PART 1: NEWS OF THE WORLD
As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense to you
Every thrill is gone, wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you as the world falls down...
falling... falling... falling... Falling in Love
Chapter 4: AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN
"Bang, you're dead." Khashoggi's voice barely registered to Raven. She was too busy shutting out BC from her mind. There were so many distractions. Cyborg's face was twisted in utter anguish for one reason or another. She could vaguely hear Robin's voice, twisted in anger to a animal howling. So human of him. Starfire's face was so miserable, Aqualad's expression blank, unreadable through a sheer amount of emotion, and Beast Boy closed his eyes. She wondered why.
"Raven!" Starfire gasped.
Khashoggi rubbed his jaw. He was still reeling from Robin's punch, saying, "One dead, five to go."
"Can't they tell that I'm still alive?" Raven asked no one in particular. BC answered.
"Well," he said, "While you were ignoring me, he shot you."
"But I didn't feel anything."
"I would say that's because he's using an unloaded gun," BC said, examining the firearm carefully. "It's amazing what you can do with a voice like his."
"You felt it, too," Raven said. "He's manipulating the brain."
"Exactly," BC responded, "You're so smart. Daddy's proud of you, darling."
Raven eyed him, but said nothing, "Why can't they see me then." She turned to thought.
Meanwhile, Robin had charged Khashoggi, "Titans, we need to disarm him!"
"Miserable leadership, boy," Khashoggi responded. He weaved to the side and took out a gun, aiming it at his head, "And it's cost you. But don't worry, I'll alert your father that you're dead." Robin looked at Khashoggi sidelong, then closed his eyes.
"Titans!" he ordered, "Attack him." The Titans hesitated.
"But, Robin," Starfire meekly murmured. Khashoggi looked at her.
"If you move, this trigger slips. And I think the pretty alien is next on my list. One by one, the Titans fall." He let his twisted grin grow, "Stop my party, will you?"
Raven frowned, watching this scene. "He must know I'm still alive. Unless," realization dawned on her.
Robin smirked, "C'mon guys, get him. Trust me."
"We're not risking you, Rob," Cyborg said. He looked to Beast Boy. The two shared a glance. "Alright Khashoggi, you win. You're too good for us." Raven eyed Cyborg.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. She didn't notice Beast Boy slither away, taking the shape of an anaconda beneath their feet.
"Cyborg," Robin said through gritted teeth. Cyborg just smirked at him. Robin's eyes widened, and he let them, under cover of his mask, glance at the ground as Beast Boy crawled up Khashoggi's legs.
"Of course. You're the smartest of them all, Cyborg. I know all of your strengths and weaknesses." Khashoggi brought his hand down on the trigger, and waved his hand theatrically. "That's why I took out that Raven girl first. Once she was out of the way, it was just a matter of priority." He laughed, not even noticing the anaconda reach his arm, jaw opened to bite the gun hand. "I may have even let that useless Beast Boy live. Such a useless power, that."
Raven watched bemused, "Of course, his powers can even affect himself. He thinks I'm dead, so he can't see me still living, and he doesn't see Beast Boy as a threat, so when he becomes one it's completely invisible to his brain."
"Hey, Khashoggi," Aqualad said, "Don't underestimate Beast Boy."
"Atlantean, I'm going to enjoy it when it's your turn. In fact," he opened his hand a surprised reaction to the snake's bite. A small gasp escaped his throat. He looked at the offending arm and stared in awe. "How?" His clothing began to turn black as Raven's influence overwhelmed the fibers. He turned to look where she had been shot, and saw her standing unharmed. "You!"
"Yes, me." Her eyes began to fade into redness as shadows began to overwhelm him. "And I'm going to make sure you suffer." There was a bleep from behind her and then electricity coursed from her back all around her. She screeched in pain and fell to the ground, unconscious. Gizmo leaped over her, beaming brightly with pride.
"Snot. Keep your eyes off me for a minute and you're definitely in trouble." He ducked under Robin's flying kick and found himself dodging Starbolt shots. He stumbled into Cyborg, who tried to grab him by the backpack, but found the image fading away.
"Aw man, not this again," Cyborg muttered. He looked around. Gizmo was nowhere to be seen. "Hiding, huh?" He whipped around and saw nothing.
"Over there," Robin pointed. Gizmo had somehow managed to rush over to Khashoggi's side. Beast Boy transformed into a tyrannosaur and looked at Gizmo, he squealed in fright. Beast Boy tried to chase after him, but his backpack transformed into a jetpack. Gizmo flew over the T-rex and dropped shock disks on him,
"Dweebs," Gizmo mocked.
"You saved my life," Khashoggi said, his voice distant.
"Look, you're coming with me one way or another. I got plenty of those shock-bombs left, one of them has your name on it."
"Regardless, I'll be coming with you," he coughed. Gizmo looked at him.
"Where are Jinx and Mammoth?"
"Oh, don't worry about them. They're probably dead by now."
"Good, more credit for me." Gizmo cackled and produced a flash grenade from his pack. He pulled down his goggles and smirked, "Close your eyes, this is going to be bright." He threw the flash bomb in the midst of the Titans, and it exploded with a brilliant light.
When their eyes cleared, the villains were gone.
*****************************
SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED
The red lights whirled to life, shining light even within the darkest of passages. And within these lights were cast the shadows of the escaping Titans. While they were overjoyed to be reunited with one another, the Titans could sense the cloud of melancholy regret that descended upon their leader. His face was cast in a self-deprecating frown. Starfire tried to talk to him, but he was shut off from the world. He was trying to think of how to tell them what would be waiting to save them.
