To say the Titan's situation was bleak was a mild understatement, but unlike Robin, most of the others hadn't given up hope just yet. Either in themselves or him. They still expected the old Robin to be lurking around inside this dead shell, just plotting an escape. In the meantime, they tried to work out one of their own, given what they had to work with.
Which wasn't much.
But they did have an ace in the hole, even if they didn't realize it yet. One trick up their sleeves not even Tartarus could properly anticipate and understand. Or prepare for.
Beastboy.
Beastboy's powers had never been completely cut and dry, not like the other Titan's. The splicing experiment that had saved his life had also messed up his DNA and allowed him a great deal of power over his physical form, which even he was surprised by every so often. Unlike Cyborg, who's exact powers were as calculated and perfect as a computer program, Beastboy's were as wild and unpredictable as a force of nature. Thus, he was often surprised by the things he could do. Like transform into an alien animal he'd only seen a day earlier. Or shrink himself down to the size of an amoeba and multiply into a billion. Or even combine the characteristics of several animals to become a fearsome werebeast of his own, though that had been aided by a chemical in-balance.
However, even to him, what he was about to try was a new trick, and he didn't know if he could pull it off. But he had to give it a shot. Only way to find out really.
Hesitantly, Beastboy tugged on his arm, trying to push it against the band holding his arm in place. At the same time, he tried to focus on it. Tried to make it malleable. Tried something he hadn't before. Normally when he wanted to alter his shape he had to think of an appropriate animal, form an image in his mind, and "trigger" his power. But this time he didn't have a shape in mind. He wanted to be as flexible as goo.
C'mon BB, you can do this, he thought to himself, pushing hard. The band predictably pushed back, as it was designed to do, to keep him restrained.
C'mon... c'mon... yes!
Beastboy hissed softly in pain as his plan succeeded, and he found his arm had managed to obtain the elasticity of goo, and he'd allowed the band to slide partially through his own wrist, occupying the spot where his bone usually were. It hurt, but he grit his teeth, and focused some more... pushing himself for his teammates... and eventually was rewarded when his wrist slid free and his arm was loose of it's restraint. He was tempted to give a cry of joy but bit it back. They weren't out of the woods yet.
Fortunately, Adonis wasn't watching them, too engrossed in his magazine. Which was good.
"Psst," said Beastboy, getting his cellmates attentions, before placing a finger over his lips to indicate silence. He waves his arm, and they instantly saw it was free. Nodding encouragingly (all but Robin), the Titans watched as Beastboy released his other wrist in a similar fashion, then came to a far more difficult challenge. His waist went next, and he cringed as he felt, for an instant, as if the band had gone clear through his hipbones, then out the back. His throat was even harder, he felt like his air was cut off, he almost lost consciousness before he could force it out the back of his neck. Still, after that, his ankles were far easier, and at least Beastboy stood free.
Then he made his way over to the others, wondering who to let loose first. Robin was out of it (maybe even asleep) and he didn't know how to remove bands of energy like Starfire and Raven had, so he settled on Cyborg, morphing into a gorilla and tearing away at Cyborg's bonds as quietly as he was able, twisting the metal between his fingers.
"Good work BB... we get out of here I owe you a double tofu burger," whispered the mechanized man, making his way over to Raven's bonds and disabling them. Beastboy made short work of Starfire's, and she freed Robin, who still seemed out of it. Starfire gently slung him over her shoulder, and he offered no protest. He seemed borderline catatonic.
And Adonis hadn't noticed a thing. Too busy ogling the swimsuit models on page seven.
"No time for subtlety, we break and the run," Cyborg explained their game plan quietly. Then, rearing back his undamaged fist he lashed out hard and shattered the glass cage keeping in the Titans, instantly setting off half a dozen alarms and flashing red lights and making Adonis fall out of his chair backwards in shock. By the time he'd sat up the Titans were already running down the corridor, Raven and Beastboy supporting Cyborg due to his broken leg.
"Escape! Escape! The Titans are escape!" Adonis shouted into the intercom before grabbing some of his serum and beginning his transformation, taking off after the Titans as the great purple werebeast Deathfang. He was hot on their trail but they had quite a head start.
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Ravager, sitting in her chair, flicking the console so she could get an image of the fleeing Titans. Irritating, she thought to herself. But not wholly unexpected.
Brother Blood burst into her chambers, followed by Malchior. "Ravager...!"
"I know," she replied before they could finish. As if she needed to be told with all the flashing red lights and the alarms going off. "Seal the building," she ordered.
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The alarms had gotten louder, but thankfully the Titan's had found no major resistance in the corridors as they made their way down them trying to locate the exit. Thus far with only a minimum of luck.
"There!" shouted Cyborg, pointing out an elevator. The Titans rushed towards it, but before they could reach the end of the corridor a steel door swiftly descended down from above to try and cut them off. Cyborg grabbed it, trying to push it back up, but his power reserves were low and his leg couldn't give him a proper brace. The door started to slip.
"Move!" he shouted.
