Episode 4: Titan Siege
Terra was in a coma-like state, lying unconscious on the medical bed while Cyborg monitored her vital stats on the screen. The team had been observing her for hours now, worrying into the late hours of the night. Although the Titans took turns watching her in the room, Beast Boy never left her side.
"Beast Boy...what happened?" Raven asked with concern, the rest of the team watched over Terra silently.
"Slade got to her first." Beast Boy shook his head in shame. 't save her in time."
"You tried your best B. That is all that matters." Cyborg offered a friendly supporting hand on his shoulder. Robin and Starfire had just entered the room now.
"How is the condition of our friend?" Starfire asked sincerely, hands clasped.
"Her vitals are alright, although her heart rate and brainwaves are irregular. I don't know what's wrong with her."
Yet Beast Boy did, and it almost drove him crazy that he could not just tell Cy now, about the whole scheme Slade had planned, the whole Nanobot thing-a-bob that Slade had planned on using since the beginning...But then he remembered the threat. And stayed silent.
Suddenly the screen showing Terra's vital stats starting flickering, static increased and the familiar beep of the machine turned into an ominous fuzzy noise. The screen cleared up again, and the Titans watched with shock as Slade's face appeared on the screen.
"Good Evening Titans. I hope I'm not interrupting any....emotional moments here."
"Slade. We'll make you sorry you ever did this to Terra." Robin replied with fury.
Slade merely brushed it off. "Please....enough of your threats. You know as well as I do that they carry no weight." He replied with a rather bored tone.
"What is it this time Slade? More explosives? You never have anything Original do you?"
"Again with the hostility Robin. Hehe, but then again, I should expect nothing more from a failed apprentice. No. There won't be any explosives, nor will there be some gargantuan test like the last one. The previous task I had you do was to simply test your endurance, and now that I have seen the limit of that endurance, I am going to break it." He gripped his fist in front of the screen.
"What are you really planning?"
Slade gave and bemused look. "Why Robin...since you are so impatient I will tell you. You are aware of our last encounter, as you should be. Then you will also know this: I require a new place...to set up shop. And you should feel very honored Robin, because after endless hours of searching I have finally decided upon a location that will perfectly suit my needs." There was no need for further explanation.
"So...you weren't after us at all, just our base..."
"Almost correct Robin as usual, after all...you did destroy two of my previous ones, it is only fair that I....requisition yours. Permanently. Of course, If I can destroy your precious team in the process, then I will consider it a bonus...like killing two birds with one stone really."
"Do you really think you can do this without the city knowing?" Robin demanded of Slade.
"Of course not, which is why I had Overload provide a distraction." The titans watched in shock now, as the entire city, which a second ago was a sea of lights, vanished into a blanket of darkness. It was a blackout. Soon afterwards, a series of explosions flowed through the streets. Overload was on another rampage.
"That's why you freed overload from the start." Robin said bitterly.
"Oh don't give me all the credit, I must personally express my gratitude towards Beast Boy, he did after all, free Overload for me."
"You are a lying Clorbag. Beast boy would never do such things!"
"Why don't you ask him yourself little girl? In any case, I will leave it to you to settle this out yourselves, but remember, time is short, and for the remaining waking moments of your lives, I will neither stop, nor will I show mercy."
Slade's dark voice was then replaced by a more sophisticated, calm voice.
"I am sure you were looking forward to one of my erudite speeches about how my intricate plot or scheme would unfold, but I am going to have to disappoint you. This is a siege now, pure and simple. It took most of your strength just to complete the little task I had for you a few days ago. How long will you last then...when my army assails you every minute of every day, non-stop." He gave a small deep chuckle of satisfaction as he finished it off.
"Welcome Titans, to my Tower, to my domain. I shall be seeing you very shortly."
The screen went blank, and already explosions from all over the complex were heard. Slade's army had arrived.
Cue Theme song ;)
When there's trouble you know who to call
Teen Titans!
From their tower, they can see it all
Teen Titans!
When there's evil on the attack
You can rest knowing they got your back
'Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol
Teen Titans GO!
With their superpowers they unite
Teen Titans!
Never met a villain that they liked
Teen Titans!
They've got the bad guys on the run
They never stop 'till the job gets done
'Cuz when the world is losin' all control
Teen Titans GO!
1.. 2.. 3.. 4....
Teen Titans!
