I Am A Hero

A Fanfiction by Keystone

Disclaimer: Not my stuff, just my storyline.

Author's Note: Okay, the second chapter is up. I hope my message is getting through to you. Please enjoy, or rather, please be affected. I hope you all can learn from this. As in the last chapter, I recommend "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. Play when I ask you to and all will be well. Enjoy, and please review.

First Contact

Titans Tower. Living Room. Three weeks later.

Beast Boy sat on the couch, flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch that wasn't about the fresh war. Nothing really appealed to him, however, and bad guys had been in short supply lately. They were growing bored and lazy. Plus, with his other comedic partner around, he couldn't even bring himself to crack a single joke.

Deciding he had enough of the TV, he turned on Gamestation. As it warmed up he saw himself it was one of his favorite games. A fantastic game about a mercenary who went around cleaning the world of hostile threats and protecting the innocent...

Beast Boy looked at the controller sitting next to him, and then back at the screen again. Then he suddenly slammed his fist straight down on top of the expensive game system, crushing it into many pieces. A shard of the black plastic stuck through his glove, his red blood running down and dripping onto the shattered console.

The body fell to the ground as a series of 7.62 mm slugs punctured and tore him apart. His partner fell to one knee and brought his gun to bear and opened fire. The hidden ambush team of three Chinese soldiers continued to fire until a grenade flew into their midst and detonated. Bodies flew through the air and their blind was blown apart.

The American scouting team advanced, after stripping the body of useful ammunition, grenades, and supplies. Cyborg took up point and crawled through the underbrush, his eye sensors scanning for body heat, a sure sign of hiding soldiers. It had been like this for the last two days. Him and the team of seven he was in had slogged through the forest, trying to find the enemies supply route for future raiding missions.

Two weeks. He had been in combat for One. The first had been the entire commanding staff of the United States Marine Corps. They wanted to know why he would choose to join in the fight in the first place. "I can make a difference." He simply told them. And they agreed. And sent him to this hell hole after he had some tactical training with other, more experienced soldiers. He was taught fire discipline, tracking, and how to act in a combat zone. Due to his extensive combat experience with the Titans, he had a firm grip on how to fight in a group, even if they were super powered teenagers, the principle was the same. Each member of every group had a certain ability that made them important for the mission to be a success.

His sensors picked up no contacts within two hundred yards, so he raised his hand and gave the all clear signal, and then raised two fingers on his left hand. The squad leader crawled forward and came to a halt next to the hulking teen.

"What is it, Stone?" came the whispered question from his NCO.

"Sir, requesting permission to move ahead and investigate the interior of the choke point the Chinese set up." Cyborg asked.

"Approved. Go and see what kind of maps, reports, or intel you can get from their foxhole."

"Yes sir." Cyborg crawled towards the small camp, scanning for mines, trip wires, or other booby traps. Detecting none, he lifted the roof off of the pit and sank in to it. It was just what he expected it to be. A dirt hole. Stacked on one side were cans of ammo next to jugs of water and rations. Nothing too important. A mirror and a personal journal of one of the soldiers lay on the floor.

Cyborg picked up the journal and flipped through it until a small folded square of paper fell out. He unfolded it and saw a map of the local area, with several trails clearly marked out on it. The one his team was on was just one of dozens, he discovered. In the center of it, nearly three hundred yards from where they were now was the main supply route for the Chinese forces in the area. He stored the map in his memory and then placed the journal, along with the original map in a thigh slot on his armor.

Climbing out of the foxhole, he held up the signal for his team to come to him. Six silent men crawled forward and surrounded him. He showed th map and pointed out to which direction their target was. Sending a message back to HQ, the squad leader, a sergeant by the name of Morris, gave new orders and the squad moved through the brush, guns ready, moving to destroy the supply route.

Cyborg raised his sonic cannon and confirmed it was set on full power. Normally, he would never set it that high, because a blast from his sonic cannon on full power would hands down kill whatever it hit, piercing it in a lancing beam of death. But this was no ordinary situation, and his superiors had decided that he must keep it set to full power, as it would do the same thing as his fellows M-16's would, and more. Kill the enemy.

It still sickened him to know he had already killed twelve people. In two days, he had taken twelve peoples lives. In three years as a Titan, he had never killed even a squirrel. Now, twelve humans were dead by his hand, literally. He shook off the feeling and kept moving forward. They had encountered little resistance today, and only two members of demolitions squad he was on had been killed, while one received a minor injury. Their kill ratio was impeccable. The brass would be very proud of them.

I'd say go ahead and please play the song now, but that would be too polite. So play it now, Maggot!

After half an hour of slogging through the heavily wooded area, they arrived at the summit of a low rise, overlooking a wide trail, maybe fifty feet across, and paved with dirt. Every hundred feet there was a sentry posted and there were fresh tire tracks in the dusty road. How many tons of supplies had already been moved was anybodies guess, but the last trucks would be the last for a while.

