Chapter 36: Last Stand Part ll
"Scatter!" Robin shouted as the dragons lunged, the group quickly leaping out of the way of the monsters as they snapped their jaws shut on empty air. Snarling in rage, the dragons separated from each other, leaping in between the large group of heroes. "Try and separate them!" Superman yelled as he flew up into the air, landing a hard punch in between the eyes of one of the dragons, who roared in fury.
Superman dove to the ground, pulling up at the last second, the dragon now focusing on the Leaguers as they led the dragon farther down the block. The Titans East nodded in understand and went after the other dragon, Bee zapping the tail of the fire creature as she flew by. Aqualad and Speedy kept it distracted while Mas and Menos whirled around it, confusing it long enough for Speedy to shoot a group of explosive arrows, hitting the beast in the chest. The dragon snarled in rage and quickly flew after the two boys, who led the beast farther downtown, away from the last creature.
Robin turned back to face the last dragon, who snarled in anger and slammed it's claws down on the concrete. "Guess we get Smokey." Beastboy sighed, transforming into a pterodactyl, flying up into the air. Starfire grabbed Cyborg, hoisting the metal man into the air with her, sonic blaster ready. Danny narrowed his eyes, grabbing Robin under the arms, and leaping into the air. Jack and Maddie charged up their blasters as they took cover behind on of the nearby overturned cars, aiming high for the dragon's head.
Beastboy landed on the dragon's shoulder, transforming into a T-Rex, he snapped his teeth down onto the dragon's scales, ripping through the skin. The dragon roared in fury and whipped its tail around, driving Beastboy off. Cyborg grit his teeth and fired a large blue blast at the creature, hitting it in the chest, sending it stumbling backwards.
The dragon snarled and slashed its claws through the air, hitting both Starfire and Cyborg, knocking the two back down to the ground. A blackbird of magic appeared in front of the creature. Flaring its wings, it blinded the monster with light, hitting it with a powerful blow as it did so. The dragon snarled and opened its mouth, hitting the bird with a burst of fire, dissipating the magic around it.
Danny threw Robin up into the air, the boy throwing a pair of pellets at the creature. The objects exploded in front of the dragon, encasing its eyes in ice. The monster snarled and whipped its tail back and forth in anger as it tried to clear its vision once more. Danny grabbed hold of the boy once more as he fell, dropping him down onto one of the nearby building roofs, flying back into battle himself.
Charging up a large ball of ecto-energy, Danny hurled the massive orb towards the dragon, the energy exploding as it made contact with eh creature's head, knocking it backwards. Diving back towards the ground, Danny whistled to Tucker, the boy running over. Grabbing onto his shoulders, Danny hoisted him up into the air. "Grab your whip!" He yelled. Tucker nodded and gripped the rope tightly.
Danny narrowed his eyes and flew close to the dragon's legs. Weaving in between the four limbs, the two boys wrapped the rope in and out of the legs until they were fully tangled. Flying back out into the open, Danny glanced back to the boy. "Now!" He yelled.
Tucker grit his teeth and yanked as hard as he could on the whip, the rope tightening around the dragon's legs, entangling them together. The creature roared in fury as he became unbalanced. The others saw this as their opening and flew forward. Cyborg nodded to Beastboy, the changeling transforming into a large triceratops. Cyborg grabbed onto the dinosaur's tail and twirled him around, letting him go as he hurtled towards the dragon, curling into a ball as he whizzed through the air.
The dragon was hit right in the chest as Beastboy rammed into him, the force knocking him down to the ground. Starfire, Dani and Valerie took the opportunity to fly down and fore a barrage of bolts at the downed dragon, creating a plume of smoke to rise into the air at the attack. Silence filled the air as everyone held their breath, waiting to see whether it was enough to defeat the large monster.
It was not.
