Hand in Hand: A Teen Titans Story

by Ultra Sonic 007

[Final Chapter Uploaded] Set in the Legendverse, we see a story of two Titans: Savior and Gauntlet. The crisis is over, and everything is back to normal. Was there a point to any of it all? Was it another test for the Titans? Or was it simply a bad day...

7. Crisis

Standard Disclaimer: X.X

Author's Notes: It's dead Jim. To experienced Legendverse readers…behold a chapter of a length you're more accustomed to. ;)

Anywho, this is the climax of the story, the penultimate chapter…how will the battle with Oblivion resolve?

Why…with a Crisis of course…

xxxx

Crisis

xxxx

The smell of ozone.

Raven hadn't smelled it in a long time. The last time she had smelt it so strongly had been when Slade's Chronoton Destabilizer had sent the Titans – the original five – hurtling through alternate timelines. That had not been a pleasant experience; one she had hoped would never resurface again.

However, here she was again; entering rifts and traveling to different worlds. She only hoped that she went to the right ones…after all, a world that had been destroyed or a world dominated by Whim wouldn't be the best choice.

She fell through the exit of the rift, which still remained behind her (as it should; Oblivion's power was leaking over into multiple realities). The empath gazed around, she seemed to be in an empty stadium box seat of some kind. However, she could see rays of light leaking in through the windows.

She gazed out of them and down into a domed stadium; apparently, the audience for whatever event they were hosting were all sitting on the lower levels. What is this…?

The loudspeakers turned. "Now ladies and gentlemen, for the next contestant in the WABBA International…the anonymous beauty…the feminine powerhouse…known only as RAVEN!"

Raven blinked as a ridiculously buffed-up version of herself (henceforth known as Uber Raven. THE AUTHOR HAS SPOKEN!) walked out on stage in a purple two-piece bikini. She sweatdropped as Uber Raven began posing. Then she facefaulted as Uber Raven began twitching her biceps, making them 'jiggle'.

Okay…perhaps I'll try elsewhere, thought Raven as she floated back into the rift.

xxxx

Jump City.

Oblivion's Glimmer looked like an unholy storm of golden lines, each one as sharp as a knife. If it touched you, you would become sliced hamburger.

However, these weren't regular humans.

Terra willed forth an earthen wall, thicker than most bank vaults. Green Lantern reinforced it by putting up a giant shield of green.

"Will it hold?" asked Starfire.

Several golden strands had managed to get through the barrier…and they promptly slashed through Green Lantern's shield, the powerful energy of the Glimmer ripping through.

"Apparently not. RUN!" yelled John Stewart as he flew backwards. Everyone else scattered in different directions, taking refuge behind buildings and

Oblivion slowly lowered himself to the ground, using Glimmer strands to lessen his downward velocity. As he set foot on the ground, his blue eyes looked around in silence. The ones fighting him had fled…for now.

He would fight them if they came back. They were making him angry…and he didn't like it.

The fused Titan continued his rampage through the city, even as more of his power leaked out…and even as more rifts opened. A number of things were becoming quite hectic in the city.

From one series of rifts poured three different fighting forces: the massive Hun armies that had plagued ancient China, a division of disciplined British troops from the American Revolution, and an armored brigade of Nazis from the battlefields of World War II. Naturally, out of confusion, the three groups had begun fighting each other, and their conflict was spreading throughout the city.

A strange kind of vegetation – almost like kudzu, except with extremely thick vines and enlarged leaves – spread from one rift, growing over buildings and making them appear dilapidated and decrepit in a rather convincing way. With these vines – obviously from a tropical region on the other end of the rift – came flying insects. They seemed like a cross between hornets and killer bees, save for the fact their lithe bodies were completely red. Their stingers, which were slick and free of any barbs, were colored a dark blue; the color of the deadly poison they contained.

Another rift brought out three familiar beasts; George the Gorilla, Lizzie the Dinosaur, and Ralph the Werewolf. And they were here to cause a rampage.

All around, reality was tearing itself apart. Various creatures and beings from infinite timelines – where anything and everything theoretically possible that could happen had happened – were being sucked in as the walls of reality began to collapse upon themselves.

And the source of it all – Oblivion – couldn't care less. After all, why should he? He had only one objective; to constantly use his power, lest it build up and destroy him from within.

Suddenly, he was hit in the back. Hard.

Oblivion howled as he was sent skidding along the ground, creating another trench in the battered street. The reality-altering menace glared at the attacker.

Superman.

In a way, it was odd that a paragon of heroism such as he had been raised out in the middle of nowhere (well, Smallville to be precise) by country folk. A mighty man raised by such humble folk. Then again, that's why so many people looked up to him…because he embodied ideals everyone envied and wanted.

He hoped his status might somehow be of use against what the two Titans had become. "Stand down Oblivion. You're only going to hurt yourself and others if you keep this up."

"Quit telling me to stop…" growled Oblivion as the Glimmer shifted around his hands and feet, morphing into golden fists and feet.

Superman frowned. "This is my last warning. Stand down, or I won't hold back." That wasn't exactly true; although he knew Oblivion was powerful, he didn't think his body was sturdy enough to handle a punch at full power.

"I WILL NOT STOP," rumbled Oblivion as the curved red fins on his shoulder blades suddenly elongated, spinning rapidly. He slowly hovered into the air…and with a tremendous burst of speed, charged at the Man of Steel.