Sergeant Morris signaled Cyborg, himself, and the squad sniper to move to the left flank and ambush the single sentry while the other four members of his squad moved to begin planting the explosive charges at fifty foot intervals. The squad nodded ascent and vanished into the brush, invisible, silent, deadly.

Morris, Cyborg, and he sniper Conner slunk along the tree line and moved silently up to the guard stationed there. Drawing out his knife, Morris snaked his arm around and covered the guards mouth with one hand and then slit his throat with the other. He then quickly pulled out a roll of tape and taped the guards hands back to his gun and leaned his body back against the tree he leaned on, so it appeared he was still paying attention.

Conner took up a position and covered the northern moving trail in case any enemy patrols should come along the path. Cyborg removed his pack and pulled two large charges out of it, maybe seventy pounds of C-4 high explosives. He removed them from their special armored containers and handed three of the ten pound charges and detonators to Morris while he took the other four.

The mission plan called for the locating of the original trail to be used for future equipment raiding missions. But on discovery of the map, their orders had been changed to destruction of the trail at wherever they encountered it first to disrupt any enemy activities. So they were given a number of explosives in case they should discover such a map.

Cyborg took his four bricks and placed them at twenty foot intervals on either side of the trail, inserting their detonators as he did. Morris did his the same way and so did the other squad, comprised of the medic, two machine gunners, and a specially trained saboteur. When the charges were all set, the seven men regrouped at the original spot on top the grotto and waited for the inevitable Chinese patrol when two of their sentries failed to report in.

It soon came, and from both ends. A jeep with an officer and three grunts came around and pulled up to each sentry point. As soon as they made their grim discovery, Morris pushed the activation button and detonated all one hundred and thirty pounds of high explosives on the path.

The heat wave was intense and several tons of dirt were thrown sky high when they blew up. The bodies of the investigating Chinese were simply obliterated and nothing remained of that section of the supply route save for a stretch of burning, smoking earth.

As soon as they blew, Morris bawled out an order to his men. "Alright lets move, boys! They'll be here any second to find out what the hell happened, and I don't wanna be here when they do." Abandoning all pretense of stealth, the team turned and ran through the woods, back the way they had came. Each member now lighter due to the absence of twenty to forty pounds of bombs on their back they could move much quicker.

Despite their hasty departure, they still encountered several teams of startled Chinese soldiers. Dropping to one knee and firing the two squad machine gunners annihilated the grey clad soldiers and the sniper expertly fired the six rounds in his magazine, each round taking one enemy life. Cyborg himself fired his cannon from a standing position, blowing holes through encroaching enemy troops.

Before he died, however, one radio carrying soldier alerted the local commanders that an American squad was in their territory and also told where they were currently before a hailstorm of 5.56 mm rounds nailed him to the ground. Now their biggest threat was time. Time to escape was running faster and faster and each time they stopped to fight an enemy they had less and less of it.

Realizing they would all be captured and killed if they stayed much longer Cyborg turned to Morris and spoke to him over the din of battle. "Sir, call in for an air evac and I can clear a landing zone for the choppers!" Then he fired on a group of three creeping Chinese.

In between his pistol's reports Morris turned back to face and Cyborg and spoke back to him. "Son you must be out of your mind! We cannot make a" BLAM! "Landing zone in such close proximity to the " BLAM! "Enemy!"

"No sir, I can make a space for two choppers to land and pick us up." Cyborg replied.

"Negative private. Just keep shootin' an movin' and we'll make it outa here just fine." As soon as he finished his sentence a Chines fire team broke through the field of fire and gunned down the sniper and the demolitions expert. Luckily the two machine gunners were able to bring their weapons to bear and eradicated the enemy in under a second.

"Stone! Change of plans! Clear us a zone and I'll get some choppers down here to pick us up. Get that field made son and we'll be out of here!" He activated the radio on his shoulder and spoke into HQ, requesting two evac choppers, and they agreed. "Two minutes, Victor. Get that field made before then!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Cyborg yelled out and began to fire his sonic cannon in a laser thin beam, clearing trees, shrubs, bushes, and all things within a hundred foot radius pretty much. He worked the beam over his fellows heads and even sliced a few Chinese in half with it. He shuddered when their bodies fell in halves to the ground, making obscene slick noises as they did. But he got the job done, and in two minutes the choppers were there, hosing the perimeter with machine guns and rockets.

Cyborg, Morris, and the others loaded their number on board and quickly took off amid a metal storm. For the first time in two days, Cyborg thought about his new situation. He looked at his hands. His dirty, blood covered hands. They now spoke for him. His will and individuality he was so proud of as a Titan was gone. He was now nothing more than an instrument of the governments will. He saw his body armor, repainted with Marine Corps jungle camouflage and his arms and face streaked with black and green. He closed his eyes and tried not to think how many more humans he left dead.