The dragon burst through the smoke, whipping its tail forward, slamming the three girls backwards into one of the nearby buildings. Sam and Jazz nodded to each other, leaping forward, Sam bent down on one knee, holding her hands out. Jazz leapt forward, placing a foot down on the girl's hands, who pushed her up into the air. Jazz narrowed her eyes and stabbed her staff down into the shoulder.
The creature roared in anger and slammed it's claws down into Jazz, knocking her back into Sam, the two girls flying across the pavement. Maddie grit her teeth and fired the Fenton bazooka, the blast hitting the dragon in between the eyes. The creature roared in fury as it twisted its head around to stare at the women, teeth gleaming as it bared its fangs. Maddie narrowed her eyes and fired again, Jack doing the same besides her.
The dragon snarled and charged. The two gasped and took a step back, tripping over the cracks in the pavement. Jack placed his arm around Maddie, shielding her from the blast that was sure to come. Only it didn't come. They opened their eyes to see Danny hovering over them, a blue shield around them as the dragon fired a continuous stream of fire at the shield.
Danny groaned and grit his teeth, pushing harder against the dome as he fought to keep it in place. Suddenly, a batch of explosive nailed the dragon in the side of the head, knocking it backwards, Robin rolling on the ground a few paces off, readying another batch of explosives. Danny let out a sigh as he dropped the shield, kneeling on the ground as he tried to catch his breath. He felt a hand on his shoulder as his parents knelt down next to him. "You okay, sweetie?" Maddie asked as she looked her son up and down, checking for any serious wounds, not seeing any other than the cut on his head, which was still bleeding down the side of his face.
Danny nodded. "Yeah...I'm fine." He breathed, eyes widening a he saw the tail of the dragon whipping towards them. "Watch out!" He screamed, tackling his parents to the ground as the tail passed inches above their heads. Narrowing his eyes, Danny flew back into the air towards the dragon, Starfire and Raven quickly joining him. "You girls ready?" He asked as they faced the dragon once more, the creature occupied with the other boys below them.
They quickly nodded, the three teens joining together as they each placed a hand in the middle of the small circle. Spinning around, they each charged up their powers, creating a vortex of black and green, the force nailing the creature right in the chest, sending it flying across the street and into one of the nearby buildings.
Cyborg and Sam stood shoulder to shoulder, each firing blast after blast at the creature as they avoided the swipes and blasts it sent their way. Beastboy charged in the form of a rhino, stabbing his horn into the dragon's side. The creature let out a cry of fury as it slammed its claws down onto the pavement, Beastboy keeping back just in time as the claw crushed the asphalt underneath it.
The dragon stood once more as it flared its wings, glaring down at the group of teens below it, who were readying themselves for another round.
"Have I ever told you guys how much I hate dragons?!" Flash shouted as he zoomed out of the way of the dragon's tail as it smashed the ground.
The others ignored his comment as they continued to battle the fiery creature. Wonder Woman flew forward once more, ramming her shoulder into the dragon's chest, knocking the creature backwards. The monster snarled as it sliced a claw through the air, catching the Amazonian off guard as she was slammed into the ground.
The dragon growled and raised a leg, intent on smashing the woman under it's claws, only to feel chains clip onto it's legs and wings and drag it backwards. Lantern groaned as he dragged the dragon backwards, the green chains still clamped tightly onto its limbs. He gasped as a blast of fire was hurled at him, creating a green shield around him right before the blast hit, the force knocking him backwards.
Hawkgirl snarled and flew forward, ramming her mace down in between the creatures eyes, satisfaction running tough her at the sound of a crack. The dragon snarled in rage and twisted around, whipping its tail around, hitting the winged girl int he side, sending her flying into one of the nearby buildings.
Superman narrowed his eyes and dove towards the creature;s legs. Taking a deep breath, the man released a breath of ice, freezing the dragon's legs to the pavement. The creature roared as it tried to break through its confines, only to be hit in the chest with a pair of ice pellets, Batman rolling on the ground, readying more pellets as the dragon's chest froze just like his legs.
