It's me again, back for another addition to the story of BARCODE! Some of you asked what the word "Huzzah" is for. So, I'm going to answer you guys now. Tee hee! "Huzzah" is an old British word, hardly ever used anymore. It's usually used as a repeated cry of victory after a battle. Thusly do I use it at the end of my chapters. It can also be used as a replacement for the word "Hooray." So, there you have it. I've explained! Now that that's all sorted out, we can go on with the story! I don't own Teen Titans!

If you don't enjoy reading battles (because I know how horrible some of the writers on this site do at them)…. Then there's really no reason for you to read this part. But, please read it just so you guys can see how well I've been trying to improve with my exclamation point fetish! …Please? I'LL BATTER YOU WITH THEM IF YOU DON'T! SO THERE! …… read on, and have a nice day. (smile)

BARCODE

Part 19: Hero

Beast Boy gagged, his legs flapping about. The monster B-001 licked his lips with pleasure as he squeezed harder than before. The pieces of furniture that had been thrown everywhere suddenly turned black, and the green teen became an insect just in time. Raven's powers hurtled debris in the monster's direction and he crossed his arms. They battered against him and he sharply thrust his arms outward.

They all took a moment to survey their enemy. It was, in fact, the man they'd seen so many times before. He was shirtless, which showed off freakishly large muscles. His abs stuck out far enough that you could trace them with a marker, and his pectorals rippled when he moved. His hair was in wild disarray hanging about his face, making him look wild and crazy. And, he certainly was ready to play the part. B-001 had invaded Titans Tower in a head-on assault!

Cyborg's sonic cannon and Robin's exploding disks slammed into the creature from separate angles, but he merely turtled until they were done. Beast Boy reformed as a gorilla and charged head-on. B-001 and B-407. Garfield and Garfield. Beast Boy and… the Beast. The green teen's animal form was powerful, but the rippling muscles of his opponent overpowered him. Thrown off balance, Beast Boy received a quick kick in the gut.

Beast Boy reverted back to human form, skidding on his side until he stopped at Raven's feet. She quickly knelt to steady him, and all four titans gathered in stance. "Titans, go!" Robin roared, drawing his bow-staff. Raven took to the skies as all three boys charged head-on. A green cheetah, a sonic cannon, and a bowstaff rushed forward to meet their enemy. B-001 grabbed Robin's bowstaff and snapped it, throwing him to one side. In a spinning turnbuckle move that didn't even make him change direction, he threw the cheetah over his shoulder and out the window. Dodging a sonic cannon blast, he glanced over as a green hawk dove back into the room.

Raven saw her chance in the pause of battle, and attacked! Bolts of black energy played across her entire body. That bastard would pay for locking her up like a common criminal. Black claws raced from every direction to tear him to pieces. So what if Robin said they had to take all criminals to jail? This was personal. Garfield looked up and saw her coming as blasts of black energy lanced through the air. He leaned backward, rolled and then dodged to one side. Missed! Grabbing a piece of debris her hurled it at her. Raven's face contorted with effort and it stopped right before hit her. She threw it back ten times faster, and he punched it to pieces.

The boys had quickly recovered, and they pressed in on him with projectiles and full-on teamwork. But every bit of it was either blocked or did no damage. After Robin had thrown the last of his exploding disks and pellets, there was a suddenly halt in battle. The smoke quickly cleared since all the windows were now 'open.' He stood there, barely even scratched. All four Titans were breathing hard, having gathered together for safety in numbers.

"You're probably wondering why you're not doing any damage, right?" Garfield spoke, brushing some dust off his shoulder. The Titans tensed as he began taking steps forward. "Its because I'm designed not to!" He laughed, striking his chest with a fist. "I'm a tank!" He shouted. The Titans were stepping back for every step that he took.

Raven gestured hard with her powers the kitchen table slammed into him! He flew out the window he'd come in and way down into the bay with a splash. "C'mon!" Robin gestured. Beast Boy became a pterodactyl and grabbed Cyborg's shoulders. Carting him out through the window, they were followed shortly by Raven and Robin. Raven held Robin's wrists until they were low enough, then dropped him.

