Chapter Two: Killer Voices
Warning; Warning!
System Breach; Containment area has been compromised.
Unit Progress: 73% …system incomplete…switching to emergency protocol
…Download successful.
Initiating emergency activation.
Zero activated to the sight of an enclosed coffin-like area, outside one of Slade's henchmen landed on the stasis pod activating one of its external monitors. A sharp pain erupted inside Zero's head, the intense throbbing continued until his actions where made clear. Immediately he shot out his right hand, punching threw the artificial coffin and grabbing the drone.
Without remorse, Zero proceeded to crush the robot's head then tossed it forward. His left hand hit the emergency ejection button that where followed by several small deadbolt explosions. The door gave way and for the first time Zero stood, glancing around his scanners immediately picked up the forms of the Titans and Slade's robots.
He came to the realization that this was different from the simulations. This was reality, something he knew he wasn't suppose to experience just yet. However before he could ponder his thoughts any more, the Robot drones began to advance towards him. Immediately instincts along with the programming took over as he spoke.
" Target acquisitions confirmed, proceeding with elimination."
Leaping into the air Zero landed squarely in the middle of the crowd of Slade's drones. In the brief instant it took everyone to realize where he was, Zero had pulled his Z-saber from its holster and lashed out in a pose.
" Hey, where did he get the light saber?" Beast Boy pointed to where the newcomer now held a green energy blade in a stance.
Robin's eyes narrowed, " That's odd, from the stance it looks like he already struck."
On cue the drones nearest to Zero abruptly fell apart. All eyes widened as the realization dawned on the Titans. Then all hell broke looks.
To the drones, Zero was now the primary threat and attacked him accordingly. Blurred visions of several droids attacked, lashing out with a combination of weapons and hand-to-hand combat tactics. The red reploid dashed backwards as he dodged and hacked one attack after another. His movements where fluid as the dance of death continued swirling his Z-saber around like it was a living thing. Somehow one saber turned to two, as Zero leaped, waving both weapons with deadly precision. Finally in the span of thirty seconds, all the droids had been destroyed. Standing, he turned his attention turned to the Titans.
Everyone remained tense as the red reploid glared.
" Did anyone get the number of that hurricane?" Beast Boy quipped.
Robin's eyes never left the sights of the red reploid as he returned the glare, " It's a standoff."
Both parties stood motionless as they squared off from one another. Like some cheesy western each person regarded his or her objective. In one direction stood Zero, who a minuet ago had effortlessly dispatched a small regimen of robotic drones. At the opposite bank five teenage titans held their own ground, each one fully comparable of dishing out punishment in their own right. Sufficed to say the tension was thick.
Beast Boy dared not move. Like the rest of them he was waiting for the one slipup that would ignite the fight. Beads of sweat of trickled down his face as he gave his best glare. While it was nowhere near as menacing as Robin or Ravens, he still felt he could hold his own in the intimidation department when need be.
Deep down something began to tickle the back of his nasal cavity; inwardly Beast Boy cringed as he felt a sneeze coming on. Crap, not now of all places! Must not sneeze, must not sneeze, must not sneeze…
Beast Boy sneezed.
Raven heard the sneeze and blinked, the mistake almost proved fatal as the red reploid appeared before her poised to strike. Inwardly cursing Raven quickly threw up a defense shield as the green saber clashed against it. Green and black energy crackled around the two as both pressed against each other. During the short struggle Raven briefly caught a look at the crimson hunters eyes. They where cold, giving off no indication of emotion. For an instant Raven felt intimidated as she caught a glimpse of what lay deeper, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Black energy surrounded Zero as he was flung in the opposite direction and threw the transport truck nearby. The truck exploded soon after negating any possible chance for survival, thus ending the conflict. While the attack only lasted a few seconds, for Raven it seemed considerably longer. What the hell was he?!
" Raven are you ok!"
The mentioned sorceress looked up to see Starfire along with the rest of the Titans running towards her position. Raven's face immediately went neutral as she collected herself. " I'm fine, but Beast Boy and I are going to have a long talk afterwards."
