Transient
Part One
…
Her fists struck with all her power, but the wall would not give. She flew higher, her eye beams streamed across the portal gate, but it would not cave in. Blackfire's blackbolts couldn't tumble the wall, but the furious and determined Tameranian powerhouse wouldn't stop trying. Her grunts echoed off the cave walls and drummed into Speedy's ears as he finally gained consciousness. The masked archer rubbed his throbbing head, pulling himself into a sitting position. Through the haze of his mask he could make out Blackfire's attacks and D'ucel adding to the fray. The door didn't so much as chip under their onslaught, no matter how high Blackfire's eye beams flew or how forcefully Fox's punches connected.
The agile archer was sluggish for the first time in a long time. His knees wobbled, his fingers gripping the severed end of his formerly-trusty bow. In one stiff turn of his head he could see the whole cave. Blackfire and Fox attacking, Aqualad desperately trying to regain communication with Titans Tower; Beast Boy holding his fragile form as his own green eyes drifted from wall to wall. Speedy could see Cyborg, his shoulders and chest absolutely still. His parts were cooled and dull. Though both eyes were opened, Speedy couldn't tell if the cybernetic hero could see him.
But Speedy's eyes trained on one thing and stayed there. While his eyes watched her, Starfire stared down at her precious burden cradled in her arms. Robin's head was perfectly still in Starfire's lap. His chest was barely rising; the movement of his lungs was mechanical, driven only by his selfish instinct to exist. Robin's face was slack; the normally expressive features were flat. His skin was pale and unnatural and every ounce of boyish youth seemed to be just a memory.
Starfire's bright eyes were wavering, tears had long since stopped, but the sadness and concern was on display for the whole world to see. Speedy staggered forward, his feet taking him towards the alien girl, his right leg gave out and he stumbled. He reached the two who were as still as statues from the ground.
Statues… ground… Terra…
Speedy held his bruised chin, his face tightening with pain. He could see the hiraikotsu plunged into the cave wall not two feet above Beast Boy's head. The weapon looked as bruised as Speedy felt on the inside.
"They got Sakura."
Starfire's eyes closed slowly. "And Raven…"
"And Terra got us." Cyborg added as the life seemed to return to the mechanical fighter. Cyborg's feet were heavy, the ground exploding with sound with each tread. Speedy could see past Cyborg's imposing figure and see the green changeling who was collapsing with silent tears.
"How could she? How could see do this again?" Speedy asked.
"I do not know… This does not make sense…" Starfire whispered.
"We know everything we need to know." Cyborg said, his mouth a tight line. "The Syndicate has Raven… they've got all they need to start the end of the world. And we've got nothing."
Blackfire turned from the wall, Cyborg's angry words thrashing in her ears. She flew to the rest of the remaining Titans, D'ucel following behind her.
"Do not say that! We have not lost yet! We must find our friends!"
"How do we do that? We can't get past the portal door and even if we did, that door leads to multiple dimensions… without any more information we can't move forward."
Aqualad frowned deeply, closing down his communicator. Despite his best efforts he couldn't get in contact with Celine. All lines were down. "We've got nothing to go on, no way to go about it and no way of getting more information… Celine isn't answering her communicator… I think something bad happened to her." The Atlantian added. His dark eyes dulled with worry.
"Something bad's happened to all of us…" Beast Boy said in a low whisper. His voice wasn't so low that all the Titans couldn't hear him.
"We must not give up!" Blackfire shouted.
"Raven and Sakura are our friends. We must do something." Starfire added.
"The only thing we can do now… is regroup. With Raven and Sakura taken by the Syndicate… and with Terra feeding Slade on all our new weaknesses… we're sitting ducks for anything they throw at us."
"We can't leave them Cyborg!" Speedy yelled.
"I don't like it either, Speedy, and if I knew of any way to get in and get us all out, I'd be the first one in… but we don't know anything about what we're up against… especially with Terra on their side… And as it is… we aren't strong enough to fight another battle right now…" Cyborg's words were harsh and to all the Titans it looked like Speedy was going to argue more; to yell at Cyborg, to tell him that he was wrong. Cyborg didn't give him the chance. "Team… we've got to get out of here and gather our strength. Whether or not we come back and get our friends or if the end of the world comes first… there's nothing we can do when we're ready to fall apart. Speedy, you can barely stand; my parts are trashed and look at Robin!"
