A/N:
Eris: I'll have Robin use them if I remember them. And I don't know if I'll have Beast Boy talking to animals. By the way, did you mean to review twice?
Fourteen: Don't worry. There's no such thing as a "late review". (Unless the story's already finished). That sounds terrible. I'm glad you did so well though. I figured Starfire cares about her friends enough to take these risks. I didn't plan to have a group chat with them all, bit I guess it's a possibility.
frog31791: Glad you like it.
Mr. Ursine: I have no idea what that means.
Itsme: I know, but if someone points at a katydid do you say: "Cool animal!" or "Cool bug!"?
thomaspheasant: Yeah, I don't think I'll have anything like that in this story, but aliens will almost definitely come into play.
Enjoy the chapter of a story about characters that I do not own.
BTW, this chapter will probably be a bit over the top, but you can blame my creative thinking.
Chapter 17:
"Do you have any idea what he's doing?" Cyborg asked the leader. "No, there have just been reports of him breaking into several unused storage spaces. He could just be looking for loot to steal." Robin replied. "Whatever. This can't be any harder than it normally is." Raven stated. She didn't know why, but she was unusually irritated by the appearance of the villain. "You know perfectly well why." Knowledge stated. "Yeah yeah." Raven replied internally. Upon clearing a hill, the five heroes could see smoke coming from the complex, indicating the location of their enemy. "Gotta hand it to the guy, he's rather persistent." Cyborg added before winding through the complex. Soon, they found Doctor Light and rushed out of the car. "C'mon Light, don't make this harder than it has to be." Robin offered. He was already looking at the suit for some new 'devastating weapon' that would 'bring them to their knees', but found nothing.
"Oh, I'm not the one that's going to make this hard for you." the doctor started before pushing a button on his gauntlet. Several of the storage units opened, and over a dozen Slade-bots and Bruisers (A/N: That's what I am calling the large, white ones with one eye and giant claws.) emerged from each. "They will." the villain finished with a sneer. "What the?" Beast Boy mumbled. The robots had their original colorations, but they were obviously upgraded with some of Doctor Light's technology. "For someone who was such a threat to the city, Slade sure did have a hard time picking up his toys. So I borrowed them and made them better." Light explained. "Doesn't matter. We'll still take them down." Robin said as the five got ready. "Titans, go!" he shouted, and the battle raged.
The Slade-bots and Bruisers were already tough enough as they were, but Light's upgrades made them stronger. Most of the robots had a light-shield that dampened most damage they took. They could still be taken down, but it took a lot more effort than was convenient. Beast Boy used his mite trick and plowed down nine Slade-bots in the blink of an eye. But only two stayed down. The other seven got up slowly and shakily with sparks erupting. Cyborg and Starfire were blasting away, taking down bot after bot, but they were making slow progress, and many of the robots started returning fire with Light's signature beams. Robin attempted to get past the robots and take out light, but a trio of Light/Slade-bots intercepted him. Raven was trying to use the skills her green teammate had taught her, but she wasn't skilled enough yet to take on such a large scale attack, and was using her original fighting style more often. Not that it wasn't effective, simply grabbing and throwing was rather efficient.
Despite their best efforts, the heroes were forced into a circle and surrounded. Suddenly, the robots paused. "You have fought well Titans. Let's make a deal: If you agree to let me go about stealing and robbing banks with impunity, I won't end you all right now." he offered. "Give us a few seconds to think about it." Cyborg requested. He definitely wasn't thinking it over. Instead, he was remotely connecting to the T-car and activating all weapons systems. "Nah, we'd rather fight." Cyborg replied as the robot army came under fire. The T-car had been set to automatic aiming systems, and was slowly blasting away a few robots at a time with the giant photon cannon. On cue, the Titans continued their fight, but was still surrounded. "Sometimes you have to do things yourself." Doctor Light muttered as he walked into one of the units. He picked up what was obviously a weapon and returned to the fight.
His new cannon, or "Lightzooka" as he called it, could fire a concentrated beam strong enough to melt through a bank vault in seconds. However, this was only a prototype, and would liquefy after one shot, so he had to make it count. The weapon revved up and started glowing like a dim sun. Beast Boy noticed the predicament and took action. He turned into a gorilla and grabbed two Slade-bots that he chucked at his enemy. The first one missed just as Light was pulling the trigger, but the second one landed and set off Doctor Light's aim. Instead of killing the Titans like he hoped, the blast hit the T-car and burned through the entire from half. "My baby!" Cyborg angrily shouted, and tore through the robots with renewed vigor. No one had seen Beast Boy press a small button on his belt.
