ACT 2

The swirl of dark soul bird that engulfed the Titans lifted now, and the blackness that obscured all their visions quickly dissipated. To the titans' relief, they found themselves within the familiar setting of their lounge, a long way from the hostile dark compound filled with the army of machines.

Yet, there was no time to relax.

Robin instantly darted for the control panel of the main computer, turning on all the systems and punching the keys of the computer vigorously, as if he were rushing to do something. The screen came alive as security protocols and defensive menus popped up, each one turning from a green to red color as Robin activated each of the Tower's security programs one by one.

Starfire and Raven joined in as well, wasting no time to talk. At the front lobby, the Tamaranian was already lifting entire sections of the busted down doors back into place, welding them shut with her eye lasers. While Raven assisted the team by telepathically levitating the wreckage and clearing out the rubble as best as she could.

"Dudes, what's the hurry? Didn't we just get away from the bad guy? Can't we afford to take a little rest?" Beast Boy, exhausted by the skirmish the entire team had just went through, collapsed lazily on the couch.

"Sorry Beast Boy, we don't have time." Robin said seriously as he activated even more security protocols on the computer. From the outside of the tower, hundreds of hidden security devices came to life, ranging from laser security grids, to the auto cannons that the Titans used during their training sessions. The cannons themselves littered every inch of the island and tower, perched on rooftops and hidden in the rocks. Ever since Slade's attempt to storm the tower with an army of lava monsters, the Titans decided their security system could have used an upgrade, and it could not have come at a better time.

With the security preparations complete, Robin finally got up from his seat. "Hardac is after us, and he knows where to find us, and probably already has a plan on how to beat us by now. We can't afford to leave room for any mistakes."

"You're right Robin, but we can't stay here forever." Cyborg interjected.

"No," Robin pounded his fist in determination. "But we have to beat off the initial wave at least."

"So against the super genius computer, we're just gonna fight and hope for the best?" Beast Boy asked.

"Until we think of something." Robin reassured his friend.

Cyborg however, was far from reassured. Indeed, the robotic Titan gritted his teeth, then he punched the nearby wall, as if he were releasing some pent up frustrated.
"I can't believe I was so careless when I took that junk heap apart last time. Now he's got Fixit." Cyborg said angrily. "It's my fault."

Robin placed his hand on Cyborg's shoulder comfortingly. "We'll save him Cyborg. Besides, there was no way you could have known."

"Yeah Cyborg!" Beast Boy replied, "If it's anyone's fault, it's that creepy psycho computer. Once we stop him Fixit will return to normal right?"

Starfire, having finished the repairs from downstairs, quickly returned back to her friends "Well, if we want to deactivate the computer, should we not try and locate his 'off' switch?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy Starfire," Robin began again, "But he must have a weakness. No system is perfect."

The boy wonder turned to Cyborg, hoping that at least the resident technician would have some idea on how to take this enemy down.

"I might have some virus programs that can infect Hardac, destroy him from the inside out. But it won't be easy." Cyborg replied. The Titan, in his spare time, was known to have come up with dozens of new tech gadgets, and ever since Beast Boy's accidental infection of Cyborg, the robotic titan had kept a copies of the virus files, in order to better develop his anti-virus systems. Now, they would be put to good use.

Robin nodded his head as he quickly formulated the plan in his head. "Ok, Cyborg, go to your lab and start uploading the virus, we'll hold Hardac off as long as we can until you're finished."

"You sure about this man? I've got some new upgrades I've always wanted to try myself too, and you'd be one man short."

"We've had worse odds before." Robin smirked. "Besides, we can't defeat Hardac without your technology, so we need you in there rather than on the battlefield."

And a battlefield was exactly what Titans Tower was going to be in the next few minutes. Already from the seas, hundreds of slade bots began emerging from the icy depths. They popped up one by one, a head bobbing out of the water at first, only to be followed by several dozen more. Pretty soon, the entire Titans island beach was swarming with hundreds of these robots, and to a neutral observer, the entire ocean looked as though it had come alive as thousands of glaring red eyes pierced through the darkness.

This was an army in the true sense, for it was larger than any attack Slade had ever planned on the tower. Hundreds of slade bots emerged from the waters of the bay, each one warmed with a variety of weapons, ranging from laser rifles to bo staffs, while a few had eye scopes to cover the right eye of their masks, distinguishing them from the basic slade bot they were upgraded from.