"Starfire, leave him be," Raven said.
"Yeah," Beast Boy chorused, "He looks like he's trying to solve some crossword puzzle. You got some of the letters, but nothing that fits comes to mind. You know how Robin gets."
"The only time he gets like this is when we're dealing with Slade," Cyborg said. "Wonder what that slime-ball is up to." Aqualad said nothing, feeling a bit out of place in the group.
"Don't ask," Robin managed to say without snarling. He returned to his thoughtful pose.
"Robin," Starfire managed to utter. She floated backwards into the group and away from their distant leader."
"Maybe that Khashoggi guy has something to do with it," Beast Boy suggested. "With freaky powers like those, you just can't put him behind bars." Water began spilling from around the corridor. "Okay, is this ship sinking or what?" A shark floundered about the turn. "That's just not right."
Mammoth and Jinx stood there, soaked and tired. "Great, the rest of these guys," Cyborg muttered. "Okay, surrender or get blasted." Cyborg held his sonic blaster out, aimed directly between Jinx and Mammoth.
They looked at the Titans, then and each other, then put their hands up in the air. Jinx looked to them, coughed up some water, and said, "We lose. Just get us off this crazy ship."
***************************
"The name's Roy. Whatcha need?" said a young man looking like he just stepped out of Sherwood. His long auburn hair and stubble covered chin suited him perfectly and gave him an air of confidence and wild ambition. He rested his broken in jeans on the desk in front of him, and waited for the teacher in Inhuman Conditions to return idly while a beautiful woman teased him with her rough street tongue.
"You know what I need," she said, electricity flowing through her veins.
"I got the feeling what I'm hoping's not what you're thinking," Roy muttered in his disappointment. "Okay, what is it Les?" The woman in question sat on the desk and leaned in towards him.
"There's some competition I want eliminated. I hear you're the best shot in the school."
"Offering me extra credit opportunities?" Roy said, bemused. He brought his feet off the table and looked her dead in the eyes. "I don't know, why should I show favoritism for something I don't even care about."
"I know you're a year ahead of me," Leslie said, angrily, "Can't you do something nice for a girl?"
"Well," Roy flipped his shades on to his face, and gave her a winning grin, "I suppose I could do it. But only for the right price."
"What sort of price?" Leslie asked with an alluring purr. "Name it."
"Get off my desk." Leslie hopped off the desk a bit irritated. "Okay, let me get this perfectly straight. You want me to do a political assassination for your Freshman presidency election?"
"Right," Leslie answered.
"That's so amazingly immature," Roy said, rubbing his temples. "Tell you what. Get me the information on this kid and I'll see if I can make it look like an accident."
"You work with a bow and arrow," Leslie pointed out, "How can you make that accidental?"
"There are ways," the man known as Arsenal said, "I'm that good."
***************************
Slade looked at the e-mail from Oracle. It contained a list of the new students and then a note of their powers and abilities. "Perfect." Their biographies were simple and devoid of any incriminating details about the students. Among them, only a few were relevant to his current endeavor. A note was attached at the button, including additional information about their abilities that weren't included in the biographies.
Jonathon Crane, super genius and chemist specializing in fear. Gangly, almost like a scarecrow.
Leslie Willis, an electric shock jock that's now an electrical entity. Underhanded and dangerous.
Pamela Lillian Isely, botany student and environmentalist. Frigid woman, too. Has some strange intelligent plants.
The last note was most fascinating. "He claims to have no name, but he lets people call him 'Mad the Swine', apparently not realizing how degrading a name it is. He doesn't belong in this school, but apparently his potential is so great that the HIVE want to pervert him to their purposes. Still no word on what he can do at this time, but I've heard he's claimed to be able to do anything. I find that unlikely, but still he should be monitored," Slade read aloud. "I believe," he said, "That this is the one we've been looking for all along."
"Slade!" a voice called on the communication, "Come in, Slade."
"Ah, Robin!" Slade answered, quite pleased, "I hope you have good news."
"The ship's about to blow. We're on our way to the deck. Be ready."
"What happened?"
"It's been one of those days."
"I'll be waiting."
***************************
The seas lay open again. Delving into its waters, one could see that slowly the life in the depths slowly returning. Meekly they peeked from their hiding places, the small and the cowardly denizens. The mighty sharks again prowl the oceans. Whales can be heard singing as their pod traverses the mighty expanses of the planet.
And the sole survivor of another time slowly inspects the waters. Its nostrils fill with the scent of death and it gives a mighty roar. This is the God of the Sea. His kingdom lay in ruins, stamped out by man. In his mind the voice so soft and sweet told him in his own tongue that, "The world no longer needs you."
The world did need him, and he would prove it to that boy, that stupid ape with the golden hair. An explosion sent shockwaves through the the waters, and the Leviathan turned its head to see a strange mechanical whale burst into two pieces and then again into three. The stench was strongest near it. That meant that it could only mean one thing - the apes.
***************************
Arsenal sat with his back against a twisted gargoyle sculpture, one of many that adorned the walls of the HIVE Auditorium. He readied his arrows, making sure he had made the proper adjustments for the job. One had a blunt head that would certainly leave a dent but would definitely not lead to any suspicion on his part. Secondly, he readied the five-shot he'd need to take down the curtain.
