Black and White

by Legend Maker

It all begins here. The Titans will meet a new metahuman who will join them, and mark a beginning to their greatest challenges, triumphs, and tragedies. For while youth is fleeting, heroism is forever.

15. Aberration: Food Chain

Chapter 15: Food Chain

"Ok, first rule of thumb, don't panic. We need to be calm. Calm calm calm…" Robin said as he walked down the hallway.

"Robin you're stepping on my heels and knocking my boots off!" Starfire complained.

"We can always get more boots, come ON!" Robin said, as he pawed at his utility belt, trying to find the freeze discs.

The Titans were carefully looking around their tower after Impulse had shown them the melted hole. Cyborg had broken out a motion detector, and was using it to see if anything was heading towards the Titans. So far, nothing They hadn't even found any more melted holes. So the search continued.

At least until they found Beast Boy's room. A hole had been melted in the wall, and there wasn't any clothing left. The massive piles of laundry Beast Boy always had lying around were gone. Beast Boy was more puzzled then alarmed, at least until Robin pointed out that Beast Boy had been the last one to touch Aberration and hence it may have wanted to eat him first, and had eaten his clothes because they had his scent. Beast Boy's confusion turned to worry.

"Robin, let me run. I can check this whole building in two seconds." Impulse said.

"No Impulse. We have no idea what Aberration has turned into. He could be emitting poison gasses or acids or, hell, maybe even an anti-Speed Force field. We stay together. If we split up, we could be picked off."

"That reminds me Robin…I need to get something…" Savior said.

"Do it later!"

"But…"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The sudden yell nearly made the Titans rip apart the nearest wall. All except for Cyborg, who was the one yelling. He was standing in the door of his room, looking horrified.

"What? Is he in there?" Robin said, running over.

"No! But it was! It ate my TV! And my DVD player!" Cyborg said, pointing at the two holes melted in the walls of his room and the place where his entertainment center once was.

"Guess it still likes electronics." Impulse said.

"My DVD player! I had a rental movie in that!" Cyborg wailed.

"Man, think of the late fees." Beast Boy said.

"Guys!" Savior yelled, getting his comrade's attention. "This isn't working! This creature came here because it wanted US for some reason. I say we make it come TO us."

"Like how?" Robin asked.

"You're the leader. You want to give us an idea?" Savior asked.

"Let's hear yours first Noel."

"Ok. Everyone back to the lounge! We seal up the doors and wait for Aberration to arrive, and then we kill it! Simple ideas are the best! Let's go! Raven, I need your teleportation powers to retrieve something, ok?"

"Uh, sure." Raven said. Savior stepped up to Raven and then darkness enveloped the two as they vanished into the shadows beneath them.

"Well Robin?" Cyborg asked.

"Let's listen to him for now." Robin said.

The group headed for the lounge, Impulse scouting ahead to make sure there were no ambushes. By the time they had arrived Raven and Savior were already there, with a large metal crate.

"See anything?" Savior asked.

"No. You?"

"No. Ok guys, lock and seal all the doors. We sit here and we wait. And we it arrives, we blow it away." Savior said.

"With what?"

"With THESE." Savior said, as he used the Shimmer to yank open the crate.

The Titans looked into the crate. Guns.

"Where did you get these?" Robin asked.

"Ordered them from the military. Your friend Oracle helped." Savior said as he withdrew a machine gun and cocked it.

"Why did you buy guns?"

"Remember how I suggested firearms in the meeting? Well, I had the idea that we may need them long before Aberration showed up. Looked like I guessed right." Savior said, as he pulled out an M16 heavy machinegun and handed it to Cyborg.

"Uh…" Cyborg said.

"You're the heaviest, you can handle the kick of that best. Just point it at whatever you want to die and pull the trigger." Savior said. "Ok Robin what do you wan…"

Savior looked back as Robin pulled an Ingram MAC out of the box, loaded it, and armed it within two seconds.

"You know how to fire a gun?"

"Batman taught me."

