Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans so don't even ask!
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In a remote location, somewhere in Europe, sometime in the past.
The sky is dark, gray, and depressing. Clouds of ebony carpet the sky overhead as a steady pouring rain sprinkles a gentle shower upon a truly desolate sight. On ground level, there is nothing but burnt ruble as far as the eye could see. Pieces of twisted infrastructure of some foregone facility lay wasted. Closer examination could see that whatever catastrophe that beheld this place happened a long time ago. Nothing would, could, call this place home.
The official story is that this place used to be a motor factory that was targeted for bombing by a rebel faction. The tragedy resulted in loss of many lives as well as tens of millions in property damage. But like it is said. That's just the official story. Only a few truly know the truth and fewer among those that do would be willing to reveal it.
But that is beside the point for the time being.
Two figures, a taller and a shorter, emerge from atop a hill overlooking the field of dismay. Both of them are wearing large, baggy, hooded over-coats that covered them from head to toe, laden with pockets and belt straps. They stare at the depressing sight for quite a long moment.
"There really is nothing left," said the shorter in a young girl's voice.
"After all that has happened, you can't expect anything more than this," said the taller in a young boy's voice.
"I wanna have a closer look."
"Let's go then."
The two moved down the hill in a leisurely pace not in a hurry. They crossed over a gap in a ruined and broken down chain link fence. The ground in which they walked on was completely desolate, without even weeds. Their boots sloshed with every step they took on the rain drenched soil. They continued forward for a while.
They passed a broken down building. Its roof, completely caved in and strewn about in the interior. Its walls barely standing, with cracks littering the visible sides of the structure. Windows are reduced to simple rectangular holes and the entrance had a single rusty door hinging by its last hinge. One would think a bomb was dropped right on top of the building. Uninterested, the two figures moved on.
As they walked, the two passed more buildings similar to the last; battered and ruined, mere shells of their former stature. The two seem hardly affected by all this as if they were expecting to see such a debacle. They approached what would be the center of the entire facility. What they saw would unnerve most men.
A huge crated over a eighty feet deep and at least four hundred feet across lay before the two. Inside the crater were mangled pieces of metal and concrete. A clear sign of a past catastrophe that leveled what ever structure that was built on this foundation. The two stared at the site.
"Now…there really is nothing left…" said the shorter.
"No, there isn't…" concurred the taller.
Slowly, the shorter of the two slowly lifted her hands towards her hooded head. She pulled back her hood to reveal her features. A delicate face filled with youthful beauty, short, neck-length chestnut hair, an ocean blue colored left eye and a leafy green colored right eye.
She stared into the crater with a saddened expression on her face. All the while, her taller companion was looking at her. Eventually, he also brought his hands to his hood and pulled it back. Shown were his youthful, boyishly handsome face and his long platinum hair tied in a ponytail, his eyes are the same as the girl's.
His face however showed concern towards the girl. He lifted one hand and placed it on her shoulder as if to comfort her.
"Hey," he softly called out, "you okay, sis?"
The girl turned her sight towards the boy but neglects to respond to him for a good long moment. She couldn't answer because she honestly did not know what the answer should be. It seemed as though the boy sensed that and did not push the question.
The girls looked back down but instead of the crater she lifted her hands up to look at them. She carefully examined them in some strange fascination.
"This body of mine feels so strange," she said, "I feel like it's not mine at all…"
" Don't worry, that's completely natural," said the boy as he looked at one of his own palms, "Remember that we were asleep in a cryo hibernation stasis for three years. We weren't exactly frozen as you thought, just in a state of very deep sleep. Our bodies aged a bit even in that state but our minds didn't. Physically, I'm about seventeen and a half years old and you're just over sixteen. But in truth, our minds are about a couple of years behind those numbers."
"I know about that. Our minds our trying to catch up to what our bodies have done while we slept."
"It's a bit uncomfortable, I know, but it will pass soon enough."
"It doesn't matter to me. Nothing matters to me anymore…"
"…sis?"
The boy looked back at his sister just in time to see a single tear run down her smooth cheek. His look of concern quickly returned.
"Sis, what's wrong?" he asked.
