Robin was naturally the first to join the fight, swinging his bo staff and aiming for the leader of Tartarus, the Ravager. But to his surprise she rolled forward and ducked clear under his attack, and behind him a new foe rose up, as Blackfire zoomed forward and caught Robin off-guard, giving him a bone-crunching uppercut to the jaw that sent the Boy Wonder flying through the air to land with a heavy thud on the roof of a parked car nearby.
It did not occur to him at the time, as he flew through the air, but upon impacting the car a flash of insight hit Robin. He and Starfire had pulled a remarkably similar trick battling Cinderblock.
A flurry of blue-white darts appeared between Malchior's fingers as he clenched them into fists and he hurled them with deadly accuracy as he leapt up into the air and landed a fair distance away, forcing Beastboy to duck and dodge aside the blasts even as he flew in closer in the form of a green eagle to make his attack, clawing at Malchior's unprotected face. The dark sorcerer responded with a blast that sent Beastboy flying through the air, only to be caught by Raven before he hit the side of a building.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem," she replied, tossing him back into the fray.
Beastboy rolled in mid-air, landing as a fearsome bear, and with a mighty roar charged back into the fight, slamming his great head into Brother Blood seconds before he could make an attack on Cyborg, giving the cybernetic teen a chance to follow up Beastboy's attack with a sonic cannon blast that send Blood flying into a nearby building. Beastboy morphed back into his true form to give Cyborg a high-five, but their celebration was premature as Blood regained his feet unharmed, and they turned to face him. A costly mistake, for it allowed Deathfang to sneak up on them both and grab them by the scruff of their necks, first slamming them into one another before hurling them separate directions into the air.
A burst of starbolts hurled down at Blood to force him back, but he countered with a burst of crimson energy hurled from his hand, knocking Starfire back instead. Frazzled, she dropped from the air into Robin's arms, who moved quickly to catch her. His back ached from his impromptu flight but he pushed back the pain and continued to fight, gently placing Starfire on her feet. And then his back took further torment as Deathfang slammed hard into robin and knocked him off his feet, grabbing him up in a bearhug and threatening to crush the life out of the Boy Wonder. Starfire launched herself forward to save him, but was rewarded instead by a kick to the side from the forgotten Ravager, who knocked her down and slashed out with her swords, forcing the Tamaranian Princess back, dodging and duck under the blades until she could gain enough distance to launch herself up into the air and to safety.
Robin slammed his head back and forced Deathfang to drop him, following up his attack with a vicious kick to the stomach that sent the great purple werebeast stumbling backwards. Still, his attacks hurt him far more than the great beast, and he could've sworn he'd almost cracked his skull with that first attack.
"Titans! Re-group!" he shouted over the chaos.
Raven threw up a black energy shield, cutting off Tartarus as the Titans fled behind it.
"Is it me or are we getting our butts kicked?" asked Beastboy, nursing his tender head.
"It's just you," replied all of them nearly simultaneously.
"We need a plan," said Cyborg, timing with Raven an attack that let her lower her shield briefly and let him fire off a sonic blast, then quickly re-raised the shield. It allowed them to knock back Deathfang and still keep Malchior and the Ravager at bay.
"Not many will work," replied Robin, reaching down to his belt and drawing forth three disks. The explosive variety. "They know our strategies. We got only one option. Hit 'em hard and hit 'em fast!"
A brilliant violet starbolt suddenly shattered their impromptu barrier, sending the Titan's flying all directions. The attack was immediately followed up by Malchior's deadly blue-white darts, three of which sliced clean through Raven's cloak when she wasn't able to dodge out of the way fast enough.
Cyborg launched himself forward, slamming punch after bone-crunching punch at Blackfire, but she twisted and grabbed his wrist, whirling around in mid air and throwing Cyborg back into Robin, who only barley managed to get out of the way by doing a splits and letting Cyborg sail over his head to slam hard against a concrete wall, shattering it in seconds. Robin was on his feet in an instant, however, and hurled the disks at Blackfire. Trouble was, they were intercepted by throwing stars, and Robin turned his head to see the Ravager's smirking face seconds before a blade slashed across his own, nicking him in the cheek as he turned to attack her instead. And then there came the sharp 'clang-clang' of metal hitting metal, as katana and bo staff were swung at one another.