Back inside the tower, a powerful engine roared to life. Unlike what most people thought, there had originally been five large cubicles in the garage. Starfire and Raven had turned theirs into storage for obvious reasons, and Cyborg tore down the wall to combine his and Robin's cubicles into a larger room. Beast Boy had requested his cubicle remain untouched, saying he needed a place to keep the super cool moped he was going to get. Everyone just went with it, never expecting what was really in there. The door to Beast Boy's garage cubicle opened, and a dark green car with two purple stripes down the middle sped out, auto-pilot taking it to the signal that called it.
"I can't keep this up much longer!" the metallic teen stated. His aggressive assault that avenged his baby had drained more power than he had hoped, and Beast Boy had reverted to full morphs to prevent exhaustion. Robin had run out of projectiles, forcing him to fight hand to hand. Even with his strength and training, he knew better than to punch a large piece of metal straight on. Starfire's starbolts seemed to be doing less damage, and Raven was looking tired as well. "Raven, can you get us out of here?" the leader questioned as he dodged an attack. "The best I can do right now is only-". She was cut off by Cyborg. "Sorry to interrupt, but we got something coming in. Fast.". "About time." Beast Boy thought, and the sound of a roaring engine soon cut through the air.
A dark green car came into view. It looked like the T-car combined with a muscle car, and two miniature photon cannons on the hood were getting ready to fire. "Get down!" Beast Boy ordered, and the others obeyed. "What is going on?" the doctor asked. As if to answer his question, the twin cannons unleashed a barrage of blasts that mowed down the bots between the team and the car, sending robots flying and forcing Doctor Light to take cover. "Everybody, get in!" the green teen ordered as he raced to the car. Whether it was the authority in his voice, the desperation for a way out, or just plain fatigue taking over their thinking process, the four teens followed their friend. But when he jumped into the drivers seat, three of his friends stopped in their tracks; only Raven seemed to trust him enough to get in the back.
"Friend Beast Boy, do you even know how to use such a vehicle?" Starfire asked. "Would I be sitting here if I didn't?" he sarcastically replied as he flipped a switch. "Autopilot disengaged. Manual steering engaged." a mechanical voice said. Having recovered from the attack, Doctor Light resumed control of the robots, and sent them advancing on the heroes. Beast Boy quickly pressed a button on the steering wheel several times, sending another flurry of energy blasts at the robots. "Last call." he stated. Reluctantly, the other three got in. Cyborg took the front passenger seat, and Starfire and Robin sat in the back. "Hang on. Things are about to get Deja-vu'ed in here." the green teen stated. Only Cyborg, with his access to the internet, could understand the reference. "He cannot be serious." he thought to himself as Beast Boy threw the car in reverse. He turned around a corner and shifted into drive before speeding off, rubber screaming on asphalt. "He's serious." the metallic teen corrected.
"I was not expecting that." Doctor Light said to himself as he pressed another button on his gauntlet. More doors opened, and eight machines that resembled Light/Slade-bots fused to motorcycles flew out, chasing the green car. "But I was expecting not to expect something, so it doesn't count." he chuckled to himself as he commanded the army to return to storage.
Beast Boy literally drifted onto the main roads and slowed down to the speed limit. "I've got several questions!" Cyborg declared. "Like, where did this car come from!" he shouted, shock evident in his voice. Beast Boy was about to answer when he caught a glimpse of movement in the rear view mirror and saw the motorcycles chasing them. "It'll have to wait." he said as he pressed a series of buttons. The glove compartment opened and spit out a retro gaming joystick with a red button on top. A holographic screen appeared in front of the cybernetic man, which displayed the action behind the car. A loud thunk was heard from the trunk, and cross hairs appeared in the middle of the screen. Already knowing what to do, Cyborg fired at the approaching cycles.