Starfire's face clenched in pain, her fingers clutching at the unmoving Boy Wonder as the Titans got a good look at him.
Aqualad put his hand on Speedy's shoulder. The red archer turned his face, the pain running through him was striking at more levels than he'd experienced in a long time.
"We can't do anything from here… Lets go back to the tower and recover… then we can work together and find out something we can do."
The cybernetic, interim Titans' leader turned his back and began to walk away. Starfire stood, cradling Robin. His body was slack; his knees hanging over Star's right arm, his shoulder's across her left. The Titans' leader's head flopped backwards, his neck craned and stressed, but he couldn't feel it; he couldn't feel anything as Starfire took her slow steps to follow Cyborg out of the cave.
Speedy's fingers clenched down at his sides. He wanted to scream. He wanted to charge, he wanted to do something except feel helpless. The remaining shards of his bow stung into his palms, his shoulders quaked with his anger. D'ucel moved forward and Aqualad pulled Blackfire along. Speedy might have stayed there longer if Beast Boy hadn't come into his sight. The shorter green morph moved closer to the archer, just close enough to reach his hand up touch Speedy's shoulder. Speedy didn't want to look into those green eyes and see the pain there. But he did… and it moved him… it moved him and Beast Boy both out of the cave.
Cyborg climbed into the T-car. Starfire gently placed herself in the passenger seat, holding the fragile Robin close. She couldn't feel his breathing against her neck and inside she feared the worst for her best friend. Blackfire and Aqualad crawled into the back, just as Beast Boy crawled in from the other side. The green changeling pulled his knees to his chest, his face buried in his legs. Speedy watched D'ucel take to the air, flying over the T-car as it moved forward.
Speedy put on Robin's helmet and revved the motor for the R-cycle. His back was heavy; Sakura's weapon loaded him down more than his bow ever did. The fractured pieces of Speedy's life crashed against each other as he knocked down the kickstand and followed the T-car back to the tower.
Everything but the roar of the motors was in perfect silence.
…
Terra's prize trailed behind her like a puppy. She left the boulder drag along the floor. She could have easily made the heavy stone float, but dragging the entrapped Sakura along the ground was infinitely more satisfying than flexing her power. Beside her Red X trailed, the doppelganger's eyes were trained on his Sunshine and underneath his cruel mask his devilish smile played. Tetris followed steadily behind his master, the pink haired ward of Washu carried Raven gently across his arms. His movements were absolutely mechanical, one foot in front of the other, no sway or swagger. Movement, forward progression and Slade found he liked that capacity for control. Slade's single eye admired Washu's absolute dominance over the half-demon Tetris, the boy's mind victim to Washu's will; Washu's will exerted through his slave crown.
While Slade admired Washu's power over his charge, Washu was fixated with the globe of golden energy he had stolen. He had watched in the energy pools of the universe, had seen magnificent brightness and failures in the same, but never had he come across energy so wondrous as that which he had stolen from Robin. He had been mistaken, when he watched the energy pool surrounding Raven, assuming that the gold body was a result of multiple dynamics, that the gold swerve of life energy was expelled just by Raven herself and the tremendous breadth of her powers. He had always been aware of Robin, Robin was the sole cause of his haste… and with the Titan out of commission Washu had no reason to rush.
"We have completed the first step. The girl has been acquired. How much needs to be done before we can begin?" Slade asked.
The response was silence, except the steady steps of Washu and Tetris as they continued to move forward. Slade stopped and in reaction, Terra and Red X stopped too.
"Washu, we are moving forward in our plans. I have done my part and gathered the girl. Until you perform your role with Raven, neither of us will get what we want."
Washu's free hand turned and with a flicker of his wrist, Tetris' direction changed. The mindless demon sire walked, Raven's body secure in his grasp. His face showed no emotion, even in the natural weakness of blinking, Tetris was static. Slade watched him move, disappearing into a corridor.
"Follow Tetris to the holding wing. The spoils of war will hold until I am ready… for now, I have something infinitely more interesting to occupy my thoughts."
