Standard disclaimer of ownership and properties apply readily.
--TT
Chapter 8
--
Kalakalakalakala!!!!
The structure around them began to crumble. Falling pieces of debris cumulated around the floor, creating a small sand dune. The air still smelled of blood, and Kahn was rather pleased with it.
"Ahh.......such aroma. I never thought I'd be so blessed."
Starfire held a fastened glare on the man. "You are truly a despicable being."
The man grinned drunkenly, waving a dismissive hand.
"Whatever makes you feel righteous, I suppose. Why you so angry at me anyways?"
The girl was visibly clenching her fists, and her eyes regained the luster of the green glow.
"You.........are the reason all of this badness is happening! Robin has......because you......!"
Kahn just kept that insufferable grin on his lips. "Hehehehehehehe........maybe..."
Starfire repressed her anger consciously. There was no reason to fight the evil man right now, for he was probably the only one who actually knows what is occurring around the entire city. Besides, her condition didn't promise a high probability of victory.
Another tremor.
Kalakalakalakalakala!!!!
A huge piece of the ceiling crumbled and fell near Fixit, the force of the falling objects sent the android stumbling slightly off balance.
The Tamaranian girl knew none of them could stay in the crumbling any longer. She went to hoist Fixit.
"Friend! We must flee from this edifice! It is no longer secure!!!!"
"Agreed. We can leave through the underground passage ways. The front entrance is most likely demolished by R-"The android cut himself off.
Starfire gritted her teeth, and glared at Kahn once more.
"Do not escape!! You must entail an explanation of all this!! And inform me of the location of Robin!!!"
Kahn sighed, still looked intoxicated. "Fine. Whatever you're jabbering about. I'm not about to let the jocularity go anyways."
Starfire wasted no time and ceased to further converse with Kahn, and hoisted the organic android to begin their escape. With Fixit's navigations, they were soon to arrive at the outside.
-------------TT
"Moria Harbinger........."
The woman smiled warmly. "Robin. Boy Wonder of Gotham. We finally meet. I have been looking forward to this moment."
Robin calmly pulled himself up, hands at his side, but with a distinct hostility.
"I'll make you regret it."
Hel just giggled. "That is why I have removed your belt. It is source of your zinothium technology, no?"
Robin didn't seem to be surprised. "I knew you took it. It felt it during the teleportation." He got into a fighting stance. "But it doesn't matter to me. Nothing matters now. I'm going to finish this."
The woman floated away, shedding light like fairy dusts. "True. Everything shall be finished here, though perhaps not in the manner in which you are planning."
The boy loosened his stance, slightly. "What do you plan to do with Loki? What's its purpose?"
His eyes glowed a dim crimson glow. "Tell me or prepare to become a carcass."
Hel brought a finger to her lips, dabbing it in a pouting way.
"Awwwww. Can you not be slightly more amiable? We have just met and you are already so hostile. I do not want to see such a cute face all scrunched up."
She glided down.
"You wish to know? Then I'll tell you."
Robin sure as hell didn't expect her to talk so easily, but it didn't matter. Nothing really mattered. He cocked his head to the side.
".............................."
"Heeheehee. You are truly like me."
Robin cocked his head to the other side, and growled. "Like .........you!?"
He suddenly leapt and struck with his fingers, a technique intending to rip out the woman's throat.
She disappeared, and the boy only swiped at the darkness.
"Oooooo, murderous. That's quite appealing. Then again, I know of this already."
"Raahhh!!!!" He charged into the darkness and performed a swift gab kick.
Hel was grinning, though it could not be seen as her glow had already diminished. "Heehee. It is as I thought. You belong with us. You have the innate to be our ally. You have the instinct, the drive, and the hate to become the perfect-"
Her speech was ended by a hand grasping her throat.
"It doesn't matter. You're going to die." Robin looked at her absentmindedly, and squeezed, hard.
SNAP!!!
Robin felt the gooey texture of fluids and the sharp edge of bones, and began to loosen his grip. He couldn't.
"!!!???"
"We haven't even dated yet, and you're already trying to kill me. How aggressive." Hel's voice purred.
"Rah!!!" Robin tried to pull away, but to no avail. Hel's body began to glow once more, and the boy saw his hand amalgamated with the woman's broken neck.
"!!!????"
Hel's disconnected head smiled. "Heehee. Sorry, but you cannot kill what is already dead."
-------------TT
Starfire made a touch down and secured Fixit's safety on the borders of the fragmented grounds beyond the hills of S.H.E.L.L.
The tremors had done more damage than she and Fixit had anticipated. The buildings were already falling apart, and the split surface of the earth was creating a semi-prison for the citizens of Jump City.
The Tamaranian noted with apical of distaste that the scent of blood still permeated around the entire city.
She looked for the daunting man, seeing if he had escaped. She couldn't see him.
"Hehehehe.........up here."
She searched his voice and found him on the higher levels of the hills. Kahn leaped down, and moved towards the girl once he landed.
His drunken grin still hadn't left his face, and he was now holding both hands out in a maniacal and murderous manner.
Starfire resumed her glares, refusing to be intimidated by the psycho.
"I feel no fear of you. You will take me to Robin, now!!"
"Patience. Don't you want to wait for your friends?"
The girl flinched in realization. She had been so engrossed in the travesties and Robin's whereabouts, that she had forgotten her friends.
Starfire was debating between flying off to find the others, or remaining here so she could elicit answers from the evil man.
Kahn noticed her expression and grinned, with his left eye closed, and his right eye half closed in a dreamy look.
"Don't bother, they're here." He cranked his neck to look at the north side of the city. Starfire was cautious of his every move, but turned to the direction where he is looking.
Three figures showed in the distance.
"Star!!!" Beast Boy shouted and changed into a cheetah to dash to her faster.
"Beast Boy!!!" She shouted, happily, and rushed to hug the boy while he was still in animal form.
Raven and Cyborg came after. The large teen appeared very relieved to see their alien friend unharmed.
"Yo! Star! You had us all freaked out, girl! Don't fly off like that without at least honking!!!"
"Yeah, Star!" Beast Boy yelled as he changed into human form and backed away from the hug. "The city's like Residence Evil 1000! It's not safe out here without some kind of flamethrower!"
"Dude, she's got those laser beams, remember?"
"Don't ever disregard the flamethrower!!"
"Hey!! Fixit!!! You're okay!!"
"I am in good condition, thanks to the young Tamaranian."
Starfire was glad that her friends were safe. At least, all except one. She turned back to the culprit in mind.
Raven in the entire while, had her sole attention focused on Kahn, and did not give any regards to the others as of the time.
Kahn's attention also seemed to be on her, and he created that sickly, drunken smile of his.
"Hey, you came here just to see me? I'm sooooo flattered." His bent backwards and his backbones gave a popping sound. "Ouch."
Raven gave a slight glare. "Out of thousands of psychos, we just had to meet you."
"Well, I'm not complaining."
Cyborg and Beast Boy focused their attention on the two, moving forward as Starfire went in front of Raven.
"He is Kahn. He is the one who has contaminated Robin's mind. And he is the one who shall take us to Robin."
Cyborg glanced at the Tamaranian girl with a slightly concerned gaze. "Calm down, Star. We don't need you to go mental on us too."
The girl immediately whirled on the larger teen, eyes brimming with shock and sadness.
