Chapter Eleven: Clear And Present Danger
Beast Boy thought he had a good idea of the creature's size, seeing it from the Tower.
But that was before he came face-to-face-
No, that wasn't right. Face-to-toe was more like it, he thought numbly as he looked upwards, mesmerised. In front of him was a reptilian behemoth at least thirty storeys tall, dwarfing many of the buildings near it, while behind it were the ruins of most of the city's commercial sector. As he watched, the lizard took a swipe at a nearby building, sending pieces of broken metal and six-foot shards of broken glass flying down towards-
He let out an "Oof!" as Robin seized him from behind, both of them narrowly avoiding a jagged piece of steel that embedded itself in the tarmac where Beast Boy stood just moments before.
"Beast Boy, what did you think you were doing!" Robin said as they sped away on the R-cycle, Robin placing Beast Boy on the back.
"Huh? What?" Beast Boy asked, still somewhat dazed. Then, regaining his senses, he turned and pointed at the beast. "Do you see the size of that thing? Huh? Do you! It's HUGE!"
"I noticed that, Beast Boy," Robin said irritably, skidding to a halt in front of a pile of rubble. "So why aren't you doing something?"
"Look man, I can do T-Rexes, elephants and giant whales, but I can't do that!" he said, pointing at the creature. "I have my limits, Robin!"
Robin was about to reply, when the sound of a rain of blue and green starbolts impacting upon the creature's skin interrupted him.
Looking upward through the Godzilla's eyes, Karl saw both Starfire and Dawn heading towards him. From outside the helmet, he heard Sevarius say "Minor burns, I assure you sir." Not trusting the doctor, he looked down at his reptilian body.
Looks like the old fool's right, he thought. Looking back towards the incoming Tameranians, he nonchalantly willed the Godzilla's next move.
"Starfire! Watch out!" Robin shouted, even though he knew from this distance Starfire could not hear him, as he realized what was about to happen.
Clearly, Dawn must have as well, as she began to fly out of the way, but either she didn't warn Starfire or her warning went unheard, for in the next moment, the beast's executed a 180-degree turn, swiping Starfire with its tail and sending her careering through a group of tall office buildings.
"Hey! Where're you going!" Beast Boy shouted as Robin sped off on his bike in Starfire's direction; not that Robin was listening, as he followed Starfire's crash trajectory through several buildings, eventually coming to a stop as she smashed into the corner of an office building and fell. Getting off his bike, he rushed to catch Starfire.
As Starfire fell into his arms, Robin realized to late that he had underestimated the effect the fall's acceleration would have had on Starfire's impact, and it was with that realization that he braced himself for the sickening crunch and excruciating pain that would follow.
Kneeling on the ground, trying to ignore the pain in his ruined arms, Robin saw Starfire's eyes flutter. "Star… Starfire," he gasped, "Are you all right?"
"Do not worry, Robin I- Robin! Your arms! You are hurt!" she exclaimed, noticing his injuries.
"Nothing a little rest would hurt," Robin said, trying to sound assured, "At least you're…okay," he trailed off, as a massive dark shadow fell over them, the beast having found them.
"Robin?" Starfire whispered.
"Yes, Starfire?"
Starfire opened her mouth to speak, but apparently decided actions spoke louder than words as she closed her eyes and buried her face in Robin's chest, as their serpentine doom approached. Robin tried to place his arms around her, but considering the pain and the fact that his arms were inoperative from the elbow down, there wasn't much he could do.
But that didn't matter to either of them, just the fact that at the end, they would be together. It wouldn't have surprised them to know that they both had the same regrets: That they had not spent enough time together, that they would not have been around to help their friends before they-
"Arrgh!" Karl screamed as a blue flash of light partially blinded him, and by extension, the Godzilla. But the lizard was resilient, and it was less than a second that the blindness began to clear, and he was at least able to see what manner of fool had the gall to oppose the Godzilla, not caring about the green pterodactyl that had swooped down and picked up the disabled Robin and somewhat woozy Starfire.
