------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do." -John Holt
Chapter 7
Heringard sat high on a rock above them, Sarasim tied up beside him. Cyborg immediately pulled out his blaster and aimed, firing an electric blue blast at the dark haired Tamaranian with a growl.
The blast, however, was expected, and Heringard blocked it with ease using a starbolt of his own. He held up the hand and chuckled. It was the kind of laugh that sent a shiver down many spines.
The dark volcanic place hadn't changed since Beast Boy was last there. It, combined with Heringard's spooky laugh, made for a fantastically horrifying place. The shapeshifter set his mouth in a grim line to dam the fear, and stepped closer to Terra. She was shaking.
...I'm not coming back...I have to stay...I'll stop the volcano...
Terra grabbed Beast Boy's arm as a flood of memories came to her. Heringard chuckled once more.
"So, the little one is scared already, is she?" he taunted.
Raven stepped forward. "Give us back the Clock."
Heringard laughed even harder. "That's it? And my partner had told me so much about you..." He stood with a swoosh of his scarlet cape and revealed a shadow standing behind him. Slade stepped into the light, holding a mysterious crystal ball, illuminated from the inside by a swirling yellow light.
"Hello, Terra, Titans," he said in his smoothly dark voice. "Would you like to know what I hold in my hand?"
Terra bared her teeth at him, eyes flashing yellow. Slade narrowly avoided the rockslide that ensued.
"Why, is that any way to treat your former master? You wouldn't want this precious sphere to be destroyed. It contains something you want more than anything else right now, I'm sure..." he laughed at the blonde's look of shock. "Yes, it is your memory, Terra."
Robin growled and threw a disc at Slade, starting the battle.
Heringard jumped down from his throne and fought with Starfire first. "Miss me, Princess?" he taunted. "I'm sure you miss someone else more..." Starfire punched him hard in the stomach and let loose a volley of starbolts in anger.
"You will regret your words," she said coldly. Heringard just shot a gold starbolt in reply, and their battle continued.
Cyborg ran over to Sarasim. The woman looked up at him with a faint smile.
"I must be lucky," she said,"to have ended up where you were out of all the times possible. It seems we have switched incedents." Cyborg grunted in reply, slicing through her binds.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Sarasim nodded and gave a glare to Slade, now locked in combat with Robin and Speedy.
"I have no weapon," she said with annoyance.
Bumblebee flew by, slicing at Heringard. Beast Boy turned into an eagle and pecked at Heringard's eyes. Raven let loose another rock with her powers, Starfire continued to bombard with starbolts, and Aqualad created a rushing wave with what water he sensed. Cyborg shot a beam of energy as Sarasim stood behind him.
When the clouds of smoke and steam cleared, Heringard was gone. He had simply vanished.
"Where'd he go to?" Aqualad shouted.
"Calm down," Raven said. "Just look around. He's gotta be here somewhere." She lined up back to back with Starfire and they circled the area.
Robin slashed at Slade repeatedly but his foe seemed to dodge every one.
"You have become stronger,Robin," he said. "But then again, so have I." Speedy leapt over him and shot two sparking arrows as a sneak attack, but Sladedashed out of the way. Robin was forced to jump away as well to avoid being skewered by the powerful arrows.
Slade turned away from Robin and Speedy to see Terra. "Give me my memories," she said dangerously. Slade chuckled.
"Foolish girl. Do you really want them?"
A loud crack was heard from above them all. The Titans looked up to see Heringard, holding the Clock of Azarath.
"Did you forget?" he yelled maniacally. "I am the Keeper of Times! I can control your very existence! Let me show you my enormous power!"
Terra leapt and grabbed the sphere from Slade as everyone was distracted, and the yellow orb smashed against the stone. Terra felt her head explode with clarity, and she collapsed on the ground. Beast Boy ran over to her, shouting her name.
As Heringard laughed, the Clock rose into the air, becoming the eye of a swirling vortex, dark blue and sinister to behold. Starfire felt herself slipping and screamed. Robin ran forward to grab her and fell as well. Aqualad, Bumblebee, Cyborg, Sarasim, Speedy, Terra, Beast Boy, Robin, Starfire, Raven- all flew into the mysterious indigo spiral.
The Titans were now flying through time.
------------------------------
"You idiot!" Slade yelled, punching Heringard across the face. "This has changed everything!"
Heringard rubbed his jaw and sneered. "You forget who you are talking to."
"And you forget our agreement."
"They were gaining the upperhand. I had to do something unexpected."
"Idiot!" Slade hissed once more. "They will find the girl, and she will tell them of the young princess' key. Then all will be lost."
Heringard turned his back to Slade, crimson cloak billowing. "Then we will kill them when they return."
------------------------------
It was an indescribable wonder somewhere between reality and something beyond any imagination. They fell far beyond the deep indigo, and hurtled through a swirling mix of powerful blues, greens, and pale purples, strong oranges, soft yellows, converging in circles without end. Time flew by and at the same time slowed to a snail's pace. It was an oxymoron; it made perfect sense.
The Titans were falling through this somewhere in between.
"Is everyone okay?" Bumblebee yelled.