Flash zoomed around the creature, creating a red vortex around it. The monster roared in fury as it whipped its head around wildly, trying to figure out what was happening. Flash felt the electricity coursing through his as he ran, narrowing his eyes and he raised his arm, hurling a bolt of lightning towards the creature, hitting it in the side of the head.
The dragon roared in fury as it shook and fought against it's restraints, whipping its tail back and forth, hitting Flash in the chest, sending the man soaring through the air. He let out a yelp of shock as he felt himself free-falling through the air, only to be caught under the arms and brought back down to the ground. Glancing up, he saw Manhunter nod to him, then fly back up into battle.
The dragon roared in fury as it finally broke through its restraints, shaking itself free of the frost that still clung to its scales, igniting itself in fire once more as it glared back at the heroes, who lined up in front of it, ready to continue.
Bee groaned as she was thrown back to the ground, the dragon snarling as it loomed over her. She gasped raised a hand to cover herself, only to feel wind rushing past her. She opened her eyes to see Mas and Menos quickly dropping her off onto the ground a few paces away from the dragon, quickly zooming back into battle.
The two boys quickly zoomed around the dragon, weaving in between its leg and around its wings. The creature roared in anger as it tried to lock onto the speeding blur. Slamming its claws down onto the pavement, the dragon flared its wings, flapping them back and forth, creating a powerful gust that sent the boys, as well as Aqualad and Speedy across the pavement.
Aqualad quickly stood back up and raised his hands, the fire hydrants around him quivering and shaking until they burst open , the water inside shooting out, rushing towards Aqualad. He narrowed his eyes and sent the water flying towards the dragon, quickly circling the dragon in a tornado of water. The creature roared as it tried to break through, only to have bursts of water blast him backwards.
The dragon snarled as he flared it wings, a wave of heat exploding out from his center, hitting the water around him, sending it shooting out n all directions, Aqualad flying backwards at the force of the attack, steam filling the air at the contact of water to the dragon's flaming scales.
Speedy grit his teeth and reached behind him, pulling out an arrow from the quiver that rested on his back. Pulling the arrow taut, Speedy released, the arrow whizzing through the air, until it came into contact with the scales in between the dragon's eyes. With contact, the arrow exploded, encasing the front of the dragon's snout and eyes in ice.
The creature roared in pain and rage as it clawed at its snout, tail whipping back and worth in agitation. Bee narrowed her eyes and shrink down, flying up to the creature, transforming back right as she delivered a powerful blow with her stingers to the dragon's face, driving the creature back as it stumbled across the pavement.
Aqualad ran forward, leaping into the air as he began to ride the waves under his feet towards the dragon's head. He narrowed his eyes and let out a yell as he shot his hands forward, the water shooting towards the dragon, wrapping around the creature's body.
Mas and Menos surged forward, spinning each other around as they ran, ramming the trapped dragon in the chest, knocking it backwards, where Speedy shot an arrow across the street, the line pulling taut as the dragon tripped over the wire, crashing onto the ground.
Bumblebee flew forward quickly, zapping the creature with her stingers, the dragon roaring in pain as the girl shocked him. Finally, the dragon curled its wings over himself, opening them up with a blinding light emanating from its core, blinding the teens. With one final flap of its wings, the teens were blown backwards.
The dragon stood once more as it snarled at the teens as they quickly regrouped. Flaring its wings, the dragon charged once more.
Robin landed hard on the ground as the dragon flapped its wings, the others quickly being blown back as well. Various groans could be heard as the group slowly stood back up, jumping out o the way as the dragon slammed its front legs down on the pavement where they stood moments ago.
Beastboy transformed into a mouse, scurrying onto the top of a car hood. "How are we supposed to beat something tougher that Godzilla?!" He asked, transforming back into a human. Robin narrowed his eyes as he threw another batch of ice pellets at the creatures legs, freezing them in ice. "I think I have an idea, but it's kind of crazy." He shouted to the others as they continued to dodge the bursts of flame the dragon continuously shot at them.
