kkori: Glad you enjoyed it...always nice to see some new readers
NOTES: Ok, I know I said I'd be updating more frequently now that school's over, but a lot of things held me back this chapter...like my laptop not holding a charge. Plus, working 11-5 and then going to practice for Beauty & the BeastFrom 6:30 to 9:30 every night...it kinda slowed me down...a lot. Plus, this chapter is by far the longest I've written in either of my mult chapter stories...7 pages in Word...4,400 somewords. I knew where I wanted this chapter to end, but I had trouble getting there. Every time I wanted to stop, it felt like I was rushing things a little too much, so I kept writing. Now...finally...I came to a good stoping place...hopefully this isn't too long of a chapter.
Chapter Eleven: Desperate Measures
Terra and Warlock slumped down on the couch. Terra sighed heavily, "It's been a long couple of days…" Warlock nodded, "You could say that again." Falcon came walking into the room and leaned over the back o the couch, "So, is Beast Boy ok?" Terra nodded. Falcon walked around the couch and sat down next to her, "Then why do I get the feeling there's still something wrong?" Warlock sighed, "Because there is…" He threw his hands in the air and got up from the couch, "Am I the only one who thinks there's something seriously wrong here?" Falcon and Terra just stared at him. He started pacing around the room, "Come on guys! A demon possessing a seventeen year old kid so he can take over the world? Isn't that at all…weird to you?" Terra shrugged, "Warlock, you're talking to a girl whose first boyfriend is twenty-five years older than her. Weird is relative." Falcon looked away and laughed silently. Warlock glared at them, "I'm serious. This is weird even for us."
Terra got up and put her hands on Warlock's shoulders, "Calm down. Believe me, we know this is kinda…out there, but it's one of those things I don't really wanna think about." Warlock pulled away and moved toward the window, "Maybe we should think about it Terra. This could potentially be the end of the world." Falcon groaned as she leaned back on the couch, "Could you please stop saying that?"
Warlock turned and glared at them, "Do you know what it's like to see a world on the edge of destruction?" The girls shook their heads. Warlock looked down at the floor, "Well, that's the world I left behind when I came here!" He sighed heavily, "I've already seen one world end…" He looked directly at Terra, "I don't want to go through that again." He started walking toward the door, "So I'm sorry if I seem a little tense, but it's kinda hard not to be in my situation."
He walked out of the room and the doors slid shut behind him. Falcon looked over at Terra, "Well…uh…" Terra sighed, "Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Falcon stood up and walked over to the fridge, "So, do we have a plan to deal with the situation?" Terra nodded, "Yeah…but you're not gonna like it." Falcon smirked, "Try me." Terra sighed, "We're gonna go to Trigon's dimension and kill him there." Falcon turned back to Terra, "You're kidding right?" Terra shook her head.
Falcon walked back over to the couch and sat down, "Well, it's not my first choice…but something tells me it's our only option." Terra nodded, "Yeah, it's either that or let him come here" Falcon sighed, "Well whatever you decide to do…I'm in." The doors to the room slid open again 'and Vortex came walking in, "So what's up with Warlock? He seems sort of pissed." Terra smirked, "Heh, I didn't notice." Vortex walked over to the couch slowly and sat down, "Ok, somethin's goin on 'ere. What is it?" Falcon shrugged, "Nothin." Vortex glared at her., "I know you're 'idin somethin mate. Just tell me." Falcon and Terra grinned as they replied in unison, "You don't wanna know." Vortex shook his head and stood up, "You girls are startin to scare me." Terra smiled slightly, "Don't worry Vortex, you'll find out soon enough." Vortex turned and walked out of the room. Falcon looked over and laughed quietly, "He's gonna kill us when he finds out…"
Frostbyte was pacing around tower mumbling to himself. He had seen some pretty strange stuff the past couple days. More than he was used to living in Jump City. Super villains and monsters were one thing, but this was way different. He plopped down on the couch and sighed. "Beast Boy's right," he thought. "We're in way over our heads here." Fireball walked up and sat down with Frostbyte. He looked over at her and smiled slightly, "This is too much…" Fireball nodded, "I know. But we should consider ourselves lucky for 'avin allies we can trust." Frostbyte smirked, "Who? The Titans? So far, I haven't seen anything special from them. If you remember correctly, they attacked us again." Fireball nodded, "Yeah, but do you remember why?" Frostbyte turned away. Fireball shook her head, "Cause you started it. You were goin off on Beast Boy, and Terra told ya to sit down. You took the first punch mate, not the Titans."
