And here is chapter 7! This is pretty much one big battle chapter, hopefully it will liven the story up. :) A special thanks to all my reviewers!
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.
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Chapter 7: The First Encounter
Both Kulex and Breaker bowed down as the figure started to come closer to them. Eventually, the dark clouds from the vortex subsided, and the Titans could see Lord Firesprite clearly now.
He looked very much like Slade, with a few exceptions. He looked to be about seven feet in height and instead of having a mask like Slade, Lord Firesprite wore a black metal helmet with spikes going down the center and two horns, slanted backwards, protruding from either side. His face was hidden completely, except for his mouth which could be seen under the shadow of the helmet's upside-down V-shaped opening in the front. His most gruesome facial feature however, were his eyes. They were simply two red beads shining brightly from under the helmet's shadow, like miniature fireballs. The rest of his body was covered in metal armor. There were a few spikes also protruding from the top of his shoulder blades. His heavily armored legs had smaller spikes going down them all the way to his boots, which were rather gray in color. In his left hand, he held a dark blue sword with jagged edges, and his other hand was free. Overall, he looked like a fearsome person.
"What do you want? If it's the Gem of Strength, well we're sorry but you can't have it." Robin said, his voice showing signs of foreboding.
"Indeed, I have come for the Gem. I am giving you a fair warning: if you simply hand over the Gem without any hassles, I shall spare your lives. Else I will be forced to manually dispose of you." Lord Firesprite said, his eyes now looking right at Beastboy who held the Gem of Strength. Terra held on to Beastboy's arm out of pure terror. Starfire also stayed close to Robin for comfort.
"Look, we are not going to just hand it over to you so you can do whatever you want with it." Beastboy said, courage getting the better of him once again.
"Beastboy... be careful. We don't know what he's capable of..." Terra whispered to Beastboy, still clutching his arm.
"Don't worry Terra, I'll be careful, and I won't let anything happen to you either, I promise." Beastboy whispered back, trying to comfort the scared Terra.
Lord Firesprite stopped about two feet from Beastboy and Terra. He looked directly into Beastboy's eyes. "Now let me say this again. I am not the person you would like to intimidate, believe me. Ask anyone who got in the way of my plans." Lord Firesprite growled. Beastboy and Terra were now visibly shaking. "So I shall give you one more chance; give me the Gem of Strength right now, or you shall see a sample of my power."
Terra got an idea and quickly slipped the Gem of Strength from Beastboy's hand.
"Terra... what are you doing?!" Beastboy whispered in a hurry.
"I got an idea... trust me. I think we can trick him. As soon as he gets closer, both of us will jump away, and I'll summon a boulder to throw at his neck. If it hits, we should have enough time to escape..." Terra quickly replied. However, this didn't work out as intended.
Lord Firesprite now looked directly at Terra. "I see you are trying to protect the shape shifter..." the warrior said, his eyes turning a darker shade of red. "Then so be it. You failed to save yourselves while you had the chance. Now you shall see my power!"
The dark warrior held his free hand up in the air, ready to power up a beam. However, Robin and the other Titans tried to stop him. Unfortunately, Lord Firesprite saw them coming, and created a forcefield to block their path. The Titans now could do nothing to stop Lord Firesprite from attacking Terra.
"Now where was I... oh yes, about to kill you." Lord Firesprite said, as he finished powering up his beam. It was shaped like a sphere and glowed a deep violet color. He aimed it at Terra and fired. However, Beastboy saw this coming, so he quickly gathered Terra up in a tight, protective embrace, shielding her completely from the beam. Instead of colliding with Terra, the violet beam hit Beastboy with full force, sending both him and Terra still in his arms flying a few feet back, crashing into the cold earth. The Gem of Strength flew out of Terra's hands and into Lord Firesprite's.
"Now I have everything I came for. Good day to you, for we will meet again quite soon." the evil warrior said, disabling the forcefield, ready to teleport away with Breaker and Kulex. Since the forcefield was down, the remaining Titans rushed over and attacked Lord Firesprite. "So we want to fight eh? Heh heh heh... then you too will face the same fate as those two have!" And with that, Lord Firesprite and his two allies attacked the incoming Titans.