"…she's gone."
"…"
"She's gone for good, and we'll never get to see her again…"
She turned away from her brother and stayed silent for a while.
"No," she heard him say.
She slowly turned her head back at him in a silent inquiry. "…?"
"You didn't want to hang out long enough for him to explain his proposal."
"…neither did you."
"At first yeah, but I decided to lend him an ear at least, despite the fact that he is a little quack."
"He's completely insane, that guy."
"True, but he did have a very interesting proposal for us."
"What's that exactly?"
"…He thinks he could bring her back."
"…!"
"The segments of the genome are still intact, just hidden away. He knows how to do the induction process that was developed specifically for this project. As genius as he is, he cannot do all of it by himself. He needs help. Our help. He wants us to help him find the missing pieces of the genome so that we can bring her back."
"And you actually believe him?"
"Is there anyone else to believe anymore?"
"…"
"I'm tired of waiting, sis. I'm tired of waiting for something that was never coming in the first place. They promised us we'd see her again but they lied and used us. Just like how everybody lied and used us. This is our only opportunity left for us to take. The only opportunity for us to regain control of our lives again. I know I want that. How about you?"
"…I want that too."
"I thought so."
"It's a big risk though. How do we know this guy isn't like all the rest?"
The boy didn't respond immediately. He turned his head to survey more of the scene in front of them. As far as his eyes could see there was nothing but ruble and wreckage.
"Remember what the other old man told us?" said the boy, "Science is synonymous with taking risk, it's up to us to decide whether we take them or not…"
"…oh yeah, him. Whatever happened to him anyway?"
"Don't know."
"…Out of all the people we know, he seemed the only one who actually gave a damn about us. I felt like he's the only one who was not interested in just using us to do whatever they wanted."
"Yeah, he was the only one like that. And I liked him a lot… But in the end, he abandoned us to this…"
"…?"
"He left us all alone because he was scared. Now we have nothing left except this one last piece of hope for ourselves."
The girl did not respond immediately. She looked up towards the gray sky, feeling the soft raindrops on her face. She seemed to ponder something.
"Can you call what we have 'hope'?" asked the girl.
"What else is there left for us but this?" answered the boy, "We struggled too long and too hard. How can we pass up an opportunity like this? While I do have doubts about this deal, what other choice is there left for the likes of us?"
"None…"
"Yes…"
"…let's take it then."
"You've decided?"
"I'm also pretty tired of not knowing what the hell I was made for, why I exist. I wanna know. Other than that…I don't want to feel alone anymore, I don't want to feel like it's just the two of us anymore."
"…"
"Let's take this deal."
"…Okay, let's go then…"
The two looked at each other, nodded their heads, and walked off together back in the direction they came from. They soon left the grounds of the wrecked facility. Not once in their stride did they look back at the depressing sight. As they disappeared into the far away hills, the rain kept its steady pour, washing over the long forgotten past.
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Back at the present, at fifty feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
"I said: Titans, do you read?" said Robin's voice over the radio.
"Affirmative!" came an assorted number of voices in response.
"Okay then. Cyborg, hows it looking on your scans?"
"So far, so good, dawg," responded Cyborg's electronic voice, "No detection of anything that could attack us from where we are now."
"Alright. Raven, how about you?"
"We're in the clear so far," said Raven's voice, "We haven't been detected by any form of radar or sonar detectors, and I doubt there are any in the first place.
"Look's like they weren't expecting a party," said Beast Boy's voice.
"You're right, Beast Boy," said Robin's voice again, "They were gone in such a hurry they are probably expecting us to be eating their dust right now."
"Friends, though I do find dining on collective microscopic debris to be unappetizing," said Starfire's voice "Does this mean to be a good thing for us?"
"Yes, Starfire, it means we now have an element of surprise."
"They'll never see us comin'!" said Beast Boy.
"Splendid!" exclaimed Starfire.
"Woah! Heads up, y'all," said Cyborg, "Looks like were comin' up on them already!"
"What is the distance?"
"Five miles and closing!"
"Alright, time to get this show on the road!" said Robin's voice, "Titans, prepare to surface!"
The rest of the team responded simultaneously. "Roger!"
