My Riddles Three

I do not own Teen Titans. I do not own Teen Titans. Obviously I don't own Teen Titans. If I owned Teen Titans it would not be made for kids. It would be made for teenagers who don't have enough money to buy gas for their car so they can go clubbing each night.

~~~~~~~~~

"I do not have time for this foolishness," Raven said coldly. "If you plan to attack me- do so. But if my friends are in danger, I must go them," Raven said.

"You cannot leave," the Sphinx said and Raven found it was so- she could hardly move at all. She glared down at the Sphinx, who sneered cheerfully back up at her. "Now, come down here," and Raven could not help but obey, "and listen to me."


"I have no choice," Raven sneered.

"You have two choices. One- to answer my riddles correctly, and go free. Two- to answer my riddles incorrectly. Then I shall probably eat you," the Sphinx said with a broad, yellow smile.

Raven's eyes burned helplessly under her hood- she could not *move*, and she definitely couldn't attack! "And if I choose the third choice?"

The Sphinx's vile grin widened. "Then, I eat you."


"Ask your riddles," Raven snapped.

The Sphinx nodded, and settled back to a sitting position. Raven felt her body drift lazily to hover directly in front of the Sphinx, who peered at her in amusement. "Very well, girl, then ask I shall. This is the first…

"Everyone wants it

Yet it belongs to a few

Fewer still can use it

Harm comes to those who do,"

The Sphinx stared at Raven in amusement. "So tell me… what is it?"

~~~~~

Starfire took to the sky to avoid the charge of the creatures- the Gargoyle launched off of the ground after her. With a cry of dismay, the orange alien rocketed upwards- the Obsidian monster followed much more gracelessly, its heavy stone wings dragging its body through the air. Starfire threw a handful of green energy at the monster- her attack slid harmlessly off of its body, slipping over the shiny black stone. Starfire turned and fled higher as the Obsidian Gargoyle approached, reaching for her with jagged rock claws.

Robin leapt straight for the Manticora, leaping past the monster's shaggy red mane. The Boy Wonder felt the rush of wind from the Manticora's tail as the monster attempted to strike him- but Robin was, at least for the moment, faster than the lion-like monster. Robin threw a small explosive device onto the Manticora's back- the explosion sent a small cloud of blood red fur rocketing into the air, scorched off of the Manticora's back.

Faster than Robin would have thought such a large beast could move, the Manticora had flipped around, and one enormous paw swung at the much smaller human. Robin ducked aside- the razor-sharp tips of the creature's claws ripped thin trails of cloth out of his shirt.

The Manticora laughed, and laughed even harder at Robin's even glare. "What's the matter, boy- did I tear your favorite shirt?"

Robin pointed down at the ground between the Manticora's feet. Slightly perturbed, the Manticora glanced down- at the small metal disk Robin had *also* dropped at his feet. "It wasn't my favorite shirt," Robin said. The explosive device exploded, enveloping the Manticora in a cloud of smoke.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was battling with the Hydra. The snake's breath stank, making Cyborg gag even through his metal filters. And nothing he tried against the disgusting snake seemed to work. His powerful hands grabbed one hissing head after the other- and pulled them out of the snake's body whole. He dropped the still-hissing heads underfoot- only to find two more pushing towards him.

So far the Hydra's teeth had been unable to penetrate his armor. But its poisonous breath had to have some sort of corrosive effect on his metal- and it wasn't doing anything for his skin. It wouldn't be long before either his metal body-plating started rusting or the Hydra found his soft, tasty skin. What he was doing now wasn't working.

Cyborg jumped back out of range, and lowered his arm, pointing his sonic cannon at the Hydra's amphibious body. "Here's a breath mint for ya!" He shouted, and blasted the Hydra full in the chest.

The Hydra was split apart, half of it sliding one way, the other half flopping to the ground. Acid slime oozed from its ruined halves, eating into the concrete.

"Guess I showed that guy," Cyborg began, and turned to assist Robin with the Manticora.

Something slimy and wet wrapped around his leg. Cyborg turned around with a cry of disgust- only to see that there were now *two* Hydras slithering towards him, heads hissing with as much single-minded hate as before.

That left Beast Boy with the Basilisk. And he was not at all happy.

"Oh geez oh geez oh geez!" he muttered, using all of the animal forms he could think of to stay clear of the Basilisk's gaze. It had to look at him head- on… had to have eye contact- and he was not going to give it a chance to do that!

The only way he could keep track of the Basilisk, without seeing it, was to listen for its distinctive sounds. Its bone-rattling hiss. The sound of its diseased-colored blue-grey scales scraping against the concrete. Luckily, since the Basilisk could not be looked at, it had provided its potential prey with plenty of things to listen for!

 The Basilisk's breath was suddenly hot on his neck. With an 'eep', Beast Boy transformed into a mouse, scuttling into the safety of a slight overhang on the curb. The Basilisk's head struck once, twice, at the concrete, before pulling back, and slowly approaching. Beast Boy shut his eyes as tight as he could as the mighty serpent's eyes drew level to the curb.

"Oh man oh man!" he thought to himself. "What am I going to do?"

~~~~~

Raven stared evenly at the Sphinx. "You are supposed to be a master of riddles, creature," she said evenly. "This riddle is much too easy."

"Is it then? You have not yet answered it. Why not tell me the answer and we shall see just how 'easy' it is," the Sphinx growled quietly.

Raven slowly nodded, her narrowed eyes staring at the Sphinx's own. "Everyone wants to rule, yet few can. Those who can learn to rule have been known to do so badly. 'It' ruins reputations, slaughters innocents, and unjustly imprisons the just," at this the Sphinx sneered, "when abused or used incorrectly. Your answer is simple. Your answer is 'power'."  

~~End part 2~~