by Roll NEO
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Author's Note: I apologize to anyone who read this fanfic, waiting for the next chapter, but I had been disconnected from the Internet for about six months. But now that I'm back (hopefully for a long time), I'll continue to work on this story.
Disclaimer: Need I say it thrice? I don't own Teen Titans, etc.
Chapter 3: Fitting In
"Zero! Behind you!" Robin shouted to Zero, who turned around to see Plasmus emerge behind him, swinging its large claws at him. Zero jumped away just in time and then charged at him. He ran underneath Plasmus, slicing its legs with his beam saber. Plasmus screeched as it fell to the ground. Zero turned around to check his damage, and saw it plant its severed limbs into the ground, growing its feet back. It turned around and roared at Zero, but was quickly met by a giant pipe enveloped in dark energy jammed into its mouth and out its back.
"Thanks, Raven," Zero said turning around to see her.
"It was nothing," she replied. Plasmus let out a painful gargle as it dropped to the ground.
"He's down and out!" Cyborg said.
"Good job, team," said Robin. "Especially you, Zero."
"Hey, don't give me too much credit," Zero said. "It was a team effort. Everybody pitched in as much as I did." Just then, the police arrived on the scene to detain the mutant criminal. "Well, I guess that's our cue to leave."
"Right. Let's go home."
Later that day, at Titans Tower...
Zero headed to the Titans' hangar, where Cyborg was busy working on the T-Car."Hey, Cyborg!" Zero greeted him.
"S'up, Z?" Cyborg replied.
"Just thought I'd give myself a tour of the place." He looked at the T-Car. "So, this is the T-Car you were talking about the other day."
"Yup! My pride and joy! How d'ya like it?"
"Hmm... Nice ride, but I still prefer mine."
"Yours?" Zero pulled back the sleeve on his coat and pressed a button on his armband.
"It should be here in 3, 2, 1..." Suddenly, something came bursting through the hangar door, and came to a screeching halt just inches away from the two of them. It looked like a sleek red and black motorcycle, except for one thing: it had no wheels. Underneath it were two green streams of light, making it hover in midair. "Allow me to introduce the Ride Chaser, MY pride and joy!"
"Sweet!" Cyborg ran up to the Ride Chaser, running his hand along its sleek body. "How do you make it hover?"
"More light technology, my fine semi-metal friend! The Ride Chaser's the fastest thing on no wheels! Feel free to examine it and take notes. Just don't think about tweaking it or taking it for a ride. I'm gonna go see what else there is around here. Catch ya later." Zero took his right index and middle fingers together and gave a little salute before leaving the hangar.
"Hey, wait!" Cyborg tried to call after Zero, but he had already left. "What about what your ride did to my hanger door?" He turned and looked at the gaping hole the Ride Chaser made.
"All this walking around is making me tired," Zero said to himself. As he walked down the hall, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and accidentally bumped into Raven, making her drop the book she was reading.
"Sorry," Raven said as she picked her book up. "I wasn't---" she stopped when she turned around and saw that the person she bumped was Zero. "Oh, it's you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zero asked.
"Nothing."
"That tone in your voice isn't telling me that."
"I said it was nothing."
"Look, Raven, you've been acting very negative towards me since we met. I don't know what I did to get off on the wrong foot with you, but if you have something to say to me, then say it."
"..." The two of them were silent, glaring at eachother.
"Hey, guys!" Beast Boy came walking by. "Umm... is this a staring contest?"
"It's nothing," Raven said as she turned away and left.
"Is she always like that?" Zero asked Beast Boy.
"Don't worry about it too much," said Beast Boy. "Raven's like that almost all the time. You just gotta give her a chance to know you, then she'll start to open up to you."
"The way she acts, I don't think she wants anything to do with me." Just then, sirens began to go off, red lights flashing everywhere.
"Trouble!" Beast Boy said. "C'mon, let's go!" Zero nodded as they raced down the hall. When they got to the control room, the others were already there, watching a display of Pantheon soldiers attacking a WayneTech building.
"The Pantheon," Robin said. "Titans, move out!" The six Titans quickly departed for the WayneTech building.
At the building, the Pantheon soldiers were marching out of the building, carrying large pieces of machinery. More of them were firing their machine guns at the police, who were having difficulty advancing and fighting back. One of the attacking soldiers was suddenly struck by a blue beam, blowing off its head. As it dropped to the ground, the other robots turned to the origin of the beam, seeing the Teen Titans standing before them.
"Time to crash this party!" Cyborg said. The Pantheon robots then turned their attention to them and began shooting. The six heroes split up and charged into the swarm of soldiers.
Robin pulled out several Birdarangs and hurled them away, slicing off random parts of the soldiers in front of him. He then pulled out his bo staff and swung at any robots that got near him. Starfire was weaving back and forth through the sky, dodging bullets left and right like raindrops. Her eyes began to glow brightly as she launched her green starbolts into the army below, sending robots in all directions. Cyborg tackled more robots like a football player. One of the robots grabbed his arm, but was quickly flung off. Another tried to charge him from the front, and had its face crunched in by Cyborg's massive fist. One more robot wrapped its arms around his neck from behind, trying to choke him, but was pulled off by Beast Boy, who had turned into a gorilla. Beast Boy roared as he ripped the robot's arms off. He turned around and slammed his fist down on top of another robot's head, crushing it flat. A group of Pantheon soldiers were shooting at Raven, who was blocking their attacks with a black shield. She then scooped up the group of robots with her magic, trapping them in an orb.
"Let's see how you like this!" Raven said to them. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She brought her hands together, crushing the robots inside the sphere into a ball of scrap. Zero had his hands full as well, dodging the robots' stun batons. He swung his beam saber, slicing one of the robots in half at the waist. He twirled the saber and thrust it behind him, stabbing another robot in the chest. He quickly pulled it out and continued to fight them off. Suddenly, the robots stopped attacking. Their single eyes glowed, and without warning, began to run away from the area.