Both sides were evenly matched. Both had the same sorts of power, the same sorts of training, the same sorts of determination.
But Tartarus had one distinct advantage over their enemies.
There was no limit to how far they were willing to go.
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
None of them could say where it all went wrong.
It all happened so fast.
A surprise blow from Deathfang knocked Raven off-guard as she shot some black energy bolts at Brother Blood, slamming her hard back through the air. However this time she wasn't able to catch herself in mid-air, nor slam into the side of a building. Nor was she caught by one of her teammates.
She was caught by Malchior.
His arms instantly became like iron bands as he clamps down hard over one arm and snaked the other around her waist and over her mouth to muffle a scream. And scream she did. Not at his embrace, though it was as loathsome as a serpents, but what he did next. Send about nine-thousand volts of magical energy coursing through her system. Raven's eyes glowed with bright white light as energy course from Malchior's hands into her body, enacting his terrible magic upon her.
"Aaaaaaaauuuuuuuugggghhhh!" she screamed, her body being flayed apart from the inside out by magical forces.
"PUT HER DOWN!" roared Beastboy, charging forward and morphing into a great green and black striped tiger in mid-leap, slashing his claws out at Malchior. Malchior tossed Raven aside and leapt gracefully out of the way of Beastboy's claws, returning the attack with one of his own to blast Beastboy back.
"So this is your new boyfriend?" asked Malchior, glancing over at Raven, who was grimly trying to push herself back to her feet despite her sudden weakness. "He is pathetic."
"Twice the man you'll ever be you backstabbing reptile!" she retorted darkly, lifting up her hands. "Azerath Metrion Zinth..." her eyes opened wide. "Zinthos," she finished weakly. "No..."
No black glow engulfed her hands. No power filled her being. Nothing.
Her magic was gone.
"Impossible! Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" she tried again. And again, she was rewarded with failure as Malchior strode over towards Raven. As she watched, horrified, his own hand became engulfed in a black glow, and he lashed out an energy beam that grabbed up Raven in a great claw and hurled her down the street to skid, bump, and finally come to rest on the hard concrete.
"You don't get it, do you child...?" sneered Malchior, grinning behind his veil. "I have taken from you the core of your essence. I have stolen the source of your power, your anger, and fed it to myself. I find it... most refreshing, actually."
"Leave Rae alone!" roared Cyborg, coming to the defense of his teammates, hurling himself at Malchior's back. Malchior didn't even turn, he lashed out with another wave of black energy, and Cyborg was sent flying in another direction, though he managed to skid to a halt along the asphalt before he hit anything. Raven was grateful for that.
Raven grunted, pushing herself up to her feet unsteadily, casting about a glance helplessly for her teammates, but she found they were all still deeply involved in their own conflicts. And she had no magic. Well, so be it then. Raven wasn't completely helpless. She'd lived in Titan's Tower for ten long years and you couldn't do that without learning one or two tricks of the trade. Raven screamed out a 'kiai' shout as she ran forward and awkwardly swung a punch at Malchior's grinning face...
... only to have the dragon-turned-sorcerer knock her fist aside and grab the front of her costume. Arcs of energy both blue-white and black coursed along his hands and into Raven's body, and she screamed again. But that was nothing compared to what came afterwards. Malchior lashed out with his hand and grabbed Raven's forehead, and to her utter horror, ripped her chakram clear out of her head and into his hand. She screamed even louder. One last time.
Before she fainted, unconscious, her body unable to endure the agony anymore.
A sudden roar made Malchior glance up, the chakram still in his hand, and his eyes opened wide as the rather large and tooth-filled maw of a Tyrannosaurus peered down at him. Had he not known better (and he didn't, considering his origins) he would've sworn he was looking down the throat of a wingless dragon, and he stumbled backwards in fear as the beast lunged at him.