Cyborg returned a sad expression. Beast Boy came to the girl's other side, a sympathetic expression on his face.
The titanium teen tilted his head back to scrutinize the two people, who were in a rather Mexican standoff situation. He could feel Raven's power trembling. The grounds they stood on had slightly quaked, but not from another earthquake.
Kahn was becoming more and more amused as he measured the capabilities of the gothic girl before him, as well as the remaining of the Titans.
"Hehehehehe. What? You're all speechless now that your leader's gone to the 'dark side'?" He wanted to make air quotes.
Cyborg growled, and took several steps forward. "I don't know what the hell you've done to Robin, but I want some answers, and you better croak. Where is he? And what the hell is up with the entire city!?"
Kahn arched his body forwards, and sneered. "Are you kids parrots or something? You keep asking the same questions."
"And you have answered none." Starfire deadpanned, stepping forwards as well.
Beast Boy followed. "I don't know really know what's going on, but I thinks we should get some of those million dollar answers now."
Kahn chuckled, and his left eye began to open slightly, the red glow escaping.
"!!!!" Starfire went on guard, her starbolts began charge in her hands and in her eyes.
Although they haven't met the man or experienced the power of the crimson eye as of yet, Cyborg and Beast Boy knew by instinct that the red glow was dangerous.
Cyborg armed his cannon. "Fixit, get away from here. I don't like how this looks."
Fixit nodded mutely and backed away, retreating into the terminals of what remained of S.H.E.L.L. in hopes of rebooting the systems.
Beast Boy morphed into a tiger and posed his claws and teeth ready. He roared, trying at least to gain an imposing appearance.
Kahn's left hand twitched. He clenched it, and gave another lopsided grin. The teens were sending off hostility, and he liked it, so very much. He glanced at Raven, who had her eyes closed.
"?"
Kahn's smirk disappeared. He arched his body back, while his shoulders gave some popping sounds.
Cyborg winced. "Uhhhh......he's kinda flexible."
Starfire had also noticed Raven's debonair, and waited patiently for her to collect the words she needed to speak.
Raven breathed. She opened her eyes, and pulled her hood back.
".........I met a traveler from an antique land......"
"!!!!????"
"Uh......Raven?"
".........who said: two vast and truckless legs of stone. Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip........."
Starfire listened intently, searching for the meaning of the words. Beast Boy appeared like a confused feline.
".........and sneer of cold command, tell that its sculptor well those passions read, which yet survive, stamped on those lifeless things. The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Kahn slowly regained his sickly grin.
"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away." She finished.
Cyborg frowned. "Raven, I don't think it's a good time for poetry recital. Unless this guy is one of your depressing café pals."
Raven ignored him and narrowed her eyes on the snickering man.
".........that is the Eye of Ozymandias. A forgotten relic of an ancient megalomaniac."
Clapping.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!!! By the lords of Corsell!! You got it!!! I can't believe you got it!!!! Wahahahahahahaha!!!!" He arched backwards as he laughed.
Starfire frowned, feeling irritated by the constant delay in looking for Robin. Cyborg felt the urge to shoot the man where he stood. Beast Boy was just tired of being constantly freaked out.
".....hehehehehe...." His laughter died down, and his left eye flared. "I really have to commemorate on your absolutely surprising knowledge. It's.........pleasant."
Raven felt a surge of energy gather around the man's ankles, slowly making its way to his hands. It was more or less an aura, only detectable by ones who dealt with aura. But though the aura was strong and formidable, Raven could only sense the embodiment of brutality within that power. It was a power that didn't contain compassion. It had no hesitation, no reluctance. That is the reason the man could wield the power of the Eye of Ozymandias.
Kahn smiled suddenly, not a smirk, a grin, it was a smile. Raven arched her eyebrows.
"..................che." He spat.
"Now, wou-"
"Please, what are these spheres of blackness?" Starfire interjected Raven. "They are most ominous. They are not of this world, no?" The question was directed at both Raven and Kahn.
She nodded her affirmative.
"I really don't like the sound of this." Cyborg groaned.
Beast Boy tensed, but changed back into human. "Duh, we can kind of tell with the whole blacky goodness those whatever-they-are keep dishing out!" He pinched his nose. "Ahn da shetty sbell!!!"
Starfire addressed Kahn directly this time. "Just what are these ill phenomenon!!? The spheres!? The scent of blood!? Robin!?"
The man cranked his neck. "Hehehehehehe. You know, you don't have to ask me that." He smirked in Raven's direction. "She knows a lot more than what she's letting off."
"Raven?"
"...................................."
"Hehehehe......you know well what all these are."
Another tremor coursed through the grounds, causing the surrounding debris to shake and tremble.
Starfire remembered what he mumbled before. "You have said there were 'two more to go'. Is that an implication that there are to be seven of these spheres? There is no more time to squander, we must receive answers!"
"Hehe.........they're soul spheres." Kahn answered, and walked over to a boulder and sat down.
"Soul spheres?" Cyborg inched forward.
"Yes......" Raven breathed. "......soul spheres. I knew this the moment the scent of blood permeated around the city."
"Why is that?" Beast Boy asked, and immediately plugged his nostrils again.
".........it's the scent of the one who's in those spheres."
"!!!!????"
-------------TT
Inspector Gilmour rounded the corner.
"Phe. Not a damn thing. Just what the hell's going on around here? And I thought transferring to a city with superheroes was gonna make life easier."
He looked at the gigantic black domes.
"Just what are those?"
Psssssssss!!! "Gilmour! Are you there!? We've got a huge issue over here!"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?"
"It's hell over here, dammit!! Everyone's gone loco!! We've lost contact with division C and D, ever since they said that division B started firing on them!"
The inspector narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about? Division B fired on the others!? You're not shitting this are you!?"
"I wish I was, dammit!!! Something's seriously not in the norm of normality here! I've already pulled the men out! But some of them rushed right back in! Just what the hell is going on!?"
Gilmour placed the communicator down. The black domes seemed to be increasing in size.
"What in the devil........."
-------------TT
Hel's body, or at least what was presumed as her body, had liquefied and became a tangle of flesh and trapped Robin's movements. The boy struggled furiously, squashing the disgusting organisms around him with his hands and feet, but remain entangled in Hel's freakish transformation.
"Raaaaghhhh!!!!"
"Heehee..." Hel's head giggled on the black ground. "You're cute when you're mad."
"You monster. I'll rip you to shreds."
"Hmmmm.........that murderous glint in your eyes......it's rather enticing."
Robin continued to wrestle with the abomination, but found it useless, and so he ceased, and chose to glare at the woman's head, while still processing any methods of escape.
"Hmmm......done having that tantrum? Want me to fill you in now?"
Robin cocked his head to the side, and exhaled. "..................what is Loki?"
Hel smiled. Parts of the flesh goo detached from the main pile and crawled over to the head. Robin watched as the flesh mended with Hel's head and created what could be described as a tripod for the head to sit on.
"Much better. Now I can look at you in the eyes."
The Boy Wonder growled. "I've met countless freaks before, but what the hell are you?"
Hel smirked. "I'm the embodiment of the greatest entity this entire world will ever face."
"????"
"Loki.........you should already know the answer. You did interrogate Mr. Markowitz, did you not? I do hope you haven't mutilated him or damaged him badly. He was my father's good friend, and was an uncle to me."
