Titans: Elemental
Chapter 53: Winner Takes All, Part 1
We see a pile of cards on a table. Each shows a natural element. Lightning, moon, and so forth.
Raven, "fire beats Wood."
Vic, "but Water beats Fire."
Bryan, "Snowstorm freezes Water."
Jack, "but Fire melts Ice!"
Blackfire, "and Water beats Fire, again!"
BB, "Sun dries up Water."
Dick, "and Thunderstorm blocks out the Sun."
Raven, "I'm out."
BB, "me too.""
Starfire, "I wish to…. Go the fish?"
Raven, Rose and BB lean over to check her cards.
BB, "uh, you want to fold, Starfire."
Starfire, "fold? That is good? I am victorious?"
The others shake their heads; BB's ears droop as well. As they lean away, a small drop of sweat pops out on Starfire's temple and a very uneasy look comes over her face. Finally, she lays her cards face down on the table and hangs her head.
Blackfire, "work on your card skills sis."
Dick, "sorry, Star. stands and reaches to sweep up the cards I guess I'm just…. Invincible!"
Vic reaches into view and stops him.
Vic, "ah, ah, ah. How can you be invincible if I've still got one card?"
He holds it up, faced toward himself. Dick is grimacing and lowering his brows.
Vic, "come on, Dick. You know you want to play me for it. One last round, winner takes all."
Dick, "you're on, Vic, and you're going down!"
He sits and picks up his cards, scrutinizing them as if he were playing a five-card draw with his life savings in the pot. One eyebrow pops up and down behind the hand; he glares across the table at Vic, who flicks that single card teasingly back and forth. The two stare each other down for a few seconds before Dick makes his play. The card he throws down shows a funnel cloud; he leans back confidently in his chair.
Dick, "tornado! Beat that!"
Everyone goes, "ooooh!"
Vic has his best poker face firmly established, but he breaks the stoicism with a casual shrug.
Vic, "well, okay."
He raises his card.
Vic, "boo-yah!"
He slams the card down on the pile, and when he removes his hand, the card's face is revealed as a flaming meteor. The others gasp, their eyes popping even wider, and Dick leans over the table.
Dick, "Meteor?!"
BB's eyes shine and tear up, "the one-in-a-million wild card that beats all others", he wipes his eye, "ohhh…. It's too beautiful for words."
Vic, "aw, yeah, baby", he rakes in his cards, "who's invincible now?"
Dick is positively steaming at this super-trump play; little black flames shoot from his hair.
Starfire, "be proud and cheerful, Dick. You competed well."
Raven, "winning isn't everything."
Dick stops steaming.
Dick, "yeah…. It's just the only thing that matters", he pounds the table; the others back off, "I want a rematch!"
Vic, "um…. I don't know how to tell you this, man, but…. You're outta cards."
Dick, "Beast Boy, gimme your cards."
BB shows his hands empty, "uh…."
There is a sudden white flash; when it clears, Dick and BB have vanished entirely.
Vic, "huh?"
Another flash, and he is gone as well, leaving only the heap of pasteboards lying before his chair.
Jack, "what the-"
Suddenly, in another flash of white, he and Bryan vanish as well!
Rose, Blackfire, Starfire and Raven are still in their seats and very puzzled.
Starfire, "this is part of the game?"
Raven, "uh…."
Terra suddenly walks into the room and asks, "what'd I miss?"
….
We see inside a large domed structure. Balconies and halls can be seen, and the windows and glass paneling tell that it is nighttime in this place. A sudden flash leaves the five boys standing here and very confused; another one rips through, and suddenly, they are not alone. Joining them, just as flummoxed, are Gizmo and Aqualad, along with three other teenage males.
One is human, with short red-blond hair, a mask similar to Dick's, a sleeveless, dark red tunic marked with an S over the heart, matching wrist guards and pants, a yellow belt, and a quiver of arrows slung on his back; this is Speedy.
