Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for. Well you haven't been sitting at your computer since the last episode (I hope). We all know everyone here, except me, has a life. And we cannot forget reviewers, generous reviewers; Teen Freak, The Seed of Chucky, Rose Red2.0, Guardian of Azerath, TTHPfan, Lyoko's Princess, Teenxheartsxbeatingxfaster, I Collect Banannas, Realfanficts, Samanthe2121. Enjoy le chapter!
Day of Reckoning pt.1
The wind curved the grassy fields about in fashions that would have dazzled the eyes. Perched high up on a hill two men on horseback stood waiting. Far off below them a great army readied itself for battle. The year was 4,000 B.C., and the Eese were forced to combat their unruly brethren. The man on the right moved his head about uneasily.
"Odin, is this truly necessary?"
"Never were current circumstances more substantial in their necessity Thor," replied Odin. "This is something that must be done, they have grown beyond control."
"And negotiation is not without its merit?" Odin fitted his war helmet onto his head and took his horse's reigns.
"It is not today old friend, our only hope is that Vasirr accomplishes his mission before too much blood is spilt on either side. Now come brother, and let us begin so we may bring this to a close as soon as possible." He kicked the horse's sides and his animal spread two magnificent wings from its side. Thor did the same to join his comrade in the air low over the ground. The two flew directly over the gathering of devout Eten followers until they aimed their landing before a group of Eten generals. Odin and Thor dismounted their steeds. They walked up to the few Etens and stood resolutely.
"Why Odin, you grace us with terms for your surrender I hope."
"We have come, Tomas, in hopes that you will hark our warning and abandon this foolish crusade. The higher beings of Valhalla and Osyard are not divine nor have they ever been." Tomas only shook his head.
"Should the ones who don't believe truly allow their words to stray them from the path they would know the error of their ways. You will all be destroyed." Odin and Thor turned and mounted their winged steeds.
"You have been warned." They took flight to rejoin their side. Tomas, along with a handful of Etens at his side, watched them with rue.
"We will make them unto dust beneath our feet." Back behind the Eese lines Odin dismounted to walk among his many Valkyrie warriors. They rode not winged horses though, but steeds resembling wolves rather than the animal on which Odin travel. He glanced over his shoulder at the marching force of mortal worshipers of the Eese.
"On this day I am pained to say that we may spare none of them." He spoke to the gathering of shieldmaidens. "Your enemy is battle hardened and will not retreat, take them swiftly and this will end swiftly." He liked to keep his speeches as short as possible. The Valkyrie leader stood up beside Odin observing the battle field.
"All of them?" Odin hung his head in dread.
"It is difficult to be gods when you have no worshipers." He rejoined Thor atop the hill and waited just a little longer. "Take them," he said scornfully. Thor nodded and took flight. The Valkyries followed closely behind him. The human army below them engaged in an all out charge with a roaring battle cry. Tomas and his followers took to the skies as well and they fought. The two sides fought viciously; the Etens with fanatical zeal and the Eese with strong conviction. The core sorrow of the ordeal was the fact that the zealous humans were nowhere near a match for the Eese and fell easily. Odin remained atop the hill watching the battle uneasily. He then felt a rush of wind beside him. The Eese, Vasirr, had returned from the errand Odin sent him on.
"I've returned my lord."
"I hopefully assume you've brought good new with you," replied Odin. With a nod Vasirr showed Odin a round glass bottle filled with what appeared to be water. "Waste no more time then, use it quick!" Vasirr commanded his steed forward to the dead center of the action. As soon as he was above the target area Vasirr leapt off his horse down onto the ground. Quickly he uncorked the battle and began to tip it over his head. His wrist was caught though by Tomas.
"And what do you think you're doing!" The Eten kicked him to the ground and charged up his weapon. "The gods shall prevail!" The bottle was immediately taken out of his unsuspecting grasp. Tomas wheeled around to see Thor dumping the liquid over himself.
"Not this day."
"NOOOOO!" Thor dropped his mighty hammer as he became encased in white light. A wind picked up pushing both Eten and Eese back and forth. Then with a loud puff Thor was gone and the light spread out like a giant wave. When all subsided the ruby pendants worn by each Eten fell to the ground, their masters disappeared. The Eese, though thoroughly tossed about, stood unscathed. Of the Etens only Tomas remained untouched by the mysterious power. He lay on the ground breathing hard. Odin walked up to him carrying Tomas' pendant.
"Brother…grant me mercy."
"Mercy was extended prior to this battle; perhaps you should have welcomed it then." Tomas said nothing, he could do nothing. Tomas knew beyond a doubt all of his fellow Etens were now trapped in some other worldly plain. "We are indeed brethren Tomas, but you all leave us no choice. The human race must not be touched, preventive measures must be taken."