"You don't care. Otherwise your butler would have been there to stop me."
Hel batted her eyes. "Who is to say? You were much more resourceful than we had anticipated. And much more compatible with me than anyone in this entire city."
"Raaaa!!! Stop saying that!!!" Robin tried to charge to the woman's head, but was only able to close a few inches in distance.
"Hmmm......did I hit a sore spot? You were so calm when you fought Albert. That rage of yours is most different now, but that is why I chose you."
Robin's eyes narrowed. "Chose?"
"Yes. Chose. Heeheehee. You did not think I would bring you here just to kill you, now, did you?"
"I came here to kill you......"
"Yes, well, we have different goals as of yet, but hopefully that will change." Hel tilted her head, and Albert's voice echoed throughout the darkness.
"Mistress. What is your bidding?"
"Albert, please inform me on the progress."
"Yes, mistress. The soul spheres are one shy of completion. Enkindling is almost at hand."
"Enkindling......!??" The boy pondered.
Smiling, Hel announced her satisfaction. "Yes, perfect. And......how is our new guest's friends faring?"
"!!!!!"
"Their whereabouts are unknown. The soul spheres have disrupted not only the city's functions, but have disabled our search abilities as well. The shadow fiends cannot travel when the spheres are in their consumption stages."
Hel pouted. "I suppose it cannot be helped. But, please, Albert, try looking out for those children. I'm sure they would be searching for their cute leader."
"But of course, my mistress."
Hel tilted her head back to the glaring teen, and smiled cheekily. "Are you anxious to know what is transpiring even now? What the H.I.V.E. was hired to do? The purpose of Loki? A so-called abomination by those impudent fools!?"
"Gale Harbinger........." Robin mumbled.
Hel appeared surprised, and her smile disappeared.
".........Loki and Harbinger......death........."
"..........................."
"Soul spheres. It connects, however bizarre and illogical. Loki, it's for...........?"
He thought some more, and his eyes widened. "You call yourself Hel, the daughter of the dark deity, Loki.........soul spheres.........!!!!!!"
Robin looked to her, his expression unreadable.
".........Harbinger and Loki are......!!!"
"......heehee, I said you and I are alike, no? My, you are very bright. A true detective."
FLASH!!!
"Arrgh!!!"
All the flesh around Robin dissipated and congregated back to Hel, instantly forming her body once more, magically with the nightgown she had on beforehand.
"Loki is the final evolution of mankind. It can bring about the greatest development for the weak and frail thing known as human nature." Hel began her little speech, abandoning her previous pseudo-warm hospitality.
"What my father wished to do initially, became something even grander! A new energy source for the people!? Merely an illusion that will soon fade. My father had modified Loki to become the embodiment of what humans revere: absolute power and freedom. You have seen the shadow fiends, have you not? They are not mere conjured beings from magic trinkets, they are the future of mankind. They represent the dark desires of every person on this plane of existence."
Robin got back up, and cranked his head. "A monster dreamer and a psychotic daughter. Fantastic."
Hel ignored him. "As you have now deducted, my father's soul has now been contained in that wondrous machine, waiting to be released. So his desires for the betterment of mankind can be fulfilled. Loki will allow every man to be able to express themselves to the fullest. I will prevail with my father's wishes, and see that Loki, no, my father, can be able to carry his dreams to the fullest."
She turned to the boy. "The H.I.V.E. was commissioned to retrieve the vast data that was required to repair Loki, for it was damaged beyond recognition. The fools did not destroy the blue prints for the project, perhaps hoping to reconstruct it as a powerful weapon someday. Hahahaha......pure imbeciles."
"What about the jewels? The robberies? Was that part of your infamous machination?" The boy asked.
The woman spun in the air. "That! Was just a sample of the active transpiration of man's desire! To steal, to take, to do what is in their desires! It is the goal of every man at one point or another. You can definitely relate."
Robin bore his teeth.
"And now you shall aid me in this quest, for you are one of us. The darkest of souls, that holds a boundless innate of glory."
"Poetic. I've said this many times already, I'll finish this." He began looking for a method of combat. Now that his belt was removed, he lacked the power for mass combat, and his physical attacks were useless against her.
Hel smiled, and glowed brightly.
"!!!???"
"Dear, dear Robin. Do you not recognize this place? This darkness is not my doing."
Robin growled. "What the hell are you tal-"
It's been about you, it's always been about you.
"Huh!?" He whirled around.
The boundaries between the light and the dark, it is very, very, very ambiguous.
"Are you hearing things, dear Robin? If so, it is only yourself that is doing the haunting."
Robin didn't hear her, he had forgotten her presence entirely. The void, the darkness, the fear was crawling back to him. His senses became in tune once more. His sanity was mending, but only because then will he be able to feel the fear once more.
"Raaaahhh!!!! SHUT UP!!! I don't need this now, not ever! Don't talk to me!!!"
Hel smiled, and her glow died out.
Robin was left alone in the darkness.
-------------TT
"You mean there's somebody in those things?" Beast Boy asked as he tried to breathe normally, but the offending smell of blood was disgusting to him as a human and as a vegetarian.
"Uwahhhrrr...!!! Gross!!!"
"Who is it, Raven? And why is the air full of the nasty of scents?"
Raven looked to the man who was sitting on the rocks. Feeling her gaze, he turned his head to gaze back with a smirk.
"Most likely because the person died when his soul became part of those spheres."
Silence.
"That doesn't make sense."
"What makes you think any of this does?"
"Well, what about that Eye of Ozy-something, what the heck is up with that?"
Cyborg answered that. "Raven said it was some sort of relic that has all this massive non-holy dark magic. Which spells 'oh shit' in my book."
"Okay......so how did he get it?"
Raven shook her head. "These are all inconsequential as of now. We have to find the source of all of this. It's too late to stop the last soul sphere from manifesting."
Starfire nodded her head. "Perhaps we shall discover Robin when we find this originator of badness."
"Well, what are we waiting for!? Let's go kick some monster ass!!!" Cyborg shouted.
"Rite wid ya boddy!!!"
"Any idea where to go?"
"Hell no."
Starfire walked to the man, who was now counting the number of small pebbles near his feet.
"You said you were to direct I and my friends to Robin's location. You are not betraying that offer, I do hope."
Kahn smirked, his left eye brightly shining. "Hehe. Fine. So I guess you kids decided to find out the rest of the facts later, eh?"
Cyborg stood forward. "We need to deal with the menace first. Shoot first, ask questions later."
The fighter chuckled. "I hope you can back your words later, tin man."
Cyborg clenched his fist. "With an iron fist, baby."
"Heh, very well. Keep up then." Kahn began walking off, waiting for them to get ready and follow.
"Uhhhh, one quick question, guys." Beast Boy asked, as he got between his friends. "We're letting this creepy dude help us now?"
They all looked displeased, but there was no other choice.
"Believe me, I'd rather pulverize him than collaborate with that weirdo. But he's the only one who knows what's really going on, besides Raven, of course." Cyborg emphasized his words to Raven.
"Don't give me that look. I didn't know for certain before we got here. I only had hunches on everything, but no concrete answers."
"What's up with the Eye of whatever? It makes him look like a left eye buddy with Cy."
"We-"
FLASH!!!
The teens shielded their eyes from the bright light. The final dome is actually close to the tower.
