Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans
I'm glad for the reviews that I'm getting, few as they may be, but they're there.
" " - speech
' ' - thought
( ) author's notes
- dreamscape
- telepathy
The Titan
Chapter 4
Cowritten by Nate and Felicia
Mammoth stooped slightly to pick up the crate, wedging his fingers beneath it. With an almighty heave, he lifted it, placing it on his shoulders, making him look like a Bizzarro version of Atlas (not the robot, the titan forced to hold up the Earth or sky, depends on who you read). He grunted as he moved for the door, stopping when he saw a silhouette in the door, and groaned when he heard the usual battle cry.
"TITANS, GO!" Robin yelled, then leapt into action.
"Not again," the gargantuan teen sighed, before throwing the box at the boy wonder.
Only to have it grabbed by a dark energy, and cast aside. Raven phased through the floor and got into a ready stance. Cyborg entered through another entrance, cracking his knuckles and neck (I'm not sure how he can crack his knuckles, does he have knuckles?).
"Hey, where are the others?" Robin said looking around for Jinx and Gizmo. 'It's not like Mammoth to work alone.'
Casting the thought aside, he attacked, charging for Mammoth, but got hit by a pink, blade-like hex, cast by Jinx herself. Stepping from the shadows in the corner, she proceeded to throw her hexes everywhere.
"Mammoth, grab the crate and let's go," she yelled over.
"Don't think so," Cyborg leveled his sonic cannon on Mammoth, but felt a slight weight on his back.
"Hey fart-sniffer," came the annoying nasal voice of the group tech expert. "Time to fry!"
He placed a small box on Cyborg's back, but the required reaction to it never came. The man/bot reached over his shoulder and grabbed the child genius, pulling him off. He tsk'd at him a few times before throwing him like a football. Gizmo, however, was ready, and soon had a pair of wings with which to fly with. Those didn't last long as a green starbolt stuck, destroying one, and sending him to the floor. What's the saying, ah yes, down but not out, four long, spider-like legs erupted from the backpack, lifting him.
Raven was being pushed back, her shields constantly getting destroyed by Jinx's hexes; at such close range, they were quite devastating. She was soon forced to fall onto her back, and quickly phased back into the floor. She came up behind the hexmistress and grabbed her arm, pulling it behind her back, and pushing it up between her shoulder blades. Jinx screamed slightly in pain at the harsh, restricting movement.
"Got you now," Raven allowed a small smile on her lips.
"Raven, look out!" she heard Robin yell, before she was hit by a large crate, thrown by Mammoth.
"Agh!" she was forced against the far wall by the inertia.
"Hmph," Jinx was soon powering an extra large hex for her, when she felt a sudden pain in her lower back.
Beast Boy had charged her in the form of a ram, knocking her to the floor, and causing the hex to dissipate. He changed back and was almost instantly at Raven's side, checking her for any injuries. Luckily she was just unconscious, with no serious injuries.
"Hey, Robin, think this is a diversion?" Cyborg yelled from where he was holding two of Gizmo's legs.
"Possibly, it might explain why Sunfire and Terra aren't here," he replied as he threw a bolo at Mammoth's legs.
The restraining device wrapped perfectly around the genetically enhanced human's ankles, and tore with ease as he took a step.
Sunfire and Terra stood side-by-side, looking up at the monster known as Plasmus. Sunfire looked the creature up, then down, then at his hands, then back at the pile of moving goop. Oh how he wanted to just lay down some smack on that thing, but knew he had to hold back, for his sake, and the Titan next to him.
"Terra, I've got an idea," he said quietly, not wanting to alert the villain to their presence just yet.
"What is it?"
"Lift the road around him, trap him in a sphere, and leave no holes for him to ooze from."
"Got it," she thrust he hands out, eyes glowing, and lifted a large portion of the street. "AAAAHHHHHH!"
It seemed to be working, Plasmus looked around with a dumb look on his face, trying to find the source of the interruption. He saw the two standing about twenty feet away, and instantly threw one of his arms at them. The appendage stretched longer, and longer, covering the distance between him and them almost effortlessly. But, it was all for not, as it hit Sunfire's shield, the shock traveling back up the arm, disintegrating it.
