AN: And thus…the second arc begins.
Outta This World: The Call Beyond Edition
Arc Two: Deathstroke
Chapter Six: Tested
Slade Wilson—the man also known as Deathstroke—looked at the screen displaying the three HIVE academy students as they trained against the academy's deadliest machines. Zero—one of his five children, and one of his seven possible successors—stood to his right, also staring at the screen, but with far less interest.
"Well, mister Wilson?" The HIVE's envoy asked.
Slade took a step towards the screen. "Impressive." Then, he turned back towards the envoy. "But training courses and robots can only prove so much." The former mercenary turned away and ascended the stairs behind him, making his way towards the iron throne at the top of the stairwell. "Have your students destroy the Titans. Then we will talk."
The envoy stepped forward. "Will that be all?"
Slade stopped, and sat on his throne. "The one known as Blitzkrieg. Bring him to me, alive and mostly unharmed. Do this, and I will triple the payment." He finished, speaking with a tone that brokered no arguments.
The envoy bowed and left, and Slade turned his attention towards his armored apprentice. "You know what to do Zero. Keep an eye on him but make no contact until I say so."
The grey-armored girl nodded and stepped towards the shadows. Then, she turned back to her master. "What of Cire and Seventh?"
Under his mask, Slade grimaced. "So long as we stick to our plans, Cire will not move against us. As for Seventh…" Slade steepled his hands. "He is a slave of his own revolution. It is easy to predict one such as him…"
Slade turned his focus to the monitor as his apprentice left the room. "Let's see if you pass my test, Sean."
Titans Tower…
Blitz sighed as he entered the common room, surveying the mess that it had become. Cyborg and Beast Boy had overturned every surface—save for the couch, which Raven sat on—in and effort to search for…something.
"I don't believe this!" Cyborg shouted. "How could you lose the remote!?"
"What makes you think I lost it!?" Beast Boy cried.
"Cause you're you?" Cyborg shot back.
"Hey!" Beast Boy shouted, tone indignant. "Just because I lost that video game—!"
"—and the toothpaste, and my football, and the waffle iron!"
"—things disappear! How am I supposed to know where they go!?"
Raven—annoyed by the two's inane argument—stood up and shut her book with a loud slam, which the two ignored.
"Well, how am I supposed to watch TV if I don't have a remote!?"
Raven cleared her throat. "Simple. You get off your ass and change the channel." The mage spoke, annoyance seeping through her voice.
"…Don't even joke like that." Cyborg replied, tone flat.
"It wasn't a joke." Rave growled.
"I should probably stop this."
Blitz cleared his throat. "You know, if you cleaned up a little, you could probably find the remote."
Beast Boy turned towards the black-clad teen, a look of incredulity on his face. Raven sat down and returned to her book, an appreciative look upon her face.
Then, the door opened, and Starfire's voice echoed through the common room. "And that is the secret to faster than light travel."
Robin and Starfire entered the room, looking over the chaos. The world's youngest detective let out an exasperated huff. "I keep telling you guys to clean the tower before it becomes like this…" He said, approaching the refrigerator. "Now, why don't we get some junk food and…" He opened the fridge. "…What the fuck."
The entire fridge was covered in a fine layer of blue mold, some of which seemed to be sentient. Robin closed the fridge and turned back towards the other Titans. "How about we go out for pizza?"
Elsewhere.
Jacob let out harsh breaths as he crossed the last bridge in the School of Mensis. He was close…so close to the end of his journey. Mergo lied ahead, protected only by his demonic Wet Nurse.
Then, he heard a light hum…a tune that resembled a lullaby. A sound that only a human could make.
"Ah, Kos…or should I say Kosm…"
"Do you hear our prayers?"
After the incident with the refrigerator, the Titans arrived at the Pizza Corner—the same restaurant that Starfire had crashed into—and took a seat at one of the tables. They were greeted by a man with white hair and red eyes. "Hello, may I take your order—!" The young man cut himself off as his eyes widened, and Raven's did as well, recognition shining in them. "Ah, Ms. Raven! I didn't expect to see you again this soon!"
