Teen Titans: Half Life

Chapter 25 – Awaken! (part 6)

There is nothing which cannot
Become a puppet of fate or an
Onlooker, peering into the cage.

Is not a silence brimming with
Love more precious than flattery?
A peaceful slumber preferred to
A throne besmirched with blood?

Ah, but verily . . .
In here is a tragedy . . .
Art thou player or audience?
Be as it may, the end doth remain:
All go on only toward death.

Walk on Vanity Ruins

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No one had to tell them they were on the right path; they just knew it, even when there was no one around who knew the answer to the question. First, there had been the door, permanently welded to its frame, never to serve it original purpose ever again. It had proved not difficult to destroy, A few aimed shots from Cyborgs cannon and it was over.

Further onward there had been more of the robotic solders, wandering around like a group of lost children. They carried on themselves, charred armor fragments, and deep cutting wounds from a recent battle, the handiwork of Starfire, Knives, and Beast Boy no doubt. The visible damage made it obvious who had fought them just moments before. Again this obstacle proved not to difficult to overcome, it just required a larger quantity of their time then they would've been willing to bestow in the first place.

The underlining problem arose when they encountered the stunning wall of solid, almost transparent, ice. It was like looking into a remarkable mirror stained a crystal blue color. Robin looked upon his reflection, as well as the others, there were no distortions in either of them, perfect reflections. He was almost convinced that his mirror self could walk out at any minute or that a simple touch would disturb the image like a stone upon the water's surface.

Robin and Raven didn't, or couldn't, get too close to the ice, they could feel their joints freezing and stiffening as they approached. Their skin covered in goosebumps as their bodies as their bodies sealed in their body heat. Even Cyborg couldn't get too close or he too began to freeze in place, his mechanical parts and fluids.

It blocked their path and filled most of the room. Initially they figured that they could cut their way through. Cyborg blasted it with his cannon, blowing a basketball-sized chunk out of it. But then they observed the echoing sound of aluminum foil being crushed together while the ice around the crater melted and filled it in, restoring it to it's original smooth state.

Raven chanted as she had many times before, and her black aura surrounded the ice wall. Raven stood before the wall, eyes closed, concentrating while the black energy pulsed and flowed. For a minute nothing seemed to happen, sweat broke out on Raven's forehead and she grit her teeth as she willed the wall to break.

Still nothing appeared to happen.

Raven's face turned a deep crimson by the time she finally gave up on trying to break the wall with force.

"You ok, Raven?" Cyborg put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's useless, the energy contained within the ice renews itself." Raven, despite her heavy breathing and exhaustive expression, could've been talking about the weather. "This is not a normal block of ice."

"How long till it melts?" Robin asked, replacing the fire grenades on his belt.

"A couple days, maybe a week before it begins to show any change." Raven unconsciously relaxed, letting Cyborg's hand steady her.

"Couldn't we keep blasting it until the energy ran out?" Cyborg suggested, ready to shoot again. Raven only shook her head.

"It works by severely slowing the movement of molecules in a given area, even if we destroy a part, it just freezes the oxygen and water moisture that naturally enters the hole. The energy only maintains the surrounding environment hacking away at the natural ice does not reduce the lifespan."

"Is this Slade's handiwork?" Robin clenched his fist in anger. No one answered, but it didn't seem likely since there were several of his own robots sealed within the ice, their weapons and combat positions told that they had been flash frozen in an instant, but still Slade wasn't past sacrificing his own creations to hinder his enemies. So there really was no way of telling.

"Doesn't matter Rob, we'll need to find another way around."

"Cybrog shoot the floor." Robin ordered suddenly.

"Huh?" Cyborg looked at the boy wonder, unsure if his ears were suffering an audio input malfunction.

"Just do it." However it was only because of Cyborg's mechanical ears that he could hear Robin at this point. Cyborg opened his mouth,

"He's sure." Raven spoke before he could ask the question.