Another wears a black outfit trimmed with red, and his skin appears to be transparent and filled with fire; this is Hot Spot.
The last is Wildebeest; very tall, muscular, broad-shouldered, with the head of the creature for which he is named, armor visible beneath his outer garments.
A booming male voice startles all ten of the new arrivals.
Voice, "welcome, champions all!"
They look toward the source. They all turn to see a powerfully built humanoid figure, standing atop a dais that is at least fifty feet tall with steps running up to it. At this distance, gold bands can be seen at his biceps, wrists, and shins, as well as a loincloth-like garment similar to that worn by Roman soldiers. The chest and face are gray, while the arms and legs are white.
Master, "I am the Master of Games!"
White fur runs down the sides of the face and chest and covers the limbs. The exposed skin is gray, and the scalp sports short black stubble. A gold belt is in evidence, as is a necklace with a large red jewel.
Master, "and you are hereby invited to compete in the Tournament of Heroes!"
The heroes all look at one another in confusion.
Master, "the Tournament of Heroes. A friendly competition between the world's greatest young champions."
The jewel around his neck glows white; its radiance suddenly fills the area as he announces the heroes.
"Nightwing: the combat-equipped, kung-fu-trained one-man army, trained by Batman himself!"
"Hot Spot: a human flamethrower with a fiery temper to match."
"Zivel: the master of all four elements, and trained as such."
"Cyborg: the high-tech teen fighting machine."
"Aqualad: a water-breathing telepath with mastery over surf and sea."
"Wildebeest: four hundred pounds of primal heroic fury."
"The Winter Soldier: cybernetically enhanced super soldier, and master of any firearm he comes across!"
"Gizmo: the nasty little boy…. With the really big brain."
"Beast Boy: a quick-witted changeling…. Who can turn into any animal."
"And Speedy: the agile archer with an unstoppable arsenal of energy arrows."
A white flash washes over the area and clears to show the Master addressing the ten heroes.
Master, "ten brave and worthy champions, but only one shall win."
BB, "so…. Does the winner get some kind of really cool prize, like…. Maybe…. Oh, I don't know…. A moped?"
Bryan, "screw a moped. Give me some cash and I'll be fine."
Master, "I have no moped. But rest assured. When the Tournament is complete, there will be magnificent prizes. And, of course, the winner shall prove that he is the greatest young hero on Earth."
Jack gives an inquisitive look. If he wanted the greatest hero on Earth, he could do a lot better than them.
Master, "however, any who do not wish to compete need only say the word….", his jewel glows, "... and I shall return you home at once."
There is a quick, sotto-voce discussion of this offer, after which Dick steps forward.
Dick, "looks like we're in, all of us."
Master, "the challenge is accepted. The Tournament begins! Prepare for competition!"
His jewel glows again, followed by a huge white flash that clears to show him gone from his perch. All are more than a bit confused at the sudden exit. BB and Aqualad trade a high five and shake hands.
BB, "aquadude! What's up? Ready to watch me claim all those prizes?"
Aqualad, "no. But after I win, I promise to let you have my autograph."
Vic gestures at Gizmo.
Vic, "hey, what's he doing here? He's no hero! I thought this was a Tournament of-"
Gizmo, "what's the matter, Robo-Wimp? Afraid I'll kick your stinking can?"
Vic gets in his face.
Jack muttered, "I've said this before, And I'll say it again, Gizmo needs better insults."
Vic, "just try it!"
Red sparks and beams between his implanted eye and Gizmo's natural ones. Hot Spot sniffs the air disgustedly.
Hot Spot, "what's that sme-"
Wildebeest, nearby, glares down at him.
Hot Spot, "oh."
He chuckles nervously, but a menacing snort cuts it off and makes a drop of sweat pop out on his temple.
Speedy and Dick, who say nothing right away as they circle and give each other a slightly hairy eyeball. Dick breaks the standoff by extending a hand to shake.
Dick, "Speedy. I've heard you're good from what Green Arrow said, real good."