"Booya," Cyborg whispered as he blew the smoke from his laser cannon. After all, it wasn't every day that you shoot a 30 storey lizard dead in the eye. But his bravado soon evaporated when he noticed the creature get up and stare back at him, with no apparent damage save to its (or rather, Karl's) pride.
It ran to Cyborg with far more speed and grace than its size belied. Cyborg tried to get into the T-Car, even though he knew he wouldn't have enough time to get away before the lizard's open jaws, already roaring, closed around him.
"You're finished," Karl whispered as he willed the Godzilla's jaws open, just before a POPTV billboard enveloped in dark energy slammed into his/Godzilla's face. Now fully enraged, Karl looked up to see where this newest attack had come from, just in time to see Blackfire heading straight towards him, starbolts blazing.
Roaring wildly, the beast raised its head and snapped at Blackfire with the same deceptive speed that Cyborg had almost found out too late, and it was only a split-second reflex on Blackfire's part that saved her life.
Behind her, Raven saw the beast preparing to take another bite at Blackfire. She felt something nagging at her mind, but dismissed it as another attempt by her emotions (or rather, emotion) to break out, as she encased another pile of masonry in mental energy and hurled at the beast.
But despite the fact that Raven threw what must have been at least half a ton of broken masonry at it, the creature got off the ground, again seemingly without any serious injuries. It was at that moment from within the mind control helmet that Karl Mannheim swore, much to Dr. Sevarius's amusement. "A few children causing you trouble, Mr. Mannheim?"
"Hardly," the assistant snarled, "but they are-proving-annoying," he said, as he willed the Godzilla to swat-
-Beast Boy in pterodactyl form, weaving in and out of the creature's arms and teeth as he and Dawn did their best to, at the very least, distract it from its rampage. At first he had tried to take on the form of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but when he saw that the tallest he could get was around half the height of the giant lizard's hip, he decided the best course of action was to take to the skies.
Now, he was seriously beginning to regret that decision, seeing the massive jaws open for another bite, before a blue starbolt struck the back of the creature's throat, snapping it shut so close to Beast Boy he felt the rush of foul wind as the teeth clamped shut, a split second before Dawn pulled him out of the way.
"Close one there," Dawn said, as the two of them flew away.
"No kidding," Beast Boy agreed. "Thanks."
"No problem, but we sure could have used a little more help. Where're the rest of your friends?" she asked, her eyes scanning the horizon.
As if in answer, a blue laser shot out from the T-Car, Cyborg driving it like a medieval knight charging at a dragon.
"Well, there's Cyborg," Beast Boy said. "Raven's with Robin and Starfire, and Blackfire-"
"Hey you two, watcha doing?" Blackfire asked nonchalantly, flying up beside them.
"Waiting for you," Dawn answered just as flippantly. "And now that you are," she added, the look of anticipation on her face almost demonic, "I think it's time for a little fun, don't you think?"
It was clear that Blackfire didn't think so. "Are you crazy? Shouldn't we wait for backup?"
"No time! Come on!" Dawn said, leaving Beast Boy in the air, and charging towards the creature.
Blackfire hesitated a moment, then turned to the hovering Beast Boy. "Beast Boy, go find Raven and my sister; tell them we'll need some help here," before she too charged at the monster.
Beast Boy wasted no time. He flew across the massed piles of rubble, trying to ignore the remains of once proud buildings, or what was buried beneath them- no, he wouldn't think about that. Just find Raven, find Robin, find Starfire. Blackfire needed backup, yeah, that was it.
He just wished that his sense of smell wasn't so acute.
(scene change)
"That's the best I can do for now," Raven said. She had received a transmission from a very distressed Starfire a few minutes before, and after asking Beast Boy, Cyborg and Dawn to do their best against the giant lizard, found her friends outside the already overcrowded hospital; Robin with both arms broken and Starfire apologizing profusely, tears running down her cheeks.
Now, she had done all she could, which wasn't much, unfortunately. If she did try to do more, she would need to use more power.
And deep within her, she knew that if she gambled with her unstable powers and lost, she would prove something far more terrible than any giant lizard.
"Raven! Starfire!" Beast Boy shouted breathlessly as he arrived. "Blackfire needs your help-"
The sound of another falling building blocked out what Beast Boy wanted to say. However, that didn't really matter, at least for Raven, who took off almost as instantly as Beast Boy said Blackfire's name.
