CHAPTER NINE
The Titans emerged in the doorway of the computer room to find Rancor looming over their captured friend. Fury raged in Robin's heart as he pulled a metallic cylinder free from his utility belt and clicked the button that made it triple in length.
Rancor didn't even turn to face them. "Ah, Titans. So good of you to join us. Better late than never, I suppose. I was just about to introduce the newest member of my team. Someone you know, I believe."
"She's no more to you than a slave," Robin hissed. "We're here to take her back."
"Take her back? You? How amusing." Slowly, the large, black-skinned creature turned. Long, sharp teeth filled his powerful, skinless jaw.
He was a man built like a tank.
No, he was more like a monster.
"I'm not accustomed to having anything in my possession taken from me."
"We're about to give you a serious lesson in property acquisition." The Boy Wonder crouched, preparing to leap. "Titans go!"
The attack was swift, but the defense was swifter.
It came, however, not from Rancor, but from the girl standing at his side.
Starfire turned the computer room into a blazing, green inferno in a matter of seconds. The Titans scattered, trying to quickly ward the onslaught. Rancor had obviously skewed her mind, and turned her against her friends. She could not be of her own mind, that was sure. She never would have willfully turned on her friends.
Certainly not in the brutal manner in which she did. She soared in the air, bathing her friends in a shower of green energy. Worried that they might cause her harm, the Titans did not risk attacking their friend. They took a defensive posture, dodging this way and that, as Rancor watched on. He could easily have slipped into their minds, but he rather enjoyed forcing them to battle one of their own. It seemed a harsh irony that the very individuals who vowed to protect this city would soon be the cause of its fall.
And then he could look into getting back home.
Robin peered past Starfire's fierce defense to the enemy, and saw that Raven and Cyborg definitely had a clearer path to the enemy. "Raven, Cyborg! Get Rancor! I'll handle Starfire!"
The battle with the creature that called himself Numara was a fierce and bloody encounter. He cut her a lot, though nothing more damaging than lacerations of the skin. Through it all, he avoided slicing through any major blood vessels or tendons. It was as though he wanted to take her as physically unharmed as possible. Starfire could only scream in her fury. She blasted away at him, this creature who had taken away her friends. Green energy lit the night sky.
This creature frightened her. He understood her, moving as if he knew her next move even before she did. He knew her Tamaranian name, Koriand'r, and he had easily finished off each of her friends. What was to stop him from taking her as well? He seemed to be an efficient killer, a master with his blade as well as his style of battle.
Starfire fought back as best she could, and managed to even deliver a number of blows herself, but she realized that if this brand of fighting kept up that she was done for. Numara was slowly and efficiently tearing her to shreds. There was a constant smirk on his face, and he had barely broken a sweat. He was toying with her.
The Tamaranian was near tears, but she kept them within herself.
Her enemy dodged all her firepower, and landed an occasional blow of his own, smirking with each blow connected. Starfire grew concerned that she may not be able to defeat him, and she would be unable to avenge her friends. Even in her hatred, she fought to understand what would persuade such a being to cross space and time to find himself on Earth for the simple pleasure of the destruction of her friends.
She came to realize that he was here for something other than her friends. What, she did not know. She only prayed she lived long enough to find out.
Robin dodged the girl with ease, evading every starbolt that his brainwashed friend had to offer. She was a little slower, a little clumsier, than she would have been under normal circumstances. It was quite obvious that something had control of her mind, but the dull look in her tired eyes seemed to warn Robin that Rancor had proclaimed her soul as well. Immoral bastard.
[So I am. I admit it. But how is that any different than what your precious Bats has done to you?]
The voice was so vivid in his mind that he didn't have to stop to think where he had heard it before. He had just finished talking to Starfire outside her bedroom door, lost in his bewilderment of the princess's indifference toward Beast Boy's disappearance.
He turned his glare on Rancor, who had just dispatched of an attack by Cyborg. Robin clutched his fists, dove past Starfire, and went on a mad dash toward the creature.
[That, my friend, is a big mistake.]