Speedy shakes Dick's hand.
Speedy, "NightWing. Likewise. Great to finally meet the guy who Batman trained."
Dick points at his quiver and asks, "so, what are those arrows made of?"
The bowman pulls one out and holds it forth for Dick to gaze eagerly.
Speedy, "polarized matrices of high-energy electrons."
Dick, "right", he pulls a disc from his belt, "same technology packs the punch in my electric discs. How do you overcome the quantum-entanglement problem?"
Vic is watching the exchange; BB pops up next to him, as do Jack and Bryan.
Speedy, "borrowed some time on a prototype accelerator and generated enough positrons to slow down the reaction so that…."
BB, "whoa, dude. Never knew Dick had a clone."
Bryan, "both were young men trained by billionaires who fight crime in a specific theme. So the comparison you made makes sense."
Master, "Champions! Round One! Face your opponents!"
A flash, and all of them vanish.
...
Master, "Cyborg versus Gizmo!
We zoom in slightly on one large platform as two lightning bolts strike it and clear to leave the two standing there. Gizmo hovers above its surface with the help of his metal wings and stares down Vic.
….
Master, "Beast Boy versus Wildebeest!
Mow we see a collection of large steel cages suspended from chains. Zoom in on one of them; the two combatants are blasted into it, and BB looks nervously at the grid of metal bars at his back. Wildebeest charges straight at him from the opposite corner.
….
Master, "Speedy versus Aqualad!"
Now the area has changed to show a large circle of flat stones floating on water. Speedy appears on one of them and looks around, bow in hand; there is a flash that forces him to shield his eyes, and we pull back to show a patch of bubbles rising from underwater. Aqualad's head breaks the surface, throwing a bit of a scare into the archer for a moment.
….
Master, "Zivel vs The Winter Soldier!"
The brothers found themselves standing atop a large podium sitting in a jungle, with a large body of water surrounding it.
…
Master, "NightWing versus Hot Spot!
They are in a large pipeline, eyeing each other across several yards. Dick throws a few punches at the air to limber up and ends with a backward jump that leaves him ready for action. Hot Spot extends short jets of flame from his arms.
Master, "let the contest begin!"
The teen torch projects a fire stream at NightWing, who stops it by pivoting away from the flames and then charges. Hot Spot takes a kick, flips backward, and spews flame from both arms to act as a rocket engine, propelling him at high speed toward Dick. The latter brings out his fighting staff and twirls it like an airplane propeller, and Hot Spot counters by flipping into an upside-down spin. A sheet of fire pours from arms at ground level, his legs twirl like a high-speed flail at head level, and Dick has his hands full trying to block both with his staff.
He is finally driven backward a few steps. Rising to the tunnel ceiling, Hot Spot gathers his strength and hurls a large fireball downward; Dick darts away and just avoids the huge explosion that occurs when the shot hits his former location.
….
Even though the contest had begun, Jack and Bryan stayed standing across from one another.
Master, "um, the contest has begun?"
Jack, "we know…. But I refuse to fight my brother."
Master, "excuse me?"
Bryan, "same here. I don't care what the prizes are, I'm NOT fighting my brother for anything!"
Master, "but, the whole point of this game is to fight one another for a chance at the glorious prizes!"
Jack, "we know, and we don't care. We're family, we don't fight one another!"
Master, "sigh, very well. Since you refuse to fight, you will be sent back home…."
Suddenly, both brothers vanished in puffs of smoke!
….
When the area clears, we are back among the floating platforms. Vic jumps from one to the next and barely stays ahead of the laser shots coming from the airborne Gizmo. He returns fire, is greeted with another barrage, and hops to another platform.
Gizmo, "what's wrong, barf-brain? Feeling jumpy?"
Vic, "seriously, get better at insulting people!"
….