The Man from Krypton charged as well, fist forward.

The golden fist collided with the Kryptonian fist.

You can probably guess who was sent flying backwards.

Oblivion gagged as he was sent backwards, straight into a building. Although his powers were incredible – and so destructive they were causing reality to fall apart – he wasn't on par with Superman. Not on a physical level, in any case.

Unless Oblivion could change himself as well…

But we could only watch as the fused warrior pulled himself out of the newly formed hole just as Superman hit him again.

CRASH!

The teen grimaced as the tremendous force from the punch sent him straight through the other side of the 30-story office complex. He managed to right himself in the air just in time for another series of punches from Superman. Oblivion angrily ducked under one punch in time to deliver an uppercut to Superman's chin, sendinghim backwards. However, it wouldn't be enough.

So in a sudden moment of clarity, his tactical mindset gave him an idea. His body shimmered for a moment as the Glimmer retracted.

Hmm…what did he just do? thought Superman with a frown. Had he put up a shield, or perhaps something else? "Only one way to find out," whispered Superman as he dashed downward at Oblivion, who had set down on the ground.

Oblivion only watched as Superman slammed a fist into his chest.

And he promptly exploded; all of his body from the waist up splattered into hundreds of pieces along the road, staining it with blood.

The Man of Steel paled as he retracted his hands. "Oh no…" He stared at his fists with sheer horror. "What have I done…?"

He gazed back at Oblivion…and saw that the Glimmer – the super-powered nervous system of the fused warrior – was still standing…and his legs had become silvery in color. At that moment, the rest of Oblivion's body parts slithered back; they appeared to be nothing more than silver-colored liquid.

Liquid metal…? Superman was still in a self-induced daze, too panicked to fully understand what had just happened. That shine had been Oblivion turning his body into nanobots…which were far less durable than a body. But the difference was that they could come back together.

The Glimmer disappeared under the mass of Oblivion's nanobots…and they suddenly morphed into something bigger. When the tiny machines finally took on an appearance…Superman paled.

The red eyes of Darkseid were staring at him. "Greetings Superman."

Then he shot the Man of Steel up-close with a dose of the Omega Effect.

"AAAAAAAAAGH!" howled Superman as the powerful beams blasted him on the other side of the city; Oblivion had managed to use his powers to mimic those of the Lord of Apokolips. Heaven forbid if he managed to discover how to use the Omega Effect to its fullest.

However, it seemed that Oblivion desired his original form, for he shifted back to his old body – fully healed and good as new – as he shined briefly; a sign he was once again flesh and blood.

However, just as he turned, he saw the Flash.

Wally West grinned. "Hey there."

Then all Oblivion saw was red, for the Flash ran around him like a vortex, punching him all the while. Even with the Glimmer, his senses were being overwhelmed with so many different instances of pain (and punches coming at you at the speed of light or, on occasion, FASTER – the Speed Force did not follow the rules of this universe – definitely hurt) that he couldn't properly mount a counterattack.

Flash grinned as he continued his assault. Perhaps he could manage to weather this guy down…

Little did he know that Oblivion's body was beginning to burn with unused power.

xxxx

Elsewhere in the city (downtown, to be precise), Robin was on top of a large apartment, speaking into his communicator.

Reason? To call for backup. Even with the Justice League, the multiple rifts that Oblivion had opened were turning the city into pure chaos (heck, on his way here, he thought he had seen King Kong fighting Dr. Cube). With so much going on, he doubted only nine heroes (Raven was still gone, trying to find assistance from within the rifts) would be up to the task. Even with the likes of Superman on their side.

So he had first called the Justice Society of America. He had gotten Mr. Terrific on the horn.

And…

"Sorry Robin, we can't come right now."

"What?" replied the Teen Wonder with a frown. "Why not?"

Michael Holt winced as the sounds of explosions echoed through his side of the line. "You remember Anton Hensen?"

Robin blinked out of realization. "Aberration? Are you fighting him?" A nod was his answer. "What's Aberration doing in New York? I thought he was being held in the Jump City branch of S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Well, the New York branch has been working on a new biotechnology that they were developing for medical purposes. They wanted a fragment of Aberration for study. They got it…but unfortunately, the delivery truck got into a traffic accident on a street leading into downtown. From what we could gather, the accident caused the security devices keeping Aberration in check failed, and he escaped. As he went on, he continued to mutate, feeding off of anything and everything. By the time we confronted him in downtown New York, he was at least 50 feet tall."

Robin cursed. "I see…I'll have to get some other backup then. Good luck."

"Thanks. We'll need all the luck we can get." Mr. Terrific turned around as an explosion sounded. "Hold on Stargirl, I'll-"

The screen on Robin's communicator cut off.

The Teen Wonder grimaced. Well, guess that leaves out the Justice Society. "I'll try the Outsiders next."

"HADOKEN!"

His communicator suddenly shattered, destroyed by a blue blast of energy. What the?

Right near a rift that had appeared behind him, two combatants had poured out. The first wore a white gi, while the other wore a dark blue gi. The first had brown hair, while the other had spiky red hair. The first one's hands flared with a blue energy, while the other's red eyes fit in perfectly with his purple aura.

Akuma grinned. "You missed."

Ryu snarled as he fired once more. "HADOKEN!"

Tim Drake blinked as he watch the two fight. A world where Street Fighter happened? Cyborg and Beast Boy would kill to see this.