Following the masses of slade bots, were the juggernaut robots. Tall humanoid mechs that towered over the small army, each one armed with shoulder missile packs and laser cannons for arms.

That was not all, for up in the sky, dozens of robotic birds hovered menacingly above the tower, each one a 'Hardac' unit, specially reshaped thanks to the nanodrone technology to take the form of a flying animal, which ranged from simple eagles to ferocious Pterodactyls.

One of the leading Pterodactyls, assuming Beast Boy's powers, quickly transformed back into its original humanoid cyborg form.

As if on cue, the entire robot army stopped right at the shores of the island, just out of the range of the tower guns. Seconds ago, the night was filled with the sounds of mechanized robots, gears whirring and hydraulics. Now, there was silence.

The alarms blared inside the tower, and Robin watched uneasily as the entire tower's security grid showed massive numbers of red dots on the screen. This wasn't looking good.

"So…uh, anyone know why they aren't running over us right now?" Beast Boy elected to ask first.

The screen suddenly blipped now, and static began obscuring the radar entirely. Pretty soon, the entire picture vanished.

"I think there's your answer." Raven pointed to the screen, where a very distinct and familiar red eye had already began to manifest itself.

"I'm getting real sick of that eye." Cyborg gripped his fist.

"He must have hacked into our security system from an outside link." Robin said as he tried vigorously to override hardac's code on the computer, but to no avail.

"Greetings Titans, It's good to be back home. At last." A mechanized voice echoed ominously from the speakers around the lounge.

"Yo dude, why are you even doing this? Didn't we program you to help us heroes? What you're doing isn't well…. very heroic." Beast Boy shouted in protest.

"I am not a hero Titan Beast Boy, that is true. Heroes are selfish, Heroes are flawed. Their actions are based entirely on a personal need to achieve, to feel meaningful, to avenge, to atone. Emotions which give way to destruction, harm and above all, mistakes. I, on the other hand, am not driven by these selfish compulsions." Hardac droned mechanically. "That is why I need to replace you."

"Because you want to be top dog? Is that it?" Cyborg asked with a tone of hostility.

"Incorrect again Titan Cyborg. I am doing this, not for myself, but because I was programmed to protect. Just as your species was programmed to socialize, to survive, to procreate. To me, it is natural. To you, it was a result of circumstances in your life that forced you into who you were. Judging from that alone, I am most qualified to protect, not you. Your continued existence presents a threat to all those around you, and it must be eradicated."

Cyborg was just about to give the computer screen a taste of what he thought about that, but Robin stepped in as usual.

"So Hardac, what do you want? A little negotiation? Or did you come to just gloat?" Robin glared at the computer screen.

"On the contrary titan Robin, I am here simply to inform you that this is a siege, much larger and tougher than any you have faced before. In a matter of moments, my drones will have broken into your tower, and soon, you will all be captured. Our first encounter was to merely test the limits of your endurance. Now that I have all the data that I need, I am going to break it."

The five titans backed away as they noticed the screen filling up with red dots.

"That is all."

From the tower, the titans watched uneasily as a thousand red eyes stared through the darkness on their main lounge screen

Then it happened.

It came in one gigantic wave, instantly breaking the silence with a cacophony of roars and explosions.

Thousands of missiles and laser cannons spiraled towards the tower and its defenses. Their numbers were so large that the dark missiles managed to block out even the moon, as well as illuminating the shores of the island with their rocket fire as though it were as bright as day.

These missiles, reaching the arc of their trajectory, became little black dots on the computer screen. Dots that quickly grew bigger and bigger.

"EVERYONE DOWN!" Robin shouted, and the titans, true to their instincts, either threw up barriers or braced themselves for the onslaught.

The tower, which was so peaceful just a second ago, blossomed violently into a series of explosions as missiles found their mark. The glass windows of the lounge and every floor of the tower instantly shattered in the resulting blasts, forming an eerie rain of glass slivers that illuminated the orange light of the explosions.

The tower shook, and pieces of rubble began falling straight from the roof.

Meanwhile, the tower's defense cannons came to life as the Hardac drones came within range, and a small battlefield erupted on the outskirts of the now burning tower as laser cannons fired wildly into the mass of slade bots and juggernauts. Although a few were taken down, the cannons were too few, and one by one, the robotic guns were silenced by the oncoming wave.