But Beastboy's attack was cut short as something grabbed his tail, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Deathfang, who used his vast strength and hurled Beastboy by his tail into a nearby building, smashing him hard against the stone. Beastboy retaliated by flinging his tail and sending Deathfang flying, but the beast whirled and landed on both feet with surprising agility, and charged Beastboy on all fours, moving faster than a cheetah. Beastboy morphed into a pterodactyl, flying upwards to try and gain some time, but Deathfang leapt up, landed on a windowsill of the building, and leapt off, grabbing Beastboy and hurling him hard to the ground. That in and of itself would've been enough to hurt the green metamorph, but Deathfang followed up the attack by choosing his landing spot... right atop of Beastboy's back. He cried out in agony, as it felt like he'd been crushed into a pile of green goo by the attack. He could've sworn, if he hadn't been able to shapeshift, his organs would've been flattened by the attack. As it was, he managed to revert into a mole and burrow out underneath Deathfang before he'd been truly damaged. But it had still hurt like hell.
Deathfang smirked, and scooted aside. His superior hearing had allowed him to notice Blackfire's presence long before she'd floated up behind him. Malchior had taken over her spot as Starfire's sparring partner for the moment so she could help him finish off Beastboy.
The purple-furred werebeast pointed down the hole and grinned.
Blackfire blasted her starbolt down the hole, and their efforts were rewarded by Beastboy springing up further down the street. And Deathfang was on him in an instance as the boy, in his panic and pain, reverted to his humanoid form. Deathfang grabbed him up by his puny legs and slammed him down hard against the ground. Not one, not twice, but thrice. Until his body had finally stopped twitching. Then Deathfang triumphantly held up his vanquished foe in one mighty hand.
Two down. Three to go.
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
Meanwhile, Cyborg was having difficulties of his own.
Strictly speaking, he and Brother Blood were evenly matched in terms of strength and durability. And even raw power, as a sonic cannon attack had shown. Cyborg had blasted at Blood, and he'd managed to raise a pulsating red energy shield to reflect it off harmlessly into the sky, where it hit the darkshield. So that wasn't an option. Cyborg could see the son was just as tough as the father. Maybe even more difficult, because he had an important advantage over Cyborg.
Mobility.
Blood's legs were still human, and they allowed for a great deal of agility allowing Blood to move in, strike quickly, and retreat by Cyborg's slower body could respond. He tried a rapid one-two attack but Blood blocked and parried and moved in close to slash his metallic claws at Cyborg's chest, nearly tearing off part of armor and leaving three thick gouges in it. Cyborg stumbled backwards, clutching his injuries in believed pain. He wasn't hurt but he thought he was. Psychological pain.
Some things you never get used to.
"You're not half as tough as I'd expected you to be, Cyborg," said Brother Blood, idly clicking his iron-claws together. "Hard to believe you ever posed a threat to father. Or an interest, for that matter. What did he see in you, I wonder?"
"Said I was full of... surprises!" shouted Cyborg, punctuating his last word with a vicious punch, which Blood predictably dodged by leaping backwards. However, he wasn't finished. His fist and arm all the way to the elbow shot from his body and slammed hard into Blood's jaw as if it had been launched from a cannon, knocking the little brat back.
"So I see," remarked Blood, rubbing his chin idly. "But you're still no threat to me."
"Yeah! We'll see about that you little punk!" shouted Cyborg as he snapped his arm back into place and roared a battle cry, charging forward to swing his massive fist at Blood. But this time, Blood didn't dodge.
He blocked.
He caught Cyborg's attack with his own hand, then quickly swung out his own fist, and Cyborg only barely managed to catch it before it slammed into his jaw. They were caught in a stalemate then, half-machine vs. half-machine. Cyborg pushed up his power, steadily climbing towards 100 percent. He wasn't worried. He knew the secret of being half-machine, he wasn't sure Blood did. He might've been the same as him on the outside but they were totally unalike on the inside.