Frostbyte growled, "I was only makin an observation…they…" Fireball cut him off, "You told Beast Boy he wasn't doin a good job. I wanna see you try an' make level 'eaded decisions when part of your body's bein controlled by a demon." Frostbyte sighed, "That's not the point. It's all cause of Terra. First he wants her taken out, and now he wants to be friends." Fireball shrugged, "Rightly so I guess. In case you 'aven't noticed, Terra seems to be the only one who still trusts him. Everyone else seems a bit jumpy." Frostbyte shook his head, "I don't even know what's goin on anymore. This whole thing is way out of our league." Fireball nodded, "Yeah, but we can get through it. Heh, we 'ave to. The world's kinda dependin on us." Frostbyte hunched over and buried his head in his hands, "I know. That's the whole problem."
The former members of the Teen Titans were gathered in the Watchtower conference room. Nightwing was leaning back in his chair staring at the ceiling. Starfire looked back and forth between him and the others quietly. Changeling was slumped over the table snoring obnoxiously, and Cyborg was leaning against the wall on the far side of the room. Raven was the only active member of the group. She hovered back and forth across the room muttering to herself.
Nightwing sighed as he leaned forward and looked over at Raven, "So I guess it's settled huh?" Raven jumped slightly as she looked over at him, "But we…" Nightwing cut her off, "Let's face it Raven, no matter what we come up with, it all comes back to this being out only option." Cyborg shook his head, "Not the most desirable, but can't say it's not effective." Raven hovered over to the table and sat down, "Fine but if we go through with this, someone should stay behind just in case…" Nightwing shrugged, "What about Bumble Bee? She's more than qualified." Raven shook her head, "No, I mean the Titans. Someone has to be here to protect Jump City." Changeling sighed, "But if we fail…then it's kinda pointless to leave someone behind isn't it?" Raven shook her head, "No. Even if we manage to defeat Trigon, we are going to have a difficult time getting back. The Justice League can't be everywhere at once, and Jump City can be a reasonably dangerous place to live at times." Cyborg walked over and joined the others at the table, "How do we decide who stays?" Raven hesitated, "Hmm…we each pick one Titan to stay behind." Nightwing leaned back in his chair, "Alright Rae, since this was your idea…you pick first."
Raven hesitated and looked around the room. She closed her eyes and though for a moment, "…Terra. Without question she's the most qualified to lead the Titans." Nightwing looked over at Cyborg. He sighed, "Nano. It'll be easy to reprogram the Tower to work with her tech." He elbowed Changeling. He stuttered, "I…I don't know…come back to me." Nightwing looked over at Starfire, "Star?" She looked down at the floor, "Falcon." Nightwing sighed and hunched over the table, "Warlock. The kid's got a lot of power, and the team needs that." He turned and glared at Changeling, "Made up your mind yet?" Changeling shook his had, "Can't be Frostbyte…he'd never be a team player. And it can't be one of the twins. There's no way they'd leave each other after…" He trailed off and sighed, "Beast Boy." Nightwing stood up, "Alright. It's set. Get the Titans up here and let's roll." Raven jumped up from the table, "Nightwing no. It's been a rough couple of days. This can wait until to tomorrow." Cyborg nodded, "Good call Rae. My power cell could use a good recharge…I'm beat." Nightwing sighed, "Fine. We'll take the rest of the day off. But I want everyone back in this room first thing tomorrow morning. Titans included."