"Aw, damn. There goes the last one."
"Just what does that do, exactly?"
"Friends! We have no more time to squabble and explain! We must seek this evil doer, and stop his evil plots!"
Cyborg nodded. "All right, then. Kahn! The Titans are gonna follow ya! You better not be setting something up!"
Kahn regained that drunken smile of his. "Don't worry. I have my own agenda. Besides, I'm not through with any of you."
Beast Boy gulped. "Okay, I really don't know what's going on anymore."
Raven remained silent.
Starfire floated into the air. "That will remain to be seen. Now, guide."
-------------TT
Hel watched in the corner of the darkness. She watched the turmoil that Robin suffered in his nightmare days ago, and she felt the anguish in the boy's heart.
"Yes, Robin. This darkness is your own soul, your own thoughts. When this had become, I do not know, but it is quite the décor."
"You seek freedom! You want nothing more than to become your own self! Mom and dad would have wanted it this way!!"
"Shut up!!!!"
"I have done nothing beyond bringing us into your own plane of existence. This is the barest of your soul."
"This is where we belong! The darkness! It is where our abilities shine! You can feel it, even if you constantly deny it!!!"
"I don't believe any of this!! It's an illusion!"
"Heehee. What is it that you fear and desire? You must listen to yourself once in awhile to understand."
"We're through being weak! And we've become strong now that we've let go of that limitation that comes with being a hero! A more step left! We just have to accept the entirety of ourselves!"
"Rahh.........gah!"
"Humans are so frail......they're weak and selfish. Not knowing when to let go and when to hold on. It's despicable."
"Freedom, dammit! I want to be able to be me! To do what I want! When I want! It's our nature that we should be this way! The forbidden boundaries that we constantly remind ourselves not to tread upon! We must endow ourselves with that freedom!"
Robin bit his lip and clenched his fists.
Hel smiled, and allowed the boy's own thoughts to crush him. Her eyes slowly became murkily black, and her blonde hair mended with the darkness.
"Say what you want! Feel the raw emotions! I can feel it, and so can you!"
"Raaaahhhh!!! I hate you!!! Shut up!!! I hate you!!!" The boy thrashed around, trying to find something to grasp on.
Images of Gotham flashes in the Boy Wonder's mind.
"I hate that city! It's been nothing but pain! The Joker! Two Face! I hate them all! I wish I could kill them! End their inane existence!!"
Shadows from a spotlight of two people, falling from a great height.
"I hate death! I want to transcend it! It's inconsequential to the strong! I want to be strong! I hate feeling human! I hate being weak! I want to feel....!!"
The shadow of a bat.
"I don't want to remember! I want to get away! To do things my way!! Constantly doubting myself! Always being in the shadows!!"
Slade's broken mask.
"I HATE YOU! Slade! I hate you so god damn much!! You used me! You threatened me with my friends!!! You killed Terra!!! You made me hurt the others!!! And when you should be dead, you still almost kill me!! Why!? Dammit!!! I hate you!!"
The face of Red X, as well as the faces of all the other Titans, disappointed or upset.
"Who the hell do you think you are!? You're just a reflection of what I created!!! I hate that mistake!! I have to constantly live with it!!! And I can't escape what I've done! It's a mark, a damn mark!!"
Robin shouted more and more as the images keep flashing, gauging his emotions, letting him feel the full force of what is truly dangerous and painful.
"Damn you Slade!!! I hope you're not dead, so I can kill you!"
The image of Starfire, turning away, eyes closed and expression sad. The image of the Titans, all disappointed.
"!!!!!"
His breathing was erratic the whole time, but only until this moment did he felt the repercussion catch up to him.
"Hah......! D-don't turn a-away from me......! I can't .........RAAAAGGHHHHH!!!!"
The boy thrashed around indefinitely, wanting to harm himself. But the void had nothing for him to grasp on to, only the deadly memories and images. Reality seemed to be scarce, and so the visions of darkness are in surplus.
Hel's appearance was slowly changing the entire time. Her form was becoming dark and
She enjoyed Robin's outbursts and insane ramblings, watching the teen feel the ramifications of his own darkness was appealing. She felt the draw to him becoming stronger, and the bind of his soul to the mind weaken.
Robin began pounding the ground endlessly. It was strange enough that there was even a ground in the endless darkness, but the fact that vibrations spread from the impacts made the situation even more peculiar.
Several minutes passed as Robin just released all of his frustrations and hate to his surroundings, but since there was nothing around, there was no true outlet. So the voices and sounds only became stronger. In the end, he froze.
"................................."
Hel floated over to the silent boy, and placed a hand on his head.
"Heeheehee.........how are we feeling?"
"....................."
"You wish for release......and now you shall receive the means. Receive this nectar of life........."
Black shrouds stemmed from her glowing person. They were like clouds of a sickly darkness, as a shadow with its own mind. Hel's now black eyes thickened in shade. The shrouds and the shadows merged.
A pair of red eyes showed in those shrouds, and slowly made its way to the Boy Wonder, who was still kneeling and silent.
"And so you become one of the chosen." Hel smiled, and her skin became ghostly white.
Robin was enveloped in the fogs of evil and darkness. He didn't resist.
His hands twitched. He shuddered. He inhaled. He exhaled.
"I'm tired......just let me rest......"
-------------TT
Starfire kept her eyes locked onto the man running on the ground. He was fast, extremely fast, she admitted. She had to strain herself slightly just to maintain the distance between them.
The others of course didn't have neither of the two's speed, and were falling behind. But Cyborg had thought ahead, and gave Starfire a locator so they could catch up to them if they separated through some unexpected means.
The Tamaranian girl saw that they were passing one of the soul spheres. Its black oozing appearance made her uncomfortable, as well as the strong smell of blood that was now apparently stronger in short distances.
Most of the civilians seemed to have been evacuated, and only some police along with some special forces remained, equipped with full body protections.
Starfire would normally fly down and warn those people of the potential danger threatening the entire city was under, but there was just no time. She refocused herself on following Kahn.
As she continued to fly in Kahn's direction, she noticed that they were beginning to reach the outskirts of the city. Fields and trees were seen, meaning they were in the most southern part of the city, although it may not be considered to be part of Jump.
They reached what looked like a wheat field, where nothing but the golden yellow plants grew to be seen. Nothing out of the ordinary was there, but that was where Kahn came to an abrupt halt.
Starfire landed promptly behind the man. "Why have you ceased movement? There is nothing here."
Kahn gave a small grin, his left eye flashed slightly red. "That's because they don't want to be seen."
"What do you mean?"
"Simple lesson in magic: when you want to hide something, you make a magical seal. Turns things invisible, and oddly enough, makes them untouchable."
The girl skimmed the surroundings, but could not see anything beyond the trees and the tall stems of wheat. She looked at him expectantly.
"If this seal renders objects intangible, then you may simply destroy it. Raven has identified your relic s source of power."
Grinning, Kahn replied. "Sorry, lady, but I can't disable this seal."
Starfire narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean to convey? You have brought us here in the means to confront the source of evil, did you not? Yet you cannot decipher this seal?"
"Che, I said I can't, but I just found someone who can."
"Someone you just discovered......?" She studied the man's grin, and the Eye of Ozymandias that glowed with a hidden intention.