Beast Boy gulped at the glare he was getting from the sorceress and tried to change the subject, " Did anyone actually see that guy move? It was like he vanished and re-appeared in front of Raven."
" Teleportation Perhaps?" Inquired Starfire.
" No, more like Noss." Replied Cyborg, " My scanners detected an energy discharge near his feet that allowed him to shoot off like a jet on a aircraft carrier."
Robin raised an eyebrow, " Are you saying he's a robot?"
" I'm not sure what he is, but whatever it is it aint human."
Robin remained stationary as he contemplated Cyborgs statement. If this was a new model of Slade-bot, then they where in trouble. Before he could reply however, Starfire pointed frantically in the direction of the burning semi.
" Look!"
The Titans turned and immediately tensed. Amidst the wreckage a figure begun to move as the silhouette slowly walked out from the fire, once clear from the transport Zero stopped and glared at the Titans.
" Where toast." groaned Beast Boy.
Robin stepped forward bringing out his staff into a defense posture. " Who are you? And what do you want!" The boy wonder watched as the figure's expression changed slightly. To everyone's surprise, the red and black figure answered.
"Zero."
Robin studied the figure before him, unsure how to react. The tone used was drastically different from the cold monotone spoken earlier, dare he even think friendly? "It that your name or model number?"
Zero quirked his head, " Both"
Beast Boy scratched his head "Ok, is anyone else getting this?"
Robin ignored the changeling's statement and pressed on, " All right Zero, what are you after?"
" Nothing."
Cyborg leaned forward and whispered in Beast Boys ear, " Dude almost kabobs Raven and he calls that nothing?" Beast Boy only shrugged.
" Then what is your intent?" the question came from Raven. She had been closely watching the actions of Zero while gauging his emotional state. His barrier was gone, and the cold almost demonic state had vanished, instead it was replaced with curiosity. From what she could detect there was no malice or ill intent. The situation was confusing to say the least.
Zero only shrugged," My intent is to kill you all."
It wasn't what Zero had said that sent the Titans a cold chill, rather how it was said. Like a childe carelessly stating he was occupied with a coloring book. Chill or no chill the Titans immediately went on guard.
Starfire looked pleadingly at the reploid." Friend, why do you wish to harm us? We have done nothing to you."
" It's the only way I know how to live."
The statement itself shocked the Teen superheroes; never the less the evidence to support his statement lay scattered across the ground in the form of Slade's henchmen.
"Ever heard of a career change?" quipped Beast Boy. Although the comment was meant to be sarcastic, Zero answered regardless.
" No I haven't."
"Dude! Where have you been the past 17 some odd years!? Free will ring a bell? Hello!"
Robin noted Zeros confusion and decided act on a hunch, " What Beast Boy means is that you don't have to fight us if you don't want to. Its you're choice, as a sentient being."
Zero continued to stare as he contemplated what Robin had said, it had merit he would admit to that. Hesitantly he finally spoke, " Do…you wish to fight me?"
Robin smiled, " Not unless we have to, we would rather settle things without the use of force. Is there any reason for you to want to fight us?"
Zero mused over the question intently, why did he want to kill them? As if to answer the question a sharp pain began to throb in his head. Immediately he dropped to the ground, screaming in agony. The Titans watched in shock as the blue jewel began to glow, unsure as to what was happening. As sudden as it happened the phenomena stopped. And Zero again rose, however his disposition had reverted back to when he first appeared, as his eyes glared coldly at the Titans. Once again he spoke, this time in the cold monotone as before.
" I will kill any and all opposition who interfere with my mission. Those who lay sight of me will not live to compromise my position. All of you will be eliminated."
Before any of them could react Zero dashed towards Robin, his Z-saber slashed the boy wonders staff in two. Not deterred Robin immediately gripped both ends as a pair of crude Wakizashi style swords and countered. Both teens exchanged blows as they parried, thrust, and slashed at each other trying to get the upper hand. However the spar was short lived as the rods began to glow orange from the Z-saber's impact. Robins gloved hands started to blister under the heat, forcing him to discard the weapon, but not before chucking them at his opponent. Zero easily dodged the assault and followed with a roundhouse kick, sending the boy wonder flying.