"Measures?" Odin tightened his hold on the ruby stone.
"Imprisonment for all of eternity without the hope of return. You will all be buried with a warning to any who stumble onto your tomb. Your epitaph shall be thus; 'Here lies the once noble Frost Giants, those who would call themselves gods are false ones and are never to return for all eternity'" Odin recited the writing found later in the covered tomb. Shortly there after Tomas was sealed away with the rest of his people. The Etens were defeated. The miraculous power that granted the Eese victory became lost and was forgotten. Nearly six thousand years later the Etens slept still, until they were awoken and allowed to plague the earth just as before. But the world is not unprotected, for it will be a new group of heroes who will decide the fortunes of all.
Present Day……….A girl sat on the floor of her room propping her back against her bed. The girl was an alien from a planet called Tamaran. She sat reading a book one of her friends suggested to her. There was a knock at her door and she stood up setting the book aside. She opened the door to see a masked young man.
"Hey Star, you ready?"
"Hmm hmm," she responded brightly. She retrieved a lightly packed suitcase from to corner. Starfire joined Robin in a walk down the hall. Beast Boy ran through the hall looking about madly until he spotted them.
"Robin! Star!"
"Sorry Beast Boy, offshore overnight fishing trip for two already in progress," said Robin not turning back.
"But it's about the Etens." They stopped walking. Robin looked at Starfire with a remorseful shrug but she understood. Robin gestured for Beast Boy to lead the way back to the common room. They entered to see Cyborg watching one of the little screens.
"What's happening?" asked the Titan leader.
"See for yourself," said Cyborg. He switched to the giant view. Kitten was seen on the screen speaking to a large crowd.
"Listen well children of the gods! The time for all nonbelievers has finally arrived; the day of Ragnarok." Starfire folded her hands together nervously; it was finally time.
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When there's trouble you know who to call
Teen Titans!
From their tower, they can see it all
Teen Titans!
When there's evil on the attack
You can rest knowing they got your back
Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol
Teen Titans GO!
With their superpowers they unite
Teen Titans!
Never met a villain that they liked
Teen Titans!
They've got the bad guys on the run
They never stop 'till the job gets done
Cuz when the world is losin' all control
Teen Titans GO!
1,2,3,4 GO!
Teen Titans
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"Where's this coming from?" asked Robin.
Cyborg said, "We got a call from that girl Tessa." They looked at him perplexed. "You know, from that town where I got accused of…..that one…thing." They nodded sporadically. "Anyway, Raven's there now undercover." They returned their attention to Kitten's radical sermon.
"According to the word of the god Jormungand; the three winters shall sweep the earth chilling the souls of evil and leaving the blessed children untouched. In the houses of the wicked conflicts and feuds will break out, even between families, and all mortality will disappear forever." Beast Boy scratched the top of his head with apprehension.
"Makes ol' Edgar Allen look pretty cheerful doesn't it?" whispered Beast Boy. Kitten paused with her speech wanting the words to sink in as much as possible. She took a deep breath and continued.
"But fear not my friends, for Tomas will extend his pure heart toward us and shield us from the cleansing of the world. But like a festering plague there will be survivors, we must cast them down and make them as dust beneath our feet. In the name of our gods, the omnipotent Frost Giants, we shall rally and smite them all with a fury the likes of which HAVE-BEEN-SEEEEN!" An empowered roar from the crowd told Kitten she'd done her job. Robin had his hands at his waist pensively. Starfire felt weak at the knees and fell to the couch.
"R-Raven should take her leave now," she said shaking. Robin glanced back at Starfire then nodded toward Cyborg. Cyborg sat down before the screen.
"Raven this is Titan's Tower you should head on back now." The screen panned from the crowd to Raven's face.
"I was thinking the same thing, but Tessa and a few of her friends are asking to come along." Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy looked at each other strangely.
"Why?"
"There the only ones in the town unfaithful to the Etens. They've tried to tell everyone the truth but they're treating it like kid's tales, nothing but lies and propaganda." Robin bit his lower lip thoughtfully.
"Alright but take as few as possible, the last thing we need is for you guys to be followed." Raven nodded and ended her transmission. "While we're waiting for them I think there's something we need to consider, the Eten's followers are about to launch a crusade against us. What we need is to be able to match if not overcome that force."
"How?" asked Beast Boy incredulously. "All of the Titans together again brings us up to a ripe number of about thirty….against thousands. They've got the Brotherhood of Evil; General Immortus' army alone outnumbers us eight to one."