Terra was sitting in Titans Tower watching TV with Warlock. It had been a relatively uneventful day compared to the rest of the week. It was quiet in the Tower, and everyone was getting restless. After what had been happening, everyone felt like they had to be out fighting something. The doors slid open and Falcon walked into the room. She dragged her feet along the floor as she walked over to the couch. She slumped over the armrest and sprawled out on an empty part of the couch. She looked up at Terra and sighed, "Heh, this has been a pretty boring day." Terra looked over at her, "Got any ideas?" Falcon shrugged, "I dunno. I just wanna get out of the Tower." Warlock smirked, "Ok…you do that." Falcon glared at him, "I'm serious. I need to do something."
Warlock stood up and stretched his arms over his head, "Bowling?" Falcon smirked, "I don't think so." Warlock shrugged, "I don't see you comin up with anything." Terra got up from the couch and walked over to the fridge. She opened it and reached for a pop, "How abut pizza?" She sat down at the counter, "We haven't done much with Beast Boy's team except fight…we should probably get together in a more…peaceful setting." Warlock nodded, "I'd be up for that…heh I never turn down pizza." Falcon shook her head, "All you ever think about is food…" Warlock shrugged, "Can't help it."
Terra walked over to the main screen and pulled up the communicator. She dialed the tower on the other side of town. The screen flickered a few times before Fireball picked up on the other end. "Terra?" Terra smiled, "What's up?" Fireball shrugged, "Nothin…been a boring day out 'ere." Terra nodded, "Same here. Thought maybe you guys would join us for some pizza." Frostbyte's face appeared on the screen, "You serious?" Terra shrugged, "Why not. It's about time we started acting like friends." Frostbyte smirked, "Heh…if pizza's involved, I think I can stomach hangin out with just about anybody." Terra shook her head, "Whatever. We're goin now…if you wanna join us, we'll see ya down there."
It was a slow day downtown. It seemed like the entire city had decided to stay home for the day. All the tables out side of the pizza place were empty, except for the large one where the Titans sat. The two teams were gathered around three large pizzas. All former tensions between the two groups of teens seemed to vanish the moment they were united around a pizza. Laughter filled the air around the table, and even Frostbyte appeared to let his guard down, if only for this brief moment. They forgot about the events of the past few days and simply enjoyed each other's company. Terra looked around the table and smiled.
The Teen Titans were sitting outside their favorite pizza place at the end of a very long day. Slade had tried to wreak havoc in Jump City, but the Titans had been there to stop him. They were bruised and tired from the fight, but that was not going to prevent them from celebrating their victory over a massive cheese pizza. Robin put a hand on Terra's shoulder, "You did good today, Terra." Beast Boy smiled brightly, "Glad to have ya on the team!" Terra smiled nervously. She felt so at home with the Titans, accepted and understood. She reached up and brushed the hair away from her eyes as she reached in for another slice of pizza.
Terra shook her head slightly, "Just like the good old days," She thought. Warlock looked over at Terra and put an arm around her shoulder. He pulled her close and smiled. Terra leaned her head on his shoulder. The seven teens spent the time looking back on the old days and sharing stories of their youth. Frostbyte had always been one to cause trouble, and after developing his powers, he was quite the distraction in school. Frostbyte smirked, "It was Friday, and some idiot teacher wanted to give me a test." He leaned back in his chair, "I forgot to study, so I didn't really want to go to school." He sighed heavily, "I woke up early and rode my bike over. Heh, there was a layer of ice five feet thick on every door and window of that building. We had a three day weekend."