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Above the surface of the water.
The sky was dark with rain clouds. The sun dared not to show its light on this day. Te the clouds blanket the sky, not a single drop of rain has yet to fall. An ominous sign some might say about the mid-day darkness. But at the moment, enthusiasm is high among five famous heroes.
The waves parted suddenly as a massive machine broke out of the water's surface. A sleek orange craft, shaped like a manta ray, with five individual cockpit bubbles steadily rises above the ocean to an altitude of about twenty feet from sea-level. It's glossy finish shining even in the lack of sunlight.
The T-Sub.
The Titan's new and improve version not only served as a deep water submarine but also as a deep space craft. They should really rename it to the T- Ship or something. But at the moment it served to bring the Titans ever closer to their current goal.
Up ahead in the distance, an image of tall structure resting in the middle of the ocean became ever so apparent as the Titans drew nearer. The Oil rig became completely visible within a few moments. The T-Sub kicked into full gear and zoomed upwards of two hundred miles per hour over the glistening surface of the water creating a large wake behind it.
"Cyborg, what do you see on X-ray scope?" called out Robin over the radio.
"There, I see them!" exclaimed Cyborg's voice, "It looks like they are somewhere on the top floor!"
"How do we enter the facility, Robin?"
"Seeing as we are in a hurry, I don't think there is a need to be discreet. Right guys?"
"Oh, brother..." monotonously remarked Raven's voice.
"Okay then, no objections, I guess. Let's go, Titans! Brace yourselves!"
"Yeah, Dude! Rock n' Roll!" excitedly exclaimed Beast Boy.
The T-Sub's twin boosters, located on either side of the ship, gave a mighty burst of thrust that nearly doubled the speed of the ship. The T-Sub came within three hundred meters of the Oil rig, which seemed to loom over the comparatively tiny ship. Then at three hundred miles per hour, the T-Sub crashed into the outer walls.
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Inside the Oil rig.
CRASH!
Dr. Volkov was busily making preparations on one of his computer terminals when a large crashing sound, accompanied by a very large quake, distracted him and forces him to go down on one knee. All around him, random pieces of equipment that wasn't bolted down started to roll of their respective perches and fall to the floor.
Amidst the chaos, the hanging figures of Riya and Sakura barely stirred. Their deep slumber going on undisturbed.
The chaos eventually subsided and Dr. Volkov was able to find his footing on still grounds once again. He stared into the empty space of the room with an expression of some form of shock with curiosity on his face.
"What in God's name…!"
Though inside, he already knew the answer.
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On the lower levels of the Oil rig.
A thick cloud of dust covered the room. One side of the wall has completely caved in. Inside the hollow space, probably some kind of factory floor, the T-Sub simmered down as the engines slowly turned off. Nearly all of the ship has managed to enter the space despite its size.
A few moments of silence.
The multiple cockpits opened up loud mechanical hisses. Al five of the Teen Titans exited their downed craft and jumped onto the floor they were on. They struck ready poses and surveyed the immediate area for signs of trouble. Luckily, they found none at the moment.
"How do we proceed now?" asked Starfire.
"Do we even know where we're goin', dudes? asked Beast Boy.
"I know where…" said Raven
Everyone turned their attention to her, looking curiously. Raven was seemingly staring into deep space. A collective number of eyebrows were raised.
"Um, you getting' anythin', Rae?" inquires Cyborg.
"Yes, I feel…their pain."
The Titans went wide-eyed.
"Arsenic and Lithium, I feel their auras so clearly. They're in deep hurting. Something is wrong…"
"Alright, new plan," said Robin, "Everyone take caution. Got it?"
Everyone else affirms the command.
"Let's move out!"
The Titans rushed forward with Raven in the lead. She is now able to sense freely the auras of Arsenic and Lithium yet again. But that was the strange part. Up until now, those two had managed to elude her emphatic senses when they first found out how Raven was using her powers to detect them. But now that mental guard they possessed has disappeared. What could've caused that? She didn't know for sure but it could only mean that something terrible happened to those two, and that entailed more trouble for the Titans in the long run.
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In the main room.