He was putting the fine touches on the five-shot when he heard someone enter the auditorium and the door began to slide shut very slowly. Then, there was silence. The slight presence of breath was the only indication that someone else was in here. The lights dimmed, as one by one a candle was extinguished from the grand chandelier that hung above the stage.
"You know," someone said. "I remember reading that the managers of the Paris Opera House had tried to place a sniper to eliminate the so called Phantom in the Webber adaptation of Lereux's tale. That didn't work, you see, because the Phantom had eyes everywhere. He knew where the sniper was hiding and so he taunted him by throwing his voice."
"Like this," another voice said. It sounded similar, but it was too far away to be the same person that was talking. "I wonder, do you think I can throw my voice around?"
Another voice said, "Because if that's the case, I would move." This voice came from right next to him. Roy felt his voice catch, and he turned his face slowly to see what was talking. There was nothing there but a stupid looking scarecrow doll that looked at him with a lifeless stare. He laughed and threw the doll to the side. "Ouch." The voice seemed to come from where the doll had landed. Roy's eyes moved to the doll, but it hadn't moved. He looked at it, his eyes trying to focus on it. He could feel the goosebumps run up his arms.
"Okay, this joke's not funny anymore," he said roughly.
"It's not meant to be funny," the voice said again calmly, roughly around where the doll had fallen, "It's meant to be scary." Roy nervously looked over where the doll had fallen, and it was no longer crumpled in a mess, but sitting upright. The voice again said, dangerously cold, "Scared yet?"
"No, no way." He felt his voice catch in his throat.
"Oh, too bad. You should be." It just looked back at him; those lifeless eyes, a comfort but a moment ago, now caused the blood in Arsenal's veins to run cold. There was a flash of light in the doll's eyes as the last of the lights went out, plunging him and the doll into a world of pure blackness. "I can see you," it said in its taunting little tone, cold and singsong. Roy let a small scream escape his lips before he looked for a way down, trying to avoid the doll. His hands felt something in the dark. It was the scarecrow doll. In the darkness he could feel the sharp sting of a blade.
"Not scared," Roy contested, to the darkness.
"Yes you are." This voice came from the seats below, causing Roy's heart to skip a beat. It was a cool, confident and arrogant voice. He looked down on what was a solitary light now. The shadows it cast were in the shape of a menacing grin. "Come down here. I'll shed a bit of light to help you." It looked up at him, and in the shadows all he could see was the grotesque sculpture of a jack-o-lantern.
"Oh, one of this Isely's grunts, are you?"
"She'd be on my case for plant abuse if she saw this, I would think," it said, voice condescending and yet amused. This new figure's arms were off balanced. One was much higher than the other, and it looked as though the arms were stuffed with straw, giving him an uneven but vaguely muscular appearance.
"What do you call yourself. The Pumpking? The Head Pumpkin? Jack the Lantern?" Roy asked, trying to put on a mask of bravado. His voice was quivering dangerously on the edge of hysteria, and the figure seemed to delight in it.
"You're very brave to resist my fear toxins for this long, but you're wearing thin, aren't you? You want to run and scream, don't you?" the arrogant man said with amusement, "Your suggestions were noted, but I have a better name for myself than those." He waved them off with an superior sniff, "I prefer to be called The Scarecrow."
*****************************
The explosion rocked the Bacchus, leaving the Titans on their knees as they ran to the deck. "Where is he?" Robin asked, angrily. Cyborg looked at Robin with a bit of concern.
"He? Who you talking about, little man?"
"Don't ask questions right now," Raven answered, angrily. "We need to get on the jet or else we're going to be swimming." She rose to her feet. "It doesn't matter who he is." Robin looked relieved that he wouldn't have to answer that question. She shot her glance dangerously in his direction, returning his face to a look of apprehension over what would come next.
The jet swooped in, taking to hovering right above the ship. As another explosion sent the Titans teetering out of balance, a rope ladder was thrown down for them to climb. The first to reach it was Robin, who took to climbing it quickly. The girls flew up towards the jet as quickly as their abilities allowed them, and one by one the guys climbed the ladder. Jinx looked at it apprehensively, while Mammoth took it eagerly.
"Hey, look. We follow those guys and it's likely we'll be carted off to finish our last few sentences," Jinx warned. Mammoth shrugged. "I suppose it is better than ruining my new dress." She looked at her soggy clothing and sighed, "If it weren't too late for that already."
"Let's go." A third explosion burst through the deck, water bursting forth after it. There was a geyser of seawater covering the deck as the ship slowly made its plummet to the depths beneath. Jinx barely clutched onto the ladder as the water touched her shoes. The jet ascended, taking the children away from the doomed vessel.
The Bacchus sank beneath the waves, and was never seen again.
"The nightmare is over," Jinx said. "I thought this was going to be a simple mission."
"What was that guy's problem?" Cyborg asked to no one in particular.
"He didn't want responsibility," Robin said. "I guess you could say he was just a kid playing with some new toys."
"Sicko," Beast Boy muttered. "Hope I never see him again." He turned to Raven. "You're alive."
"I'm sure that was upsetting news to you," Raven said, angrily. She felt Starfire's arms wrap around her and squeeze. "Stop that."
"Raven! I am so grateful that you are alive! I never once believed that we would be bereft of your friendship. You returned to us safely." She looked near tears, so Raven just tolerated her rambling. "I do not know what I would do without my best friend!" Raven smiled somewhat.
"Yeah, Dark Girl. It wouldn't be the same without you. We'd miss your sparkling wit."