A figure stood knee-deep in the water, dripping and still grinning from under his eyebrows. "He's out of our house, now let's take him down!" Cyborg ran straight for him as soon as Beast Boy dropped him, causing massive splashes in the water as he went. Drawing up an enormous metal fist, he struck his opponent dead in the stomach!

The force of the blow made water rush away, and Garfield took one step back to keep his balance. But again, no damage. Off balance because of his strike, the fear rose in Cyborg's eyes as his enemy struck back. B-001 bitch-slapping him aside, everyone saw Cyborg slam into the tower itself. The entire thing shuddered on its foundations, and cracks spread like a spider's web. The metal man fell with a grunt, shocked for the moment.

Raven took the opportunity and went full-auto with bolts of black magic! Her eyes glowed white with effort and the column of water the explosion made was breathtaking. She hovered in midair, breathing hard, her hands still extended. If he came out of that, she could still keep-!

BEHIND HER!

She whirled about but was too late. B-001 grabbed her around the middle and squeezed hard. She cried out in pain as they began falling. A green rhino slammed into them before they hit the ground and Raven was pile-driven into the rocks under the shallow water. The goth girl was thrown free as her cloak ripped right down the middle. Robin rushed forward to busy their enemy while she recovered, and Beast Boy ran to her side. "I'm fine." She said, holding her head for a moment. The green teen became a stallion, nickering at her. Raven saddled up and encased her hand in magic. A frozen blast of magic formed there and she held out like a lance. "GO!" She commanded, squeezing his sides with her ankles. (She tried not the think about the fact that she was straddling the boy who'd kissed her only a few weeks ago…)

Rearing only briefly, Beast Boy charged forward with Raven in tow. Water splashed rapidly with his hoof beats, and they spotted Robin trying to fight B-001. He was too fast and skinny for the enemy to catch, but he wasn't doing any damage either. His rapid punching and kicking attacks were distracting, but not painful. Raven let out a passionate cry of battle, and rocks tore themselves from the ground under the shallow water. Robin heard her coming and leapt away. Like a freakish DragonBall Z earthquake, rocks kept flying upward as the mighty steed charged onward the last few feet –

The explosion was deafening. Both warrior and steed were pitched away and Robin hid under his titanium cape. Water rushed away, then back as quickly as it had come. Smoke and ash and steam was thick. Beast Boy and Raven stood, poised for more. They were starting to wear down, but surely…

There was a shadow amongst the smoke, and there was a sudden rush of wind. It revealed their enemy, with a bright red spot on his chest, as though a bee had stung him. "Not bad." B-001 said. "I wouldn't mind seeing that rather dramatic attack aga –!"

Rocks fell from the sky at Raven's command!

Virtually buried under thousands of pounds, B-001 must've been overwhelmed. Raven made a sharp crushing motion with her hands, the very same one that had destroyed the underground base. The rocks crunched together with a massive grinding of stone. Bits and pieces of sand and rock fell… and there was silence. Raven slowly let her hands down, breathing a sigh of relief.

Cyborg returned to the scene during the silence, looking shocked. "Damn…" he murmured, looking at what had happened.

"Damn Raven!" Beast Boy chirped. Raven glared at Cyborg, a comical vein appearing on her forhead. They'd all sworn not to curse in front of Beast Boy, so he wouldn't learn anything bad until he was ready for it. Cyborg sweat-dropped, a little red in the face.

Robin smiled helplessly. His team was turning out okay, so it seemed. They were a rag-tag group so far, but hey… everyone took some getting used to. He heaved a sigh, looking at the sphere of compressed rock. It would take forever to dig the body out, or whatever was left of it. Raven had spared no expense to save his life when capturing him. A giant crack made itself known, and they all froze. "No…" Robin whispered.

