Robin and Raven had little difficulty penetrating the security of the museum now that the security system was off (thanks to Cyborg) and made their way inside, passing by ancient relics, pictures, information, all of it valuable to scholars but worthless to the two heroes.
"The vault is this way," intoned Raven, guiding Robin along. He followed her. Her mystic senses were attuned to the stone, she could find it more easily than he would. So he followed behind her, a birdarang in hand in case they ran into a Zornian. So far neither Beastboy or Starfire had reported anything, so it was fairly safe to assume they were none around, but he hadn't lived as long as he had by not being cautious.
"In here," said Raven, indicating the sealed vault. "I sense the stone is on the other side of this metal barrier."
"Alright. Can you teleport inside?" he asked.
"Not without draining myself. I've not yet mastered that ability," she reluctantly replied.
"Alright… hmmmm…" said Robin, peering at the keyboard by the door. It was very complex. User password, double-coded, handprint identification. He could break through them but it would probably take 'til dawn, and they didn't have the time. "I can't blow the door down," he thought aloud. "We might damage the stone."
"Perhaps the Tamaranian can remove it," suggested Raven. "She should be physically strong enough to, at any rate. Perhaps with the aid of the mechanical man."
"Alright," said Robin, flipping open his communicator and patching in with Cyborg. "Cy, we need you inside. Signal the others too. We'll get the stone out then move as quick as possible."
"On my way, just gimme a sec to collect my arm," replied Cyborg over the comm.
Moments later, the gathered heroes were all present before the great steel door to the vault, which towered up higher than Beastboy and was undoubtedly a very strong, thick design. It would've had to have been, for the Zornians to amass so many explosives.
"Starfire, Cyborg," intoned Raven. "If you can, please be so kind as to tear this door down."
"No problem," said Cyborg, taking a moment to do an exaggerated and overly dramatic stretching of his muscles, cracking his knuckles and his neck. He could tear down the door himself if he went to 100, he doubted he'd need the help of the little lady Starfire…
… and he was proved vastly wrong as Starfire reached out a hand, grabbed the handle of the vault, and ripped it clear off its hinges… -one-handed-. Cyborg could've swore he heard a metallic thunk as his jaw hit the floor.
"Nice work," remarked Robin, giving Starfire a thumb's up. She smiled shyly back, glad she'd been helpful.
The gathered teens peered inside at their objective.
The stone stood on a pedestal in the center of the room, unguarded and unprotected. Understandably so, since it was assumed (obviously incorrectly) that no one could break through a security system so intricate as theirs -and- blow down the steel door without setting off half a dozen alarms or waking up half the neighborhood. As it was, high up in his security office, the one sleeping guard still hadn't even stirred in his sleep. The stone was approxamently the size of a football, shaped into a perfect circular disk with the symbol Raven had shown them carved into its granite form. It was perhaps half an inch thick.
Robin and the others strode into the room, though they kept a respectful distance as Raven floated in and reached out, grabbing the stone and holding it in the palm of her hand.
"The last stone," she whispered softly. "We must protect this," she said to them, addressing each in turn, her violet eyes boring into theirs. "My life, your lives, are nothing if this stone is not kept intact. If this is destroyed we are -all- doomed," she finished ominously. The gathered teens made their way towards the exit.
"Oh lighten up," said Beastboy, placing his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture as they walked along. "We've got the stone, what's the worst that could happen now?"
They had reached the dinosaur exhibit when Beastboy got his answer.
An explosion rocked the air as the main entrance burst completely open, showering the room with deadly glass and steel, though at a safe distance to the teens. However, as the smoke cleared, Zornians… undisguised and unafraid, started to storm in. They were armed now, packing lasers of a decidedly alien design and wicked intentions. Wasting no time they leveled them at the Titans.
"Had to ask, didn't you?" said Raven sarcastically.
The Zornians opened fire.
Cyborg immediately ducked out of the way of the laser blasts and rolled onto the ground. He wasn't an expert martial artist like Robin but he knew his body inside and out (literally) and he had a rather healthy control over it when it came to movement. So he gracefully slid into a crouch position and held out his left arm, slapping his right arm against his wrist to steady it as it smoothly changed into his plasma cannon and he let the ugly aliens have it.
Beastboy panicked as well and transformed into a field mouse, zipping left and right out of the way of lasers as he did his best to duck out of sight behind a priceless skull of a triceratops. It was obliterated seconds later, revealing a cowering Beastboy behind it.
Normally Starfire would've been the first into combat but not against such obviously superior numbers so she hung back, returning their blasts with her own and artfully ducking, dodge, and spiraling out of the way in mid-air. She hoped to draw their fire away from her friends.
Raven ran, throwing up a hasty black energy barrier to ward off the blasts of the Zornians as she retreated alongside Robin, heading for another exit towards the rear of the building. However, a stray blast hit the ground beside her foot, and she stumbled and... to her horror... dropped the stone...
... time seemed to slow...
... until Robin slid past Raven like a baseball player heading for home and caught the stone, in his chest, clutching his arms around it as he slid into another exhibit, nearly crashing fully into the preserved skeleton of a stegosaurus.