Fireball shook her head, "Show off." She glanced over at her brother and grinned, "Vortex was four when he started flyin. He'd circle our yard a few times, an' mom an' dad couldn't get 'im to come down. Then one day he got 'imself stuck in a tree." Vortex glared at her. She smiled, "He was 'angin upside down from the top for twenty minutes before dad found a ladder big enough to reach 'im." Vortex elbowed his sister playfully, "Well, Fireball was jealous…cause she broke 'er arm jumpin out of 'er bedroom window tryin to fly."
Warlock elbowed Falcon, "Hey, what about the time you beat Nightwing one on one?" Terra looked over at Falcon, "You beat Nightwing?" Falcon shrugged, "Heh…yeah, that's how I found out I could fly." Warlock jumped in the conversation, "Nightwing used to end our training sessions by havin the two of us fight him. Then, we started to beat him…so he decided to start going one on one." Falcon shook her head, "We couldn't touch him…as far as we were concerned he was…" Warlock butted in, "Unbeatable." Falcon glared at him, "Yeah…well then there was this one time…I was totally beat. My dad came charging at me, and I went to jump out of the way." Warlock grinned, "She went up…but never came down." Falcon smirked, "Heh, I was hanging upside down right above his head with a big stupid grin on my face." Warlock started laughing, "Ha! You should have seen the look on his face. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. He took out his bowstaff and started swingin at her like a piñata. Heh, she flew circles around the room until he was too tired to keep fighting." Falcon leaned back in her chair, "That was the only time I ever beat him." Terra seemed surprised, "Really?" Falcon nodded, "Heh…yeah. He wouldn't fight me after that." Warlock shook his head, "He made me fight her." Falcon shrugged, "Still, I really don't fly unless I have to. If you can fly, but you don't have any other super powers, you're better off stayin on the ground."
The seven teenage superheroes spent the rest of the afternoon downtown wandering around looking for random things to distract them from the things they had experienced in the past few days. When they grew tired of wandering around the city they all headed back to Titans Tower. Everyone clumped together on and around the couch and Warlock powered up the DVD player. Falcon smirked, "So Warlock, what horrible Sci-Fi adventure do we have tonight?" Warlock smirked, "Independence Day. One of my favorites." Frostbyte sighed, "Oh please…the last thing we need to see right now is another end of the world movie." He got up and walked over to the cabinet Warlock had pulled the movie from, "You gotta have something better than that to watch."
Frostbyte grunted as he squatted down and looked into the cabinet. He shuffled through the movies looking for a title that appealed to him. "Matrix, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Men in Black…one and two. Heh…ooh, The Godfather. That's a classic. Terminator…Gladiator…" Frostbyte paused and looked up at Warlock, "Seriously Warlock…do you have some sick obsession with old movies?" Warlock shrugged, "Only the good ones." Terra shook her head, "Look in the next cabinet." Frostbyte turned around, "Why…?" Terra smirked, "Trust me." Frostbyte turned around and opened the next cabinet. He ducked down and looked inside.
For a brief instant he was silent. He stared in awe at what was inside. He stuttered with his first few words, "Y…You…have the entire Monty Python collection?" He turned around and stood up with a stupid grin on his face, "We're watching Holy Grail!" Falcon glared at him, "Weren't you just complaining about Warlock watching old movies? My grandparents were teenagers when that came out!" Frostbyte shook his head, "No this is different. This is Monty Python…Holy Grail is easily one of the funniest movies I have ever seen." Warlock shrugged, "Can't argue with the truth." Terra smirked, "Heh, guys, you realize that movie was old twenty-five years ago. It's ancient by today's standards." Frostbyte shook his head, "It's still funny." Warlock nodded, "Yeah, and we're still gonna watch it." Falcon elbowed Terra. "Well it is nice to see those two finally agreeing on something," She muttered. The two girls laughed quietly. Terra shrugged, "Well they are right though…it is a very funny movie." Warlock sat down next to Terra, "Ok, enough talking…movie time."