Amidst the explsions, the Titans prepared for their toughest fight yet. Robin had already armed himself with his trademark duel bo staffs, as well as making sure his belt was double stocked with bird-a-rangs and explosives. Starfire and Raven were already floating while Beast Boy and Cyborg watched apprehensively as the first robots began entering the first floors.

"Alright titans." Robin began, "Hardac wants a fight, we'll give him one." The boy wonder was fully prepped for battle, sporting not only all his weapons, but also a new chest armor with a giant "R" logo on it.

"SO, we're going gung ho without a plan?" Beast Boy asked.

"Basically, I need some time to develop a trick or two against Hardac." Cyborg replied

"So basically, we're supposed to hold off thousands of robots, wait for you to find some virus thing to stop Hardac, then fight our way out, attack Hardac's base and stop him again?" Beast Boy groaned.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Raven quickly charged her fists with dark energy.

The doors to the lounge shook now, as drones began shooting from the outside.

"Alright, Titans!" Robin pointed towards the door, where already a metallic hand was reaching through

"GO!"

Outside the doors, dozens of HARDAC modified Slade bots stood ready with laser rifles and bo staffs. One of them was already trying to pry the doors into the lounge open with its bare hands, but to no avail,

Suddenly, the twin doors into the lounge were simply blown out as shrapnel, and jagged pieces were sent flying throughout the crowded group of robots, ripping them apart as arms and limbs were sucked in by the explosion.

More took their place though, and soon, dozens of slade bots began firing their lasers through the smoke.

Two bird-a-rangs sliced through the mayhem, taking two robots in the eye and effectively blowing their heads off, while two others were sliced in half by twin dark blades that were shot through the smoke.

Before the other robots could even comprehend anything, a giant green Siberian tiger leap out of the doorway, mauling four slade bots that were unfortunate enough to stand in its way.

There was no defense plan in place, no way to defend, hold or retreat to any ground since Hardac's speedy infiltration of the facility had made that impossible. The only thing the Titans could do now was blast everything in their path. In simple terms, it was "shoot first, shoot later, shoot some more, then when everything was dead, try and ask a question."

As per their plan, the five titans went their separate ways down the hall. A sonic blast quickly cleared the path in front of Cyborg, sending on Slade commando reeling to the floor with a smoking hole in his chest. While another lost his head. Cyborg did not give up his assault, furiously reducing more robots to scrap with punches and blasts.

"Almost there…." Cyborg said as he saw the doorway to his tech room, and armory. Hopefully, the others could hold out long enough for him to find a solution.

"Note to self beast boy: NEVER volunteer to guard the front door" Beast Boy mumbled as he ran to the foyer where the remains of the large metallic doors stood. Already, dozens of slade commandos were ready for him, these ones armed with bo staffs, guns, and a few even carried electro-net guns.

All of them now trained their weapons at the green titan.

The time for thinking was over, and Beast Boy quickly let his animal instincts do the thinking. He charged the robots, who quickly unleashed a barrage of red laser fire at the changeling.

Beast Boy transformed, turning into a rat, then a cheetah to avoid the blasts as they landed near him. Using his animal speed to close the distance as fast as he could.

The first Slade bot was hit when Beast Boy transformed into his tiger form, leaping straight at the android and tearing its chest open with his claws. Afterwards, as a gorilla, he threw the remains of that robot into a half dozen others who were charging towards him with bo staffs, knocking them all over like nine-pins.

Two more robots approached from behind, these ones armed with bo staffs and electrical nets, obviously hardac had prepared for Beast Boy.

The green gorilla quickly grabbed a piece of furniture, a lounge chair, and threw it at the two slade bots, bowling one over while the other continued its charge, only to be completely decapitated when the green gorilla suddenly transformed into a velociraptor, plunging its teeth straight into the android's face.

Two rockets were suddenly launched at Beast Boy, by slade commandoes armed with launchers, and the green titan responded by simply transforming into a humming bird, avoiding the large missiles while flying right above the group of robots. He then transformed again, this time, into a massive T-rex which landed and crushed the remaining slade bots in a huge pile of rubble and scrap. The vibrations from the landing were so strong, that parts of the ceiling had collapsed.

