Titans: Elemental

Chapter 10: Final Exam, Part 2

Later, we see the exterior of the Tower.

The main entrance opens. Jack, Raven and BB rush in. BB is limping somewhat and leaning against his friends for support.

BB, "that didn't just happen", they help him into a chair; he rubs his leg, "tell me that didn't just happen."

Raven, "it did happen. We cannot change the truth, no matter how much we dislike it."

Jack, "amen to that."

She holds her hands near the injured leg; a brief glow of healing energy envelops them.

BB, "who knew we had a doctor in the house? Thanks."

Raven, "no problem."

Jack, "I hope the others are alright."

The doors open again, and Blackfire, Vic and Starfire walk in with ear-to-ear smiles. Vic no longer has Gizmo's rocket stuck to his back. The door closes on as he speaks.

Vic, "maybe y'all should call me Flyborg. I was halfway to Gotham City before Star and Blackfire zapped that thing off my back. So what'd I miss?"

Raven cannot meet his eyes; neither can BB or Jack.

Vic, "tell me how we kicked their butts. Come on, I gotta have the play-by-play."

Starfire, "where is Richard?"

BB, "um, Star? We're not sure."

Starfire, "not sure? Why are you not-?"

Raven, "we searched everywhere. And all we found was this."

She produces his utility belt from beneath her cloak. Starfire gasps in horror; Vic groans and claps both hands to his forehead.

Blackfire looks worried and asks, "what happened?"

Jack, "those guys created a huge chasm or whatever. Dick fell in. And we have no idea where he is."

Vic, "I shoulda been there. I let that kid sneak up on me and, what was I-? It was a trap, and I- I shoulda known."

Starfire, "I do not understand. How could you not find him? People do not just vanish! He has to be someplace, so go there and look!"

BB puts himself between the two girls to keep things from getting ugly.

BB, "easy, Star. Come on. This is Dick we're talking about. I'm sure he's fine. He'll probably turn up any second."

Jack, "yeah, if he didn't, then we'd have to answer to Batman. And we all know that ain't gonna happen."

Suddenly, the door mechanism kicks into gear once more.

BB, "awesome timing."

Jack, "too awesome…."

Starfire, "Richard!"

She flies toward the door. She lands and walks toward the threshold to see who has arrived. A moment later, the whole entrance disappears in a mighty crash that throws her backward. The dust clears to show the H.I.V.E. team walking in; Gizmo is back up on his mechanical spider legs.

BB, "oh, no."

Mammoth cracks his knuckles.

Jinx, "oh, yes!"

The six Titans get ready to fight.

Vic, "you guys got lucky last time, but you're in our house now!"

The trio advances.

Gizmo, "yeah, nice place. We'll take it!"

Raven starts levitating chairs and sending them in the H.I.V.E.'s direction, while Starfire and Blackfire toss off some starbolts from overhead. Jack is shooting shards of ice at their attackers. BB tumbles into view and clambers away to make room for Vic as he backs up again, firing his cannon.

Vic, "split up!"

Raven flies to a landing on the stairs and, after Starfire passes her, projects a couple of nearby fire extinguishers toward Mammoth at the bottom. He merely swats them away and charges.

….

In the hall, where BB and Jack run from around a corner and dodge the collapse of several wall panels. Emerging from the dust and debris as a bobcat, BB runs with Jack jumping over the debris. Jinx steps unhurriedly after them.

Jinx, "here, kitty, kitties. What's the matter...", more panels blow out, "... afraid of a little bad luck?"

….

Inside of the gym, Raven and Starfire burst through the closed doors and slam them shut again. A starbolt is fired against the frame and traced along the doors' outer edges to weld them closed. The two girls then back up a bit and trade a very nervous look, wondering whether the barricade will hold. It proves to be a moot point when the wall behind them blows out, throwing them to the floor. They look back toward it and find Mammoth's head protruding from a fresh hole.

Raven muttered, "I bet Zivel would say; 'he just delivered the mother of all headbutts.'"

Mammoth, "hello, ladies."

….

