Chapter Four
"I think that's our best shot," Robin finished. He had just outlined his plan to rescue the girls and take down Mad Mod. It was sketchy at best, Raven would have liked a few more details, but the only solid information they had was the general location of Mad Mod's 'office' and the fact that he had a handful of Titan robots at his disposal. Everything else was based on guesswork, but if anyone could make an accurate deduction, it was Robin.
"The important thing is not to meet his demands unless it's absolutely necessary. And if it comes down to it, I want to be the one to go."
"He asked for Raven or Starfire," Cyborg pointed out dully.
"He said he'd prefer Raven or Starfire," Robin corrected. "I don't really give a damn what he'd prefer."
Raven glanced over at Beast Boy, he was still sporting the same odd expression he'd had ever since they'd rung off with Mad Mod. She could feel his confusion, his concern and, buried underneath, a touch of amusement that made Raven suspect he was slightly hysterical with worry. She leaned over to pat his clenched hand.
"She'll be okay," Raven whispered softly, "we'll get her back."
Beast Boy glanced down at her hand on his, then looked up at her quizzically. "I know, it's just …" he paused uncertainly and shook his head, "… nothing." He looked as though he had something more he'd like to say, but he shook his head again and drew his hand away.
"Everyone clear? Anyone have anything they want to add?" Raven vaguely heard Robin ask.
"Just one thing," Beast Boy spoke up. "I call shotgun."
Robin glared, but Raven noticed a ghost of a grin on Cyborg's face. "Mad Mod gave us until five o'clock to make the switch," Robin reminded them, "let's make the next two hours count."
Beast Boy scratched his head, "You'd think we would have noticed this."
They were standing in front of a gigantic warehouse on the waterfront. Polished steel and glass gleamed in the morning sun, but what was immediately noticeable was that the building was shaped like a giant 'M.'
"This guy needs some ideas of his own," Cyborg muttered.
"Good thing I have one, then," Mad Mod's voice boomed gleefully from speakers mounted on the outside of the building. The Titans glanced around cautiously, but the villain was nowhere to be seen. "That's why you're here, after all. Now, who's the lucky volunteer?"
Robin stepped forward and addressed the blank windows looming above them. "You don't get it, Mod. We're not here to make a deal, we're here to take you down."
"You can try," the loudspeakers replied casually, "but I think you'll come to see things my way." Instantly the double doors facing them burst open and figure after brightly garbed figure filed out. Dozens and dozens of robotic Titans spread out and positioned themselves around the building, their clothing identical to their human counterparts, but their faces eerily devoid of expression. Most of them appeared to be unarmed, but then they didn't need to be if Mad Mod was counting on their superior numbers to subdue the Titans. Raven supposed he didn't want to run the risk of damaging herself or her friends before he had gotten what he needed from them.
"There's a whole army here," Cyborg breathed in open-mouthed awe, "our boy's been busy."
"What do you hope to accomplish?" Starfire shrieked at the looming building, "You say you are finished with doing evil, and yet you steal our identities and kidnap our friends! You are not good at all!" Robin laid a comforting hand on her arm.
"I'm truly hurt," Mad Mod's voice filled the air once again, "You've wounded me, ducky. Of course I want to wipe out villainy, but I need one of you to help me with my plan. In the long run, we're on the same side, why can't you just cooperate?"
"You are not on our side! You cannot do good at the cost of my life or the life of one of my friends. That is plainly wrong! We will never agree to your demands!"
"I'm sorry to hear that, love," Mad Mod sighed sadly, "I guess they'll just have to convince you." At his implied command, the entire force of defenders advanced on the Titans. "Remember, now, you've only got until five o'clock. Ta!"
"I didn't think there'd be so many of them," Robin admitted, speaking quickly, "You still think we can take them?
"I don't know," Cyborg scowled fiercely, "but Sarah's still in there. We've gotta try."
"Yeah, well, you take the two dozen on the left …" Beast Boy suggested flippantly before morphing into a tiger, his teeth bared in a snarl.
"Down, boy," Raven rested her hand on the tiger's raised hackles, "we need a new plan."
