Yet another long delay! Sorry about the late update, but there were a lot of stuff I've been doing like school and chores, plus my mom had painters here repaint the house and it was so frustrating. But be glad that I'm still here and still making this story count. And that's good too cause for about a month, I got one review and 36 hits on my last chapter. A bit of a small number yes but enough to know that people are reading it. Time for us to go straight to the ever-anticipated chapter twenty-one. The Titans and Alex have reached the Recycling Facility. But now they have to find a way to get to Gamma and the only thing standing their way are hoards of creatures and zombies. Lucky for them, they have help from a few mechanical friends.
Chapter Notes
The Sentry Bots in the game will appear on this chapter. Also, the team going through a place that could be similar to the few levels from the Resurrection of Evil game. If you're not sure what that game is about and have Doom 3, I suggest that you buy the game and play it. It's freakin' nuts.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or Doom 3
Chapter Twenty-One: Got Bots?
Communications, Videophone Conference Room: November 15, 2145, 7:22 P.M.
Back at Communications, Swan was at the Videophone Conference Room that was almost identical to the one in Administration. Campbell was outside the room standing guard with his BFG ready for blasting. Swan watched the screen as the Marine in Satellite Control Center was deciding whether to send or cancel the transmission. After a minute choosing he decided to take the only way out of this and clicked on the "Transmit" icon to send the distress signal to the fleet.
"Transmission Successful."
Swan bowed his head in anger and looked at the monitor where the marine was looking at his screen and he had a mean look on his face.
Counselor Swan: "You fool! You have no idea what you just did! If the creatures get a hold of those ships who knows what can happen. You might have endangered all of Earth! I'm going to Delta to stop this. Don't get in our way…"
The Marine's only response from the other side is flipping him the "Bird" in front of the monitor until it went offline. Swan rubbed his forehead knowing that this is officially a hostile situation. He picked up his machine gun off the work desk and left the conference room. Campbell looked at the counselor, hoping that there's any good news.
Jack Campbell: "Well, any news?"
Swan shook his head for a no.
Counselor Swan: "It's worse then we thought. The marine send the transmission to Earth."
Jack Campbell: "Damn! That means that the Earth fleet will be here."
Counselor Swan: "Yeah, so Plan B is now down the drain. All that's left now is to get to Delta quickly, shut down the main portal, and stop this madness."
Jack Campbell: "Guess that makes this plan C?"
Counselor Swan: "That's correct. We can use the jeep in the garage to take us to Delta quicker so we can stop this before the fleet gets here."
Campbell thought about that then came with an idea that would work.
Jack Campbell: "Actually sir, I think we should make a pit stop at a few places before heading to Delta."
Swan looked at him with a concern expression on his face.
Counselor Swan: "What are you saying Campbell?"
Jack Campbell: "Well I was thinking that incase Plan C doesn't work, then maybe we can go right to Plan D."
Swan was silent for the moment, trying to get that through his head. Then he was more concerned about what Jack said.
Counselor Swan: "What's Plan D?"
Sewer Maintenance 13: November 15, 2145, 7:24 P.M.
Meanwhile, deep down the sewer system, the Teen Titans and Alex were venturing down the tunnels when they entered the maintenance area. Walking down through the pipes and wires, they all spotted what appeared to be an elevator at the other end.
Alex: "Finally! Now we're getting somewhere."
Alex approached the elevator, pressed on the "Call" icon on the monitor, and just like that, the elevator doors opened up. The Titans came in first with Alex following after. Once the doors closed, Alex pressed on the level right below the sub tunnels level and the elevator slowly moved up. While they were waiting to go up to the next floor, Alex took out his PDA and checked to see if he has reception. Lucky for him, he did. He used his touch pen to skim through the monster files to find out what were those creatures that attacked them in the sewer tunnels. After a few taps, he found the creature's picture and bio.
Alex: "All right, I found out who are insect skeletor is."
Everyone looked at him as he gave them the details.
Alex: "According to my PDA, they are called Vulgars, they're just like Imps except they're quick, agile, and dangerous."
Beast Boy: "And let's not forget completely ugly."
Alex looked at the changeling with an annoyed look on his face and went back to his PDA.
Alex: "They have the ability to hang on walls and ceilings and they're leaps are deadly. Once they get into contact, they will slash you mercifully or throw green fireballs at you."
Raven: "Notice that."
Robin: "Yeah. And after what happened at the tunnels, it seems like they won't be taken lightly."
Alex: "Indeed. It would appear that these creatures we're encountering are getting tougher then I thought. If we ever going to get to Gamma in one peace, I suggest that we must be extra careful on the threat."
Robin: "Good choice of words there. So where are we anyways?"
Alex looked at the monitor to figure out where they're going then looked back at the PDA check on the map.