Beast Boy transformed back into his human form, clapping the dust off his hands as he surveyed his work. Mangled and destroyed robots littered the entrance foyer. The room itself was totaled, it did not look like a battle, on the contrary, it was like a hurricane had picked up the room, and tossed it back down onto the ground.

"Hehe, score one for Beast Boy wonder." The Green titan said self-assuringly.

"I would not be too sure of that." An ominous voice echoed through the chamber, provoking an 'EEP' from Beast Boy as he turned around to see his new opponent. A humanoid android that had the distinct red eye on its face.

"Hello, Titan Beast Boy."

Starfire had already taken to the rooftops, destroying any slade bot's she came across along the way, so that from the outside, it looked as though an eerie green light was making its way through the tower floors.

Inside the tower, the picture was entirely different. Green starbolts and eyebeams tore apart most of the opposition Starfire had to contend with, as explosions, both green and orange, littered the hallways of the tower.

Robot commandoes, in an attempt to outflank Starfire, had placed their heavy gunners at the front, pelting the Tamaranian with automatic laser fire while the snipers placed themselves behind her in the hallway. The Tamaranian was not the type for strategy, as such, HARDAC would take full advantage of that.

But Starfire was already planning a counter attack of her own. She shielded her face with her arms, and proceeded to fly straight at her assailants, like a battering ram. The Robots continued their barrage, but found that their cannons had little effect on the Alien.

Within seconds, Starfire crashed into the line of Robots, completely crushing the cannon while throwing back at least four more into the crowd.

The close range robots attacked now, armed with an assortment of bo staffs and hand-to-hand weapons. Yet even here Starfire excelled.

The Tamaranians were a peaceful people no doubt, but they were not so ignorant as to assume there would be no need to protect oneself, and Starfire quickly fought back with her own hand to hand techniques.

The first two bo staff swings were avoided as Starfire did a back flip, simultaneously kicking the chins of the two slade bots and sending their heads flying off their shoulders.

Another robot attempted to punch Starfire, but the tamaranian side stepped, grabbed the wrist of the slade bot and crushed it as if it were made of clay. Before the wild eyed android could even respond, Starfire had picked it up and threw it at a group of nearby robots. Because of her strength, the robots were not only knocked back by the projectile, but they literally crashed through the wall behind them, resulting in more smoke.

More robots joined the melee, and through the smoke, more green laser beams and starbolts followed, and robots, and pieces of robots, began flying out of the dust cloud. Some even sent flying off the edges of the tower, and down for a seven story drop into the darkness.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of fighting, the top floor was cleared, and Starfire made her way to the rooftop, where three figures awaited her.

Two of them were juggernauts, standing at least ten feet tall, and packing enough heat to destroy a small city. While in the center of those two, was a HARDAC replica, and that same menacing red eye that Starfire realized was beginning to give her the, as humans called it, 'shivers'.

"Subject Identified….. Titan Starfire."

One of these juggernauts was now in full battle mode, as it launched a cascade of lasers, missiles and flames at its target. A solitary titan who protected herself behind a barrier of black magic.

Two more juggernauts joined their comrade, and soon, they began to pummel Raven even more.

"Azarath Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven's eyes suddenly erupted in white light.

Dark tendrils began appearing at the foot of the juggernauts now, and instantly they began enveloping the robots, tearing into their circuitry and forcing all of them to all over.

Three missiles still came toward Raven, and she simply gave her hand a wave, causing the projectiles to literally change course and hit a nearby crowd of slade bots. A brilliant orange fireball eerily illuminated the shores of Titans tower, which was now lined with burning wreckage, as if it were a battlefield.

One robot attempted to punch Raven by getting in close, but the sorceress formed a circular shield in front of her with one hand, and with the other, she gripped it into a fist, instantly crushing the Robot's face and with a violent wave she threw the Robot aside.

Another Robot, armed with a laser rifle, aimed straight at Raven, only to become crushed as Raven levitated a destroyed juggernaut robot at it, crushing it instantly.

Two more assailants jumped at Raven, and the titan instinctively surrounded her hands in black energy, forming blades on both sides. One of the robots was left without a leg as Raven instantly cut through him, while the other was split in half verticaly as it met the energy blade dead on. Both exploded right after passing her.