Speedy leapfrogs from one stone to the next, but Aqualad swims alongside and keeps pace easily. The two stop and face off at a short distance; as the Atlantean charges and Speedy readies his bow, the latter's perch rises as a tall column. Aqualad runs smack into it and tumbles backward. Now several yards up, Speedy flips him a taunting salute, and the other platforms rise in the same fashion. Once Aqualad resurfaces, the young archer knocks a glowing arrow; the target's eyes pop as a drop of sweat rolls down, the string twangs, and he quickly ducks under again. The arrow splashes in after him and explodes.
The water-dwelling fighter swerves every way he can to avoid a rain of arrows, which Speedy is shooting off in every direction with machine-gun speed. Grinning, he brings out yet another one, the head glowing blue-white, and chuckles as sparks crackle from it. He pivots slowly to keep Aqualad in his sights, then lets it go. This arrow hits the water. A flicker of light from its location draws Aqualad's attention, followed by a great flash and energy discharge that leaves him paralyzed and yelling in pain.
Speedy sits on the edge of his perch and laughs exuberantly, arms and legs flailing every which way, and does not immediately notice when the water begins to swirl into huge waves. He stops laughing and looks down just in time to see a broad shaft of liquid shoot up in front of him; the opponent rises within it and delivers an uppercut that lifts Speedy off his feet and the column.
….
A flash, and the view has shifted to the cage that holds BB and Wildebeest. The giant thunders at the green Titan, who becomes a vampire bat and flaps away from the corner. When Wildebeest hits the wall, the momentum of his rush sets the entire cage swinging. BB makes a break for an opening between the bars, but an invisible force field stops him from escaping this way. As Wildebeest runs at him again, he transforms into a boa constrictor and wraps himself around the giant body. Both topple to the floor.
The cage swings back and forth a couple of times, during which the giant green snake becomes a gorilla and grapples with his foe. Wildebeest breaks the hold, forcing BB back to the wall to set the enclosure in motion once more, and charges straight in. This time, there is no sidestep and the big ape is smashed halfway out through the steel bars, breaking some of them. In a trice, BB has become a skunk, put himself between those huge feet, and cocked his tail. The horrid stench fills Wildebeest's nostrils and makes him recoil.
….
A flash, and the scene has shifted to the pipeline. Dick runs from the flying Hot Spot, who soon stops in midair and sends a broad stream of fire at him. The one-man army races along, nearing the end of the pipe, but a barricade pops up in front of him and he nearly breaks his nose on it. Others follow suit, so that he is forced to go around and over them while dodging the burning shots that hurtle down after him. He gets clear with a huge leap and scales a disc back at Hot Spot, who has touched down. It explodes against his raised arms in a cloud of smoke, which clears to show a very surprised face above them, and Dick, charging in to throw a punch that knocks Hot Spot silly.
….
Back at the floating platforms. Vic drops onto one of them, gets his cannon ready to fire, and tries to get a lock on Gizmo as he buzzes past. Instead of shooting, though, the big man grabs hold of those metal wings and digs in all ten fingers.
Gizmo, "let me go!"
Vic rips the wings away, leaving Gizmo to tumble through the air. Out come the four spider legs, one of which lands a big roundhouse lash against the jaw. Vic goes over the edge and crashes down onto a lower platform; in no time flat, Gizmo has jumped after him and planted those four legs to hem him in. Two of them come down to impale the bionic Titan, but he seizes them just short of his face and strains to push them away.
Gizmo, "still think I don't belong in your pit-sniffing Tournament?"
A missile launcher pops up on his back.
Vic, "yeah! And it's about time somebody gave you the boot!"
He raises one foot. A panel slides away on the sole to reveal a small blaster. Gizmo's eyes go very wide at the sight.
Gizmo, "huh?""
The weapon discharges, wrecking the metal legs and sending him screaming up into space. He plummets back to the platform only to be caught by the collar of his jumpsuit in one hand. Vic reaches into view with his free hand and tears his control panel away, and he tosses it aside.
Master, "Winner…. Cyborg!"