At the stairs again. Vic and Blackfire retreat upward as one of Gizmo's long metal legs swings into view. The runt's spidery shadow advances into view against the far wall, followed by the runt himself. He turns and approaches a door, which opens to admit him. Vic and Blackfire peek out from a corner across the hall. They step in boldly. Except for the light spilling from the hall, the place is completely dark. The blackness becomes total when the door slides shut without warning.

Vic, "hey!"

Blackfire, "krible nibbits!"

A wall of TV screens comes to life, every one showing a close-up of Gizmo's grinning visage.

Gizmo, "so, Tin Man, Alien Chick, you got hearts under all that outdated crud-ware and that slinky outfit?"

They turn away, but a single giant screen, also showing Gizmo, comes on next to them.

Gizmo, "not telling? Guess I'll have to take you apart and find out! Dissection on an alien AND a cyborg!"

The whiz kid's spider legs carry him into the light from those screens and lower him steadily toward Vic, who can only stare in complete shock.

….

BB, back in human form, and Jack, race around the corner and into view. Seeing no one behind them, they stop to catch their breath.

BB, "lost her."

He is, of course, referring to Jinx, and he has spoken too soon. A couple of her spells pass just over their heads. A panel swings loose and cracks BB dead in the face. His head rattles on his neck for a moment before he collapses.

Jack, "you had to jinx it. No pun intended."

Jinx walks up behind them.

Jinx, "this just isn't your lucky day."

BB sits rubbing his head for a second before transforming into a tyrannosaurus rex and roaring with enough force to shake the entire building. Jack starts shooting balls of ice as well. Jinx does a few backflips to get out of range, then stops and fixes a glowing stare on them. Around the green reptile, a ring of pink fire flares up briefly and floats toward his head before disappearing. There is a loud crackling from the floor, followed by the collapse of the section on which BB is standing due to her hex; he drops from sight. Jack jumps away, but in doing so, he hits his head and gets knocked out. Jinx walks up to the hole and smiles.

She then sees Jack and says, "well, well, well…."

….

Now we see a storage area of the Tower, with a large circular hatchway in the back wall. This is smashed off its hinges by Vic, who emerges into this place unscathed, with Blackfire close behind. They are not alone; however; Gizmo comes out of the dust clouds and moves in on them. Vic steadily backs up before the advance; one of the metal legs swings at him, but he catches the end in both hands.

Vic, "Gotcha!"

Gizmo just grins and swings another leg. Vic shifts his grip to free up one hand and catch this one as well. A good strong wrenching motion throws the little jerk off balance and sends him to the floor; when he hits, sparks fly from the central unit on his back. He is quickly yanked free of the legs and held aloft by the chuckling Titan. The unit is still on his back, but it is soon pulled off.

Gizmo, "let me go, you scuzz-munching zit!"

Blackfire, "Zivel is right, where do you get those insults?"

Vic puts him down so he can run away and then crushes the device. The big guy tosses the remains aside like a candy wrapper. Gizmo runs off among the crates and boxes; now Vic walks after him at a leisurely pace.

Vic, "how you gonna fight me without your tech?"

Blackfire, "answer us that?"

A small, shadowy figure passes in front of him, and he goes after it. Gizmo, peeks out from behind a panel; he gasps as it is lifted away. Vic suddenly looks down with surprise at the sound of a crunch.

Vic, "huh?"

His foot has come down on a flashlight-like unit and damaged it somewhat. Looking up again, he sees Gizmo's image grin and then flicker out; it was merely a hologram projected by that unit.

Blackfire, "it was a trap!"

Vic backs cautiously away; the real Gizmo is perched on a piece of equipment behind him, and he jumps down onto the back and pulls out a tool. Sparks fly.

Vic, "yo, what are you-?"

The gadget genius pops open a panel and goes to work on the circuitry.

Vic, "get out of my systems! Nobody hacks my systems!"

Blackfire chases after them, but Vic is too fast!

Vic runs back and forth, clearly against his will due to the hotwiring, then stops as his limbs start to flail randomly. His right arm is raised.

Gizmo, "ooh, ejector arm. Cool!"

He makes it pop off-hand, forearm, and half the upper arm. It rolls uselessly away across the floor.

Vic, "my arm!"

….

Cut to the exterior of the Tower, which shakes and bends as the fight inside continues. It is now later in the day.