"WHAT? That's INSANE! He's BATMAN. He values the sanctity of human life above everything else! Why would he teach you how to use a gun? He HATES guns." Savior said incredulously.

"You're right. He does hate guns. But he doesn't FEAR them. And he feels that any weapon the scum of the night might use on us should be learned so that we can use it against them if it came to that. We even practiced throwing them." Robin said as he pulled a spare clip of ammo out and stuck it in his utility belt.

"Gimme gimme!" Beast Boy said.

"Ok here Gar." Savior said, handing Beast Boy a Colt 45.

Beast Boy looked unhappy.

"What?"

"That's it?"

"Beast Boy, you're really small. Unless you have the weight behind it you won't hit anything with heavier guns…" Savior trailed off, as Beast Boy had now turned into a big gorilla.

Beast Boy glared at Savior.

"You think your fingers in that form will suffice?" Savior asked.

Beast Boy ignored Savior, as he reached into the box and pulled out an MP5, and then another. His huge hands were actually quite dexterous.

"Man, you're channeling Grodd there Beast Boy." Impulse said.

"You want a gun Impulse?" Savior asked.

"Nah. Ain't my style."

"Ok then. Starfire, you say you can't use guns?"

"I have had warrior training on my home planet but even with that my knowledge of Earth firearms is very limited…" Starfire said.

"Ok Star. Use this." Savior said, handing her Beast Boy's discarded Colt. "Just aim and pull the trigger. Be careful, it won't just stay still in your hand, but you should be strong enough to control it."

Savior grabbed an AK-47 out of the box and began arming it for himself.

"Raven?" he asked.

"No thank you."

"Yeah, as long as you don't actually use your powers on the creature itself you should be ok." Savior said. "Cyborg, how's the doors?"

"All locked and sealed."

"Ok. Lock and Load." Savior said as he slammed a clip into his gun. "We wait here. When it shows up, we kill it. If we run out of ammo, we resort to our powers. That sound good Robin?"

"Sounds fine to me." Robin said.

Savior pushed the box out of the way, as well as the couch and a few other pieces of furniture. The Titans gathered in a group.

"Ok guys, here's my addition to the plan. When it comes for us, we shoot it until it's weakened, and then I freeze it with my discs. Sound good?" Robin asked.

"Fine."

"Great."

Starfire said something in her alien language.

"Anything yet Cyborg?"

"No movement heading this way." Cyborg said. He assumed that after eating Beast Boy's clothes and his electronics Aberration had gained more mass, and had set his motion detector to read anything larger then a dog.

"This is what I pull, right?" Starfire asked, showing Savior her gun, pointing at the trigger.

"Yes, and the things we call bullets come out of THAT." Savior said, pointing at the hole in the gun barrel.

"Hey guys, since we're not being attacked yet, shouldn't we make a back up plan? Just in case Plan A fails?" Beast Boy said.

"Good idea Gar. I just recalled something. Impulse, come over here…" Robin said. He hadn't even finished speaking and Impulse was in front of him. "Listen. I…"

"Movement! I have movement!" Cyborg said, looking at a monitor on his arm.

"Damn, Here we go." Savior said.

"Man, this is a big signal…it's about twenty meters away and closing fast…" Cyborg said.

Robin was saying something to Impulse, but none of the Titans were paying attention, as they were looking at one of the doors into the lounge. Cyborg had indicated that was the way the signal was approaching, and they were ready.

"How did you learn how to use guns Savior?" Cyborg asked.

"My father. How far?"

"12 meters."

"Ok that's right outside the door get ready! It may come through the wall!" Savior said, aiming. "And those who know how to use guns, try and use short, controlled bursts. Those who don't, well, just pull the trigger." Savior said.

The Titans spread out so that they wouldn't shoot each other, aiming their guns. Raven had some objects ready to throw.

"10 meters!" Cyborg said.

"Here we go." Robin said, and aimed.

But nothing happened. The door didn't crash open. A hole didn't melt in the wall. The room was deathly quiet.

"8 meters…7!" Cyborg said.