Zero watched as Robin flew into a pile of debris, some movement followed but shortly died out. Quickly he moved to finish the job, however his audio sensors detected the whine of a power generator as Cyborg let loose with his sonic cannon. Immediately Zero slid to a stop and threw up his left arm forming a green energy shield. The powerful blast hit dead on, the force causing Zero to be pushed back to where one of the heavy equipment container, followed shortly after by yet another explosion.
Cyborg smirked, " Oh yeah, didn't even see it coming!"
Ironically nether did Cyborg as the green shield flew out of the smoke, cutting off a portion of his cybernetic arm. Cyborg gripped his arm and yelped, " Sonofa-that blond haired maniac cut off my ar-!" Pain immediately registered to Victor as he glanced down where there was now a gaping hole in his abdomen. The shock was evident as he looked back up to see the crimson hunter pointing his Z-buster towards him. Showing no remorse whatsoever, Zero opened fired landing several direct hits towards the robotic teen, successfully taking him down.
"NOOOOOOOO!!"
Beast Boy who watched his friend get gunned down immediately took the form of a rhino and charged in a blind rage. Zero held his ground carefully taking aim while his Z-buster started to glow in preparation for a charged shot. Across the battlefield Raven watched as she felt the power emanating from the crimson reploid and immediately shouted, "Beast Boy duck!"
The unusual outburst from the normally stoic Raven jarred the teen shape shifter out of his rage just in time as Zero pulled the trigger. Threw sheer panic Beast Boy shifted into a smaller form, allowing the powerful blast to fly past and hit a nearby wall and effectively out of harms way. Ironically the form chosen was literally a duck, which unceremoniously skidded underneath the red reploids legs.
Before Zero could react he felt something large and heavy slam into his side, sending him barreling along the ground for several feet. Quickly regaining his balance Zero hefted himself to a crouch and stood to face the sight of a green T-rex charging in his direction. In one swift motion the crimson hunter pulled out his Z-saber and thrust it into an en guard position, waiting for the beast to strike. However just when Zero was about to launch his counter attack, his Z-saber was engulfed in black energy and ripped from his hands.
Zero's facial expression changed to slight annoyance as his saber flew into the hands of Raven. However his musings and possible retaliation was cut short as the thundering roar of Beast Boy filled his hearing. His attention immediately went back to the nearest threat, the T-rex's jaws opened as the many teeth rushed towards the crimson hunter. Immediately Zero's hands rushed out to meet the bombardment and with inhuman strength grabbed hold of the dinosaurs jaws, keeping the green beast at bay.
Both combatants held there ground as each fought to gain the upper hand. Beast Boy still filled with the rage of watching Cyborg gunned down, pressed his massive weight into the struggle, hoping to end the conflict and avenge his friend. At the opposite end Zero held his ground, his eyes still lackluster as he fought. Unknown to both parties, Zero's programming was about to change for the worst. All that was need was a push.
Beast Boy roared with a surge of strength, and the catalyst happened.
The blue jewel embedded in Zero's helmet begin to pulse, emitting strings of vein-like energy pulsating throughout his body. Inside the jewel the familiar white 'W' formed as the once lackluster eyes now burned with the primal lust of death. Grinning evilly Zero let out a war cry as his hands dug into Beast Boy with new zeal, and began to pull.
Across the bay the sound of bone and cartilage being broken was heard, along with the cry of Beast Boy who now lye in his original form, griping his broken jaw. Zero stood over the green Teen laughing maniacally as he bent over for the brutal kill.
However this was not the case as Starfire, who up until now had been trying to dig out there leader, was launching star bolts towards the hunter, sending him flying. The Tamaran princess did not let up as she continued to fire off volleys towards the thing that had been harming her friends. Zero knelt on the ground pinned by the blasts of green energy, unable to move.