Vic, "get off! Get off me! Stop!"

Blackfire, "get off of him! Hey! Don't you point that thing at me!"

Vic and blackfire fly screaming off the roof as if shot from a cannon, and they come down in the middle of Jump City Bay. Another set of yells and three more splashes mark the forcible eviction of BB, Raven, and Starfire.

….

The H.I.V.E. team can be seen looking out from the top-floor window of the living room, with a tied up Jack being held by Mammoth.

Gizmo, "have a nice afterlife, you snot-eating losers!"

Jack, "God those insults are awful!"

Gizmo, "shaddup already!"

Jinx casts a spell that makes the water level radiate over the island.

The hex stirs up a huge tidal wave that leaves the fivesome too scared to move as its shadow falls over them. Down comes the wall of water, and the H.I.V.E. operatives, who smile smugly and walk away, with Jack growling in anger.

….

BB, "that didn't just happen. Tell me that didn't just happen."

Vic, "get out of my systems. Get off me."

Starfire, "Richard. Where is Richard? I do not understand."

BB, "gotta go out for the others."

Raven, "we searched everywhere.

We see the Titans coming up on the shore.

Starfire, "how could you not find him?

Raven, "all we found was this."

Vic makes his way up the slope.

Starfire, "people do not just vanish.

BB, "oh, no.

Vic, "I shoulda been there. I shoulda known.

All five Titans are slumped along the shore.

BB, "so, uh…. Who else never wants to go surfing again?"

Vic, "not now, man."

BB, "hey, I was just trying to-"

Raven puts a hand on his shoulder to cut him off. Vic extends a small acetylene torch from his left forefinger. The panel on his thigh opens, revealing a plethora of sparks and short circuits. Starfire approaches as he bends down to the self-repair work.

Starfire, "perhaps I could be of some assistance?"

Vic, "I got it."

Starfire, "but you are so damaged and-"

Vic, "I got it!"

BB, "hey! She only wanted to help! What is your problem?"

Vic, "What do you think?! We got kicked out of our house, Jack has been captured, a pint-size Poindexter took me for a joyride, and in case you haven't noticed, I just became left-handed!"

Blackfire, "that doesn't give you the right to yell at my sister!"

Raven, "enough! We need to control our emotions."

Vic, "or what?! Our bad vibes will keep you from meditating?!"

Starfire, "I wish Richard were here."

Vic, "Well, he's not! Don't you guys get it?! They won, we lost! IT'S OVER!"

The five heroes stand slumped in defeat.

BB, "Then…. The Titans are finished?"

"Not yet."

The voice draws five very surprised glances over five assorted pairs of shoulders. They see Dick in front of some bushes; arms crossed, confident smile. Except for his missing belt, everything is in proper order.

Dick, "not if I can help it."

….

We see the Tower that night. The new occupants have started extensive renovations to the place, as follows. One, the vertical bar of the T has been extended. Two, the lights in one half of the crossbar top floor have been put out. Three, a second vertical portion has been built to join with the half that is still lit; it reaches the same height as the central extension. The entire effect is to make the lighted Tower portions and new construction look like a giant H for H.I.V.E., and the honeycomb pattern has been applied to the add-ons.

….

Inside, Jack is glaring at Jinx as she looks at Ravens cloaks.

Jinx has donned Dick's belt, which sits askew on her hips similar to the way Raven wears hers, and has one of the latter's spare cloaks over her arm.

Jack is handcuffed, his staff leaning on the wall.

Jinx, "very nice. These might go great with the belt."

Jack, "put those down."

Jinx, "why? Are you afraid your girlfriend is gonna get jealous?"

Jack, "excuse me for being so ticked off. I'm just mad that our home was taken by you scum-bags."

Jinx gave a strange look, and then looked outside of the room, checking if the coast was clear. After that, Jinx quickly locked the door, and started undoing Jack's handcuffs!

Jack, "what the-?"

Jinx, "shh! Quiet or they'll hear you."

Jack, "what are you doing?"

Jinx, "I'm not really a villain. Not entirely."

Jack, "what do you mean?"