Alex: "I don't know. The monitor says that we're heading up to the Security Checkpoint but I need to get a clear view on where we're going."
After a few taps, Alex found their real destination. But when he took a closer look, he shook his head and sighed angrily.
Alex: "You've got to be kidding me."
Robin looked at Alex.
Robin: "What is it?"
Al looked at Robin.
Alex: "We're heading to a recycling facility."
Raven: "And why are you so worried about that?"
Alex looked at the team and answered Raven's question.
Alex: "Do you remember when I said that the UAC has three recycling plants in their base?"
They all nodded.
Alex: "Well this is one of them. Of course these plants can turn polluted waste into clean and dependable water and air, that's why we have sewer systems because the waste is moved from the sewers all the way through the pipes and taken to Recycling for processing and filtering. But what I'm really worried about is that when we get up there, we will be overrun by those things cause it would make a good hide out for them."
Robin: "Well if that's the case, we have to be alert at all times. We can't loose our focus."
Beast Boy: "Easy for you to say. I can't be on alert on an empty stomach. I haven't eaten anything since lunch. I'm sooo hungry!"
Alex looked at the changeling and started arguing with him.
Alex: "Beast Boy, I'm going to say this once before you start whining. We're not stopping for anything, not even-"
But before he could finish, he heard a grumble from his stomach. At the same time, all the Titans stomachs started groaning for hunger. Alex looked at them and had both a nervous smile and chuckle.
Alex: "On second thought, I think maybe we all should get a bite to eat."
Everyone smiled at the fact that they will have a break.
Alex: "And while we're at it, I think we should all take a sanitizing shower. This place smells worse then a freakin' pig sty."
They all laughed as they know that they have been in the cesspool deep in the sewer tunnels. The elevator then made a complete stop as it reaches the floor. The team gets ready for whatever would be coming through. When the doors opened, there was nothing around, yet. Alex was the first to step in to scan the area. Indeed it looked like a security checkpoint with the security window that's shows the security office on the other side, a set of chairs for people waiting to come in, a security door that could be locked on the other side, and an airlock door that was slanted downward in the middle and was broken beyond repair. After checking to see if its monster free, he looked at the Titans and told them that the cost is clear. When the team left the elevator they are left with one option, finding a way in.
Alex: "Looks like the way in is locked from the other side, there's got to be a way getting in the plant."
Raven: "You're sure there's no other way getting to Gamma."
Alex looked at his PDA and scanned the map to find an alternative route.
Alex: "I'm afraid not Rae. My map says that going through the plant is the only way to reach the Ark in time. And unfortunate for us, that means we have to go through the plant and take out any hostiles that get in our way."
Beast Boy: sigh… "I was afraid you say that."
Starfire: "Then how are we suppose to enter if the way in is locked?"
Cyborg: "Well I could try to hack into the systems to gain entry. Of course that wouldn't work for my systems since they're 150 years apart."
Alex: "Either way, we have to find a way to get in and make it to Gamma without anyone getting killed."
Just when they thought of finding a way in, they heard an opening of an automatic door from the other side. They were just about ready to take whatever's coming out on the other side, but when they looked at the security window, what they saw was a scared marine pointing a shotgun at them from the other side. When this marine realized who they are, he lowered his weapon and sighed in relief.
Marine Soldier 16: "Oh thank god. You're not one of them. I got worried for second that you were one of them. Hang on, I'll open the door for you in just a second."
The marine puts away his weapon and gets the access code to open the door. Alex looked at the Titans and smiled.
Alex: "Well, I guess that solves our problem."
After a few more seconds, the marine finished the sequence and the door made a few beeping noises.
Marine Soldier 16: "Okay, the door's unlock. Get in quick. It's only a matter of time before those things get in."
The team quickly went through the door and entered the locker/prep room that had lockers, benches, one room on the left that leads to the sanitation showers, another room and the right that goes to the lounge, shelves on the right for packages, and an armory room on the left side. Once they're all in, the door closed behind them and locked up by itself. The security office door next to it opened and the marine joined the others with his shotgun in his hand.
Marine Soldier 16: "Thank goodness that there's someone alive in this hellhole. I thought for sure that I was the only survivor here."
Alex: "Don't worry, there are more survivors in the installation then you think. But right now we need to rest up a bit before we can continue on. As you can see we kind of went into some deep shit."
The Marine looked at the team and could tell that they're covered from head to toe of waste from the sewer.
Marine Soldier 16: "Yeah, I can see that. But don't worry; we got everything around here that can make you feel better. There are some showers and towels that will clean and dry you up. And if you feel hungry, there's a lounge that has some snacks for you to eat."
The Titans felt relieved at the fact that they can now rest for the moment.
Beast Boy: "Awesome!!! I got dibs on the soy chocolate bars!"
Cyborg: "Oh no you don't grass stain. We're taking a shower first! And besides, I don't think they would have any tofu products here in this place."