"Dude, we're fighting a giant dragon made up of thousands of other fiery creatures. Crazy isn't even a word to us!" Danny yelled back as he was slammed down into the ground as the dragon whipped its tail around. "Alright! Danny, you can create ectoplasm-infused ice, right?" He asked as he leapt out of the way of the smashing tail.
"Yeah, why?!" Danny shouted back as he joined Starfire in blasting at the creature's head. "This thing can easily break through regular ice, and we can't just suck it into the Fenton Thermos, not while it's still combined together. But if you infuse your ectoplasm into the ice, then the dragon shouldn't be able to break through and we should be able to sash it, right?" He called to the group.
"Theoretically, yes. Danny's used ecto-infused ice before. But are you sure that it will work on this many creatures at the same time?" Maddie called back as she continued to fire the Fenton Bazooka.
Robin narrowed his eyes. "We'll just have to chance it." He said. "Guys, we'll need to sidetrack it while Danny creates a blast big enough." He shouted to the others, who nodded in understanding.
"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted as the others leapt forward towards the dragon once more.
Starfire flew up, firing a barrage of starbolts at the dragon's had, while Maddie, Jack, Cyborg and Sam fired from below. The dragon roared in fury at the onslaught of blasts, Flaring its wings, the tips lighting with flame. "DUCK!" Cyborg yelled as the group roughly dropped to the floor right as the dragon flapped its wings, sending a wave of flame shooting out of the tips, blasting right over their heads, the scorching heat still felt as it flew past them.
Jumping back up, Beastboy transformed into a crow, flying high into the air. he landed on the dragon's shoulder, transforming himself into a cobra, the snake launched forward, sinking its teeth into the dragon's eye. The creature shrieked in pain and fury as it shook the snake off, which quickly transformed into an eagle. The dragon glared at the animal with its one good eye and sank its teeth into the bird's right wing.
The eagle screeched in pain as the dragon dragged it back, shaking it like a rag doll. "Beastboy!" Starfire shouted, Valerie and Dani quickly following as the girl flew towards the dragon. With the combined blasts of the three girls, the dragon let go of the bird, which quickly began to fall towards the ground.
Starfire gasped and dove towards him, catching the bird before it could hit the ground, gently placing him onto the pavement, where he transformed back into Beastboy, who painfully grasped his broken and bleeding arm. The group gasped as a shadow passed over them, the dragon looming as it flared its wings and opened its mouth, shooting a blast of fire.
Suddenly, a black dome encased the group, Raven appearing inside as she maintained the shield. The dragon snarled as it ceased the attack, charging the group. Raven dropped the shield and flew up into the air, encasing several cars along the side of the road with her magic as she hurled them at the dragon, which stopped its path and shielded itself with its wings as the cars crashed into it.
Tucker and Jazz ran forward, Tuck cracking him whip along the dragon's wings while Jazz slammed her staff into the dragon's legs. The dragon snarled and turned to face the two, only to get a face full of blue heat at Cyborg ran over, Sam at his side as the two blasted at the creature. A certain series of blasts aimed at the creature's wings caused the dragon to round forward, teeth snapping and claws slashing as it tried to make contact with one of the teens.
From behind one of the overturned cars, Danny could hear the crashed and explosions as the battle raged on. His gut told him to leap back into battle, to hel p his friends against the creature, but he knew he had to focus and create a blast big enough to take out the dragon. Suddenly he heard a familiar cry, stopping him in his tracks. Twisting around to gaze back at the battle from behind the car, Danny could make out Robin, Sam, Jazz and his parents on the ground, the others groaning a few paces off as they tried to regain focus.
The dragon roared in anger as it glared down at the five people, raising a leg, ready to crush the group under its claws. Danny narrowed his eyes. "NO!" He snarled, the ice around his hands being replaced by a large ecto-blast as he flew forward, ramming into the dragon, sending it flying backwards. Eyes glowing the same eerie green as his hands, Danny surged forward, grabbing the dazed dragon by the tail, sending green shockwaves through the creature, who roared in anger.