Jinx, "I've been going undercover at H.I.V.E for awhile, trying to figure out their plans. I've gotta keep up appearances, hence me attacking you. Sorry."

Jack, "so, what, you're an undercover hero?"

Jinx, "pretty much. In fact, the reason I was hoping to fight you guys, was so I could help you guys."

Jack, "... You wanna be our spy?"

Jinx nodded.

Jack, "... You better not be lying."

Jinx, "I'm not. Now, take that staff of yours and get to the roof. I have a feeling your friends are gonna need to know about this."

Jack nodded, slightly unsure, before getting his staff and running up to the roof quietly.

Jinx picked up the cloaks and said, "now to keep up appearances with the others."

….

Gizmo is framing a patch of blank wall. Two small robots whiz into view, carrying Vic's detached arm-mounted as if it were a stuffed fish, between them, and follow his instructions as they hang it up.

Gizmo, "higher…. A little to the left…. A little more…. And…. Perfect!"

The arm is mounted high on the wall.

Gizmo, "Slade's gonna have kittens when he hears we whipped the Titans and took their stinking Tower!"

Mammoth looks in the fridge, while Jinx comes down the stairs.

Jinx, "not to mention Nightwing's favorite fashion statement. But that's the only thing fashionable around here."

Mammoth, "tell me about it", he pulls a moldy hamburger from the fridge, "hmph. All their food is way out of date."

This does not stop him from downing the burger in one gulp.

Mammoth, "eh, where's that wizard guy you captured?"

Jinx, "he's locked in his room handcuffed. His staff ain't in there, so there's no way he'll be able to get out."

Gizmo, "good. Hey, Mammoth, you think that stuff's rotten? Wait 'til you see their music. Crud…. Snot…."

He begins tossing the CD's

Gizmo, "…. Mega-crud…. Snot…."

The fingertip of Vic's arm pulls loose of the hand, remaining connected to it by two thin jointed armatures. It swivels to point its tiny camera lens inside of it.

It zooms in on Jinx, who has put on Raven's cloak.

Jinx, "does she have anything that's not blue?"

Mammoth is now gorging himself on the spoiled food in the fridge.

Gizmo is still at the CD rack. The ones he hated are strewn about the floor behind him. The tiny camera roves on, stopping at one of the computer consoles.

Jinx is inspecting herself with a hand mirror as the arm scuttles into view, walking on its fingers with the camera still active, and turns here and there to scope out the place. Finally, it begins moving.

Mammoth eagerly lifts a moldy chicken drumstick to his mouth and licks it. The arm makes its way along a ledge on the far side of the kitchen while he eats the meat off the bone.

Back to Gizmo, who has yet another CD in hand.

Gizmo, "ugh. Crud…. Snot…."

Jinx, "you know, the magic guy, Zivel I think is his name, was right, you gotta work on your insults."

Gizmo, "whatever."

The arm moves along the ledge behind him and is not noticed. It stops near one of the consoles and points its camera around the area before jumping down into the seat. Thin tentacles fly out from the joint where the limb connected to the stump of Vic's natural arm. They press several keys and go to work. The screen lights up with a schematic of the Tower. Piece by piece, the diagram goes red. When it has all turned this color, the screen winks out and alarms and buzzers start to sound, accompanied by red flashing lights throughout the operations center. The security systems have been triggered.

Jinx gasps and puts the cloak aside, and Mammoth stands up from the fridge. All the cabinet doors in the kitchen start opening and closing at random. Next, Gizmo stands up from the CD rack; without warning, one disc after another is ejected past him at high speed.

Gizmo, "hey!"

This is the only intelligible word he gets out before trailing off into surprised yells and losing his balance to tumble on the floor. He slides backward as the rack continues its impression of a skeet-shooting target launcher.

Gizmo, "what the hairball?"

The chair of the nearest console swivels to give him a good look at the arm occupying it; he cries out in surprise and fear. The tentacles have retracted, but now, they shoot forth again and wrap around his arms and legs. The bionic limb jumps down and speeds across the floor, dragging one very surprised pipsqueak, and pops a couple of small jet thrusters out from the forearm. These ignite and carry it into the air; the hand balls into a fist as the thing aims itself toward the ceiling and carries Gizmo up with it!