"Is that thing working right?" Savior said.

"Yeah it is! My gear is always in top shape! Six meters!"

"That can't be. That's inside the room." Savior said.

"Hey my meter doesn't lie! Look!" Cyborg said, waving his arm in Savior's face. "Five meters!"

"Wait…" Savior said, looking up. "Of course, THE CEILING!"

Savior aimed upward and opened fire, the quiet room suddenly filling with racket. Robin and Beast Boy joined in, while Cyborg tried to get his gun up and Starfire covered her ears from the noise.

"Wait wait STOP! WAIT!" Robin yelled. The other two stopped firing.

"Two meters." Cyborg commented.

"No blood, no screaming…it ain't in the ceiling." Robin said.

"What? But if it's not in the ceiling and not in the room then where…" Savior said.

And then the floor erupted at Savior's feet as long, spindly red arm with cruel claws erupted from the ground and grabbed at Savior's legs.

"AH! ARGH! MOTHERFUCKER!" Savior screamed, opening firing at his feet. Aberration screamed, but kept pulling as red tendrils shot up from the hole and wrapped around Noel.

"SAVIOR!" Robin yelled, as he dropped his gun and ran over, grabbing at Noel. Cyborg dropped his own gun and headed over himself, even as Noel continued to fire into the seething mass of flesh that was trying to pull him under, his white clothes being splattered with black blood.

"FUCK! FUCK YOU!" Savior yelled. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A tendril lashed out, whacking Robin across the face, and he lost his grip as the seething mass pulled Savior into the floor, his scream fading.

"NOEL!" Robin yelled.

"Oh no. NO!" Raven said, horrified.

The floor erupted again as Aberration ripped his way through it. Aberration had turned into a long, bony creature with lines of writhing flesh lashing from his back. The long, banana shaped, eyeless head ended in a mouth filled with sharp teeth, and nasty claws were at the end of its spindly arms and legs. Finally, a pointed tail lashed around, gorging holes in the floor. It was at least fifteen feet long.

"Aw man, lines and situation wasn't enough, the author had to go and rip off the creature design as well!" Impulse said.

Aberration lashed out, but he missed Impulse by the proverbial mile. Instead, its long deadly tail ripped along a wall, causing it to collapse.

"Aw man, that's the forth wall this week!" Beast Boy said.

"Look…oh no, oh no…" Starfire said, her hands going to her mouth in horror. From Aberration's fanged maw tangled the shredded remains of Noel's leather jacket.

"It…ATE him." Cyborg said.

"NO! YOU BASTARD!" Raven suddenly screamed, as she hurled pieces of furniture at Aberration. The creature wailed and turned towards Raven, opening its mouth. The torn pieces of clothing fell as the creature suddenly sprayed liquid from its maw. Raven vanished into the shadows and the liquid sprayed on the wall. It began to melt, making a loud sizzling noise.

"Acid spitting this time." Robin said, pulling at his belt for his freeze discs.

Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire finally got their bearings and began firing at Aberration. The monster screamed as bullets ripped through it, and black blood rained down on the floor, soaking the carpet.

Raven reappeared and shattered a nearby window, throwing the glass shards into the creature's head. It screamed as pieces of it was sliced off.

"Keep it up guys! I got-AHHHHH!" Robin yelled as the tail lashed out and whacked him, the freeze discs in his hands flying out and hitting the walls, coating it in ice.

"Dammit!" Cyborg said, and fired another burst into Aberration. More blood soaked the ground.

Impulse ran around, not sure what to do. If he ran through Aberration again, such a close quarters explosion could cause the group to get sprayed with whatever foul substances was in the mutation's body. He had run up and hit the creature a few times, but the mutation had seemed to shrug off the blows.

"Impulse!" Robin said. Impulse ran over to Robin.

"I wasn't careful enough and I just lost most of my freeze discs. We better put Plan B into effect. Go!"

"But…"

"JUST GO! We'll be ok! I hope…" Robin said.