"Thanks, I think." Raven looked at her companions, and now knew what she had to do. She wanted to rise to her feet, and tell them that they shouldn't get too familiar with her. She wanted to cast them aside as she had so many other associates. She wanted to see them only as tools to a goal, a righteous one as it may be, but try as she might she could only place those five faces smiling back at her as friends.
"And therein lies the fault," said a voice discreetly. The grin on Robin's face changed, while Robin's face didn't. BC stood in front of him, gawking with his invisible eyes.
"Um, excuse me," Jinx said. "But what's going to happen to us now."
Robin's face took a serious tone, "Well, that all depends." The two HIVE students looked at him with a mixture of apprehension and hope. "If you give us all the information you can on all of this, I'm certain a bargain could be made. Otherwise, I guess it's back to jail with you two." The two of them looked from one to another. "You can think about it, I guess."
"You do know I just had to deal with a giant squid and two hungry sharks, right?" Jinx said, angrily.
"Then make it easier on yourself," Robin answered. He turned and walked into the cockpit. The two criminals shared an exchanged glance and then turned to the rest of the Titans, who only stared back in the awkward fashion a fish gawks at a shark.
"So," Cyborg hazarded. "A giant squid, huh?"
"Don't remind me," Jinx said. Mammoth grunted in response. "I was barely lucky I managed to stun it by screaming at it." She covered up the reality of her own fear bringing her to an uncontrollable urge to call for help. "I grabbed one of the walls and jinxed its arms, and it soon was all knots."
"Yeah," Mammoth said. "Then I tossed it into the sharks and began hammering at that door."
"If I ever see a shark again, it'll be too soon," Jinx said. Her partner agreed. "Where is that pipsqueak, anyway? And what happened to Khashoggi?" They looked at the Titans with eyes alight with questions and expectations, expectations the Titans present couldn't even begin to guess.
"They got away. Gizmo decided to double cross you, and Khashoggi's probably going to be used for whatever you guys had in mind," Raven said. "Why were you even there anyway?"
Jinx and Raven exchanged quick glances. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
"I can't do that," Jinx said.
"Why not?"
"Top secret."
"Then let's make a deal. We get the information, you get a chance to get back at Gizmo," Raven said evenly. "How's that sound." There was a moment while Jinx seemed to think it over. She looked at Raven, and Raven looked back with a cool glance. Jinx bit her lip. "Well?"
"Khashoggi used to be a teacher at the HIVE Academy." Jinx sighed, "We were assigned to retrieve him so he could do a special assignment." Raven looked at her, expectantly. "He's going to teach a really special student," she answered. "Look, that's all I can really say."
"Is he going to be teaching Mad the Swine?" Robin said from the door to the cockpit. "Is that it?"
"How-?" Jinx found herself saying, choking out the phrase. Like an amateur, she had let it slip. Robin just looked back with a forgiving air.
"I have my sources," he said, conspiratorially. Jinx wondered idly what sources could penetrate the HIVE. "So, who is this Mad the Swine? Why is he called that?"
"How should I know?" Jinx said, angrily. "All that happened is I found him while one of our assignments took us to China. He just radiated this kind of magic power that I had never felt before."
"Magic power?" Raven said, her voice jumping forward with a snap. "How powerful?"
"I can't even begin to describe it. It was godly." Jinx sighed, "He was just an innocent boy, and I guess we underestimated how much work it would take to teach him how to tap into that potential."
"So you needed Khashoggi because his skills make him an ideal teacher." Robin frowned, "This is bad, Titans."
"What's going on, Robin?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy and Aqualad looked at him, waiting to be clued in. "You're talking like it's the end of the world."
"That's because it is," said a voice from the cockpit that everyone immediately recognized. As one voice they declared his name.
"Slade!" The man in question smiled, but as he was about to answer, Wilson was cut off by the sound of the ocean being torn apart.
***************************
Roy Harper stood in a state of heightened awareness. Every shadow moved in the form of the gangly demon that had appeared before him. He had to run, he had to find someplace to hide from that ghastly man. He had done something to him. He was afraid of the slightest sound, afraid of what couldn't even hurt him. The backstage areas of the auditorium couldn't hide anything like a phantom, nonetheless a madman set on killing. Then why did he feel like someone was watching him even now.
The sound of static filled his ears. Whatever it was, it was a frightening, unfamiliar sound. Was it a radio whose dial had turned to a frequency with nothing to say? Or was it a lonesome TV that had been watching a movie and now that its audience is gone calls for someone new. He didn't particularly want to find out. He just wanted someplace to hide. But, then, if he could brave the frightening gasping of the receptor, then maybe he could hide away there until the fear had run its course.
He walked towards the static until he saw the faint gray glow of the TV screen. He edged towards it, looking behind him to see if he could find that sinister shadow lurking. Nothing seemed to be getting him. He may be safe in this room for a bit. There was a chair that was standing alone in front of the TV. He sat in it, rubbing his brow. The sweat layered his hand and dripped loudly onto the floor. He tensed, looking to see if anyone had heard it. No one seemed to respond, so he relaxed again. He looked at the TV screen. The static started to flicker to an image. He was spell-bound. What was it showing him.