The arm closes in on a vent and punches through. It soon races along and takes Gizmo for one very wild ride and out of sight around a bend. Back in the kitchen, a large shadowy hand reaches down behind Jinx and seizes her, albeit more gently for some reason. She has time for one startled cry before it recedes into the ceiling and takes her with it. The big lug is left standing by himself; the side door opens on its own, and a green starbolt and a purple starbolt rocket into view from the left side to knock him through it.

The door closes.

….

On the roof level of the tower.

A large black raven emerges from the surface and rises, leaving Jinx there to drop to her knees.

She manages to hear Raven whisper, "play along so your teammates don't get any ideas."

Jinx nods as behind her, Vic's arm bursts out of a vent pipe and carries the screaming Gizmo higher and higher before veering back toward his classmate. She gasps in shock and her eyes widen-just before they are both knocked halfway across the roof. Having released Gizmo, the arm flies away, and the closed door of the stairs or elevator leading up here slide open. A green and purple flash of two starbolts play across the roof, and Mammoth is blasted out onto it. He ends up next to the other two H.I.V.E. agents.

We see Dick grabbing his belt and putting it on as he says, "sorry to interrupt the victory celebration. But like I said…. This isn't over."

Vic is there, reattaching his arm, and the other five Titans soon arrive.

Vic, "It's just getting started."

The trio stand up, and Jinx is able to catch a wink from Jack, subtly telling her to keep up her act.

Jinx, "Attack Pattern Alpha!"

Gizmo and Mammoth scatter while she shouts and throws a spell. The Titans scramble to avoid it; when it hits the rooftop, a panel swells and explodes. BB comes down from his jump only to find Mammoth coming straight at him. He jumps away again and turns into a falcon as the giant slams his fist down on the roof and sends a shock wave toward Vic. Jinx lands behind the latter and vaults high over his shoulders, hurling a spell down at him as she sails through the air. It knocks out the base of a water tank and causes the whole thing to topple toward Vic, who gets out of the way just in time before a second tank collapses nearby.

Starfire and Blackfire are in midair, throwing a few Tamaranean fastballs at Jinx as she nimbly dodges them and ducks out of sight behind part of the new construction. Blackfire and Starfire fly in after her. Vic, meanwhile, looks around himself a bit. All clear, but that changes in an instant when Gizmo jumps down from the fallen water tanks and lands on his back.

Gizmo, "hey, Robo-Wimp. Feel like getting hacked?"

Vic, "nope. How 'bout you? Nightwing! Now!"

Dick leaps up and throws a small device over to Vic and Gizmo. It attaches itself to the machinery on the latter's back, and sparks fly as he yells in pain and frustration.

Gizmo, runs around, trying to pull the thing off, "cut it out! It's gonna crash my whole system", he rips off his shoulder-mounted laser, "get it off me! Get it off me!"

Dick's device triggers the jet pack, carrying him off the roof. Jinx runs like mad to avoid getting fried by Starfire's bombardment.

Starfire, "Beast Boy! Zivel! Go!"

BB is back in human form and crouching on an overhead girder to watch Jinx. Flipping Starfire a hand sign to acknowledge, he dives from his perch and transforms into a monkey to come down squarely on the face of the fleeing girl. She has made her way into a framework of pipes. Unable to see, she fires spells in all directions in an attempt to get him off. Jack starts using the wind to spin her around and around, further disorienting her. Finally, she gets all ten fingers into the game, yanks him away, and throws him across the roof. He reverts to human form before touching down.

BB, "your luck just ran out!"

Jack whispers, "sorry. Gotta make this look convincing."

Getting a running start, BB again becomes a falcon and flies into the open sky.

Jinx, "huh?"

Creaks and groans from the pipework draw her attention. One after another, the joints start to pop, having been hit by the spells she was casting every which way. We see one pipe burst and start spewing water and steam. The sound of a nervous little shudder is she can manage as more lines rupture and collapse around her.