Blitz blinked, also recognizing the young man who spoke to them. "Isn't that the guy that Raven was talking to at that party?" He asked Light.
"Come to think of it…" Light spoke. "Yeah…I think so."
Then the Titans began to argue over what kind of pizza each of them wanted, as the young man named Shiga Raki watched.
"Can you see them?" Jinx asked, her radio crackling.
"Yep. All six, plus one more." Gizmo's voice replied.
"One more?"
"Just some waiter. Nothing to worry about."
Jinx let out a sigh. "Good. Beginning phase one."
The witch casually tossed a hex, causing a nearby bus to roll down the hill towards a rolling baby carriage that was within sight of the Pizza Corner.
The Titans went into action in an instant, whisking away the carriage and stopping the bus before it hit the Corner.
Jinx smirked as Robin lifted the decoy out of the carriage.
Gotcha.
"Don't buses normally have drivers?" Cyborg asked, staring into the empty driver's seat of the empty bus.
Robin frowned as he pulled a baby-sized green teddy bear out of the carriage. "And don't baby carriages normally have babies?"
The head of the stuffed animal turned towards Robin, an ominous yellow glow overtaking the formerly black pits. "Are you pit sniffers normally this stupid?" Yellow beams fired from the eyes, sending Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire into the sky. Meanwhile, Cyborg watched in shock as the bus was lifted off of his wheels. Then, Blitz watched in horror as the truck was dropped on both Cyborg and Raven.
Gizmo flew down from the building he had stationed himself on via a pair of jet packs, a smirk on his face. "And then there was one." Blitz took a fighting stance as Robin and Starfire rejoined him, having recovered from the ambush.
"This isn't over yet." Robin said, a grimace on his face.
Mammoth grinned and cracked his knuckles, but his eyes went wide as the bus he used in his attempt to crush Cyborg and Raven was sent flying at him. Said heroes reemerged and stood, battle ready. Beast Boy himself snuck up behind the HIVE students, taking on the form of a panther.
"So who are you then?" Raven drawled.
Jinx smirked. "We are the HIVE!"
"And we are gonna kick your—OW!" Mammoth began but was interrupted when an electrified playing card hit him in the face.
"Words of the wise," The electro-kinetic began. "Make your introductions a bit shorter."
Gizmo snarled. "Attack pattern alpha!"
The midget took to the air, firing laser rounds at Blitzkrieg with shoulder-mounted cannons. Blitzkrieg dodged as the others began to engage their own opponents. Cyborg and Starfire charged Mammoth, while Beast Boy chased after Gizmo and Blitzkrieg. Robin and Raven were left to deal with the pinkette.
Six took a sip of his coffee—a unique brand that only he had access to—as he sat in his office. Lord Insight—or Councilman Null—had finally discovered the source of the disturbance he had felt. Whether or not this was the boy he had run into—and Six suspected that it was—had yet to be confirmed. The only thing that Null and One had allowed him to know were his orders: assemble a small, three-member team to infiltrate the HIVE academy.
Six smirked. He had scanned the boy's memories, and if he was correct…one of his possible agents was suited for the job.
"If this doesn't send a message…I'm not sure what will."
Six pressed a button underneath his desk, and a section of the wall opened up behind him, displaying several monitors which in turn displayed several images of various parts of Team Canon's fortress, known as Monitor's Rest. On one of the displays, a brunette that had a figure that most teenage girls—and some women—would have been jealous of. She was surrounded by several others, both men and women, all of them agents of Team Canon.
She was smiling, but it wasn't a smile of genuine happiness. No, this was the smile of those kids that were often seen amongst the 'popular' students. A facsimile grin that those kinds of people wore to either fit in…or disguise how they really felt.
Six would know. He could sense the turmoil within her every day. The guilt. The suffering. The silent rage at everyone around her…and at herself. The telepath smirked. This could be used, considering who the target was…and who one of the other teammates would be.