Cracks lanced across the ball of rock, and it suddenly collapsed into pieces. There stood their enemy, looking very pissed. "I wasn't done speaking." He snapped, surveying them all. They stared at him with looks of shock and disbelief. "Why the looks? Every tank has a powerful weapon!" His whole left arm suddenly became an organic cannon!

"What the –!" It was Robin's turn to curse as it was leveled in his direction. At such close range he had no choice but to dodge. A dazzling beam of red blasted forth, racing out across the water towards the city. "NO!" Robin cried, watching it go. By pure chance it hit an abandoned warehouse on the pier. The elderly building blasted apart and sank in mere moments, while his arm became a rather large hand again.

All the titans stared in shock. "Surely you've heard of nano-technology?" B-001 was greeted with silence. "I tested it out on myself, with fantastic results. That's why I became the first number. The little robots in my blood and flesh rearrange my organic make-up to turn my body into a living weapon!" He laughed like the evil genius that he was.

"So there's more than four hundred of you?" Cyborg shouted angrily. He was, of course, referring to the 'B-407' on Beast Boy's hands. There was a long distance between one and four-hundred and seven.

"No, actually. I'm the only one that used nanites. All the others were made for animal transformations. I couldn't rule over hundreds of others just as strong as me, you know." B-001 gestured with his eyes to Beast Boy's hands. The green teen held them up for all to see somewhat obediently. The barcode on one hand, and the number B-407 on the other. "The first hundred or so rejected the gene-swapping process." He grinned at them from under his eyebrows. "Their bodies couldn't handle it, so they were disposed of." Beast Boy flinched visibly. "So, we sought out physically stronger DNA." He pointed towards the sun. "In Japan, DNA surgery is starting to become a little easier, so strings of the stuff weren't hard to get." He shrugged rather comically. "The next hundred or so would take shape in the fetus form, but grow animal appendages." B-001 pointed at Raven and she braced as though he were about to attack her. "Can you imagine yourself with five or six big, hairy spider legs? Another hundred or so test subjects down the drain." It was Raven turn to flinch, and Robin's turn to go pale. He wasn't exactly fond of spiders… "The next hundred or so only had limited abilities. They could change into any animal they wanted, but always got stuck in that form. They were also disposed of."

"You sick, twisted –!" Robin began.

"The last hundred, from B-301 to B-400, were the most interesting." He grinned evilly. "They could take shape any way they wanted, and for a awhile everything was good. Their varying levels of ability were phenomenal. But… there was a problem." He bent and picked up a chunk of rock in his fist. "Their thoughts were taken over by whatever animal they became… and their minds turned to dust." He crushed the rock as Beast Boy looked on in silent horror. How could he do such a thing? "Lastly came the four hundreds. B-401 through B-405 suffered the same things their predecessors did. Madness." He ground the little pieces into a fine dust, and tipped them into the water. "But, B-406 onward… were perfect. All three of them."

"Three?" Robin demanded. "There was only Beast Boy and that other girl! Who else is there?" He roared.

B-001 shook his finger at the boy wonder, who only glowered back angrily. "Now, that would be telling. I spent all this few minutes lecturing, and you only bombard me with more questions." The madness grew in his eyes. "How UNGRATEFUL!" He pounded the ground at his feet and the water rushed away. Rocks split and jutted upward in a path straight for him and Robin was pitched upward with a cry. The battle was on again.

Beast Boy became a ram as Raven hurled more rocks. Cyborg got a few shots in, but none of it was doing any good! His skin was simply too tough. On their next regrouping it was Cyborg that spoke. "Those nanites must be making his skin tough right as we're about to hit him! He's indestructable!"

"What about that cannon of his?" Robin said softly so he wouldn't hear. "If you could get a shot in there, could you fry those nanites?" Cyborg looked shocked for a moment, and actually nodded. "It's not a good plan, but it's the only one we got. I'm counting on yo –!" spittle flew from the boy wonder's mouth as a powerful uppercut slammed into his gut. He cried out as he flew, clutching at his stomach.