The loser grumbles angrily to himself for a second before vanishing in a flash of light and smoke.
Vic has a rather bemused face.
….
Back to Aqualad and Speedy, struggling at the edge of the water shaft that erupted up from the surface. The fluid starts to work its way along the black-and-blue forearms and envelop Speedy's head, Aqualad is trying to drown him, but he gets one hand free, grabs an arrow from the quiver, and thrusts its point into the water next to his opponent. Everything freezes solid in seconds, trapping Aqualad in place and allowing Speedy to slide out of his grip. The bowman stands up, a bit of frost still covering his face; tilt up to show that Aqualad is now encrusted as well. Next to him, the ice cracks a bit.
Master, "Winner…. Speedy!"
He leans toward the frozen mass to touch the hero trapped within it, but as he does so, there is a flash and Aqualad is gone.
….
Another flash shows Dick directing a flying kick at the camera; pull back to show him delivering a healthy thrashing to Hot Spot. The final blow dumps the firestarter on his back.
Dick lands and straightens up triumphantly.
Master, "Winner…. NightWing!"
A flash marks the removal of the defeated fighter and puts a surprised look on Dick's face.
….
In the cage, Wildebeest has both hands clamped over his nose and copious tears still running from his eyes due to BB's skunk attack. He uncovers his face and his eyes go wide; pull back to show that he is now facing a green lion that charges at him. Though Wildebeest is able to get both arms wrapped around the jungle cat, it transforms into a crocodile, then a bear, then a rhinoceros, then an elephant. The big fellow stays in control and manages to sling the pachyderm, but his eyes soon pop again as he looks across the cage. BB, who becomes a tyrannosaurus rex and roars with enough intensity to set the cage vibrating.
His weight is more than the bars can bear, and the entire bottom of the cage breaks out to drop him into space. BB reverts to human form in stages and flails his arms and legs in midair with a frantic yell before a lightning bolt transports him away.
We see Wildebeest, still in the cage, who plastered himself up against the corner, feet on the stubs of the floor bars.
Master, "Winner…. Wildebeest!"
….
Back to the domed chamber. A flash deposits the four victors here.
Dick, "Speedy! Alright, you won!"
Vic, "but Beast Boy didn't. And where's Zivel and Winter Soldier?"
A flash, and the Master is back on his dais.
Master, "well played, young champions. You have survived Round One."
Dick steps up.
Dick, "survived? What happened to the losers?"
Vic steps up.
Vic, "yeah, where's our friends?"
Master, "peace, heroes. 'Survived', is merely an expression. Beast Boy and the other losers have been returned home safely. Zivel and Winter Soldier were sent home because they refused to fight one another."
Dick nods to Vic, who is uneasy.
Master, "but think not of the vanquished, my champions. Now you must rest, for tomorrow you face…. Round Two!"
A flash takes all four heroes out of the chamber.
Master, "oh, what a marvelous game. No matter who is victorious….", his jewel flickers, then glows brightly, "... I win all the prizes!"
Muffled, panicked voices make themselves heard within; the eliminated competitors are trapped inside, rather than back home as he said!
….
Reviews:
pokemonking0924: glad you liked the chapter so much. And yep, Winner Takes All is next. And I planned on having Jsssica Cruz make a cameo next chapter. Although I didn't have Jack and Bryan fight, since I hate pitting siblings against one another.
Canadude2029: thanks. And yeah, things are gonna go crazy soon...
DaV1nc136: so glad you enjoyed the chapter and are so excited for more.
Ushindi: yep indeed. 1. Love Batman. 2. That's a long list. Joker is probably at the top. 3. A few villains will have become heroes in this AU. Just wait and see.
Bailey Radcliff: well, glad you enjoyed the chapter. Not sure when the Scooby Doo story will be made, but hopefully soon.
….
Sorry Jack and Bryan didn't get to fight too much in this chapter. I just thought it was a good idea to show how close they are to one another by having them refuse to battle one another willingly.