"Chew photon blasts!" Cyborg shouted with enthusiasm. Luckily, these robots lacked shields, so the shots were effective. Cyborg shot down three cycles, and the rest spread out and fired back. The metallic gunner took out another foe before the gun came under fire and was hit, causing the screen to go black and disappear. "They took out the rear gun." Cyborg reported. Beast Boy slowed the car, and the cycles quickly closed the distance. "Friend Beast Boy, do we not want to get away fr-". Her question was cut off when he slammed the brakes and two of the robo-cycles tumbled over the top of the car and crashed into the ground. The green teen hit the gas again and expertly weaved through upcoming traffic. The last two bots kept their distance and let loose a barrage of light blasts. The car jolted with a few hits and there was no sign of stopping. Beast Boy quickly formed a plan and tried to act it out.
"Robin, do you have any smoke pellets?". The leader checked his belt, and pulled out a small handful. "Just seven." he replied. "Ok. Raven, I need you to teleport them outside, but do NOT drop them yet. When I say 'now', I need you to send them out fifty feet and slam them down. Got that?" the teen questioned. Raven replied, "Yes.", and Beast Boy continued. "Ok. Once you do that, the three of you need to duck and hold on to each other. Cyborg, you man the guns." Beast Boy said. He pressed another series of buttons, and the holographic screen returned, this time facing forward.
The moment the changeling found a clearing, he pulled a lever the others couldn't see. There was a sequence of lurches that made the others uncomfortable. "Now!" the green teen shouted, and the plan was set in motion. He drove through the smoke cloud Raven created, and the back of the car sped to the side and outwards with sickening speed as the rear wheels steered. With master precision, Beast Boy shifted into reverse and turned to watch the road over his shoulder. Cyborg watched the screen, sweat dripping down his forehead. The last two cycles emerged from the smoke, only to be met with a volley of photon blasts. "I got 'em!" Cyborg shouted.
Beast Boy pushed the lever from earlier and grasped the shift. With a jerk of the wheel the car started to turn around again, and sped forward with another shift that displayed to much experience. They were getting close to the tower, and a certain problem came to the surface of Robin's mind. "Beast Boy, the entry codes!" Robin exclaimed. Beast Boy just shrugged and pulled down the driver visor. Sliding the mirror cover revealed a keypad that Beast Boy used to type in the entry codes. A short drive later, and the team was safe in Beast Boy's cubicle.
The four passengers were silent, their stares penetrating the green teen's skull. "Ask away." he said as he climbed out of the car. He was met with a flood of questions from the four. "One at a time, one at a time." he exclaimed. "Where did you even get this!" Cyborg demanded as he held his arms to the car. It was then that he first noticed Apex written on the side in the same purple paint as the stripes. "I have a few...connections." Beast Boy cryptically responded. "Is that how you got the rest of this?" Robin followed up as he gestured to the equipment in the cubicle. It wasn't as advanced as Cyborg's, but was much more advanced than even a professional mechanic. "Yep." was all he said as he popped the trunk and inspected the damaged weapon. Luckily, he could dismantle it below the damaged section and simply replace it.
Cyborg walked in circles around the car, and had too admit he was a bit jealous. "Hey, aren't these the same design as the T-car cannon?" Raven asked. "Smaller, but yes. Had to borrow a few blueprints. Nothing much." Beast Boy answered. He walked over to one of the desks and grabbed a cart that he laid on and scooted under the car. There wasn't any damage underneath, so the only problem would be the rear where the blasts hit. "You do understand I need to ask about you 'connections', right?" the boy wonder asked as he stepped next to where Beast Boy legs came from under the car, soon joined by the others. "And why did you not tell us that you were a most skilled driver?" Starfire added. The green teen scooted out from under the car and looked at his friends. He wouldn't say it, but he liked the view of Raven from this angle. "Let's just say the Doom Patrol had a few perks. And I doubt Cyborg would have taken me seriously." the teen stated. "Why would I? I've seen how you play video games." the metal man retorted. "Yeah, but you always push cars off the road in those games. By your logic, shouldn't I assume you crash into cars in real life?" Beast Boy questioned.
To his dismay, Cyborg couldn't answer that. "Besides, I didn't want the job of chauffeur to be thrown at me." the changeling added. "Did you learn to drive like that from them as well?" Raven asked. Beast Boy nodded with a "yep.". Before they could further question their friend, the door bell rang and the five heroes shared confused looks. Cyborg connected to the security systems and accessed the cameras. "It's Jinx. But she's alone." he said. "I'll deal with her." Beast Boy offered. Without much argument, the others allowed him to deal with their foe. But he had a different plan than they were expecting.