Robin shook his head decisively, "There's no time for that now, we'll have to play it by ear. Let's just take these guys down."
Raven shrugged and flipped her hood up. She wouldn't argue with Robin in front of the others. As one, she and Starfire rose into the air and both girls' eyes started to glow. Mad Mod's army stood rigid, waiting, and for a brief moment the silence was broken only by the sound of Cyborg powering up his sonic cannon.
Raven tensed, awaiting the signal.
"Titans, go!" Robin yelled, and all hell broke loose.
"This isn't working," Cyborg bellowed, his cannon blasting a wide swath through his opponents, "there're too many of them!"
"They do not seem to be very dangerous," Starfire observed.
"Maybe not, but they're strong and tough." The robots Cyborg had blasted backward were already rising from the ground, a bit worse for the wear, but still able to join the determined assault on the Titans.
"I think we're gonna have to break them all apart," Beast Boy added, shifting back to his human form briefly before changing into a rhinoceros and charging a cluster of Robins.
Raven dropped a heavy shipping crate on a trio of robots. The crate shuddered, then shattered into pieces as the robots struggled to free themselves. Raven watched two dented Beast Boys rise from the debris and felt a faint sense of horror at the crushed and mangled Starfire lying twitching on the ground between them. The green robots rejoined the attack, but the third did not rise again.
"Good job, Raven," Robin called, though his voice was oddly strained. Raven nodded in acknowledgement.
The pseudo-Titans weren't quick or especially skilled, but they were sturdy. Wave upon wave of robots moved forward to attack the Titans only to be thrown back. Sometimes a particularly violent blow would incapacitate one, but most of them simply rose from where they had fallen and lumbered forward to rejoin the relentless attack. It was all Raven and the others could do to keep from being swallowed by the mob. Their attempt to reach the warehouse door had been entirely unsuccessful.
An enemy hand snatched at Raven's cloak and jerked on it, yanking her to the ground painfully. She sprang to her feet and whirled around just in time to be knocked to the ground again by a green kangaroo aiming for the group of robotic Ravens behind her.
Her breath escaped in a gasp and the kangaroo was instantly replaced with a contrite Beast Boy. He reached down to grab her arm, pulling her to her feet, "Sorry, Raven. I couldn't tell which one was you."
She didn't have time for a retort; instead she leaned around him to aim a blast of energy at the approaching mob she had glimpsed over his shoulder. Beast Boy shifted back into a kangaroo and bounded away.
"Yo, Rob! We're not getting anywhere," Cyborg called out in frustration.
"Just keep fighting, we're wearing them down!"
Raven didn't think so, somehow. Certainly most of the Titan-bots were sporting dents, some were even missing limbs, but she could tell that the Titans themselves would break down before the robots would.
"This is pointless," she growled, shaking off the grasping hand of an attacking Cyborg, "We don't have time for this, we'll have to play along. I'm surrendering."
Instantly the robots attacking her fell back and a clear path opened up between Raven and the door of the warehouse. Raven paused in surprise, but collected herself and began striding purposefully toward the warehouse. Behind her, the robots again closed ranks to present a united front.
"Don't be stupid, Raven!" Cyborg warned, "We can still do this our way!"
"No we can't," she snapped back, "We're running out of time. Look, someone has to go. I think it should be me."
"You do, huh?" Beast Boy regained his human form and began pummeling robots with his fists, "What, we don't even get a vote? I think I should be the one to go!"
"Or me," Cyborg insisted, "It is my girlfriend in there."
"Yes, it is," Raven retorted impatiently, "Which is why I'm going. Consider it a gift."
"No one's going," Robin was stern. He had fought his way toward her and, while the robots held him back, was determined to catch her eye. "Raven, I want you to stay where you are."
Raven met his gaze and her voice softened, "I'm sorry, Richard. I don't want to argue, but I'm doing this." She had reached the entrance to the warehouse, the door now opened invitingly. Starfire had managed to shake off her attackers and had zoomed forward in time to meet her at the door. The red-head grasped her arm firmly, her green eyes flashing.