"That was fast," Beast Boy said to himself, a shadow of suspicion arising within him before he mentally shrugged it off.
"Beast Boy, I cannot leave Robin alone," Starfire protested.
"Don't worry, Star, I'll be alright, the doctors will take care of it," Robin said.
"That does not matter! I wish to stay here with you!"
"Starfire-"
Starfire had had enough. "Robin, you said that we have our responsibilities to the city, but what about my responsibilities to you?"
"Star, we've been through this-"
"No we haven't!" Starfire shouted. "Please, Robin, I do not wish to argue," she whispered, placing a finger on Robin's lips.
Looking at them, Beast Boy felt a pang of envy as he wondered whether he and Raven would ever have that kind of relationship. "I… I better go," he said, as he turned into an eagle and flew off.
(scene change)
"We have to lead it away from the buildings!" Cyborg shouted over his communicator as he fired again and again at the creature.
Easier said than done, Blackfire thought as she ducked under yet another swipe by the huge claws; it was almost as if instead of the random destruction someone could expect from an angry animal, the creature was deliberately targeting buildings.
Suddenly, Blackfire felt herself hit from behind, and slammed downward into the pavement below. As she groggily tried to get up, she saw a dark shadow falling over her, and looked up, finding to her horror that the a large top section of the building next to her was falling straight toward her.
Raven flew up just in time to see Blackfire face certain death. "Blackfire!" she screamed.
There was only one thing she could do, one way to save Blackfire.
And damn the consequences.
She brought down all her carefully prepared mental defences crashing down in an instant, and was barely prepared for the excruciatingly painful release of her constrained mental energies, and it was more a matter of luck rather than skill that allowed her to gain control of them long enough to do what she had to do.
A mere few inches from Blackfire's upraised arm, the falling masonry was encased in dark energy, and subsequently flung toward the beast, this time actually having some effect, sending the giant creature staggering backwards.
"You do know I could have handled that myself, don't you Raven-" Blackfire started to say, but when she saw Raven in the air, head held in her hands, all thoughts of jokes stopped. "Raven?" Blackfire asked, flying to her friend.
"Someone's controlling it, Blackfire," Raven gasped, telling Blackfire what she had sensed when she had let down her defences. "You've got to stop them, it's the only way."
"No," Blackfire said. "You've got to stop them."
"Blackfire, I can't!"
"Well, what do you expect us to do?" Blackfire shouted. She placed her arms on Raven's shoulders- "Frell, you're cold!" she said, recoiling in shock.
Raven looked at the battlefield, where Starfire and Beast Boy had finally rejoined the battle alongside Cyborg and Dawn. "I want to help," she whispered. "But if I stay, I'll be endangering all of us," she said, more to herself than to Blackfire.
The rogue Tameranian placed her arms around Raven. "Raven, look at me," she said, trying to ignore the burning cold she felt. "I don't know what you're capable of, but I do know that if you can't keep running from- from trouble," she said lamely. "You taught me that, remember?" she finished, whispering.
Well, well, well, Karl thought, as the creature snapped at the air where Starfire was a moment before, what do we have here? He saw two of those accursed Titans just floating there in the air, including the one that should have been crushed by the falling building, the one that was used against him instead. He didn't recall bringing down that particular building, but then again, he had lost count a long time ago.
Ah well, who am I to give up a two for one offer? he smirked.
"It's heading toward Raven and Blackfire!" Cyborg shouted, as he saw the beast head run down the street towards his two friends.
"Well Raven, aren't you going to do something?" Blackfire asked upon seeing the monster run toward them, ignoring the efforts of other Titans and Dawn to stop, or even slow it down.
"Blackfire-" Raven began, when she felt Blackfire's hand squeeze her own.
Blackfire was right, Raven understood reluctantly. She took in a deep breath and concentrated.
(scene change)
Fear/Anger smiled, as she felt the walls of her 'prison' enter the final stages of their destruction. She didn't know what was going on outside Raven's head, but whatever it was, it was good.