Impulse hesitated, and then he was gone, running out of the room, opening, closing, and relocking the door so quickly it looked to the naked eye like it hadn't moved at all. In .000012 of a second he was out of the Tower and running away, heading for a certain destination.

Starfire's gun finally ran dry, and she looked at it in confusion.

"I guess it does not want to harm the monster any more. I did not much like it anyway." Starfire said, and dropped it. She charged up twin Starbolts and threw at Aberration, blowing more pieces off its body. The creature screamed. She hated that scream.

Beast Boy ran out of firepower as well. He dropped the guns and turned into a rhinoceros, ramming into Aberation's side and smashing it through a wall before his horn ripped a good chunk out of its side. Now they were in the training room. The creature spat at Beast Boy, but he turned into a cat and dodged the spraying acid.

Cyborg followed, firing the last of his bullets into the badly wounded creature. The creature screamed again, as more black blood rained down on the floor.

And started sizzling. Cyborg's eyes widened.

"Aw crap. Now it's blood is turning acidic too!"

"You're surprised?" Beast Boy said.

"Not really."

Robin leapt into the room, using a Birdarang to shear more of Aberration's body off. The creature yelled and charged, and the males scattered as its claws ripped huge swaths out of the wall. Starfire flew it and blew it across the room with two more Starbolts, and then Raven flew it with the fridge floating behind her.

"You'll pay for what you did to Noel." She hissed, and threw the fridge, ramming it into the creature. She continued to push, shoving the creature across the room and…

"NO RAVEN THAT'S WHERE THE…!" Robin yelled.

The creature rammed against the wall, its now acidic blood spraying out across the wall…

"SAUNA IS!"

Pipes in the wall suddenly exploded as the acid breached it, and Aberration was bombarded by steam. It wailed, but this time it wasn't in pain.

"Noel said it best. Another trucking skit." Starfire said.

"Maybe that sauna wasn't the best idea…" Robin said, as the pipes that had kept the room hot had now allowed Aberration to get one of its favorite things: heat.

And it showed, as Aberration's legs suddenly split open, turning from four to eight to eleven as its rear ended bulged out and grew fat. Its head narrowed and flattened into its body, and a new maw of razor teeth opened, of all places, on its back. Aberration had become a spider-like creature.

It hissed at them.

Raven smiled coldly, and then stepped aside as all the knives she had gotten from the kitchen flew from the hole the Titans had come into the room with, and into Aberration's body. It started screaming in pain again.

Aberration swiped at the Titans with its long, sharpened legs, and they scattered. Cyborg armed his sonic cannon and fired even as Starfire threw more Starbolts. The creature was torn open more, and it screamed. However, it seemed to have lost its acidic blood. That was one small favour its new mutation had granted.

But Aberration had new, nastier tricks, as it spun around. Due to its spider-like form, Robin had expected some kind of web attack. Instead, Aberration fired, of all things, bony knives out of its rear (now there was an idea he didn't want to ponder in terms of whatever inspired it). Robin ducked as the wall behind him got riddled.

"Now THAT'S bad diarrhea." Beast Boy said, wondering what form he should choose, as Raven grabbed the weights from the floor of the training room and threw them at Aberration, and then ripped a punching bag out of the ceiling and threw that at Aberration as well. Aberration swiped at Raven with a leg, but she dodged by disappearing into the shadows.

Suddenly, Aberration made an abrupt turn away from the Titans, looking at a bare wall.

"What the…" Robin said.

Aberration opened the mouth that had been in its proper head.

And then Raven appeared out of the shadows, right where Aberration was facing. Her eyes went wide in horror.

Somehow it had known.

And it stuck, as a glob of what looked like flesh and yet somewhat like spider webbing shot out of its mouth and struck Raven. She didn't even get a chance to scream as the gunk wrapped around her and yanked her back.

"NO!" Robin yelled, but his leap to save Raven was foiled as one of Aberration's legs whacked him into a wall. Aberration drew the Raven bundle in and swallowed it, Raven disappearing into its maw just as Savior had.