"Destroy them! Destroy them all!" shouted a now-familiar voice to the teens. The Zornian's leader.
However, as they turned and spotted him, barking orders at his subordinates trying to obliterate the gathered heroes, a new enemy brought himself into view, smashing through the low wall of the museum entrance and giving a fearsome roar. An insect, a great bug like the Zornians, but different. A great scorpion-spider hybrid of some kind, easily two stories tall and sixty feet long from its clicking mandibles to its wickedly barbed tail. It was covered entirely with a thick black citinous exoskeleton, and its four red eyes glowed evilly as it beheld the teenaged heroes before it. It gave another roar and then, to their horror, began to advance upon them, its great huge pinches clacking together ominously.
"Holy mother of..." breathed Cyborg at the sight of the alien behemoth.
"Surrender the stone or perish painfully!" roared the alien monstrosity, taking a menacing step forward. The ground shook under its approach, and its clacking claws created an ominous music as it advanced on the teen heroes.
"Dude! It talks?!" said Beastboy in surprise.
"What do we get if we surrender the stone?!" called out Robin, though it was clear from the tone of his voice he wasn't serious in the least.
"A less painful death," replied the monster. The Zornians laughed.
"That's a Ravager!" shouted Raven, recognizing their threat at last. "It's a demon from Tri-... er, our enemies home dimension!"
"Correct, little spawn," hissed the Ravager, turning his four-eyed gaze on her. "I should not be surprised to see you here."
"You two know each other?!" said Beastboy in shock.
"ATTACK!" roared Raven, wasting no time in grabbing up the shattered remains of the triceratops skeleton with her telekinesis and hurling them at the Ravager. The great beast was hit full in its ugly face, and it staggered backwards. Cyborg and Starfire followed up the attack with a quick one-two hit, blasting at the monster with starbolts and plasma blasts. Robin and Beastboy stood by, waiting for the smoke to clear to see how badly their foe was hurt before they did anything else.
The Zornians had backed off at the vicious attack, waiting...
The Ravager roared, lifting itself up and slamming its body down hard against the floor, lashing out with its great claws and batting aside Cyborg and Starfire like they were rag dolls, sending them flying. Its sudden movement dispersed the smoke, revealing its injuries... which were gone. It was completely unharmed, uninjured, undamaged.
Beastboy leapt up into the air, morphing into the form of a enormous T-rex once more and charging at the Ravager, as Robin launched his grapple and swung into the fray foot-first. The Ravager growled darkly, lashing out with its tail. But Robin had seen the attack coming and whirled around in mid-flight, bringing up his cape to protect himself. The poisonous tip bounced off his polymerized-titanium cape and slid safely away from his body as he landed nearby the beasts back-leg. Beastboy slammed fully into the Ravager, knocking him backwards as the two great beasts clashed like the Titans of myth.
"What inferior creatures you surround yourself with, spawn," hissed the Ravager, grabbing up the green t-rex in his claws and throwing Beastboy through the air. The metamorph reverted to his much smaller humanoid size as he hit the ground hard, rolling a bit before coming to a stop.
"You won't win!" shouted Raven angrily. Above them, a water sprinkler burst, then another, showering the area in water. Undaunted, the Ravager continued to stride forward.
"Of course we will."
"Not on my watch!" shouted Robin, launching himself forward and slamming his metallic bo staff as hard as he could against the back leg of the Ravager, catching the great beast completely by surprise.
His staff snapped in two.
Robin stood there dumbfounded, holding the broken ends of his staff as the Ravager turned about with surprising speed and struck Robin hard in the chest, sending the Boy Wonder flying through the air towards the far wall at a speed that likely would've killed him, crushed his head, or at the very least left him seriously wounded.
That is, if Starfire hadn't suddenly zipped in with a speed bordering on blurring, grabbing up Robin in her arms and flying him up to safety.
"Retreat!" shouted Robin. "We need to protect the stone! Everyone out of here!"
The teen heros scattered, Raven vanishing into the shadows, Beastboy morphing into a pterodactyl and grabbing up Cyborg, hauling the heavier, slower half-machine out of harm's way. The Zornians opened fire as the teens retreat, the Ravager coming after them, its gigantic legs making an ominous chitting/thunderous sound as it moved with rapid speed across the ground and out the back exit, right on the heels of the heroes and their precious prize.
The sun had risen high in the sky, the streets were deserted of hero and monster, only the everyday people, going about their business. None were aware of the fragile nature of their existence that day, none were aware that, at any moment, it could all end most horribly with the coming of an extra-planar demon.
None, that is, except five young heroes.
Whom had finally managed to locate one another again, after scattering back at the museum in an attempt to throw off the Zornians. Fortunately, they seemed to have succeded. The insect-men seemed to be very much like cockroaches, they fled when daylight peeked up over the skyline and washed over the city. The immortal Ravager had also vanished, ending its pursuit of the stone and the spawn.
