"This is the place," Breen said as the elevator doors opened, revealing the crimson-covered room and the inactive portal sitting there idling. "You can investigate the area for yourselves; I have to go upstairs and finish some paperwork."
Breen exited the room via the elevator, leaving the Titans in the haunting, blood-soaked room that resembled an abattoir. Beast Boy was the first to speak after a few seconds of silence. "This reminds me of a video game I once played," Beast Boy said.
"Everything reminds you of a video game, Beast Boy," Raven said dispassionately.
Beast Boy disdainfully sulked in a corner while Robin said, "Let's look around and see what we can find."
While Beast Boy was pretending to look around, something wet fell onto his head. He put his hand on top of his head to feel what his him; he felt saliva. "Cyborg!" he exclaimed, "Now's not the time for spit wads."
"That wasn't me," Cyborg said, "It's those video games that have warped your already twisted mind."
Beast Boy glared at him and turned around when more saliva his head. "Alright, Cyborg, if you don't stop it I'll…" Beast Boy heard a heavy breathing above him. With a slight look of horror on his face, he dared himself to look up. When he did, his slight look of horror turned into a look of terror; he tried to scream, but nothing came out.
What's up BB?" Cyborg asked. "Did my comments finally get to you?" Beast Boy pointed up and Cyborg looked to where Beast Boy was pointing to; he too received a look of terror on his face. "Um, Robin…"
"What is it?"
"We might have a problem," Cyborg said as he pointed up. The others saw what he saw and it put a look on their faces as well; except Raven's who seemed awed by what she saw. Above Beast Boy was a large being a bit more than six feet tall; it resembled a lizard but it had no tail and it had many eyes. The creature jumped down behind Beast Boy and shrieked.
"Should we be starting the running now?" Starfire asked.
"Let's show him that he shouldn't mess with us," Robin said and the Titans faced off against the being. It spawned a fireball and threw it at them. Raven stopped it and threw it back at it; the being dodged it and shrieked again.
"Uh-oh," Cyborg said sarcastically, "I think you made it mad, Raven." Cyborg used his sonic cannon, fired it at the being and destroyed it; the being burned up into a pile of ashes. "Booyeah!" Cyborg exclaimed, but as he did, another one of those beings spawned behind him and knocked him down. "Where did that come from?"
"Don't know," Robin replied, "but we'll take it down anyway." Just then, three more of those same beings spawned right behind it. They brought up more fireballs and threw them at the Titans. They knew that they faced much worse threats, dodged them and took them down; two more spawned near the portal.
"Bring it on," Beast Boy said, "we can take you." As he said this, two giant beings crashed through the walls into the room; Beast Boy shrieked in terror.
"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Raven said. The two beings summoned more of the previous beings into the room, plus a new type of being; two beings that had two heads each sprinted towards the Titans.
"At least there can't be any more," Beast Boy said. Now two entirely different beings spawned into the room. They looked like skeletons with a transparent skin over them and two rocket launchers mounted to their shoulders. Beast Boy, regretting his words, said, "I'll just shut up now."
Starfire took care of the rocket launchers with her star bolts and Beast Boy took care of the skeleton beings by transforming into a Stegosaurus and taking them, along with a few of the multi-ocular beings, out. Cyborg took out the two headed creatures while Raven and Robin took out the giants. After the dust settled (the crimson-covered dust that is) Starfire cheered and said, "We are victorious."
"Yeah, but what were those things anyway?" Cyborg asked.
"I might know why," Raven said, examining the remains of one of the beings, "It's because those things were…" A spark of light flashed around her head; her pupils narrowed and she fell to the ground.
"Raven!" Robin shouted. Behind where Raven stood was a soldier wearing a navy blue jumpsuit, a black bulletproof vest, and a black gasmask with blue eyelets.
"Don't move," the soldier said in a gasmask muffled voice. "By the Combine authority, you are all under arrest."
"Oh yeah, you and what army?" Beast Boy arrogantly said. Behind the soldier were more like him but they were carrying OSI pulse rifles. Beast Boy weakly said, "Not again."
The soldiers and the Titans started their attacks, but the soldiers were quicker than the Titans and took them out with their pulse rifles. Before Robin passed out, he heard one of the soldiers say something in the radio:
"Area's secure, sir…The interlopers have been taken care of; we may begin the extraction…Don't' worry, sir; the problem has been handled."
Raven was the first to awaken; she looked around to view her surroundings and found out that she was all alone in the office room. She tried to move but she couldn't; she also found that her field of vision was restricted as well. She looked down to see herself trapped in an iron maiden.
"Feeling comfortable?" A familiar voice asked as her iron maiden turned around to the source of the voice. In front of her was Doctor Breen along with two guards clad in white jumpsuits and helmets with one red ocular sensor in the middle carrying OSI pulse rifles.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Well you figured it out, didn't you?" he said. "The Imps, Maggots, Revenants, and even a couple of Hellknights: they were all demons; not that that matters. By the time anyone finds out, the Combine will have cleaned up this mess, we'll have the portal, and we'll bring about the end of man. A literal Hell on Earth where demons will rule; even half-demons like you and me.
"Don't look so surprised," he said noticing the shocked look on Raven's face. "I know everything about your father. He was the one who first gave me the concept for a portal to Hell. I convinced some scientists to create a 'dimensional rift' to 'communicate with extraterrestrials'.
"I rigged the portal to open up in Hell with nobody being the wiser. Sure things got out of hand, but that's the price for domination. That's also why I have the Combine: to clean up these messes and keep them under wraps. They even have the power to do so."
"So, you want me to help you usher in this 'new reign'?" Raven asked.
"I'm not asking you to help me, I'm asking you to join me, dear girl."
"You can take that offer and shove it up your…"
"…as I was about to say, there is something you should know, before you make your final decision. I have your friends on the operating table, ready to have their higher brain functions severed and turned into Stalkers. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
Raven stayed silent.
"I'll ask you once more: will you join me?"
She opened up her mouth as if to say something, but she spat on him. The Combine Elites pointed their OSI pulse rifles at her; Breen stopped them.
"I'm sorry that you had to choose this. Your friends will make great editions to the Stalker family," he said as he walked away. He paused, turned around, and said, "Oh, and by the way: don't bother trying to get out. The device you're in is designed to restrain your powers."
"Someone will rescue me," Raven said.
"Who? The only person who could possibly save you is Adam West, and he's insane and incompetent for his own good," Breen said as he walked off; the Elites followed. His last words to her in that office before he closed the door were, "Goodbye, sister."