Well, good for her.
Raven should really have learned that it was impossible to limit or restrict power; you could only control it. And if not controlled, why, it would destroy whoever had it.
As she was sure it was destroying Raven right now, leaving a great deal of metaphysical real estate to take over. Oh sure, the other emotions would put up a fight, but when you got right down to it, it was from her dark side that Raven got her power, and guess who was Raven's dark side? You got three guesses, and the first two don't count.
Damn if that joke didn't get funnier the ten thousandth time she said it.
Funny, it seemed the walls were disintegrating a lot faster than she had thought. Maybe Raven was using her powers again? Good. That would make her destruction, and the subsequent takeover that much easier.
…magical protection…need more power…
The words whispered through the winds of Raven's mind, not that Fear/Anger was paying much attention. As far as she was concerned, Raven was doomed anyway, and 'more power' just meant 'quicker death'.
She pulled her red cloak over herself a bit tighter. The winds of the mind were getting stronger, and she didn't want to get blown away.
Suddenly, the mental walls of her prison disappeared entirely, and she raised her head and literally whooped in unholy triumph as that happened. Now she was free, free to take her rightful place on Trigon's right hand! She stretched her arms, ready to explore her newfound powers.
Nothing happened.
She tried again, and the result was still nothing. To add to her problems, the wind was starting to get uncomfortably strong.
Too strong, she thought.
Suddenly, she found herself buffeted in what must have been a hurricane, and to her horror, her body started disintegrating in mid-flight, falling into the wind in leaf-like pieces. Too late, she realized that Raven had somehow managed to gain control of her powers?
But how? She had made sure that by the time Raven reached this stage her normal mind would be too shattered to exert any kind of control over her powers.
And then, the last thing Fear/Anger would ever see, or rather, feel, before she disintegrated into nothingness.
A hand, Blackfire's hand, grasping Raven's.
(scene change)
A cruel smile on both their faces, Dr. Anton Sevarius and Cassius Wolfe watched as the beast approached Raven and Blackfire, when suddenly it stopped, the camera view swinging downwards.
A split second later, Karl's agonized scream shattered the previously jubilant mood.
"What's happening, Doctor?" Cassius asked, his voice a mixture of ruined anticipation and anger.
"I don't know, sir," Sevarius said, and this time there was no mistaking the fear in his voice. "It's as if- as if-"
"As if your vaunted mental protections weren't as effective as you had thought?" Cassius asked dangerously as he seized Sevarius's collar, his threatening whisper curiously sounding a great deal louder to Dr. Sevarius than the agonized screams of the adjutant. "Don't just stand there!" Cassius shouted to a group of stunned technicians, "get that damned helmet off him!"
Karl stopped screaming after the techs removed the helmet, but upon seeing what lay in the seat, one of the techs felt as if she would start screaming herself. Karl's hair had turned completely white, as white as his skin, and his pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, in cloudy grey eyes that would never see again. His body was trembling, and his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, without any sound issuing from lips that would have better suited a dead man.
Not that it mattered to Cassius. "Damn you Sevarius! Do you realize what your failure means? Do you have any idea how much this project cost? Not to mention the loss of a highly irreplaceable assistant!"
My failure? Sevarius thought, his indignation at having to kowtow to someone he considered his mental inferior forcing him to respond, but he was interrupted by a bewildered tech before he could deliver what could have proven to be his last words.
"Uh… sir? The liz- I mean, uh, the Godzilla, it's looking back up, sir. Uh… it's looking at that Raven chick, sir. Maybe it's uh, animal instincts are taking over, or something?"
"What are you talking about?" Sevarius growled, his professional pride overriding his personal arrogance. "It isn't supposed to react at all!"
"What do you mean?" Cassius threatened, his attention as temporarily diverted as Sevarius's was.
"All the Godzilla's brain functions save the basic instructions are hardwired to the mind control system! Without the helmet, it should be able to do nothing else other than breathe- in fact," Dr Sevarius said, realizing that it should have dawned on him earlier, "it shouldn't even be able to stand." He swallowed, saying, "It appears that that 'Raven chick' had a great deal more power at her disposal than I had originally anticipated."