Washu disappeared down another corridor, the shadows looking bright in contrast to his dark nature. Slade watched him go and Terra watched him, for command in their next move. "Take Sakura and place her with Raven. It seems we'll have more freedom in our movements than previously anticipated."
"Why do you want to keep her anyways Slade? You'll never be able to control her."
"Like I couldn't control you?"
Terra's smile picked up on one side of her face. "You can't control me Slade. I'm doing this because I want to… you aren't my boss. We're only working together because we have a similar goal."
"I don't seek revenge Terra. That is your goal."
Terra shook her head. "I said similar. Not the same."
"And do tell how are my personal plans are related to your desire for revenge?"
"Because they're both desires… and in the end, every action comes down to revenge."
Slade regarded the blond girl until she too disappeared down the corridor. Red X nodded his head.
"She's perfect." X's voice hummed mechanically.
"Hardly perfect… but quite exceptional at being bad."
…
Terra entered the holding chamber just in time to see Tetris gently lay Raven onto the ground. The mystic floated gently on her own accord, her energy moving in a way that Washu could not suppress; the natural force to survive. Terra watched Raven over Tetris, the half demon male remained perfectly still as his cold eyes stared down at Raven with no response to her presence. Sometimes Terra wondered if he was blind or just a puppet for Washu and not a living, breathing thing.
It's not like it matters. We all gotta do what we gotta do to get what we want. Washu took away Tetris' conscious and I'm going to take every thing I can.
Terra opened her boulder smoothly. The huge fault let Sakura's body fall from it like the yolk from an egg. Sakura's body landed and stilled, the natural grace of the fighter unrepresented with the hazard of her body's arrangement. But despite what her position displayed, the internal fight of the unconscious girl was more than enough to show her strength. The Holy was active, just as Raven's demon power was within her. The coating was thin and weaker than many other times Terra had seen it. But the fact that she was seeing it all made Terra uneasy.
"Hey, any idea why she's still glowing?"
Tetris didn't acknowledge her. Terra frowned and rolled her eyes.
"Oh that's right, you don't talk. Not like it matters anyway… No Holy will guard the meek from the strong. With all the players wounded on your side," Terra's eyed locked on Sakura's still face. "All the Titans are meek and nothing will save them from my compassion."
…
Sakura had woken up two days ago, her body blinded by fever. Her sweating was nearly suffocating her and the pain thundering from her broken leg made breathing unbearable. Her Holy energy wasn't responding and considering where she was and how she got there, it had nothing to do with her not being able to focus… actually, it had everything to do with that… but something was making sure that she never gathered the fortitude to focus and break free.
When her fever broke, she saw him up close again. Her first reaction was to attack, but the pain in her head and the fracture in her bones made it impossible. It was when her head jerked back in pain that she became aware for the first time that besides Tetris, there was someone else in the room.
Raven…Every moment of the last fight came back to her. She remembered watching Terra betray the Titans, the Syndicate slipping away and Sakura acting in the only way she could: in the manner most likely to get her killed. She had fought Slade and Terra and had held her own until Washu interfered and Slade broke her leg… and that was how she was in her prison with a wounded Raven and no means to escape… she was in an unfamiliar place with enemies more treacherous than she could describe and, more than likely, a few days away from the end of the world…
And all that started with the attack from the half-demon in front of her, presenting her with her dinner. She had thought to put up a barrier to lock Tetris out. But when the weak white guard came up, Tetris's hand and arm penetrated it with no resistance; he continued to move Sakura's rations from his tray to the space in front of Sakura with no reaction to the barrier. It was like he didn't even notice it. Sakura's body told her, in the same way her mind did, that the barrier was useless against Tetris. He had proven it before.
Tetris's eyes were unblinking and the only thing Sakura found more unnerving than that dull stare was that nothing seemed to beat that expression. Sakura's hand darted out, her fingers latching onto Tetris' wrist. She didn't make a move to attack, just took control of it, forcing it to stop moving. Instead of knocking it away, instead of knocking her away, Tetris employed his other hand to finish his task. Sakura let go of his arm before he set out her last dish. Sakura could only stare at him, directly into his pink hued eyes and see oblivion. She could see it… Tetris wasn't working under his own will… someone was making him move, breathe, act… Who controls your heart?