Robin blinked as he looked around. The others! He had to get back with them-

BZZT.

Robin took a step forward, but he nearly did so off a building. "WHOA!" The Teen Wonder hastily stepped back as he nearly fell 20 stories. "Man…that was a close one."

Then he realized he was no longer near downtown, but rather near the city limits. How'd I get here? Then he glanced down and saw that he had been pursuing…a squad of Panzer tanks? What are Nazis doing here? And why are there ten tanks…

He glanced ahead…and blinked.

…fighting AT-STs? Indeed; two AT-STs of Star Wars lore had stumbled out of a rift and were now engaged with the German tanks. Lasers torched one Panzer, while three fired simultaneously at the armored legs of the bipedal tanks, but to no avail.

The Teen Wonder clutched his head. Man, this is just getting a little too chaotic. He glanced around they city; a greater number of rifts had opened by now, coming to well over a hundred. A few skyscrapers had even been devoured by rifts, disappearing into a white nothingness. The city's falling apart at the seams…we need to stop Oblivion and reverse the damage!

And so Robin took back off toward downtown, hoping to find one of his teammates, unknowing that he had actually pursued the Panzer tanks in the hope that Oblivion had created them out as he had the MegaZord, thus leading him to either a teammate or Oblivion himself.

But he didn't know that…because he hadn't experienced it…yet he had lived through it.

Confused?

We'll come back in a moment.

xxxx

Raven grumbled as she exited another rift. Ever since Uber Raven, all of her trips had been busts; one world had been nothing but an endless desert, another had been a decrepit land devastated by nuclear winter, and her last trip had landed her in Jump City…except the Titans had been a team of superhero lawyers, armed with Audit Guns, Revenue Snatchers, and the almighty Tax Hammer (non-deductibles included!). Needless to say, not fit for what she had in mind. This is becoming a pointless task. Unless I find some help soon, there won't be much of Jump City left.

She gazed around; this version of Jump City seemed to be set in the middle of a jungle. Trees stretched high into the air, forming a canopy over roads no longer used by man. Vines hung from the canopy, allowing for one to swing on for miles. Broken and weary buildings were covered with foliage and moss, showing that time and nature had conquered urban civilization. The sun managed to shine through the canopy in various spots, allowing for some semblance of light in the shaded city. Nevertheless, everything was eerily quiet…

"Hmm…well this world seems dead," muttered Raven. She prepared to head back through the portal-

"Who are you?"

Raven turned around…and blinked. Staring at her from a broken window was a gorilla with silvery fur. Her husky frame was clothed in a dark blue leotard, combined with a blue hood and cloak. Her feet and hands were rough and muscular, and her eyes were empty; nothing but white orbs.

Raven shook her head. "Hold on a second…who are YOU?"

"I asked first," muttered the silvery gorilla, her voice gruff and deep.

Raven's violet eyes narrowed. "My name is Raven."

The gorilla stared. "My name is Mockingbird." She gazed at the human girl, as if measuring her with a glance. "Clothes similar to mine…yet you are human. How has the Transformation not affected you?"

"Well, you see-"

"Never mind," grumbled Mockingbird as she gazed back inside. "Follow me. I'll have you meet the others. Besides, Grodd's spies are everywhere; we can't risk having a human be seen. It'll draw suspicion."

Raven could only remain silent as she followed her apparent alternate version through the broken window. She remained silent as Mockingbird led her through two dusty halls to a decrepit elevator. Using her massive fingers, she gingerly pressed the button labeled 'B12'.

As the elevator descended, Mockingbird muttered, "Who are you?"

"I'm you, I would assume. An alternate version of you, in any case," replied Raven with a calm tone. "I came here through a rift in reality, if you're wondering."

"Hmm…" Mockingbird's blank eyes narrowed out of realization. "That would explain the abnormal energy readings Cyborg was receiving. I was sent to investigate."

"…so what happened? What is this 'Transformation' you speak of?" asked Raven.

Mockingbird grumbled. "The Transformation occurred a few years ago; Gorilla Grodd used a device to turn everyone on Earth into gorillas. The Justice League tried to stop him, but by that time, Grodd had used his mental abilities to gain control of most of the planet's supervillains. It was a long battle, but it ended when Grodd personally stabbed a chunk of Kryptonite into Superman's chest. Taking down the rest was a simple matter after that."

"I see," muttered Raven, a frown etched on her face. Another timeline where a supervillain won. How lovely. "Why is Jump City in such bad shape?"

Mockingbird's frown deepened. "After the Transformation, most of humanity – well, the humans turned into gorillas – rose up in rebellion against Grodd. However, he had already consolidated his power, along with a good deal of military weapons. So he initiated the Purge: the systematic wiping out of those who resisted him. He used nuclear weapons to annihilate Metropolis and Gotham; Jump City capitulated, willingly surrendering its people to Grodd for slave labor or whatever he intended to do with them. Only a few people live down here now."

Raven could sense bitterness within Mockingbird. Deep bitterness over the past. "Regrets are pointless," pointedly said the empath. "They distract you from the now."

Mockingbird snorted. "It'd be easier if I weren't the daughter of Grodd."

Raven nearly facefaulted. "Uh…Gorilla Grodd is your father?"