"No need to sound so cheerful BB," quipped Cyborg. "Don't forget we've still got the Doom Patrol's number."
"As well as many other of our allies," said Starfire.
"Yes but we need one that has a force in large bulk," said Robin. "We need someone who can provide a force in mass."
Beast Boy shook his head. "Yeah like we know anyone like that." Robin winced as Beast Boy spoke.
"Actually Beast Boy I really hate to admit it….but I think there is one guy who could help us." He turned to look at Cyborg. Cyborg looked back at him confused but soon got the message.
"Oh, no…."
Cyborg drove alone to outskirts of Steel City. He stopped along a tree line where he met Titans East. They were asked to wait for him there to confirm the target was near. Cyborg stepped out of the car and it locked with a short chirp.
"There're still a billion and a half things that could go wrong with this crazy stunt."
"Nice to see you too Sparky," greeted Bumble Bee with a lopsided grin. "The City's former reservoir shouldn't be too far, Blood's been operating out of there for months."
"Gotcha, Robin's rallying every Titan and ally we've got before the Etens throw their mob at us."
"Given what we know about the Etens and who they are, do you really think we'll be able to stop them?" asked Speedy.
"It's not really a question of 'can' is it? Yall better get moving I can take it from here."
"You sure?" asked Bee. Cyborg walked up to the trees.
"I'm going alone." He and Titans East then parted company. Bumble Bee was right when she said the building wasn't far. He hadn't been walking five minuets before the dimmed lights came into view. He stopped before the door where he met two Hive drones of his form. "Haven't changed a bit." Blood obviously wanted to see Cyborg in person or the guards would have tried to stop him. Cyborg pushed open the door and stepped into the main room.
"Well, long time no see old friend." Blood's voice echoed throughout the room.
"I'm never gonna rag on Robin about Slade ever again," muttered Cyborg. "Why don't you come out where I can see you?" The lights lit around Cyborg revealing the sea of drones surrounding him.
"Coming here alone might have just been the biggest mistake of your life," sneered Blood. He walked out from behind the line of drones before Cyborg. "Not that I'm not glad you decided to grace me with your presence."
"Look I'm not here to do the good guy/bad guy talk, the Etens are coming and I think we both know what that means."
"An end to a very annoying road block," replied Blood. "Once the Etens have finished you I'll be free to do as I please." Cyborg smirked.
"Yeah right, you really think they're going to leave you alone if they take us out?" He crossed his arms. "I wonder, how many students have you lost to them?" The question was indeed accurate as Blood began to shift uneasily. "Must make you mad, knowing they've got a better recipe for brainwash soup." There was a pause.
"What do you want?"
"Help us out this one time, we push back with enough force and maybe-just maybe-the people will see how bogus the Etens really are." Blood regarded him peculiarly.
"You would seriously help me get my students back?"
"Hey I didn't say anything about that, but I guess we could work something out. After all there are those nights when we need some amateur pickpockets to get over the boredom." Blood narrowed his eyes at the Teen hero. Cyborg smirked back awaiting Brother Blood's answer.
BACK AT THE TOWER……………..
Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy worked diligently at each of their stations recalling the number of Titans from their posts around the world. Robin charged Beast Boy with sending word to the Doom Patrol as well informing them of the enemy they would be facing. Raven and Cyborg returned to the tower almost at the exact same time. They both entered though Raven carried herself rather raggedly. Beast Boy finished briefing the Doom Patrol over the comm. and met Raven.
"Boy you've seen better days." He was met with two menacing eyes from beneath a hood. She grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him close.
"You levitate four girls over five hundred miles and we'll see how energetic you are afterwards." She released him and walked fully into the common room. Following her where the girl they knew as Tessa and three of her friends.
"Robin," said Cyborg walking over to him. He turned in his seat.
"How'd it go?"
"He'll do it, I gladly said some choice words and he did it with that grumpy eye glowing thing that he does and he gave in."
"It'll have to do." A smaller screen popped up on Starfire's monitor and her eyes widened as she read it.
"Robin," she called to him. He and Cyborg stood behind her. "Our deep space satellites have detected two Gordanian mother ships on a course for Earth; they will be here within a day." Robin and Cyborg gave each other hard looks. The news weighed heavily on them and with that in mind the rest of the day was spent spreading the word.
Raven spent a better part of the afternoon in the tower's library, determined to find out as much as she could before they entered a battle with the Etens. She currently sat before a desk where she read over three books at a time. All were in different languages and all told a different story. She flipped through the pages halfheartedly then rubbed her eyes tiresomely.
"Some food?" She jumped at the sound of Beast Boy.