Taking his hand off Raven, he positioned himself in the middle of what remained of the room, not bothering to take aim, he snapped off three quick bursts in a delta formation, opening the floor like a sardine can. The floor peeled away to reveal an underground tunnel, an underground railway as well.

Raven and Robin were the first to jump down into the newly created exit. Robin grit his teeth anticipating the moment his feet connected with the ground, but it didn't come. Cyborg had grabbed both of them by the collar, or in Raven's case; the hood, and was holding them, suspended above the hole.

"You knew about this tunnel, both of you, what else have you not told me?" Cyborg asked obviously suspicious about what they were still not telling him. The two captured teens exchanged glances. Raven nodded, signaling it was all right to tell Cyborg.

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Shortly after leaving the scene of the battle, they encountered a large cargo elevator, with a sign pointed down saying, "Rail Tram" on it. Figuring it would make transporting Alexis easier, they descended via the elevator, which opened up into a rail engine storage area.

Alexis clung to Starfire's neck as she rode piggyback. Slowly and gently Starfire lifted Alexis onto the only functional rail car, the rest lay in pieces. The rail engine looked more like a car, only slightly wider, with the hood and all the windows removed. The motor was completely exposed on top and with two sets of three passenger seats were nailed or welded to the base. The whole unit ran on electrically charged tracks, but diesel as well if there was a power failure. Currently there was no power supplied to the tracks, and no visible means by which to start it up.

"Betcha, there won't be any fuel in it." With everything that had gone wrong today, Beast Boy shared everyone thoughts in the matter. "and I'm not going to be the one to push it."

Alexis snapped her fingers in disappointment.

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"The others came this way." Robin started.

"What others? You mean the Titans before us?" Robin nodded in affirmation. Already Cyborg was starting to have doubts about having asked the question in the first place, but he needed to know, or so he tried to convince himself.

"Before the bomb," Robin continued, "in the middle of that wasteland there had been a water purifier, linked with this one, that pumped water in and out of the areas surrounding Jump City, but it was also a hidden base."

Cyborg lifted Robin back onto solid floor, as he listened to the story.

"The whole building was positioned in the middle of a low plain, no hills or trees to use as cover. The last team of Titans relied on stealth as much as their powers; used this tunnel to travel to the enemy's hideout."

"They also had knowledge of the enemies desire to take the warhead into the city by the same route," Raven stepped in, "So if they arrived after they started to move the bomb, they would at least intercept it along the way."

"Slade wants us to go there?" Anxiety built in Cyborg brain, "He knows something about that whole incident two years ago and is forcing us to go there. Why?"

"Maybe because he wants a encore?" Raven suggested. "Or maybe he wants Knives back."

"Knives again," Robin lowered his head in thought, "Everything that has happened recently leads back to him somehow, you as well Raven." He closed his eyes, the truth dawning on him, "so Knives was Slade's apprentice."

"His first." Raven confirmed, emotion had yet to show since the conversation began, yet she flinched slightly when she spoke.

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The tram sped quickly down the tunnel, the squeal of the wheels slowly dying as the rust was scrapped off. Again Starfire demonstrated her great strength, as she flew ahead of the cart, pulling it by a length of metal cord that had been formed into a loop around the trams front bumper and melted in place with her powers.

"How far have we gone?" Knives called to Starfire.

"A few miles, I would say. I do not yet see a way out." She answered back.

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"Something bothers me though." Robin looked between the others, "if Slade wanted Knives back he could've just taken him after he had left the tower. Why go through all the trouble of forcing us all the way out here. I also believe it would be better to not risk Knives regaining his memory, especially of why he dumped Slade in the first place." Robin jumped back down into the hole, landing with a crunch as his feet impacted dirt. The others quickly followed him down.

"You think someone else is trying to control us, or is forcing Slade to do this?" Cyborg wondered aloud.

"Maybe those who want Knives dead are behind all this." Robin theorized, "What more of an ironic way to kill him, than in the same place along with all the members of the Titans, again?"