"No," Starfire said fiercely.
"Don't do it, Raven," Beast Boy's voice reached her, although the boy himself had disappeared under a horde of robots, "Don't let that freak get his hands on you!"
Raven smiled sadly and, as gently as possible, removed Starfire's hand from her arm just as a group of robots arrived to pull the alien girl back into the fray. "I think I can handle one crazy old man." She turned on her heel and resolutely stepped out of the sunlight and into the blackness of the building. The door clanged shut behind her and she was in total darkness.
It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the gloom of the warehouse interior. She could still sense her friend's cold anger as they battled the robots on the other side of the door. From somewhere above her wafted the bitter taste of fear, and only a few paces ahead of her Mad Mod himself stood full of triumphant glee.
"I'm here. You win," Raven said sourly, "Now tell your robots to leave my friends alone."
"Oh, no," Mad Mod chuckled mirthlessly, "I can't risk your friends trying to rescue you. Not to worry, love. I'll call them off when you and I have concluded our business together."
"I'm warning you. We had a deal."
"Yes we did, for the two girls upstairs. I never agreed to let your little teammates off the hook. I can't help that you lot are terrible at negotiation," he added blithely.
Raven snorted impatiently, "Fine. Just let the girls go so we can get on with this."
"Not quite, love. There'll be time for that when we're done. Now, don't worry. I have no use for your friends' little girlfriends; no reason to want them harmed. Rest assured I will release them once you have cooperated with me fully."
Raven folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. "I don't think so. I'll give you one last chance, and then I'm tearing this place apart."
Mad Mod sighed sadly, "I was afraid you'd say something like that. It would have been so much more pleasant if you had just cooperated." He crooked a finger toward the dark shadows surrounding Raven and instantly two robots materialized. Raven started, but allowed herself to be grasped by the arms. She could still escape if she needed to, there was no reason she couldn't find out more about Mad Mod's plan first.
"If you'd be so good as to follow me," Mad Mod said mockingly with an elaborate bow. Raven let herself be led to the other end of the warehouse and up a rickety flight of stairs; once at the top, the robots steered her down a long, badly lit corridor. Raven briefly noted that the feelings of fear were stronger here and coming from somewhere to the left. Bunny and Sarah were obviously nearby.
Mad Mod stopped at the end of the corridor at a closed door and pulled an iron key out of his pocket. He muttered to himself as he fumbled at the doorknob, then grunted with satisfaction when the lock clicked open.
"You, my dear, are about to experience the unique honor of being the first human being besides myself to view the finest invention I have ever created."
"I'm thrilled," she replied sarcastically.
"Odd," he leered at her, "if I were you I'd be terrified. Kids these days …" He pushed the door open with a creak and Raven's robotic escort shoved her through the doorway.
A glow near the door briefly caught her attention and Raven recognized a large collection of invisibility spheres on a table nearby. A larger sphere sat in a corner of the room and Raven suspected that its purpose had been to hide the warehouse from view. Her attention was diverted, however, by a tarp-covered contraption in the center of the room. Mad Mod made his way toward it and pulled the covering off with a flourish.
It was a gigantic machine, a mass of wires and gears and blinking lights that Raven couldn't hope to make sense of. It was apparently powered by the half-dozen generators that lined the back off the room and, most ominously, it featured a high-backed iron chair complete with arm and leg straps.
"You've got to be kidding."
"No indeed," Mad Mod grinned maniacally, "This little beauty is about to change my life." He fiddled with a lever, then stabbed impatiently at an array of buttons. Nothing happened and Mad Mod swore loudly. Raven took the opportunity to scan the room, hoping to form some sort of plan.
"I'll be with you in just a moment, love," Mad Mod muttered distractedly.
"No hurry," Raven responded dryly. "Tell me, why the robots? Was that the best you could come up with? Ruining our reputations?"