"They are... retreating?" Starfire asked.
"For a good reason, too," Cyborg said, looking at the built-in scanner in his arm. "The building's been rigged with a bomb! It'll go off in five minutes, and there are still people trapped inside!"
"We have to stop that bomb!" Robin said. Just as he was about to head into the building, Zero grabbed him by the arm.
"Wait!" Zero said. "It's a diversion! If we all try to disarm the bomb, the Pantheon will get away with the tech! We should split up."
"Okay, then. Starfire, Cyborg, the three of us will stop the Pantheon. Zero, Raven, and Beast Boy will take care of the bomb. Move!" Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire chased after the fleeing Pantheon, while Raven, Beast Boy, and Zero headed into the WayneTech building. Inside the main courtyard of the building, the bomb was in plain sight. It was a gigantic yellow box with multi-colored cords, various red buttons, and a large timer that currently read 4:21 and counting down.
"Whoa," said Beast Boy, "that's a big bomb."
"That saves the trouble of finding it," Zero said, approching the massive explosive. "Let me just---" Before he could take another step, he was blocked off by a black wall made by Raven.
"Wait," Raven said. "We don't know how to disarm it. We should just take the bomb somewhere else." She covered the bomb with her dark aura.
"Stop!" Zero shouted. "Don't move it! It's programmed to detonate automatically if it's disturbed! It has to be disarmed right where it stands!"
"I don't believe you," Raven said.
"What? What is your problem?"
"You want to know what my problem is? Fine! I don't trust you! The Pantheon showed up just moments before you did! It's too much of a coincidence! For all we know, you could be working with them!"
"Um, guys...?" Beast Boy tried to interrupt.
"I'm part of the team now, Raven," Zero said, "and teammates have to trust eachother."
"I've trusted others before you in the past, and they stabbed me in the back!" Raven retorted. "How do I know you're any different from them?"
"Guys..." Beast Boy tried getting their attention again.
"Yeah," Zero said, "how will you know if you never give me a chance to start with?"
"GUYS!" Beast Boy finally yelled.
"What?" Zero and Raven asked in unison. Beast Boy pointed at the bomb. Its timer now read 1:27.
"So what's it gonna be, Raven?" Zero asked. The two of them stared at eachother, a stern look in both of their faces. Finally, Raven put the bomb back down. Zero ran up to the bomb and looked at the red buttons. "As I was saying, I've seen this kind of bomb before, so I know how to disarm it. You have to press these buttons in the correct order, and then cut the right cord." Zero began to press the buttons, when suddenly more Pantheon soldiers appeared from nowhere and began shooting at him. Zero braced for the attack, but was shielded by Raven's powers.
"We'll handle them," Raven said. "You worry about the bomb!" She and Beast Boy then charged towards the robots. Zero looked at Raven for a moment, then smiled, and went back to work. As he continued to press the buttons, the timer on the bomb continued to count down, now at 0:15.
"You can finish anytime now, Z!" Beast Boy was starting to panic as he and Raven finished off the last of the Pantheon robots.
"Almost... got it!" Zero said after pushing the last of the buttons. He quickly turned to the cords on his right. There were red, yellow, green, blue, and black cords. He grabbed the red cord and yanked it out. The timer stopped at 0:03. "Phew. For a second there, I thought I wasn't gonna make it."
"Okay," Raven said, "you can let go now." She looked at Beast Boy, who was hiding behind her cloak. Just then, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg entered the building.
"We took care of the remaining Pantheon soldiers," Robin said, "and seeing that the place is still in one piece, I'd say you took care of the bomb."
"It was---" Zero said.
"A team effort," Raven finished the sentence for him.
That night, at Titans Tower, Zero and Raven were walking together down the hallway.
"Sorry about that little fiasco earlier," said Zero.
"Why are you apologizing?" Raven asked. "I admit, I was being a bit of a jerk back there. I guess I... misjudged you"
"Don't be so hard on yourself. Everything worked out fine in the end, right?" He stopped walking. "So, want to try this again?" Raven turned around as he extended his arm towards her. "Zero."
"Raven." The two of them shook hands.
"Glad to be working with the team as a whole now." Zero yawned. "Excuse me. Well, it's getting late. Back to the guest room for me"
"Wait, Zero. There's something I want to show you first. Come with me." Raven headed down the hall, with Zero quietly following. After passing several doors, they stopped in front of another one. "Here we are."
"Here we are... where?" Zero asked.
"Your new room." Raven pointed to a small label on the door that read "Zero". When she opened the door, it was dark inside. Suddenly, the lights came on, and the other Titans jumped out.
"Surprise!" they all shouted. Zero looked around the room. It had red wallpaper and carpeting, a large window with a view overlooking the city, a large bed with a red blanket, a desk with a computer, and in the closet were red coats just like the one Zero was wearing.
"Wow," Zero said. "You set this all up for me?"
"Of course!" Robin said.
"No Teen Titan is complete without their own personalized crash pad!" said Cyborg.
"I don't know what to say, guys... thanks! Thanks a lot!" Zero said.
"Come, Zero!" Starfire said. "We will celebrate with stewed grunthmek followed by a traditional Tamaranian folk song!"
"Uhh... that sounds... enjoyable. You guys go on ahead, I'll be with you in a sec." Everyone except Zero left the room. He went over to the window and smiled. "It feels good to be around friends again..."
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Now that Raven and Zero have set aside their differences, maybe fighting the Pantheon won't be such a hardship. But the one behind the mysterious robot army has yet to show their face. What could they be planning? Only time will tell...