ran to Ragnarok's right and fired his sonic cannon at Ragnarok. An explosion occurred on contact with the beam and Ragnarok's torso but the beast made no movement resembling a flinch a took a step towards Cyborg. Fortunately, Robin then made his move, throwing exploding disks at Ragnarok's helmet. The projectiles exploded on contact with the beast's helmet and collar but Ragnarok simply turned towards Robin as if he was an annoying fly. The beast roared and lowered his right fist towards Robin, seeking to smash him into the sidewalk. Robin, expecting that move, somersaulted backwards and out of the impact, which left a deep depression in the road, which had already suffered extensive abuse from Ragnarok's earlier scrap with the HIVE 5.
Robin's initial plan had worked wonderfully. As Ragnarok was pounding the pavement, the monster was rocketed backwards as he was rammed by a green triceratops. Ragnarok toppled over backwards, falling on his back into the rubble with a mighty crash. "Got him!" yelled Beast Boy, reverting back to his human form. "Raven, now!" yelled Robin.
A black bird appeared for a moment above Ragnarok, the dark energy focused as Raven appeared, hovering a few feet off the ground, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" chanted Raven and large chunks of rubble from Ragnarok's devastation lifted off the ground, coated with dark energy. Raven extended her arms outward and the rubble rained down upon the prostrate Ragnarok like falling meteors, burying the beast under his own debris. "There," said Raven, "You now officially have more rocks in your head than Beast Boy."
Raven's dry wit was cut short by a mighty roar as Ragnarok exploded out of the pile of rubble raising his arms in the air and staring in the sky, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?" roared the colossal monster and he focused his gaze on Raven. "RAGE!" yelled the beast and moved towards the dark girl.
"I'll give you something to yell about," said Raven. She drew her arms toward her and circled her hands and focused them outwards, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Extending her arms outward her cape flared out around her and a beam of dark energy cascaded into Ragnarok pushing him backwards.
Ragnarok howled and roared and raised his right arm as Raven's beam hit him in the upper chest. The flames that flickered where his eyes should have been danced. Raven could sense Ragnarok's anger growing; he was seething now at the end of her beam. Green starbolts, exploding disks, and sonic cannon blasts exploded on Ragnarok's back as the other Titans came in to assist Raven, but the monster ignored all of that. Fighting against Raven's force beam and the dark energy trickling around his torso, Ragnarok stepped forward into the current of Raven's power.
Raven clenched her teeth and groaned, pushing all of her power into the beast's frame. She could not back down now; she could not lose focus. Ragnarok stepped forward again holding his right arm out to catch most of the energy. Raven realized her peril. If she released the beam or her power gave out, which would not be long considering the stress her body was taking doing this, Ragnarok would pounce. But, if he could march on her in spite of her best efforts to repel him, her fate would be no better.
The other Titans rained weapons down upon Ragnarok. Cyborg ran up behind him and yelled, "Hey, giant purple monster guy, eat this!" Small missiles fired from Cyborg's spokes and exploded into the back of Ragnarok. This made the beast bend for a second, but Ragnarok merely stood back up against Raven's beam, only turning his head and emitting a heat beam at the ground, causing a large fire, to deter a green elephant from charging. The behemoth turned his gaze towards Raven again and took another step towards her.
Raven's shoulders were straining under the burden of keeping her beam going. She was having trouble maintaining her intensity, especially as Ragnarok took yet another step towards her, she was almost in arm's length of the beast. She could her him growling, which punctuated with another roar, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?" She could feel her resolve crumbling inside her and the beam began shrinking in width.
While no one may ever be able to truly know what Ragnarok saw and thought when he looked at that battle, the monster could see Raven weakening as well as her teammates. With a mighty roar he charged, each step like the sound of thunder at Raven. Unable to keep up her assault, Raven dropped to her knees. She raised a shaking hand to put a tall dark shield between her and Ragnarok. The beast shattered it with a back fist and raised his right fist high over his head to crush Raven.
At that moment, Ragnarok's hand was deterred by a streaking young alien girl descending from high altitude from which she had risen to gain velocity, "Leave Raven alone!" yelled Starfire, her eyes glowing a deepest green. Extending her arms outward with fists in place, she rapidly rammed into the side of Ragnarok's head, catching the beast completely off-guard. Ragnarok attack was cut off and the beast went rolling into a crashing building that he had earlier lit on fire. "And stay away from my friends!" called Starfire, ending with a girlish huff.
"Raven, are you all right?" called Cyborg, running through the rubble to her side. Robin and Beast Boy were right behind him.
"I think so," she said, staggering to her feet, "that took a lot out of me. I thought I was a goner there, thank Starfire."
"You are welcome, Friend Raven," said the hovering princess. "I am just glad you were not made the 'smooshed pancake.'"
"Do you think we hurt him?" asked Beast Boy, staring at the pillar of burning fire. He was answered by a mighty roar from the blaze, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?" Powerful heat beams came out of the collapsing office tower, charring another building on a previously untouched block.
"I'm guessing not," said Robin, with a grimace. "I'm open to suggestions."
"He's like a tank," said Cyborg.
"Yeah, a fast, deadly, destructive, monstrous tank that can fly, has incredible strength, heat-beam vision, and that's totally invincible!" called Beast Boy, waiving his arms in the air, "Why can't he be more like a moped? Mopeds are fun!"
"I could appreciate a raging moped right now," said Raven, rubbing her temples again.
The pile of flame exploded as Ragnarok flew upwards out of the collapsing building (which did, in fact, collapse into a burning heap that very moment). "RAGE! RAGE! I…RAGE!" yelled the monster.
"Big surprise…he's angry," moaned Cyborg.
"Star did just push him into a burning building," said Beast Boy, "I might be that cranky if that happened."
"You're that cranky when your alarm clock goes off every morning," deadpanned Raven as she rubbed her bruises.
"Get ready!" yelled Robin.
Ragnarok looked down at the Titans from his position, hovering above the landscape. He roared and rocketed downwards at them, straight at the still-floating Starfire. Starfire gave a loud, "Eep!" and flew to the side avoiding Ragnarok's mighty grasp. She rocketed upwards, soaring straight up into the sky. Ragnarok took one glance upward and yelled, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?" Extending his open grasp upward in the direction of the darting Starfire, he flew towards the low-lying clouds after her.
"They've gone up into the air!" said Robin. The Titan's leader looked around, the streets nearby were no longer recognizable, punctuated by craters, flames, smoke, and rubble. He could hear fire engines in the distance, too few sirens for the number of blazes. Cyborg was looking upwards trying to see. "They're up there," said Cyborg pointing eastward. "After them, Beast Boy!" yelled Robin!
"I'm on it," said Beast Boy. He morphed into an eagle and took off in the direction that Cyborg had pointed.
Raven moaned and leaned against Cyborg's arm. "I'm going to need a minute," she said.
Robin gazed upward toward the clouds. "I hope they'll be all right up there." He grimaced as he saw some the clouds punctuated with red glows. "Because it looks like Ragnarok could light the skies afire."
To be continued…Did you enjoy round one of the Titans' assault against Ragnarok? This is only part one of a three chapter update! Originally, chapters 12-14 were meant to be read together, but length has driven me to a multi-update again. So, move on to Chapter 13 as the battle moves to the aerial skies above Jump City and Ragnarok and Beast Boy collide with the Raging Ragnarok! And where is Strata?