Author's Notes: Thanks for bearing with me, people. I know it's been a while since I last updated. I'm not going to give you any excuses, though.
I do not own the Teen Titans. Teen Titans does not own me- legally, at the very least.
It may be a while until I get the next chapter done, so I ask your patience on that as well. Without further delay, here's the next installment of the story.
Chapter Four: The Bite
"Cyborg! Behind you!"
The mountain of metal turned around just in time to snatch a giant spider by its fangs. It forced its weight against Cyborg, but he held his ground against the offending arachnid. After pushing it back for a few moments, he stepped to the side and let the spider's momentum to throw it into another attacking monster.
The eight-legged monstrosities had been attacking en masse for several minutes. They crawled across every wall and surrounded the trio.
"Where are all these guys coming from?" Cyborg yelled over a chitter-chitter-chitter sound of great volume.
"I think the food court!" Robin yelled back. His standard martial arts techniques weren't very effective (they were designed mostly for humans, after all), so he kept his distance and threw his varied projectile weapons.
"Food court, you say?" Beast Boy yelled back. "Why didn't you just say so?" With a moment of stretching and shifting, he transformed into a rhinoceros. Smashing through waves of spiders, he plowed a path for his bipedal companions.
Cyborg and Robin ran through quickly, but not without leaving a few small explosions in their wake. However, the impact of the great feat vanished quickly as the spiders swarmed in for the opportunity to strike again.
The food court was full of spiders eating the leftover meals of absent mall goers. However, when the boys made their way to roughly the center of the room, there was a high shriek which made all the spiders stop in their tracks. The boys paused and took up a defense formation, preparing for the next assault.
The spiders, however, left. They made no great show of it, they simply turned towards the exits and all scuttled out. Beast Boy was confused by it; he stood still with his mouth hanging open. Robin was cautious of it; he stepped out from where he had been and looked around. Cyborg was-
"Yeah! That's right! Mess with the best and you go down like the rest!" Cyborg yelled after the swarm.
"Something's not right," Robin said.
"I thought that giant spiders in the food court wasn't right," Beast Boy said.
"What? No- well, yes, but the- I mean about that retreat. I don't get why they'd do that."
"Because they must have known they couldn't beat us," Cyborg said. He then became distracted and said, "Aw, man! They wrecked the Pork Pot! It was the only one on this side of town!"
Beast Boy muttered a tasteless comment about 'pigging out', but his remark went unheard.
"I don't know," Robin said. He became absorbed in his assessment of what the spiders were doing as Cyborg ranted about what they had done. It was Beast Boy, however, who first noticed something crucial.
"Hey- do you hear that?" the shape changer asked his companions.
"Hear what?" Robin asked. His eyes widened under his mask when he heard it.
"The Shoe Shack! They ruined the Shoe Shack! That's the only kind of clothes that-"Cyborg was stunned into silence by the sound. "Guys, what's that sound?"
The distant noise was a sustained whoosh sound followed by a snap- like rope being drawn taut, or a whip being cracked. That was followed by the groaning of metal being put under stress. This sequence repeated, growing louder- nay, closer- each time.
"That can't be good," Beast Boy stated.
Starfire took a step back from the people in riot gear. "What do you mean, 'that's not the police'?"
Raven was still and stunned as she said, "The police have different uniforms, even while in riot gear." She stepped back. "These guys aren't wearing any."
"So then," Starfire said, still walking back, "who are these people?"
Before the heroine could get an answer, beneath her feet she heard a whoosh sound. The floor was ripped up in a line perpendicular to the hallway by a strand of silk just a few inches thick.. It was pulled straight, making a resounding snapping sound. The line put stress on the supports, making a groaning sound.
Behind the line of marchers, a second strand sprung forth from the ground. Yet another sprung up on the opposite side of Raven and Starfire. The sequence of sounds repeated, but this time it was punctuated with a cracking sound. A few spilled drops of water from someone's drink rolled across the tiles, as the floor began to tilt. The hallway between the two strands rotated, then fell away.
Even if the two Titans had had the time to take flight, the wall once on their left would have smashed into them any way.
"If you're planning on going to the mall today, change your plans now."
The news crews were maintaining a safe distance via helicopter. Enterprising reporters, however, considered that maybe this would be the chance to shine as had been desperately waited for, but so many did so that none stood out.
"We're entering the third hour of the crisis and there's yet to be any signal from the Teen Titans that there's going to be any- wait! What's that?"
Needle-like spires grew forth from the streets around the shopping center. Dangling threads connected to the claw structures were suddenly drawn tight, ripping though the foundation, walls, and ceiling. The roof began to crumble, and the glistening silky web was visible from the sky.
Well, thanks again for sticking with me. I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still writing the story.