Tetris exited. Sakura choked down her food. The taste made her tongue turn and rough coughs escaped her lungs. The pit of her stomach clenched and through the sting of tears in her eyes, Sakura could see tiny pebbles shift and split at her legs. Her face tightened and they came forward.
Deathstroke and Terra Nostra.
"You would think at your age you wouldn't be crying over spilled milk." Terra laughed.
"Kisama!" (You!)
As the idea entered her head to attack, the throb of suppression flashed and conquered her. A terrible pain racked her brain and Sakura struggled to keep her eyes open.
"You'll find attacking with any of your strengths will be quite fruitless. While your Holy is impressive, you haven't the ability to surpass Washu's neutralization of your powers." Slade said nonchalantly.
"I've fought things more powerful than some demon spell." Sakura sneered and her body looked ready to try another attack.
"Get over yourself Sakura! You think you are so tough, but you know what? You aren't. This whole time I was playing with you, making you think that I was weak so I could overthrow you… and it worked."
"You didn't beat me you traitor! You did nothing but show your true face… and betrayal is an ugly shade Terra… this time it won't rub off."
"I don't need your acceptance! I never needed the Titans. I used them; I showed them all what weak fools they were! You all acted like you were better than me and I proved to the rest of the world otherwise."
"We are better than you Terra. The Titans aren't going to let you get away with this!"
"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, dear girl. You have so much faith in your friendships that it blinds you to the absolutes of the future. We will be successful in our goals and every single Titan will fall." Slade replied.
"I don't believe you! You don't know anything about us!"
"You forget, dear girl, I know everything about you." Slade answered.
Terra leered, her cruel smile twisting her features.
"Your team is destroyed Sakura. Even if we let you go, there's no place for you to go back to. Not to the tower, not to your precious friends… not to your cute, little Speedy." Terra grinned wickedly.
Sakura dove forward then, but was repelled by a slab of earth. The half-Japanese girl huffed from the excursion, her black bangs falling into her eyes. Her breaths came rapidly, harshly blowing through her nose. Her stare was fierce, if looks could kill, Terra would be in a million little pieces.
"You can't beat the Titans. You aren't going to win."
"My dear girl, I shudder to think how many times you're going to eat those words." Slade stepped forward, his face inches away from hers. "The end of days is coming Sakura. Raven will live out her destiny…" Sakura's eyes flickered for just a moment to the prone form of the purple haired mystic. Slade's next words commanded her attention. "And the rest of you will cease to live."
Come on Sakura! Do something! You can't let them do this to Raven! You can't let them hurt anyone else!
She ignored the pain of consequence and gathered every once of Holy surging within her body. The white ball sparkled gloriously as it concentrated, condensed and became nearly ready. Its glow would outlive its glory when the suppression wore down, meeting her strength and countering with doubled force… until it snatched away her consciousness. The glow faded from her fingers as she fell to the side. Slade used a single hand to roll the girl to her back, until she laid flat against the ground like Raven did only inches away.
"You want more from her than a witness Slade."
"What I want is nothing for you to concern yourself with." Slade replied.
"You can't control her."
"I've never tried to control anyone. All I do is present others with the course of action most appealing to me… and if they fail to see it my way… I suppose I don't need to tell you."
"She's waking up!"
Slade turned his attention from Terra to Raven as the girl groaned and rolled her neck. Terra swiftly raised a column of earth, blocking Slade from Raven's view. Terra dropped to her knees by Raven's head and made sure the first thing Raven saw was…
"Uhhh, Terra?" Raven's eyes widened slowly. Raven was disoriented for a few moments as her eyes and head adjusted to everything around her. She could see Terra's blue eyes looking down at her with worry. The pain in her head gave Raven a worry of her own.
"Terra… what happened?"
The blonde girl swallowed. "Raven it's terrible! We've been captured! You and me and Sakura! Our power let the Slade Syndicate catch us. But I think I can get us out! Come on!"
The feeling in her heart should have been enough of a warning. But the drowsy in her head made the voice in her heart a whisper, drowned out by the desire to repair. Terra offered her gloved hand down to Raven. Raven reached for it. Before anything made sense at all, Terra's hand pulled away and delivered a backhand slap across her cheek. The blow stung her face and stunned the mystic's mind. Her head turned and turned back. Terra laughed.
"I always wanted to do that."