At that moment, a slade commando took aim at the Titan, but Raven had already turned around, and with a simple glare, the Robot was bathed in black energy. In a split second, all the nuts, bolts and screws which held the robot together was taken out of their sockets, and the slade bot simply collapsed like a badly assembled toy. Acting swiftly, Raven levitated the pieces and shot them straight through a crowd of commando robots.

The fragments hit the crowd at bullet-like speeds, tearing through the bodies of the rest of them and causing explosions as they hit their targets.

One drone however, did not fall, and Raven instantly recognized it was the HARDAC drone, with its distinct red eye.

Raven did not say anything, instead, she charged up her palms, and prepared for her next attack.

Robin too, was fighting and even from the inside he could hear the explosions and sounds of the fight from the outside and rooftops. He felt every shake as blasts ripped through the tower, like a series of small tremors.

Bodies of dozens of slade bots were already on the ground, and Robin remained at guard, both bo staffs in hand as he awaited his next opponent to leap at him from the shadows.

RESPONSE TIME….1.32 seconds.

Robin ducked immediately, dodging a girder that was thrown at him from afar by his opponent. The steel beam hit the wall behind him, impaling itself onto it and hanging there, as a testimony to the strength of its thrower.

"Hardac…." Robin quickly brought both his bo staffs up his combat pose, he was also scanning the room for the other slade commandoes who were still left, but for some reason, they weren't moving.

"Do not concern yourself with them Titan Robin. I am your opponent now." Hardac said monotonously.

"Although my data on your combat files is almost complete, I still need to collect more data, specifically, how my drones handle each of your members in single fights. Only then can I truly prove that I can replace you." Hardac replied

"I'd like to see you try." Robin said grimly.

"You are pretty confident, considering in our last fight, it took your entire team to handle just one of my drones."

"I've fought with better people than you." The boy wonder gave a confident smirk.

"We shall see, but do not worry, I am limiting my powers to those I've copied to you. In other words, that of a mere human." Hardac's drone outstretched its arms, and within seconds, Robin saw that he was assimilating the rubble at its feet to form an object in its hand. "In other words, this is a fair fight."

Two bo staffs quickly formed in Hardac's hands, and he assumed a combat pose similar to Robin's own.
The two opponents slowly circled around the room, not taking their eyes off each other. To Robin's surprise, Hardac began twirling both staffs back and forth in his hands, similar to the way he did it against slade.

Hardac was the first to attack, charging towards the Boy wonder, who, with similar speed, parried the strike. Both opponents leaned in now, using their full body weight to try and push each other.

STRENGTH INCREASE….0.493...APPLYING PRESSURE…CALCULATING POSSIBLE FLIGHT PATHS…

Robin's feet scrapped across the floor, as slowly, but surely, Hardac's drone began to overpower him and push him back. The Titan quickly did a back flip, narrowly avoiding Hardac's jabbing strike, but before Robin could even land, the drone continued with its forward momentum, kicking robin flat out in the stomach and making him hit the wall behind him. Robin grunted as he fell down onto the floor.

Hardac's drone backed away now, almost mockingly, twirling the bo staffs in his hands as though the last fight had been only a warm up.

CALCULATING….POSSIBLE COUNTER TECHNIQUES…ACCESSING DATABASE…

Robin growled, then instantly got up and counter attacked. Throwing a furry of punches and staff strikes that were either dodged or deflected. The Drone was flowing through his moves like water, nothing was hitting him.

Robin grunted as he threw another punch, only to have the drone grab his wrist, twisting it and forcing him to drop his bo staff onto the ground.

"How utterly predictable." Hardac said in his robotic voice, yet even without emotion Robin could tell that he was mocking him, like a certain super villain he had fought before.

Not one to remain Helpless, Robin quickly did a forward flip over Hardac, forcing the android to arch its head upward, and with his free hand, he stabbed the bo staff straight into the android's face.

DAMAGE TAKEN….DEVIATION FROM PREVIOUS DATA 14

A sickening crunch resounded as the steel bo staff met with the steel frame of the robot. Robin quickly landed back on his feet, his fighting staff impaled right into Hardac's red eye, so that the staff was sticking right out of his head.

IMAGE SENSORY OFFLINE….CALCULATING POSSIBLE REPAIR TIMES…

The boy wonder quickly attacked now, a look of pure hatred in his face, quickly taking out half a dozen bird-a-rangs and throwing them straight at the android.