Everyone quickly headed for the showers to clean up. But just as Alex was going to join them, the Marine approached him and places his hand on Al's shoulder.
Marine Soldier 16: "I could tell that you must've put up a fight with some beasts down in the sewers. It looks like armor is on the brink of falling apart and your ammo's a little depleted."
Alex looked at him and glared.
Alex: "Gee, you think?"
Marine Soldier 16: "Not to worry, there's an armory room here that can help you refill on some heavy duty weapons."
The Marine pointed at the doorway that leads to the armory as Alex looked at it and smiled.
Alex: "Thanks for the advice."
Marine Soldier 16: "Don't mention it."
Alex looked back at the shower and headed down there to clean up.
After ten minutes in the shower together, with their uniforms on thankfully, the team is almost ready to continue on. The Titans were in the lounge enjoying the sodas, chips, and candy bars the vending machines had. But for Alex, he was sitting on the bench outside with new armor and fresh clips and cells for his weapons while sipping a can of Robo Cola after eating three bags of chips and two candy bars. He was sitting next to the Marine that got him and the team in and he was fixing up what appears to be a mechanical like spider with a mounted torrent. That spider is known as a Sentry Bot the marines use for official backup.
Alex: "Thanks for letting us in man. I mean I thought we were in deep trouble when that door was locked."
The marine looked at Alex and had a small grin on his face.
Marine Soldier 16: "No need for a thank you. I was glad that there were more people surviving in this crazy place."
Alex: "Yeah well, doing all that we can to get out of this predicament. So you're the only one in this place?"
The marine turned his head away and focused on the little robot he's working on, answering his question.
Marine Soldier 16: "Afraid so. I was on a strike squad that was trying to contain this threat. But while we were just about done, more came out of nowhere and overwhelmed us."
Alex: "Hmm… Should've guessed. But I'm surprised that you were able to survive the attack and set up camp here."
Marine Soldier 16: "Well don't be. I wouldn't make it this far if I didn't have a little help."
Alex looked at the sentry bot and knew what the marine meant by a little help.
Alex: "So you mean to tell me that this sentry bot protected you?"
Marine Soldier 16: "Don't be fooled by this its appearance, this little guy's firepower packs quite a whollape. I sent other drones out there and they're still taking those creatures down but I don't think they could take them out on their own."
Alex: "Shouldn't you join them and give them some backup?"
Marine Soldier 16: "I wish I could but I can't. This one here was trying to get me here for safety but it got hit and shut down in the process. I have to stay here and get this bot up and running before more of them shows up. I have a gun torrent out there holding them off but I don't know how long it will last. So until I get this thing working again, I'm not going anywhere."
Alex turned his head away and thought about this situation he and his team are in now.
Marine Soldier 16: "So, where are you and your friends going?"
He looked back at the marine and answered his question.
Alex: "Well, we were heading to Gamma Labs for some important business."
Marine Soldier 16: "I see. Well if I were you, I would stay put until back up gets here."
Alex: "Back up?"
Marine looked at Alex for a second.
Marine Soldier 16: "Yeah, I got a call from Sergeant Kelly that a marine sent the distress signal to the Earth fleet. Soon we'll be getting reinforcements here and get all the firepower we need. The problem is that it will take them hours to get them here so we're screwed so far."
Alex was surprised to here that the help on Earth is coming after all.
Alex: "But I thought that the Communications Room was destroyed and the transmission terminal was out."
Marine Soldier: "Yeah, that's true but this marine must've used the Satellite Control Center to send that transmission. So it was the only way for the distress signal to get through. But the bad news is that using Satellite Control to send the message would take long for the Earth fleet to translate. So that means we're on our own for a while until they get here."
Alex: "So what's going to happen now?"
The marine went back to his work and answered Alex's question.
Marine Soldier 16: "Well, I got a call from Sarge saying that he wants all remaining marine units to head to Delta to create a resistance against the hostiles. But I heard that Delta's a complete mess so I'm taking my chances here. I tell ya, if all of those survivors think they can stand a chance down there, they must be out of their minds."
That made Alex thought of something. If his father said that Delta's been compromised, why does he want the surviving marines to head to Delta, including himself and the Titans? Just as he was about to get an answered, he heard Robin's voice.
Robin: "Hey Alex, we're ready."
Alex looked up and saw and the other Titans ready to continue on.
Alex: "Right, well let's get going."
He stood up and then looked down at the marine.
Alex: "Thanks for everything pal. But we have to get going."
The marine looked at the team and discusses the details, understanding the team's situation.