It looked to be a field in monochrome, and in the center was a well. It looked normal enough. Perhaps it was the channel's morning image or something. Then it occurred to him. It was nighttime. Something was very wrong here. Then it caught his eye. There was a gloved hand on the edge of the well, and then another. Something was climbing up. The screen jumped. Now the image had a girl dressed in a red dress with tattered black diamonds, with long blonde hair over her face almost completely out of the well. It jumped again, and she was out. Then, slowly, she moved and looked back in the well. She took something and walked towards the screen, and then she stood close to the screen and looked out. She smiled insanely and began to crawl out of the screen.
The last thought Roy could afford himself was, "Why is she holding that mallet like that?"
*****************************
The Titans' jet was tossed about in the wind as a tail crashed into the sea next to it. A head snaked its way to look at the strange vessel eye to eye. And the Leviathan stood amused at the apes' foolish determination.
CONQUER THE SEA, RULE THE LAND, AND NOW YOU WISH DOMINION OF THE SKY? its thundering telepathy burst through to everyone's mind with a startling intensity. FOOLISH APES.
Beast Boy wanted to scream at the monstrous old god, but nothing came out. There was something of a fear in his body as his altered DNA took over. Aqualad, however, stood defiantly against the monstrous Leviathan and said, "You don't frighten me."
I NEVER INTENDED TO FRIGHTEN, was the only answer the beast gave. Aqualad clutched his head with the thunder of the response. The voice of the Leviathan in their brains was like granite being chalked together, amplified a hundred fold like thunder. As the words reverberated still in his brain, the noble Aqualad took his stand.
"I will face you down, and I will stop you from harming anything else." Beast Boy looked at Aqualad and nodded in mute agreement. They were united in this fight unlike any battle before. Robin just looked at the beast with a mute horror, and the others relived the memories of Atlantis's final moments before the vengeful god squeezed the very life out of it.
WHAT WILL YOU DO? the monster challenged.
Aqualad leapt from the jet and descended into the seas below. The Leviathan was too surprised by this show to react, and the aquatic noble plunged into the waters and called to all those meek and frightened fish. The mightiest whales and the mildest angelfish stood against the mighty God of the Seas. "Your time is past," Aqualad said, calmly. "Let it be."
I WILL NOT FOLLOW YOUR COMMANDS, said the mighty Leviathan. Aqualad, united with the denizens of the deep, waited with bated breath for the Leviathan's next move. It looked appalled at the forces that had been amassed. WHERE ARE MY CHARGES? WHAT HAS BECOME OF THEM? There was a calm moment, a moment when the reality settled in to the Leviathan. The Apes had taken over, his time was past, and now he had a choice. Go quietly, or fight. I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE DARK NIGHT.
"Then I have no choice," Aqualad said, "But to fight."
Beast Boy sat at the edge of the jet. "Guys, I gotta -!" he urged, and looked at his fellows. They all looked at him with a face of blank grief. They couldn't do anything to save him. "I'm going to help him fight."
"No!" Starfire squealed. "It is much too dangerous!"
"It's what you gotta do," Cyborg said, with a sense of brotherly understanding.
"Good luck," was all Raven said, her face granite, but her eyes betraying the illusion.
"Go get 'em," Robin said, his voice not having the power to sound jovial. Beast Boy nodded, sadly. Then, he leapt into the water, taking the form of a dolphin as he hit the water's surface. They all looked at where he had been with a ghostly apprehension. Not even the HIVE could betray this moment for them. Mammoth looked perplexed at the spectacle, and Jinx stood there with a mask of indifference.
"What happened?" Slade asked, as the jet began to rise above the dangerous waters. Waves were beginning to form that could swallow the ship up. The seas turned black as a storm began to brew. "What's going on back there?"
"Beast Boy and Aqualad, they -"
"I see." Slade seemed a bit awkward about this. "Beast Boy was the young one, wasn't he?"
"That's right," Robin said. "He was the youngest."
"Then I'm sorry," Slade said. His voice showed the slightest bit of compassion. Cyborg and the rest looked through to the cockpit to see the cold mask of the Terminator. However, they could see he was as tired as the rest of them, he was just better at hiding it.
"Hey, let me took those." Cyborg sounded hostile, but looking at his face, there was a bit of sympathy for the old man that sat at the console. Robin wondered what was hidden beneath that mask. Was his brow covered with sweat, was he afraid beneath that mask, or was he eagerly facing the future even if it may be only seven more days.
He wasn't what he should expect, and he doubted anything he guessed would be proven completely wrong. .
"Strap yourselves in, guys," Cyborg announced, "This is going to be a bumpy ride."
**************************
The escape helicopter had worked like a charm. It was a pity that the Titans had forced his hand like that, but Khashoggi was willing to deal with the loss of his Bacchus if he could arrange things in the HIVE to get him an even more powerful ship. Khashoggi was a firm believer in upgrading. If it was obsolete, just let it sink and get something better.
He stepped out onto the H.A.E.Y.P. campus for the first time in years and breathed in the air, "Just like I remember it."
"I should think so. I've strived to maintain the high standards," said a familiar hard-line voice. Khashoggi's eyes brightened considerably. "Khashoggi, are you willing to teach this student as we requested."
"For you, darling, anything," Khashoggi said. "Just so long as I can be reimbursed with a new ship, perhaps?"
"Always breaking your toys, as usual," the Headmistress said angrily. "Very well then. Mad, please introduce yourself to your new tutor." The way Khashoggi had been told the student would look was nothing like what walked in front of him. An awkward, friendly child, Gizmo had said, who didn't belong in the school. This person in front of him was none of these things. He stood tall and proud, with long golden hair falling to his feet. His graceful movement towards Khashoggi almost surprised the teacher, and he was most taken aback by the boy's eyes. They were blue, but in the right light they would become like a rainbow of color.