"Yes. The daughter of Grodd and his mistress Tala. I was born before the Transformation, so I had some semblance of human genetics within me. Unfortunately, Grodd sired me for the purposes of creating the ultimate weapon; shortly after Tala gave birth to me, Grodd began his experiments. Genetically modifying me so I aged more rapidly. Testing if I had inherited any of Tala's magical capabilities. Testing if I had inherited his telekinetic powers." Mockingbird chuckled. "Fortunately, Tala did not like the idea of her daughter being tested like a lab rat. So while Grodd was busy administering the Purge, she escaped. She ended up here, in Jump City, where the Teen Titans took both of us in."

That was the key. Raven gazed at her counterpart, asking, "What of the Teen Titans? Are they gorillas as well?"

"Yes. All except Soulfire," replied Mockingbird. "Her alien genetic structure wasn't affected by Grodd's device, seeing as how it was too different from the humans' that he targeted to begin with. It was fortunate for our side that some extraterrestrial metahumans like Mister Miracle managed to overcome the Transformation. Unfortunately, not all aliens managed to slip through."

"Like who?"

"Supergirl. Kryptonian DNA is simply too similar to human DNA. Which reminds me…" She gazed at Raven. "Why aren't YOU a gorilla right now? Grodd's device is constant; without the energy field the device emits, our gorilla genes will revert to human ones. It's the main reason why we still fight." Mockingbird slightly smiled. "But I'm going off on a tangent again…why aren't you a gorilla?"

Raven frowned as she thought about it. "Well, in my timeline, I was the daughter of the human woman Arella and the demon Trigon. I'm not quite sure, but I think my demon blood is protecting me from the field."

Mockingbird nodded. "That would explain why Blue Devil of Shadowpact wasn't affected. We keep in touch with all metahumans who've gone into hiding from Grodd. Though I'm not sure how the blood of a demon like Trigon would protect you."

Raven suddenly had an 'Are you kidding me?' look in her eyes. "You MUST be joking."

"No. We fought him before; he was an imp who had a penchant for driving around in motorcycles and knocking down mailboxes."

Now it was Raven's turn to snort. "Lucky you. My timeline's Trigon was a high demon lord who had an army of unholy minions at his disposal. We're basically talking 'end of the world' in terms of his power."

"Oh. Well that sounds unpleasant."

"You don't know the half of it."

The elevator read 'B11'. Mockingbird quickly pressed several buttons (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, B1, and B3 in that order). The elevator read B12.

It continued going down.

Raven stared at Mockingbird. The latter grinned, revealing sharp teeth. "There is no thirteenth floor…unless you're looking for it."

The door opened, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor. Mockingbird walked down the hall – on her knuckles, as gorillas were wont to do – with Raven floating behind her. They stopped in front of an armored door, which Mockingbird knocked on.

A security camera turned to face them.

Moments later, the door shuddered open with a metallic hiss. Raven stared inside.

What she saw was a massive space at least a mile long, with a width of 200 yards and a height of 200 feet. It was essentially a shantytown; countless numbers of refugees and prisoners rescuedfrom Grodd took up residence here, living in somewhat meager conditions (undoubtedly better than anything Grodd had put them through). The population was roughly around 1,000. Guard towers had been improvised near the entry door, and lots of escape tunnels could be seen (in the event of an invasion).

And Mockingbird's team was staring at Raven: the rest of this timeline's Titans.

Raven blinked as she stared at the group. Mockingbird grumbled, "Meet Cyborg…"

Cyborg was a gorilla with black fur all over his body, although his white metal offset this. The torso was completely covered with metal, wrapping around his body (indeed, it seemed as though his limbs were the only part of his body not artificial at first glance) to the back. His legs and arms remained fur and flesh, as were the shoulders. The back of his neck was lined with thin strips of metal, and his entire head – save for the face – was cybernetic. His skull was made of a transparent, yet nigh-invincible blue alloy that showed the inner workings of his electronic brain. His dark eyes were his original eyes, however; and they – along with his smile – showcased a good humor, despite his condition. "Yo."

"Beast…"

Beast – this timeline's version of Beast Boy – looked much like Beast Boy would have if he transformed into a gorilla (a green one, at that). The only difference was that he wore a purple shirt with a black T on it. His voice sounded almost comically deep (maybe making up for his comically light voice as a human). "Hey there. It's been a while since we've seen a human."

"Soulfire…"

Starfire's counterpart could have been described in one word: immodest (though Raven was sure it wasn't intentionally so). She wore an outfit of purple; purple underwear that was connected to a purple collar by two thick strips of clothing that ran over her breasts, covering the nipples (what? Don't look at me like that. Just read.). Her figure was more developed than that of Starfire's (STOP LOOKING! READ!), and she actually had a navel. Her footwear consisted of boots that went all the way up to her thighs, and her back was completely bare from the waist up. Finally, her hairstyle was similar to that of Starfire's – red hair that was combed straight – although her green eyes had no irises or pupils; just pure green. She cheerfully exclaimed, "Greetings Human-version-of-Mockingbird! It is wondrous to meet you!"

Raven sweatdropped at Soulfire's demeanor. At least some things are consistent.

Mockingbird gestured at last to the last of the Titans. "And our leader."

