I do NOT own Teen Titans
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Time: Three days later.
Too Much of a Good Thing,... The First Minion Appears,... Talking,...
"Is that it?" Robin asked, looking at the two small metallic cubes Raven had just dropped in his hand. When she snarled, he stepped back with a gulp.
"You know what I learned while making those?" The unhappy girl asked, glaring at him. There was the sound of teeth gritting.
"Umm? What?" The nervous boy gulped again.
"I learned there's such a thing as too much of a good thing." Raven rubbed the side of her forehead and clearly, with no attempt at all to hide it, gave a deep sigh.
"Oh?"
"Nine hours of meditation to make a single ward. At two a day that's eighteen hours of sitting in that Azar awful lotus position doing nothing?" She screamed the last word, and for a second the room seemed quite a bit darker.
"Oh?" Boy Wonder looked at the cube. "So that's it? When you asked Cyborg to manufacture a thousand cubes with the runes engraved on them I'd hoped..."
"Yeah. Well guess what. It doesn't matter what they're made of, or how the runes are drawn, what matters is me ripping out a piece of my soul and putting it in them. To make a single ward, and empower it, that's what I've got to do. I got to extend my soulself into each cube and trace those markings a freaking TWO THOUSAND, ONE HUNDRED, AND NINETY-SEVEN TIMES." She slumped back in her chair, clearly exhausted. "
"Why so many?"
"It's thirteen to the power of three." The violet-eyed girl muttered, rubbing at her eyes. "By Azar I've had enough meditation to last a lifetime."
"Can't Beast Boy help make them?" Cyborg asked. "He's the one who taught you."
"I wish. But you won't catch him meditating for nine hours nonstop." The words were filled with envy.
Boy Wonder looked at the small titanium cubes with a frown. "It's still more than what we had last time. Nevermore is warded with a stone in front of the Forbidden Door, and Rage is carrying one of these. We don't have to worry on that front. And we each got one. With the other five you've made we can now tell Titan's East the news and call them in. That's excellent." He smiled in an attempt to cheer up the girl.
"No word on Adonis?" Raven asked with her eyes closed, resisting the urge to puke.
"Sorry. For once he's not doing something stupid to draw attention."
"Figures." She sighed, struggling for impassivity.
"Worry not, friend Raven." Starfire said cheerfully, daring to give the disgruntled girl a hug. "We will find the drugger."
"It's not like him." Beast Boy said, frowning. "He usually wants to make a big impression. In fact that's just about the only thing he ever wants to do. Get noticed and get girls."
"It seems like he's being careful this time around." Robin shrugged. "Cyborg even has a satellite system scanning Jump City around the clock. If he show's himself, we'll see him." As he spoke the alarm sounded.
"It's not him." Cyborg said a second later, studying the LED on his wrist. "It's Cinderblock." He groaned the latter with a sound that was echoed throughout the room.
"Now's not a good time." Boy Wonder fumed. "It takes forever to take him down, and it wears us out for the whole day." He glanced at the cubes in his hand and frowned, clearly realizing there would be no new wards until the next day.
"I shall do my best so friend Raven does not have to wear herself out." Starfire smiled happily, hoping to cheer them up.
"And I can help this time." Beast Boy grinned. Other than Adonis it was the first villain to show himself since he'd returned, and while it was a bad time he was eager to see what he could do.
"That's new." Cyborg said, pulling the T-car to a squealing stop half a block from the mountain of granite.
"Raven?" Boy Wonder said, asking for her opinion.
"Strange." The girl intoned, looking at the villain who'd undergone a few changes. There were marking on his chest and back, while his eyes glowed a scarlet red that matched the scarlet 'S' engraved on his forehead. "The runes on his back are a lot like the ones on the wards against Trigon, but they're clearly different."
"A ward against a certain someone interfering." Beast Boy intoned, watching the massive foe as it strolled forward. "But it's not anything we got to worry about."
"And the runes on the front?" The leader asked, sending a curious look towards the shape shifter.