"NO! STOP ITTTTTTTTT!" Starfire screamed, barraging Aberration with Starbolts. Cyborg roared his own rage as he picked up a chunk of wall and threw it at Aberration, and Beast Boy turned into a Utahraptor, a larger relative of the velociraptor, and leapt into Aberration's back, snarling and ripping into the creature with the long claws on his feet, being careful to avoid the gaping Sarlacc-like mouth that had opened on Aberration's back when it had mutated from the heat. Aberration screamed, twisting to try and get Beast Boy off its back. Beast Boy leapt off and turned into a T-Rex, grabbing one of Aberration's spider legs and ripping it off in a spray of gore. Starfire blew two more off with Starbolts, and Cyborg leapt and landed on the creature's head with all the momentum he could muster, driving it to its metaphorical knees.

Robin then struck, throwing the last two freeze discs he had. They exploded on the creature and it was swiftly covered in ice.

Robin landed, as the other Titans went over to him.

"Shall we shatter it?" Cyborg said.

"No, Raven and Savior might still be alive…" Robin said, not wanting to think of the alternative.

With a scream, the ice shattered, and Aberration lashed out with a leg, knocking the Titans away like rag dolls. Robin flipped, bounced off the wall, and landed on his feet.

"Damn, not enough ice!" Robin cursed.

"What do we do now?" Beast Boy said.

Robin pulled out twin Birdarangs.

"Rip it into so many pieces it can't grow back!" Robin yelled, and threw the Birdarangs at Aberration. It tore through the body, and the creature shrieked and spat another line of flesh-webbing at Robin. Robin leapt away, using his fighting staff as a pole vault. Aberration shrieked and charged at Robin, and Robin pulled out his grappling hook and fired it, swinging away…

Until Aberration somehow spat another dagger of bone out of its body. Looking back, Cyborg and Beast Boy really had no idea where the projectile had been fired from or HOW it had been fired, but with Aberration's constant mutating nature, how it did anything was a question.

But it fired it, and its aim was true as it sliced through Robin's line and sent him falling.

"ROBIN!" Starfire yelled, flying to help her love. But Aberration got her with one of its legs again, and she was smacked aside, the limb pinning her to the wall as Robin fell…

Right onto the mouth on Aberration's back. His yell of shock and horror was swallowed much like Robin was, disappearing into Aberration.

"It's just picking us off one by one…" Beast Boy whispered, not sure what to do.

And then Starfire's scream filled the room as she grabbed Aberration's leg and ripped it off, freeing herself from its grip. The creature stumbled as it suddenly lost a limb.

Starfire screamed something Beast Boy and Cyborg couldn't make out (later explained to be in her native language) and raised her hands above her head, forming a huge Starbolt the size of a car.

"Oh matriarch fornicating feces." Beast Boy said.

Starfire threw the bolt.

Aberration screamed.

And then it exploded as the bolt struck it, blowing flesh everywhere. The entire room was covered in flesh and blood (which was now green for some reason). Starfire lowered, breathing heavily as rage still coursed through her.

The smoke cleared, revealing a massive mound of flesh that had one leg sticking out of it and not much else to identify it as the body Aberration had had a moment ago. Starfire had blasted it into nothing more then a massive mound of tissue.

"Great. Now what do we do?" Cyborg said.

"What did Robin say earlier…" Beast Boy said.

Something stirred from the mound, and the remaining Titans tensed.

Part of the body slid off the mound and onto the floor. Gurgling, it grew upward, and eventually stopped at six feet as it grew arms and legs.

"It's…humanoid." Beast Boy said.

The flesh had indeed formed into a human-like shape, including hands and head. However, it was creepily featureless, if someone had made a human out of clay. Still, even without a face, it seemed to be looking at the Titans.

Then it raised its hands.

And then ropes of flesh shot out of its palms at the Titans. They scattered as the ropes shot past them slamming into the wall behind them.

Beast Boy turned into a monkey and leapt away as the ropes lashed at him and his comrades, tearing along the walls and floor.