The gorilla stepped forward, revealing thick, dark gray fur and rippling muscles. He wore an armored shirt over his chest, which was colored red. A short yellow cape was draped over his shoulders, but it bore a black 'P' on it. A thick belt wrapped around his waist, and it held large pouches in which he kept his gadgets (extra-large gadgets for his large, primate fingers). The last touch was the green mask over his eyes, complete with white, one-way lenses to hide his identity. The massive gorilla held his large hand forward, speaking in a deep, robust voice. "Greetings Raven. Used to go by the name of Robin, but now people call me Prime. Welcome to the Resistance, Jump City branch."

Raven blinked as she shook Prime's index finger (her hand could actually grab it). "How did you know my name?"

"Mockingbird told me right when you entered."

Raven turned to Mockingbird, who merely tapped her head. "Telepath."

"Now…from what you've told Mockingbird, you came from that rift." Prime sat down, using his knuckles for support. "Mind telling us why you're here?"

"First things first." Raven pointed at Prime, Cyborg, and Beast. "How come you're not wearing pants?"

Beast sighed as he stretched. "One of the few great things about being a gorilla…you don't have a dress code."

"How'd I know you were gonna ask that?" said Cyborg with a toothy grin directed at Raven.

Raven smiled slightly. It seemed as if she had just struck gold. "Well…the truth is, I need your help."

xxxx

Back in Raven's own timeline…

The Flash was growing slightly perturbed. Oblivion had started glowing…and he was glowing brighter. I know this isn't good…but hey, this might be good. He would just keep punching.

Oblivion snarled; the burning in his body had reached unbearable levels. His power…couldn't get out…he needed…RELEASE…

With one horrendous roar, Oblivion stomped on the ground.

KABOOOM!

"WAAAAAAOO!" yelped Wally West as the explosion sent him flying for several miles; a literal mushroom cloud of dust and rock had erupted from the massive output of power from Oblivion. The fused Titan snarled as he stomped away from ground zero; for at least fifty feet outward (and, although he didn't know it, a hundred yards down), the street had become liquefied.

Then, it began sinking into a massive rift that had opened up…and unlike the previous rifts, this one opened up into a white void that began sucking in everything like a black hole (albeit far more weakened in its sheer, destructive force). The liquefied asphalt was sucked in first. Then came fragments of the road. Then lampposts. Then cars.

Superman – finally returning after the head-on blast from the Omega Effect – stared at the rift, frowning. That's not good. He had to get Flash and reunite with the others. The only way they could stop Jump City from ripping itself apart was to stop Oblivion.

Speaking of Oblivion, he was being watched by the proverbial fly on the wall. Literally.

Beast Boy morphed back to normal inside an alleyway as he gazed at Oblivion, who casually pureed a whole building with the Glimmer. Sheesh, he looks mad. He quickly opened his communicator. "Guys, I found Oblivion! He's on the corner of-"

BZZT.

Beast Boy blinked; what had just happened? Now there were vines growing along the road, and the rift had widened by a whole foot. "Huh? Where'd these vines come from?"

Then he heard a buzzing sound.

He looked up and saw a whole cloud of red insects flying toward him, stingers aimed.

"…uh oh. WAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed Beast Boy as he took off, becoming a cheetah for extra speed. The red hornet/bee hybrids (who shall now be called Red Kees. I HAVE SPOKEN YET AGAIN!) took off after the hapless Changeling.

xxxx

Near the coastline.

Jump City Docks.

"Diana?"

"What is it John?"

"How come we always end up fighting Nazis?" growled Green Lantern as he kept his shield up, despite the continuous shelling from Panzer tanks.

"I don't know," replied Wonder Woman as she moved her arms like lightning, blocking and ricocheting every single bullet that came their way. Cyborg, meanwhile…

"GL, NOW!"

A hole opened up in the shield, just as Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon through it. A Panzer tank exploded in a flash of blue. A squad of Germans opened fire with their MP44 assault rifles, peppering the shield with bullets as Cyborg retracted his hand. It closed up before any bullets got through.

Victor Stone grimaced. "This is just wonderful. The whole city's falling apart, and we're dealing with fricken' Nazis! What's next?"

BZZT.

All of a sudden, the Germans were fleeing, being chased by Ralph the Werewolf as he snacked on one hapless Nazi. A Panzer tank opened fire, only to be stepped on as the massive beast pursued the fleeing soldiers.

Wonder Woman blinked. "What just happened there?"

"And wasn't it around noon just now?" asked Cyborg as he gazed at his internal clock, which said 1:00 PM. "We couldn't have been fighting them for an hour. Is my clock on the fritz?"

"It might be, considering how crazy things are getting," postulated Diana.

"I'm not so sure," muttered Green Lantern as he stared at the sky. "The sun's moved…and there are more rifts than before." The Justice Leaguer frowned as the implications began to make themselves clear. "What if reality's becoming so dysfunctional that even time itself is starting to go haywire?"

Cyborg's jaw dropped. "Are you trying to say that time is starting to-"

BZZT.

"-skip forward?" Cyborg blinked; they were now near the main square of the city, in the downtown area. "What the heck? How'd we get here from the docks?"

"I think we came here on our own…I think," muttered Wonder Woman as she gazed at the sky. Flying pixies were having tea with black gremlins on tables made of clouds. Storm clouds had gathered, spewing hail the size of minivans. "Great Hera…this place is falling apart."

"Yo!"

The three turned to see Superman and the Flash. The speedster said, "We were just looking for you guys! Thing is, we kind of ended up in one place after another."