Dr Volkov has managed to finish all of his preparations along with diagnostic check-ups and the like. All was ready and the last step was to pull the switch and everything would begin instantly. The switch in question was in the Doctor's hand in the form of a small remote control device, his thumb resting on a particular button.
But for some reason he hesitated. His greatest moment of glory a single button press away, yet he does not immediately proceed. Instead he was just standing there grinning at the direction of the only entrance/exit of the large room. How come?"
Someone decided to address the question.
"What…the hell are…you waiting for?"
Dr. Volkov seemed a little surprised at the sudden inquiry. He turned his head to look back. He saw that Riya has finally awakened, although looking pretty worn out. On the opposite side Sakura was groggily stirring into consciousness. Volkov merely grinned at the two.
"Ah, I see you've awaken," said Dr. Vilkov, "I'm glad. I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss this."
"Answer his question… old man!" demanded Sakura.
"Where about to witness my greatest achievement not to mention the biggest turning point in the history of mankind," answered Volkov, "It is only fitting that there be a proper audience. Fortunately, your old acquaintances have arrived just in time, my dears.
"Acquaintances…?"
"You mean… the Titans?" inquired Riya.
"Yes, my boy. Wouldn't you say it's best that they see the two of you in your greatest moment?"
"What the hell…are you talking about?"
"This is your greatest moment, my dears. All this time you two have been preaching to the Titans how everything you did was for the sake of achieving your true purpose in life and now that prophecy of yours is a about to come true. You will finally fulfill your purpose in life. To bring her back from the depths. Fitting that your greatest adversaries to date would bear witness to it."
BANG!
On the far side of the room, the double doors exploded from their hinges inwards. In the door way stood five very familiar teens. Who made their way inside the room quickly enough but kept a considerable distance away from the three main occupants.
Volkov turned around slowly to look at the party of five. He had a sinister grin on his face, unnerving anyone who saw it.
"And speaking of which…" said the Doctor.
The Titans prepared themselves in ready poses. Robin taking the helm, as usual, with Beast Boy and Cyborg just behind him on either side, and the girls floating above.
"Welcome, Teen Titans to my humble abode in the sea."
"Save it old man," said Robin right off the bat, "I'm taking it that you're the real mastermind behind all this. Well we're here to stop you cold in your tracks!"
"Oh, now there is no need to be rude Mr. Robin. We are all refined gentlemen here, please do not deny me a proper introduction. I am Dr. Nikolai Volkov, Head supervisor and Lead project designer for Project: Maria."
Dr. Volkov posed as if presenting the tall glass cylinder behind him like it was a valuable piece of art. The Titans took one look at it and their faces twisted in disgust and horror. The had never scene such an awful and horrible sight since Starfire was going through her metamorphosis.
"How do you like her?" asked the Doctor, "Is she not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"
"Is that what all this fuss is about!" exclaimed Cyborg.
"Dude, that is way nasty!" said Beast Boy.
"…She has a certain appeal…" monotonously said Raven.
"I do not believe so," said Starfire.
"It is a wonderful coincidence that all of you are here to witness this great moment in history," said Volkov, "You should consider yourselves extremely lucky to bear such witness."
"You mean bear witness to the destruction of mankind!" exclaimed Robin.
"You are such an alarmist! Can't you see the true potential of Maria in this world. It is her destiny to reign a certain amount of destruction. But don't worry my boy, she will be mine to control."
"What!"
"I've designed her body in such a way that only I am able to give her commands and that she cannot act on her own will. I will wield her power like a sword that will be my domination over mankind. This is the way things should be!"
"Your insane."
"Is that so? Humankind has come to be too uncontrollable in today's modern times. The overpopulate this globe causing great imbalance in the natural order of things. The spread too fast and consume too much that they are slowly destroying their own home world. That is where dear Maria comes in. She is the key to bring back the balance in the natural order. She will keep this order and save this world. Her hand shall sweep this world clean of its infidelity. And I will make sure I am the one controlling that hand. It is only right for me to do this. I just want to restore this world to its proper glory."
"By destroying innocent human lives! That is unacceptable! We stop this charade right now!"
