Teen Titans: Half Life
Chapter 24 – Awaken! (part 5)
You're begging me to stay
But I'm laughing
in your face
You're so desperate
Not to let those years of
care
All go to waste
You have to pay the price
My body may be made
of fire
But my soul is made of ice
I'm me
I'm cold
The Cure "I'm Cold"
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After crossing the northern door of the staff room, the group of four wayward teenagers passed through several more doors all of which heading to the north. The whole facility, or what they had seen so of it so far was all built in the same linear fashion, all room exited to the north and south, and the further north they went the more 'important' and technologically dominant the rooms became to the overall function of the facility, while the southern most rooms became more human oriented. First it had been the staff room, followed by the restroom, a gaming room, and a meeting room. After that, things became more machine cramped. The machines covered the walls, took up most of the space leaving only the necessary minimum for two lanes of human workers to fit through.
All of this Starfire and Knives had scouted out before. But they had gotten sloppy, and had only given each room a brief look over, forgoing the extra security of double-checked each room for potential spots where the enemy might set an ambush or traps. Which is where they made a critical mistake, so convinced they had outrun danger that the idea of the enemy having gotten ahead of them had not set off a warning in their minds. On the other hand it might not have made that much of a difference.
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The surface of the blade momentarily shined with a brilliance that spoke little of its unnatural origins. It was forged with a fusion of magic and science rendering it sharper and more durable that any other blade of similar, but ultimately inferior, design. Like a bullet through skin Knives stabbed with the tip of the sword, plunging it deep into, and through, the body of his foe. His wrist turned, maliciously twisting the blade, and in a single upward motion cleaved the robot into from the waist up. Viscous oil erupted and ran like a fountain as the gutted shell of the robot collapsed to the ground.
Beast Boy's body seemed to fold in on itself, as his DNA was temporarily re-written into the form of a hulking gorilla. Joining his fists together he brought them sharply down, with the strength of a one ton anvil, upon the head of a wretched robot, shattering it's body into the smallest of pieces, so much so that it was no longer recognizable as anything that had once resembled a humanoid robot system.
Despite their endless combo of attacks, the enemy had out maneuvered and out flanked them. Either waiting inside a hollowed out machine, or originating from some hidden passageway, it didn't matter.
"They've surrounded us," Alexis was barely audible above the dominant sounds of battle. Releasing ice darts, that were colder than any place on Earth, from her throwing hand, they sped through the air, freezing the surrounding oxygen adding to their diameter as they flew. Impaling her target in the chest, the darts caused the internal fluids to freeze and expand in an instant. The robot exploded like a firecracker; a shower of frozen shards.
From the north and south the enemy poured into the room in a flood of tightly pressed robotic bodies. Only to be quickly cut, smashed, blasted, or frozen by the heroes, and as each of the robots were slain, their bodies added to the slaughter, spilling their internal fluids, those that hadn't been frozen, upon the floor in a gathering torrent. A stray shot, maybe it had been intentional, but the high heat of the laser ignited the pool of oil unleashing a blaze of hellish fire and poisonous black smoke. The fire grabbed at their legs like blind clutching hands trying to pull them down into the depths of hell
Starfire and Beast Boy were both competent fighters, the odds were usually stacked against them, when it came to dealing with Slade and his army; it had taught them the experience necessary to deal with the situation calmly and with clarity, no matter how hopeless the situation. Knives and Alexis had fought their own share of battles, but never had the enemy and situation outstripped their abilities to cope before. Maybe it was the natural human fear of fire that caused it or the poison in the smoke affecting their thinking, but they both started to visibly panic.
"I can't hold them back!" Knives' voice was laced with anxiety and fear; his eyes wide with similar emotions. His skill with the blade dropped as his calm concentration was broken, now he just swung the blade back and forth in blind arcs desperate like a trapped animal to kill as many foes as possible and secure a retreat.
Alexis' shots became wild and started to miss the enemy with increasing probability. One particular dart missed its target opening a window of opportunity for the enemy. Swinging the butt of its rifle, like a club, it caught Alexis in the side of the head driving her hard against the wall before Starfire's eye lasers cut it down.
The world swam as if viewed through a kaleidoscope and time seemed to slow down to a minute an hour. Alexis reached up to touch the side of her head where the blow had been stuck, it came away covered in red and she could feel the blood flowing down her neck and soaking her shirt and bra. Starfire was above her, shouting, but she could only hear a high-pitched whine as if an explosion had gone off right next to her head.
