5

The sun rose over the harbor, its orange and yellow rays reflecting magnificently off the water in dazzling ripples of illumination. The seagulls cawed through the air, breaking the incredible stillness of the morning air. The atmosphere of the Titan's Tower was incredibly calm, despite the layer of tension that had descended in the past couple of days as the Titan's and their guests anxiously waited for Knives to make his next move.
"Ah, another glorious day!" Starfire sighed as she sat up in bed, stretching her arms out wide as if to embrace the coming day. She floated up out of bed and hurried about dressing herself. She then went sailing through the hallways, calling out to her companions. "Rise my friends, there is another new day ahead of us!" She knocked lightly on their doors, not even waiting to hear the grumbles that came from behind them. She soared through an open window and up into the sky above the tower to better savor the view as the sun rose. She smiled at the magnificent sigh and could not restrain laughter of joy.
She was silenced, however, when she saw Vash sitting on the roof. He was seated on the ledge, gazing out at the horizon, looking quite sad. She floated down behind him and then slowly walked up alongside him. If he detected her, he gave no indication of it. "Does something trouble you, friend-Vash?" she asked softly. He turned and offered her a smile.
"I'm fine, Starfire. I was just…thinking."
"About what?" she asked as she sat down next to him. He looked back out at the horizon.
"I'm not sure. About Rem, mostly." Starfire did not know what to say for a moment. Vash had spoken about Rem when he told them his story. She faded in and out of his explanation, and he each time he spoke her name fondly. It was obvious she meant a great deal to him.
"This Rem…tell me about her. What was she like?" Vash smiled and closed his eyes, warming up to the topic perfectly.
"What words can I say?" he said, his voice soft, "She was wonderful. Everything about her. She was so beautiful, like an angel…and kind. She was the kindest person I ever knew. She was the one who taught me about…" he stopped then, and smiled lightly. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "It must all sound pretty silly." He chuckled.
"No, no." Starfire said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're philosophy of love and peace it is…it is refreshing!" She said, giving him a bright smile. "Perhaps we Titans have been fighting so hard, we have forgotten the comforts of peace and harmony. I will definitely tell my people of this the next time I go back to…" her words were broken off when Vash placed his hand over hers. Their eyes locked, and she found within him a genuine warmth and caring that she had not known since childhood.
"You probably would have liked Rem, Starfire." He said sincerely, "You remind me of her in a lot of ways." Starfire searched for the words before she smiled warmly at him.
"Thank you, friend Vash. A higher compliment I cannot imagine."
"Hey you two, coming to breakfast?" Wolfwood called from the stairway. Starfire turned, her eyes glazing over at the brief view she got of his muscular torso as he buttoned up his shirt. She flew forward, knocking Vash nearly off the ledge.
"Oh yes, come let us enjoy a most hearty breakfast!" She grabbed Wolfwood's hand, nearly ripping his arm from the socket as she flew back inside, dragging him behind her.