"You want me to accidentally teleport you someplace unearthly don't you," she said catching her breath. He shrugged setting down a sandwich and a cup of tea.
"Raven you just might be the only one who burns the midnight oil at four o'clock pm." She blinked out her exhaustion and looked at him strangely.
"What're you talking about?" He smirked.
"Lights," he called toward the ceiling. The room's lights came on negating Raven's candle light. She looked about wondrously and cocked her head.
"I….didn't notice." She went back to reading.
"Are you at least going to look at it?"
"At what? She asked not taking her eyes off the page. He pushed the plate and cup toward her. "Oh, thank you." She sipped her tea and Beast Boy found a seat next to her. She sent him a sideways glance and swallowed the warming liquid.
"This really is a one person job Beast Boy."
"I know, but you've been in here for so long and you're staring at three books at once. Call it whatever you want but I think you could do with some help." Raven had to smile though careful to hide it.
"Brilliant Holmes."
"Elemental my dear Raven." This time a chuckle escaped her no matter what she did. It came before she even considered correcting him.
"Whoa-ho-ho hold the phone, did I hear what I think I just heard?" She let out a short 'tsk.'
"I'm afraid not." But Beast Boy wouldn't take no 'Tsk' for an answer. He smiled mischievously.
"I think sooner or later you're just going to have to admit that you think I'm funny." He said pointing to her then himself.
"Keep dreaming Beast Boy," said Raven biting into the sandwich.
"Hey I heard it, I heard you laugh and there is no way you can deny it." Raven closed her eyes crossly. 'Why did I have to go a laugh' "Look its okay Raven I'll be here waiting when you're ready."
"That's it, you know I was this close to admitting it," she said making a space between her thumb and forefinger. "But now I take it back." He smiled and shook his head.
"Nope you can't take it back because that right there was as good as a confession."
"You are an annoying little boy," she said irritably.
"Careful Raven I might just tell you my life's story, I could even put it in Sci-Fi form." Raven scoffed at the idea then raised her head up in wonder.
"What did you say?" He shifted his eyes.
"You mean about me? Well, along time ago in a city far far away-"
"No no no the other thing…" Her voce trailed off as she went back to skimming the pages. "The life story thing…" He looked over her shoulder but she appeared to be ignoring his presence. He stood up and shrugged.
"Well if you're okay now…I guess I'll leave." Just as he turned to go however Raven turned around and hugged him tightly. "Raven, you're hugging me…"
"You're a genius," she muttered and went back to work. "Our bone head, is a complete genius."
With the rest of the Titans and their allies alerted there was nothing for them to do but go through their options once more. They all sat around the circular couch.
"I don't get it," said Beast Boy. "The Gordanian fleet must be twenty times bigger than that why just two ships?" Starfire cleared her throat.
"According to sources within the Eten's ranks the bulk of the Gordanian fleet is currently crusading against a race of nonbelievers in a distant galaxy. The two mother ships must be the only ones that have not been called into service."
"More likely the Etens just feel they could easily finish us off with just the two," said Robin.
"I can't believe they've actually gotten that far though," said Cyborg. "You'd think it would take em' a little while longer to finish lying to our galaxy first."
"I would never underestimate them," said Starfire.
"More than that now we know exactly what it is they're planning," said Raven. "Thanks to a really unlike source…" She looked at Beast Boy who gave her a toothy smile and a thumbs up. "I've found out a little more about Ragnarok and our Eese friends." She grabbed the attention of both her friends and the girls she brought home, who currently sat at the kitchen table. "The seven Clerics hasn't been a random number, they need seven to cover every corner of the Earth. When the time comes they will initiate three great winters one right after the other."
"And that's supposed to wipe us out?" asked Beast Boy skeptically.
"Well use your head Beast Boy it's obviously a metaphorical description, or it could be winter related the point is the armies are just a way to drive our attention away from the Clerics."
"Even so we can't just ignore them," said Robin. "And I doubt those two Gordanian ships are nothing but a diversion." Starfire tuned out Robin's disagreement with a question of her own.
"Raven you referred to something about the Eese?"
"Yes I ran across a chronicle left behind by one of the original Eten worshipers." She held up a thick and tattered book, turned to the middle and began to read aloud. "Never did I feel so proud to serve my gods in this way." Cyborg rolled his eyes. "But I know now that such thoughts were flawed, flawed to have bowed before someone who was no more a god then I. The day the Eese fought the Etens we were gathered to fight in their name. I remember it well we were being desperately slaughtered, the valkyries were simply too powerful. The last sight my eyes bore upon was mighty Thor being engulfed in white light. A great wave sprung forth from him and when all cleared the Etens were no more." She finished reading allowing them to consider what they just heard.