Raven took this opportunity to rush towards beast boy and alleviate his pain, concentrating her healing powers to hasten the mending process. Once finished Beast Boy let out a small moan as he spoke weakly, " Guess my mouth finally got the better of me eh Raven?"
The hooded teen only nodded, " Appears that way." Standing, Raven watched as Starfire continued to pound away at the reploids defense. Up until now the gothic girl had been providing backup by healing wounds. Now however Raven focused her mind as she prepared to go on the offensive.
Unfortunately she was caught off guard as Zero let off a charged shot towards Starfire, who used one of her own star bolts to deflect the energy. Raven watched as Zero held out his hand and to her surprise witnessed his Z-saber rattle on the ground slightly before shooting off in his direction. Acting quickly Raven flung out her own hand as she concentrated on the weapon. Black energy encased it as the saber began to veer in her direction, however Zero quickly shot off a round towards her, noticing this Raven quickly darted out of the way. Unfortunately in doing so she lost her mental grip on the weapon, which quickly planted itself in its owners hands.
Zero immediately ignited the Z-saber on contact as more star bolts flew in his direction, deflecting a few as he began running parallel to Starfire. Immediately the Tamaran took to the sky, this proved a tactical error as Zero's chain rod lashed out and wrapped around the alien princess. Then with one swift violent motion, Zero brought the chain rod down, causing Starfire to crash into the ground. However the crimson hunter was not finished as he sent her into a nearby wall, laughing maniacally Zero continued to torture Starfire as he flung her around like a rag doll.
His session was short lived as Robins and Cyborg used 'Sonic Boom' against the reploid. Because of Zero's "Berserker" state, he was caught unaware and felt the full affect as it sent him careening into nearby debris. Glancing at the interruption Zero Spotted the form of Robin, along with the rest of the Titans who where battered and bruised stood defiantly against the crimson reploid.
Robin glared evenly at Zero as he spoke, " Ready for round two?"
Zero let out a smirk as he slowly stood. Before he responded, his eyes focused on the figure of Raven as she healed Starfire. Zero's smirk faded as his mind recalled the past several seconds. Yes, the hooded ones interferences had made her the primary threat. Once dealt with the rest would die.
One step was all it took for the Teen Titans to open fire, however Zero made no attempt to block or dodge as he charged, taking multiple direct hits. While his body was designed to withstand extreme punishment, even it had limits. However Because of his forced activation, Zero's mind was in turmoil, the only thought that repeated in his mind was 'Kill the girl'. The cold logic and battle programming had long been abandoned to the intense pain that was erupting in his mind, driving him mad.
Ignoring the warnings flashing across his field of vision Zero continued to make his way towards Raven. The rest of the Titans by now knew of his target concentrated on halting his advancement. With a final effort Zero instigated a dash towards the sorceress, who halted the advancement by engulfing the crazed reploid in her power. However Zero continued to struggle as Raven watched for the second time that day as the crimson reploid tried to kill her.
However this time she notices the 'W' that had appeared and pieced together the reploids erratic actions, " Someone break the jewel…it's controlling him." Spoke raven, although her voice was still in a monotone, the strain of her abilities was evident.
Cyborg let out a battle cry as he used his remaining arm and swung his fist planting it fully in Zero's face. The impact shattered the blue jewel, and immediately Zero's eyes went blank as he fell.
For the longest time no one dared move, each member waiting for the crimson reploid to get back up and continue the fight. When it was clear none would come, a collective sigh was emitted. Robin went over to the reploids body and began to examine it, standing fully he spoke to the rest of the group, " Let get a transport truck running, I want that pod back at Headquarters along with him for examination."
" Are you sure that is wise?" quipped Starfire, who was still staring at the prone body of Zero.
Robin's face grew grim, " Honestly Star, I don't think we have much of a choice."
The rest of the team nodded, each one silently agreeing as they recalled how lucky they where to be alive.
AN: No, Zero did not use the force. It'll be explained in later chapters.