"That's…the Shimmer!" Beast Boy said.

"Dammit! The bastard couldn't just eat Noel, it had to steal his powers!" Cyborg cursed, trying to get his heavy body out of the way of the ropes.

Starfire flew in, still angry, and fired a Starbolt. The creature showed amazing agility as it flipped to the side, dodging. Starfire fired more Starbolts, but Aberration dodged every one.

And Starfire realized why, as she recognized the dodging moves. They were Robin's.

Aberration lanced his Flesh-Shimmers (Flimmers?) at Starfire and she went into her own dodging moves.

At least until the floating fridge slammed into her, throwing her against a wall. Raven's powers.

"This is bad. But I'll do it anyway!" Cyborg said as he charged at Aberration.

The Flimmer lashed out, smashing him aside. A second later, Beast Boy leapt at Aberration in the form of a tiger. Aberration grabbed him and threw him over him easily. Beast Boy landed and rolled, groaning.

"How…can…"

And then he saw something. A line of red running along the ground. No, not just a line, a tendril of flesh.

Starfire was attacking again, and Aberration was busy defending itself as Beast Boy's eyes followed the line. One end went into Aberration's ankle, and the other went into the mass of discarded flesh that had once composed Aberration's spider body.

Later, Beast Boy would wonder why he didn't just cut the line immediately, but he was curious, and with a sudden hunch he couldn't ignore, he turned into a pig and walked over to the mass of flesh, sniffing.

Yes. Despite Aberration's terrible, overpowering stench, there was a familiar undertone of scents. Scents his friends possessed. Beast Boy turned back into the tiger and began clawing at the discarded flesh.

He found what he had suspected several seconds later.

"Yes!" he said as he found the pods. They were an ugly grey colour and had been hidden in the discarded flesh, and within them, floating in liquid, were the Titans Aberration had eaten. When Starfire had blown his body apart Aberration had been unable to create a new form that could carry the pods, but his new form remained connected to them, allowing him to use their powers.

Well, no more, as Beast Boy tried to rip open the pod that contained Savior.

To his surprise, the pod's outer layer was a lot tougher then it looked. No wonder Savior and the others had been unharmed after they had been eaten, even after all the damage the Titans had inflicted on Aberration.

Cyborg's yelling interrupted Beast Boy's efforts to free his comrades, and he looked up to see Aberration holding Cyborg over him with his Flimmers, trying to rip him apart. Growling, Beast Boy forgot about the pods and did what he should have done immediately: he leapt and brought his claws down on the tendril that connected Aberration to the pods.

It severed, as Aberration screamed. His body suddenly went into what looked like an epileptic fit, as he dropped Cyborg. Cyborg landed, smirked, and then hit Aberration in the "face" as hard as he could, throwing the shrieking mutation backwards.

"Guys, they're here! Help me get them out!" Beast Boy said as he ran back to the pods. He tried again and found the coating much softer: Aha! They were only tough if they were still connected to Aberration! He tore the first one open and Savior said up, gasping and clawing at his eyes.

Starfire was there, ripping open the pod that contained Robin. He had no sooner taken his first breath then she had crushed him in a hug.

"AH, KORY! AIR!"

Beast Boy ripped open the last pod, helping Raven out as she gasped and spat.

"Am I not dead?" she asked.

"Guess not. Guess Aberration couldn't start digesting you properly until we stopped hitting it. Or something. Who cares, as long as you're alright?" Beast Boy said.

"What about Aberration? Where is it?" Savior asked, getting unsteadily to his feet.

"Over there. I think severing its connection to you broke its brain though." Beast Boy said, gesturing to where Aberration was thrashing and screaming.

"Got any more Freeze discs Robin?" Savior asked.

"No I…oh no." Robin said, as he looked at his utility belt and saw that it had become to smoke.

"What's happening?" Starfire said in horror.

"Damn, something in that liquid must have caused a malfunction or something…OH SHIT!" Robin said. "My explosives have been damaged!"