They came in a dark swarm, a gigantic army. There were hundreds of them, surfacing from the ocean and walking ominously towards the tower. Accompanying the humanoid Robots, were the heavy commando drones that Slade had used in the past. The only thing different now was that, there was more of them... a lot more.
"Look's like Slade's throwing everything he has at us." Cyborg commented, "I got to activate the security!" He then ran, hoping to make it to the control room in time.
"Beast Boy...." Raven said softly, holding her hand out in support.
"I'm sorry..." Beast Boy turned away now, standing above Terra with his head bowed down, his voice was full of gloom.
Another explosion rocked the building now, and Robin wasted no time.
"We got no time! Come on! We have to fight." Robin took out six birdarangs now, three in each hand, and ran out, Starfire followed.
"We could use your help Beast Boy." Raven said encouragingly.
Beast Boy didn't turn around, or even lift his head up. "Please...Just leave me alone."
The building shook again, and this time the distinct bursts of laser fire came echoing through the halls.
"Raven! Come on!" Robin shouted from across the halls. Raven consented, and quietly left Beast Boy alone with his thoughts.
Cyborg was the first at the control room, and in a hurried fashion he quickly pressed every button on the keyboards as he passed. Alarms blared now, signaling that the Tower was going into a security lockdown. Steel doors slammed shut, while outside the grounds, Cyborg's automated defense cannons began their own private duel with Slade's heavy artillery.
"How many of em are there?" Robin jumped into his command chair now, with Starfire and Raven not far behind. The computer screen turned on now, and video feeds from every location in the tower were shown on it.
"At least a thousand. So that leaves...several hundred for each of us." Cyborg said with an unenthusiastic tone.
"Any sign of Slade?" Robin asked in his usual determined voice.
Cyborg shook his head. "Nothing."
The room shook violently, and tiny trails of dust and rubble began falling through the cracks from the ceiling.
"Robin, there will be time for Slade later. For now, we must defend our home!" Starfire exclaimed in worriment.
"You're right Star," Robin gave an agreeing nod. "But we have to Split up."
Another explosion, this time from down the hall.
"They've overwhelmed my security!" Cyborg cried in disbelief, then quickly recovered his tone. "Ahem...we got bogies in the lounge, training area, and quarters."
"Ok. Cyborg you take the lounge, Raven, training area, Starfire, protect our quarters." Robin quickly shot out instructions.
"Don't let them get into my Room." Raven was charging now, preparing for the upcoming battle.
"And Beast Boy?" Starfire asked with concern.
"He'll be fine, right now, we got to stop Slade!" Robin replied.
"Booyah! Let's get this on!" Cyborg turned both his arms into cannons now, and the Titans began the battle of their lives.
The training area was dark. Slade's robot's must have cut the power to the lower levels...
Raven proceeded cautiously, her hands lighting up with her black magic while she scanned the gym. There were holes in the wall, big enough for tons of Robots to go into. But no sound.
"Come out come out wherever you are...." She said sternly as she wandered the empty Gym, scanning the silhouettes of the weight room equipment and workout area.
Silence. She powered down.
"Guess no one's here...."
The lights flickered on now, and Raven found herself surrounded on all sides by dozens of Slade's robots.
Raven however, calmly shrouded herself with a shield of black magic, concentrating on a spell as the Robots let loose a torrent of lasers at her. A swirling wind filled the chamber now, combined with a restless sound as Raven continued chanting in her spell. The room vanished in a bright light as Raven released a large wave of her powers. Robots were pushed back through the walls while others simply disintegrated in the blast.
"yup...no one."
Two more robots bursted through the walls now, this time they were the big ones, armed with heavy cannons on each arm. After a few seconds scanning through the smoke, they had a lock on Raven and soon blazed away wildly.
Raven flew away from the explosions, concentrating on two dumbbells that lay on the ground. The two dumbbells became shrouded in her dark chakra, and she sent them flying at the two robots. The Robots prepared to side step out of the way, but Raven had already anticipated it, she curled the steel bar around the two robots like some sort of metallic snake, constricting the two until they exploded from the pressure.
Another section of the wall exploded now, revealing another host of Robots.
"Sorry, this Gym is closed."
The walls around the robots glowed in black chakra now, and soon came slamming shut on the robots like a set of jaws, cutting the ones that were caught between in half. The Robots however, simply blasted that wall apart, and continued their rampage.