"Green Lantern thinks that reality's gotten so haywire that time is starting to skip forward," said Cyborg as he watched ten British redcoats chase twenty Huns, firing their muskets as they went. Then he sweatdropped as the thirty men turned tail, running from an AT-ST. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Then let's regroup with the others." Superman hovered into the air. "And after that, we find Oblivion!"

Green Lantern clutched onto Cyborg with a strand of green energy as the Justice Leaguers took to the air, save for the Flash (who naturally took followed along the ground.). They had a city to save.

xxxx

Prime scratched his chin out of disbelief. "Amazing…so your two teammates are unintentionallytearing reality apart, and not even help from the Justice League is enough."

Raven nodded.

"And you want us to come help?" replied Beast.

Raven nodded.

Cyborg turned to Prime. "Think we should do it?"

"I'm not sure…we can't afford to be away from our hideaway for long; I'm sure Grodd is already searching for the source of the energy: the rift." Prime frowned; this was a dicey situation. On one hand, it involved leaving the Jump City Resistance headquarters, when they were obligated to protect the less fortunate. On the other hand, there was the fact that another world – a world where Grodd had not taken over – was on the verge of being destroyed.

"We should help."

Everyone turned to Mockingbird, who stood to her full height on her hind legs. "We are the Teen Titans. We are obliged to save Jump City…and Raven's Jump City is in danger."

Prime's eyes narrowed. "What about headquarters? We can't leave it undefended."

"Prime. We're not the only metas here," stated Mockingbird. "Don't forget that Darkwing and the Outcasts set up here after Bludhaven fell. They can hold the fort while we're gone. And it won't even be that long."

"……very well." Prime grabbed his communicator. "Let me notify Dick about this. Then we'll go."

Raven smiled a genuine smile. "Thank you all…but I'm not finished yet. I'm going to search more rifts in the hopes of finding more backup. And I'll need you all to come with me."

"How come?" asked Beast.

"Indeed," said Soulfire. "Would it not be best for us to remain behind in your city to help kick the butt?"

Raven shook her head. "I'm afraid not. If I run into some people who are less inclined to believe me, I'd like to have some visual proof for them that I'm serious. You understand."

Beast grinned as beat his chest. "Of course we do. Let's just hope I don't send them screaming!"

"Your BREATH sends people screaming," cracked Cyborg. Beast snorted as he transformed into an anaconda, hissing at his teammate (apparently, Beast still could change into any animal, it's just he had a different default form).

As Soulfire giggled at the exchange, Raven smiled; some things never changed.

xxxx

Terra seemed almost bored.

After all, she was manipulating pebbles to knock Huns in the head over and over again. And yet the horde kept charging. "Geez…don't these guys ever give up?"

As Terra continued her (half-hearted) barrage upon the massive Mongolian army, Starfire looked around with worry. The city was a shadow of its former self; not only were white rifts visible everywhere she looked, but strange things were befalling the city (had she been in a more cheerful mood, she would've probably giggled with glee at the sight of a skyscraper turning into a mushroom). Titans Tower had fallen, and two of their friends had become a mighty enemy.

Koriand'r clenched her fists tightly; she would return her home to normal. No matter how hard the battle, she would restore everything to normal.

"AAAAGH!"

Starfire blinked as she turned to Terra; the blonde girl had an arrow wedged into her shoulder, the result of a surprise attack from above. The Tamaranean gazed upwards from the street; a number of Huns had gathered in the upper floors, firing upon them with arrows. "Hold on!" Starfire grabbed Terra from under the armpits and took to the air, flying out of range of the Huns' weaponry.

Tara Markov nearly cursed as she fingered the arrow in her left shoulder. "Geesh…can't believe I got hit by an arrow…"

"This is what happens when the guard is dropped, as Noel would put it," regarded Starfire with a smile as she set Terra down on top of Jump City First National Bank. Then she frowned when remembering that Noel was still imprisoned within Oblivion.

"HeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEELLLLLLPPP!"

Starfire and Terra glanced upwards to see a green peregrine falcon diving down toward them at high speed (and they are the fastest animals on the planet when diving; can YOU dive at speeds of up to 250 mph? Didn't think so.). Unfortunately for Beast Boy, the Red Kees were equally fast, their bodies enduring a surprising amount of force from their downward speed. The Changeling shrieked, "BLAST THEM! ZAP THEM! USE A CAN OF RAID! OR SOMETHING!"

"Beast Boy, dodge!" yelled Starfire as her hands glowed green. Beast Boy immediately opened his wings – cutting forward from his dive – as Starfire blast the incoming Red Kees.

The poisonous insects, although durable by bug standards, were incinerated by the blast.

Beast Boy panted as he plopped down on top of the bank, gasping for air. "Too…much…bugs…"

"Are you okay Beast Boy?" asked Starfire as she gazed at the Changeling.

"Ask me again when my breath catches up. I think I left it about seven miles away."

"Rrrr….agh…" Terra grimaced as she slowly pulled the arrow out of her shoulder. "At least it isn't barbed," she muttered as she stared at the blood. Then she promptly threw up (thus ignoring the well-established rule to NEVER LOOK AT YOUR OWN BLOOD).

Starfire stared at Terra with a sad frown before looking up at the sky. Clouds were beginning to gather. Black clouds. Red clouds. And pink clouds. Things are getting-

BZZT.