Raven suddenly appeared, stepping out of the shadows of a nearby alleyway and into the older part of Jump City, the suburban part of the city, where the older apartments were. She paused, glancing around.
"You can come out now," she stated in her dull, monotone voice.
A dog poked its head cautiously out of a nearby alleyway, then hesitantly slipped into the light, morphing back into the nervous visage of Beastboy as it did so. His green skin was several shades paler than it had been previously.
"The others are on their way, I've informed them of our location," said Raven tonelessly.
"Thank goodness," replied Beastboy. "What the heck was that thing? We couldn't give it a black eye!"
"The Ravager is powerful but not unbeatable," stated Raven. "They have been defeated in combat before, even by novices such as yourself."
"Hey!" shouted Beastboy, getting tired of being insulted and berated by the cold, mysterious girl. "I'd appreciate a little gratitude for helping you out! After all, I didn't see you doing anything to the Rava-whatever either!"
"My powers have no effect on a Ravager," replied Raven. "Our enemy must've known I would be here. That explains how he knew I was going to be there with the stone." Beastboy had another question on the tip of his tongue but at that moment, Starfire and Robin dropped down to join them, followed shortly afterwards by Cyborg (forced to find a way along the ground).
"Why is that, Raven? Why can't your powers work on the Ravager? And for that matter, why did it refer to you so familiarly as 'spawn'?" asked Robin, arms folded across his chest, eyes narrowed behind his mask.
Raven sighed deeply. "I am connected to the Ravager and our enemy. I can not and will not explain this connection. Not here, not now. But you can trust me," she stated honestly.
"How do we know we can trust you?" asked Robin. "What proof can you offer us?"
"Only my word. If that is insufficient..."
"Friends please... let us not speak so meanly to one another," cut in Starfire, trying to gently break Raven and Robin apart before they came to blows. "We all have the same enemy. We should fight together." Robin conceded she had a point. Whatever Raven was, the Zornians and the Ravager didn't like her anymore than it liked them. They'd struck indiscriminately.
"Alright... well now we have this," he said, reaching behind his back and pulling the stone from where it had been secured to his back. "What now?"
"We should..." Raven started to say...
... but then the ground seemed to open up and swallow them all.
Author's Notes:
Uh-oh, looks like the Zornian's called for back-up from their big boss dude Trigon. The title Ravager is a semi-comic tribute to an old foe of the comic Titans who bore that codename. He was Grant Wilson and the son of Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke the Terminator. I've decided to alter its use and a few other comic elements that will come into play later regarding that. Next time, the tide of battle turns against the newly formed Titans.
Koriand'r Star: I noticed the similarity as well, plus Robin is plenty lone wolf when Slade is concerned. They're very alike. Slade and Terra's origins I promised someone will be addressed at the end of the story, but yes it will subtly lead into the first episode of Teen Titans.
Rakna: That has got to be the kindest and most encouraging review I've received in a great long while. And oddly enough you barely even touched on the plot of my story. I am very glad, however, you appreciate my work on writing and characterization. I've also noticed the multitude of bad TT fics (and indeed, fics in general) out there and I try to avoid their mistakes if possible.
Toddfan: Oh really? That sounds like a deliciously twisted idea. I like it!
Destruction: Oh don't worry, I love passing out compliments.
Kat097: How's that different from what I said? Deal!
Raven002: Harsh. But I direct your attention to my profile couples, indicating I am a staunch supporter of the Cyborg/Raven couple. Patience, my friends. Patience.
WildSpiritofDarkness2: Up the creepiness factor? Oh just you wait I have big plans in store for a uber-creepy demonic Raven later on. I can't overdo it, you understand, because of continuity, but I'll be able to push all the Titans to their limits in one fashion or another. Keep up the reviews, glad you're enjoying the story.
Green-husky: Plenty more Starfire/Robin coming up, as well as all the other couples but remember they just frickin' met they're not going to jump into each other's arms right away. Sheesh, you kids. And yeah I kinda figured the sick was good but thanks for clarification.
Spazzfire: I keep telling you, animated Starfire is not comic Starfire, and would blush until she burst into flame if she kissed Robin, who would die of embarrassment. They… just… frickin'… met! Patience people. Couples later, action now. Then pizza.
Titansfan545: Well I used to know zilch about the DC universe too, the shows have opened my eyes to a lot of comic truths. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and the comic references, however.
Ash's Scizor: Neither of them are appearing in my story except Slade at the very end. I can't do a Brother Blood secret origin because the comic Brother Blood was a multitude of people, and I haven't seen enough of the animated one to know much about him.
Katergator: Certainly, I'll be glad to talk to you about comic sources if you want. Glad you're enjoying the characterization, which I strive for above all else. We're not sad college students! But yeah you're right it's definitely more kid-friendly than, say, Justice League (which at least allows for suggestive dialogue). As for the kissing, that's actually the same argument Starfire made, though I think she was covering. Hehe. Glad you're enjoying the Cyborg/Raven. Those two just click for me, plus Beastboy/Terra is waaaay cuter than Beastboy/Raven. Even if Terra is a traitor.