Plasmus screeched in pain, and frustration as the road closed around him, sealing him in. The edges were then melted, the liquid tar running together to make it impregnable. Sunfire let out a small sigh as the sphere was lowered to the ground, the sounds of Plasmus trying to escape could be heard within. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the prison.
"Sleep now, it's okay, sleep forever," he whispered, and the noises within changed from pounding, to snoring. "Excellent work, Terra."
"Hehe, thanks," she scratched the back of her head.
"Now, let's get him back to prison," he kept his hand where it was, and the sphere vanished, obviously reappearing in the prison courtyard. "We should find the others."
"Right."
"HIVE, move out," Jinx yelled and ran through the open door.
"So long booger brains," Gizmo quipped as he followed her.
Mammoth? Well, Mammoth didn't say anything, he just ran through the door, taking out a small head-shaped piece from the top. They soon disappeared from sight, most likely heading back to base.
"Are we just gonna let them get away?" Beast Boy asked.
"Oh, they won't get far," Robin smirked as he held up his communicator, showing a tracking screen.
"Nice."
"Friends, please, we must return Raven to the tower, she is not fairing well," Starfire said from over by Raven.
The sorceress was, indeed, not looking well, she had a trail of blood running down her face. The alien had her arm under Raven's shoulders, while one of the magus' arms was thrown over her own, for better support. A look of worry was plastered on Starfire's face, as she watched the blood drip from Raven's chin to the floor, forming a small puddle.
"What did we miss?" Sunfire asked as he ran through the door, Terra is hot pursuit.
"Just an attack by the HIVE," Robin shrugged then got angry. "WHERE WERE YOU TWO?!"
"Taking care of Plasmus," Sunfire said calmly. "You're welcome."
Robin, who had been ready to give Sunfire another lecture, dropped his arms in defeat and turned back to Raven. She was beginning to moan, and he had a feeling it was Starfire's attempts to wake her up by shaking her. The next instant, Starfire was thrown back against the wall.
"Don't touch me," Raven said with a hint of darkness in her voice.
"Raven, you are hurt, you need medical assistance," Starfire came back with a jumble of worried thoughts put into sentences.
"She can heal herself," Sunfire turned and began to move towards the door. "So get to it and let's go."
Raven was taken aback by that, and calmed down immensely. He knew, how did he know she could heal herself or others? Unless...he had been chipping away at those memories of hers inside his head. It was possible, but she didn't like that thought; if he got too far, he'd come across some things she didn't want anyone to see.
A week had passed since Terra's homecoming, and things had gotten pretty much back to normal. Sunfire had kept his word, and hadn't killed anyone, though he had come close with the Great Mumbo (I think that was his name). The little magician had been working his last nerve with all those stupid parlor tricks. Now there was the HIVE to contend with, he had read their files in the computer, they didn't seem like that much of a threat.
"Now that we know where the HIVE base is, should we go in and bust up the place?" Beast Boy asked.
They were all gathered around the large viewing screen, which was showing a map. It had two symbols on it, one was a 'T,' symbolizing their position, the other was an 'H,' symbolizing the HIVE postition.
"No, this is going to take some finesse," Robin said from his spot in the center. "This is the closest we've come to the HIVE."
"So you want someone to infiltrate it?" Sunfire asked from the right of the screen.
"Oh yeah, I'm the man for the job," Beast Boy jumped up.
"Yeah, a green kid, they'll never know it's you," Raven droned in her sarcastic monotone. "We need someone a bit more 'normal.'"
"I must agree with Raven, she has a point," Starfire said from here position behind Raven. "You would stand out to much."
"What do you think, Cyborg?" Robin asked the metal man, who, until now, had just been standing there.
It was about that time is head popped off, and the body fell over. Everyone jumped back slightly, looking down at the seemingly broken Cyborg.
"Oops, guess it needs some tweaking," they turned and saw Cyborg enter the room, holding a game controller. "How do you like my replacement?"
"It's...uh...nice?" Terra asked tentatively. "What's it for?"