As her eyes returned to meet Terra's, Raven could see Slade emerging from behind a column of earth. His dark eye was dancing with amusement.
"That was vicious, dishonorable, and ruthless… I am thoroughly impressed with you Terra. You were always meant to be one of the bad ones."
"That much is obvious… expect to those stupid Titans and birdie dumdum over here."
Raven sneered; her stiff fingers rubbed her cheek. Inside her power was bubbling, but quick and brutal attacks at her psyche kept her powerless. Her dark purple eyes seemed nearly black as they bore into Terra.
Terra rolled her eyes at Raven's tough front. Her voice was polluted with mock freight as she taunted the other girl. "Oh! I think RaeRae is getting angry… I better run away because my powers are so much weaker than hers!"
Terra narrowed her eyes. Beside Raven's fingers, her dominance to the land shattered the ground. The rocks tremored and the walls threw stones at Raven. Two small stones struck her face, but Raven didn't flinch or move. Slade found her display amusing.
"That's enough Terra. We do need her in one piece."
Terra stopped. "Consider yourself lucky you're needed for bigger things." Terra's laughter grated Raven's last nerve.
"You… you treacherous idiot!"
"You can hardly blame me for taking the opportunity to move up in the world. Did you expect all of us to stay sappy, stupid Titans forever? Some of us were meant for better things."
"Your choice of words is exceptionally appropriate." Slade mused. "Come Raven… we have a world of work to do."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Slade turned his gaze to Sakura. Raven followed his gaze, her heart pounded when her eyes took in Sakura's prone form. She leaned over cautiously and tried to touch the sleeping girl. The arch of Holy repelled her contact.
"What did you do to her?"
Slade tapped his chin with a single finger. "Bad things, terrible things and we'll do even more to her… if you don't cooperate… now be a good girl and come with me."
Raven got up and followed. She gave Sakura a last look and stared, until Terra pushed her and moved her into the corridor. Raven's fingers flexed and throbbed, but she moved forward.
…
From nearly the beginning of her life, the universe resigned her to fail. And if Raven and the Universe were on the same side, she would have been glad for it. The shift and alignment of planets gathered the life of hundreds of thousands of creatures and if the Universe had any concept of selfishness, Raven's life would have been different.
Her eyes wavered; the new location was beginning to drain her resistance. She kept her head up, totally aware that an attack could come the moment she thought she felt safe…
Safe? Not likely… I'm in a place I don't know… surrounded by treachery that I couldn't have found in my nightmares and the powers of this place keep my soul trapped. Raven had tried unsuccessfully to steal into the desperation of her mind, if only to escape from the torment of her eyesight.
Terra sighed hard, her blonde hair falling over her right eye when her head rocked along the cup of her palm. Raven's questions and furious glares were beginning to wear Terra down. Slade told her to watch Raven and not to entertain her curiosity about the Syndicate's plans. Enduring Raven's contempt was beginning to bore the double crossing geomancer. And if she heard the word treacherous one more time she was physically going to be ill. Eventually Terra began to ignore Raven... until she struck a question that sparked Terra's interest.
"That one is really getting old Raven. I already told you I'm not telling that piece of information… I don't wanna ruin the surprise… but you already know the ending."
"You stupid traitor! Don't you understand what this means? If I bear the portal, the world ends! You won't get what you want!"
"I already got it, for the most part anyways. There are a few loose ends to tie up: like what I'm going to do to Sakura… and what we're going to do with you when we're done with you."
"There is no done with me Terra! If Trigon escapes, nothing else does!"
"Blah, blah, blah. You talk like I'm intimidated by your daddy."
"If you aren't then you're dumber than I thought." Raven replied.
"Then what does that make you, if I outsmarted you?" Terra asked, refusing to be bested by her capture.
Raven tried to jump forward, to strangle Terra's treacherous neck with her bare hands. The chain rattled, gripping her neck and forcing her back. Raven still didn't know how they had gotten it on her. The second she stepped into the room, the magical brace had coiled around her neck and before she could react to defend, the power coiled around her neck and dragged her to the ground. She had just enough pull to climb to her knees. She hated that she had to look up to stare into Terra's eyes and yell at her. From the ever present grin on her face, Terra enjoyed it immensely.