"Could this 'white light' possibly be some kind of Eese weapon?" theorized Robin. Raven folded the book in her arms and shrugged.
"It's possible but if there was some kind of weapon then there's no telling if it still exists, and even if it did it could be anywhere."
"Then we must rely on our strength alone," said Starfire resolutely.
"It sure looks that way." Starfire nodded and glided up to the main window. She observed the number of Titans vessels assembling outside. Like Titans East they were all similar to the one Cyborg first designed simply a different color. She saw Robin's reflection in the glass coming up behind her.
"Will it really be how she described it?" Robin frowned slightly. "Is this really our day of reckoning?"
He sighed. "I don't know if we can really stop them, but I'm going to go ahead and quote Beast Boy; 'It doesn't mean we can't try'." She glimpsed him with a smile. Their moment of peace was halted however as Cyborg answered a beeping sound from one of the monitors.
"Sensors just picked the Gordanian ships emerging from hyperspace; they'll breach the atmosphere over the Pacific within the hour." Robin and Starfire returned their gazes to one another.
"Are you ready?" they asked in unison.
"You bet we are," said Beast Boy leaning against a grinning Cyborg. "And so are they…" He pointed outside where they saw the small crowd of Titans waiting. Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy joined the two at the window. Starfire smiled with admiration, brought a charge to her hand, and raised it high. A rising cheer erupted from the ground. Robin then addressed each of them with his comm. Link.
"Titans move out." With that Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven made their way down to their own ship. As Raven brought up the rear Tessa cornered her before she could leave.
"What? We're busy."
"What can we do to help?"
"You can stay here where its safe," said Raven moving her aside. Tessa shook her head incredulously.
"What? What do you think we are, six?" But Raven would hear nothing more of it. Tessa crossed her arms and sat back down with her friends.
"Hey." They turned quickly as Raven poked her head back in the common room. "Stay out of my room." Their faces fell from disappointment.
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The orange fuselage of the T-Ship moved over the surface of the Pacific Ocean with ease. Robin slowly brought it to a halt upon joining the other Titan vessels in formation. He had each of them check in then waited, either for more friends to show up or the enemy. The next ship to arrive was the Doom Patrol and they were not without welcome.
"Hhheyy Mento wasss up!" greeted Beast Boy. The faces of Beast Boy's former teammates appeared on screen.
"Hello Beast Boy, we got your message and we're ready to do what we can." Starfire mentally went over all of her knowledge of Gordanian technology. She summed up every useful fact she could think of and opened a channel to all ships.
"Friends this Starfire, I am transmitting tactical data to your onboard computers. Once their shields weaken beyond forty percent begin directing your weapons toward the dorsal section of the hull."
"Roger that Star," answered Robin.
"Understood," replied Mento. The leader of teach ship responded alike. Two blips then appeared on their scopes and the Titans knew they were here. Within minuets of detecting them the Titans saw the clouds move about and part as the large ships now hovered over the ocean.
"Geeeeeez those are big honk'n ships," muttered Hot Spot. For a moment they did nothing but sit there, then a cloud of attackers was sent from each mother ship. The Titans were dozens against hundreds. Starfire narrowed her eyes at them and nodded over at Robin from her pod.
"Titans separate!" Each ship, save the Doom Patrol, broke apart into five smaller craft. "Listen up, we cannot let them reach the city. We hit em' head on and no one looks back." Each Titan readied him or herself in their own way as he spoke. "TITANS GO!" And they charged forward. With each second that it took for them to reach other doubt began to spread. Could this be the end?
BANG
A blue projectile shot out of nowhere and destroyed one of the attackers. A flurry of mid-sized fighters poured through the clouds. Raven and a number of others looked over their shoulder at their sudden allies.
"X'Hal fellow warriors!" Starfire's eyes widened, she knew that voice anywhere.
"Galfore!"
"There is no time to waste; we must join our brethren in battle!" A morale boost like no other spread amongst every Titan, there was hope after all. Smiling broadly Robin issued a new order.
"Alight then, everyone follow in on the Tamaranian's approach." The forces of good where now a multicolored as well as mutli-tech array. They all sped forward as one until both sides opened fire and they collided. The air was positively filled buzzing ships, disrupter fire, and flaming debris. By now three Tamaranian cruisers joined the battle, one being Galfore's command ship. The cruisers and mother ships ignored the smaller craft in favor of battling with each other. Aqualad spun in a barrel roll trying to evade an attacker on his tail. He took a hit and winced from a spark.
"I can't shake him!"