Before Robin could even wonder what he was talking about, he saw a flash of green energy strike the ground ahead of him, kicking up shattered chunks of tile and dust. The blast threw Robin back. He landed on his backside and skidded across the floor. When his vision cleared, he was staring at purple boot leather.
The foot reeled back and came forward.
His world went black around him.
When Numara lay crumpled at her feet, Starfire saw her opportunity. He had been distracted by something—by what she did not know—and let his guard down. A quick, precisely planted starbolt had sent him reeling directly at her. Even as he looked up, she saw the shock in his face. She hadn't seen him looking shocked before.
Starfire finally smiled.
And then she planted her boot firmly into his face.
Numara didn't know the layout of Titans Tower very well, but Cyborg's blueprints had most definitely helped. He flew through the shaft quickly and into the halls of the base. He wasn't at all surprised to hear the throes of battle before he arrived, especially with his heightened sense of hearing. The Titans may be as good a fighting force this city had, but they still needed help with Rancor. If he wasn't there, the Dreamwalker would be able to take them all out, one by one. Still, he had made good time in the shaft, and he was intent to sneak up on Rancor while he was trapped in combat.
He raced down a dark corridor. Rancor had stopped long enough to take out most of the electricity in the place. Probably afraid that the Titans may be able to mount some kind of defense with a fully operating Tower, though Numara didn't suspect there was any advantage either way.
As the corridor grew narrower, he went on foot as opposed to flight. A flickering, green glow appeared from a doorway at the end of the hallway. He heard someone scream—probably Cyborg—within the computer room.
Numara raced down the hall and toward battle. The Gem of Ages glowed as the power surged through him, giving him the strength of the Nasserian gods. Soon, he was close enough to see a large figure in the doorway, watching the battle with an almost casual stance. The figure was powerful and bulky, and draped in long, crimson coat.
"Rancor!" Numara screamed his enemy's name as he leapt at him, driving his shoulder in the villains back. Rancor gasped in shock as the two of them went tumbling through the green blaze that showered about the room. Together, they crashed into Starfire, sending the girl sprawling.
In the chaos, one of the tables toppled over and pinned her to the floor.
"Starfire!" Robin raced over to her and knelt at her side.
"Starfire!"
The Tamaranian was pinned beneath something, though she saw Robin standing there in place of her assailant. The Boy Wonder had a look of terror on his face as he raced over to help her. He took her hand in his.
"Hold on Star. I'm here. I have you."
Robin's face was replaced by Numara once more, and the voice changed. "I have you, bitch. Now squirm for me." Starfire felt his hand being pressed sharply into her crotch. The Tamaranian let out a startled scream and tried to roll away, but she could not find the strength to break free of his sinister touch. Her legs shifted beneath him. His hold was too strong for her. She could not break free.
And then, just as suddenly as she had been pinned, Numara was lifted easily away from her. His attention had been drawn away. Starfire realized why when she sat up and peered about.
Her fellow Titans had returned to the dreamworld, and Numara stood over them, blade drawn. They knelt before him, surrendering their souls. Robin sat at the front, head bowed. Numara lifted the sword and took aim for his neck.
If not for the emerald starbolts that knocked Numara away from Rancor, the little interfering bastard might have caused him a lot of damage. Given the opportunity, the Dreamwalker leapt to his feet and swiped out at the girl in the blue cloak, the one who posed the biggest threat, other than Numara. Raven was slammed violently against the wall and slid to the floor.
Already, Numara had risen to his feet.
The Gem of Ages glowed around his neck. The crimson light formed in his eyes as he turned to face Rancor. The ferocity was evident in those burning pools of crimson light. He clenched his fists together, muscles taut. Numara was ready for a bout to the death. The Nasserian actually smirked and spoke soft words in his native tongue. The words echoed in Rancor's thoughts. His eyes widened at the realization that Numara's words were far more than simple banter to himself. They were a battle cry.