"Such a nasty temper… how did the Titans ever put up with you?"
Raven swallowed hard and saved her strength. Attacking now would get her nowhere, but saving every devious word Terra uttered would give Raven the fire to give the traitor every thing she had… when the moment came.
"I don't care why you did it Terra. I don't care if you feel satisfied and when I destroy you, I won't care if you feel regret… but I do care about my friends. What did you do to them?"
Terra stared down at her as if Raven was terminally stupid. "Your friends? Your friends?" Terra laughed incredulously. "God Raven, I'm still not sure you've got the concept down for friends. When you're strong like me… like you could have been… there aren't friends, Raven, there are alliances. I stuck with Slade to get what I want and Slade's working with Washu to get what he wants. Alliances make things fall into place. My part of the plan was flawless because my alliances gave me all the resources I needed to keep you idiots in the dark."
Raven sneered. That's right… make her talk… she's going to slip and give you everything you need… just endure her treacherous venom for just a while longer.
"I sabotaged your team; I pretended to struggle with my power to slow down the growth yours. Did you really think I needed help from you, when you can't see an inch from your face? I can run circles around you… and I did, but you never saw all the things I could do… When I told Slade that you had been in my head… he had Washu block all your invasions… but you never even realized did you?"
Raven narrowed her eyes. "I never tried"
"Because we were such good friends?"
"For my part, yes…" Raven replied.
Terra balled her fist and came within an impulse to strike the mystic with her bare fist. Her voice was loud and angry. "Is that how you treat your friends? With distrust and scorn?"
Raven ignored Terra's outburst. Keep talking you traitor… Tell me everything… Tell me they're okay… "What did you do to them; to my friends?"
Terra crossed her arms over her small chest. Her boney hips shifted to the side. Raven likened her to a small child trying to be grown up. Terra's words were nothing like a child's. "They all got what they had coming to them. You should have seen their faces Raven… the ones that were conscious anyway. Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open. Their faces showed surprise and mine showed regret… regret that I couldn't crush them right there… that I wasn't going to crush them sooner."
"You couldn't have hated them all! Even you aren't that cruel."
Terra finally did hit her. She caught Raven's cheeks in one hand, making sure Raven's purple eyes met hers for every single word. "When will you get it, Raven? You don't know me! You didn't know me then and you will never know me! I like hurting your pathetic friends. I liked squashing Bumble Bee and breaking Starfire's heart. I wasted enough time watching Foxfire and Aqualad trample behind Blackfire like stupid dogs. You all made me sick to my stomach with your little epics."
Terra pushed Raven away: the sorceress landed on her side. Her long purple hair fell over her face as she pushed her arms beneath her. With her weight on one hand she used the other to push her tendrils of hair behind her ear.
"You were in an epic once… Did you come to hate Beast Boy?"
Terra narrowed her eyes. She had seen that one coming a mile away and hardened her heart against it. "Yes… He… I hate me… he didn't look at me the same as he did the first time."
Raven sneered. "Can you blame him?"
Terra nodded. "I do."
Raven removed all the weight from her arms and sat in the lotus position in the dead center of Terra's gaze. "You have a reason for all of them? Is there sick determination for your treacherous game?"
Terra rolled her eyes. "Again that word! Is treacherous the best word you can come up with? Come on Rae, you've got to have better adjectives than that!" Raven didn't respond. Terra laughed. "I hated them all. They all gave me reason to."
"Why Celine? No matter what you say about me, about any of us who remembered you for all the terrible things you've done… she was nice to you. She was your friend!"
Terra's fingers cracked at the joints. The tight flexing of her fists and the relaxing stressed the bones and made them pop. Terra's face was darker than Raven remembered seeing it in a long time. And she had seen Terra in her most vicious moments.
"You know why Celine." Terra answered.
"No, I don't, because that's a lie… You knew that she and Beast Boy were just friends." Raven replied.
Terra almost stated the fact that Raven knew exactly what she was talking about was proof enough. But in her mind there were memories, things that she used for the last shreds of justification. "No one is that good of friends unless they want something more… at least on one of their parts." Suddenly Terra laughed and frightened Raven from a few feet away. "Celine's the so-called smartest woman in the world… but she never saw it coming. I put a bomb under her energy console. She was so busy watching my feet, that she wasn't watching my hands. I lured her in close to the console… and then… Were you even awake then? To hear Celine scream? I know Cyborg was. The tinman nearly cried."