They all looked at her, except for Sunfire, who was behind her, and was still concentrating on the robot. A collective sigh was released, and Robin spoke up.
"It's so that anyone watching us will think that Cyborg is still here, while he's infiltrating the HIVE."
"How's he gonna get in, if you haven't noticed, he's half metal," Beast Boy said, gesturing to the robotic components of Cyborg'g body.
Cyborg pushed the changeling off him and then braced his feet against the floor, slamming two rings on his middle fingers together. The change was instantaneous, a layer of skin appeared on his body, and clothes formed as well. He stood and smiled down at everyone.
"Cy-man, what just happened?"
"Glorious, you have become whole," Starfire bounced up and down.
"It's a holographic projection, Star," Robin said from where he was leaning on the console.
"It won't work."
All eyes were now on Sunfire, who had his arms crossed and eyes closed. Skeptical looks crossed everyone's faces, except Terra's. Even she knew what he was talking about. He stepped forward and placed he hand against Cyborg's chest, his hand passing right through the hologram. The hand was then pulled from the hologram, as if to demonstrate the futility of it.
"See, if anyone touches any part of him, they'll feel the cold metal underneath," he had made his point, and was now waiting for a reaction.
"But, then who should go, he's the only one who can communicate with us without being spottedm" Robin said, trying to make his own point. "Maybe we could rig something up, make his skin feel warmer."
"I could go," they heard an unfamiliar voice, and turned to see, instead of Sunfire, someone completely different.
Green hair was pulled back into a long braid, tank top going from tight and black, to loose and green, and his pants had changed from white to black. The only thing that remained the same were his boots, even his forearm bracers were gone. As they watched, a long scar appeared, starting from just above his right eye, and passing right through it. Eyes had changed from a light golden color (I know, at the beginning I said they were green, but shouldn't eye color correspond with starbolt color?) to a pale green.
"..." they were all speechless at this sudden turn of events.
"DUDE, when they hell did you learn that?" Beast Boy almost screamed, his signature power was now taken, and it appeared to have been amped up for the alien.
"Long time ago, I forget when," he shrugged. "So, am I going or not?"
"You'll need a way of communicating with us," Robin said with a hand on his chin.
/Not a problem/ the voice, it was in their heads.
"Okay, I guess you got the job."
"So, when do I start?"
"You enroll tomorrow."
We change to an almost peaceful cafeteria scene the next day, and the changed Sunfire, now known as Nate Sindel (ha, I did get into the story), strode over to a table. He placed the tray down and started eating, wanting to be as unnoticeable as he could be. But even the best-made plans are doomed to fail. As he lifted his sandwich, a hand came down over his shoulder and grabbed it.
"I finished mine, so I'll finish yours?" came a gruff voice from behind him.
He looked over his shoulder, sighting Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth, who had just tossed the sandwich down his throat. Recognizing them from the file photos he was shown, it struck him dumb that these were the top students at the HIVE. The sorceress placed her hand on her hips, and Gizmo smirked at the new student.
"This is our table, you gotta move," Jinx said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.
"Fine," he smiled as he placed his hand on the table before getting up.
A crack formed in the table, spreading outward from where his hand had been. Soon the entire table was covered with tiny crevices, and, a few seconds later, it fell apart at the seams. The pieces that hit the floor continued to disintegrate, changing to dust in a matter of moments. With that done, the dust simply blew away in the slight wind caused by the AC.
"Looks like you need a new table," he laughed before starting to walk away.
"What's your name?" the hex-girl asked before he was out of earshot.
"The name's Sindel," he turned slightly, then started walking again. "I suggest you remember that."
Jinx suddenly felt a very strange feeling, a feeling of warmth and comfort. Her eyes became heavy, and her posture slouched slightly as she watched him leave the room. Gizmo took note of this, and glared at the green braid as it slipped out the door. Mammoth looked down at both of them, and chuckled slightly to himself; the crush Gizmo had on their teammate was quite obvious.
/Alright, I've assimilated easily to the HIVE, expect another report when I've found something/ Sunfire sent the telepathic message to Raven, she would be able to hear him better than the others, and could pass it on.