-worse. Starfire blinked; things had suddenly skipped forward again, just as they had several times within the past hour (or two. Or was it three? She couldn't tell anymore.). Much worse.

"DUDE! REPORTERS!"

Starfire whirled around to see a rift that had formed on the bank roof…and out of it had come a few dozen reporters, complete with cameramen. "Look, it's the Teen Titans!"

They charged.

Starfire blanched as microphones crowded her vision and a number of questions bombarded her.

"Have you caused most of the destruction?"

"Um…"

"Is there any hope?"

"Well-"

"Do you take fashion tips from Aphrodite?"

"Who?"

Beast Boy yelped as microphones slammed into his face. "Dude, this isn't funny!"

One reporter actually jabbed Terra's shoulder wound. "Tell us, how do you feel?"

"OOOW! WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

"You don't have to be rude!"

"STAR, GET US OUT OF HERE!" yelled Garfield Logan as cameras were jabbed into his eye.

The Tamaranean immediately hoisted her friends to safety. Beast Boy coughed up a microphone. "Man, what the heck was that? Savior would've gone ballistic!"

"They actually asked my shoulder how it felt!" indignantly roared Terra, feeling none too happy at the moment.

"We may bicker later," calmly said Starfire as she kept a tight hold on her teammates. "But now we must regroup with the others and stop Oblivion." She only hoped Robin was okay.

And we'll get to him in a moment. But first…

xxxx

Raven and the Ape Titans fell through the rift, coming to a stop in an alleyway.

Beast grimaced as he pulled a piranha off of his butt. "I am NEVER going to swim in the Amazon ever again."

"I told you not to," replied Cyborg with a gruff snicker.

Mockingbird gazed around, her empty eyes taking in everything at a glance. "This city is dark…there's a lot of foul energy in this place."

"This city is reeking with hopelessness," muttered Raven as she floated forward. The Ape Titans had gotten a brief look at her Jump City as they had gone from and to different rifts. Needless to say, the sight of King Kong and George the Gorilla grappling with Godzilla had convinced them about the urgency of the situation (that, and the collapsed buildings, the stormy sky, and the numerous rifts were a big clue), the Ape Titans were more convinced than ever to help.

Of course, there had been a few false alarms.

The first rift they had gone through had led them to a Jump City in the midst of a riot. Riots about the lack of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches. Needless to say, they immediately left.

The second rift took them to Apokolips. You know what happened there.

The third rift dropped them in the rainforests of Brazil (where Beast, having been nearly cooked by the fires of Apokolips, decided to go swimming in the Amazon. You know what happened there.).

Now they had fallen into another Jump City…albeit one that had had a Gotham City makeover. It was twilight, and everything was quiet. Oh, and it was quite dark.

Prime sniffed the air apprehensively as he slipped some infrared lenses into his eye mask. "It's dark. Shouldn't there be lights at this time at night?"

"Not only that…but there are no cars." Cyborg looked around apprehensively. "This place is dead."

Raven's frown deepened. This place didn't feel right. And why did she feel the presence of anger…?

"YOU."

Raven gazed upwards as a pink-haired person with pale skin jumped her. The empath yelped as she was tackled to the ground, caught off-guard by the attack. "Get off!"

The pink-haired girl (she looked like Jinx) growled as her eyes blazed with pink energy. "After what you've done, FORGET IT."

Raven stared with utter shock, her mind reeling from the hatred radiating from 'Jinx' in droves. She couldn't even muster up a counter.

'Jinx' suddenly floated off of Raven, her body covered in a white aura. Mockingbird's eyes glowed as she held the pink-haired teen in place. "ENOUGH. She has done nothing to you."

"SHE'S DONE PLENTY!" roared 'Jinx' as she broke free from Mockingbird's aura with a burst of pink energy. Her hands glowed, synonymous with her anger. "I'M GOING TO KILL HER."

"Calm down Hex."

'Jinx' – apparently called 'Hex' – turned to face someone who looked like a human version of Victor Stone. He wore a gray muscle shirt and black pants, complete with black boots and white socks. His big head had a silver headband wrapped around it, and his wrists sported bracelets of silver. His dark eyes looked down at Hex in silence.

Hex snorted. "What do you mean? OUR ENEMY IS RIGHT HERE."

"She's too young. Her outfit is from the old days. And for crying out loud, why would Raven be out here on her own and be caught off-guard as easily as she was?" He pointed at the Ape Titans. "And she has a whole bunch of monkeys with her!"

Soulfire helpfully said, "Technically, they are called 'gorillas'. Right Prime?" Prime nodded.

Hex stared at Soulfire. "…looks like Starfire…but she isn't…her outfit covers too much."

Raven sweatdropped. I'd hate to see the outfit of this universe's Starfire. It might break the board rating.

CRASH!

The fourth wall broke further down the alleyway. Hex stared with astonishment as Victor Stone grinned. "And the Titans don't break the fourth wall anymore either."

Hex finally let go of her hatred and took a good look at Raven for the first time…and blinked out of astonishment. "You're…you're not her…"

"Glad you noticed," muttered Raven as she stood up, dusting herself off. She gazed at the 'Jinx' look-alike that Victor called 'Hex'. She wore a skintight bodysuit of black; judging by her more mature body, she was older than Jinx from Raven's timeline. Her hands were visible however, thus revealing her pale skin. Her face sported a diagonal scar across the left cheek, and her pink eyes hinted at a very bitter past (obviously involving an encounter with this timeline's Raven). Her pink hair was not tied into pigtails; rather, it was let down, reaching down to her neck. She also sported a small cape that went down to her waist, and it was colored dark violet. Finally, her bodysuit sported a pink 'H' over the sternum.