An enemy loomed above Starfire's back, its gun pointed and primed at the back of the Titan's head. Alexis watch as the robot's finger slowly pulled back on the trigger. In her mind Alexis saw the laser, fired from point blank range, drill through the back of the girl's skull annihilating the brain from the inside, her eyes widening in sudden shock before collapsing upon the ground, lifeless, only to serve in the end as fuel for the flames. Alexis would shortly join her.
The compounding adrenaline, panic, poison, and blood loss overwhelmed her mind and body; her senses dulled and the battle faded away; replaced with the accusing face of her father. A man in his mid 40s, tall, thin with short hair; dirt brown, and eyes the same color as hers, silver. He looked down upon her with nothing but pure hate for her. His eyes burned a hole into her as he mouthed invective language at her.
"Useless child," he said to her, she could smell the alcohol on his breath, "It's no ones fault but yours if you die this way. I couldn't care less." He laughed
Alexis felt the anger boil in her soul, this foul man whom she had not seen for 6 long years, never once during that period did she even regret walking away from him or even thought of him. Why did he choose to return now? She wanted to hit him, drive that wretched laugh from his lungs and grind his face into the dirt with her heal.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue, freak!" He reached behind him and pulled out a cat; short haired, calico, "Oh, but it seems I have kitty. Want him back, little girl?" he held the cat above his head, well out of Alexis' reach, he was savoring the sight before him.
Alexis tried to reach for her friend, but he might as well have been a mile away for all the good her reach was. Her hand hung suspended before her, before she withdrew it, or her strength had just given out. She would not play by his game; she just sat and stared at the object in front of her. This infuriated him, he was a man who wanted, no needed control over every aspect in his life.
"I will not tolerate your undisciplined attitude!" he shouted. Stomping loudly over to her, he reached down with his scared hands, grabbing her by the collar, and as he raised the palm of his hand, Alexis braced for the hit. Traveling in a wide arc his hand went for the wound on the side of her head. When it was within a hairs distance of contacting her skin, at the moment of impact, Alexis' anger burst, giving her strength again to her body. Using one hand to push herself up and off the wall, she reached for her villainous father with the other hand. She felt it contact his skin, immediately she willed all the power left to her into his body, she felt immense satisfaction as his limbs slowed and stiffened, sealing him in where he stood.
But from somewhere in the distance she could still hear his voice calling to her, 'Alexis, Alexis'
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"Alexis!" Starfire shook the concussed girl who stared blankly at the newly frozen robot. It had all happened so fast, even Starfire was quite sure what had happened.
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She supported Alexis from behind, Alexis' powers were formidable, but it was obvious she was having trouble keeping up with the rate of enemies coming though the door. To compensate Starfire and Alexis alternated their attacks; while one built power to strike the other would bring down the next foe, switch. It was amazing at how automatic it was, as if they'd fought alongside each other before. There was no need to communicate between them; they instinctively knew which target the other was aiming for and compensated accordingly to take down as many as possible with as little effort needed.
When the floor burst into flames, Starfire could sense the rising panic in Alexis even though she could only see the ice user's back. When Alexis' attack missed her target, Starfire couldn't react fast enough to counterattack, the enemy struck Alexis with the side of its rifle, before she could shoot.
With increased fury, Starfire quickly dispatched the next foe before his foot had fully entered the room. She sprinted over to the downed girl, with all the urgency of a fire truck responding to an emergency.
"Friend! Watch for the fire," Lifting the wounded girl from the floor before the hands of fire could take a hold of her clothes, Starfire already knew the answer to that questions, as she could see the blood pumping from a large laceration on the side of the girls head and soaked in her shirt, even though the girl was wearing black.
That's when Starfire felt the barrel of the laser against her head. Acting on instinct she reached back with her left hand and grabbed the gun by the barrel lifting it up and over her head moments before the gun discharged what could've been a fatal blow to the back of the head.
The next part was a blur, up until this point the injured Alexis' gazed wandered all around the carnage, unable to focus unable to see.
With a sudden snap of neck bones, Alexis wandering head aligned and leveled an almost primal expression of odium, extreme hate and disgust, at the robot before her, behind Starfire. Pushing herself off the wall with surprising speed, considering her condition, she flew at the assailant reaching out with her free hand, clasping it with an unbreakable grip, the aura of blue power surrounded her fist, so powerful that it toned the entire room a bright blue hue, regardless of the fire's intensity.
In that single moment of power, not only had the foe been sealed in a block of solid ice, but also the entire south entrance was now inaccessible thanks to the newly erected wall of ice. The room was now a freezer; even the hell hands found the environment intolerable.