Marine Soldier 16: "Just be careful out there. Since I haven't left the locker area for the past hour, I don't know what's out there. Take the maintenance hallway that will take you to Engineering and Energy Processing. Once you enter there, you have to be cautious. An EMP field short-circuited that area and who knows when another blast would occur. If you find a sentry bot, follow it; they have installed flashlights to help you lead the way. Just a friendly word of advice, if the EMP blast starts happening, you're flashlight and the sentry's light will be shut off temporarily. Just remain where you are and the lights will be back on."
Alex and the team let the information slip in their heads and nodded in agreement.
Alex: "Thanks for the advice. I'm sure we're going to need it."
The marine smiled and stood up, heading to the security office.
Marine Soldier 16: "I'll lock the door after you leave, I need to fix my sentry up before more of them happen to attack."
Alex: "Well you better make it quick, these creeps can surprise you and any turn and they can teleport quite close to you."
Marine Soldier 16: "I'll remember that. Now, whenever you're ready."
Alex looked at the Titans and gave them the word.
Alex: "Let's go."
He walked past them as everyone turned around and followed him to the entrance to Recycling Maintenance. But before they step foot through the door, the marine forgot one thing.
Marine Soldier 16: "Wait!"
Everyone stopped and looked and the Marine that had half his body out of the office.
Marine Soldier 16: "Remember, these little guys are on our side. So stay close to them as soon as you make contact. And don't forget to follow them, they know where they're going and will make sure that you'll be safe."
Alex smiled and gave him the salute for luck. They all then left the locker/prep room and lounge and entered the sewage maintenance. There it seems a little too quiet except for the humming sounds of the security torrent moving from left to right. Once everyone was out of the previous room, the door closed behind them and locked itself up. The team then proceeded slowly and careful not to be off guard even for a second. Robin, being suspicious as he is, looked at Alex and asked him a few questions.
Robin: "So Alex, what did you and the marine talked about."
Alex answered the Boy Wonder's question without reverting his head to see him.
Alex: "Well for one thing, that marine that was going to send the transmission back at communications managed to send it through satellite control. We could be getting some help soon enough but the problem is that it will take the UAC on earth time to encrypt the message."
Robin: "Anything else?'
Alex: "Just one. From what the marine just said, my dad had ordered all remaining units to report to Delta Labs immediately to create a final resistance against this threat."
Beast Boy: "Well that sounds like a good thing."
Alex: "Maybe, maybe not. Dad once said that the source of the attack came from Delta, yet he wants the rest of the marines to come there to take their final stand."
Raven: "Then why would he send troops there when he knows that it's not safe?"
Alex: "I don't know Rae. Maybe it's that-"
But before he could determine an answer, a piece of equipment fell to the floor and a Vulgar climbed on it. Alex took out Matilda and aimed it at the thing with the rest of the team ready to attack. But just before the creature was going to attack, it got shot at and pierced with bullet holes on its body. It fell to the floor disintegrated while the Titans were puzzled on how it got killed. But for Alex, he looked back and saw the gun torrent that aimed the Vulgar and continued to search. He looked back at the team and gave out the command.
Alex: "C'mon guys, let us proceed!"
Alex and the Titans headed to the door on the left and entered another hallway. They continue to walk down it but when they reached the middle, and Imp came down though the hole in the ceiling and screeched to kill. Alex immediate fired his weapon before it could have the chance to hurt someone and vanished in a cloud of ash. Just after it was killed, all the lights in the hallway turned off, leaving the team in temporary darkness. When the lights turn back on, two zombies came out of the alcoves on either side of the hallway, one skinny and limping fast and another fat and moving slowly. The quick one was heading for Alex that was trying to reload but Cyborg had his back as he activated his sonic cannon and fired it at the undead. With the first zombie out, Al finished reloading and aimed his shotgun at the second zombie. He fired and made a precise hole on the through its gut. He reloaded and again and fired it on the head, killing and zombie in an instant. With all hostiles taken care of, the team proceeded down the hallway and reached another two sets of doors with a marine corpse hanging upside-down and on the left side of them. Beast Boy couldn't help but gulped at this warning sign, but the others remained calm and Alex looked up at the sign that's above the two automatic doors saying, "Energy Processing".
Alex: "This is it."
Alex was the first to step to the two metal doors. But when the doors opened, there was a Pinky looking at him and roared in righteous fury. The Titans were about to protect him but before they can do anything, shots came out of the left side and in the other room and surprised the bull like beast out of nowhere. Within seconds, the Pinky was killed and disintegrated as the team was unsure what happened. They were about to get their answer as the sight of a flashlight came into focus and it was glowing brighter. To the Titans, they thought that there were more survivors, but for Alex, it was something else. That something came into view and it was the sentry bot that came to someone's aid. Raven looked at the spider like robot and was a little confused.
Raven: "We were saved by a little robot?"
Alex: "Not a robot Raven, this is a sentry bot, one of the UAC military weapons we use for security purposes."
Cyborg took a closer look at the bot and realized where he seen it before.
Cyborg: "Hey! I think I've seen one of those back at Mars City."