(scene change)
Blackfire risked opening her eyes, preparing herself for the sight of the cold plains of the Eternal Hells, as she had always expected to see after her death, but instead found herself faced with the sight of the giant lizard standing still in front of her, six-foot teeth bared. For a moment, Blackfire thought that she had opened her eyes too soon, and she was witnessing those fabled few moments before death, with every second stretched out to an eternity.
But if this moment was stretched to eternity, then why did Raven's heartbeat feel as normal as usual?
Raven's heartbeat?
Blackfire looked downwards slightly to find that, as a result of the terror of her impending death, she was desperately clutching Raven to herself.
Not that Raven seemed to be paying any attention. Her eyes were staring straight towards the monstrous reptile, but instead of simply lunging forward and consuming them in a single bite, as Blackfire had expected it to do, it just stood there, seemingly paying rapt attention to the small cloaked human in front of it. Blackfire turned to look at her friends, all of them appearing to be as confused as she was as to what was happening.
Suddenly, the beast turned, its tail narrowly missing both Raven and Blackfire, as well as the remaining buildings around it. "We must follow it," Raven said with quiet determination, and Blackfire noticed a few small beads of sweat on her forehead. There wasn't any time for questions however, as Raven soon flew after it.
"Blackfire, what the heck just happened?" Cyborg asked as Blackfire flew down beside them.
Blackfire shrugged. "She just said follow it," she offered by way of explanation, before setting off in pursuit.
(scene change)
"Hey man, that looks good."
"What?"
"That TV over there, the store 'cross the street. Get it."
The looter looked over to where his friend was pointing. "Sure man, no problem," he said, walking across the now emptied streets.
Suddenly, there was a distant rumbling that the two looters felt more than heard.
For the first few seconds anyway.
"Oh dear sweet Judas what the hell!" the looter in the middle of the street rambled incoherently, petrified with fear as he saw what was heading straight toward him, as was his friend, who watched as the giant lizard's steps took it closer and closer to his friend, its footsteps becoming louder and louder-
And then, with one final earthshaking step, its foot fell where his friend was. He stared at the spot for what seemed like an eternity. "Man, oh man, man oh man oh man," he moaned while shaking his head, wondering about what he would see when the creature raised its foot; a simple red stain, that's all, or maybe a bloodied mass of flesh and broken bone…
Then the second passed, and the great beast ran forward, leaving a terrified looter standing between the toe impressions of a very large footprint. As the two looters stood there with a mixture of fear and relief, Raven flew by, followed by Blackfire and the rest of the Titans, with the exception of Beast Boy. Seeing the two thieves standing there, he landed, waggled his finger and said, "Don't do it again!" before he flew off again.
The first looter turned to his friend in the middle of the road. "So, uh… you wanna go to church, or something?"
"Can't," his friend said numbly. "I'm Jewish."
"Oh," his friend said, his brain curiously disconnected enough to process this fact. "No shit?"
Meanwhile, Godzilla ran forward, guided by the sixth sense that the small creature had curiously given it. Somehow, that little thing was able to sense where its captors were, where those who sought to control it nested. During the time when its thoughts were not its own, it felt the touch of a small mind, a mind that was alien to it, so bloated with self-importance as it was.
That mind had forced Godzilla to feel pain, to destroy, to become what it wasn't. It remembered hatching, it remembered seeing its brethren's dead bodies. It remembered other small creatures approaching it, hurting it with poisonous stings. It remembered waking up and being bathed by a blue light, as well as the first touch of the small mind.
It remembered wanting to extract revenge.
(scene change)
"Hurry up! We don't have much time!" the mercenary said as she directed the evacuation of the facility. "What are you waiting for, Christmas?"s he shouted, rubbing her head as she watched the scenes of utter chaos before her. As far as she was concerned, this whole goddamn plan was a screwup, led by screwups, and now, say ho whaddaya know? It's screwed up!
Ah well, at least she was getting paid for it, and- "I trust all the materiel has been readied for transport?" Cassius asked over the walkie-talkie.