"Get rid of it!" Beast Boy said, as Robin clawed at his belt, finally getting it off. Savior grabbed it in the Shimmer and threw it into the lounge where the battle had begun.

"Ok now…"

"RUN!" Robin said, as he grabbed Starfire's hand and began running. "It's gonna be big!"

"But what about…!"

"RUN!" Robin yelled as he ran out through the nearest door. The Titans followed him.

They were a bit shocked when he jumped out the nearest window, but they followed him away, making their way down to the ground.

"Damn Tim, how many explosives do you keep on that belt anyway?" Cyborg asked.

Every window on the floor they had just escaped suddenly exploded outward in flames as a giant boom rocked the Titans.

"Too many." Robin said grimly.

The explosion quickly faded, replaced by a triumphant roar.

"I think we just gave Aberration the equivalent of a ten course meal."

A huge mass of flesh flew out of the windows, landing in front of the Titans as it grew clawed legs, even as the mass of the creature continued to increase. Within seconds it was half as tall as the tower. The Titans backed up as wings, arms, and heads sprouted in the mass.

After a few more seconds it was over. Aberration, now a five headed dragon creature, roared in triumph and looked at the Titans.

"Got any new plans Savior?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. Kill this thing any way we can." Savior said.

"TITANS, GO!" Robin yelled, and the Titans charged.

Aberration roared, reared back its heads, and…

The blue beam flew past the Titans, stopping them dead in their tracks in surprise. It struck Aberration, and the creature roared.

Ice began forming on the monster, and the Titans watched in surprise as it spread swiftly over it. Aberration could only roar in rage and surprise before it was completely covered and sheathed in ice.

The Titans looked at each other.

"On three." Robin said. "One, two…"

"HASTA LA VISTA, BABY." All the Titans (except Starfire) said, and attacked the creature with whatever they had. The monster shattered into a million ice shards, falling into a heap.

The blue beam shot past the Titans again, freezing all the pieces into one big block. Finally, the Titans turned to see who had shot the beam.

Impulse stood there, arms crossed and grinning, as Captain Cold lowered his freeze gun, looking satisfied with himself.

"You children never could do anything right." He said, and sheathed his freeze gun.

"How you managed without me as well is something I'd like to know." Impulse said, grinning.

"Took you long enough." Robin said to Impulse.

"Hey, it only took me a second to get where I needed! But when it comes to trying to convince the law to let a recently caught criminal out, even if it is to aid a group of heroes, even I can't speed things up!" Impulse said. He looked at Savior. "Well, looks like you recovered well from being eaten!"

"Shaddup." Savior said.

"STAR Labs is on the way. They'll take the frozen pieces of that creature into their care and find a way to either save the man who became this thing or destroy it for good." Impulse said.

"Poor fool. I wonder if this is what he wanted in life." Cyborg said.

"I wonder if he would have preferred this to what he was." Savior muttered in a cynical tone. "Is everyone alright?"

"I seem ok." Robin said.

"I don't need anything except a new outfit." Raven said, pulling her grime-coated cloak off her shoulders and tossing it aside.

"Man, hard to believe you would help us, Cold! You ain't such a bad guy after all!" Beast Boy said.

"Don't be stupid, child! I didn't do this for you! I did this for me, and since I carried out my end of the bargain, I expect you to do so as well!" Cold said to Impulse.

"Yeah yeah yeah." Impulse said as he pulled out a cell phone. "Hello Wally? You're not gonna believe this…"

"Sheesh, you ARE fast." Cyborg said as he looked around the lounge. Impulse had helped the Titans clean up the mess Aberration had made, and with the super-quick youngster helping them, they had literally been done within minutes. True, there were still a bunch of holes in the walls and floor, but at least everything was clean and back the way it was. All of Aberration's discarded "bits" had been taken beforehand by STAR Labs.

"Not a problem! But enough of boring chores! I'd rather have some action!" Impulse said.

"We've had enough action for today." Robin said.