Alex: "Yeah we got plenty of them here in this installation. And there's more of them in this plant."
Robin: "What?"
Alex looked at Robin.
Alex: "I talked to the marine back at the locker area and he says that there are more of these guys around the area. If we can locate them, they could be really useful."
The sentry then made some bleeps and started scattering away from the team.
Beast Boy: "It's getting away!"
Alex stood up and saw the little robot walking down the dark passage and stopped to look at the team.
Alex: "Actually, it wants us to follow it. C'mon, let's go while we have the chance."
The Titans looked at each other and agreed on Alex's idea. They all then followed the sentry bot through the dark area of energy processing and couldn't tell where they are going except to follow the robotic spider. Cyborg then turned on his shoulder flashlight to increase the light in the area. As they continued walking, Beast Boy then noticed that there was no light at all in the place.
Beast Boy: "Um… Why is this place so dark? Did someone forget to turn on a light switch or something?"
Alex: "Actually Beast Boy, an EMP field shut off all lights in the area. Another blast will take out our lights any minute now."
Just as they continued walking the lights on both the sentry and the shoulder light blinked furiously and the entire place went dark. The team stopped when their lights went out.
Raven: "Great, now I can't see shit."
Alex: "Everyone stay where you are! The lights will be back on momentarily. There's no reason to panic."
Suddenly, they all heard a clanking noise followed by some low hissing. Everyone looked around to find out where the noises came from, but couldn't tell because everything was pitch black.
Robin: "You were saying?"
Alex: "Cyborg, can that red eye of yours help find where the noise is coming from?"
Cyborg: "I can try, but with the farther end places so dark, I can't determine where."
Alex: "Starfire, we need one of your star bolts to help us see. Can you do that for us?"
Starfire: "Affirmative."
Star raise her hand up and place was glowing in a green light thanks to one of her star bolts. Once everyone can see, they all saw two Imps coming out of their hiding places, charging up fireballs.
Alex: "Hostiles located. Take them out!"
The sentry bot opened fire on the first Imp while Cyborg aimed his cannon to fire on the second. The two Imps died before they could fire their projectiles at the team. Once that was taken care of, the lights on the bot and Cy's shoulder went back on. Starfire powered down her star bolt while Alex took out his plasma rifle and looked at the team.
Alex: "That was a close one. Everyone stay together, I don't want anyone get separated from this darkened place."
The team nodded and they all followed the sentry bot that was showing them the way. Once they went down a small set of steps and passed two columns, two Wraiths jumped down from their hiding places and moved forward while a Vulgar materialized between them and started throwing green fireballs. The sentry took care of the first Wraith while Robin took an exploding disk out of his belt and threw it at the second. Alex then fired his rifle at the Vulgar and the projectiles it was throwing to protect the Titans. The creature was too quick but the guardian managed to take it down with his own set of blue projectiles. Once their all dead, they proceeded to their exit point. They were just going through a narrow hallway right after they went up to another small set of steps when suddenly, another EMP blast occurred and the lights went off again.
Alex: "Damn it! Star, shine your light."
The Tamaranean did that as the hallway was illuminated by green light. But to their surprise, ten Trites trapped them in the hallway, five on one end; five on another. The sentry mowed down the spider in front with its mounted torrent while Starfire used her free hand to blast her star bolts at the enemies in the rear. When that was done, the lights went back on and they continued on. They went up the steps and turned right to the next set of two steel pillars. When Alex went up, he spotted four sets of eyes of a Maggot coming towards him from the left. He aimed and fired his plasma rifle at it and killed it, watching it burn to ash. He joined the Titans as they kept moving on. The sentry detected a zombie coming from the right side of the open alcove and ripped it to shreds. With it dead, they all kept going when an Imp appeared through teleporting and charged a fireball at them. Beast Boy heard the shriek and turned around to see the creature throw the fireball at him. He quickly positioned his Grabber at the red-hot projectile and the green thin line grabbed it. Once he got a hold of it, he aimed it at the Imp and fired the ball of flames right back at it. The fireball hit the Imp and it fell to the ground disintegrated. He quickly joined the others as they turned another corner and spotted a doorway on the other end. It was obvious that it is the exit.
Alex: "This is it. We're almost there."
They all hurried to the exit with the sentry bot leading them. But just as they entered the wide corridor and were about to get out of the darkness, another EMP burst came out of nowhere and shut off the lights once more.
Alex: "Oh man, not now!"
Starfire: "Do not threat Alex, I will shed some light into this darkness."
And she did that when she turned on her star bolt to light the way. But when she did that, two garage like doors opened and two Pinkys came out roaring at their prey. Ask for the team, they were both surprised and unsure about this situation.
Robin: "Uh… Starfire. Maybe you should power down, like right now."