"Part of a demonic ritual that corrupts a person." Raven answered. "Cinderblock is now a tool for whoever did that ceremony."
"Who?"
"Welcome pests. How do you like the new minion of the Great Adonis?" A voice roared out from the giant figure.
"It's one of the rituals Adonis learned from me." Raven needlessly intoned. "It seems he's made use of it."
"The Great One has decided he deserves vassals to bow down and worship his greatness. I no longer need to dirty myself with scum like yourselves." The voice that came from Cinderblock carried a fully city block to where the Titan stood staring.
"Meaning he got tired of getting his behind handed to him." Cyborg said, looking down to fiddle with his sonic cannon.
"Doesn't he know we can beat Cinderblock?" Their leader asked with a frown, sensing something wrong.
"After I kill you, the city will have three hours to bow down to the Great One." Adonis crowed. "Otherwise my lackey will rampaging through the Main Street Elementary School."
"What?" Both Robin and Cyborg yelped, while Beast Boy just froze.
"I know enemy Adonis is a drugger." Starfire said with a perplexed look. "But he has never threatened to kill anyone before."
"He must've done a few rituals." Raven intoned with the slightest hint of a frown, while her eyes showed concern and worry. "Each ceremony will corrupt him until human life has no meaning to him at all."
"I'll provide the distraction, while Starfire and Cyborg pound on him." Beast Boy looked towards Robin. "At least that's my suggestion."
The leader looked worried. "Are you sure? If he hits you..." His face turned white. "I know you've improved a lot, but those fists of his weigh a ton."
"I'm sure." The boy shrugged. "I know my limits. After all, I've spent the last two months having my own behind handed to me. I'll take the low ground and strike from there. That'll leave Starfire free to hit him from above." He looked at the girl. "Don't worry too much about hitting me."
Boy Wonder still looked worried, but he glanced up the street and shuddered. They could all see the school just a short distance away, as well as the hundred or more curious kids who stood staring from the playground. "Okay." He turned to Raven. "Make sure nothing gets tossed towards the school."
"Understood." She rose in the air.
Beast Boy paused, wondering what form to use. If he used something too massive then those titanium spikes that coated his foe would tear at him, but with the granite villain heading straight for the school speed was of the essence. He chose the Cheetion, splicing in the gene for stronger bones and the gene hummingbirds used to slow time. Ready, the six-hundred pound cat leapt forward.
Hitting a hundred miles per hour, the shape shifter closed the distance and took his first swipe at the massive villain. Using power in the attack, his claws ripped three inches into the rocky surface. Above him, Cinderblock paused in his march towards the school to swat at him. Racing around his foe, who turned to follow, the boy struck time and time again. However, as deep and as long as the grooves he made were, they were insignificant given the size of the small mountain he faced. Above him, sometimes hitting just a few feet above his head, Starfire was lashing out with everything she had.
"Ready." Cyborg yelled, and the two scattered. The sonic cannon blasted forth a wave of sound that caused Cinderblock to stumble.
We can do this. Beast Boy thought, racing back into the fight, while above him Starfire resumed her attack.
"Stupid Minion." The voice roared arrogantly from Cinderblock's mouth. "Take out that car. Does the Great One have to tell you everything."
Grabbing a rusty pickup, the villain obeyed. Flung with all its might, the two-ton projectile slashed through the air, smashing the T-car back more than eighty feet before it brought up solid against a concrete wall. Too late, a large black hand formed of dark magic appeared to block the attack.
"What?" The shape shifter gasped. He's strong, but not that strong.
Cinderblock grabbed a second vehicle, a brown van, and flung it. Ready this time, Raven sent forth her power to block it. To her shock, she barely managed to deflect the makeshift weapon by a few feet. It struck the front end of the T-car, crumpling it.
"My poor baby." Cyborg yelled, staring in horror. He'd been standing beside the car, hooked to it through wires to power his sonic cannon, when it'd been badly mangled during the first attack. While his sonic cannon sent sparks flying into the air, he stood with tears in his one human eye as he watched his baby being wrecked. That he'd barely missed joining it by mere inches didn't even register.