"Hello, sir," he said simply. He nodded his head and looked to Khashoggi, "Please, teach me to be all I can be."
"A willing student?" Khashoggi said, "I was under the impression he was a troublemaker." The Headmistress shook her head. "Well, this makes things so much easier for both of us. My name is Professor Khashoggi. You will refer to me as Khashoggi, and you will have fun. You will enjoy learning how to control your abilities. And most importantly, you will learn to love the HIVE for all its given you."
"Yes, sir!" Mad said, eagerly. Khashoggi smiled at the Headmistress, who betrayed herself and smiled in return. "What's the first lesson, sir?"
"How to raid the pantry."
***************************
Shooting one last look to the sea as they passed over to the coast, Slade felt a bit of an unidentifiable feeling. "I don't know if I'll ever see the ocean again," he said to himself. Do.
Robin looked at the girls, who had taken to sleeping as they approached the tower. Raven's rest was troubled and she tossed and turned every so often, sometimes her hands slapping Starfire quite hard when she flailed about a bit. Her rest disconcerted him. Starfire, on the other hand, slept peacefully, ignoring Raven's tumultuous attack on her. He himself was feeling weary. Re.
Cyborg looked at the approaching tower with a feeling of relief washing over him. He was finally home after a nightmare involving a sea monster and a lunatic who lived on a boat in the middle of the ocean. He wanted to get set into recharge and let the troubles of the world pass him by. He thought, though, about Beast Boy, who so loved the ocean and all those animals in the sea that he willing joined the fray to battle that monstrosity. He didn't know if they could possibly win, but he prayed. It was all he could do. Mi.
Jinx sat in the co-pilot seat, looking at Cyborg, "Why did that kid do that?"
"You wouldn't understand," Cyborg said. "You've never had to sacrifice for anything. You just made others do the sacrificing."
"Ouch," Jinx said, a bit testily. "But, really. It wasn't his fight."
"But it was." Cyborg sighed, "He feels kind of like a soul connection with all those animals. He chose to fight for them. I don't wanna think about what that thing could do without someone to stop it. He destroyed one city, he could strike the land next if they fail."
"If they fail, what chance do we have."
"None. The T-Sub is totally out of commission. Means I got to build another one, and that's not exactly a one-night thing. There is nothing we can do, so I'm going to just stop talking about it." Jinx sighed, putting her feet up on the console. "Could you not do that."
Jinx looked at him, "Sorry." She didn't bring her feet down.
"I said feet off." Cyborg looked at her with his real eye. Jinx shrugged and closed her eyes. "That's your last warning." He brought the Titan Jet in, giving an extra bump to the first landing, before it finally settled comfortably. "We're here."
"Great." Jinx looked at the assembled group.
Robin was rousing the girls, while Slade looked awkwardly towards the door. He seemed as tired as anyone else after the day was all said and done. Mammoth's gargantuan hands helped the others out of the jet, while Robin hung around for a second. Jinx headed to the exit with Cyborg, and noticed Robin and Slade had hung around afterwards.
They seemed to be arguing about something. Slade didn't seem to want to answer, Robin didn't want to relent. All too tired to care, the others headed for their rooms. Cyborg, most alert of them, pointed Jinx and Mammoth to empty rooms. Jinx watched the cybernetic genius walking towards his own room before entering the guest room and locking the door. She was asleep before she hit the pillow.
***************************
The debate began without a hitch. Khashoggi sat in a box seat and enjoyed the view. Two pretty girls debating the issues of the Freshman class. It was mindless entertainment at its best! The one called Leslie had just debated that they should lower the prices on the vending machines around the campus, while the other girl, Pamela, argued in turn that the vending machines created an undue amount of litter and foremost waste of materials produced from plants and was, ultimately, a form of plant abuse.
This continued for some time, the Leslie girl bringing up an infantile issue and the Pamela girl turning it into a Green Party platform. Khashoggi was just steps away from laughing. He didn't particularly take note of Leslie's eyes shifting up towards a gargoyle near the stage, nor did he particularly care. Mad had suggested he come see this. He claimed he had been doing some private scholastics and wanted to show off what he had learned.
"I wonder where that boy is." Khashoggi sighed. "Oh, look, now they're getting into the slander." The electrical girl had just made a reference to how many men Pamela had slept with to even get a nomination, while Pamela defended herself by saying that she was only beat out by her opponent. Khashoggi let loose a chuckle. Most of the students down below were getting into a frenzy. "It's like Helen of Troy," he muttered.
Perhaps the lights dimming should have been a clue, but no one took notice. Strands of blonde hair crept onto the stage, landing in front of the girls. The strands met and made a solid stand for the owner of the hair to move down onto the stage. His Chinese robes billowed in the breeze as he descended. He looked at Leslie, gave a small smile, and said, "Your assassin failed." His hair whipped up and tossed the quivering mass of nerves that had once been Arsenal into Leslie. "No one talks badly about my friends."
"What's the meaning of this?" said the proper English voice of the moderator. The cyborg rose, "Get off the stage, Mr. Swine before you're removed forcefully."
"No, Mr. Corben," Mad said. There was almost an inaudible pop as Corben found himself in his seat again. Everyone looked towards Leslie expectantly, and yet they didn't know why. Even Leslie looked a bit unsure of why she was the center of attention at this moment of time, and then she remembered something. She looked at a sheet of paper in front of her.