"A means to an end, lovey, a means to an end. I'd hoped your curiosity would make you agree to work with me. From there, it would have been an easy task to carry out my plans. But I didn't count on how bloody suspicious you lot are Then I decided to force you to cooperate with me, but you're all stronger than I had thought. Even after I made sure to split you up. Finally, I hit upon my current plan. I knew you'd have to come if your friends were in danger. And here you are! Caught like a butterfly in a net."
"You're a genius. But why do you want us?"
"Power, my dear. You have it, I want it. And now that you're in my possession, I'm going to take it."
"…Okay. So you're, what, planning on sucking it out of me?"
"Precisely, my dear you're catching on. Ah, here we go." He flipped a switch and the machine hummed to life. Instantly the air in the room thickened and Raven's next breath of air came only with effort. Mad Mod watched her calmly, greedily, and Raven deduced that the machine was affecting only her.
"Goody," Mod's voice broke through her increasingly hazy thoughts, "it seems to be working already. How extraordinary." He paused as if awaiting her reply, but when none came he added impatiently, "Aren't you going to ask me what it does?"
"Hadn't really … planned on it," Raven panted. It didn't matter, he was bound to tell her anyway.
"Obstinate girl, you wound me. But then I suppose that makes us even, doesn't it?"
Raven swayed dangerously and felt a quick stab of gratitude for her robot guardians that were allowing her to remain standing. She tried to concentrate, to summon enough power to disable the machine, but to her dismay she found herself unable to use her power at all.
"You must be wondering what's happening to you. I, myself, am not completely clear on the subject, but unless I'm much mistaken, your supernatural powers are being drained. In a moment you'll be strapped into the machine and the process will begin in earnest. Your power will be stripped from you and funneled into the machine where it will instantaneously be transferred to me and, via this transmitter, to my robots.
"The obvious side effect is that your powers will be lost to you, probably permanently. Regrettable, but at least you won't be dead, right? And I will finally command an army worthy of my greatness!"
Raven had her doubts that such a transfer could even succeed, but there was no denying that her powers were deserting her. If Mad Mod did manage to absorb her abilities, well, even in a worst case scenario he would be unable to use them effectively until he had gained some level of emotional control. The biggest danger would be the havoc he would wreak while the elusive powers went haywire. After that, though, when he finally did gain control … it didn't bear thinking about.
"You don't … want to do this. You … can't handle my powers."
"Yes, yes. Very dramatic. They're a horrible burden, I'm sure. But unlike yourself, I will take great pleasure in wielding such power. With what I take from you, I could hardly continue to be considered a second-rate scoundrel, I think. No more, 'Toddle along, Moddy, there's a good fellow.' Slade, Blood, Light … they'll stop underestimating me and I'll finally get the respect I deserve. And if those other blokes don't want me in their exclusive little 'club,' well then, I'll just destroy them."
"Fascinating," Raven grunted, "but I meant—"
"I would have preferred the red-headed one, I think. Blasting things right and left, and such a pretty little moppet. I would have made do with the green one, but I doubt his powers could be passed on to my robots. The other two would have been of no use to me, of course. But you … you shall do admirably."
Raven resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Starfire's powers, like her own, were controlled through emotions. Beast Boy's were the side effect of a bout with a childhood disease. Neither source was likely to be passed on to the army of robots. Mad Mod had gone to tremendous effort to craft a horribly flawed plan. She decided to let him discover that on his own.
"You've certainly done … your homework," she gasped, trying to sound admiring. It didn't suit her, but Mad Mod probably didn't know her well enough to realize that.
"I have, haven't I?" he smirked, preening. "But enough about me. This is your moment, lovey. Go ahead and have a seat." Mad Mod chuckled raucously as the robots prodded Raven forward. She stumbled and sank down to one knee, but the robots jerked her upright and half dragged, half carried her to the iron throne.
"This will only take a minute," Mad Mod chortled, "I'd like to tell you it won't hurt a bit, but I rather imagine that it will."
"You can't … handle them. My powers will … destroy—"
"So you've said. All very frightening, I'm sure." He strapped Raven down and taunted, "Now that you've got that off your chest, be a good girl and let Moddy have the source of your powers, will you?"
