The Return of the King

The Puppet king gave another insidious laugh as he stepped out of the box. He was flanked by the zombified bodies of Robin, Cyborg, Beastboy and Raven.

"It seems I snagged an extra Titan this year….excellent." He stared with a grin at Raven, who now lay prostrate on the floor in her doll body.

Raven, even though her body was gone, did not give in easily to intimidation. "Give it up psycho, you'll never be able to use my powers." She said in defiance.

The puppet king merely grinned "Maybe not my pretty, but I can at least drain the Magical essence out of you, and use it for my own means. As for you three…." He eyed Cyborg, Robin and Beast Boy's now zombified bodies.

"Capture her." He gestured to Starfire. "While I collect my toys."

"Get back! No!" Cyborg shouted helplessly as Puppet King picked him up, putting him on his belt beside Raven, Beast Boy was next.

"Don't worry my pets….you will be taken care of much better this time." He said as he picked up Beast Boy.

"Starfire! Run!"

Starfire stood right where she was, unsure what to do. Raven's body just stood there, unmoving, while the three boys menacingly approached her. The Zombified Cyborg converted his arm into his sonic cannon now, and charged it as he walked. Beast Boy transformed into a Velociraptor, snarling ferociously as he approached Starfire.

Star charged her hands again, wondering what she should do this time…without Raven's guidance.

"Attack. My puppets!" Puppet King, growing impatient, snapped out. He also took this time to pick up Robin's puppet body.

"Move star! Move!" The puppet cried out passionately.

Robin's controlled body attacked first, performing a jump kick that Starfire nervously avoided. She powered down her hands now, not wanting to hurt any of her friends.

Beast Boy growled, and he pounced, attempting to dig his claws into Star's shoulders as if he planned to bite her head off with his sharp teeth.

Starfire flew up towards the ceiling now, and Beast Boy's body transformed into a Pterodactyl, chasing her relentlessly. At this point, Cyborg fired his cannon, trailing Starfire's flight path as well as blasting a nice long hole in the wall as he traced her path.

"Star!" Cyborg's doll called out "You have to fight back!"

Starfire closed her eyes in refusal as she evaded even more of Cyborgs attacks.

"I cannot! You are my friends!"

"Remember Starfire! It isn't us! It's Puppet King's control, you have to stop us! Raven shouted right before Puppet King shoved her into a small sack.

"Be quiet you pest." He said with an agitated tone.

Starfire's eyes lit up in green now, and she reluctantly fought back. Beast Boy's body was sent flying into the TV as her beam struck home.

"That's gonna leave a mark…" Beast Boy commented as he was stuffed into the sack, as if anticipating the pain he would feel if he were in his own body.

Starfire landed now, and skillfully sidestepped out of anther one of Cyborg's cannon blasts. Charging both her hands with green aura, she rushed the Android.

"Forgive me Cyborg." Star whispered as she dove into a flying charge, swiftly avoiding another blast from Cyborg. She shot her Starbolts now, and Cyborg stumbled backwards from the blasts, arching his back and falling as Star pummeled his face with her fists. Cyborg misfired as he fell, sending a section of the ceiling falling down, covering the room in dust and smoke.

The puppet King was still by the Christmas tree, and Starfire wasted no time in using the dust from the rubble to rush the sinister villain.

She flew right through the smoke, straight for the bright lights of the Christmas tree, the small wooden figure who stood cackling as he watched her approach.

Then she stopped…..because Robin was standing there.

The Boy Wonder stared blankly at Star, and quickly took out two bird-a-rangs to throw at her.

"Robin…please…" Starfire cried out in an impassioned plea. She charged her palms with energy.

"Do what you have to do Star! Remember! It's not me!" Robin, the last puppet in Puppet King's hands, shouted.

"I should quiet this little doll up once and for all." Puppet King said darkly, and prepared to Stuff the helpless doll in his sack.

That snapped Starfire out of her trance. "NO!" Her eyes lit up, and Robin's body was sent flying against the Christmas tree, knocking it over as she threw everything she had at him, eye beams, palm blasts, and the works. Starfire flew straight at the puppet king.

The villain, cackling still, took out a seemingly harmless watergun and shot it at Starfire.

Starfire swerved out of the way, and she turned around to look over her shoulder, and saw that the mysterious liquid from the water gun had burnt a gigantic smoking hole in the floor…. Acid.

"I'm going to ask you to let my friends go." Starfire shouted as she dodged even more of Puppet King's acid shots.

The villain laughed insanely. "They'll be 'let go' soon enough deary, but not before I am through with them." Cyborg went behind puppet king now, firing another sonic cannon blast at the Tamaranian with his puppet master.

Starfire dodged the acid blast, and quickly cancelled out the sonic cannon with her own starbolts. The collision of the two beams resulted in a gigantic explosion, which engulfed half the room in a blinding flash.

The Puppet King recoiled from the flash, and did not even see Starfire as she swerved right at him and snatched Robin and the sack out of his hand.

"Stop her!" he shouted to the three zombified Titans. Robin threw all his explosives at Star, while Cyborg locked on with his laser cannon and let out a full blast.

Starfire grunted with pain as Robin's explosives detatonated around her, sending chunks of rock and rubble flying at her, scratching her arm and blinding her, making her easy prey for the Sonic cannon.

Starfire was hit dead on, and she dropped the sack, which landed with a thud on the living room floor.

"Ow! I didn't know puppets could feel" Beast Boy's puppet complained in the sack.

"Quiet B, and get your face off of mine!" Cyborg shouted.

"Dude, its dark in this Sack, how do you know its my face.."

"Quiet you two…" Raven said seriously, "Starfire! Are you ok? Where are you?

Starfire was not ok however, she fell out of the window, knocked out from the Blast. Falling with her, was also Robin's doll. The two disappeared as they splashed in the cold icy sea.

"Well…it seems I'll be lacking a body for the ritual." Puppet King commented as he watched the helpless Titan fall from the Tower. "It does not matter anyway…" He turned darkly towards the sack, where Beast Boy and Cyborg were screaming for help.

"I have enough sacrifices here…..for my glorious return…"