And indeed, it was a hearty breakfast. The Titans and their guests all sat around the table, chatting contently to the tune of forks against plates. But that was until the tower's alarm blared, blasting all of them with the sound of emergency. It startled the newcomers, causing Wolfwood to spit a mouthful of coffee right across the table into Robin's face. Meryl jumped, her fork of scrambled eggs flying from her hand into Beast Boy's hair in a yellow and green mess. Millie also jumped right in the middle of taking a slice of pancake, which promptly flew into the aid and landed with a splat on top of Cyborg's head. Vash gave a shriek and fell over in his seat onto the floor.
"Abandon ship!" he gasped as he pulled himself up.
"It's not that, Vash." Robin said as he wiped his face clean and then leapt up and ran out of the room.
"There's trouble." Raven explained as she also rose up to join her companions. The four travelers followed their hosts into the living room area, where Robin stood before a large monitor screen. A digital map of the city was displayed on it, with red lights blinking in several different districts.
"Is it Legato again?" Vash said, leaning in over Robin's shoulder.
"No, it's Slade." Robin snarled, narrowing his eyes. Vash looked into the Boy Wonder's face and saw a frightening intensity that he had only seen once before; in himself, the day he first confronted Legato. "Cinderblock, Plasmus, and Overload are all on the move. It's got to be Slade."
"So, what are we waiting for?" Cyborg said and turned to head for the doorway when he felt Wolfwood's hand on his shoulder.
"Not without us, you're not."
"No way." Robin immediately protested. "You guys could get hurt."
"I could not allow my new friends to be harmed." Starfire gasped, throwing her arms around Millie.
"Yeah, well, what else we got to do?" Wolfwood shrugged.
"Besides, you kids need adult supervision." Meryl said pointedly. The Titans all groaned embarrassedly at her statement.
"And besides, what if you run into Legato out there?" Vash added.
"He has a point man. You saw how he handled us last time." Cyborg added. Robin sighed with resignation.
"All right, but we'll do this in teams." He looked up, his face determined, taking charge once again. He pointed at each of his companions as he issued instructions now. "Vash, since you, Starfire and Raven are the ones unaffected, the three of you go after Cinderblock together. That way, if the rest of us do run into Legato, the three of you will still be able to do something." Vash nodded, and then followed Raven and Starfire out the door. "Cyborg, take Wolfwood and Beast Boy and go after Plasmus. Millie, Meryl and I will take care of Overload." And with that, they were off.

Knives slammed his fist angrily down onto the table, nearly knocking over his glass of wine. He glowered at the television set, where he saw the press coverage of Overload's attack on an electronics warehouse.
"Someone…" he snarled, "Is sticking they're nose in my business."

"Pretty nice ride you got here, kid." Wolfwood smirked from underneath his sunglasses. He ran his hand over the upholstery of Cyborg's car, admiringly. "Course, it wouldn't even come close to matching my bike."
"Ha, you wish." Cyborg scoffed from the diver's seat. "I built this baby by hand. Every bit of her is guaranteed to…"
"Dude, can we focus on the job at hand here!" Beast Boy interrupted, shaking the two from their conversation.
"So, just what the heck is this Plasmus?" Wolfwood asked.
"Technically speaking…" Cyborg said as he struggled for the right words to describe their enemy.
"He's a big ball of snot." Beast Boy added.
"Huh?" Wolfwood arched an eyebrow.
"You'll see when we get there." Cyborg assured.
"And you won't like it." Beast Boy added, and they fell silent for the next several minutes. Eventually the burst through the chain link gate of the airbase, screeching to a half on the tarmac, where they were confronted by the oozing form of Plasmus, who evidently was stopping whatever he was doing for a snack. He reached into the large hole he had just ripped in the asphalt and broke off a sewage pipe.
"What the hell's he going to do with that?" Wolfwood said, blanching at the sight. The answer came when Plasmus stuck the pipe in his mouth and started sucking, like a baby at a bottle. Wolfwood balked. "That's disgusting!"
"Not as disgusting as what he's about to do!" Cyborg shouted when Plasmus looked up and saw them. He dropped the pipe, drew back with a snarl, and that spat a blob of purple-colored gunk that burst across the windshield and then dripped down the glass. Beast Boy and Cyborg both looked over their shoulders at Wolfwood, whose face had washed white, his jaw hanging.
"It…it…it's chunky…" He managed to babble before he turned green and scrambled out the door to crouch alongside the vehicle and wretched. Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other, shrugged, and stepped out.