But to his surprise the grin on Blood's face, now a mere foot away from his own, didn't fade. It grew wider.
Cyborg pushed himself, calling on everything that made him who he was. His conflict with Atlas had shown him there was nothing he couldn't do, as long as he put his mind to it. He could beat Brother Blood. He could beat Tartarus. His power level continued to rise.
100 percent.
104 percent.
108 percent.
113 percent!
But to his utter shock, Blood managed to keep going up in power as well. And even, he saw with horror, surpass him. As he watched, Blood slowly pushed Cyborg to his knees, pushing his arms with far greater power than Cyborg was capable of.
How!
"My father wasn't the only one who read your blueprints," replied Brother Blood to his unanswered question. The look on Cyborg's face had been enough to tell him all he needed to know. He realized he was losing.
He knew! His memories had been on that disk! He knew about his battle with Atlas! He knew the secret to surpass 100 percent!
"Doesn't... rrr... matter... though..." said Blood, increasing his power even more as he pushed Cyborg down completely to his knees. "My enhancements are only the latest money can buy... state of the art. While yours... rrr... are... inferior! You are just outmatched, Cyborg! You are... obsolete! You... LOSE!" roared Blood, as Cyborg's second fist was forced to release Blood's, and he lashed out hard and struck Cyborg right across the jaw, sending him reeling. The mechanized teen slammed hard into the side of a bus, denting the frame with his hide. And Blood was on him in an instant, slashing at him with his steel claws wreathed in fire, tearing at Cyborg's armor like it was tinfoil and exposing vital circuits beneath it. And worse, slicing away at one of his power cells.
System Error. System Error
Primary Support Severed. Re-Routing Power. Error. Error.
System Shutting Down
And then it was all over. A well-placed kick to the head rendered Cyborg unconscious, and the last thing he heard was the sound of Brother Blood's maniacal laughter.
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
Malchior's powers had re-doubled since his absorption of Anger and most of Raven's black magics. Thus, he was easily proving more than a match for Starfire and Robin all by himself. The Ravager made things even less hopeful for the two remaining heroes.
"Starfire!" shouted Robin, flipping over another bolt of black energy. "Get out of here! Get help! We can't win this!"
"I won't leave you!" she replied stubbornly, blasting at the Ravager with some starbolts. Unsurprisingly, the Ravager deflected them all with her swords, slicing through the superheated energy like it wasn't even there. She grinned wickedly as she hurled some throwing stars at Starfire, who zipped and ducked underneath them.
"You have to!" Robin shouted, charging Malchior and hoping to engage him in physical combat. He was betting that he had little experience fighting as a mortal, he might be defeated without his magic. Alas, his plans came to naught when the Ravager intercepted him and both her swords clanged hard against his bo staff.
"Go!" he shouted.
"Can't leave yet," hissed the Ravager. "We're not done playing with you!"
Robin responded by calling her, rather rudely, as a female dog, then lashed out with his foot in a high circle kick, aiming for her head. Unsurprisingly, she blocked, then slammed her elbow into his gut and knocked him flat on his back. Malchior stood behind her, and charged up a powerful ball of alternating blue-white-black energy, preparing to hurl it at the Boy Wonder. But the Ravager held up a hand.
"No... he's mine. Assist Blackfire."
Malchior did so, using his newfound powers to levitate off the ground and go after Starfire, who found herself surrounded quickly by the sorcerer and her sister, both of whom proceeded to beat her senseless, hurling her back and forth like a tennis ball. One would hit her, either with a fist or their powers, and send her hurling at the other, who would serve her back, until Starfire finally came crashing down to Earth from a vicious right hook from her elder sister, crashing down with slightly less force than a meteorite. Her hair frizzled from starbolt blasts, her skin bruised and blacked an unhealthy hue. Grimly, she tried to stand, but couldn't find the strength. She'd lost it all. She'd lost her confidence. She doubted she could fly anymore either. She had no more joy left in her heart. Tartarus had broken more than her body. They'd broken her spirit.
And that left only one of them.