The Pinkys charged in and were about to pounce of the team, but Raven formed a dome shield around them and protected them from the bull like creatures. But even if they're saved, the Pinkys are doing their best to break through the shield with a few cracks seeping on the black dome. Alex was looking for a way to put these huge dogs to sleep for good. He then spotted a huge flammable tank at the right corner of the left side. Upon seeing that, he came up with an idea and looked at Raven.
Alex: "Raven, can you open a hole for me to get an opening shot."
Raven: "Of what, I don't think you can take them down."
Alex: "I'm not talking about take down the Pinkys."
Raven looked at Alex with her eyes glowing bright white and noticed him taking out his double barrel shotgun and aiming it at the tank of flammable liquid. She lifted one of her eyebrows underneath her hood and wasn't sure if this idea of his would work.
Alex: "You have to trust me Raven. Once I open fire, close that hole before the flames start spreading."
Raven looked back at one of the Pinkys and more cracks were on the shield as it was going to break.
Alex: "C'mon Rae, for once you must trust me!"
Raven gave is some quick thought and decided that it was now or never, she quickly opened a hole for Alex as he took aim at the tank. He pulled the trigger and the shells came out of the two holes and headed straight to the flammable tank. Once they connect, they made a huge explosion that same time Raven closed the hole on her shield. The flamed engulfed the area and roasted the beasts to well done cooked meat, leaving the Titans still protected by Raven's shield. One of the safety protocol systems detected the fire and automatically activated the extinguishers. Once all the flames have been out, Raven lowered her shield dome and the team looked at the burnt metal, white liquid substance, and burnt dead Pinky's that were started to deteriorate to nothing. Cyborg decided to make the team feel better.
Cyborg: "Uh… Anyone got some A1 steak sauce."
The rest ignored Cy's comment.
Alex: "Let's just get going."
The sentry bot headed to the door soon after the lights turned on and oddly enough, the door was opened even after the fiery mess. They then entered the lower level access that finally had some light to show them the way and a stairway leading them up. The sentry scurried up the stairs, only to be introduced by an Imp walking towards it. It quickly opened fire and killed the Imp before the creature had the chance at attacking. The Titans then went up stairs to the first landing and were about to take the second set when a Vulgar was summoned behind the team and started throwing a fireball at them. Beast Boy took action as he turned around, grabbed the green fireball with his weapon, positioned it, and threw it back at the creature, killing it on impact. They headed up to the second landing and then the final steps up to an automotive door that slid up when the sentry walked in. When the team entered, they were at the basement floor of the elevator access. In front of them were two elevator shafts, the one of the right was busted and the shaft was engulfed in that strange growth, all dripping in blood. Fortunately, the one on the left was operational, ready to take them up. As they walked to the middle of the room, the place was engulfed by red light and the same evil laughter echoed through the place. Suddenly, an Imp, two Vulgars, and two Wraiths appeared out of thin air and started their attack. The drone blasted the first Wraith with the mounted torrent on its nozzle. Alex used his shotgun in one hand to take care of the other Wraith and used the plasma rifle in his other hand to shoot down the Vulgar moving quickly to avoid the firepower. Cyborg was having trouble to as he kept firing on the other skeletal bug creature with his sonic cannon, but the creature used its ability dodged the attack all over the place. It then took cover, charged up a green fireball, jumped out of there, and threw it at the hybrid. Beast Boy then grabbed the fireball in the air, poised his weapon ready, and fired it back at the creature. The beast tried to avoid it, but it got hit in the leg and landed on the ground limply. Cy then have the opportunity and fired a blue laser at the thing and killed it. He then looked at his friend and smiled.
Cyborg: "Thanks for the help BB."
The changeling looked at the hybrid and smiled back.
Beast Boy: "No problem dude."
Back to Alex, he had some help from Starfire as they brought forth blue and green projectiles at the other Vulgar and managed to kill it. Now the only thing left was the Imp. It threw a fireball at the team but Robin deflected the attack with his Bo staff. He then rushed to the Imp, implanted the end of his staff to the ground, jumped up, and did a spinning round house kick at its side. It flew to the side from the hit and slammed straight into a wall, letting the sentry boot finish off the being. Alex observed the area, to see if there any more threats in the room.
Alex: "All right, this area's clear. Let's head up."
Quickly, everyone got into the shaft as Alex pushed the "Raise Lift" icon on the lift panel. They were lucky that they all can fit inside the lift, or else things would've gotten complicated. While they were going up, they again heard the same laughter echoing up the shaft.
Beast Boy: "O.K. Anyone have any idea where that's coming from."
Alex: "Don't know Beast Boy, but it sounds pretty bad. That's why we have to be on guard at all times if we are going to escape this place."