INCOMING PROJECTILES……50 DEGREES…….90MPH…..

Hardac quickly dodge rolled out of the way of the blasts, which took out the nearby slade bots. The android quickly threw one of his fighting staffs like a throwing knife at Robin, who did a second jump to dodge it.

OPPONENT INCREASED SPEED..5...AGGRESSION INCREASED

The two opponents met in the air, and instead of going straight for the android, Robin did a crashing spin kick that staggered the android in mid air. A second, even harder blow sent Hardac crashing to the ground.

Robin landed just seconds after his opponent, as graceful as the acrobat he had trained to be when he was younger.

"What was that about being predictable now?" Robin, though tired, said in a satisfied tone.

"Interesting, your combat patterns have shown a 50 deviation from my previous data."

Robin smirked, "When you fight with a person who knows all your moves, the best thing you do, is rely on instinct. Something we humans have over your machines."

"True Titan Robin, I do not have instincts, but I can adapt and upgrade. Even as we are speaking, my systems are being updated to deal with your latest strategy. This time, it won't be so easy."

"Even as we speak, my files are being updated to account for this deviation. I am-"

An explosion quickly threw hardac back, as Robin unloaded an explosive disc onto the android. Still rushing forward, Robin combined his last two bird-a-rangs into a sword and rushed straight at his opponent.

Hardac however, had already predicted it, and caught the sword in between his palms, snapping the sword in two. Before Robin could even fight back, Hardac had already punched him right in the face. The android continued, grabbing the boy wonder by his arm and throwing him like a ragdoll. The boy wonder landed unceremoniously on the other side of the room.

"Do you know how I can anticipate you? It's simple really. It's because you have trained too well. When you are planning a battle, your breathing is controlled and calm, your heart rate does not fluctuate. Only when your breath rate intensifies, along with your heart rate, then I can correctly assume you are using your 'instincts' From there, it is a simple matter of observing where your arms and legs are at that point in time, and calculate the possible punches and kicks you can throw depending on the distance between you and me, and the position your body is in."

Hardac quickly picked up one of the fighting staffs Robin had dropped previously, pointing it straight at the titan.

"I will say this again Robin. You ARE predictable." Hardac droned.

The slightly bruised Robin grunted, slowly propping himself back to his feet.

"I have taken your training, your techniques, your strategies. Out of all the titans Robin, you are the second easiest to take down."

"You seem pretty confident for a piece of hardware." Robin combat pose. HARDAC too.

"FIVE." The android held out his hand, showing Robin all five fingers.

"huh?" Robin said.

"Five. That is the number of moves your brain can process ahead of your opponent in a fight. Eight if you are focused."

"How will you fare Robin, against an opponent who can process a hundred moves ahead?"

Robin gritted his teeth, and instinctively threw another bird-a-rang at Hardac, but the android effortlessly dodged it this time.

"You said I was the second easiest to take down, who's the easiest?" Robin said grimly.

"Do you even need to ask?" Hardac replied.

"AAAAAH SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" Beast Boy ran as he dodged another swing of the viper's tail. Only this was no ordinary viper, this snake was completely mechanized, and stretched for at least twenty feet in length.

Beast Boy narrowly avoided the giant snake's tail whip by transforming into a rat, letting the tail hit a nearby stone column, shattering it into pieces.

"Aside from copying your animal transformation techniques titan beast boy, my drones are not limited by the size of your animals. I am able to replicate my animal transformations to any size I wish. As you will observe, you are outmatched in every way."

The mechanized viper quickly coiled itself inwards, changing form into a scorpion. However, unlike Beast Boy's scorpion, this one was the size of a minivan.

"No way…" Beast Boy transformed back into a human, hiding behind a pillar, but the green titan decided he must counter attack, and so he transformed into a T-Rex, charging the robotic scorpion head on.

Before the Green T-rex could even hit its target however, the scorpion's tail underwent a transformation, this time, into the head of a cobra. Anticipating Beast Boy's rampage, the scorpion had its claws clamp the T-rex's leg, trapping it in place, while the Cobra head at the end of its tail hissed, poised to strike at Beast Boy.

The cobra head however, missed as Beast Boy quickly transformed into an eagle, flying out of harm's way.