The Titans charge in headlong towards Dr. Volkov's position. Volkov merely grins and reaches into his back pocket. He retrieved the remote control from earlier and lay a finger on a particular button. From behind him, Riya noticed the move and knew immediately what was about to happen.
"No! Stay back!" he shouted out to the Titans.
The Titans heard but only a bit too late. They tried to stop in their tracks to head Riya's warning but were already in the position that Volkov wanted them to be in. Volkov raised his hand that held the remote and pressed the button.
From the floor three tall Tesla coils that formed a triangle around the Titans. The Titans were caught by surprise and simply stood in their place not wanting to risk a booby trap. They could hear the steady humming of the three tall metal coils and they knew that a wrong move would likely ended up with them having a thousand volts of electricity shoot through their bodies. Needless to say that's not good.
Volkov was still standing in his place, chuckling madly at the predicament of the Titans. Kids are just too easy to fool, he thought. Again he gained the upper hand thanks to his genius.
"I suggest you stay still," warned Dr. Volkov, " any movement from you and you are all 'fried', as they say in your country."
"Darn you, old man!" exclaimed Robin to no avail.
"No need for profanities, my boy. It is best that you just sit back and enjoy the show…"
Volkov turned around and away from the Titans. He was now facing the giant glass cylinder. He aimed his remote control and pressed a button on it for the final time.
Suddenly the whole room came alive. What ever equipment not turned on before, finally hummed into life. The whole room began to light up like a New Year's Day celebration. Suddenly, machines everywhere started moving about. Next to the hanging and bound figures of Riya and Sakura, two long, multi-jointed, mechanical arms dropped from the ceiling. On each arm was a syringe. The two arms came close to the two teens respective necklines as Riya and Sakura looked on nervously. Then suddenly, the two syringe jabbed into a vein on each neck of the two teens.
"Aargh! "Aahh!"
The syringes drew a generous amount of blood from the veins of the two hanging teens and gathered them in small glass cylinders. After gathering their fill, the two mechanical arms pulled away and dropped even lower to the floor where on a table there were two veils of eerie purple liquid, both labeled 'M' on the side. The two mechanical arms ejected the cylinders filled with fresh blood next two the two cylinders with the familiar purple liquid. Their task done, the mechanical arms retract back to the ceiling.
Volkov calmly walks toward the four cylinders on the table. Riya, Sakura, and the Titans can do nothing but nervously watch.
"let me explain something to you all," said Dr. Volkov while picking up the cylinders of glass, "I'm pretty sure that you know that this is the special induction process that I am about to perform. But I bet your wondering what is the purpose of it. Am I right?"
Volkov walks to a nearby device that had a rack on top of it that seem specifically designed to fit the four veils he was carrying with him. He carefully placed the four veils into their respective racks. The device automatically sucked the contents into its internal mechanism.
"What you see before you is not the real Maria," continued Dr. Volkov, "It is only a protein base, lifeless and with no true potential on it's own. It was designed to be the base in which Maria would be created as. You see, Maria has no true figure any longer and no-one truly knows or could even conceive what her true figure would be like. So we…well actually, I decided to make her in our image."
He walked away from the device and went to another table on the side. On the table was another veil of semi-clear pinkish fluid which was labeled in clear black and white: CATALYST 719. Volkov walked back to the previous machine.
"The only way to bring her back," he continued, "was to clone her. We never recovered her true body but we were able to secure her genome structure. To further secure the genome, we split it into four pieces. Two were hidden in the veils that we stole from my old comrade, Cannes. And the other two I hid in the blood of these two children."
The Titans seemed a bit surprised after hearing that news. They now understand the reason for the extraction of blood from the two teens, so that the blood can be coupled with the samples from the other two veils.
Volkov reached the previous device and place the glass veil of pinkish liquid in a separate compartment. Again the machine sucked it up.
"What I just added to the mix was a special catalyst chemical that I need to really get the process going. Due to the rigid nature of Maria's genome we need to induce he DNA by force if we ever want a finished product. Right about now this machine is building up the genetic sequence in is about to pump it into this chamber with her protein base."