The lift continued to go up as the haunting laughter faded away. When they reach the top floor, they saw another sentry bot gunning down a few Maggots. Once they all died, the lift doors opened up and the team came out, along with the first sentry bot. The two drones met and they beeped at each other as they communicate. The two then walked together and turned to the left corner. They then spotted more Maggots coming down the hallway and they fired at them to clear the way. The Titans soon followed the drones and headed down the hallway the drones were going. They turned to a right corner and saw the sentries under attack by some Cherubs and Ticks. Alex and Starfire backed them up by shooting bullets out of a machine gun and star bolts. After they all died, the sentries continued walking down towards an automatic door. Once they went through it, they were on a catwalk of one of the waste tunnels. In the middle of the catwalk was a zombie in a HAZMAT suit with a flashlight on top of its helmet. It was lumbering towards the team when the bots shoot it down and made a mess. The team then walked down the catwalk when Alex stopped and looked down at the tunnel floor. What he saw was completely overwhelming.
Alex: "Look down there."
The Titans looked down and saw hoard upon hoards of zombies and monsters fighting each other to the bone.
Cyborg: "Oh man… It looks like an army is down."
Starfire: "But why are they attacking each other?"
Alex: "I guess maybe they got bored and want to kill one another."
Robin: "By the way this place looks, no one hasn't survived down there."
Alex: "Yeah, looks that way. We better get out of here before they suspect us and decided to change their targets."
They were about to leave when suddenly, four red clouds appeared and four Cacodemons came out of the lightning bolts. They all fired their energy blasts at the team, but Raven created a black barrier to protect her friends against the attack.
Alex: "Spoke too soon!"
When Rae turned off her barrier, the team fired back at the Cacodemons. Alex opened fire with his plasma gun at the first one, the sentry bots blasted the second monster, Cyborg used his sonic cannon to take out the third, and Robin threw a couple of exploding disks at the last of them. Once they're all dead, the team got out of the area before the hoard below the catwalk gets suspicious. They all went down a stairwell in the other room and went through another automatic door. They then entered the Main Waste Tunnels Access which is this almost rectangular room with a steel pillar in the middle and pipes connected around four different doors on each side, including the one they went through.
Beast Boy: "Great, now what do we do? Einy Meany Miney Moe?"
Alex: "Let's let the drones find our path."
After a few seconds, the sentries went left and headed to the door. Alex just smirked at their work.
Alex: "What I tell ya?"
The team followed the drones but when they were about to enter, they heard shrieking from behind them and the sound of tiles unlatching themselves. They all turned around and saw four squared tiles flew out of the floor and ten Lost Souls came out of each of them and rocketed towards Alex, the Titans, and the sentries. They all hit them with everything they got from bullets and plasma projectiles to star bolts and birarangs. After all those flaming skulls were dead and vanished, everyone headed straight to the door the sentries were walking into and entered Main Waste Tunnel A. Around them were a couple of barrels and two dead Marines on the floor, but in front of them is a huge tunnel that can lead them to wherever they're going. As the sentries walked up the small set steps into the tunnel, another sentry bot appeared on the left and joined the others. But following after it were two HAZMAT zombies. The three drones aimed their torrents and opened fire on the two. After they died, the bots looked at the team and beeped to them to follow them. As they walk to the tunnel, the team looked at each other then the Titans looked at Alex.
Alex: "The more the help the better. Follow them."
The Titans followed the drones as the three sentries kept shooting down the Ticks and Trites that were coming out of the woodworks. When the path was clear, everyone kept walking through the tunnel and over another piece of slimy red growth slithering over their heads. They enter a huge room that was surrounded by pipes, two filter generators on both side, and spider webs in a few places. As they continued walking to the other end, they stopped in the middle when they saw an Imp and two Vulgars in front of them. Fortunate for the team that the bots killed the three when they detected them as a threat. The titans then heard more screeching behind and turned around to see five more Lost Souls coming out of the tunnel they were in. Alex, Starfire, and Cyborg blasted them out with their weapons and powers. The area was clear and everyone proceeded to head down the other end. That was when they spotted two more sentry bots backing away from the left end of the tunnel. They were shooting down a Wraith that was attacking them and they took it down with their gun torrents. The bots thought it was over, when all of a sudden; a green fireball came out of the right side and hit the first one, shutting it down completely. The second drone turned around and saw a Vulgar screeching and screaming at it. It opened fired and killed it before the creature could attack. Once the others joined the drone they look down to see the heavily damaged sentry.
Raven: "Not even these sentries are safe."
Alex: "Nothing is."