He stepped into a coliseum-like room, stepping up on a platform alongside the three he'd met at lunch. Jinx was at the front of the group, with Gizmo and Mammoth on either side. A horn sounded, and all three of them leapt into action.
"Attack pattern alpha," Jinx yelled to the others.
"Wait a second, I don't know that one," Sunfire ran after them, feeling that he should act the part.
"Then just stay out of our way crap-bagger," Gizmo sneered as he rocketed forward, the wings on his backpack had been fixed.
Towers raised from the floor all around the, electrowhips slicing through the air to snap at the three teens. Gizmo was first to go down, the shock to his system was enough to leave him smoking on the floor. Mammoth was next, the whips wrapping around his wrists, ankles, and waist, shocking him to his knees. Jinx was last, throwing her hexes all around her, destroying a few towers. But her attention had been drawn from what was happening below her.
Right under her feet, another tower lifted up, four whips extended from the holes near the top. All of them wrapped around her, delivering a massive shock, which would have been the end of her, had the tower not been blown to pieces. Sunfire adjusted his aim and launched three green starbolts at the remaining towers, destroying them completely. He then grabbed Jinx, around the waist, and Mammoth, by the back of his shirt, on his way to the goal, deciding that Gizmo was the most expendable.
He leapt to the pedestal at the other end of the arena, placing the others on the ground. Turning, he saw the objective, a small glass case, with a chip inside it. He places his hand against it and removed it, watching the glass fall apart before his very eyes. Picking up the chip, he was met with cheers and applause, particularly from the old man wearing the robe.
"I don't believe I've seen you here before," the man said as he extended his hand. "What's your name?"
"Sindel, Nate Sindel," he said shaking the man's hand, feeling the surprisingly strong grip. "And you, sir?"
"You may call me Blood, Brother Blood," the old man smiled. "I can see you're going to go far in this place."
His gaze then turned to the recovering teens.
"As for you, if I ever see you act like such amateurs again, I'll string you up and skin you alive," his voice had changed, it became deeper, more malevolent. "Now, get out of my sight, and grab that child while you're at it."
He was talking, of course, of Gizmo, who had yet to get up.
Sunfire sat at a desk, in the dark, hands flying over the keyboard in front of him. This was too easy for his liking; it was like Blood wanted his students to know everything that was going on. He had to admit, though, this did make his job much easier. Soon he found what he was looking for.
"So, that's what it is," he said quietly, about to send a message to the others.
He was stopped short, though, when a knock came to his door. The screen before him changed to the desktop, and he got up to answer it. On the other side were Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth who had his hand behind his back. Gizmo looked especially surly, while Jinx and Mammoth looked more indifferent.
"Yes?"
"Hehe, now that you've survived the first few days, it's time for your initiation," Jinx smiled wide as Mammoth produced a tutu and a unicycle.
Sunfire looked them up and down, one conclusion coming to mind.
"Seems easy enough," he shrugged.
"Don't jump to conclusions," Mammoth smirked, handing him the unicycle. "You gotta eat that."
"Hm, whole, or in pieces?"
"Either way, I guess."
Sunfire wasn't listening, he already had the unicycle down his throat, the wheel sticking out of his mouth. A few seconds later, that too was gone, and he was swallowing the hunk of metal and rubber. A very disturbing 'PLUNCH!' sound emanated from his stomach, causing the three HIVE members to shudder slightly.
"Now you gotta wear this all day tomorrow, and carry my books," Jinx tossed him the tutu, a almost unnoticeable wink followed.
"Why hasn't he checked in, he's way overdue," Robin paced back and forth in front of the others.
"You don't think he turned, do you?" Beast Boy wondered aloud.
He was promptly smacked in the back of the head by Terra.
"Don't even think that," she said calmly, though her clenched fists told them she was thinking the same thing. "He wouldn't, I know he wouldn't."
Starfire settled next to her worried friend, attempting to calm her nerves with a friendly arm around the shoulders. It wasn't just Terra who was taking this somewhat badly; Raven wasn't fairing too well either. She tried to mask it from the others, saying she just had questions to be answered. Which she did, but there was something about Sunfire, and it had something to do with the fact that her memories resided in his head, just as his resided in hers.
