(Author's Note: Hey there, dear readers and welcome to the next chapter. One thing I should note is that this chapter officially begins the finale "arc" of this story. Yes, we are coming close to the end. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter Thirteen: The Beginning of the End (1)
"Ugggghh!" A soldier gasped in shock and pain as a metal spike was impaled through his chest. He stared at it for a few moments before it was pulled out and his corpse fell to the floor. The spike reverted back to an arm, revealing the form of the White Monster.
Said robot deactivated its metal absorption before continuing its trek, leaving behind more than a dozen corpses of fallen soldiers. With ease, the robot ripped away a steel door before walking into the room.
The White Monster scanned its new surroundings for a few seconds before its eyes locked onto its target: a large metal box about half its height. The robot effortlessly ripped it from its position before calmly walking out of the room and through the warehouse.
Suddenly, it stopped. Setting the machine down, it walked to one of the solider corpses and took a lighter that had fallen on the floor. Igniting it, the robot placed its finger on the flame and suddenly its whole body ignited into flames and glowed a dark orange. Setting down the lighter, the White Monster picked up the machine and began walking again. Without slowing down, it created a fireball in its hand and chucked it over its shoulder.
The second the fireball hit the floor, the flames immediately spread to everything around them. As the White Monster walked away, the building behind it exploded in a blazing ball of fire.
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The titans were all currently perched in a darkened area, waiting for their cue to strike. Last night was the third attack in two weeks on a military building. After the first was destroyed, the titans went to investigate but couldn't find anything useful. After the second was destroyed, the team arrived at the scene much sooner but were still too late to do anything. But after the third explosion, they finally realized that there was a pattern. Whoever was behind these attacks most likely wanted something from these buildings and destroyed them to cover their tracks. But this time, the titans were not going to just sit around.
Robin was on his motorcycle near outside of the building. He spoke into his communicator, "Everybody in position?"
Raven was perfectly blended into the shadow of the building, "Ready."
Cyborg was using his new cloaking tech and stood right in front of a tree, "Ready."
Starfire and Beast Boy (the latter of which in the form of a hawk) were flying in the air above the building, "Ready."
Terra had used her powers to form a dome of earth around herself and sink beneath the earth so she could still see, "Ready." The team waited in their locations for nearly ten minutes before their eyes caught something moving slowly across the ground. Quicker than they could react, the White Monster came up (in its "earth form") and tore the door of the building as if it were paper.
"Titans move!" In about two seconds, the teens all immediately left their hiding spots and raced into the room to chase after the robot. As they traveled deeper into the building, they began to hear the sound of yelling and gunfire. They ran to see the robot tossing around multiple soldiers as others tried (key word being "tried") to shot and take it down. "Titans go!" With his staff in hand, Robin leaped into the air just as the White Monster was about to stab one of the soldiers and smacked the robot in the head and then placed a small device on its neck. Before it could get its bearings, Starfire flew at super speed and tackled it through the wall. Robin put his hand out to the soldier on the ground, "Are you alright?" He appeared to be somewhere between his late twenties and early thirties with brown hair and tan skin.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you. What is that thing?"
"A robot with absorption powers who works for a madman. Is there anything of importance in this building? Any kind of really dangerous weapons?"
"Nothing different than any weapon you'd find in other buildings like this."
Robin's face contorted into a frustrated glare, "Then what is it after?" He muttered to himself. Hearing Starfire's yell, he turned to see hearing flying out of the hole that she'd made in the wall. As the White Monster crawled from the wall, Cyborg and Beast Boy, the latter of which taking the form of a rhino, charged to intercept it. The robot backhanded Cyborg away before grabbing Beast Boy by the horn and tossing him away as if he weighed nothing. Raven then wrapped the robot in her magic but, to the young sorceress's surprise, it brought free in about a second.
It then placed its hand on the floor and its body turned to metal. To her shock, a hole formed in each of its palms and sharp metal spikes began flying out. She barely had enough time to move out of the way, but the spikes were flying fast and the White Monster was persistent. Hearing a yell, it turned to see Terra above it wearing gauntlets made from solid stone. Using all of her strength, she brought both gauntlets down on top of the robot's head.
…And it didn't do a damn thing. Her gauntlets actually broke when she hit! The robot then sent a punch, faster than she could track, to her stomach and sent the young girl sprawling across the ground. Terra held her stomach and groaned as she tried to stand up. The White Monster calmly walked over to her, with its arm turned into a hammer. When it swung its weapon arm down, Beast Boy was there in an instant in his Sasquatch form. But the changeling soon noticed that the robot was much stronger than it had been in their previous fights.