"I've got you covered," said Herald. He blew by Aqualad's pursuer, blew his horn, and the fighter flew into a rift of nothingness. Herald wasn't the only to make use of his powers during the battle. Killowat used his own power to better his ship's weapons. Argent shot her target out of the sky then smacked another with a giant energy hammer. The Doom Patrol contributed to the attack against the mother ships. The Gordanian ships were fewer but they made up for it with denser hulls, stronger shields, and devastating weapons. On the bridge of his ship Galfore gripped his chair as the ship shook from a direct hit.
"Shields down to sixty percent," reported the helm.
"Reroute power to the shields from secondary systems! Bring us about." They turned just in time to narrowly miss a powerful shot from one of the enemy ships. It instead impacted a more severely crippled Tamaranian ship and destroyed it. Starfire watched it fall into the ocean in pieces with a dressed look but a shot against her port wing brought her back to the battle. She tugged at the control stick pulling her fighter into a back flip. When she straightened she flew behind her attacker and let him have it.
----
From the tower window Tessa and her friends watched the sky light up with fireworks. She issued an irritated breath and began walking toward the door.
"Where you going?"
"Uhh to do something, why?"
"They told us to stay here." Tessa rolled her eyes and continued on her way.
"Sooner or later they're going to start hitting us on the ground, now there's bound to be some people in the city that're still thinking straight." With that she left and friends ran to catch up with her.
----
Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy flew about in formation. It hardly mattered who they hit as long as they were shooting at them first. Truthfully speaking though by now it was hard to tell friend from foe. Cyborg made a quick scan of the mother ships.
"Rob the one at three o'clock is about to loose it's shields, I think we should take Star's advice."
"Good idea, let go for it!" They bobbed about the fighters and Titan ships flying about fighting one another. Before they could launch their attack however the ship they were aiming for got one last shot off. The long beam moved through the air and struck the Doom Patrol ship in the right nacelle. The beam broke through the ship's shields, the nacelle exploded, and they began spinning out of control. Pressed his hand against the glass.
"NOO!" It was unclear if any of his former teammates managed to escape before but the ship spun about until it crashed into the ocean and broke apart. Beast Boy gladly rejoined the offensive along with Raven, Kid Flash, Jinx, and Bushido. The concentrated bit of disrupter fire on the Gordanian's weakened hull was enough to cause terminal damage. It dipped down into the water nosecone first and slowly sank. As the battle in the sky pressed on, the number of ships on both sides decreased significantly. Raven and Starfire found themselves being chased by ten or so fighters. Starfire did what she could with rear weapons. Raven clicked on autopilot and closed her eyes.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Thin lines of dark energy streamed from Raven's pod and traced along the enemy ships behind them. They began moving about uncontrollably and collided with one another. Starfire breathed a sigh of relief while giving Raven a wave of thanks. She then gasped when she saw another group teaming up against Robin. While she pulled off to rescue him another Titan ship did a personal battle with one of the attackers. Since she was so small Kole and Gnarrk were able to share a pod made especially for them. They had been engaged in battle with this one fighter since the beginning of the battle and were growing wearing of it. She gave Gnarrk a nod and turned herself to her indestructible crystalline form. He slowed the ship, opened the wind shield, and threw her like a boomerang at the oncoming fighter. She carved into the fighter's hull sending flying into the ocean. Once Starfire had driven his attackers away Robin glanced about for something and cursed when he didn't see it.
"Attention all Titans, we may have to come up with another plan. Blood's forces are long overdue."
"See I knew that was a bad idea," said Cyborg's voice. Aqualad washed two enemy fighters away with a giant wave then shielded his eyes from the bright blast of a second Tamaranian cruiser going up in smoke.
"Help me! My ship has taken damage!" Red Star was next to be heard over the comm. link. He ejected from the burning remnants of his pod. A piece of his control console blew up in his face and knocked him unconscious. Wonder Girl flew quickly flew by in ship and captured him around the waist with her lasso. He groaned and looked up at his rescuer.
"Are you okay?"
"Da, I thank you." Starfire flew about either looking for a target or trying to avoid becoming a target. An enemy fighter was blown apart above her making her roll her ship about to avoid the flying debris.
"Princess!" Starfire reached up to her headset.
"Galfore?"
"We've lost primary systems, weapons are gone and our shields are soon to follow. We…" His transmission became garbled. "The ship will……we will try…transport to……..save yourself!" Starfire looked back toward the Gordanian ship and saw another large wave of fighters coming their way.
"Robin we should retreat." He steered his pod about to get a better look and shared Starfire's dismay at the sight. He gritted his teeth ruefully but gave the order.
"Retreat! Back to the tower!"
ELSEWHERE……………..