"You mean-"
"He needs my powers to destroy the seal." Raven said as she landed next to Starfire. "All this time, you made us believe only you had the knowledge and the means to deal with this mistress, when it was because you needed our help as well."
Kahn chuckled, and licked his lips.
"He's quite the asshole, ain't he?" Cyborg commented as Beast Boy brought the two down.
"So you're saying we could've just trampled our way here, instead of having captain creepo over there take us on the tour of hell?"
Cyborg felt like powering his sonic cannon. "That also means we can just waste him here. We don't need his stupid assistance anymore."
Starfire shook her head. "I am also of the displeasing feeling of this klor-back, but we may require his strength in combat. He is......extremely powerful."
"Hehehehe......listen to the good Tamaranian girl there, big guy. You don't want to mess with me. Ask Robin." He chuckled some more when Starfire gave him a very nasty glare for that remark.
Raven floated to the left side of Kahn, a daring act to everyone else.
"You can't break the seal because you can't tap into the full power of that relic. If you do, it will most likely overtake your spirit. So you kept your intake from the Eye at a bare minimum. Thus, you needed a spellcaster to deal with this." She lifted her hands.
"Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!"
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
The black energies of Raven's powers and her spells mended together, creating a small vortex that spread across the entire field. Sparks flew until pieces of images of a house began to appear. As the bright flashes died down, a mansion was revealed amongst the endless fields of wheat.
Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy all gaped in amazement. Beast Boy gripped his hair.
"Ooooooo!!! I can't understand all the science stuff, now I can't even begin to know what the heck's going on with this magic thingy!"
"That mansion was here the whole time!? Why couldn't my scanners pick up on it!? Magic or no magic, my scanners still should be able to detect its molecular presence!!"
Kahn moved towards the mansion, waving a hand for the Titans to follow. He didn't seem too pleased with Raven's previous elaboration on the situation.
"This is the most basic of concealment magics." Raven began to explain as they followed the man. "Whenever my guardians and teachers back at Azarath didn't want me to see something, they'd always use some spells like this. No matter how hard I'd try to see, I was never able to."
Kahn continued her explanation. "Hehehe......but these spells can be broken easily, once the correct method is used. After some other magic dispels the front, we just have to go through, it's like a maze."
"Which is the reason you have tempted us to follow so Raven could aid you." Starfire concluded.
"More or less. What's with the nasty looks? Hehehehehe......"
"Wait a minute! So we haven't broken the whole seal yet?"
"No," Raven replied to Beast Boy, "like he said, we still have to go through the entire seal. But it should be simple."
Cyborg checked his scanner. "Yeah, and probably full of benevolent monsters too."
Raven nodded. "They probably know we're here."
"Probably!?" Beast Boy yelled. "The bad guys always know when the good guys are at their lairs! It's how it works!"
"So it's a trap."
"Regardless." Starfire said firmly. "We must enter."
The others could only agree as they reached the door. Kahn smiled, and reached for the door, and pulled. It didn't budge.
"Che. I guess this is how they want to do this stupid seal."
"Huh? What's-"
A wormhole suddenly began to form on the door, expanding until it consumed the entire door itself.
A pause.
"I guess that's our invitation." Cyborg said and moved closer to inspect.
"Oh, man. I so don't want to go in there. It's probably crawling with all those bitey shadow creepies from Lord of the Rings."
"Huh? I didn't see any shadow fiends in that movie."
"Hello? The Witch King? Now that was some righteous creature from hell."
"Yeah, one that got beaten by a chick."
"I say it's a cheap propaganda for feminists."
"Please, may we disregard the debate over insignificant aspects of motion pictures? We must make haste."
"Starfire's right. We need to get going you two nerd balls."
Kahn laughed, his long hair flailing in the setting sun. "Hahahahahaha!!! You kids are so amusing! Do you even know what's about to happen!?"
He continued laughing as he took one step into the wormhole.
"Hey! Hey!?"
He turned around. "See you on the other side. Make sure to say whatever you want to your friends. This might be your last chance." He disappeared entirely into the black vortex.
Starfire closed her eyes, gathering her courage. Her emerald eyes reopened in a powerful determination, and addressed her friends.
"This is our fight, our fight for the city and its people, and our fight to recover our friend. We must have faith and determination."
"Yo! Heavy weight knocker and the green smurf are right behind ya!"
"What the ton of screws said!"
"..................right."
Cyborg and Beast Boy face faulted at the goth.
Starfire nodded in appreciation. The four teens all took a big breath, and entered. The portal closed behind them.
-------------TT
The inside of the mansion was incredibly large, and dark. The creepy elements of a vampire came to mind first, at least in Beast Boy's mind. There were expensive marble floors and well decorated interiors. The only things most unnerving was that it had too much space and lacked any sort of warmth, and it was also very, very quiet.
In fact, there were no sounds at all.
Starfire observed the mansion carefully, looking for any immediate enemies or apparent direction which they should take. She also noted that Kahn was nowhere to be seen.
She opened her mouth and addressed Raven. No sound came out.
The others also began to notice this when they tried to talk to one another. Beast Boy began panicking and began shaking Raven's cloak in fear. She frowned and whacked him on the head. Still no sound.
Starfire began pondering for a solution to this problem, when she saw Cyborg pointing and mouth moving in a yelling motion. She whirled around just in time to see a monster crawl out of the floor.
It was a bone wraith. Its structures were mostly constructed of the marbles of the floor, although some pieces were evidently real bones.
Starfire immediately blasted multiple starbolts at the creature, and annihilated it rather quickly.
Just as the monster was destroyed, the shadows began to reveal the many pairs of red eyes. The others began to go into alert mode, as many more creatures began to form all around the entire mansion.
The mansion had somehow negated all the sounds and vibrations in the dimension, and the enemy had sent out another massive monster army, so the heroes wouldn't have an effective teamwork and fighting advantages.
But Cyborg only had to nod and gesture to Raven with his finger to form the battle plan.
In an instant, Starfire and Beast Boy took to the air and charged up towards to second floor. Cyborg formed his sonic cannon and began his rampage on the shadow creatures that deserved it, with Raven as his source of defense.
Walls and floors flew as the force of Cyborg's sonic cannon carved through. The shadow fiends were shot down and disintegrated before they could even fully form from the shadows.
Flashes of black light went through as Raven levitated and began her own barrage of her powers.
Despite the inability to form words currently, Raven just had to concentrate harder to draw out her powers. In effect, her powers seemed to have lowered, but it was enough to deal with the opponents at hand.
Starfire blasted the creatures that were already waiting for the two on the top of the stairs. She shot several starbolts at the ones that leapt down to intercept her and Beast Boy, and unleashed a fury of lasers at the ones beginning to emerge from the shadows.
Beast Boy morphed into a rhino upon reaching the second floor, using the immense body weight to cause the floor to crumble and collapse, sending more of the fiends to fall, while he just morphed in a hawk and ascended back to aid Starfire.
A fiend leapt unto Cyborg's shoulder, unfortunately undetected by either of the Titans. But before it could sink its teeth into the large teen's flesh, its mouth was forcefully imploded by a quick sonic blast.
Cyborg grinned as he checked to see if there was anything remaining of the creature. But when he turned back around, he was hit straight against the wall by a powerful force.