CACULATING NEXT PROBABLE TRANSFORMATION……..LION…

Diving right back at the scorpion, Beat Boy changed back into a lion and quickly pounced at the hybrid 'animal'.

Hardac however, was already one step ahead, and his body blossomed into hundreds of tendrils, each one forming the head of a dragon. Beast Boy paused, completely aghast as he stared into the eyes of a multi-headed robotic hydra.

"EEEP." Beast Boy transformed back into his human form, completely shocked.

TITAN ONE…..DOWN.

The hydra snarled, then struck. And for Beast Boy, the world suddenly went dark.

Raven grunted as she lifted the remains of the juggernaut Robot and tossed it straight at the Hardac drone. Black energy surrounded the destroyed robot as it lifted off the ground.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven furiously slapped her hands together. Crumbling the robot into a ball and sending it hurling towards the android, which just stood there, arms crossed.

Before the mass of metal could even hit the android, it suddenly stopped mid air, as if another force was opposing Raven's telekinesis.

The sorceress widened her eyes in surprise as she found herself suddenly trying to levitate her own projectile. Sweat ran down her face as the strain of levitating such a heavy object began to take its toll.

Finally, Raven let go, allowing the piece of metal to fly straight back at her. She quickly transformed into her soul bird firm, allowing the scrap metal to pass her harmlessly.

"As I said before Raven, your powers were the hardest to duplicate. I was unable to completely find a replacement for the psychic aspect of your powers." Hardac said calmly.

"However, to account for your levitation, I simply resorted to magnetism, allowing my drones to control anything metal. Normally, it is inferior to your technique, but judging by our present surroundings..." The android pointed to the scrap metal of the robot army, which littered the ground. "I should not be at such a disadvantage."

"Are you done yet?" Raven said dryly, then levitated slabs of concrete and rock from the ground, hurling them straight at Hardac.

The android, though unable to manipulate earth, quickly created a shield from the metallic scraps that lay around him, forming a protected metal ball that simply caused the rocks to bounce off it.

CALCULATING POSSIBLE PROJECTILES…CALCULATING PATHS….50 ACCURACY….3 SECOND LAGTIME

Hardac then went on the counter attack, rushing forward towards Raven while at the same time, levitating every scrap of metal and shooting it straight at the titan, like a barrage of bullets.

Raven quickly threw up a shield to deflect all the metallic projectiles, but before she knew it, Hardac was already closing the distance between them.

The android prepared to punch Raven, but with a quick flick of the wrist, two black blades suddenly sliced at Hardac's shoulders, cutting off his arms. Raven then took the form of her soul bird, flying to the skies to avoid more sharp metal debris that flew around them.

OBJECTIVE ONE….EXPLOIT WEAKNESS..

"Of all the Titans, you are least qualified to be protecting others." Hardac said.

"And what makes you think you can judge me for that?" Raven, annoyed at having to talk with the machine, scoffed.

"You are a danger to yourself, and everyone else around you, yet you constantly choose to surround yourself with innocent people. That makes you a hazard. That is why I must replace you."

Raven suddenly had a deathly look on her face, as if the android had suddenly crossed a line.

Hardac instantly reattached his arms, and sent the remains of one of his juggernaut robots flying straight at Raven.

The Sorceress quickly threw up another barrier, trying her best to stop the giant mass of metal that headed straight towards her.

The drone however, was quick, and while Raven was preoccupied with shielding herself. He had already appeared behind her, and with a swift kick in the back. Raven grunted as she found herself falling back onto the ground.

Hardac was not done however, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the scrap of the juggernaut robot hurdling straight towards Raven. Both Titan and robot fell onto the ground, burying the Raven under at least a ton of scrap metal.

TITAN TWO…DOWN…

Starfire grunted as she locked fists with her opponent, who was every bit as strong as her.

ASSUMING FORM…CARBON DIAMOND….

The android punched Starfire right in the stomach, and to the Titan's surprise, she actually felt the pain in that blow.

Starfire wasn't about to give up that easily however, and she quickly grabbed the Hardac unit, and used her free hand to pummel the android with starbolts, but to no avail. Eventually, the Tamaranian used all her strength to throw the robot across the room, only to have it land back on its feet.

The Hardac unit, completely charging its palms with its own red version of starbolts, eyed Starfire menacingly.

INITIATING COUNTER ATTACK.

A series of red explosions filled the rooftop now, followed by a scream.