There was no more discussion, the three of them sprinted down the dark tunnel, they might have been trying to outrun a stampede, but it was their fear that gave their legs speed. Starfire and Beast Boy, no, everyone was in danger now, even if Robin was wrong, nothing good could come out of this if they didn't put a quick end to it.

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The further down the railway they traveled, the higher the level of dirt climbed. As if a great wind, or force, had managed to push a massive amount of sand and loose materials down the path. It had first started as a fine layer, but, like a wedge, has slowly risen and now the rail tracks were barely visible beneath it. Only a little further and it would inevitably prove impossible to continue on the tram. Sure enough, their speed slowed little by little as it became more strenuous for Starfire to pull the car along.

Eventually hey had to abandon the tram altogether. They didn't complain since they could now see a light at the end of their journey.

So, on they walked…

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When they arrived at the end of the path, the ceiling was within an arms reach. The level of sand and dirt had continued to climb, Knives and Starfire, who were both the tallest, had to bend their knees in order to fit down the still-narrowing passage.

The source of light came from a gap between the dirt and ceiling, barely wide enough to let even Beast Boy through. On the other hand, it was because they had BB with them that they ever managed to make it through. Taking on the shape of a mole, BB squeezed through the gap then started to dig up the packed dirt from the other side. Wide arcs of sandy debris flew all over, forming neat piles behind the green digger. In short order the gap was wide enough for even Knives to pass through without discomfort.

There they were, sand and dirt, and bare rock as far as their eyes could see. Far in the distance only the tallest of Jump City's skyscrapers could be seen. It must've been early afternoon, the sun glared down from above, everyone started to perspire within moments.

"I recognize this place." Knives said, sounding only half convinced of it him self.

"Yeah this is where we first me Terra." Beast Boy said.

"Terra? You know Terra?" Alexis suddenly bore down upon BB, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders, "Where is has she gone?" she demanded to know. BB was momentarily stunned by Alexis' sudden energetic charge and couldn't form the reply in his mind for a few moments.

Alexis took his silence as refusal to answer and started to shake him. Forcing Starfire to quickly step in and forcefully separate the two.

"Where is Terra?" she snapped again.

"What's your problem? That time o' the month again." BB spat in anger, he obviously didn't appreciate being shaken about like a maraca. "What do you want with her anyway?" Beast Boy didn't hide the fact that he liked Terra, he was sure all the Titans knew, but chose not to show it. If this Alexis person meant her harm…

"Because," Alexis reasoned, "she's…" But her explanation died in her throat when she laid eyes on the person walking towards them, who didn't have any.

This person had just reached the top of a nearby hill, when Alexis had spotted her. Walking slowly, measuring each step, she approached the group of teenagers. Where she lacked eyes in her head, she made up for on her kimono that she wore. Imprinted all over it; many different types of eyeballs, all different shapes and sizes, and moving as if they were alive; looking in all directions.

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Like walking through a waterfall, one moment the woman was her normal self, if one could it that; then emerged having taken on a whole other form. A young female, long blond hair braided tightly from the scalp down to her slender shoulders, deep hazel eyes, wearing a black miniskirt dress that hugged her body like a second skin, and walking barefoot.

"I see you find this other from more pleasing." Jigo smiled, as she watched the others relaxed visibly, some even taking a bigger interest in her new body.

"There are fewer of you than I thought." A voice, like a wolf amonst sheep, rose from behind a second hill, on the opposite side of the trapped Titans. Walking from behind his shady hiding spot, Flare exposed himself to the sun.

"Whoo," he pretended to wipe non-existent sweat from his brow, mocking the Titans who were, on the other hand, sweating rivers, "that sun is beating down something fierce."

"Who are you?" Knives asked the obvious question.

"We are Trigon's apostles and we've come for you Xavier." Jigo answered with a most twisted grin on her otherwise beautiful face.

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The next update will be the final chapter to Half-Life. I've decided to delay the use of the review chapter as the prologue to the sequel, 'Teen Titans: Trigon Apotheosis'.