"This is not going to be easy." Raven said dryly, then chanted again, charging for her next attack. He eyes glowing white.
"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!"
The lounge was a disaster area. Robots ransacked the computer, hacked into the monitoring system, as well as checking the kitchen and entertainment area for any useful items.
Cyborg entered the room now, and froze as he saw hundreds of robots pause in their activities, all staring at him. One of the Robots was inspecting the fridge, another held up a copy of Beast Boy's Mega Monkey's Four.
"Yo give that back! I still have to beat Beast Boy's score on that!"
The Robots threw their items away now, including Cyborg's Dreamstation, which shattered into a million pieces as they hit the ground.
"Oh That's it! Now you've crossed the line!" Cyborg replied angrily, converting BOTH his arms into cannons. "BOOYAH!" he charged.
The Robots were unprepared for this onslaught, the room lit up in bright beams of blue as Cyborg shot every Robot he passed. Some fell with huge smoking holes in their stomachs, others with no heads.
"Exit, stage left." Cyborg said casually as he punched one Robot in the stomach, his sonic cannon sending the Robot flying through the wall, out the window, until it exploded in a brilliant flash out light outside the tower. Afterwards he quickly saturated the robots in the kitchen with steady blast from his plasma cannon. Although some dodged his blasts, the majority were quickly dismembered in the beams. A series of explosions across the lounge followed, and triumphant Cyborg stood amongst a mountain of smoking robot bodies.
Another door exploded, revealing a new horde of Robots, which quickly converged on Cyborg.
He retracted his cannon arms now, and gave his knuckles a good crack. The Slade bots cautiously surrounded him.
Cyborg only grinned. "Time to get back to basics."
"That is Raven's Room! You can't go in!" Starfire shouted in anger as she blew back a group of Robots with a huge starbolt.
The Robots on the top floors had split into small groups, numbering perhaps ten to twenty, and they each ran in opposite directions. One group tried to pin Star down, but she quickly destroyed them with her laser eyes.
Another group of robots emerged from the rooms, opening a door into the main hall where Starfire was floating.
"You have entered Cyborg's room, I shall avenge it!" She charged her hands now, and fired a gigantic wave of lasers at them. The Robots, absorbing the full blast of her starbolts, quickly flew back into the Room. A gigantic explosion followed afterwards.
Starfire blushed red now, realizing what she had just done.
Another wall exploded now, this time from Beast Boy's room. The heavy duty androids appearing out of the smoke. Through the smoke, Star could make out the destroyed bed, the horrible mess that was on Beast Boy's floor.
"Beast Boy's room...how dare you make it more....umm."
The Androids gave no answer, and instead trained their laser eyes towards the young Tamaranian and fired.
Starfire fell back onto the floor with a grunt, but quickly flew at the Robots, swinging low and punching a whole through one of it's legs. The second android attempted to attack, but was quickly caught off guard as starfire flew straight through it, eyes blazing. Leaving a neat little hole in its chest. The machine exploded shortly afterwards.
A new sound appeared from another Room now, and the familiar squirming cries from her pet brought new alarm to Starfire's face.
"Silkie?" She entered her room now. The curtains were gone, along with the wall. The furniture in the room was a smoking ruin. While the fridge in her room was ripped open, and the all too familiar trail of purple gunk was all over the room.
"Silkie!" She cried again, and she immediately received a reply as a gigantic burp came from the ceiling. Starfire recoiled back in shock as the dismembered parts of one of Slade's robots fell from the vent.
"You are fine! My friend!" Starfire held out her outstretched arms toward the vent, and in mere seconds, Silkie came through, only this time he was bigger, much bigger. The giant larva landed on her with a happy thud.
"Silkie, how did you get so big..." Starfire gave her pet a big hug, and then saw the purple jar that was smashed to pieces below the fridge. "Oh. The zorka berries! Well ok, I will let you eat them this once. But now you must help me fight these mean robots."
Silkie gave a giant cute smile, and licked Starfire's hair. "Haha ok silkie, now remember, play nice and don't make a mess in the rooms!"
The worm gave an affirmative slurpy nod and quickly burrowed through the wall into the next room, where its next meal awaited. More explosions came from the room, and soon, pieces of robots began flying through the wall into Starfire's bedroom, each covered in slimy purple gunk.