The other members of Tartarus gathered around but, per the Ravager's orders, held their distance. They formed a semi-circle as Robin was backed up against a wall, his staff sliced in half by a well-placed slash of the Ravager's swords. He held up both ends grimly in his hands as jo staves, ready to continue fighting.
"How does it feel, Robin-chan?" the Ravager asked him idly. "To lose everything you've ever cared about?" Robin didn't reply, partially because he had no response. Partially because he was out of breath. He was so tired. And the Ravager wasn't even winded. "Now you know how we felt. All of us. You so-called hypocrites have destroyed all of our lives. And now we will destroy yours," she said darkly. Then, to Robin's surprise, she sheathed her swords.
Robin tensed, expecting a trick, but she only smiled at him.
"And we are going to let you watch... as everything you value is destroyed," she said sweetly. Then, turning around, she walked out of the semi-circle, calling out over her shoulder. "Take him."
Had he been prepared and fresh, Robin might've been able to take down one member of Tartarus, maybe two. As it was, against all of them, one young man with no superpowers hadn't a snowball's chance in hell. And they all knew it. Desperately Robin cast a glance about for help, for any of his teammates, for anyone to come save him. For a moment, he was twelve again, the side-kick of the Batman, and hoping for his mentor to rescue him when he'd gotten himself into a situation too deep for him to handle.
But no one was going to save him now.
Darkness overtook Robin.
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
Author's Notes:
"-chan" being attached to someone name is calling them "little." It's a cute term generally used for children. Basically, the Ravager is insulting Robin. Also a reference to Ravager's origins, since her mother was Japanese in the comics (and not Slade's wife, either). Cyborg's battle with Atlas was from 'Only Human' where he learned to surpass his 100 percent mechanical limit. And it was alluded to in 'Wavelength' that his blueprints and files also included all of his memories, so naturally Blood has those now. Robin's regular weapon is a bo staff, jo staves are about half it's length, essentially thin fighting clubs, like the ones we saw Robin wield in 'Deception.' Next time: The Titans are defeated. What will become of Jump City now?
TDG3RD: Not mine either, but I love all (okay most) of their characters and I felt bad doing that. I'm glad it came off well though. And nope, a convenient little plot device, to keep this a strictly Teen Titan story. Keep out those interfering Leaguers. Much worse. But it's always darkest before dawn.
Blackbird: I like it too. Being evil, I mean. It's inherent in my nature to torment characters, and I find that always draws in readers. Nobody likes to read dull, boring, overly happy stories. So now, where did I put that randomly-smite-a-character button? Oh yes, right between my destroy-something-precious button and the maim/torment-a-character button.
ViciousAssassin: It was Terra. Tartarus will get what they deserve but only when I say, but until then you're right, the Titans are on their own and in big trouble. Not their last, this isn't the end… but it's getting closer.
TTStorm: Darkshield, actually, but you got it. Glad you're enjoying the story, and hoped you enjoyed the fight between the two teams. Me? I think it could've been better.
Tigress419: Hope you enjoyed, but expect many more such brawls in the future. This is hardly the end.
WonderWoman: Postopia, Diana. That's where the Lost Episode can be found. Glad you're enjoying the action, I do pride myself on writing that best. Humor, on the other hand… well… not my strong point.
BolenPUCR: It's part of a downward spiral Robin is in, and part of his eventual evolution as a character. Watch and ye shall be surprised. It'll all make sense shortly. And yeah, pretty dark, but if you think it's bad now just you wait to see what I've got planned next.
Comet-hime: I was tempted to put in real magic words that we heard throughout 'Spellbound' and jumble them up, but honestly I could never figure out how to write them. So I settled for silly subliminal messages. Which don't seem to be working. As for poor Starfire and Tamaran, what will become of them might shock you. However, recall if you will at least one other Tamaranian is still alive.
Anwen: The shortest story: Raven's birthday, Slade's back, Trigon's trying to come back, Raven gets a bunch of red glowing magic tattoos printed on her skin. More to come in the Prophecy and the End, it seems. That's the essentials.