Raven was tired of trying to make him understand that he was in over his head. The source of her power had always been the demon half she had inherited from her father. Raven almost hoped that Mad Mod would succeed in tearing it from her. She wasn't sure she could survive if half of her self was torn away, but if she did, she would finally be free. Helpless, purposeless, but free.
But the demon didn't want to go.
She could feel it stirring within her, now. Raven struggled against it mightily for a moment, but only for a moment. She was too weak to protest, almost too weak to care. And when it came down to it she would always be her father's daughter.
A fiery heat was pumping through her veins, the blood rushing in her ears muffled the whirr of the machine. A terrible shriek echoed through the room and Raven realized that the unfamiliar voice was issuing from her own throat. The sinew in her arms tensed and hardened with strength she didn't know she possessed and she felt the leather straps that bound her creak and pop.
The beast was awake now, rampaging through her mind. Vaguely she heard Mod yell with surprise and fright, but neither her human nor her demon half spared him more than a passing thought. What little control Raven had left was slipping away. Every base instinct she had ever despised was coursing through her now, and she would have screamed with frustrated fury if her vocal chords had been her own to control.
The demon was vying for control of her mind, now. If she was going to save herself, it would have to be now. Finding her center should be nearly impossible amongst all the chaos, but she had had years of practice. She would try to remember to thank Beast Boy for that later. If there was a later. With the ease of water slipping over a gentle waterfall, Raven entered a deep trance. Her body was no longer her own, but she could preserve her mind. For now, she was still a prisoner, all she could do was wait.
Let the demon take care of Mad Mod and his machine. Then she would take care of the demon.
Mad Mod was gone. She could sense it even before she opened her eyes. Unless her empathetic skills had been taken as well …
No. She could still feel Sarah and Bunny's terror from somewhere in the building. She could also feel a sizable lump forming over her eyebrow.
Raven peered cautiously through her eyelashes. Satisfied that she was alone in the room she opened her eyes fully, then gasped in shock. She should have left them closed.
The room was in shambles. The iron chair Raven had been tied to was in a crumpled heap in a far corner, the six generators were smashed and crushed beyond recognition. Raven herself was lying in the middle of an enormous pile of glass and scrap metal, all that was left of Mad Mod's machine.
What had she done?
Raven raised a trembling hand to her face and felt her forehead gingerly. She definitely had one hell of a lump, but only the usual number of eyes. She didn't feel particularly demonic right now, but it was always best to be certain. She could only remember faintly, as if it were a dream, how her demonic side had prevented its own destruction. And then she had struggled heroically to subdue it until it had sunk back into the depths of her soul once again.
"Thanks, Dad," Raven muttered bemusedly, "I guess I owe you one."
The sound of her own voice made her head throb painfully and she shut her eyes tightly once more. She wondered how the others were faring against the robots and she remembered her own escort. A visual sweep of the room revealed what was left of them, a heap of severed limbs piled near the door.
Raven slowly climbed to her feet and swayed unsteadily, waiting for the pounding in her head to subside. When her headache had become bearable she took a deep breath, pulled her hood up over her hair, and began to concentrate. She tried to convince herself that she was expecting the worst.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
Again and again she chanted her mantra. When she felt sufficiently calm she focused her eyes and her mind on a mangled table leg lying nearby. Her hands flickered black, but were quickly extinguished. The scrap of wood didn't move.
But her hands had flickered.
Her power wasn't completely gone, then; she had feared it might have been extinguished during the internal struggle. Perhaps with a little rest she would regain what she had lost, but judging by the current lack of response, it wouldn't be any time soon.
Until then, she was all but helpless and Bunny and Sarah still needed to be rescued. She would just have to rely on her wits, then. She could do that, Robin did it all the time. A faint light near her feet caught her eye and Raven looked down. At least one of the tiny orbs had escaped the destruction and was glowing steadily in the debris at her feet. Stooping down she picked it up and eyed it speculatively.
Make that her wits and the power of invisibility. She could work with that.