The enraged Titan turned on the villain. "You're going to pay." He screamed, raising his sonic cannon only to have it explode in his face.
Why is he so strong? Beast Boy wondered, still slashing at his granite foe. If he throws something at the school ... He gulped, and urged himself to move faster.
"Careful." Raven cried out, forcing impassivity into her tone. "If he throws something at you I can't block it."
"Understood." Starfire hollered back, not taking her eyes from the lumbering giant.
"Why's he so strong?" Robin yelled, with his eyes also focused on their practically unharmed foe.
That's what I would like to know. Beast Boy thought, whirling around the villain. Without the beefed-up sonic cannon it would take twice as long to bring Cinderblock to a stand still, assuming no one else got hurt. Still, he turns to where I attack him, and follows. We're leading him away from the school. That's good. Twisting around, the boy lashed forth with his two front paws in a double attack, leaving four sets of deep grooves in his foe.
"Today is the day the Great One, the Great Adonis, triumphs over the Titans." A voice cackled from the mouth of the villain. "Swat that orange pest." It then callously commanded.
Pausing in its futile attacks on the shape shifter, Cinderblock grabbed another car. Whipped into the air with massive force, it struck Starfire. Dazed, the girl who was born of a warrior race, still managed to keep her wits about her, and tracked where the vehicle would land. To her horror she saw a group of students had followed them from the elementary school, wanting to see the fight. With blood running from her mouth, and one arm twisted in an unnatural angle, she used her one good hand to desperately try to avert catastrophe. Black magic coated the car to aid her efforts, and the makeshift weapon slid a fraction of a degree to one side. It stuck the ground less than three yards from the children, sending a wave of debris over them. They broke down crying, but other than minor scratches seemed to be okay.
Why is he so strong? Beast Boy wondered again. His eyes paused for a second as he saw something engraved on his foe's fingers, a third rune. He twisted to keep it in view, and with the villain seeming to move so slow to his enhanced senses he became overconfident. Lost in memory for a brief second, he didn't notice the massive, titanium-coated, granite fist that arched down to strike his back. He crumpled to the ground.
"BB." Raven shrieked, looking up from where she was examining Starfire. Her eyes turned white, and black power dripped from her finger tips.
"B." Cyborg stood in shock.
Robin went white, saying nothing.
"Haha." A voice crackled. "And the dog bites the dust. No one stands up to the Great Adonis."
Pain rushed through the shape shifter, causing him to flinch for a second. The main thought of the brutally mangled boy as he shifted, leaving behind the normally fatal wounds that had literally left him as flat as pancake, was that he'd flinched. Got to work on that. He noted. With Kishar I didn't flinch because I knew she was going to beat me, but when I don't expect it ... He let the thought fade as he went to work, slashing at his foe.
It was time to shift anyway. The shape shifter quietly mused. I was becoming fatigued. Twisting, he stuck again, knowing he was doing little more than scratching the granite giant. But now he knew why the villain was so strong; on his finger was engraved the same rune he'd seen on the ring Kishar had once sent him to take from Adonis. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw a battered, but still alive Starfire rise in the air. Thought she cradled her right arm, there was fire in her eyes, and a starbolt lit her one good hand.
"Aim for his left hand." Beast Boy cried, briefly becoming human. Dodging a one-ton fist he reverted back being a Cheetion and went to work. He slashed at the rune even as starbolts hit mere inches from him. Savagely, he clawed at the villain's ring finger, trying to obliterate the source of his unnatural strength.
"Not there." A voice roared. Thought it still reeked of arrogance, there was a hint of worry. "Don't let them destroy that glyph you stupid rock pile."
Thought the main body of the villain was nearly indestructible, the combined efforts of claws and starbolts wore away the rune that lent their foe his supernatural power. When he saw something flicker and darken within that rune, Beast Boy rolled away. To his senses their enemy was now somehow different. His movements were more what they expected of Cinderblock, and while he was still strong it was no longer enhanced by magic. Badly burned from starbolts that'd struck too close, the shape shifter refreshed his form, healing the wounds even as he continued the attack.