Their descent had slowed, and when the teens streatched their arms out it almost seemed like they were flying, or floating like a feather.
"I'm alright," said Speedy. A small chorus of voices followed his.
"What did he do?" asked Aqualad.
"Heringard has zapped us into the Timestream," Raven replied. She turned her head. "Beyond that, I don't know where we're going."
"I recall coming through here when he kidnapped me," Sarasim pondered. "But I am not sure which way we were going then."
"Guys," Cyborg said," I know this isn't really the time, but this is Sarasim. She's from the past, and she's a heck of a warrior," he finished with a smile.
"Who knows what the time is," Speedy said cheekily.
"Nice to meet you!" Starfire exclaimed. She floated closer to the dark haired girl. "What is your favorite color?"
"Starfire," Robin asked,"Wasn't your father on Tamaran also named Myand'r?"
"Yes," the young alien answered. "He was not the one from Raven's story, though. He was only named after the first Myand'r." Upon hearing this, Raven looked over at Starfire with serious and wondering eyes.
"You okay, Terra?" Beast Boy asked quietly, looking over at the silent blonde. She nodded in reply.
"When that sphere-well, my memories- burst, I...I remember everything," she said slowly.
"Terra..."
"There is a bright light coming," Starfire said suddenly. Robin turned quickly, but soon a white light, clearer than anything ever seen on earth, engulfed the ten of them, blinding each superhero and hurtling them to an unknown destination...
-----------------------------------
Speedy awoke to the cold and wind, his clothes damp and his side throbbing. Where was he? WHEN was he?
The redhead slowly got up off the damp ground and brushed off his clothing with a groan. He turned in all directions, looking for anyone. There was the outline of a city, black against the rose colored evening sky, and further on the ground were his bow and arrows. Speedy walked towards his destination, slowly and painfully.
---------------------------------
Beast Boy awoke on the top of a tall building as the sky was beginning to blacken. His first thought was of Terra, and the rapidly following thoughts were filled with other answerless questions. The changeling scarefully stood and looked at the view.
A grimy city, filled with smoke and steel and factories, was laid out beneath his perch. It lay on the edge of a body of water, connected to other sections of city via a red bridge. A familiar red bridge...Beast Boy gasped.
He quickly changed into a bird and flew as fast as he could towards the bridge. He was in Jump City, and that meant that the tower... He landed on the bridge when a flash of purple caught his eye. It was Starfire, unconsious on the side of the road, a small group of people gathered around her. Someone blew a loud siren, perhaps a policeman trying to control the situation. Beast Boy flew into the midst of the bedlam and changed human again.
The natives' eyes widened in shock. "It is just as The Prophet said!" one man spat. He walked up to Beast Boy and shook his finger at him. "Young man, go back to where you came form, or we will tell the High Powers that you are here."
Beast Boy picked up Starfire with a puzzled look on his face. "And here is...when?"
The crowd yelled its disapproval at his answer and soon Beast Boy was faced with an angry mob. He changed into a giant green hawk and carried Starfire away. It may have been Jump City, but it certainly was screwed up. As he flew, he noticed the absence of a T-shaped shadow on the horizon.
Very screwed up.
---------------------------------
Bumblebee awoke with a groan and stood up to see Robin slowly rising only a few feet away. Farther still was Cyborg with an unconsious Sarasim.
Ever mysterious Sarasim from the past who appeared to have the tough guy's heart. Bumblebee knew she had never been brave enough to even think of Sparky as hers, but thoughts like that still filtered through every once in awhile. How did Cyborg even know this Sarasim girl? Did he really like her? Was this even the time and place for becoming entangled in silly crushes? Did Sarasim over there know him as well as she did? Bumblebee felt foolish for thinking of the soap opera aspect of her life over what was real- they were zapped somewhere in time, and the team was seperated after the blinding flash of light.
That too, ironically, was also very much like a soap opera. Bumblebee smirked and trudged over to Robin. "It certainly is windy out here," she remarked.
Robin wasn't one for pleasant remarks in times like these. "Have we found anyone else?" he asked, surveying as much as he could in the rapidly approaching darkness. Bumblebee motioned towards Cyborg, who joined them carrying Sarasim.
"Noone aside from them," she said," but the others are sure to be nearby." She looked past the Boy Wonder. "Perhaps they're in that city..."
"We should try to get there before nightfall," Cyborg said. "Who knows what's out here, y'know? Good spot, Bee."
Before Bumblebee could reply, Sarasim woke up, eyes blinking rapidly open. "Where are we?" she asked. Cyborg set her down gently.
"When," Robin corrected. "And there isn't much time to explain right now. We need to reach that city over there before night comes, and it's already looking near impossible." He started quickly towards the city as he said that.
"He misses Starfire already," Bumblebee said with a smirk.
"Seriously," Cyborg replied.
"Shall we start after him?" Sarasim said. "I will most likely need to be filled in on some things on the way," she said, with a shy smile towards both of them. Bumblebee forced herself to smile back, and with a small touch of dismay found it wasn't as hard as she had thought it would be. Darn it. The girl was pretty and probably had character to go with it. She decided to use the walk to accept the fact that she wasn't the one for Sparky-Cyborg- and ran to catch up with Robin.