With the fire now extinguished and half the enemy force sealed on the other side, Knives, Beast Boy and Starfire could concentrate their defensive efforts and turn the tide of this battle in their favor. Setting aside Alexis for the time being Starfire joined the two boys to reinforce the new offensive.
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The smoking remains of the enemy marked where they had fallen during battle. The wall of ice remained, as it was, no sign of the enemy attempting to cut through, it was possible that they were all frozen on that side. That's what they all hoped for.
Knives, playing his role of combat medic bent to examine Alexis' wounds. She was unable to stand, but she had regained sense enough to complain like a spoiled brat as Knives dabbed her wound with a gauze pad dampened with medicinal alcohol. The laceration was not as big as they had first suspected, the presence of blood had exaggerated its severity, furthermore the existence of sweat on her body had diluted the blood just enough to make it appear bigger as a larger amount. Still she had lost a considerable amount, impossible to tell how much but still…
Knives, further settling into his position, supported Alexis, helping her navigate the scrapped bodies of the enemy. At least he would've had she not shoved him away.
"I only let you touch my wounds because I was still comatose," she had said, I refuse to let you near me for any other reason"
"I'll help" Beast Boy tried to remain concerned but his offer sounded too eager.
"Tell Captain Emerald I'll pass."
Beast Boy in a fit of maturity, or just because he couldn't think of a comeback, blew a middle fingered raspberry at Alexis. Starfire smiled, it was soothing to her soul to see her friends still able to make light of a desperate situation.
Knives on the other hand, was still breathing heavily as the adrenaline and panic slowly drained from his system, his hands.
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"Starfire, Beast Boy, Knives, can you receive?" Robin called into the communicator. He'd lost track of how many times he'd tried to call them since leaving the warehouse, but each time he did, static was the only answer he got.
It had been preying on his mind for some time now, but he had become convinced that they were playing right into Slade's hands. The first clue was the assailant waiting for them just outside the lifeline; obviously Slade knew they would have to escape through it. Second, was the fact that Robin could not contact the others over the communicator, yet the tracker still could register their beacons, even at such a moderate distance. Thirdly was the lack of escape routes along the path they followed, any stray manhole covers they came across were permanently welded shut. Lastly was the fact that Slade's soldiers were forcing Starfire and the others in the direction of the 'Blasted Lands'
They were being herded like a flock of sheep to the place where this whole mess began, two years ago. Robin had a bad feeling about this, but, he reminded himself, he always had a foul feeling whenever Slade was involved. This negative emotion gave power to his stride as he navigated down the sloped water tunnel. Maybe it was just coincidence that they were headed in that particular direction, there were still many miles separating them from that place
By now the beacon was completely cut off, but just before their signal vanished, they started to move again. Now there was no telling exactly where they were going, apart from the general direction of the nuclear swept wasteland.
He turned to the other two, to warn them of his suspicions. A single glace at the determined frown on their faces said they had reached the same conclusion. Ignoring the danger, Robin dove headfirst into the water, it was just barely deep enough to submerge his body, but he achieved the effect he was seeking. Utilizing both the water and gravity he used the tunnel as a water slide, plunging downward at an unprecedented speed, using his arms and legs to keep himself upright and pointed straight ahead.
Following Robin, Cyborg sped away like a newly launched torpedo. He didn't even have to use his limbs to keep aligned as his shoulders were almost too broad to fit in the narrow space. Raven fully encased herself inside a shield of negative energy, before taking the dive.
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Mere moments later the trio of water racers came sliding to the bottom of the slope. Robin grabbed a boomerang for each hand and generously applied them to the walls, attempting to slow his forward descent. This strategy met with limited success as the movement of the water continued to apply inertia to his body.
He had an overwhelming sense of urgency just before his body became overly intimate with a metal grill, signaling the end of the water ride. Separating from the grill like a magnet losing its attraction, Robin separated from the drain cover gasping for a breath of fresh air, when he heard the muffled yet heavy sound of metal striking cement. He had only the briefest of moment to curse his fate, which came out in a hail of bubbled before Cyborg plowed into him. The alloy drain guard bent and buckled, yet still managed to stop the human battering ram dead in the water.
By the time Raven arrived at the scene it looked like two dead bodies floating on the water's surface. Exercising her control she rose above the water coming to an almost instant stop above the two comatose boys. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and dissolved the shield, popping it like a bubble, to render some aid.
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After this chapter I'm going to post a 'catch-up' chapter to highlight all the important information and events covered thus far. Also as I write this I've noticed that only two people have left a review for the previous chapter (Thanks Peppermint Dream, and blaze-firestorm). Please, if you are reading this, take the time to leave a review. I'll still write even if I don't get any, but it helps.