"Something must have happened," Robin continued, believing that was the only explaination.
/Calm down, nothing's happened/ they turned to Raven, the voice had come from her mouth; he was speaking through her. /I've been a bit busy/
"Sunfire, what do you have to report?"
/Well, I've found out that the new headmaster calls himself Brother Blood/ Raven's eyes flashed something, but the next instant it was gone. /I've had to keep my messages brief, because I think he can pick up my thoughts/
"Alright, now what are they working on?"
/Oh, many things, mainly an ion disruption unit/ there was a small pause, and the others held their breath. /Sorry bout that, I gotta go before I'm late for class/
Raven shook her head as control was given back to her. She knew it was wrong, yet it was oddly satisfying to have someone else in control of her body. Allowing a small smile to grace her fair lips, she pulled her hood up, keeping it hidden from everyone else. It wasn't just the feeling from having her body manipulated, but also the knowledge that he was okay.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait for his next message," Robin conceded as he sat on the couch.
Cyborg handed him a game controller, which he gladly accepted.
Blackfire and Moonfire were definately taking their time getting to their destination; moving along at an almost snail's pace compared to the speed they were capable of. The patience on the Tamaranean princess was running thin, and the secrecy of her companion wasn't helping. She knew he wasn't telling her something, and, being who she was, that's what was really pulling on her last nerve.
"Why are we going so slow, I mean, sublight is just so boring," she whined.
Moonfire just laughed a little behind his cloak, "Because, if we go too fast, we'll miss the sights; besides, there's no hurry, it's not like they're going anywhere."
Blackfire huffed her disapproval, but knew he had a point. From what he told her about Sunfire, he would be sure to protect her sister, at all costs. That alone made her dislike him all the more, any friend of her sister's was an enemy of hers. But was that really all there was to this, she had her powers, shouldn't that alone be enough of a reason to drop this contempt she felt towards her younger sister.
"Don't forget, your parents chose her over you," Moonfire said with a hint of mirth in his voice. "But, truly, it was probably for the best."
"Why do you say that?"
"Think about it, with her as queen, she'll have to choose an advisor," he turned those dark eyes on her again. "The best choice for which would be you."
"You're right, maybe I should go easy on her this time around," she looked thoughtfully at a red giant, the color reminding her of her sister's hair.
Moonfire was waiting patiently for the denouncement of that statement, but it never came. He smiled, so she was finally growing up, it took her long enough. All the contempt for her sister was now flowing out of her as she watched that star, at the coronal eruptions, throwing flames out into the depths of space.
"It's beautiful," Moonfire followed her gaze, the red from the star illuminating his pupils, making his eyes look even more foreboding.
"Yeah."
"Sindel, what is the proper way to begin a city-wide take over," Blood asked from his position at the head of the class.
"Huh, oh, a good diversion plan to divide your enemies, so you can take them down one at a time?" Sunfire guessed looking somewhat foolish; all part of the act.
"Exactly right, you all could learn from him."
"Smart and cute, how come you're all alone?" Jinx sighed from the seat next to his, hearts floating in the air around her head.
Gizmo, in the seat on the other side of Jinx, was fuming at how she could be fawning over someone she just met. Especially when he's been here the whole time, and hadn't even gotten so much as a smile out of her. He hated when that guy would make that face, the shy/innocent smile that was now covering Sindel's face. It seemed to just make Jinx melt on the spot, which she apparently did.
'Just keep up the act, Sunfire, it'll be over soon,' he thought, then looked down at the girl next to him. 'But I might as well enjoy it while I have the chance.'
TBC
Okay, ending it there, for some reason I've just had this itch to continue with this story. I've paid so much attention to my TS story, that this one, and my KP story were cast aside. But no longer, here's the new plan, while I'm in this state of mind, I'll be doing a story a week. One chapter for this story, on for TS, one for KP, and, if there's time left, I can write for my other neglected stories (particularly "The Dragon"). Not to mention my account. I've been meaning to write for that, but there's been no motivation. Oh well, look forward to the next chapter in a few weeks; I'm taking some time off to beta read the chapters for Leviathan's fictionpress story.