Mammoth is running like sixty, advancing on Raven. He aims a colossal punch at her, but she flies up to avoid it and comes down behind him. When he turns to charge again, Vic rams a shoulder into him. It takes some time for him to touch down on the roof and stop skidding; when he does, BB, as a T-rex, is waiting for him. One snarl is all it takes to make the overgrown villain completely freak out and run for his life. Blackfire and Starfire gather all their strength for a combined starbolt and let it go, hitting Mammoth dead center in the gut. The hit leaves him spinning in the air as Dick dashes over. One mighty flying kick drives him back into Gizmo, although Jinx is a few feet away from the other two as all three are in a weary, groaning pile. Gizmo has a transmitter in hand.

Gizmo, "cram it. I'm calling Slade."

Dick yanks him up to eye level as he switches it on.

Dick, "who is Slade?"

Gizmo, "wouldn't you like to know, barf-brain?"

Jack, "again with the crappy insults?"

….

Back in Slade's lair.

The Headmistress, "I assure you, such failures are not tolerated within the H.I.V.E. Once the agents have been retrieved from the authorities, they will be disciplined. Strictly disciplined.

Slade steps out from among the pipes.

Slade, "actually, your agents served my plans quite well. I never expected them to succeed. They were merely messengers. And the message has been received..."

He has a transmitter in his raised left hand, a counterpart of the one Gizmo carried. He activates it, and on the monitor behind the headmistress, an image of Dick appears; caught on film by Gizmo and asking, "Who is Slade?"

It plays over and over on an entire row of screens. That three-word question is repeated countless times by all of them.

If Slade's intent was to bring his name to the Titans' attention, the H.I.V.E. crew did indeed meet his expectations.

….

We see the H.I.V.E crew being loaded into police cars.

Mammoth has tons of chains around him, Gizmo is wrapped in a tiny straight jacket, while Jinx is the only one in handcuffs, due to the Titans explaining that she was a double agent for them now, and if she escaped with her colleagues, the Titans would take care of things.

….

Later, we see the Tower restored.

BB, "NOOOO! This is the worst thing that could ever happen!"

He is in human form, with hands to head and ready to pull his green hair out.

BB, "my tunes! They've been…. Alphabetized."

He tosses CDs around the room as Vic looks high and low, much as he did earlier. Dick stands behind the couch and watches the two.

BB, "how am I ever gonna find anything?"

Raven comes downstairs, carrying the cloak Jinx borrowed.

Raven, "they went into my room. No one should ever go into my room."

Jack, "I'll make sure our agent apologizes for that the next time we see her."

Jack found out that Percy had been hiding in his room ever since their new foes attacked.

Starfire gasps and pops up from under the kitchen counter.

Starfire, "someone has disposed of all our blue furry food!"

Blackfire, "I'm pretty sure that's a good thing, sister."

Vic lifts the couch, "you gotta be kidding me! The whole place gets cleaned and I still can't find the-"

A whistle stops him short; cut to Dick, who points down toward the couch. On the coffee table, the missing remote is lying on it in plain sight.

Vic, "ha!"

Jack and the others all face-palm.

Vic drops the couch and sits down on it with Dick, who has started to flip channels.

Vic, "I guess we really oughta be training for battles, tracking down clues, and trying to figure out who Slade is, huh?"

Dick, "we will. But right now, I'm just happy to be part of the team."

The others smile as they sit with their fearless leader, watching some TV.

...

Meanwhile...

We once again see the girl with white hair in the city. She was sitting in an alley, eating what looked like stale chips to keep herself fed.

She muttered, "once I meet them, I hope that's the end of my scavenging..."

….

Reviews:

DaV1nc136: I'm very glad you liked the chapter. I plan to keep this story going got awhile. But Rose isn't gonna appear YET. You'll have to wait for next weekend for that...

raven 2012: glad you enjoyed it, and I'm happy you liked Blackfire as part of the team.

….

A very long chapter!

Side note: I'm gonna set Trouble in Tokyo before the finale of Season 5, and after that, we'll be following new stories with the characters, as well as them getting older and starting their own families.

As for said families:

Starfire and Dick have a daughter.

BB would eventually discover how Terra came back, and the two would start over, OR, Terra wouldn't die after she stops Slade and goes out of her way to regain the trust of her friends.

Raven and Jack would have a child.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Soon, Rose shall enter the picture!

At least, after the thunder storm….