"Oh dear...I hope Robin wouldn't mind." Starfire said shyly.
Robin was defending the control room now, and took out his two knight sticks (police batons). Twirling them skillfully and using them to swipe at his attackers. One android was sent back, his face broken in half by one of Robin's lunges. Another was tripped, and right before he hit the ground, received a kick in the chest that sent him flying into the wall.
Robin wanted to charge them, but they were too numerous, and soon he was forced behind the door by a barrage of lasers.
He gritted his teeth now, going over the gadgets that he had left in his belt, a few bird-a-rangs, perhaps one of those gigantic bombs, no, it was too risky here. If only he could reach his armoury in the basement...
The laser barrage ended however, and Robin sat curiously as he heard a crunch, a thud, more explosions, and then...silence. Footsteps were approaching the door now, and Robin prepared his bird-a-rangs.
"BOOYAH!" Cyborg exclaimed as he rushed through the door. "We kicked butt."
"That was only the first wave." Raven replied flatly, casually brushing some dust off her arm. "There will be more."
"Where is Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, flying into the room.
Robin shrugged, then just as he was about to say that he was probably still where was, there was a scream. A painful scream, that echoed through the battle scarred halls.
The scream however...was soon followed by a gigantic tremor, and Robin watched in surprise as the entire computer started shorting out, the walls were cracking, threatening to fall apart at the seams.
"Terra!" Robin exclaimed, and the Titans immediately bolted for the medical room.
Terra was screaming now, not in fear, but in pain. She thrashed around the medical bed wildly, and her eyes began glowing yellow.
"Ah!! No! Stop it!" She screamed.
"Terra, you got to fight it! You can't let him to this to you!" Beast Boy held her hand to try and comfort her, but Terra did not seem to even register his presence. He gripped his hand now. It was all his fault.
"Beast Boy!" Robin was the first in the room, and the titans immediately made way to her bed, ignoring the piles of robot wreckage that cluttered the room. It was obvious Slade had attacked here too, and Beast Boy had spent the whole time here protecting her.
"I don't know what to do..." He said helplessly.
"You can start by telling us what you know." Robin said sternly. "What's going on with Terra."
"Slade...he did something to her." Beast Boy said worriedly.
"What?" Robin replied.
Beast boy looked away now, and remembered the last words that Slade had told him earlier. "I....."
i Don't bother telling your friends. I will know if you do... /i
"Don't know..." He closed his eyes now, holding back the tears that were already stinging him.
"Well we can't afford to have her freaking out like this while we're off fighting Slade, we have to move her." Raven suggested.
"We can't, the tower's surrounded." Cyborg replied.
Robin gave a consenting nod. "We have no choice, we have to fight even under these conditions, perhaps this must have been Slade's plan after all, to wear us down."
"Yea, well this bot's not giving up this easily." Cyborg gave an energetic booyah as he took out his plasma cannon.
"Raven? Star?"
"Ready when you are." Raven nodded, charging her powers.
"I am most eager to help Robin, it is not over yet."
More explosions came from the lower levels now, signaling that the next wave had begun its advance.
"Alright then, let's go!"
Meanwhile...deep within the city..
The explosions that rocked Titan tower seemed so small from such a distance. From his position, he could make out the swarm of robots as they scaled the tower, blew holes in its walls. Already, the mighty T tower was almost a smoking ruin.
The citizens of Jump City however, had more important things to worry about, namely the fifty foot mass of electricity that rampaged through downtown, tossing up cars and absorbing all electrical equipment. Overload's distraction was serving quite nicely.
The city was in chaos, the police were barely able to respond in the blackout, and the Titans, were being overwhelmed.
The figure gave a smirk as watched Titan's tower, already resembling a piece of swiss cheese, with all those craters and holes.
His communicator was beeping now, and he instinctively took it out, stared at the intimidating face on the screen.
"Magnificent isn't it?" Slade replied through the screen.
"Couldn't have planned it better myself." The mysterious figure replied smoothly. He raised his head curiously as another larger explosion erupted from the roof of the tower. "Must be quite a party."
Slade however, was in no mood for idle chit chat. "The time is ripe. Strike now. And do not disappoint me." The screen went blank.
The figure nodded obligingly, and quickly disappeared into the shadows.
Meanwhile on the island, the Titans continued fighting their private war, which dragged on through the long hours of the night.....
(stay tuned for part two)