The Sasquatch was one of his, physically speaking, strongest forms. In a form like this, he'd be able to match the White Monster in terms of physical strength and raw power. But now? It was taking all of his might to try (keyword being try) and keep said robot's hammer arm from reaching his head. It certainly didn't help with the hammer grew spikes from underneath it.
"AHHHHHHHH!" The robot turned in confusion, only to get a metal fist to the face courtesy of Cyborg. When the robot was distracted, Beast Boy used the opportunity to throw it with all of his might. When the robot was away, Cyborg suddenly yelled in pain and held the hand he used to punch, "DAMN IT! What the hell is that thing made of?!" The White Monster then stood up, without even the slightest scratch, before it turn to state at its opponents. Not even glare, it just looked at the six of them. As the titans got into fighting stances, Robin noticed that its eyes were glowing even redder than usual.
Robin figured it out only seconds before it happened, "RAVEN, SHIELD!" Raven quickly placed up a force field around her entire team, just as two red lasers shot forth from the White Monster's eyes. She immediately struggled as she hadn't expected not only for it to have laser vision, but also to have such a power at such an intense degree. Hardly five seconds after the lasers hit her shield, she could already feel it starting to crack and her concentration beginning to whither.
"I...can't hold this for long. If anyone h-has a p-p-plan, do it n-now!"
Cyborg began rapidly pressing buttons on his arm and then put a hand on Raven, "Everyone grab on!" They all immediately did and the six heroes suddenly disappeared, as the robot's lasers obliterated the shield and the spot where they once stood.
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The team was back at their headquarters, licking their wounds. Well, Beast Boy was actually doing that in the form of a cat. The rest of them had been bandaged up by Cyborg, who had to fix a few of his systems.
"Well if no one else will say it, I will. We got our asses handed to us," Beast Boy commented as he turned back to normal.
"Thank you, captain obvious," Raven said in her usual monotone voice, before wincing as Cyborg placed the last bandage on her.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
Starfire was sitting with a depressed look on the couch, before picking her head up and looking at her leader/boyfriend, "Robin, what are we going to do?"
Robin looked toward her before limping to the computer and turning it on, "I placed a tracking device on it in the beginning of the fight, preparing for the worst. It's state of the art technology, so we'll be able to track it wherever it goes."
"Smart," Cyborg stated.
"That's how I was trained."
"Um, I understand that this won't help," Terra spoke up, "But, when we find the robot, how are we supposed to beat it? That thing took us down as if we were nothing."
"It looks like Kritanta has upgraded it," Cyborg mused.
Robin turned to his team, "This isn't going to be easy, but the robot will lead us to Kritanta and we need to stop whatever he has planned. For now, everyone get some rest. We leave in the morning." As his teammates began leaving the room to go and sleep, Robin simply stared at the screen in front of him. He looked at the red dot that stood still, where the White Monster was and, most likely, where they'd find Kritanta. Robin stared at the screen for a few more seconds before turning it off and walking away to get some sleep himself. To be ready for tomorrow.
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Seven and a half hours later, the six teens were up and driving toward the White Monster's last known location. That's to a spell courtesy of Raven, they were all back to full health and ready to fight.
But Robin had told them to be careful. If Kritanta increased the power of the White Monster, it's likely that he did the same for the others. The only question is, what is he planning that would require them to have more power?
Their path led them below the large bridge in the city. After Cyborg put activated the T-Car's cloaking device and force field (he's been upgrading it), the titans walked down the hill to find their foe. Robin led the group with his communicator in hand as he followed the signal, part of him was a little shocked that he was still getting a reception.
"They have to be somewhere around here," Robin growled, as he was starting to get frustrated with looking. Terra suddenly stopped where she was, feeling that something was off.
"Hey, you alright?" Cyborg's voice seemed to snap her out of her trance.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." She continued walking, but felt that strange feeling again. It then felt as if the earth itself was moving.
"The hell?" Robin kneeled to the ground and picked up a small device, the tracker he'd placed on the White Monster, "Damn it!" Activating her powers, Terra scanned the earth and could definitely feel that there was something moving to their location at an alarming rate.
Terra used her powers to pull a large clump of dirt from the ground, and the clump morphed back into the exact robot that they were looking for. Because it was no longer earth, it was free from Terra's powers and dropped to the ground.
Robin was quick to recover from the shock as the robot came barreling down on them, "Titans GO!" The team scattered as the White Monster leaped into the air and brought its fists down. Even though its attack didn't land on any of its targets, the strength behind its attack produced a shockwave that knocked each of the teens to the ground.
Robin threw three ammunition discs, but the robot simply swatted them away as if they were insects. Hearing charging behind it, the White Monster turned to see Beast Boy attacking in the form of a T-Rex. As the changeling reared himself down to bite, the robot delivered a strong uppercut which sent Beast Boy flying over twenty feet in the air.