"Whee!" Mille said, throwing her arms up over her head, enjoying the feeling as the wind whipped her hair around her face. Robin sighed through his helmet.
"Can't you get her to stop doing that?" He said over his shoulder to Meryl, who was seated behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist. Millie was seated in a passenger carrier that Robin had kept in waiting for just such occasions.
"Millie, control yourself." Meryl said, thinking that she was turning to face her companion when in fact her face was nearly buried in Robin's shoulder, unable to tell since she had her eyes closed tight. Riding a motorcycle was a new experience for her, and in truth, it terrified her greatly.
"Sorry." Millie sulked, slumping her shoulders. But no sooner had she said this than Robin tore into another right turn, and she threw her arms up into the air once again. "Whee!" Robin and Meryl groaned, but then turned their attention to the task at hand. Soon enough they pulled up to the doors of a large electronics warehouse. Meryl and Millie's jaws both dropped when they saw the havoc that had been wreaked on the place: the fence was half melted, the doors torn off their hinges. The cameras that lined the fence were all blown apart, sparks still flying from their remnants, and several panels that lined the outside wall were also destroyed.
"What happened here?" Meryl asked. She was answered by a low, deep groaning sound. All head's swung around to one of the crushed panel's, which emitted a series of sparks and volts before it burst, a bolt of lighting seeming to fly from it. The bolt then seemed to solidify, taking on a roughly humanoid shape. Overload looked at the three and raised his arms over his head and roared a defiant challenge.
"Is that…?" Millie squeaked.
"Yeah." Robin said, narrowing his eyes. He wrenched his wrist, pushing hard on the gas, and sent the motorcycle roaring toward the sparking giant.

"A steel mill?" Vash said from inside the bubble Raven had him encased in as they flew toward their destination. "What could he want at a steel mill?"
"Don't know. But he's not going to get it." Raven said.
"With you to aid us, friend-Vash, we shall surely be victorious." Stafire said enthusiastically. She was cut off, however, when a large steel girder speared into her like a javelin, knocking her from the sky.
"Stafire!" Vash and Raven both shouted simultaneously. They then turned their gaze down toward the yard of the steel mill, where Cinderblock snarled up at them. "Let me at him, coach!" Vash said determinedly. Raven nodded and released the bubble, throwing Vash toward Cinderblock.
He flew forward, extending the steel-toed tip of his boot to kick Cinderblock hard across the face. It shook the rock-monster, sending him stumbling off balance. Vash brought one foot against the surface of his head and pushed himself off, leaping away from Cinderblock's flailing arms to land behind him like an animal, crouched and ready to pounce.
Cinderblock spun to face his new enemy, and charged.

Cyborg ducked another ball of muck and returned fire. The shot tore through Plasmus, leaving a gaping hole, which quickly was filled in again. Beast Boy scurried under Cyborg's legs in the form of a mouse, then turning into a charging rhinoceros, barreling toward the oozing monster. But Plasmus grabbed a hold of his tusk and hurled him aside. He landed against the tarmac, once again his metahuman form.
A series of large bullets tore into Plasmus' side, and he turned to face Wolfwood, who had removed the sheet from his cross-like luggage to reveal a massive gun. He fired again, and the series of shots irritated Plasmus like a bright light, as he held his hands up to block a few from his eyes and took a step back. Wolfwood took the opening to swing the cross around in his hands and fire a small rocket from its opposite end, which literally blew Plasmus' head off, sending globs of toxic ooze in all directions.
"Boo-yah! Great job" Cyborg shouted, waving to Wolfwood, who waved back with a satisfied smile. But a long moan from Plasmus broke their celebration, and they both watched in surprise as the multiple eyes and jagged teeth simply regenerated in their previous position. Plasmus spat another blob at them, which Wolfwood promptly blasted in apart in the air with another rocket.
Beast Boy now turned into a tyrannosaurus and leveled Plasmus with a swing from his massive tail. It threw Plasmus forward, leaving him vulnerable for Cyborg to fire a bolt into his mouth, which apparently did not agree with him as Plasmus' stomach exploded outward, much the way his head had moments ago. Wolfwood also pressed the attack, firing a succession of bullets that severed one of Plasmus' hands.
The monster quivered into a pile of goop, apparently wounded by the ferocity of the assault, before morphing into hits hulking for once more, roaring with rage. It spat and threw a series of blobs that sent the heroes ducking for cover. Plasmus hurried over to the sewer pipe he had broke earlier, and promptly disappeared into it.
"Yeah!" Beast Boy shouted, throwing his hand in the air, and then launching into a victory dance. "Go Beast Boy, go Beast Boy, it's you're…"
"I wonder how the others are doing." Wolfwood interrupted.