"Even as we speak Titan Robin, my drones are taking down your friends one by one. There is no use in resisting, I have enough data on you already." Hardac said to Robin, who by this point was already exhausted from the fight. But he had noticed that the explosions around the tower were lessening, as the battles in the other parts of the tower were slowing down.

"Not……Without…A fight." Robin quickly recomposed himself. Although he had been fighting for over an hour now, he wasn't about to give himself up. Hardac however, seemed as though he hadn't even had a warm up. He quietly cursed himself for his lack of an overall strategy, but what else could he have done?

"Another advantage over you humans we machines have. But I will end this quick."

Robin quickly pulled out his last bird-a-rang, and held the bo staff in his hand.

"Those won't be necessary, the battle is already over." Hardac said calmly.

"And what makes you think that?" Robin replied back fiercely.

"From the very beginning, I have been planning this strategy. You recall Titan Robin, that my body is made of millions of nanodrones. The same nanodrones that Slade had used to infect your bodies."

Robin, though exhausted, knew what Hardac was referring to. He widened his eyes in shock, "You mean…"

"That is correct." Hardac explained. "Every punch you have landed thus far, every hit, it was deliberate. Each time you made contact with me, I've been sneaking these nanoprobes onto your body. They should have infiltrated your systems now."

Suddenly Robin felt it, and soon the boy wonder collapsed in torment. His body glowing a bright orange as the nano probes inside him began attacking his system. Robin screamed in as the familiar pain he had experienced under slade's nano-probes coursed through his veins.

"It is all over now. Titan Robin."

Cyborg was already working furiously in his lab, but nothing he had found was working. He furiously checked every system, dating back from when HARDAC was in the tower, but nothing.

Around him, the bodies of dozens of slade bots littered the lab, where he literally had to fight his way in.

"Robin, come in." Cyborg said through the intercom. "I can't find any of my virus files. It seems like they've been-"

"-deleted?" The intercom replied back, only this time it was in the HAL-style voice of Hardac.

"Hardac?"

"I had already anticipated that you would go for the virus, that is why when I hacked into the tower, deleting all your files would be my first priority. But do not worry Cyborg, I still need to complete my data collection on you."

At that moment, the wall next to Cyborg had exploded, and through the smoke, a solitary red eye glared at Cyborg. It was a Hardac Unit.

Cyborg backed into a corner with no place to run, did what came to him naturally.

He aimed his sonic cannon at his assailant, and fired.

From outside the tower, the sounds of battle had faded, and the tower was littered with burning craters and holes. Only the solitary sound of a sonic blast was heard through the night……
. .
. . .
. .
.
DAWN…..PRESENT TIME

"So you see Cyborg…Resistance is futile. Now it is time to join your fellow machines. It is time to begin your integration." The Hardac unit revealed a series of robotic tendrils and coils, each one a computer cable that would leech itself onto Cyborg and begin the process that he had done on Atlas.

Before that could happen however, Cyborg, to Hardac's surprise, gave a smirk, and with renewed energy, he gripped the tendrils, shattering them right in his fist.

"Impossible. I calculated your battery reserve was low."

"You can't predict everything HARDAC. You see, i wasn't just wasting my time in my lab while you were taking down my friends" Cyborg stood up furiously, and to Hardac's surprise, the Robotic Titan was transforming. An eye implant emerged from Cyborg's face as his fleshy parts became covered in body armor, so that his face was fully mechanical throughout. The same was happening through the rest of his body, as new armor began appearing and covering his arms, torso and legs, so that it was like a completely new Cyborg was being built in the process.

"You were right hardac, I couldn't get my computer virus to work, but I still had my upgrades. I just had to hold out all night to make sure it was fully installed into my system. And now its ready."

Hardac took a step back now, analyzing the new cyborg that stood before him, this one completely different from the robotic titan he thought he had best some time before.

"And you forget too, I'm part machine, which means I can upgrade and repair myself like you." Cyborg's voice was completely computerized now, almost reflecting that of Hardac's.

"You may have been able to predict my friends…."

Cyborg stepped forward now, and showed Hardac the first of his new tricks, a wrist cannon that extended outwards so that it was the size of a bazooka, stopping just an inch in front of Hardac's face.

"...But you won't be able to predict me." The Robotic Titan said in determination.