Hours passed by uncounted, along with nearly half a dozen movie titles. No one knew what time it was, it was either very late, or very early. It all depended on who you asked. The seven teens were sprawled out in the main room of Titans Tower. One by one they started to drift off to sleep as Warlock played movie after movie, until halfway through Gladiator, he was the only one left awake. He looked around the room and noticed that no one else was watching the movie. He felt Terra stir next to him. He looked down to see that her head was resting gently on his shoulder. He reached up with the remote and turned the movie off. He put an arm around Terra and leaned his head against hers. Before he knew it, he had joined the other Titans in dream land.
"Warlock, get up!" Warlock groaned as he opened his eyes and stretched his arms over his head. He checked his watch and sighed, "It's seven thirty…come talk to me in two hours." The tall figure before him smirked, "Don't think so, up…now!" Warlock blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the morning light. Then he jumped slightly, "Nightwing? What are you doing here?" Nightwing glared at him, "We need you in the Watchtower…NOW!" Warlock jumped off the couch, "Alright, calm down I'm comin." He shuffled around the room purposely wasting time. He was far too tired to be up and about already. He looked over at Nightwing, "Where's everyone else?" Nightwing folded his arms across his chest, "Waiting for you, now hurry up."
Twenty minutes later, Warlock was finally alert, and he and the other Titans had joined the core council of the Justice League in the conference room of the Watchtower. Nightwing paced around the room and nervously glanced back and forth between the eight teenagers before him trying to find the best way to break the news to them. He finally gave up and walked over to the table. "Well, by now, I'm sure you guys probably know what we've been dealing with the past few days," he said as he sat down. The Titans nodded. Nightwing sighed and continued, "Well, we finally figured out how to handle the situation."
Nightwing glanced over at the other League members before continuing, "It seems that our only option is going into Trigon's dimension and fighting him there. Waiting for him to come to us would put far too many lives in danger." Nightwing looked around at the Titans, "However, due to the risk involved, five of you will be staying behind to protect Jump City." Terra started to speak, but Nightwing cut her off, "In order to save you the trouble of deciding, we have already chosen who will be left behind."
Nightwing looked around the room and hesitated. He shook his head and sighed, "Terra, you're going to lead the team." Terra jumped in, "Hold on…" Nightwing ignored her and continued, "Nano, Falcon, Warlock, and…" Terra cut him off, "Nightwing wait!" Nightwing looked the other way, "Beast Boy." Beast Boy jumped up, "What? No! There's no way I'm staying behind. I'm going with!" Raven glared at him, "No you're not. You are staying here!" Nightwing sighed, "Frostbyte, Fireball, and Vortex, you three will come with us." Vortex shrugged, "Fine by me."
Terra slammed her fists down on the table and jumped up, "Nightwing, this isn't fair!" She growled and started pacing around the room, "This isn't your call to make!" She glared at him, "Who gave you the right to decide who…" Nightwing returned Terra's cold stare, "Don't forget, I am the leader of the Justice League." Terra shook her head, "Yeah, I know, but you aren't leader of the Titans anymore! That's my job now." Beast Boy growled, "And me!" Nightwing sighed, "Ok, well what do you want to do?"
Terra growled, "I want to come with!" Nightwing shook his head, "And that is exactly why we chose who would stay behind. If we left it up to the eight of you, no one would have stayed." Changeling smirked, "Or it would have been a big fight trying to decide who stayed." Starfire stood up and floated over to Terra. She placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "Friend Terra, I understand that you wish to join us, but you are needed here." Terra looked down at the floor and sighed, "I can't let you guys do this alone."
Nightwing sighed, "I'm sorry Terra. It's out of the question. We need you here." He looked around at the other Titans, "Look, we never expected you to all be happy with our decision, but like we said earlier, we don't have much choice." Terra slumped down into her chair. The Titans glanced back and forth between each other. None of them were going to admit it, but deep down they all agreed with Terra. Nightwing had no right to decide their fate, but since he had already made the call, there was no point in arguing.