The rest of the team was astonished by its display of sheer strength. Terra was the first to recover, with her astonishment quickly being replaced by anger. She lifted her hands in the air as she put the area around her under her control. The robot appeared to know what she was doing and began charging at her.
Cyborg and Robin, the latter with his Bo staff in hand, charged to intercept but they were both backhanded away. Starfire flew and threw a punch but the robot caught it and threw her hard into Raven before continuing its charge.
Terra's hair actually started to float in the air and when she shot open her eyes, they were glowing yellow. She slammed her hands together, causing a loud "Clap!" and threw hundreds of pounds of dirt to the direction of her opponent. Despite the force that was being thrown against it, The White Monster continued its trek.
Terra began pouring more of her power into her attack, practically shredding the land surrounding her to cover the robot. Even when more than an actual metric ton of dirt was on it, The White Monster still pushed forward. Summoning up all the strength she could, Terra lifted the dirt and the robot into the air. Before it could fight, she heaved it with all of her might toward the water and the dirt and robot disappeared beneath the waves.
Terra fell to her knees, breathing heavily as she didn't think she'd ever used that much power before. She was amazed that she was even still conscious! Just as she let a small smile grace her lips, she suddenly saw a single stream of water burst forth from the waves. It landed on the ground and formed itself back into the White Monster, who stared at terra with those glowing red eyes.
Suddenly, a green bolt of energy was shot at it. The attack left a massive hole in its torso, but it quickly healed itself. The two of them looked up to see Starfire racing toward the White Monster with her eyes and fists glowing green. Just as she threw a punch with incredible force, the robot caught it without even being forced back.
Even if that didn't shock the girls, what happened next definitely did! The robot starred at the fist that it was holding before looking Starfire dead in her eye as a green energy began to form in its hand. This energy spread across the White Monster's body, granting in a kind of power that it had never felt before. Its body was now glowing a bright green light and appeared as if it was actually made of energy itself.
Starfire could only look on, too shocked to do anything. The robot took advantage of her current state by throwing a fist towards her face. A normal punch from a being of its strength would be difficult to recover from but, in its energy powered form, its strength had been magnified immensely. Starfire could feel a sting on her face the second its fist made contact and she was sent flying into the rock, the impact immediately knocking her unconscious.
"STARFIRE!" The robot turned in time to dodge a swing from Robin's staff. He swung again, but the White Monster caught it with ease. Its hand then glowed a more intense green as the staff melted in its hand. It raised its fist to end Robin, but the boy wonder rolled out of the way just in time to avoid death. If one hit from it could knock out Starfire, Robin knew that it would surely kill him.
Taking out an ammunition disc, Robin threw it and ice immediately coated the robot upon contact and it held...for about three seconds.
Its body glowed as it shattered the ice around it. Just as it raised a punch to the teen leader, it felt a weight appeared on its back.
"Hope you didn't think you could get rid of me so easily, you overgrown tin can!" Cyborg's grip was tight on the robot's neck, even though the action was starting to burn. To his shock, the White Monster easily lifted him up and threw him into Robin.
Beast Boy came running up, in the form of an elephant, and head-butted the White Monster away. But the robot managed to catch itself, and simply stared at its opponents. Calmly, it raised its hand in the air and Robin noticed it glowing a much fiercer green color. "EVERYBODY MOVE!"
Robin picked up Starfire's unconscious form, Cyborg got Terra, and they all raced out of the way as the White Monster fired a large green energy beam from its palm. It was smart for the team to move, as the energy beam effortlessly disintegrated anything that stood in its path. It was very fortunate that it wasn't facing towards the city.
Like with its first attack, the mere shockwave was strong enough to propel them in multiple directions.
Even with a torn costume and multiple cuts and bruises, Robin stood up and examined his team. He knew immediately that the odds weren't exactly in their favor. He, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were all injured and exhausted. While Terra and Starfire had recovered from before, they were nowhere near 100%. And their 100% was the only thing that did anything against that damn robot! Raven was the least tired and injured, but even she couldn't handle the White Monster on her own. And that was before it used Starfire as a power source.
"If anyone has any ideas, I'm open to suggestions."
"I might have something," Cyborg spoke up, "I've been working on a new way to ramp up the power of my sonic cannon. If my math is right, I'll be able to destroy this thing if I can get up close. Or, at the bare minimum, do enough damage to where you guys can finish it off."
"I'm sensing a "but" coming along," Raven stated as she flowed down to her team.
"But it takes a little while for me to transfer the power. And I'll end up using all of the energy I have left so, if I can't finish it off, I'll be vulnerable."
Robin nodded his head before he took out two birdarangs and combined them, forming his sword, "Right. Cyborg, start charging. Everyone else, let's give 'em some cover." Robin raced to the White Monster and slashed at its chest, the attack leaving a sizzle on the blade.