Overload leapt at the wire fence and vanished in a crack of electricity. The fence then tore up out of the ground and wrapped around the three companions like a constrictor, slowly tightening to squeeze the life from them.
Meryl groaned as the wire grew tighter around her body, and managed to slip her hand underneath her coat, and immediately her body seemed to explode as the carrying cases for her derringers unfolded, pushing the fencing far enough to give them all some breathing space. A few birdarangs and Derringer shots later saw the fence torn to scraps, and Overload vacated it in favor of facing them directly.
Millie leveled her massive weapon and fired one of the massive bolts, but Overload merely backhanded it away. The girls dived to either side to dodge the projectile, while Robin leapt high over the top of it, somersaulting through the air, aiming a direct kick at the sparking titan. But Overload grabbed a hold of the extended leg and gave Robin a jolt of electricity before tossing him aside.
A pair of bullets tore two small holes into the circuit card that served as Overload's brain, and he gave a loud screech of pain at the attack. He spun to find Meryl with a pair of smoking Derringer's in hand. She fired another couple of shots, but this time they simply froze the moment they touched Overload's surging aura, and instead flew back toward her. She opened her mouth to scream, but was knocked out of the way by Robin, who pushed her down under the bullet's path.
"Millie, the fire hydrant!" He shouted to the grown haired woman. Millie looked to where the Boy Wonder pointed, and then smirked. She took aim and fired. This shot, however, went right between Overload's legs and right into a fire hydrant resting behind him. The bolt tore the metal hydrant away, sending a spray of water into the air to land as rain over the combatants. Overload screeched and vanished into one of the broken electrical panels.
"That's one weapon Slade will never have: teamwork." Robin smiled as he helped Meryl up.
"I just hope Vash is doing okay." She said, biting her lower lip.

Vash loosed a volley with the automatic weapon hidden in his arms. The bullets mostly just bounced off Cinderblock, some taking small pebbles off him. But nonetheless, the stone villain held up his hands to avoid any of them going in his eyes or mouth, like a person in a swarm of gnats.
Several green bolts slammed into his back, and Cinderblock grunted in acknowledgement, as if Starfire's attack were no more than a mere irritation. She soared forward, pulling her fist back to deliver a crushing blow. But Cinderblock caught her punch before it connected. He tossed her away, throwing her into Vash, the impact sending both of them flying.
"Azarath, Metreon, Sinthos!" Raven chanted, and a black glow appeared around a crane nearby, lifting it into the air, and dropping it right on top of their enemy. The heroes had a moment of fleeting joy before the crane was torn apart from the bottom-side up as Cinderblock ripped his way back up.
"Does this guy know when to quit?" Vash muttered
"Evidently not. I guess we'll have to teach him." A new voice came. The three spun to see none other than Midvalley the Hornfreak standing several feet away. He put his instrument to his lips and blasted Cinderblock with a wave of sonic force, sending him stumbling back right into the arms of Gray the Ninelives, who leveled his fellow monster with a tremendous hit across its stony face. While the two titans battled, Starfire, Raven, and Vash found themselves surrounded as all of the Gung Ho Guns emerged.
Starfire's eyes began to glow green when Hoppered the Gauntlet darted forward and rammed into her, full force, throwing her to the ground. She twitched for a moment before going limp as she blacked out.
"Starfire!" Raven gasped, so distracted that there was no way she could detect Dominique the Cyclops appear behind her. All Raven knew then was the feel of Dominique's gun across the back of her skull, and Raven joined her companion in unconsciousness.
Vash stood alone now, facing down the Gung Ho Guns in their entirety. Legato now stepped forward, the same arrogant smirk crossing his face.
"What do you want?" Vash snarled as he leveled his gun at Legato.
"Its not what I want." Legato said in a matter of fact tone. With that, Vash found himself overwhelmed as Midvalley gave a simple blow into his saxophone, and Vash's body was wracked by unspeakable pain. He collapsed to his knees, managing to stay awake just long enough to see Leonof the Puppet Master and Chapel the Evergreen move toward Raven and Starfire. Then Vash's world went black.