"Damn it." Adonis' voice roared from the mouth of the granite giant. "I'll still stomp all you pests into the ground. No one beats the Great One."
The next car Cinderblock sent hurling at Starfire was easily smashed aside by a fist of black magic, and the battle continued. Their foe gained a few new scratches and blast marks, while Starfire wobbled where she stood in the air. Beast Boy, for his part, shifted several time to remove the fatigue from his body. On the bright side, the school had been left far behind, and the citizens of Jump City knew enough to avoid the battle. Occasionally Adonis' voice could be heard ranting from the villain, but that they simply ignored.
"Fall back." Robin's voice roared through the sounds of the fight, and the team obeyed.
"Are you okay?" Raven intoned with a hint of panic, looking pale as she looked the shape shifter over. When her glowing hands reached out to touch him, Beast Boy stood still and smiled reassuringly at her. A few seconds later the girl blinked, clearly puzzled, yet obviously relieved. Her eyes closed, and she pulled the stunned boy in for a hug while a myriad of emotions waged war on her normally impassive face.
"I'm fine." He told her. "I just got distracted because I was trying to think of lame jokes to tell you."
"I see." The violet-eyed girl smiled a little, and stepped back, too emotional to be able to say anything more.
"The foundation for a major building has been dug just a mile north of here." Boy Wonder interrupted, looking a little relieved as well when he saw the shape shifter was okay.
"And you want us to lead him there?" Beast Boy asked.
"Right." The leader replied. "I had the workers there set some explosive charges. Just get him near it, and we'll collapse one of the sides so he slides in. Then we can take our time and pound him. Cyborg's sonic cannon will be fixed soon, and there's a power supply he can use at the site."
The team set the plan into action, and within the hour Cinderblock was once again secured within Jump City's high security prison. Of Adonis there'd been no sign, thought by the end of the ordeal they'd all been sick of his ranting, and would've gladly killed him for no other reason than to silence him. His voice had only faded when their granite foe had slipped into unconsciousness. The runes that marred his body had all faded at the same time.
Thought he sensed no despair coming from her room, Beast Boy still stood knocking on Raven's door.
"Come in." The violet-eyed girl intoned. She let a trembling hand rise, and tried to focus for a second before she gave up the struggle. "I'm sure you can open it yourself." She added sarcastically.
"No meditation tonight?" The boy asked with a faint smile, stepping into the room. He cringed when the girl actually growled.
"Here." Raven told him, throwing a small metallic cube. "That makes seven."
"I see." He sat beside her. "I would help you make them if I could."
"Right." She sighed, closing her eyes. "What was Africa like?"
Beast Boy sat beside the girl, resting his head against her bed. "Peaceful." He told her in a quiet voice, letting his fondness for the place show. "Where I was there were wards around that kept most people away except for those from a few small villages. How the wards could tell the different I don't know, just that they did. Few strangers came, and none of the villagers ever seemed to disappear because they couldn't find their way back. There were trees from all over the world, and when I was hungry I just became something that could eat from them. The berries from the Red Stinkwoods were the best though. I would often sit with the person who lived there and eat them while we talked. That's what we did each night. We ate those berries, drank tea, and talked."
"Sounds nice."
"It was. The person who taught me likes her privacy, but I don't think she would mind if you visited. She's been around for a long time, and knows things. If you have questions she'll have some sort of answer, thought she doesn't sugarcoat them. Well, at least not usually. She's very kind."
Raven relaxed and closed her eyes, still able to sense the boy with her empathic senses. While she didn't probe too deeply, she knew that he was content just to sit and talk with her. With a slight smile, she tilted her head as if embracing the warmth of the noonday sun, and found that she in turn was content just to sit and talk with him.
End of Chapter.
I probably overuse Cinderblock as a villain, but sometime in the next chapter or two I'll use a 'villain' that I've never used before. Yeah, it'll be a character from the DC universe.
Many thanks to those who read and review.