"I officially step down." She blinked, it sounded right, but there was a nagging feeling that this wasn't right.
Khashoggi laughed loudly, drawing the attention of much of the audience. "Good show, boy. Good show." He said, clapping. The applause caught on and like wildfire people were clapping. Pamela gave a superior glance towards Leslie, who was still confused as to what had just happened. Mad didn't do anything but tie his hair back into a ponytail and walk back into the audience.
"Well," Corben said, obviously confused, "That was most interesting. Well, thinking back on it, we all were on bated breath when Miss Willis decided to use this as a forum for her special announcement, but this certainly took every by surprise, I'm sure. All right, that's it. You're dismissed. Get out of here before I change my mind."
There was a flurry as the crowd charged to the exit without looking back. Only three people remained seating. Mad, Harley, and Icabod rose from their seats after the others had left and walked up to the stage, "Congratulations, Pam!" Harley said eagerly.
"Indeed," Crane said, with a bit of uncertainty. "You certainly showed her with your aggressive campaign. Pamela was perplexed. She didn't recall an aggressive campaign. Oh, yes, that's right. Mad had suggested it. There, that made much more sense.
"Yeah, and we have Mad to thank for that."
"It wasn't anything." Mad looked up towards the box seat. "Professor!" The others looked up to see the middle aged adonis smiling benevolently downwards, like a god from Olympus. "How was I?"
"Fantastic!" Khashoggi said, "I don't think your training will take very long at all."
"Training?" said Jonathon, "What sort of training?"
"Special training!" Harley said.
"Right, special training," Icabod said. "Well, then. Let's be getting back, then, shall we?"
"Right-o, Icky!"
Pamela looked at Mad strangely for a second, "You weren't this old before."
"Wasn't I?" Mad said. "Oh. I guess I wasn't."
Pamela smiled, "It suits you." Mad blushed. "Well, talk to you tomorrow, Mad."
"Yeah." Mad smiled and began to leave when he felt Leslie glaring at him. Electricity flowed from her veins, and she was about to attack him when he took her hand. "Talk to you tomorrow, Leslie." There was nothing disarming about him. It was just simple and direct.
"Oh, right." Leslie brought her temper down and walked to the exit without turning around. She seemed to be wondering what had just happened when the door closed behind her.
"That was quite impressive, Mad." Khashoggi walked towards his student. "You can manipulate your hair?" He looked it over, "Amazing. Grows and shortens at will. I found it almost confusing, as if you changed the course of events retroactively like in a comic book. I'm still trying to figure out what you did to the temper girl."
"I was friendly."
"Is that all? Well, you've got a lot of charisma to you, Mr. the Swine."
"I'd rather take a new name for myself, sir," Mad said, somewhat timidly.
"Oh? And what's that."
"Destiny."
***************************
The Black Cat sat on the bed. He looked at Raven with a bemused smile. "You don't want to leave at all, do you?" he said, accusingly. "You want to stay and be with them. With him? Maybe, I'm not too sure. But they're you're friends, aren't they. If one thing should happen to them then who knows what will happen to you."
"Shut up!" Raven yelled. "Are you trying to drive me crazy?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I want to. Because your father wants you to be his servant like you were born to be. Because I hate Azarath and all its puny beliefs." BC looked at Raven, "Is that all you wanted to know?"
"What's going to happen to me?"
"I don't know," BC said sincerely. "I hope nothing too bad. You're too much fun to play with."
"You're sick," Raven said. "I hate you."
"Good, hate's a good strong emotion. Let it run freely," he said. "Or don't, see if I care. I know one thing you can't fight."
"No, you don't."
"I saw how you were when Beast Boy went off to die," BC said, "You were near tears. I could tell."
"Shut up," Raven said, angrily. She tried to push him off the bed, but his body disappeared before she could touch it. "I want to go to sleep."
"Sleep?" When there's so much work still to be done?" BC laughed. "I could drive you crazy so easily. I'll whisper in your ear as you're slowly drifting to sleep. I'll tell you all the horrible things I'm going to do to your friends."
"What?"
"Oh, yes. I have plans for each of them. That Beast Boy was lucky he got to chose how he died. That's good for him. Now, Starfire, I'll shave her pretty hair off and cut her head until blood falls down on her face, and then I'll -"
"No!"
"And then Cyborg, oh, he'll be so much fun. I'll melt him to his car and take it on a joyride until it crashes over the edge of a cliff and explodes in a blaze of glory." BC grinned, "Isn't that going to be fun?"
"Stop!"
"And then, oh this one's the best, Robin. I'll take a sharp knife and take it to his eyes, blinding him."
"Please," Raven said, her voice weakening with each description.
"And then I'll deafen him with a small explosion in his ears. And while the blood's still dry I'll cut his tongue out."
"No more."
"And then I'll suffocate him slowly. Unable to scream, hear, or see."
"Stop it!" She screamed. Energy pulsed through her like never before. She felt like she was consumed with everything she felt for her teammates, and then felt as though something devoured it. She looked with BC, and the expression changed. There were a million things BC could do at this time. He could laugh, or he could tease. Instead, BC only smiled.
"Now will you listen to me?" Raven responded with a nod. "Then here's the work we have still to do." He took out four round objects in his hands and gave them to her. She looked them over and placed them within her soul. She knew what she had to do.