The other Titans complied, Starfire yanking Robin after her, then grabbing the door on the opposite side long enough to allow Cyborg to crawl under, though just barely. Her strength failed her and the door slammed shut, though they were all thankfully on the correct side.
"Don't slow down! Go! Go!"
Raven held the elevator door open for them but found the buttons would not light up. "They already shut this place down," she said fearfully. "We're not going anywhere."
"There has to be another way out," said Beastboy, pushing open the doors and moving back out into the corridor. He headed left, but was quickly rewarded for his efforts by nearly being shot by a dozen energy pistols aimed his way, carried by security guards. Further back down the corridor he spotted Blackfire, and she gave a blood curling howl and she zoomed over the guards heads towards the Titans, who immediately turned tail and ran down the opposite direction.
"I am open to suggestions!" shouted Cyborg, who blasted off a sonic burst to try and slow Blackfire and the guards down.
"Through here!" shouted Starfire, kicking open a door and letting the Titans fly through into another room. A cellar of sorts, filled with crates and a stone floor, dark and damp.
"Cyborg, Beastboy, get the door," intoned Raven, letting the green-skinned metamorph slam the door into place as Cyborg shifting a fingertip into a blowtorch and sealed it shut. It wouldn't hold for long against Tartarus.
"What now?"
Starfire responded by pointing out a grate in the floor and with a mighty heave ripped it up and clear out of the ground, hurling it aside. Below, the sounds of running water could clearly be heard.
"Sewer system," stated Raven.
"Ick man..." Beastboy started to complain.
The door suddenly burst off it's hinges as Blackfire and Deathfang stormed in. There was no further arguments as the Titans bodily hurled themselves and each other into the water and let the current do the rest. Above them came a scream of irritation and a roar of anger as Tartarus cut off their pursuit. The Titans were free, but they were lost and in the underground sewers of Jump City, being carried in an unknown direction.
What next, they wondered silently.
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Ravager switched off the screen, forming a tent with her fingers as she leaned back in her chair.
"So... they escaped."
"I will track them down," said Blood. "I'll..."
"No," stated the Ravager, swiveling her chair back around to face him. "They are no longer a threat. They can't go far anyway, the darkshield will stop them. We needn't concern ourselves with the Titans. They are nothing to us now."
"Very good, Ravager," he said as respectful as he could, despite the seething anger he felt. His target had escaped his grasp, slipped through his metallic fingers.
"Call back Deathfang and Blackfire. We'll let the Titans go... it's not like they have anywhere left to go back to."
Laugher, cruel and cold, filled the air after that last remark.
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At the mouth of JumpCity's bay there was an access pipe or two that led from the extensive sewer system out into the bay. Some complained it dumped sewage into the waters and poisoned the fish, and over the years the city had tried to clean it up a bit to help preserve their environment.
It was still something most would not want to go swimming in.
And the Titans emerged into the rocky and dark beach on the edge of town. Out in the distance, normally, you could've seen the welcome sight of a big 'T' on the horizon. But now, there was nothing. And high above, the darkshield prevented all but a bare minimum of daylight from penetrating. It may as well have been perpetual twilight in Jump City. Starfire crawled ashore, dragging Robin behind her, and Beastboy and Raven did the same with Cyborg, though with considerable more difficulty. For a moment, all of them lay on their sides, panting for breath, soaked to the bone and shivering cold. But free once more.
Although not yet completely out of danger.
Not aware that Tartarus had called off their hounds, so to speak, the Titans scattered, having already run through enough practice drills and the like for this sort of situation. They hadn't believed it necessary until Terra had again forced it upon them, and Robin had been most insistent they be ready.
Their strategy was simple. Scatter all over the city, meet up at a very specific point.
The alleyway where they had first met up as a team against the Zornians. Five years ago to the day, to be precise. And again that same day when they were fleeing from the first Ravager, the two-story tall scorpion-spider. An alleyway in the older part of Jump City, virtually deserted. And today even more so than usual. Everyone was inside their homes, hiding from Tartarus. They no longer had confidence the Titans would save them, after seeing them beaten and hauled off in disgrace.
Raven was the first to arrive, leaning against the nearby wall for support. Her eyes were wide, she was without her typical confidence. Malchior's attack had shaken her badly. She felt... empty... inside. Confused. But she was still at least aware enough of her surroundings to notice she wasn't completely alone in the alleyway.
"You can come out now," she stated in a quiet, scared voice, very much unlike her dull (yet not uncaring) monotone.
A dog poked its head cautiously out of a nearby alleyway underneath a pile of refuse, then hesitantly slipped into the light, morphing back into the nervous visage of Beastboy as it did so. He was still soaked to the bone, and out of breath.
"The others are on their way," said Raven quietly.
"I said let go of me!" came a shout from above.
Beastboy and Raven glanced up in time to see Robin drop down from above and land beside them in a crouch, though he seemed to barely catch himself before he hit the ground. A concerned Starfire dropped down beside them, and Cyborg joined them from a nearby alleyway, stumbling along on his broken leg. Robin did not face any of them, but turned his back on the Titans, head lowered, ashamed.