-----------------------------------
Aqualad was awakened by the sound of some blaring siren, a foreign and obnoxious noise. He sputtered awake with a start and saw that he was on the edge of a river. He turned in a cautious circle and grimaced when his leg twinged. And it had been healing so nicely. All thoughts pertaining his leg disappeared, however, when he caught sight of Raven sprawled on the sand, knocked out cold.
The Titan limped as fast as he could over to her and knelt down. She looked fine, just asleep or something. He picked her up and wondered where they were and where they would go. His gaze flitted from Raven's pale face to their surroundings, and what he saw shocked him. The red bridge loomed above the two of them. Then that would mean...Aqualad turned once more so that he was facing the river. What he saw shocked him.
The former resting place of Titans Tower was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Aqualad fervently wished on Atlantis that this was not the future. He looked down once more at the girl he carried. She was surprisingly light...and she still smelled like lavender...very much like lavender...Aqualad cleared his head of thoughts like those (unsuccessfully) and started towards the innards of the hopefully-not-future Jump City.
------------------------------------
Beast Boy landed clumsily in an alley somewhere near the center of the city. The abandoned building still had a dent in the wall that was oddly shaped like Cyborg's arm. He wondered how far in the Timestream they had gone.
Starfire sat limply against the wall and Beast Boy stared helplessly at her. He had no clue where to go, no idea where Terra was, and an angry mob had chased him as he flew for about five miles. They just wouldn't take the hint. They had, however, given the green shapeshifter some food for thought. Who was thisProphet they spoke of, and how hadhe or sheknown they would be here? Maybe The Prophetcould take them back to the present.
The green shapeshifter heard a small cough behind him and turned around as Starfire's eyes stirred open. "Robin..."
"Uhh...not quite, Star," Beast Boy replied. Starfire focused on the figure in front of her and stood up.
"Where are we, Beast Boy?" she asked. "And where is everyone else?"
Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders, then proceeded to tell her what happened while she was knocked out.
"So we must find this Prophet then," Starfire finally said. "Shall we ask a civilian?"
"Sure, Star, then they can chase us some more."
Starfire snorted at his sarcasm and floated up on top of a building.
"Do you have any idea as to who this Higher Power is?" she asked.
Beast Boy shook his head. "No, but they sure do have a firm grip on Jump City, that's for sure."
She gasped. "Ah! We are in Jump City! That must mean..." She hurriedly spun around in all directions as Beast Boy joined her on the roof. "Where is the Tower?"
Beast Boy looked down at his feet. "Star...I think it's gone in this future."
The Tamaranian shook her head rapidly. "That cannot...it simply cannot be true! We must find the Prophet now!" She grabbed Beast Boy and leapt into the sky.
"Star," Beast Boy said slowly," I think that we'll have a better chance on ground..." He trailed off. Of course Starfire would want to search from the sky. That would be the best place to see the other Titans from. Assuming it didn't get dark first, the changeling thought with a scowl. He distangled himself from Starfire's iron grip and took the form of a bird.
------------------------------
With a bright flash of light, Terra appeared outside a cave on the edge of a city just as the sun sank behind the horizon. Where was she? Where was Beast Boy? And why did Slade have her memories?
She had her memory back. Terra collapsed on the stone ground for a moment to collect her thoughts. She had done some terrible things. Rotten timing on Heringard's part- just when she knew the value of her apology, shegot seperated from the ones who needed to hear it. Terra slammed a fist against the rock in frustration. She wished she was slamming her fist into Slade.
At least there were rocks in the future. Terra sped through the sky on one towards the city, shivering slightly with the wind. If the others were anywhere around here, that's where they'd be going too.
-------------------------------
Every step grew even more painful for Aqualad. His leg throbbed without end, and Raven wasn't waking up. Was she okay? Aqualad wished he coud read her mind and see how she was. The teen stopped for a moment and leaned against a wall of the oddly deserted city. Where was everyone? There were too many questions. He needed Raven to hurry and wake up so that he could ask these questions and not feel so helpless.
Raven...he studied her face as he caught his breath again. Her pale and delicate features made those purple eyes stand out. Her lips were on the thin side, but it would have looked odd if they were any different. And then the stone on her forehead. Aqualad wondered what that was.
He remembered Speedy telling him about how Raven was the center of a prophecy, and how she saved the world as "white raven". He watched as the girl took a deep breath. How much had she been through in her life? It must have felt terrible to carry that baggage around without being able to get angry. Aqualad felt even more protective of Raven, and he lifted her gently once more, much to his leg's disappointment.
There weren't any people in this part of the town because it was destroyed, a ghost slum. Aqualad realized this as he passed building upon dilapidated building. His leg was positively screaming for him to stop. He was hungry, and it was so cold. But Raven needed to be somewhere warmer, and safer.
This was Aqualad's last thought before he collapsed of exhaustion...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
Umm...i don't really have anything to say except for the normal read and review type stuff. Chapter 8 will be up in a week or so!
-Silver Miracles