***************************
Robin took off his boots and sat on his bed, leaving a sigh behind. "What a day." He wasn't happy, in fact, he was miserable. He wished he knew how Beast Boy and Aqualad were. He hoped they had won, but the odds were stacked against them. Raven was nearly killed twice, and Starfire had received enough emotional trauma to off-set her generally happy time on Earth. He didn't know what Cyborg thought of everything, but he was sure that somewhere inside the easy going robot man's brain there were signs of anger and sadness all welling up.
He removed his gloves and cracked his knuckles. And he still couldn't figure out what Slade was hiding. The man had something up his sleeve, and Robin was sure he wouldn't like what it was. He had to stay on his guard for the next few weeks in case all this came back and bit him in the rear.
He was still concerned about Raven, but now the ideas of a party were again torn from his thoughts. He couldn't party for Raven when Beast Boy may be injured or, no, it was best not to think like that. Robin lay down on his pillow and stared at the ceiling, trying to find an answer to all the questions that were forming in his brain.
Was this the end of the world? It sounded silly, but he had just fought a monster the size of an island who was awoken by a sea that was turned red. Raven seemed frightened by the power this Mad the Swine possessed. Who was he, anyway? If he was just a child, why would both Raven and Jinx see him as so powerful? So many unanswered questions, so little time.
And, then, Robin asked. "Who am I?" Raven had looked at him as though he were a traitor, as though he stood to undermine everything that he had previously stood for by making the proverbial deal with the devil. Slade. The man who had frightened him not so long ago with his mysterious demeanor and obsessive tenacity - the man who he could easily see shades of himself reflected in - now slept somewhere in the tower, dreaming up plots to destroy their team and to bring Robin to his side no doubt.
Robin didn't want to think about Slade right now. Unable to get a single answer from him after all this time, and worse yet forced to work with him in the first place, Robin felt like he was just a tool of Slade's rather than a partner. Tomorrow, he'd do everything he could to find out what Slade was hiding. Just as soon as he got to sleep.
But that would be delayed by the knocking on the door. It was insistent, and didn't stop after a few minutes. Robin trudged over towards the door and opened it, finding no one in sight. Irritated, he was reminded of Beast Boy's tricks on his friends. At the time they were annoying, but now when he looked back on them, they were sort of funny.
He walked into the hall, trying to see if someone was hiding just outside the door to snicker at the confused reaction. He saw no one.
As he was returning to bed, he suddenly felt a presence embracing him. His mind raced as a body pressed itself to his back. He shivered for some reason, because the body was cold and unfamiliar to him. "Robin," Raven lovingly cooed, "I want you to be here with me." Her hands reached for Robin's face and caressed it gently.
"Er," Robin started, frightened by Raven's demeanor, "I'm always there for you, Raven."
"Even while the world falls down?" Raven asked. Robin tried to look behind him and at Raven, but she turned with him. The music began with a light playful tone. "Dance with me," Raven commanded. Robin felt obliged to. She began to sway with the music, and let the tingle of the music give way to a voice so melancholy and ironic that the song made Robin want to cry.
There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes
A kind of pale jewel, opened and closed
Within your eyes
I'll place the sky within your eyes.
"What's the occasion, Raven?" Robin smiled ironically, "You don't usually act like this."
"It's my party, isn't it?" Raven asked. He nodded, "I wanted to spend some time with you before I had to go away for a while."
"You're coming back after all?" Robin asked smiling.
"Of course," Raven answered.
There's such a fool's heart, beating so fast
In search of new thrills, a love that can last
Within your heart
I'll place the moon within your heart
"Why?"
"For you," Raven answered. "I want to take off that mask of yours, Robin. Let me see your face."
"I can't," Robin answered. "It's," Robin stammered, "A part of me."
"I see," Raven said. "I would like to be your mask," she said with longing.
"Why?"
"To be a part of you," she answered.
"Raven?"
As the pain sweeps through, it makes no sense for you
Every thrill is gone, wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you as the world falls down.
I'm falling...
"Yes, Robin?"
"You're acting strange," he said, "Are you alright?" The uneven beat of the song gave him a chill.
"Of course," Raven answered. "Better than I've ever been. I'm free from all of my worries."
Falling...
"Raven, please. Something's wrong," he said. "What about your powers?"
Falling...
"Under control," Raven answered. "Don't you like me like this?"
"Of course, I -"
Falling in love.
Robin felt under pressure. "I think I," he said, trailing off.
"Yes?"
I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll weave you valentine evenings
The way that strangers delight in choosing the path
Between the stars
I'll lay my love between the stars
"I'd do anything for you," Robin said.
"I know," Raven answered. There was an awkward silence.
As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you
Every thrill is gone, it wasn't too much fun to fall
The music's seduction was complete. He felt her breath on his neck, as they danced a deceptive waltz in the hallway. He turned her around, and brought her close to him. There was a sense of danger about her that he had never experienced before, and his young heart beat so fast. He brought her lips to his and kissed her. Something entered him, tainting his mind and soul, "I'll be there for you as the world falls down. Forever."
"But," Raven countered, "It's only forever. That's not long at all."
"It's all I have," Robin said.
As the World falls down...
She looked him in the eyes, and his face stared into her beautiful red eyes.
I dreamed I saw on a moonlit stair
Waving his hand o'er the multitudes there
A man who cried for a love gone stale
And ice cold hearts of charity bared.
end chapter 4
END PART 1: NEWS OF THE WORLD
PREPARE FOR INTERMISSION 1: Going Back