As the battle raged on, Terra finally was able to realize what happened. She also noticed that she was still in Beastboy's arms, safe from harm. However, the shape shifter himself wasn't in a good condition.
"Beastboy! Are you alright?!" Terra asked in a panic as she wiggled free from his arms.
Beastboy barely managed to speak. "Yeah... I... I think so..." Terra helped him sit up.
"Why did you do that?! You could have gotta yourself killed!"
"Well, I did stop... that beam from hitting you... didn't I? And I... promised nothing would happen to you." Beastboy said with a small smile.
"Oh Beastboy..." Terra whispered with tears in her eyes before giving him a loving hug. Beastboy gratefully returned it. "Just please Beastboy, I don't want you to get hurt." the blonde said, tears starting to stream down her face. Beastboy took his hand and gently whipped the tears away.
"I want you to know that I'd never let anything happen to you." Beastboy replied with a smile, regaining some energy. They leaned closer together and shared a loving kiss. Terra's mood improved as well. "So, ready to kick that Firesprite's ass?" the shape shifter asked with a radiant grin. Terra nodded, and they both stood up, ready to help the other Titans out.
The battle with Lord Firesprite wasn't going so well. With Kulex and Breaker helping him out, the dark warrior could pretty much defend against the Titans' attacks as well as counter them with greater strength. "Do you still think that you stand a chance ,Titans?" Lord Firesprite asked, but he was cut off as a boulder collided into Breaker, sending him rocketing into the ground.
"Who the hell just did that?!" Breaker asked with anger as he got back up.
"Your worst nightmare!" Terra replied, as she and Beastboy returned to join in the battle.
"Still shouldn't be a problem. Breaker, get back up here!" Kulex yelled as he got hit by one of Starfire's lightning bolts. The mage went plummeting into the ground, just as Breaker got smacked by Beastboy when he morphed into a kangaroo and also was thrown back a distance. This left Lord Firesprite to deal with six angry Titans.
"It seems that you have the upper hand here. However, I should still have no trouble dealing with all of you." Lord Firesprite said coolly as he tightened his grip on his sword. Breaker and Kulex were immobilized for a few minutes from Terra and Beastboy's attack, which gave the Titans some nice opportunities to score a few good hits on the dark warrior.
"We'll just see about that!" Robin said as he swung his staff at Lord Firesprite, which the dark warrior blocked without a problem.
"Is that the best you can do?" Lord Firesprite chuckled as he blocked another one of Robin's attacks. Raven, Starfire, and Terra then started to shoot projectiles at Lord Firesprite. He blocked and dodged anything thrown at him, as well as even more of Robin's attacks. Cyborg snuck up behind Lord Firesprite at fired his sonic cannon full power. The beam collided head-on with Lord Firesprite.
"Hells ya!" Cyborg cheered. However, much to his and the rest of the Titans' surprise, Lord Firesprite didn't have even a scratch on him.
"I almost thought that you managed to actually damage me, but that didn't happen. Now I shall get rid of all of you and finally take over Jump City, and then the world!" the dark warrior yelled out as he shot a powerful fire bolt at Starfire, which hit the alien girl and sent her flying. Lord Firesprite then took out his sword and teleported behind Cyborg, striking him hard on his back. The robotic teen tried to counter with a beam, but Lord Firesprite was too quick and dodged it. He gave another slash of his sword and Cyborg went down.
With two Titans temporarily unable to fight, Lord Firesprite decided that enough time was wasted and wanted to get rid of the rest as quickly as possible. "I wasted too much of my time fighting you Titans. You simply pose no challenge to me, so I'll eliminate the rest of you right now!" the dark warrior said as he tried to shoot a large fireball at Raven, who blocked it with her dark powers. By now, Kulex and Breaker had returned to the battle. "About time you two showed up, now help me finish these pests off." Lord Firesprite commanded as he again shot a fire spell at Raven. This time, however, Kulex also shot one of his energy beams at the dark witch as well. Breaker shot an electric ball at Raven from behind, but it was blocked by one of Terra's summoned boulders. Beastboy blocked Kulex's beam by morphing into a large gorilla and swatting it out of the air. Robin then threw some Freeze Disks, disabling Lord Firesprite's fire spell.