Kitten stood atop mountain not far from the bay of Jump City among a sizable contingent of zealots. She walked up to the utmost peak and spread her arms out.
"My god Tomas, I am here. Your holy day is upon us and we are ready to begin the great winters. For all who revere you shall remain untouched while those who would doubt shall be consumed in everlasting frost." She cocked her head skywards and began to lift off the ground. Clouds gathered, the wind began to pick up, and the air grew cold. A bolt of lighting zig zagged from the clouds and struck her pendant. She jolted only for second. After muttering a few words a starburst of light shone from her and a large wall of energy moved away from her.
BACK AT THE TOWER………
Thankfully the Gordanians didn't follow them back to the tower after the last Tamaranian ship fell into the ocean. The grounds around the Tower became a makeshift hospital. Everywhere Titan were looking after Titan or tending to their own wounds. Kole sat wringing some water out of her hair while Mas and Menos zoomed about distributing medical supplies. Beast Boy sat crossed legged on a rock with a downcast look. He raised his head up with a smile when he saw Elastigirl coming out of the water. She unrolled herself from a sphere and out came Mento, Robot Man, and Negative Man. Beast Boy jumped off the rock and ran up to them.
"Dude I am so glad to see you guys!"
"Fighting the Brotherhood for so long taught us one or two things about survival I guess," said Negative Man.
"Are you all alright?" asked Elastigirl.
"We've been better," said Beast Boy sagging his shoulders. "And the best part is this whole thing's barely begun."
Starfire stared at the hovering Gordanian ship off in the distance; it was joined by another that had just arrived in orbit an hour ago. "Starfire, we're trying to keep track of everyone's cuts and bruises." Robin said walking up to her. "Are you hurt?""Hmm? No I am fine." She paused. "Why do you suppose they do not just attack?" He shrugged.
"Who knows, they could be waiting for the winters to start." He saw her distressed aura coming on. "They stole my idea," he said jerking his head toward the Gordanian ship.
"How so?"
"I was gonna take us fishing out that way," he said with a grin. She smiled. 'Yes! She's smiling'.
"Our trip of fishing is merely postponed yes?"
"Oh yeah we're still gonna go, we just have to save the world."
"Yes, for the sixth time." Robin looked at her with a disbelieving smile.
"Somebody's been keeping score." She laughed and steadied herself by tucking some loose hair behind her ear.
"Well it is hard not to we save it so often." Robin nodded agreeably. She so appreciated Robin for his support. If it were not for the force that now stood at their doorstep she might have forgotten it all together. "Very soon they will resume their assault. What will we do then?" He slid his hand into hers.
"I don't know Star but we'll think of something." She looked at him as if saying 'are you sure'? "We always do." Suddenly ring of light encased her and Starfire was whisked away right out of his hand. "Starfire!" Bumble Bee, Speedy, and Aqualad ran over.
"What happened?"
"Starfire's been taken!"
"That's not our only problem," said Speedy pointing off in the distance. Cyborg and Beast Boy joined them and they saw a large wave heading straight for them. Cyborg made a scan with his arm.
"A massive energy anomaly, whatever it is its super cold."
"Or an ice age wrapped up in one blow," whispered Robin. "IN THE TOWER, EVERYONE IN TOWER NOW!" They abandoned their spots on the grassy landscape at Robin's shouts. Far off along the water boats were engulfed by the wave and torn asunder. Once all the Titans were safely inside Cyborg locked down the tower with every security protocol known to man.
"Think this'll hold?" asked Robin. Cyborg raised his brows at the oncoming ice wave.
"It'll have to do." Raven stared out at the wave without blinking, she could do something. She knew she could, she had to do something. Whether or not she had the power was irrelevant, she had to try. Once she was sure no one in the room was in a position to stop her Raven phased through the large window and sailed to the ground. Jericho spotted her out of corner of his eye and pulled Robin with him to the window.
"What? What is it?" He looked down at Raven and his eyes tripled in size. "What the-Raven!" At the sudden increase of noise everyone ran to the window.
"What is she doing!" raised Beast Boy. Outside Raven ran against the blowing wind under the darkened sky. She ran as fast as she could toward the beach, toward the wave. Starfire disappeared most likely taken by the Etens; Raven now saw it as her responsibility to take action. As she ran closer and closer to the tide the wind grew stronger and more torrential, the wave drew closer and closer.