Outside, Jinx rang the bell again. She had seen a new car drive in the tunnel that led to the tower, so she knew they were home by now. She waited patiently for a few seconds, and was rewarded. The door opened and the green Titan walked out. He acted friendly enough, but had a look that told he was prepared for battle. "Hey Jinx. What's up?" the hero greeted. "I was wondering if you had any openings." she replied with a shy attitude. "Finally ditched them, huh?". "Yeah." the enchantress started. "They kept blaming me for our loss against you. Not that it's the first time they've blamed me." the pink haired girl sadly explained. Beast Boy wasn't sensing any deceit or guilt. "I'll see what I can do. Just stay out here for a few minutes and I'll be back." the teen requested. Jinx nodded and Beast Boy returned inside. It didn't go unnoticed that he didn't completely shut the door.
"Scare her off with another jellyfish attack?" Cyborg questioned. "Actually, she wanted to tell us that she left the Hive." the changeling explained. "And you believe her?" Raven asked. Her tone wasn't accusing or blaming, just curious. "I didn't get a feeling that she was lying. She said she wants to join us." Beast Boy explained. "Let me talk to her." the cybernetic man requested. "Go for it." Robin said, and the next Titan went outside.
Back outside the tower, Jinx had started pacing and was getting worried. "Maybe they called the cops. Maybe they're planning an attack. Maybe-". Her last thought was cut short when a familiar cybernetic man approached. "Hey Jinx." he welcomed. "Stone." she replied. "B said you wanted to join us. Is that true?" the metal man asked. "Yeah. I couldn't take it anymore with them." the enchantress repeated. Cyborg wasn't picking up any signs of lies on his scanners, and decided to probe a little deeper. "What made you choose us over a regular job?". Jinx thought it over, and replied. "Well, I didn't actually think of getting a regular job. I'm just used to working with other super-powered people. That, and your friend told me I could do better." the girl explained. "Speaking of you two, how're the legs?" Cyborg asked. Jinx got on one knee and rolled up a legging. "Better. A bit red, but the doctors said it'll go away soon.". "Come on in. I'll get some ointment." he offered. Jinx followed him inside, and stood in awe of the inside. She had been inside once before, but it was still an amazingly large building, and one visit couldn't fit everything.
When the other three came into view, Jinx shyly hid behind Cyborg. She had faced them before, but at best it would be a three against one fight if they decided they didn't want her around, and even she couldn't take on three Titans. She saw the wary looks they gave her, but made no move to remove her. "So, where's she staying?" Beast Boy asked. "We haven't discussed that yet. I'm just getting some ointment for her legs." the metal man replied. The empath walked up to the pink haired sorceress, and she noticed Jinx step back a little. She couldn't sense any maliciousness or ill-intent from her former foe, and decided to give her a chance. "Let me see." Raven demanded. Jinx obeyed and sat on the couch so she could pull her leggings up to her knees. A familiar blur glow encased Raven's hands, and the red marks on Jinx's legs faded.
"Thanks Raven." the sorceress offered. Raven nodded and returned to standing next to Beast Boy. "By the way, when did you get the new car?" Jinx asked, turning to Cyborg. "Actually, that's B's car." the metal teen replied. A look a utter confusion filled her face, which Cyborg found amusing. "But...you're...and he's...". Evidently, her brain was a bit too fried to form a complete sentence. "Yeah, there's been a lot going on around recently." Robin explained. "Getting back on topic, what do you think about her joining the team?" Cyborg asked the boy wonder. Robin brought his hand to his chin, looking deep in thought. "What do you guys think?" he replied. "I'm down with it." Beast Boy offered. "Agreed." Raven seconded, to which Cyborg added, "She's cool with me.". Lastly, Starfire gave a fast nod, making it a unanimous decision. "Ok Jinx, we'll give you a chance. You're an honorary Titan for now, but soon we'll get you a room set up and a communicator. Then it'll be official." Robin said. The pink haired girl's expression lit up, and Cyborg couldn't help but chuckle.
A/N: Again, not a great transition, but I'm trying here folks. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a great day!