Tubes connecting the device to the giant glass cylinder. Started to shake a bit. Inside the cylinder, The liquid surrounding the hollow carcass started to turn a bright blood red color. Riya, Sakura, and the Titans watched in horror.
"Now just one final step," said Volkov.
Dr. Volkov move to another device on a wheeled platform, one the Titans and two hanging teens could easily recognize. It was the core emitter stolen from the Garland Tech Center. A closer inspection would reveal that it has been fitted with the special lens Riya and Sakura stole from Prof. Chang.
Volkov moved the device into place fairly easily. He positioned it in such a way that it was aiming at a particular lens that was attached to the base of the giant glass cylinder. He turned on the device. A bright laser beam of extreme high frequency electrons blasted from the device straight into the opposing lens attached to the base of the cylinder. Inside, the blood red liquid began to glow eerily.
"This final step induces the energy needed to complete the induction," continued Volkov, "Coupled with the special properties of the catalyst chemical, the wave of electrons will induce the genome structure into the protein base thus giving Maria anew body to inhabit."
Inside the glowing red liquid, the carcass began to change. Muscles began to fill in. Organs began to complete in form. A dark gray skin began to wrap around the carcass of the creature. The eyeholes of the giant plaster mask began to glow an eerie, ominous, red glow.
All around the room, equipment started to go crazy. Computer terminals sparked and some even exploded. Wires everywhere was shorting out. The whole floor began to quake. The Titans could barely keep their footing from where they stood.
Meanwhile, Riya and Sakura were still hanging and bound, though not for much longer. A malfunctioning control circuit must've shorted out causing the locks that bound the two to release. Both teens fell to the ground in a heap opposite of one another.
"Oof!" "Dah!"
Volkov was staring fixatedly at his 'creation'. Though that was hard to conceive since at that moment, the glass cylinder has become excessively foggy for some reason rendering its contents invisible. Still he did not move from his place.
Eventually, the ceiling came crashing down. Riya and Sakura saw this and quickly covered their heads as they are showered with debris. On the Titans' side, Raven thought fast and created a black dome around herself and her teammates for protection. As the ceiling came crashing down, the place filled up with so much dust that it was impossible to see anything at all.
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The chaos eventually subsided.
A few moments of silence went by where none moved.
After a while, Riya's figure popped out as he pushed off the debris from his back. He stood and did a quick survey of the scene around him. It seemed as though the entire top floor of the Oil rig's quarters had collapsed in on itself. As a result, Riya found himself standing outdoors under a dark sky filled with rain clouds.
A moment later, Sakura's figure emerged from the ruble. She was panting heavily and coughed a bit from the dust. Following her. The Titans emerged from the ruble, still in Raven's protective shield. Raven released the shield and the Titans felt the see breeze once again.
Nobody moved for a long time, until...
"She lives!"
All seven teens turned their attention to the source of that out burst. They found Dr. Volkov, still standing in his place, somehow unscathed.
"See her now!" Volkov exclaimed, "See her for what she is! Perfection!"
The seven teens noticed he was looking at something skyward. They all followed his line of sight. And indeed, they did see what they could not even begin to behold.
Floating above the ruined structure was her.
A gigantic creature over forty feet in height. It's figure was that of a human female though her body was completely featureless in terms of the bodily signatures one would expect to find on a female body. Instead, her skin was not really skin, but an insect-like shell that segmented where her joints would be. The color of the shell was a dark bluish green that varied in brightness throughout her body. Her hands were clawed and her feet resembled that of a insects feet, with two claws instead of toes. Her long wire-like hair reached all the way down her back. On her back were six large Dragonfly wings that seemed to mildly glow with energy. Her face was the featureless white mask, with the eyeholes glowing an eerie red glow.
Maria.
The seven teens could not help but stare in horror at what they were seeing. Volkov in the meantime was laughing his head off in a twisted sense of pride. In the distance of the ocean, thunder and lightning cracked the skies.
"Um…dudes?" inquired Beast Boy, "Now what?"
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Author's note: Sorry for the bit of lateness. School crept up on me again. Anyways here is my fifteenth installment of my first fic. Hope you like what I've been working on. As usual, please Read and give me a Review! I want them!
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