Back at base, he and the others left the transports and reported to the command center for a debriefing. Once Cyborg and the others gave their full reports, he handed over the journal he had discovered to the Intelligence officers in the hope it held some useful data. Then he went to get some R & R before he had to go back out. So he walked over to where he saw his Sergeant and the two machine gunners locked in a poker game.

He walked over to him and before he could speak the sarge looked up and saw him coming. "Hey Vic," he yelled, the cigar hanging out of his mouth not even distorting his speech, "come here and sit for a second." Cyborg did just that and sat in the empty chair next to the older officer of at least twenty years. He could have been his dad.

"Yes sir, what can I do for you?" Asked the respectful Cyborg.

"You can sit with us and talk for awhile. Is that alright?" he half asked, half ordered. So Cyborg sat down, and folded his arms across his chest. "Tell me, soldier. What made you join this war?"

"Well, because I can do something to help. I mean I'm the strongest soldier in the corps, and could take a tank shell head on. I can do what it would take a whole platoon to do on my own. And I felt like it was my duty as a citizen of my country to do all that I could. But I know my place, and I know who's really in charge. I just want to make it home safe and be with my friends again when this is over."

"Sounds like the rest of us, soldier. Well, I'm glad you're here to lend a hand. You smoke?" the sarge asked, holding out a cigar for his newest squad mate.

"Well, I never have, but I'll try..." Cyborg said as he took the lit cigar the Sarge offered him from his own mouth and took a puff on it.

Morris and his buddies must have thought it was the funniest thing ever watching the one ton soldier hacking around and coughing like an asthmatic working on pyro. Well Sarge got the cigar back from Cyborg and then he sat back down.

"I think I'll pass on those in the future, sarge." Vic commented as he swore he hacked up half a lung. He leaned forward and rested his massive forearms on the table and continued his discussions with his new friends.

"That's alright kid, most people are the exact same. When you grow up a little you'll be fine." he chuckled and rubbed Cyborgs head a little to embarrass him and build a relationship. "Meantime, what's it like being a soldier, kid? Killing bad guys instead of tying em up? How's that?"

The previously smiling Cyborg looked down and is face suddenly hardened. "All my life I was trying to protect every single person I could since I became what I am. Now, I have to kill to protect. It hurts, deep down, every time I put another human in my sights and shoot to kill. That's not what I want. But I have a family, so I have to do it. If not for them than no one.

"It's scary. On every mission I have been terrified. I know I could handle myself, but I don't want to do it on my own. I would rather just hand them over to the police, but they would kill them. When I first decided to join, I was expecting scenes of valor, men charging up hills, flash ad thunder and all. Now, creeping through jungles, slitting throats, and ripping men apart in colossal explosions. I don't think I could ever be prepared for this." He hung his head low and looked to the Sarge for comfort.

"I know, young one. We all felt that way when we picked up the rifle for the first time. It's natural to be so afraid with such an unnatural thing. But you're doing fine. You said it yourself, you can do things that would take a whole platoon to do on your own. That's something to be proud of. And you're still twice the soldier that Jackson is!" Morris' laughed as he pointed a finger at one of his gunners, a red haired man of about thirty, sitting across from him.

"Yeah, thanks a lot Sir." came the sarcastic reply of the man. Their was a very light mood in the air as the four men played cards and shared stories for nearly two hours. Afterwards Morris, Jackson, and Lynch left to go clean and repair some of their equipment and Victor began work on some of his damaged parts. Mostly scratches and buffs, but he still felt they ought to be removed and paint reapplied to them.

Afterwards, he met up with Morris, Jackson, and Lynch in the mess hall and they ate together. He shocked them all be not only being able to fight as well as they could but by being able to out eat them by a mile. When dinner was over they sat and talked for a while and then at precisely nine thirty Morris told Victor to go and get some rest. "Tomorrow we are launching an attack based on the intel we acquired over the last few days. It aint gonna be easy. Be ready. Lots of people will die tomorrow. But I know you'll make it." Then he left.

Cyborg made his way back to the barracks he stayed in and laid out on the recharge table he brought with him and the Marine techs had help him set up. Sleep would be good for him. He hadn't had any in fifty six hours.

The dawn came quick, rising over the morning fog and Cy was up early. H went for his morning run with he troops, scarfed a quick breakfast at seven a.m. Not that he wanted to be awake at such an ungodly hour, but the Corps saw sleeping in as a sign of idleness. And Cyborg quickly learned that the Corps hated idleness.