"It's all five-by, boss, no problems. Just a few more-"
"Hurry up then! I'm not paying you by the hour!" Cassius snarled, before the connection snapped off. "Wonder what bug got up his ass," the mercenary said to herself, before barking out orders again.
She turned around to the sound of rushed footsteps behind her to see that smug bastard Anton Sevarius running up toward her, a suitcase in hand. "What's up, Doc?" the merc asked, in a passable Bugs Bunny impersonation.
"We have to get out of here, now," Doctor Sevarius said, a thin sheen of sweat running down his forehead. "There should be a helicopter, or some such transport-"
"Whoa, whoa, what's the rush? Look, no-one's leaving until the boss-"
"TO HELL WITH THAT MANIAC! We have to leave now!"
Maniac? You're one to talk, the merc thought. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Calming down a bit, Sevarius explained, "A few minutes ago, the control room lost video contact with the creature. They don't know where it is! For all I know, it could be right on our doorstep!"
Okay, this sounds bad, the merc thought, but she wanted to be sure. "Hold on, if that was the case, wouldn't Cassius be here too? I mean if-"
"He's mad," Sevarius said flatly. "He talks about this being a mere 'project', when it's nothing more than an obsession! And- wait, do you feel that?" Sevarius asked, suddenly looking at the ground fearfully.
"Doc?"
"Shh! Wait, be still!"
The merc did as she was told, and then she felt it at the same time Sevarius did.
A slight tremor. She looked back at the other workers who, while working with a great deal of speed, lacked the kind of desperation she expected them to exhibit if they felt the trmors over the din of evacuation.
In other words, they could provide a useful distraction in an escape.
"How much are you paying me, doc?" she asked, turning to the doctor.
"You would discuss pay at a time like this?"
"I'm a mercenary, figure it out."
"…I do not have much money with me now, but I assure you, I have a very well-stocked Swiss account. Good enough?"
"Suits me. Come on, I know where we can get a jeep."
"So kind of you to offer, Miss…"
"Garneau. Louisa Garneau."
(scene change)
"Where did you say he was going?" Cassius, said, or rather, shouted into the intercom.
"Uh, heading towards the cargo bay, sir," the unfortunate guard on the other end of the line replied, and who found his line abruptly cut off as Cassius threw the intercom down.
"Cowards!" Cassius whispered angrily to himself. "I'm surrounded by cowards and incompetents!" He turned again to the technician at the camera console, ignoring his still disabled assistant. "How much longer?" he asked in a deceptively quiet voice, when suddenly something else entirely made the question irrelevant.
"It's here," Cassius said, hearing the faint footsteps. A bleak smile appeared o his face, a moment before he burst into laughter. "It's here," he laughed. "Do you hear those footsteps, thundering forth like the furies of myth?" he shouted at the technician, who could not decide who he was more afraid of- the giant lizard, or his increasingly unstable boss.
The steps kept on becoming louder and louder, drowning out even the maniacal laughter of his boss, and the sounds of the red alert sirens. Even in the reinforced bunker that constituted the test chamber, the tremors from the beast could still be heard. In his fear, the tech suddenly found images from his collection of Halloween and Friday the 13th videos flashing through his mind.
They didn't help much.
Abruptly, the footsteps stopped, and the tech looked apprehensively up at the ceiling. He had been so preoccupied with fixing the transmitters that it was only now that he found himself wondering for the first time about how the creature had found them so quickly. His second thought was that he didn't really give a damn, and with that in mind, he got out from beneath the console he had been working on, and ran for the door, leaving both Cassius and Mannheim in the room. His boss either didn't notice, or didn't care.
"What is it waiting for?" Cassius whispered to himself, as he kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling. Suddenly, a massive rumbling sound shook the base, but Cassius stood there. He had never run away before, and he'll be damned if he ran away now.
The rumbling grew louder, and as Cassius watched, massive claws tore through the roof of the test chamber, sending pieces of masonry and concrete dust raining down on him and his assistant. As he looked up, Cassius found himself looking upwards at Godzilla. "Well, now that you've found me," he said, his hand moving behind him to his holster, "it ends…NOW!" he said, bringing up his gun, only to find Raven descending in front of him.
"Not for you," was all she said.