"No…" Raven whispered in denial.
"'Friad so Raven. Where is your team without your resident genius? Hmm. I suppose since there's been no pathetic attempt at rescue… Celine must be dead… Didn't mean to destroy her… but such is life… well, not in her case…"
Celine… no…
…
The travel through Jump City took them from the darkness of midnight to the roar of early morning. When they arrived... the sun was in their eyes... the sun that should have been blocked from the body of the Tower... the body that wasn't there.
D'ucel flew high above their heads as the Titans filed out of the T-car, their faces in frozen states of horror. D'ucel flew up every inch of the tower, his face tight with pain as his blue eyes took in the damage. The smoke was still clearing, leveling out the cool of the morning air. Titans' tower was perforated; the gaping wound on the right side of the tower, where many of their bedrooms resided, was at least seven stories high. Fragments of the formerly proud T were littering Titans' Island and still smoldering.
Speedy spun the R-cycle out and saw the wreckage behind the double blind of the helmet and his mask. He would be the only one who knew if he cried at the sight. They all knew that Blackfire did and continued to even as Aqualad pressed her head into his shoulder. He held the quivering girl and could see Starfire, nearly ready to collapse. She might have fainted from the pain, if she wasn't carrying something more vulnerable than her heart.
Cyborg's eyes scanned the wrecked tower from base to roof and back. All the times that the tower had been attacked, had been seized and violated… nothing compared to this. The intent to destroy was littered along the ground with the shattered pieces of glass.
The destruction reeked of Slade and Blood.
"Celine?" Beast Boy's whisper invoked absolute fear in Cyborg. The green changeling had difficulty keeping up as the cybernetic fighter made a mad dash into the fractured haven of the former teen Titans. The stairwell was bruised from toppling wreckage. Cyborg's fists broke through it, his parts becoming tangled in the fabric of the framework, his frame work, the very tower network he had helped design. His yells ricocheted off the walls and tore at Beast Boy's eardrums. The shorter Titan transformed into his Beast Within and hammered away at the damage in an intensity that would have scared Cyborg and Speedy if they weren't already scared enough.
The path cleared enough for Cyborg to brave it and it was a foot race from the base of the tower to the top. Behind him Speedy leapfrogged the barrage of debris that Cyborg threw from his path. Beast Boy dashed ahead, his hawk form immune to the shifts and shots of his fellow injured companion. His green eyes were unblinking as together he and Cyborg reached the top floor of Titans' tower.
When the door slid open, Cyborg and Beast Boy stood side by side… until Beast Boy dropped to his knees when he saw the wreckage.
It was destroyed: every computer, every appliance, every ounce of livelihood that the tower ever possessed. What had been a warm gray and red atmosphere was all smoke and debris. When Cyborg stepped inside just one pace, his foot landed in a stream of running water. The kitchen had erupted, the faucet propelling water like a geyser. His blue eye scanned across the room. He felt wind against his parts. The windows had been blown apart, glass fragments were lying in disarray and the portions of the roof that caved in were piled nearly three feet high and threatening to topple over and add to the chaos.
It was the hole in the roof that provided the sunlight. Cyborg stepped in, his throat tight as his eyes landed where Celine had last been, where her console had been… where every trace of her was crushed beneath the collapsed roof.
"No." Speedy caught up with Cyborg, supporting Beast Boy with one arm.
"Celine?"
Cyborg ran to the wreckage. His eyes could only see the sparking cables that had connected to Celine's console and the piles of roof fragment that his hands could grip and toss away. He would pull and throw, uncaring where it landed. He could only care about one thing…
"CELINE! CELINE! ANSWER ME!"
The pile began to thin and Speedy thought it more cautious to hold Beast Boy back rather than let him help. He didn't think the worried changeling would be able to survive… if Celine didn't.
Starfire made it to the common room. D'ucel flew in from the broken windows. Blackfire and Aqualad carried in Bumble Bee. The stripe clad fighter was wounded, but functional. Cyborg didn't notice, didn't care… all he could see was the tiny trace of her. Her hand was exposed, the appendage was tattered and scarred and probably broken in several places… but it was moving. The worn digits bounced up and down as if a signal or a plea. Cyborg's eyes were determined when he pulled the largest of the rubbish away and revealed Celine.