"You three may be strong, but we won't be defeated so easily!" Robin said, swinging his staff at Kulex, who blocked it with his sword. Starfire recovered from her hit and flew behind Lord Firesprite, throwing a few electric beams at him. However, Lord Firesprite easily blocked them with his arm. Starfire and Robin went after Lord Firesprite while Beastboy and Terra began to fight Breaker. Cyborg and Raven teamed up and started attacking Kulex mercilessly.
Lord Firesprite had a harder time fighting without the help of Breaker and Kulex, but still managed fairly well. Robin threw some Freeze Disks and quickly swung his staff at the dark warrior. Starfire at the same time shot more green bolts. Lord Firesprite was able to block every projectile, but didn't notice Robin's staff and got hit by it in the chest. Much to Robin's annoyance, Lord Firesprite's armor absorbed the hit, leaving just a small dent in the protective metal. "Heh heh, do you think that little toy will actual harm me?" Lord Firesprite said coolly as he unsheathed his sword and fought Robin. The Boy Wonder was able to block Lord Firesprite's sword with his staff, but after a few more blows, Robin's staff snapped in half. The dark warrior used his superior fire spells to set both halves of the staff on a magical fire. He then telepathically threw these at Robin, but Starfire was able to intercept them with some electric bolts.
"Thanks Star!" Robin said as he dodged another slash from Lord Firesprite. Starfire nodded with a smile and fired some more electric beams at the dark warrior. The battle raged on as Lord Firesprite preformed various spells and slashed away with his sword, unable to defeat the two Titans.
Meanwhile, Beastboy and Terra tried every one of their attacks to harm Breaker, but whatever they did, either Breaker blocked it or his metal body absorbed the hit. "I see you two are starting to lose your nerves. Heh, am I too powerful for you two to defeat?" Breaker joked around while easily defending himself from various attacks.
"Oh yeah? We'll just see who's better than who..." Beastboy said as he whipped some blood off his face after getting cut by Breaker's talons. The shape shifter then morphed into a hummingbird and nimbly flew behind Breaker. Terra now launched a series of small but sharp stones at Breaker. Since the alien robot was busy blocking Terra's attacks, Beastboy was able to morph into a kangaroo and strike Breaker from behind with his tail. Breaker went rocking into the ground, leaving a giant crater.
"Terra, now is your chance! Finish him off!" Beastboy called out to the blonde. Terra nodded and summoned a huge boulder, which she sent crashing down upon Breaker. The rock collided, and an small explosion could be heard from beneath it.
"You... will not... get away with this... I swear it..." Breaker said weakly as he crawled from beneath the large rock. Soon after, his eyes stopped glowing and his mechanical body powered down. The alien robot's talons turned a dark shade of gray and his body fell to the ground.
"Well, that takes care of him, I hope." Beastboy said with a smile as he and Terra shared a quick hug.
"C'mon, let's go help the others; I bet they aren't havening too much luck with Firesprite and Kulex." the blonde said. The two Titans then rushed over to help out the rest of their friends.
Cyborg and Raven were actually doing rather well fighting against Kulex. Since the mage was more skilled at using magic attacks, Kulex tried all of his melee spells to take down Cyborg and Raven. However, almost none of them worked since Raven blocked any magic coming her way as well as blocking for Cyborg. Occasionally, Cyborg was able to get close enough to Kulex in order to fire his sonic cannon, scoring some nice hits.