The Titans went through the walls and crashed through many of the rooms. Rubbing his head in pain, the opened his eye. He found himself in a separate dimension from the inside of the mansion. He gaped in some sort of realization.
He immediately checked the part he propelled through, and saw through the hole that Raven was now battling the creature that attacked him. It was a giant shadow worm, with really, really big tusks.
He growled, though no sound was emitted, and charged straight back into combat.
--------
Beast leapt to the edge of the broken stairs. Several fiends flew through the air to attack. The changeling gave a slight yelp of surprise and morphed into a tiger for quick retaliation, and slammed the smaller creatures back into the darkness.
He quickly observed the area for any immediate threat. A sudden tug at his paws got his attention, and he found himself staring right into the skeletal face of another bone wraith, slowly emerging from the ground.
Beast Boy would have shrieked like a kitten if it weren't that the entire house was silent.
Instantly changing into a grizzly bear, the Titans used his now immense body weight and strength to crush the monster before it could fully appear.
The claws slashed and crushed the bones into pieces. Beast Boy grinned, until a sharp pain spread behind his head.
Trying to ignore the pain, he changed into a lion and flipped in midair to land on all fours.
He yelped again as he saw the bony tail of the wraith that extended from the walls. The head and other pieces began to drop from the ceiling, and they all shuffled together to finally form the creature's full appearance.
The wraith's now gigantic size stomped towards the changeling, and shrieked. Thankfully, no sound was permitted still.
Beast Boy turned into a mouse and scurried away.
--------
Green bolts flew everywhere in the library, not all of them well aimed but the mere destruction power was able to send most of the fiends into nothingness.
The various books and tall shelves scattered everywhere and the pieces of the library were being broken down rather messily. Amongst the mess, was the Tamaranian warrior endowing the fiends a taste of righteous fury.
She zipped and dodged the flying attacks that the fiends seemed to only be able to do, and countered with her starbolts barrage.
Yet the fiends seemed to endless, constantly reproducing from the shadows.
Starfire shot her eye lasers to disintegrate many of the crawlies at one area. She then flew down to the bottom of the huge shelf, and used her brutal alien strength to lift it over her head.
All the remaining fiends all charged at her, and were promptly smashed as the girl hurled the shelf straight from their heads as she flew up.
Just to make certain she charged her eyes and let loose another powerful blast to completely annihilate the fiends and the floor. But just when she was about done unleashing the blast, a huge paw from the ceiling impacted the back of her head and sent her propelling down into the crater she created.
Starfire winced but recovered quickly, and flew back up to see the enemy. This time, it was a creature made up of the marbles, though it was still in a wraith form.
The wraith let loose a silent shriek and detached itself from the roof.
Starfire returned a war cry and charged her hands for a powerful blast.
FLASH!!!
--------
Raven flew around to avoid the worm wraith's bites and huge tusks. Upon out of the creature's reach, she held her hands slightly together, and concentrated her powers to form a sharp blade. The worm charged at her.
FLASH!!!
She swung her arms and the black energy diced the monster into multiple pieces. But to the goth's surprise, the wraith just reconnected with its sliced parts. She frowned as it let loose another silent shriek.
Cyborg charged in from the walls, and slammed the wraith into the far end of the room. He gave her a thumbs-up, and charged at the creature for a follow up attack.
Raven was about to follow when she felt the presence of more creatures behind her and expanded her powers to form a shield, dangerously close from being chewed on.
The shadow fiends clawed at her black shield, trying to get within to the flesh. The girl narrowed her eyes.
FLASH!!!
The fiends were no more.
This whole battle could be endless, she knew for sure. They still had to find the conjurer of these fiends, and it was probably well hidden somewhere. Finding it would be more than difficult, it's near impossible.
And to make the situation even more desperate, Kahn had vanished, seemingly without a trace. There were no signs of combat when they entered, and so unless he betrayed them, he was most likely sent to a different dimension then the one they were in.
Suddenly, the floor above her collapsed, and a green gorilla along with a huge wraith tumbled down with the debris. Beast Boy immediately changed into a T-rex and swatted the bone wraith with his humongous tail.
More shadow fiends began to converge from the shadows once more. Their red eyes peered from the darkness. They began to surround the bone wraith, as if to offer it support.
Raven gritted her teeth and began focusing her powers and to-
A huge portion of the floor above crashed down, from Starfire pushing the material wraith directly into the ground and into the crowds of fiends and the bone wraith.
Raven shielded herself and Beast Boy, who turned into an armadillo, from the shards of debris.
Starfire floated on top of the pile of materials, waiting. As she expected, the two wraiths emerged from the crash site, but were at least seriously damaged.
The Tamaranian gathered all her concentrations for the next attack. Her green energy formed a dome around her, heat radiating across the entire room.
The wraiths shrieked under the bright light, still intent on skewing the Titans.
Raven and Beast Boy went aside to avoid the upcoming attack.
FLASH!!!
It was probably a good thing that no sound was there, for the explosion was most likely enough to temporarily deafen a person.
As the blast and debris cleared, Raven and Beast Boy came around the edge of the wall. Starfire was breathing a little hard, but she seemed to have much more remaining stamina.
She smiled weakly at her two friends, then immediately indicated with her hands to inquire the whereabouts of Cyborg.
Beast Boy was about to try and reply with his outlandish ideas of body language when a bright white light flashed throughout the room.
The three turned around to find the remains of the shadow wraith, fading into the darkness.
Cyborg walked smugly back into the group, and mouthed 'booya'.
The creatures seemed to have ceased their constant emergence, and this gave the Titans a chance for recovery, but also concerned them.
Silence was still in place. It was extremely difficult for the teens to formulate or communicate properly, and none of Cyborg's signal devices appeared to be unhindered from whatever was creating the disturbances.
Beast Boy waved his arms in the air, trying to make words in the air. Naturally, no one knew what he was doing.
Just when they were about to experiment with other methods, the entire area began to shift and whirl. The Titans went on guard of the phenomenon.
The whirls of colors and images stopped, and they found themselves standing in the middle of a long and endless, dark corridor.
"Spiffy." Beast Boy commented. His eyes widened.
"Dude! I can hear me again! Sweet!"
"Ah! BB! Not so loud, man! My ear's all ringing."
Raven walked toward the direction of the door. "Looks like we just need to reach the end."
The other three followed her. The eventually reached the ominous door with the statues of mystic creatures embedded upon.
"Very aesthetic?"
"More like freak the pants off."
Raven touched the stone door. "There's nothing peculiar. Just a sturdy door."
"We shall see."
WOMP! Starfire punched the door and sent to flailing open.
The teens proceeded within, and this time found themselves in what looked like a gladiator's ring. There were Greek or Roman symbols drawn on the marble floors in colors of deep blue. The room was circular and had a significant height. The walls also had symbols, though it could not be identified by either of the teens.
"Careful. I think they want a confrontation now." Raven warned.
Slowly and cautiously, they began their entry into the arena-like room. The lack of light made it almost impossible to see. Cyborg turned on the flashlight in his shoulder.
He began trailing the light on the ground and gradually up to the front, where the ghastly face of Albert was shined upon.
"Uh!!!! Titans, get ready to rumble." The titanium teen yelled, and powered his cannon.
"Hahahahahaha." The old man laughed. Suddenly the arena was filled with a bright light. The teen squinted from the uncomfortable rays.