"Azarath…" Raven began summoning the greatest force she ever attempted to in a single move. "…Metrion…" From up in the tower Beast Boy wiped some sweat off his forehead. She stopped at the beach. "ZINTHOS!" Raven threw her arms up forming a shield equal to the wave's massive proportions. Raven poured all her might into the barrier making it stretch for miles in each direction. She saw the wave coming ever closer and closed her eyes to brace herself. The wave hit smacked into the shield with such tremendous force Raven was knocked backward off her feet, but she still beyond all explanation managed to keep the shield up. Feeling as though the sheer weight of a planet was bearing down on her, Raven struggled back up to her feet and kept the wave at bay.
"Wow," breathed Kid Flash. "She's actually going to hold it back." Robin wasn't so sure however. He observed her through a pair of binoculars. Her teeth were gritted and it was clear tears were pouring down her face. The wave seemed to sense it was being stopped and began to press harder upon the poor Titan.
"ARRGGHHH!" She screamed forcing every single bit of strength into holding back this Eten force.
Crack!
Her eyes bulged open. She looked up and saw a large crack forming in her shield. It was then that Raven began to hear cracking sounds everywhere around her, the shield was failing. She tired with all her might to press harder but knew she used what strength she had not seconds ago.
"She's not gonna make it!" Beast Boy warned out loud and scrambled downstairs. He double timed his steps skipping some all together. When he finally reached the bottom it took him all of two seconds to bypass Cyborg's security codes by simply charging through the door as a T-Rex. Beast Boy resumed human form just as Raven glanced back at him over her shoulder.
"No…" An even large crack formed just in front of her. "I'm sorry…" He stopped, she stopped, the world stopped. The crack before Raven burst only giving her time to look away before being swallowed up in its power.
"RAVEN!" Beast Boy was thrown backwards by a blast of wind. Raven's shield, though falling in the end, did manage to stop it from consuming the island and the tower. The wave passed beside Titans Tower moving all throughout the city. The incredible winds broke through the windows sending all of them flying about in different directions. Beast Boy crouched low to the ground covering his head form the icy wind. Mas and Menos held tightly onto pieces of the torn carpet to keep from blowing away. Bushido and Argent collided with each other in the air. Robin dove onto his stomach with his arms forward.
Deeper inside the city Tessa and her friends walked about trying to find anyone who would listen.
"Bunch of idiots," she muttered as yet another passerby ignored them. She sighed turning around and stopped dead at the sight ahead of them. "Oh boy…" The wave was approaching faster than ever now that the damn holding it back was gone. She quickly looked about when she spotted a manhole in the street. "Help me!" They crowded around the steel lid and pulled up, it was so heavy and worn into the road. They pulled and tugged and it only budged. She cast a fearful look back at the wave.
In their homes families ducked for cover. Mother's held their children close and fathers sent them someplace safe. The girl who's eyes had been healed not long ago now used to them watch with horror as they were about to turn black. It blew through houses, it blew through streets, neighborhoods, schools, buildings, forests, everything. Soon though the wind finally died down and all was calm again.
OSYARD………..
Starfire lay on the floor of a flame lit temple. She groaned reaching around blindly. She opened her eyes but was met only with a blurry vision of things around her. She sat up and vaguely saw someone.
"Robin? Where are we?" Her sight refocused and she all too soon saw that it was not Robin standing before her. She jumped to her feet and glided as far away from Tomas as she could. He as usual did almost nothing but stand in place, his presence alone was enough to instill foreboding. She brought green energy to her hands and eyes, but could she win? If he could bring her here this easily then what was there to do. A tiny smile painted its way onto his face.
"Thus always to evil."
JUMP CITY……….
The air was filled with a cold chill, the only structures that could be seen where the tall office buildings. The rest of the houses and streets were submerged beneath a sea of snow and ice. There was not a sign of life anywhere. A mound of snow near the base of Titan's Tower moved about until it was Beast Boy that sat up. He brushed himself off shivering. He staggered to his feet and was about to topple over but was caught by Cyborg.
"Careful man."
"Whoa...talk about a brain freeze-" His speech was cut short by a sight by the beach. He slowly walked toward it; the others saw it also and began to follow him. Robin stumbled as his attention was drawn away from his steps. All the remaining Titans gazed upon Raven. Raven was still…far too still. Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy walked around to her front. Raven was frozen solid. She remained stationary in her last moment of terror. Her hair stiff and her eyes shut tight. A cold wind blew by sending even more shivers down their backs. He reached forward to touch her but she was so cold, so cold that it burned. Robin looked out over the water, covered by mist and patches of ice. This was but the first of two more winters….and they were fresh out of Ravens.
To Be Continued…………
I apologize for the stopping point. But the family's computer is down and so I'm having to "compromise" with mine (yeah right). We'll be updating soon, I hope. Hope you liked this first part….now all we need is the next…one. Yeah I'll stop being dumb now.