With a roar, Numara shot into the air, the Gem of Ages lifting him after only one bounding stride. Rancor stepped back, his crimson coat rustling in the rush of air caused by the blue-skinned warrior's leap. Four-fingered claws swiped out at the Dreamwalker.
The villain knew better than to hang around. The Gem of Ages was a tool he had not anticipated having to fight, but since it was here and his enemy controlled it, he would have to accept defeat.
Rancor spun and raced outside, Numara at his heels.
Raven stood briefly over Robin, who had a grip of Starfire. She seemed detained, for the moment. Glancing to Cyborg, Raven cringed. Their metallic friend's organic flesh had been horribly burned by a precisely pinpointed starbolt.
The Boy Wonder had tears in his eyes, but there was also an sheer hatred. "I've got her!" he said through gritted teeth. "Go! You've gotta find Beast Boy! He should still be on the roof."
"Right." Raven shot up through the ceiling, paving the way with living shadows. No sense in wasting time going through doors.
Titans Tower was a mess as it was.
* * *
Beast Boy was no longer unconscious when Raven found him on the rooftop of Titans Tower. As a matter of fact, he had been expected her.
She wasn't too keen on battling a lightning quick velociraptor, but her green friend wasn't going to give her much of a choice in the matter. The changeling was on her the moment she appeared on the roof. He was on her back in an instant, tearing at her cloak, aiming for her spine, but he thankfully wasn't very accurate in his brainwashed state. Raven, who had anticipated a battle, ripped the roof below them, sending them both into the air. Raven kept going up, her green friend still clinging to her shredded cloak.
She unclasped the hook and let the cloak and Beast Boy fall a good twenty feet to the rooftop, rubbing her soar neck. The shape-shifter changed, taking the form of falcon. Raven saw her opportunity.
She spread her arms wide.
The cloak, floating just beneath Beast Boy, suddenly stiffened in the breeze.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Cold, black flames engulfed the the wind-battered cloak, pulling the frayed ends of the fabric up and wrapping around the surprised shape-shifter. Raven lowered her arms again, pushing down on the cloak and her friend inside, intending to pin him to the roof.
The falcon swelled in size and changed into a tyrannosaur. The tears in the fabric gave way and the cloak essentially fell to pieces. Raven, anticipating the move, rushed toward him, black magic surging through her fingers, pounding Beast Boy toward the roof. Furious, the beast flicked his jaw toward her…and nabbed her right foot in his teeth. Raven threw her head back and screamed in pain. Energy rushed through her hands once more and blasted him with an unforgiving onslaught. By some miracle, when Beast Boy released her foot, it was intact. Lacerated and blood-soaked, but intact. She was relieved that the injury did not hurt.
Staggering back, Beast Boy let loose a horrific war. Raven lowered within a few feet of the ground. Blood dribbled from her injured foot to the roof. She heard each individual splash as it hit the blacktop.
"I am through fighting you," Raven said. "Help me help you."
She lifted her arms—the light in her eyes brightening into an intense white—and allowed her mind to drift into his.
It was dark within the depths of Beast Boy's mind.
Raven was alone. Or at least she thought it.
"Hello?" she called out. The vast emptiness responded with a distant imitation, followed by another, and another until Raven's echo simply faded away.
She had been right the first time. She was alone.
She had to find him. If Beast Boy's soul could not be located, he would remain forever lost to them. A soul was normally represented by a single flame. The brighter the glow, the stronger the spirit. Typically, when a soul was taken, the glow would fade. It could not die out, not so long as the body lived, but Raven suspected a Dreamwalker, as Numara called it, could manipulate the light and shield it from the vision of another who possessed such telepathic abilities.
So she walked on into the darkness, in search of that lingering flame.
Numara drove Rancor through the same shaft through which he had infiltrated the Titans Tower and lifted him high into the sky. He fed off his anger, as well as the Gem of Ages, and that only aided in increasing his strength.
Rancor peered into Numara's eyes and grabbed for his throat. He clenched it in his razor-sharp claws. "Fool! Release me!"
Numara grinned. "As you wish." He lifted the creature high overhead and threw him straight down, toward the tower. Then he turned head over heels and raced after him.