Everyone then continued on to get out of the tunnels, with four sentry bots in front of them leading the way. The four of them detected dozens of Trites and prick them down one by one. The path was once again cleared and everyone turned right then went straight to the left corner. One of the bots spotted another HAZMAT zombie at the right side of a small alcove behind a metal crate. It killed the undead being and joined the others. They turned left at the next corner and entered another big room, only this time it was wider then the first one. As they kept on walking, they immediately stopped when they saw the view changed to a more dark and grotesque place. Strange growth was just about everywhere, red skeletons littered the floor, blood was dripping on the ceiling, and boxes and barrels big and small were shaking furiously. All the forren objects went up in the air around the Titans and plummeted to the ground right after everything went back to normal. Then within a flash, multiple Imps, Vulgars and Wraiths were blocking their way through and attack with fireballs of two different colors. Raven formed a shield around the team as the sentries stepped in and took action. Even though their fire power packs a punch, they won't stand a chance against the hoard in front of them. So it was up to the Titans to do something about it. Rae let down her shield and levitated a few flammable barrels up in the air. Beast Boy did the same and used the Grabber to lift one more barrel. Alex took out two grenades and armed them and Robin took out four exploding disks out of each hand. Without a second to spare, they fired barrels and threw their weapons at the army. Once they were all together, it created a massive explosion that Raven created a wall barrier to make sure her friends and the drones are safe. When the flames are cleared, the shield went down and the team observed the mayhem that happened, the entire place was burnt and the creatures and monsters were fried to a crisp. But luckily for them that the pipes haven't exploded or it would've been a complete disaster. A few of the Imps, Vulgars, and Wraiths managed to survive the blast, so the sentries came in to clip them off one after another. After everything was dead the team proceeded to the other end of the wide hall and made a right turn at the corner of the tunnel. Finally, they made it to the end went up a ramp to head to an exit doorway. The drones went in first as the doors slide open sideways. There, they met a Pinky roaring so loud and charged at the robots. The droned then fired at the same time and with their combined firepower, managed to kill the monstrous bull before it can do some real damage. With that out of the way, the Titans and Alex followed the sentries through another door and entered Waste Filtration where a few machines were removing hazardous material from the water and transferring it to another part of the plant. On parts of the room was that strange growth again, surrounding two pillars in the middle, the floor, walls, and the ceiling. But what made it most terrifying was a corpse hanging from one of the ceiling metal gratings with its stomach and chest opened and its entails hanging out. The team was disgusted at the pit of their stomachs when they saw that.
Beast Boy: "Urghh… Now I'm really going to be sick."
Raven: "You and me both Beast Boy."
Alex looked up at the corpse the lowered his head away from the disgusting site. He then noticed an airlock door on the other end of the room and smirked.
Alex: "There's our exit. Let's get out of this creepy place."
The sentry bots were the first to walk forward as the team followed their tracks. Suddenly, they heard wheezing noise that made them stop.
Robin: "Did you guys hear that?"
They all looked around to find out where that noise is coming from when Starfire looked up and saw something that made her both confuse and amazed at the same time.
Starfire: "Up there!"
The team looked up and saw the corpse wheezing profusely but they weren't sure if it's alive or dead. But after one last wheeze, it made a loud roar that rocked the room and set fire to the two pillars inside. Just as they thought this couldn't get any worse, multiple Maggots crawled out of their hiding places and spotted their dinner. They scurried down the floor and went in to get their meal. The sentries then went into formation around the Titans and started blasting the creature one at a time. But since they're too many of them, the team decided to come to their aid again. Together, they hit them with everything they got and made sure that they stay dead. Once the last one has been taken out by a couple of star bolts, the place was clear, for now. Robin approached one of the piles of ash and picked up a few birdarangs to place in his utility belt.
Robin: "That was the last of them. Let's not wait around to find out if more of their friends will show up for an encore."
Alex: "I can agree on that. Everybody to the airlock, we're outta here."
The team and the drones approached the airlock as Alex pressed the "Open Hatch" icon on the panel next to them. As it was doing its cycle, the guardian looked at Robin and saw his concerned face.
Alex: "What's seems to be the matter Rob?"
The Boy Wonder looked at Alex and answered.
Robin: "It's just these things, these monsters. They just keep on attacking us, yet they back away from the fight. This doesn't make any sense what so ever. Why are they getting hesitant in killing us?"
Alex turned his head away from Robin and put together an answer.
Alex: "Don't know, but I bet that's there game plan, to back away and wait for the right moment to attack. We have to be ready if these creeps decide on taking the plain field advantage to their side."
The cycle was finished and the airlock door opened upwards, revealing a small chamber of a room. The team and drones entered the chamber as Alex clicked the icon on the huge screen to transfer them to another area. As the door closed, the place was silent again. But what the team didn't know was that hiding in the shadows were a pair of green eyes as it grunted and moaned before it disappeared.
And so end this chapter, another long, agonizing, torturous piece of writing. This keeps on getting worse for me when I make stories this big, but that's a chance I have to take. On the next chapter, the team enters a pump station in the recycling plant. But what they didn't know was that there was a trap waiting for them. Please Review and if I'm not going to update anything on the 31st then, Happy Halloween!