The titans scattered, beating and beating and beating on their opponent. None of it was hurting him enough. His skin was like armor. Her really was a tank! Complete with a red cannon, no less… Beast Boy grappled with him shortly, and glared directly into the face of his enemy. When he was thrown lightly back, he turned human and actually spoke. "What does the B stand for?"

There was a long silence of shocked looks. That was the longest sentence he'd ever spoken. "Its just a weapons grade. The only A-type weapons in the world are nuclear warheads." His enemy actually paused to answer. "But, I suppose it could stand for BEAST!" he slammed the young man aside and he let out a yelp that sounded like a wounded dog.

Giant, black claws wrapped around B-001's waist, and he grinned down at them. Raven knew they would do no good. But, she had try and make him mad so he would try to use that beam-cannon again. Only then would he be vulnerable. Cyborg rushed forward while he was caught and used his face as a brutal punching bag. The onslaught finally drew blood and he broke free with a roar. Cyborg was grabbed, turned and thrown straight into Robin. They landed with a crash, and there was a five-way stand off again. Raven was still in the air, glaring down at him. "I grow tired of this." He said, his palm splitting open. His fingers melted away, and veins protruded outward. His organic, red beam cannon came into view. e turned and pointed it at Jump City. And Beast Boy. If he moved, the city would be blown away. There was no telling how much damage it would do if a building were hit. The green teen, back in his human form, stayed rooted to the spot. Staring at his enemy. If he moved, his new home was toast. If he didn't, he would die. The ultimate choice was right in front of him. Red sparkles seemed to gather in slow motion as the beam charged to fire. Robin and Cyborg were too far away, and cried out in desperation.

Raven dove out of the sky, grabbed B-001 by the hair and jerk sharply!

"Raaargh!" He roared, his cannon jutting upward in pain. His beam of red death lanced into the sky and out into space. Raven turned in midair, barrel rolling and landing near Beast Boy. Out of breath she stood poised for battle as B-001 swore fluently. So, this tank could be hurt after all. Even if it was something as cheesy as pulling his hair. "I'll make you pay fo–!"

There was an explosion in the sky. He'd actually hit something!

A falling object caught everyone's attention, a falling ball of fire and machinery. The Titans scattered as quickly as they could while the shadow grew at B-001's feet. He let out a roar of rage and disbelief, raising his mighty arms to meet the threat. Of all things a spaceship crushed him into the ground, smashing rock and parting water. The deafening sound was accompanied by the massive wave of water.

The titans were thrown out into the deeper part of the bay, emerging one at a time to the water's surface. The wave rush past them, hitting Raven in the face and making her angry. "This is getting really old." She mumbled, glaring at the crash-site. She created a giant disk about ten feet down, and rose it to the surface. It carried all of her friends and herself out of the water. Then, it started floating towards the crashed ship. They landed and the platform vanished. They were once again in the knee-deep water, staring at the freakish accident they'd caused.

The hatch of the broken ship hissed open, a blinding light emerging so that no one could see. "I think you better apologize, Raven." Cyborg said sheepishly. She glared at him, but quickly looked when a figure emerged.

It walked slowly down the ramp, squinting in the sun. Looking at its broken ship, the titans, and all of its surroundings... then, it spoke. "Oh, I am thrilled to have crashed here! This planet is simply wonderous to behold!" She tossed her long red hair gaily, looking around as though she hadn't a care in the world. She suddenly spotted Raven and took both of her hands in a flash, smiling broadly. "Hullo! I am Starfire! Please, who are you where did you come from how did you get here what is your favorite color and do you wish to be my friend?" All three boys fell down anime style.

"Uhhh…" Raven tried to process all that, quirking an eyebrow.

Everybody's been wanting Starfire, so here she is! YAY! And… snrk….snrk…. SHE SQUISHED B-001 WITH HER SHIP! (Not dead, just squished…) AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's freaking hilarious! I guess Starfire's our latest Titan, yes? Coolness! Next time on BARCODE, it's "End!" Its almost over, folks!