Raven hurried down the corridor, pausing briefly at each door she passed. The third door on the right was ajar and from behind it she heard a heavy thump, followed by a vicious crack. Raven eased the door open slowly until it was wide enough for her to slide through. She stood just inside the door, the orb still clenched tightly in her hand, and tried to make sense of the scene in front of her.
Two robots, the spitting images of Beast Boy and Cyborg, circled each other in the center of the room. Beast Boy was missing an arm and one entire half of Cyborg's head had caved in. The robots took turns lashing out at each other, their fists connecting with sickening metallic shrieks. Around them lay the crumpled remains of several more robots.
Raven's eyes flicked to a dim corner of the room where two girls crouched, silently huddled together. Bunny kept her eyes fixed firmly on the robots while Sarah worked feverishly to untie the cords that still bound their feet. Raven took a step toward them just as the mangled Cyborg finished off the Beast Boy-bot. The surviving robot's eyes slowly swept the room and came to rest on the two frightened girls. It staggered toward them and the girls shrank back against the wall.
"Stop!" Raven shouted, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't be heard. Purely out of habit, she desperately fumbled for some remnant of power, but was met with the same emptiness. She glanced around quickly and her eyes settled on a sturdy looking leg, presumably made in her own likeness. It would have to do; she would settle this the hard way.
She transferred the orb to her left hand and snatched up the robot leg in her right. She leapt forward and swung the limb in an arc with all the strength she could muster. It collided with the side of Cyborg's head and rebounded sharply sending a shuddering jolt up Raven's arm. The robot halted and swiveled its head in search of its unseen assailant. Sarah gasped and grabbed Bunny's arm tightly as the robot returned its attention to them once again, but Raven swung again and managed to knock the robot to the side. While it was still reeling she hit it once more and it crashed to the ground. Dropping the orb to the ground, Raven grasped her weapon in both hands and pummeled the robot's badly damaged head. With a resounding crunch robot head parted from robot shoulders and rolled to a rest against Raven's foot.
Panting, Raven turned around and met Sarah's terrified gaze. "Don't …don't hurt us," Sarah whispered, nudging Bunny further behind her.
Raven pushed her hood back and shook her head, "How about if I get us out of here, instead?"
"Raven," Sarah sighed in relief, "I'm so glad to see you. You have no idea how tired I am of robots."
"I might have an inkling," Raven replied, smiling faintly. Sarah grinned and took the shard of metal Raven offered her. While the girls worked to cut the ropes around their ankles, Sarah told Raven what had happened.
"Yesterday I got a knock on the door. I thought it was Vic at first and by the time I realized it wasn't I had already been thumped on the head. I woke up here, tied to a chair next to Bunny, and surrounded by about twenty robots."
"It was awful," Bunny shuddered, "They didn't say anything, they'd just look at you without really seeing you. It was like something out of a horror movie."
"So anyway, nothing really happened for … well, for hours probably. Then we heard the most horrible noises coming from down the hall. The next thing we knew the robots started rushing around, bumping into walls. Bumping into each other. One of them stepped on Bunny, she thinks her ankle might be broken."
"It's only sprained," Raven decided after examining it more closely. She looked Bunny in the eye and added kindly, "I'd heal it for you, but … I don't think I can manage it right now."
Bunny nodded and Sarah continued where she'd left off. "The worst part was when the robots would crash into each other. They'd start tearing into each other, ripping each other apart. For a while it was this huge free for all, at the end there was only one left. That's about when you came in, I'd say."
Raven nodded slowly, thoughtfully. She wondered if the erratic behavior was a natural result of the destruction of the machine, or if her demonic side had sent out a self-destruct signal to the robots before it had subsided. She'd probably never know, and truthfully she didn't really want to.
"We need to get out of here. The rest of the Titans are waiting for us outside. Can you walk?"
Bunny bit her lip and tentatively tried to stand. Her ankle wobbled unsteadily and she whimpered quietly. "Here, don't stand on it," Sarah murmured. "Raven and I will help you walk."
Raven drew one of Bunny's arms over her shoulder while Sarah took the other side. Raven carefully picked through the debris and slowly the three girls made for the exit.