"Well done. You have overachieved what was expected and have made it this far. The mistress wishes to congratulate all of you. To continued on, you must pass through that door." He pointed behind him, indicating a massive copper door.
He took a step forward, held out his palm, and created a bo-staff in his hands.
"But it seems that your heroic escapades will have to end here. Terminated by the loyal servants of Mistress Hel."
"What the hell!? What in the damn hell!?" Cyborg cried.
There was another dark figure behind the old butler, shrouded in the shadows. But the shape of the person's body and posture was recognizable to any of the Titans.
"G-guys.........? I-is that-"
Raven frowned.
"That is............Robin?" Starfire took a few steps forward.
Albert grinned. "Ah, I see you have noticed the newest addition to our great cause."
The lights finally illuminated upon the Boy Wonder and the other Titans could only stare in disbelief.
The boy was still wearing the same black outfit he paired with the zinothium technology, but much of it was torn and damaged, due to his previous thrashings. He stood in a lethargic way, in which his legs were wide apart, and the upper portion of his body arched forward.
His eyes......they were almost dead. His expression was that of a man who had completely lost his mind, not in the sense of insanity, but in the sense that his mind was completely absent. The boy was staring off in a random direction, just breathing.
"Young master Robin here, has been purified in the name of the mistress Hel. He has been chosen and now resides amongst the most fortunate. In time, he-"
"You pol'miutan!!!! What heinous act have you committed? Robin! Speak to me! Robin!"
Robin just continued to stare blankly into space, having no reaction to the girl's voice whatsoever.
Albert grinned, and placed his monocle in his front pocket. "I am afraid his mind has not rebooted as of yet. In time, his full consciousness will be recovered, and his true self will be revealed. The dark and truest side of all humanity will be revealed."
Beast Boy gritted his teeth. "Oh, woopity freaking doo... this is not happening."
"Just what have they done? Robin's mind.........it's scrambled..."
Albert spun the staff and went into a fighting stance. "All shall bow to the power of Mistress Hel, the power of the Wraith!"
Starfire could care less what the old man was spewing from his mouth. The only concern on her mind was what was done to Robin and how they could recover him.
She felt as if she lost the boy more times than she could bear. Red X. The apprenticeship under Slade. The fatal encounter with Slade's nasty leftover trick. The darkness in him revealing its nature. And now, he was reduced to being someone's puppet, again.
That hapless feeling began to creep into her mind once more. She didn't know what to do or what to expect. But right now, all she knew was that the enemy needed to be defeated and Robin needed to be rescued.
Suddenly, Albert's face began to change. His grey and white mixed mane slowly transformed into a shiny silver glint. His skin paled until it could be compared to chalk. And his eyes rapidly became murk of a grimly black.
The once-man bore the sharp teeth he now has. "Shiiiaaa!!!"
Cyborg decided that anything he saw today wasn't really that surprising anymore.
"You're one screwed up and nasty bastard."
Beast Boy looked slightly nervous. "Great, now we're fighting vampires."
The monster grinned. "Haha......it is not just I you are battling. Young master Robin here will be showing you the meaning of the wraith as well..."
As if a code was sent into the boy's mind, Robin raised his head, reached behind his back, and took out his bo-staff as well. He extended it, but made no further movements.
"Robin........." Raven trailed. Beside her, Starfire could only stare in pain.
"No......no...not...not again..."
The others could only agree wholeheartedly. But as it seemed, there was only one choice. And to make matters even more difficult......
"Prepare to experience a world of darkness...!!" The man shrilled, and readied himself for a powerful launch.
PON!!! PON!!!
"Ah!!!!??" Albert felt something wrap itself around both his ankles.
From the ground, two hands had punctured through and now grasped his ankles in steel grips. He emitted a grunt of surprise as the hands began to tug downwards.
"What is the meaning of-Gah!!!"
RAAAK!! The hands pulled the humanoid monster down into the depths of what was underground.
The butler crashed through the floor and fell into a pit of darkness. During his descent, he regained his balance and landed lightly on some cavern rocks.
It appeared to be a caliginous subterrane cave of some sort. The entire cavern itself was damp, and the lucid water droplets reflected against an unknown source of opaque blue light, creating a twilight vision effect.
"Hehehehehe......" A chuckle echoed throughout the dark, wet cave, followed by the familiar shine of a bright crimson light.
Albert sneered and bore his teeth. "You...............!!!!"
"Hahahahaha!!! Bothering with kids is boring, don't ya think!? Let me play with you. I promise you'll feel all the pain you can ever want!"
The butler spun his staff. His now black and murky eyes danced under the moist, dark blue lights in the ominous cavern.
"A worm such as you has no meaningful words to be spewed. Your blood shall be shed for my mistress! Feel the full burn of the Wraith!"
Kahn licked his lips, and grinned ever so arrogantly. His left eye flared powerfully, and his aura became murderous.
"I'll make sure your corpse is put to good use. I always needed a doorstopper."
--------
"...............so, how did that freakazoid get there?" Beast Boy jibed.
Raven scowled and brought the changeling's attention back to the dire situation at hand. Robin had not reacted even slightly to the butler's descent through the floor, only remained inactive and abeyant.
The full frontal force of fear struck at Raven once more. Robin's darkest of emotions was emitting like sharp rays, and she could not hide her slight quiver. It was so similar. Their leader's innermost barriers had been shattered, and his feral intents triggered. There was no easy way out of this whole thing.
Cyborg took several cautious step towards the inert boy. "Hey, Rob. It's me, Cy. Remember? C'mon, we just wanna help you, man. I think the weirdos screwed your head over. I'm coming over, k?"
The metallic teen felt as if he was speaking to a psychopath who was about to commit suicide, but it couldn't be helped.
Robin suddenly arched his torso backwards, allowing his arms to hang loosely at both sides. The action caused the Titans to freeze in their motions, deathly afraid of what might result.
"Robin......" Starfire called, and bravely, flew much closer to the abnormal teen.
Before she could shorten the distance between her and her best friend further, the boy rolled his head to look at all four of his friends.
Silence.
He exhaled. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out his bo-staff, and extended it.
"Damn it, Robin!" Cyborg formed his sonic cannon. "This is seriously gonna hurt you more than me! Snap out of it! C'mon! I don't want to make a hole in your-huh!??!"
WHAM!!! The large Titans flew across the arena and slammed against the walls.
Robin twirled his weapon. He slouched forward, beginning to shake slightly.
"......to do what I want......to be free of restrictions......defeat everything......!!!"
Starfire stared at the boy merely a few feet in front of her. Disbelief showed distinctly on her face.
"Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!!!"
Raven hurled the broken pieces of the floor from Kahn's unexpected action and propelled them like meteors, hoping to get the boy away from Starfire as soon as possible. The attack was ranged and wide, so it could force the boy to run a distance away before he could pounce back in to counter.
Robin growled.
ZUN!!!!
Raven watched with shock as the teen had suddenly moved through shards of materials and was already ready to strike her down.
WHACK!!! The staff met against the gigantic palms of a green gorilla.
Beast Boy roared and swatted the weapon and the wielder away. Robin simply used the force to his acrobatic movements to land on the ground safely.
"Arrrghh!!!" ZOOOON!!! Cyborg shot his sonic cannon, though reluctantly, at his friend and leader.
ZUN!!!