Mammoth grinned as he grappled with Cyborg, feeling exhilaration as the contest of strength continued. "What do they call an idiot with a rocket on his back?!" He said, pushing Cyborg back a mere centimeter.
He then heard a cackling voice from behind the metallic teen. "DOOMED!" Gizmo shrieked as he planted a device on Cyborg's back. The device expanded into a jetpack, sending the teen into the skies and out of the fight. Starfire chased after him, attempting to halt his escape from the city.
In this same instant, Jinx charged Raven, letting loose a spinning kick that the goth dodged. The hex-user let out two more attacks before the mage blocked one of them with a raised arm, and attempted to attack with a backhanded strike, which was in turn blocked by Jinx.
The pinkette smirked. "You fight like a boy. I like that."
"Then you're gonna love me." Blitz spoke, getting in between the two combatants. The black-clad hero let loose a punch powered up by his electro-kinesis that sent Jinx flying towards her other two teammates. Gizmo began to chase Robin as Beast Boy transformed into an elephant and charged Mammoth, who hoisted the green shapeshifter over his shoulder.
"Mammoth's gonna make you extinct!" The behemoth cried as he threw the changeling towards Raven and Blitz. The goth grabbed the electro-kinetic and pulled him towards her and out of harm's way. Said hero landed on his teammate in a rather compromising position as Beast Boy rolled away and reverted to his human form. The two stood up and took up combat stances once again.
"Um—!"
"Not. A word."
Beast Boy ran up towards them, gasping for breath. "Is it just me, or are we getting our butts kicked?"
"It's just you." Both darkly dressed teens replied as Robin rejoined them.
"You got a plan?" Blitzkrieg asked the Boy Wonder.
"I might."
Gizmo proceeded to blast Raven and Beast Boy, knocking the both of them out of the fight. Robin grimaced.
"Nice plan." Gizmo drawled. "Is there more?"
Robin drew his quarterstaff as Blitzkrieg drew his. "Come and find out." The two heroes charged.
Jinx smirked as she and Gizmo fired at the pavement beneath the Titans feet, then allowing Mammoth to use his full strength on the cracking concrete. Blitz was able to leap away in time as the ground began to crumble away.
Robin wasn't so lucky.
"ROBIN!" Beast Boy screamed. He turned towards the HIVE members, then fell to a knee, wincing in obvious pain.
Blitz grimaced under his mask. "Raven! Get Beast Boy back to the Tower! I'll hold them off."
Raven lifted the changeling up by the arm, and then turned back towards the electro-kinetic. "…Be careful."
Blitz didn't respond as the mage flew away.
"How very noble of you, handsome." Jinx mocked. "But ultimately, such an action can only be interpreted as cowardly."
Blitz narrowed his eyes. "And how can that be."
Mammoth grinned, a vicious glint in his eyes. "Haven't you heard? Suicide is the coward's way out."
They charged.
Jacob stared at the burning workshop. The visions were swimming in his vision now. A countless mirage of images displaying a man in gold armor, a figure clad entirely in black armor, a much younger man wielding a blue-bladed katana, a familiar brunette bearing knives, a man wearing a severed hand on his face, and a mere boy with an S-symbol carved on his chest.
He turned towards the garden of flowers.
Soon…very soon…
Jinx stumbled back, rubbing a bruised nose as Mammoth was launched into a nearby lamp post. "Damn handsome." She chuckled. "You're pretty good. I was wondering why our employer wanted you, but now I think I see."
"Employer?" Sean thought as his eyes narrowed once again. "So you're mercenaries."
"Indeed." Jinx said, her hands crackling with pink lightning. "But I'm afraid that that is all you'll be getting out of me, handsome."
Meanwhile, a young man watched the fight from the shadows. "Interesting…" The man spoke, his lips turned upwards in a smirk. "Yes, interesting indeed. I can see why the old man would want you, Blitzkrieg."