As the boy wonder dodged its following stomp, it soon found itself on the ground thanks to Terra manipulating the earth beneath its feet. Beast Boy then morphed into a gorilla, leaped into the air, and slammed his fists on its chest. The White Monster seemingly stood up without any damage and simply swatted the changeling.
Starfire threw multiple starbolts and Raven fired off multiple beams of magic at the robot. The White Monster crossed its arms over its body and blocked the attacks that came forth.
It raised its hands into the air and fired off two beams of energy. The girls managed to dodge, but only by a few inches and they could still feel the intense heat from the attacks.
Tapping into her super speed, Starfire flew towards the robot and delivered a punch to its face. And then another...and then another...and then another. This process was leaving a slight stinging sensation on her hands, but she endured the pain and continued her onslaught.
The robot suddenly felt its legs get damaged as Beast Boy, in the form of a saber-tooth, sunk his fangs into it. The two then moved out of the way as the White Monster was knocked back by a large rock fist, courtesy of Terra.
Beast Boy turned back to normal and began fanning his mouth, feeling an intense burning sensation after biting the robot, "HOT! HOT, HOT! HOT, HOT, HOT!"
"Guys!" Cyborg called out to his team, "I'm ready! MOVE!" The team did exactly what Cyborg said as he began racing toward the White Monster. The robot saw him and retaliated by charging as well. Cyborg's right arm was his sonic cannon and it was sparkling with blue electricity, and the robot's left fist was glowing a fierce green color. As a precaution, Raven projected a force field around herself and the others to protect them from the damage.
As the robot swung its fist, Cyborg was actually able to dodge it before it pointed his sonic cannon in the center of its body. And then he fired the weapon. All the others could see was a blinding blue light for nearly ten seconds before it finally died down. As Raven lowered her shield and the smoke cleared, the titans couldn't see any trace of the White Monster. They saw Cyborg's arm turn back to normal, before his armor went from blue to black and he slumped to the ground.
"Is it over?" Starfire asked her friends.
"Looks like it," Terra replied. Robin simply stared at the crater that had been left behind by Cyborg's attack. Surprised by its power.
"Starfire, get Cyborg. Raven, take us home." Starfire went over and picked up Cyborg's unconscious form before Raven teleported herself, them, and the car back to the tower. They'd won this fight, but the worst was yet to come.
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In his base, Kritanta was watching the fight through the eyes of the White Monster. He was, mostly, pretty pissed off. The robot had taken him so long to create and then rebuild after it was destroyed the first time. Given the intensity of Cyborg's attack, it's unlikely that there's any trace of it left. Even if there is, it'll be too small and damaged to be of any use.
He still had his plans so it'll be possible to rebuild the robot, but that wasn't high on his list of priorities right now. It had served its purpose. Kritanta chuckled to himself, "Enjoy your victory while you can, titans. But, once I'm done, all of your efforts will be for nothing. And I can't wait to see you all die by my hands."
(Author's Note: And there ends part one! I'm gonna go ahead and apologize right now if this wasn't exactly what you guys were expecting. Sorry that there wasn't too much that happened in this chapter, but not much was supposed to. This was really just to show the team's final confrontation with the White Monster. Yes, it has been defeated. Like Brother Blood, we're not going to see it in this story again. This was only meant to kick things off. Here's one fact you might find interesting though: the next time the teen titans fight Kritanta, he's going to make the White Monster look like a harmless cat. I'm imagining that the finale will have no less than three chapters but no more than five, depending on the ideas I have. That means we have anywhere from two to four chapters remaining. Sorry if the ending seemed a little "Dragonball Z".
Here's something I'm gonna say. As I'm sure I've mentioned, one of the current stories I'm writing is entitled "My Death Battles". Basically my version of the popular internet show "Death Battle". The last time I updated it, I said that the next fight was going to feature Raiden from Metal Gear. But, I didn't reveal his opponent and I'm going to now. For any of you that read the "My Death Battles" story, look below to find out who will be Raiden's opponent in the next fight before it comes out. If you don't, you can just exit out. That's all I have to say. Review, follow, favorite, and I'll see you guys next time:)
Dozens upon dozens of trooper wearing white armor and holding blaster rifles are marching toward a metal door. "Get ready! Here he comes!" Just as one of them said that, the door was forced upon and a figure calmly walked through.
He had tanned skin with neatly cut black hair. He wore a black suit with a silver armor piece on his chest. He glared at the troopers, who pointed their blasters and moved forward, before he calmly pulled out a silver tube. He held it in reverse and then pressed a button to ignite a glowing red energy blade. With a shout, he charged.
"Vader can't stop me now. Nothing can."
Starkiller forces his way into death battle