Once again, Robin had somehow maneuvered around the attack and closed the distance between his opponents. He kicked Cyborg across the face and sent him back into the wall.
He followed up with a leap kick that planted both his feet against the teen's chest. He struck with his staff and then swiftly performed another kick to the face.
The combos were not finished, but Raven intervened with her powers as a shield before he could execute them.
At the same time, Beast Boy had morphed into a rhino and made a strong charge, hoping to make a hit.
Robin did a back flip.
FLASH!!! He struck the staff at the end of Beast Boy's body and sent him into the black shield Raven had around Cyborg.
"Dammit!!!" Cyborg shouted and shot another pulse of sonic blast.
Robin just whirled out of the blast's path.
"I......I guess there's nothing we can do......the only way to save him is to take him down...!!"
Raven and Beast Boy immediately began some team attacks, now determined to defeat their friend.
Starfire was still confounded and in bewilderment. Fighting and hurting her best friend was something she regretted over and over. Now that the situation had complicated to the point where she was once again staring at all her friends in combat against each other made her feel wound reopened.
The arena was beginning to feel the toll of the numerous attacks. Pieces of debris sputtered everywhere. Impact sounds echoed as Robin continued to evade the three Titans attacks, and countered with flip kicks and staff strikes. But through the teamwork of the teens, they managed to land a few blows to the swift rogue.
Robin spun in midair, using his staff as a defense wave against Raven's attacks.
"Robin, please stop. There's no point in figh-"Raven stopped in mid-sentence.
SPAS-SS-SS-SS-SS!!!
She gasped as Robin held a hand out, and strange sparks of black electricity began to sizzle. He then grasped his staff, and the weapon was quickly saturated with the odd power, only it become murky and the sparkles became foggy.
"All right, just when in the holy hell did he learn to do that!!!??" Beast Boy cried.
It was when Robin demonstrated that new ability, did Raven see. There was the shadow of another, something that didn't belong in this world.
Robin exhaled. He struck the ground with the charged staff, and then scrapped across horizontally, creating an upheaval of dusts that immediately filled the vicinity. The dust served as a cover storm that hindered everyone's sight.
ZOOON!!! Cyborg shot into the dust storm, hoping to land a first blow. The blast left holes in the veil, but Robin was nowhere seen.
"Great! Now we're in guerilla warf-"
He looked up just in time to see Robin descent from above and to shove the charged staff into his left shoulder.
ZAAOON!!! The staff cracked through the titanium exterior and straight into the mechanical components.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"Lir'houry!!!" Starfire gasped in horror, and whimpered.
"Cyborg!!!!" Raven shouted. She quickly sent her powers as needles towards the boy.
"Holy!!! Cy!!! Dammit!!!!" Beast Boy yelled in fury and morphed into a tiger for a killing hit.
Robin ripped his staff our of the Titan's shoulder, dodged the black needles and struck at Beast Boy.
The changeling barely avoided a sudden attack from the staff, which was still sparkling with the new unknown power Robin obtained.
Both Raven and Starfire dashed to the seriously wounded Cyborg, who was cursing in harsh breaths as he managed to calm down and checked the damage.
"Cyborg! Your arm..."
The damage was different to his occasional loss of a limb. It was not taken apart in the form that it could just as easily be placed back. The circuits had been forcefully torn through the vertically, and hinges of the mechanics were singed as if it were burnt.
"Damn...... what the hell is going on here? Ah......ah......ah!" Some sparks flew. "This is not smurfy." His system began to lose its power.
Raven was slightly panicked as Cyborg's wound was not healable with her powers. Unless she knew how to sew wires back together, she was basically useless.
Starfire bit her lip, as she watched her injured friend.
A roar caught her attention, and she saw a green bear trying to claw at the malicious teen.
She bit her lip again. She couldn't allow her friends to be hurt even more.
Robin suddenly dropped to the ground, swept his feet to kick Beast Boy off balance.
WHAM!!! His staff met the bear's massive body in midair.
Beast Boy flew away and skidded to a halt next to Raven.
Starfire charged straight into the fight, with her powers all readied.
"Rah! Ha!" ZIN! ZIN! ZIN! ZIN! ZON! ZIN! ZON!
Robin made the same move he used to dodge all the other attacks. The Tamaranian now saw more clearly what had happened.
His shadow, it stretched and careened forward, taking his body along, making a quick and almost undetected maneuver. It was like seeing a snake move in midair.
Robin was now in front of her face, and his staff was careened to his side.
Starfire's eyes were wide as she waited for the blow.
He leapt over her head.
Disbelief washed over expression once more. The boy had purposely avoided her, even when he had the chance to strike; even when he was under what was probably the most vehement manipulation.
Robin wordlessly jumped to the wounded Cyborg and the occupied Raven, his staff once again laden with the sparkling darkness.
ZIN!!! A green bolt struck the boy at his side.
He slammed the staff on the ground to stop his fall, and flipped to the other side of the arena. He cocked his head to the side.
Starfire lowered her hand.
Dooooon!!!
Cyborg's familiar blue lights lit up. "Booya! I gots my backup on! Titans, we nee-"
"Cyborg," she spoke firmly, "please proceed with Raven and Beast Boy through to door. Defeat the enemy that lies ahead." Her gaze never left Robin's form.
"Starfire!? What are you-"
"Friend! Please! There is no time!"
Beast Boy ran to her side. "No problem! I'll help Star, you guy can-"
Starfire walked forward. "No, Beast Boy. You must assist Raven and Cyborg. I shall remain here."
"Okay, I don't know if you noticed this, but he just kicked our asses and wiped out Cyborg's arm! You're going to need someone to guard your back! He's been doing that wiffy teleportation thing!"
Raven tuned out Beast Boy's ramblings, and observed Starfire's expression. She turned Cyborg, who gave her a questioning look. She nodded. He bit his lip.
"..................Beast Boy, lets go."
"Wah!!??" The green teen cried as his body was encased in black energy, forcing him away from the Tamaranian.
"But Star is-"
"Going to do what we can't."
Cyborg went to the copper door, and busted it open with his right fist, trying not to put anymore strain in his left.
Raven rustled Beast Boy into another unknown as the changeling kept protesting.
Robin reacted and dashed.
ZIN! ZAP! ZIN!
He stopped and flipped backwards to avoid the blasts.
Starfire floated into the air, eyes and hands glowing neon green. He mouth was in an expression of righteous fury, but her eyes were sad.
The android turned to the alien girl, before he ventured into the unknown as well.
"Star! Save Robin, and make sure both of yas stay alive!!! I'm not going to live just to see the Titans disband!!!"
He didn't wait for a response, for he didn't expect one.
DOOON! The door closed shut, although it was supposedly broken.
Robin cocked his head to the side. He observed the alien before him.
Red. Green. Purple. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't attack those colors. They reminded him of something, and along with that, came the other memories.
"Arrrgghh!!!" He growled loudly, and the sparks came about again.
Starfire closed her eyes.
"Robin..." she called, "you are my best friend. I cannot live to see you in such peril, and to know you have become truly malignant."
They're called fireworks.
"You have always rescued me in numerous occasions. And yet I have never truly had a chance show my gratitude, I always had to thank you later..."
You're a godsend, you know that?
"This time, I shall rescue you. Robin, I know you are still there......I will find you."
SPAS-SS-SS-SS-SS!!!
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