"Well, too bad! Like I said, to get Cold to help us, I had to offer him a favour, and to make sure it doesn't turn against me, I figure I'll ask YOU guys for a favour."

"Which is?" Raven asked.

Impulse told him.

"Well that sounds reasonable. Is everyone in?" Robin said.

"Sorry guys, I have to decline." Savior said. "I have something to do tonight. But I'm sure that you can handle it. And I'll still owe you Impulse."

"Well…is it important?" Robin said.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"It's…personal."

"Eh, ok, fair enough. Well we better get going Impulse, we don't want to miss this…"

A blazing streak of red zapped back and forth from the T-Tower, carrying the Titans one by one to a certain, far away location.

Savior swung off via the Shimmer, heading into the city.

And on a far-away plain, Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold, stood in anticipation. He hated the fact that he had aided the children who had ruined his robbery, but it was worth it. Because in exchange for that little annoyance, he was finally going to rid the world of the thorn in his side, the man who had plagued him for years on end.

Finally, on this day, the Flash would die.

It wasn't the best part of town that he walked through, but he didn't care. This kind of place produced a certain kind of people, and he needed one. He couldn't take it any longer.

Many of the women he passed tried to cajole him, but he ignored them. He needed a certain kind.

And he soon found one, standing and talking with a redhead. The redhead's eyebrows didn't match her hair, which spoke volumes on the possibility of her being a natural. But he didn't care about her. What he cared about was the black-haired girl with the dusky complexion, just like her.

"Hello handsome." She said when she realized he had stopped by her. Even her voice was similar. Good. Perfect. "Nice hair. What dye do you use?"

"I need you to be someone." He said.

"I can be anyone you want, honey." The woman said.

"Good. Lead the way."

"Whatever you want, sugar."

I can never get what I want. Too bad for you, pretty bird.

Cold was growing impatient. That stupid mini-Flash had better keep his promise. He would be VERY angry if he had been trucked all the way out to this deserted field ("no innocents will be harmed" Impulse had repeatedly said. Stupid child) and just left there.

But his faith in the stupidity of superheroes was rewarded, as a voice suddenly spoke behind him.

"Here I am, Snart."

Ah, good. Cold turned to look at the red-suited man with the lightning bolts on his head. Once known as Barry Allen, now known as Wally West, but whatever the name was, the image was that of Cold's eternal nemesis: The Flash.

"It's time Flash. Today, I'll finally…"

"Lemme guess. Put you on ice?"

Cold's eyebrows rose as he heard the voice, and he turned to look.

Impulse waved at him, as did Starfire and Beast Boy.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!??!?!?!" Cold roared.

"Hey Snart, you made the bargain. You help us get Aberration, and you get to fight the Flash to the death. However, you didn't say you got to go free. If you win, well good for you, but we'll be waiting right here. Enjoy your fight." Impulse said.

Cold growled as he looked at Impulse and the Titans. Well, it didn't matter! Jail would be great, as long as he finally took care of the Flash!

"Hey Bart, ever consider becoming a Titan? You'd fit right in." Robin said, as Cold spun away from them, firing his freeze gun at the Flash.

"It's an idea, but I have stuff in my life these days. But hey, you never know what tomorrow will bring!" Impulse said.

"I hope we don't have to fight. I'm tired." Cyborg mock-complained.

"YOU'RE tired? I GOT EATEN!" Raven yelled.

"Relax guys. It's the Flash we're talking about here. I don't think we'll be needed." Impulse said.

And in the end, they weren't.

The room was dark, lit only by moonlight, and for the most part soundless, until the interrupted scream. Shadows danced on the wall as a body thrashed in the darkness, and then suddenly was flung into the moonlight, pinned to the floor as the prostitute fought the grip that encircled her throat, clawing at it. But her hands soon faltered and then fell away, as her body gave one last gasp and then expired.

Slowly, the energy that had wrapped around her neck unraveled itself and slid back into the shadows, as a voice whispered from it.

"You shouldn't have rejected me, pretty birdie…you shouldn't have rejected me…"

Next: Janus!