ON THE RAIL
The train was moving through a dark tunnel, and Starfire's starbolts were the only source of light. This trip as of now had been quite uneventful, and it did not look as though anything would happen now. The track twisted and turned until it came to an elevator. It took them down. Why are we descending? It looked as though they were headed in the wrong direction, but, to their relief, the track rose slowly above level.
They track wound around, and around, and to the Titans' surprise, it did not seem that they had been going anywhere at all. Robin noticed that they had passed a side-tunnel on the left three times.
There were train switches, but a large crane that hung from the ceiling blocked the side-tunnel. Maybe they were going the wrong way after all… The surrounding area certainly did not look promising.
Robin could not see the track, as it was completely covered with water, thus stepping off of the train would be fatal. The walls of the tunnel were not much to look at. Starfire's light revealed gray-metal walls, with yellow and black stripes here and there.
The Titans' found another switch, which would lead them to the left. At least it's better than where we are now, The Boy Wonder thought. This tunnel was brighter, and went a little upward, which was promising. But he then saw something that looked familiar. Robin assessed that this tunnel had gotten them going on the same track, but the opposite direction. Fortunately, this revealed a possible solution to the problem.
There were some stairs on the side of the tracks, and atop the stairs was something that the Titans could not see. A dead Marine was lying on the ground near the tracks. Robin said he would investigate. He went up the stairs and on his left he saw the area where they had been not long ago, with the crane on the ceiling. There were some boxes in front of him. He moved them with ease and had no tension about him when a sentry gun greeted him. All of a sudden Robin was extremely tense, and the fight-or-flight instinct took over.
Before the gun had turned completely around, The Boy Wonder lifted it up and threw it down on the sparking tracks directly below. The gun exploded with a loud kaboom, and Robin caught a piece of shrapnel in the arm. His eyes watered as a sharp pain shot up his right arm. He pulled the metal out, and the blood was flowing freely. He put his left hand over it and applied pressure.
He spotted a lever on a control panel, and moved it forward. The crane on the ceiling moved, and the track below was unblocked.
Robin stumbled down the stairs, weak with blood loss. Raven spotted the wound and quickly placed a hand on it. A flowing, black energy poured slowly from her fingers, and the laceration was closed. They then continued on the tracks until they reached the switch. Raven used her powers to move it, and they were (literally and metaphorically) on the right track.
The tunnel they continued on was pitch-dark, but fortunately it was short. To the surprise and relief of the Titans, there was yet another elevator. The elevator took them up, and not down, which caused the Titans to sigh as their tensions were relieved.
But just as they were about to get to the top, they encountered a Marine who was shooting at them. Robin quickly took him down with an exploding disk, but there were many more obstacles to overcome.
At the top of the elevator the Titans unpleasantly found twenty Marines. Everyone except Beast Boy started attacking. (Beast Boy did not have the ability to shoot projectiles, and stepping on the tracks would kill him.)
Starfire did most of the work, knocking about ten marines of off their feet with starbolts. She picked up Robin and tossed him at several Marines. Beast Boy turned into an eagle, and Raven shielded all of them.
Robin was using his extendible staff to overtake many of the guards. Thwack! He bowled one over. He then planted a mine on one of the Marines and backed up. There was an explosion. Robin was then showered with something. He thought the ceiling might be leaking, but it but it was the blood of the soldiers that fell on Robin's face.
After all of the Marines were dead, they continued down the bloodstained tracks, and found a final elevator. Fortunately, this one led to the surface and not another track. They got off the train car. The sunlight felt good after being underground for so long. But it seemed too simple, and it was.
They had walked right into a Marine base. Marines were shooting at them from all directions, but Raven shielded the Titans, turned into her soul-bird, and they were gone.
ALIENSThe Titans did not continue to where they thought the portal was. They figured they needed time to regroup at the tower. Raven was in her room, examining herself in the mirror. Not much to look at, she thought. She was not particularly attractive, just sort of average. Perhaps I should consider growing out my hair, although so much hair she thought was a hassle. My outfit could be a little more revealing…more like Starfire's. She looked down at her legs. Gray skin was a turn-off. Of course, Starfire's skin wasn't the normal tone either, but at least it had a radiant quality. Wait, she thought. She wasn't jealous of Starfire was she?No, she couldn't be. Starfire was her friend, and she couldn't let her relationship with Robin get to her head. She had to keep her emotions under control, even if it was as simple as mild jealousy.
There was a knock at on the door, and Raven opened it. Cyborg was standing there, pulling a head-crab off of his arm. They had forgotten the crabs were still down there.
"Whatever you do, DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT!" He said. Raven nodded and closed the door…
In Robin's room sat Starfire. Robin was standing with one leg against the wall, looking at her.
"All right," he started, "Now, this portal we are looking for will most likely extremely powerful, and Raven's powers may not be able to stop it. She can try, but I think we all know where we're gonna end up."
Starfire looked down at the ground. She knew that there was a large risk, and the chances of return were very slim. Robin walked over to Starfire and lifted her off of the bed.
"Starfire," he continued, "Before we go I just want to say, this is going to sound strange and sudden, but I love you, Star. If anything happens, I'll be there. I won't leave you; that's a promise."
Starfire looked at Robin lovingly with watering eyes. "Oh Robin, indeed I have been waiting for you to say that for what seems to have been an eternity!"
Starfire wondered what was going on in Robin's mind and ripped off his mask: the mask that always hid his true emotions. Behind the mask was a set of eyes, which looked to be on the verge of shedding tears. His face was young, but his eyes held deep wells of knowledge, which gave him the impression of being alive for a life-age. She wrapped her arms around Robin and kissed him hard on the lips…
Their task now was straightforward. The portal was not far, and they reached it in no time.
"Try using your powers!" Robin urged. Raven did, but to no avail. "Goddammit!" Robin continued, "Okay, on my mark, we will all jump in."
"WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS!" Cyborg shouted.
"It is the only way we will be able to stop this!" Starfire answered.
"Okay, on three. One… two… THREE!" And with that, the Titans were gone into the portal…
"Robin, Robin! I wish to know that you are awake!"
Robin recognized Starfire's voice. His hearing seemed plugged, and his vision blurred. "Dear friend, I am glad you have awoken," Starfire said.
It was pitch black in the surroundings, so the area seemed beyond description. Starfire was illuminating their immediate position with starbolts, and Cyborg was doing the same with a flashlight.
"We've been fighting aliens on and off now. I'm surprised you didn't wake up earlier," Cyborg said.
"Where's Raven?" Robin questioned on instinct.
"She's in some kind of trance; we haven't been able to wake her up," Cyborg answered back. Raven was hovering above ground several feet away.