Nightwing glanced over at Raven, "If there's no more complaints, let's go." "This isn't right," Terra mumbled to herself. Nightwing glared at her, "Drop it Terra!" Raven stood up and sighed. The room fell silent and everyone watched Raven intently. She circled the table mumbling to herself quietly. Her eyes were wide open and unfocused; she was scared. Finally Beast Boy stood up and blocked his mother's path. He shook his head, "I can't deal with this. I don't care what anyone says, I'm coming with you." Raven looked up and stared at her son. Her yes were bloodshot and hazy. She placed her hands on his shoulders and shook her head "No…no, you have to stay here." Beast Boy stepped back. Raven watched him closely, "Taking you into Trigon's dimension is the last thing we want to do. We'd be handing you over on a silver platter."
Beast Boy backed up slowly, "Mom, are you feeling ok?" Raven blinked and shook her head. The panicked look faded from her eyes and she sighed, "Sorry, I…" Nightwing cut her off, "Raven, we don't have time for this. We need that portal open now!" Raven nodded. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. She raised her hand above her head and paused. She took a deep breath and focused on the task ahead. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" She thrust her hand down and bolts of dark energy erupted from her palm.
A violent wind tore through the closed room. Raven's cloak was pulled off and her suit was torn as red markings appeared all across her body. Her violet eyes changed to a bright white as a loud thunderous crash echoed around the room. The air before Raven began to ripple and a deep threatening laugh faded in through the rushing wind. A thick smoke cloud appeared in the room and flames started to poke through the rippling cloud. A deafening crack sent those gathered flying across the room. Raven remained focused and unmoving, hovering inches above the ground. Slowly, the smoke cloud parted to reveal a gaping hole floating in the middle of the room. A low, booming cackle erupted from the opening. The portal was open, and Trigon was calling. Nightwing pushed himself to his feet, "Let's move!" Those chosen to travel into Trigon's dimension threw themselves into the rippling portal. Raven followed close behind. A faint red glow appeared in her eyes, and quickly disappeared. She passed through the portal, and the gateway vanished instantly.
Terra slumped down against the wall and buried her head in her hands, "I should have gone with them." The other Titans stared in silence at the spot where the portal once stood. Beast Boy sighed, "Well, there's not much we can do now." He walked out of the room slowly, "I'm gonna go talk to Bumble Bee and get us a Javelin back down to earth." The others turned and followed him out of the room. Warlock stayed behind and watched Terra quietly. He stood in the doorway and waited. Terra looked up at Warlock and shook her head, "I can't just sit here and let them do this." Warlock sighed as he walked over and sat down next to Terra. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
"When I came back…Nightwing put me in charge without even second guessing himself. So far I haven't done anything that even comes close to justifying that decision." Warlock put an arm around her, "Stop thinking you have to make up for your past Terra. Nightwing didn't put you in charge because he was expecting favors." Terra sighed heavily, "But why leave us behind? If they can't pull this off, there won't be a city left to protect." Warlock shook his head, "There's more to it than that…I know it." He looked at Terra and smiled, "He picked us for a reason Terra. I'm sure we'll get through this." He stood up and helped Terra to her feet, "Come on, let's go. I'm sure the other guys are waiting for us." Terra leaned her head on his shoulder and the two of them joined the other Titans in the hangar where a Javelin was waiting. The team returned to the Tower in silence. It had been a rough week, butnothing could have prepared them for the events to come.
End Chapter Eleven
Well...eh...this isn't the end, but you probably figured that out by no. Anyway, those of you who are still reading, I really hope you enjoy this chapter, it' one of my favorites in this story...(although I really like the scene where the two teams start fighting in the Watchtower...that stil maes me feelall warm and fuzzy inside...lol). Anyway, yeah please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter...cause I put a lot of time into writing it, and I really hope it turned out ok. Keep your eyes open though...cause I'm going to do my best to crank up my update pace with the final few chapters of this story.