The young man placed his left hand on the pavement and watched as the surrounding concrete began to turn to dust. "Now, let us see how well you adapt…"
"Damnit!" Gizmo screeched as he fell from the air, jetpack spurting sparks.
Mammoth snarled as he caught his own teammate and prepared to charge the electro-kinetic again…until he noticed that the ground under his feet began to feel less like solid ground and more like quicksand.
"MOVE!" He yelled as the concrete beneath the combatants turned to dust, sending three of the four into a newly formed crater.
When the three recovered, the fourth was gone.
Sometime later…
Robin frowned as he walked towards the shoreline. Losing his utility belt was…humiliating, but that was what the parkour and circus training was for. He had been able to climb out of the crevasse created by the HIVE trio's attack, but by the time he had reached the top, the battle was over, and all those who had taken part had left. The Boy Wonder supposed that the next place to check would be the Tower.
What he found was…
"—Hey man! She was just trying to help! What is your problem!"
"What do you think!? We got kicked out of our own house, a pint-size Pondexter took me for a joyride, we've still got a friend behind enemy lines, and if you haven't noticed BB, I'VE JUST BECOME LEFT-HANDED!"
Robin frowned, and then stepped out from behind the cliff-face. "Then why don't we do something about that?"
Zero observed Titans Tower as the battle took place on a warehouse roof-top through a pair of binoculars provided to her by her master and father. The teen grimaced as Blitz was tackled by Mammoth and slammed repeatedly into a wall. "Told those bastards that we wanted him alive…" She muttered, anger filling her voice.
"Enjoying the show?" A voice asked.
Zero quickly wheeled on said voice, drawing an M1911 and pointing it at the speaker.
Said speaker raised his hands. "Relax, Samantha. If I wanted you dead…" He trailed off, and lowered his hands, flexing them as he did so.
Zero grimaced and lowered the gun. "What are you doing here, Seventh?"
Seventh smirked, eyes hidden behind the strange prop that he always wore on his face during 'work'. "Just watching the show, same as you."
"You interfered in the test." She accused.
Seventh shrugged. "I wanted to test the boy's reflexes." He grinned, showing teeth that were a pearly white. "It seems that the boy may not need chemical X after all."
Zero's eyes narrowed at the older apprentice. "We'll see."
The two turned their attention back to the tower and watched as the Titans overcame their adversaries. Seventh smirked. "Is it over?"
"Judging by the fact that the sentient traffic light is now screaming in Gizmo's face, I'd say that it is."
Blitz smiled as he joined the Titans in the common room, who were gathering at the couch. Cyborg smirked as he stared at Robin. "I guess we really oughta be tracking down leads on this Slade guy, right?"
"We will," Robin responded. "Later. Right now, I'm just happy to be part of a team."
Blitz smiled. "Well said, Robin."
"I'm finding it odd that Slade is looking for us specifically."
"I am too, but Robin is right…Right now I'm just gonna relax with my…family."
Lord Insight sat on his throne, surrounded only by the darkness in his room. The only company he had was the memories of fallen comrades forgotten by the multiverse itself…or so it seemed.
"David…"
Lord Insight gasped as he heard the deep and cruel voice of an old enemy that had haunted him for many years. A voice he hadn't heard since—!
"I warned you David…"
The Crisis.
"…You can never escape me."
There was the sound of a billowing cape, malicious laughter, the scream of a lost love—!
Then silence as Lord Insight awoke. He moaned as he held his head. Perhaps it was all for nothing, as his ancient enemy had said. Perhaps there was no chance for tomorrow. Perhaps both He and Alex were right.
Perhaps there was no point in preserving the current state of affairs—!
Lord Insight slammed his fist on his armrest. "NO!" He yelled, banishing the doubts that poisoned his mind. "The Crisis will never come again!"
"I will make it so!"
AN: Oooh, how very mysterious. Who is Seventh, and what the shit is this 'Crisis' that Insight refers to?
You'll just have to wait and see…