"Ok, I've had it with you two!" Kulex exclaimed as he coughed up some blood from a hard hit by Cyborg to the stomach. The mage then muttered some spell words, and about one hundred blue colored orbs erupted from Kulex's now outstretched hand. Cyborg and Raven were too stunned to move before getting pummeled by the orbs. Electricity channeled throughout Cyborg's body, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Oh no... Cyborg!" Raven half yelled before getting shot out of the air by another blue orb. She hit the ground but rebounded and countered with her own magic, bewitching Kulex and throwing him high into the air with tremendous force. While the mage was in the sky, Raven took this time to examine Cyborg's condition. He looked pretty beaten up from the electricity, but was still okay. The dark witch used her magic to transport Cyborg to a safer location away from the fight.
"Wow... what happened to Cyborg?" Beastboy asked as he and Terra arrived.
"He was hit pretty badly by another one of Kulex's spells. He should be fine." Raven replied in her monotone voice. "But just to be sure, I'll stay with him here."
"Ok, so we'll take over fighting Kulex. You just make sure Cy is alright." Terra said, getting ready to fight Kulex. Beastboy turned into a T-rex, also ready for the incoming mage. Sure enough, Kulex then teleported near the Titans.
"I must admit, that was a fairly good shot. However, I am not through here." Kulex said, his eyes started to glow red from beneath the shadow of his hood. The dark mage did a surprise attack as he quickly unsheathed his sword and charged up to Terra, cutting a rather deep gash in her upper right arm. Beastboy quickly sent Kulex rocketing into a tree by hitting the dark mage with his dinosaur tail, then transforming back to his regular form.
"Oh damn, I'm sorry Terra. I should have been quicker and stopped Kulex from attacking you." Beastboy said in a hurry as he saw Terra's bleeding shoulder.
"It's alright Beastboy, it's not your fault..." Terra replied with a small smile as she tried to stop the bleeding.
Raven walked up to the two Titans, and quickly preformed a light healing spell, reducing Terra's wound to nothing more than a scratch. "There. And next time Beastboy, don't panic so much." the dark witch said as she went back to guarding Cyborg.
"Thanks Rae, I own you one." Terra said, happily examining her now closed wound. "And I'm gonna show Kulex exactly what I think of him..." the blonde said with a mischievous smile.
"Uh Terra, what are you going to do?" Beastboy asked, unsure of Terra's plan.
"Just watch and you'll see."
Kulex had now recovered and was starting to charge at the two Titans again. Terra summoned a large boulder and hopped on, starting to fly at the approaching mage. She flew a few feet over him, and Kulex began to fly upward after her. However, Terra quickly summoned a smaller boulder and hopped on it. The blonde then sent the original one flying back down to earth, hitting the unsuspecting Kulex hard, sending him crashing into the ground with the boulder. She then quickly landed down next to an amazed Beastboy.
"So, how was that for pay back?" Terra asked the shape shifter with a large grin.
"Wow... that was awesome!" Beastboy replied as he hugged a smiling Terra.
Kulex slowly got back up, only to see Lord Firesprite next to him. "Apparently, you Titans have some potential in you, but the fact remains that I now possess the Gem of Strength. We will meet again very soon, and next time, I will be more powerful than all of you combined!" the dark warrior exclaimed. Robin and Starfire now regrouped with Beastboy, Terra, and Raven.
"This isn't over yet, Lord Firesprite. When we do meet again, we will defeat you!" Robin hollered.
"Heh heh heh... That's what you think. Anyway, Kulex, take Breaker's body and let's get back to the base. Make sure you get in contact with Slade later on and tell him to be ready to proceed with the plan." And with that, Lord Firesprite teleported away, the Gem of Strength in his possession. Kulex followed shortly after grabbing hold of Breaker's inactive body.
"Just you wait Titans, soon you will witness the complete power of all three Gems combined...." Kulex then warped away as well. The Titans just stood there, trying to relax after the big fight.
"Hey wait a minute. Didn't he mention something about Slade?" Terra pointed out.
"Yeah, and I think that's our next target after we recover from this fight..." Robin said with a serious voice, thinking about the future of Jump City.
(To be continued...)
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And there you have it. I hope I didn't bore you with the really long battle sequence; please forgive me if I did. ;) Anyways, next chapter coming soon! Please review!