A split second after Rancor crashed into the pavement, Numara followed. He put his fists directly into the monster's spine, driving until something cracked. He knew it wasn't the spine, but saw splinters of his outer exoskeleton, the knobs and spikes against his spine, lifting away from his back to mix with the debris of the damaged blacktop.
For the briefest of moments, Raven saw a flicker of light. Not far off, she detected the voice of her friend, Beast Boy.
"Raven, help me. Over here. Please, help…"
The girl took to flight once more, racing to find her friend.
* * *
Starfire blinked once more when she saw Robin standing over her. Her eyes widened in shock. He was coming at her, staff raised. He was fighting her! Oh Robin, why? Why would he do such a terrible thing?
[He is not of his own mind. He is dead to you. Fight back, Starfire. Fight, or you will join him in death.]
She lifted her hands and rained starbolts down from the heavens.
Rancor's fist struck Numara's jaw, and the superpowered warrior fell back. He followed through, reaching again for the Nasserian's throat. His hands clamped around the gold chain that held the Gem of Ages around his neck.
The Dreamwalker smirked.
Before he could rip the powerful stone from Numara's neck, something unexpected and extraordinary happened.
She found her friend in Rancor's clutches. Beast Boy stood at his side, his eyes as black as night. One of the monster's hands held the boy at his side, and the other contained a large battle-ax. She lowered to the ground slowly, peering dangerously at the Dreamwalker. She prepared herself to pounce.
"Raven, is that…"
"Silence!" The Dreamwalker pushed the boy down to one knee. He turned his attention back to Raven. "I've been expecting you. I am so terribly sorry I was unable to penetrate you, as I have penetrated the minds of your friends. I must admit, I have awaited this moment with great anticipation."
"Let my friends go, or this moment will be your last."
"Oh, I think not."
Raven clutched her fists at her side, seeking judgment. The two stared at one another. Neither knew exactly how to continue.
"Strange, isn't it," Rancor whispered. "So alike in so many ways, and yet, so undeniably different."
"We are nothing alike. I have a conscience."
"Oh, really."
Raven bent her knees, her fists held close to her abdomen, fury in her eyes. "I'll ask you one more time. Let my friends go."
Rancor chuckled. "No."
"Azarath." Her fists ignited with black fire. "Metrion." Her eyes flashed with blinding white. "Zinthos!" She thrust her arms outward. The power flew from her hands, encasing the Dreamwalker in all her fury. Raven could see his arm swell and explode even before he was touched by her power. Rancor's scream shook the depths of Beast Boy's mind, echoing out and into the world of the living.
Numara wasn't quite sure what had happened, but whatever it was, it hadn't lasted long. Even as the Dreamwalker touched the stone, his eyes had changed, actually fading into a dismal gray. The glowing stone of power sent a shockwave through him, and the bones, six inches above the wrist, snapped like a dry twig. A deafening scream followed, echoing from the depths of his mind out into the world of the living. Numara frowned.
Soon, his eyes regained their deep blackness, and Rancor released the stone. His wounded arm fell limp, swiveling in a way that should not have been possible. The Nasserian thought he might be sick.
Rancor raced away from his confused enemy. Numara yelled for him to stop, but he did not. "Changeling, I need you!" the Dreamwalker screamed. The shape-shifter obeyed, taking the shape of a great, winged beast. Rancor caught Raven by the back of her neck with his good arm and flung her out over the edge of the building. The girl, still lost in the depths of the mind, didn't even scream.
Numara forgot about Rancor. He ran to the edge of the building and leapt out into the air, racing toward the ground.
He had to save her. He would save her.
In the meantime, Rancor would get away.
No stopping that now. So long as he saved Raven.
He took an extra boost of power to accelerate toward her. He was lucky enough to catch her just before she hit the ground.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he headed back toward the rooftop.
From the corner of his eye, he could see a large green shape slowly drifting over the city skyline. By the time he touched the ground, Rancor and his slave were well out of sight.