"Uh... so what now?" asked Beastboy, breaking the awkward silence.
"Nothing," replied Robin darkly, still not facing them. "It's over."
Another stretch of awkward silence followed that. "Look man come on we got beat, it happens..." started Beastboy.
"Didn't you hear me?" asked Robin darkly. "It's... over!"
"Look man just 'cause you lost doesn't mean...!" started Cyborg, but Robin whirled on him angrily, and despite the clear advantage of height and muscle on the mechanical man's side, he flinched at the look Robin gave him.
"No! I won't let this go any further! If we keep fighting Tartarus we're going to get hurt," he said darkly. His gaze went sideways as he glanced at Starfire briefly. "Maybe killed," he added, his voice choking. "They're not playing around, they're in this game for keeps."
"So are we!" shot back Cyborg.
"I won't let you do this!" shouted back Robin angrily, getting right up in Cyborg's mismatched face.
"Show some backbone man!"
"My pride almost got you all killed when I wouldn't let you call in the Justice League! Now we're fucked!"
A sharp inhalation came from most of the other Titans. Robin rarely got angry enough to curse. Slade himself couldn't tick him off that much. But this was not the Robin they knew and love. Something had happened to him. Something worse than just being beaten. And that in and of itself was bad.
"C'mon man we need you," pleaded Cyborg in one last desperate attempt. "We need to stick together to bring down these jerks."
"I won't be responsible for you all getting hurt," said Robin, reaching up with a gloved hand to his face. "As of now... the Teen Titans are officially... over," he said, and with that final dramatic word he ripped off his ever-present mask and threw it to the ground. Another shock for the Titans, many of whom had never seen Robin's eyes before. Only Starfire had ever seen them, had been let past Robin's ever-resent guard. But now, she hardly recognized those blue orbs.
They were so... bitter. Hate-filled. Sad. And all of it directed at himself, rather than any others.
"And so is Robin," he added, turning his back on the Titans and stalking off. None dared stop him. Starfire offered a half-hearted protest, but it died in her throat as she watched Robin vanish into the shadows. Starfire meekly drifted after Robin, hoping to find him again and talk some sense into him. Cyborg, sensing the truth behind Robin's words, also turned and departed. And at this, the last stroke, Beastboy broke down and collapsed. The Titans were more than just a team to him, they'd been his family for much of his life, the elder Logans having perished when he was very young. He sank to his knees, and Raven gently placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort him... but she was ill-suited to the task. How could she offer comfort when she too felt lost, broken, and empty?
After half a decade of fighting for truth, justice, and the last slice of pizza... the Teen Titans... were no more.
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Author's Notes:
The Titan's reuniting in an alleyway after a fight comes from 'Secret Origins' my first Titan story (to shamelessly plug my own works). The semi-break-up of the Titan's comes from 'Final Exam' though this time they go all the way through with it. Next time: The Titans are no more. How will they go on with their own lives, now that they are no longer a team?
Metal Dragon: How quickly you give up hope on the Titans… don't you ever read comics/watch movies? This is the part where the villains laugh maniacally and the heroes pull off an award winning victory from out of nowhere. No third element will be involved.
TDG3RD: A key element often overlooked in most supervillain groups. The ever-present backstabbing and looking out for number one. I can't use as much of Blood's comic history as I'd like but it'll make for an interesting element in the story.
Yomiori-Wolfdemon: Well hopefully you'll be impressed by Beastboy's last-minute ingenuity and heroics in this chapter.
Seth Turtle: I agree, I am enjoying Tartarus too. I didn't make them up or just throw together a bunch of villains, they've got personality and style, don't they? Still, only fair they get what's coming to them.
Anwen: Your favorite couple? Awww… I'm sorry very, very sorry to hear that. Muwahahaha.
Scathac's Warrior: How very kind of you. How I hate word, which will not tell me of such things. But I suppose I only have myself to blame.
Tigress419: You call that a little? Well how's that for Robin angst! Ha! And more to come, damnit!
Todd-fan: Nail-biting… oooh I like that. Thank you.
Sympathique: Naughty little bitch, isn't she? It won't last forever, true enough, but the citizen's aren't being left alone. But don't worry. Soon everything will be explained.
Blackbird: Most of them were rounded up in the jail before the story started, and truthfully I didn't want to get them involved. This is between Tartarus and the Titans.
ViciousAssassin: Malchior's spell is crucial later on. But I'm glad you're enjoying both the back-stabbing and the tormenting of the Titans. Don't think it ends here. Now they have to face their inner demons.
Finn Mac Cool: Glad I am that someone was enjoying the Terra-is-alive-but-isn't-quite-alive scene. And no it was very intentional, though this is only the beginning.
Pnaixrose: Well it is depressing, isn't it? It was too good an opportunity to pass up. And yeah, Ravager isn't easily fooled. We'll see who backstabs who, shall we?
Comet-hime: Character torture is plenty fun, I just hope I don't go overboard in the next few chapters. As for who lives and who dies, you'll have to wait and see. Raven though… she's not in pain, not really. You'll get a better explanation later for what's wrong with her.