Once chow was over he ran a diagnostic on his armor and went to the command center to get orders with his fellow soldiers. The attack was going to begin at five p.m. that day. The map Cyborg recovered clearly showed that the large trail began only a few miles upwind from where they had destroyed a huge section of it. The base was sending fully half of its total strength, roughly six hundred Marines, to go and take the center.

Victor learned that to 'take' a city meant to capture or kill all of it's military personnel, annihilate all defensive measures, and replace the flag. He knew he would have to kill. But he had done it before, he reminded himself, 'And I can do it again.' Steely resolution solidified the words in his mind.

After the briefing, the attacking force was divided into three attacking groups. Red, Blue, and Gold group. Each had a specific objective. Red group, the largest group with four hundred soldiers, was tasked with dealing with infantry. Blue group with one hundred and fifty men, was given the job of infiltrating the various buildings in the installation. Finally, Gold group, under the command of Sergeant Morris, was told to go and break the enemies defensive line so the rest of the assault could continue. They had only fifty soldiers to do this. However, they included the best machine gunners, snipers, and explosives experts in the entire detachment. And they had the one ton surprise of Cyborg, Victor Stone, to cause havoc.

Five o clock came around quick and the assault began. Because of transportation restrictions, only about fifty men could move in at a time. Which meant all of Gold group could begin to soften up the lines to the point where Red group could land and begin to push the enemy back when they arrived half an hour later.

Well the insertion went off without a hitch and Gold groups' soldiers expertly deployed themselves and began to pound the enemy lines. In the first few minutes of the battle, they had killed close to one hundred soldiers and had destroyed several armored vehicles and barricades. Surprise was on their side for now.

Morris expertly led his troops through their duties, and within the hour, they had opened up a hole in the Chinese defense. Around this time, Red group had landed and started to push into the base. Gold group continued to push forward and clear an ever widening hole in the enemy lines. But they weren't invincible. The Chinese did not want to lose their territory.

A squad of heavy weapons soldiers moved in to attack the Americans. Three machine guns and seven assault rifles opened up the invading soldiers. Unbeknownst to the first troops of the Red group, a hail storm of fire awaited them. The minute they ran through the Chinese barricades they found themselves up against a wall of guns. Thunder rolled from the barrels and ground shook in sympathy as marines fell as thousands of rounds picked them up and slammed them back down to the ground.

For some time the massacre continued as the Chinese laid down cris crossing lines of fire until the champion of the Gold group, Cyborg responded to a call for assistance. He ran around the corner and was right in the line of fire. At first the Chinese didn't know what to do. Here was this huge boy, young, but covered with armor and a huge gun for his right arm. So they did what was natural to a soldier. Fired.

Victor Stone had never been shot before. Not with a steel jacketed slug at least. The impacts of several high velocity rounds rocked him back on his heels and he struggled to remain on his feet. He dropped to the ground to protect himself and come up with a plan. Desperately trying to find a way to take out the emplacement, he looked to the buildings around him and his answer was obvious.

He raised his arm and aimed right above the soldiers on the right side of the street and fired, piercing the concrete building. He then sawed his arm to the left, breaking loose many large chunks of concrete. The pieces fell to the ground, crushing the dug in soldiers into pulp. Quickly doing the same to the left side before the matching soldiers could abandon their shelter, he single handedly cleared the first major choke point of the battle.

The fight raged on for the rest of the day, and well into the next. Many lives were lost, but the objective had been met. An enemy outpost was on the verge of capture by hard working American soldiers. One building was left to search. Due to the number of casualties suffered by Blue group, members from Gold group were selected to fill its ranks, including Sergeant Morris and Private Stone.

As they approached the building a single shot rang out.

Morris was busy telling Cyborg some of the more important aspects of CQB, Close Quarters Battle, so he would have more of an idea of what to do when they got inside. "You've done a fantastic job, Victor. I will be sure to put you in for a promotion in my next report." He reached out and shook the colossal teens hand.

Before Cyborg could even respond to the compliment, he felt a spray on his face. A single shot echoed in his ears.

One shot.

One...

Before he could react Morris was thrown backward and fell back onto a concrete platform on his back. A hole in the center of his throat slowly leaked blood and his hands bounced once on the hard pavement before finally coming to a rest not five feet from Cyborg. The charge had already began and the rest of the entry team broke through the door and began fighting back the rest of the Chinese defenders to take the final structure.

"Medic!!!!!!!!!" Cyborg screamed at the top of his lungs, even though his sensors showed he was already dead. He grabbed the dead mans hand and held on till he arrived. Never had someone died right in front of him. But then again, a lot of things were new lately.

Not ten minutes ago he had pulled soldiers out of oncoming fire and fired his rifle one handed while throwing back a Chinese grenade. He had dive tackled soldiers out of lines of enemy fire. He had put his life on the line to save so many, and now he lay dead on a slab of rock.

Cyborg couldn't help but think he would be next.