Disclaimer: I own no part of the Teen Titans or their associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.
(A/N): Okay…sequel time. I recommend you read What We Leave Behind or a lot of this won't make much sense. Now, on with the story.
Chapter 1
Master and Apprentice
Verge's heart pounded in his chest. Hidden behind the pillar he could feel the blood hammering at his eardrums. Crouching in the darkness, squatting behind the thick concrete he could hear his quarry shuffling around in the entry warehouse. The battle had been raging for a quarter hour, his over coat had holes in it from his opponent's blasts. Holding his pair of .44 magnum under barrel revolvers vertically on either side of his face he could feel the waves of heat radiating off the barrels. He had dumped far too much ammunition into this battle already. Twenty-one shots had already been fired from both modified guns. His opponents enhanced reflexes and bodies had kept them alive. So far.
Taking a deep breath he focused. He could feel every muscle in his body tense, ready for rapid response. Setting his feet he waited.
"Titans, GO!"
A sonic blast and a pair of star bolts ripped away chunks of the pillar over his head. The vibrations in the floor told him a large animal was bearing down on him. With perfect timing he sprang to his feet and kicked off the pillar as a large rhino smashed through it. Kicking off the wall in front of him he sailed back over the head of the beast, using the ends of his barrels as vaults points and firing a pair of armor busters into the creatures head. Reverting to a human form the opponent fell to the ground, face gone.
Twirling through the air he dodged another sonic blast and rolled across the concrete to pop to his feet immediately in front of the red and green leader. A metal staff twirled in his hands as he faced down the long coated man. Verge charged directly at him, not bothering to block the rapid series of strikes that assaulted his body. A powerful thrust into his chest stalled the rod just long enough. Ignoring the pain of the broken ribs and a punctured lung his arms slammed forward, smashing together at the wrist directly in front of the Boy Wonder's face as his guns each unloaded two rounds. The head of the young hero exploded across the room. In the split second it took the body to crumble to the ground, Verge was already twenty yards away, circling toward his next target. He heard a high pitched scream come from behind and above him.
"Robin!" It quickly turned to absolute rage. "YOU HURT ROBIN!" A massive flurry of star bolts and laser blasts tore apart the ground as he ran. Dodging for several seconds the alien charged one massive blast the size of her own body. 'Perfect.' A long wall kick later and he landed near where the dark cloaked member of the group kneeled checking on the fallen animal. She turned, hate in her eyes, only to see the enormous blast silhouetting Verge. Raising a shield to defend herself she lost track of the coated warrior. Barely stopping the blast she began to turn to track him. Before she could she felt a hand on her chin and a second on the back of her head. A split second of terror was all she could feel before her fourth and fifth vertebra separated violently. Her asphyxiating body collapsed across that of her teammate's as Verge slipped back to the shadows.
The two remaining titans spun rapidly trying to find him. A magnetic grapple hitting Cyborg's back drew both their attentions. Only the sound of hammers being clicked back warned Starfire of the threat behind her. Wheeling around, starbolts charged she received the first of six bullets to her chest. The armor piercing rounds made short work of her insides and tore gapping holes in her back. Crashing to the ground she tried to stop her life from flowing out of terrible wounds.
Pressing a button on his wrist as he approached Cyborg, Verge readied his guns. At the sonic cannon rose to fire an electromagnetic pulse tore through his body, causing the cannon to overload and explode, taking most of Cyborg's arm with it. Falling to his knees Cyborg looked up at the twin barrels pointed at him.
"I heard twelve shots. You're empty." His eyes widened in surprise as a bullet tore through each of them. His body also fell to the floor as Verge broke open both guns and dropped seven empty casings from each onto the ground. A pair of speed loaders rose through the air from his belt and slid fourteen more rounds home.
"Modified." He said to the five dead heroes that lay around him. Holstering his guns he wondered if the injuries to his chest would kill him. He turned as clapping came from a solitary individual standing on a balcony overlooking the warehouse. He had entered through a door, the light of which now silhouetted him.
"Good…Good!" Verge clapped his fist to his chest and bowed.
"Thank you master."
"Very efficient, very clean…very lethal. You're training is now complete." The figure stepped from the doorway, jumped and flipped down to the floor, landing before his student. The light above picked out armor on his shoulders and the red and black of his mask. He appraised the warrior with his one eye. "You are the greatest of any of my apprentices. You are now ready to our master's bidding." At that a red glyph appeared on his forehead.
"Thank you, Master Slade."
"As a reward…" He stepped forward and placed his hand on his apprentice's chest. Pain tore through him as he felt his lungs repaired and bones reknit. Trigon's healing hurt nearly as much as the injury. But it would pass. Slade stepped back and touched a control on his hand. The bodies of the titans faded, the room faded, the blood and shattered concrete faded away, leaving only an empty room, equipped with holographic imagers. Turning, Verge followed him back to the lower door. "It is time to to leave this world of training and make believe. We have much to do."
"Yes My master." He spoke in a respectful monotone.
"Tomorrow begins the end of the world. You know our master's plan?"
"Yes."
"We have found the location of the relic. I'll send you the information."
"Yes sir." His voice was the same lifeless monotone.
"Come now Verge. You're going to be partially responsible for the end of the world. You could at least act like it matters." Verge followed his master in silence as they entered the research infirmary to retrieve a small package.
(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.