Dropping the large tail, Danny flew up into the air. "Come and get me!" He yelled as he soared higher into the air. The dragon snarled and unfurled its wings, taking off to the skies.
Robin and the others, stood up and gazed upwards at the two figures as they continued to fly higher and higher into the air. "What's he doing?" Cyborg yelled as he raised a hand to block the setting sun as he watched the two. "Following the plan." Robin realized as he watched Danny flip around and face the roaring dragon once more.
Danny narrowed his eyes, summoning another blast of ice, this time, infusing his ectoplasm deep into the core of the ice. "Come on...open wide..." He whispered to himself as the dragon steadily approached faster and faster, closing the gap between them. "Say AHH!" He shouted, the dragon letting out a roar as it opened it's mouth, an orange glow seen from the back of its throat as it readied a blast of fire.
Danny smirked and hurled the blast of ice into the dragon's open maw. The dragon barreled into teh boy, knocking him downwards with one slice of his claws. Dany let out a cry of shock as he crashed through one of the nearby buildings, the glass from the windows slicing through his arms and uniform as he landed hard on the pavement.
The others rushed towards him, but his attention was focused on the dragon as it dove towards them. The others gasped and huddled together, preparing for the dragon's final attack. Suddenly, ice began to crawl across the dragon's scales, more and more of his body turning to crystal as he dove until he was fully ice.
"Move!" Danny yelled, the others leaping out of the way as the ice dragon crashed into the pavement, shattering into a million pieces.
The others slowly and warily made their way closer to the shattered remains, letting out cheers and shouts of joy at the sight. Robin smiled and placed an arm around Danny, who smirked as Robin ruffled his hair. "Nice job, D!" He cheered. Danny ripped his head out of the boy's grip and smiled back, punching the boy in the arm.
Cyborg barreling through them, a huge grin plastered on his face as he placed an arm around both boys. "Alright, ya'll! We did it!" He hollered. Beastboy laughed and jumped onto the boy's shoulder, trying to ignore the pain in his arm. "I guess we'll have to put this show...ON ICE!" The changeling yelled with a grin, the others groaning at the horrible joke, not even noticing the ice crystals on the ground as they started to shake and vibrate.
Danny shook his head, glancing down for a second, eyes widening at the sight. "Uhh...guys..." He whispered softly as he began to back up a few steps. The others glanced at him in confusion, then gasped as they began to do the same as him at the sight. The ice encased ashes began to shake and spin, the frost cracking and shattering, releasing the many piles of dust as they began to spin.
Suddenly, the hundreds of ghosts that had made up the dragon stood before them, each glaring at the group with unadulterated hatred, the red glow in their eyes piercing through each person. "Well...at least we got rid of the dragon." Tucker said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
The sound of cackling filled the air behind them. They quickly spun around to see Slade as he hovered over to them. "You see, Titans. My army will continue to regenerate until, bit by bit, they break you. You cannot win." He growled at them.
Robin narrowed his eyes. "We will defeat you Slade. We know how!" He shouted in anger. Slade smirked. "Yes, I now about the gem's rules. Only one amongst you truly has a chance of defeating me." He said slowly as he gazed around at the group, narrowing his eyes as his gaze fell upon Danny, who glared back up at him. "I guess I'll have to eliminate him myself." He snarled as he shot forward faster than anyone could process, grabbing Danny by the front of his shirt and hurling him across the road.
"Danny!" The others yelled, readying themselves for battle, only to be blocked by the creatures as they snarled and growled at them. "Keep them busy. I have business to attend to." Slade growled to the creatures as he flew forward towards the area he had thrown the boy, the monsters surging forward towards the Titans.
Danny flew out of the rubble, ramming into Slade's shoulder, knocking him backwards. The two hovered in the air, saying nothing as they glared at each other, Danny's hands lighting with energy. Slade smirked and lit his own hands with balls of fire. The man glared at the boy, the only one standing in his way from total domination.
"Let's end this!"