The Omicron was able to pull herself to her hands and knees unassisted. When her head pulled away from the ground the Titans could see why she hadn't been able to free herself. The red haired genius' face was tight with pain. Her eyes were focusing. She could see the remainder of the Titans standing around her, all their eyes mixed in worry and relief.
"Celine, are you alright?" Cyborg dropped down beside her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.
She shifted her weight back and dropped her left hand to the side of her forehead where the pain was concentrated. Celine groaned, unable to answer. Her fingers slipped down over her eyes and she felt something sticky on her face. She drew the palm in front of her eyes and realized what the others had already. Across her forehead, in a slight curved shape was a deep gash, three inches long.
"What happened?" Cyborg asked.
"An attack on the tower… Bombs went off… Bee was fighting… I heard a ticking and my energy gauge was going crazy… Terra's power over threw it."
"Terra over threw us." Speedy replied.
"What?"
"Terra betrayed us… again… and we let her… again…" Beast Boy's voice could barely functional from the pain. He was the only one amongst them without physical wounds, but the pain he felt at that moment was something that few of them could parallel. It trampled through D'ucel and struck Starfire right between the eyes.
Celine collapsed and Cyborg caught her. Her head lolled forward until he could stand and scoop her into his arms. He hadn't taken to time to care whether the damage to the tower was all the way through and it probably wouldn't have mattered to Cyborg if he had to cut through every inch of debris in the way, he was going to take Celine to rest in the medic room… or whatever was left of it. Starfire followed behind him silently.
Speedy watched her go and let go of his hold on a shaking Beast Boy. Speedy's eyes saw what the rest of them could not. Beast Boy ran; ran to hide from what was right in front of them. Celine and Robin were out of commission. The tower was destroyed. Their spirits were crushed and Sakura and Raven were in the hands of their enemy…
And Terra was the one who had given them to them.
Speedy felt the full affects of the battle that moment and the agile archer dropped to one knee.
Robin, Raven, Celine… Sakura… Sakura… please be safe… Please…
Around him, Blackfire seemed to be mechanical. The dark haired girl moved from the wreckage, gathering large portions of it from one area and dumping it into another. As she passed one section to another, she righted chairs and closed cabinets. Her face held worry, but it seemed to be mixed with something more than despair… she was lost.
Aqualad watched her, saw how her eyes were so heavily lidded that she looked as if she were going to fall asleep. The Tameranian princess turned over the dining table, not even grunting. The weight wasn't near her maximum. Aqualad could only stand that dreadful stare, that blankness that he hadn't seen in a long time; not since the first night he met her when she was so painfully oblivious to the state of the world.
Aqualad caught Blackfire's hand just as she swept dust off the table with her hands.
"Moving things back isn't going to undo any of this Blackfire." Aqualad was sad to say it, but he couldn't let her be crushed with disappointment later when she realized her efforts were in vain.
"I do not attempt to… I can only hope that we can repair. It is as Cyborg said, we cannot attempt to rescue our friends… to help Robin and Celine… to save Sakura and Raven, if we need rescue ourselves. The sooner we remove this problem from our thoughts, the sooner we can give our true problem our full attention."
Aqualad let her hand go and moved to right the rest of the chairs and stools. D'ucel hefted the fragments of roof from the components of Celine's console. Even though her computers were in shambles, they were currently the only store for information that could help them… that could save their friends.
Speedy's eyes throbbed and the mask became slightly moist. He stood again and walked to the edge of the room. He unlatched the hiraikotsu from his back and laid the weapon gently against a battered wall. His fingers trailed down the course edge of it, his bare fingers scratching, drawing to him memory.
Sakura… Sakura… I'll find you. Stay brave for me, like you always do… I promise I'll rescue you… if you don't think you can make it… don't worry… I can be strong enough for the both of us.
Speedy left the wall behind and with one giant lift, tipped the couch back onto its legs. The recovery process began and in between the grunts of labor, the five Titans; Blackfire, Speedy, Bumble Bee, Aqualad and Foxfire put their minds and bodies together and started to try… to make it all make sense.
End of Part One.