Raven said, "You called yourself Hex…Llarenes Morath?"

Hex nodded slowly.

Raven turned to the black human. "And Victor Stone?"

"That's me," replied Victor. Suddenly, all of his skin morphed into hard, dark gray rock, as tough as any mountain. His eyes turned pure white in color. "But you can call me by my codename: Stone."

"Imaginative," sarcastically replied Raven.

Stone smiled sadly. "Even your sense of humor is the same. You sure you're not a clone or something?"

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

Hex and Stone suddenly paled as they stumbled backwards, clutching their heads in apparent pain. Raven turned to her primate counterpart. "What did you do?"

"I made copies of my memories and put them into their minds; that way they know what the situation is without us wasting time by talking."

Raven smirked. "I think I'll have to try that out. It'll save on a lot of talking during meetings."

"You wouldn't believe how much time we usually spend in meetings until you don't have em' for a while." Cyborg pointed a furry thumb at Beast. "Ol' Beastie here fell asleep when we had a major team meeting."

"Not my fault if I got used to just getting a brain zap and knowing what the deal is," retorted Beast.

Stone rubbed his head, creating a scratchy sound as rock rubbed against rock. "Man…that's deep…"

Hex grimaced as she reached for her communicator. It looked like a regular Titans Communicator, save for the fact it was shaped like a hexagon and had an 'H' instead of a 'T'. "Goliath, this Hex, come in."

"Hey. You find the source of that weird energy?"

Prime smiled. Interesting how things turn out to be parallel.

"Yeah…and something else. Bring the rest of the Hive Five…along with the Headmaster."

"What! Are you serious? Is it that big a deal?"

Stone poked his face into Hex's communicator. "Trust me man, it IS that big. Hurry."

"Hmph. Fine." The line was cut.

Raven felt no surprise when she realized the voice was an exact replica of Mammoth's. Considering the closeness of the two names (Mammoth and Goliath), the fact that the voices were similar wasn't a big shock. What did surprise was the fact that Jinx…er, HEX, had called the 'Hive Five'. Along with their Headmaster, whom the Titans had yet to meet (although they had been considering infiltrating the HIVE Academy for some time…and then the incident with Oblivion had occurred). Raven distracted herself by looking at the scar on Hex's cheek. "That scar. Did…I give it to you? This timeline's version, in any case?"

Hex's eyes narrowed. "…"

Stone calmly put an arm around the smaller girl. "You'll have to forgive her. What this reality's Raven did to her…let's just say her bodysuit covers the more horrible wounds."

Prime grimaced. "Sounds terrible. What happened in this timeline?"

Stone gazed at the sky. "In this world, the Justice Lords dominated everything with an iron fist. They decided politics and what was 'best' for us…just like Big Brother. They controlled the planet's militaries, police factions, and administrative systems. However, that ended when their counterparts from an alternate reality defeated them. I think they were called the Justice League."

Raven blinked. "That's…" She regained her composure. "I remember Robin telling me once about how Batman and the rest of the League fought alternate versions of themselves…they were called the Justice Lords."

Stone's eyes narrowed;he now realized that he was looking at the Raven from the League'sworld."What a coincidence. In any case, the Justice Lords were locked away here, and stripped of their powers by special holding devices. The human populace struck back against the metahuman teams that had aided the Justice Lords. The Teen Titans and the Outsiders were among them…I was with the Titans back then." The rocky metahuman clenched his fists tightly; he was feeling tremendous shame.

"What next?" asked Beast.

Hex spoke next. "The Teen Titans and the Outsiders both went into hiding…and after some time, they collaborated into freeing the Justice Lords…and instituting a stricter 'administration'."

Stone's eyes began to quiver. He was remembering something incredibly painful. "Our teammate…Gauntlet…he actually had the gall to disagree. Noel had always called him a black mark on the team…" Stone chuckled bitterly. "Called him unworthy of the Titans. Turns out he was more of a Titan than any of us…because he actually had the guts to notify someone of the impending breakout: the Headmaster of the HIVE."

Raven and the Ape Titans listened in silence.

"Needless to say, the Titans and the Outsiders broke the Justice Lords out…and to 'inaugurate the new era', they did away with Gauntlet…" Stone gritted his teeth. "…by executing him on a live broadcast to the world. Noel and Tim did the deed…and all I could do was watch…" Stone began to cry uncontrollably. "Damn it…Rob was the best of us…how come he had to die for doing the right thing…?"

Hex calmly placed a hand on Stone's face. "Sssh…it's okay Vic. Don't cry."

As Stone wiped away his tears, Raven arched an eyebrow. Hmm. Victor Stone and Llarenes Morath…if that happens in my world, THAT'LL be the day.

(Careful what you wish for.)

"In any case, the Justice Lords' return to power was immediate," continued Stone. "It had been less than two years since their imprisonment, and the world's governments were nowhere near rehabilitated enough to retaliate. In return for helping them escape, the Titans and Outsiders were given two citiesby the Justice Lords to administer personally; the Titans got Jump City, while the latter got Bludhaven."

Cyborg looked up. "I take it we're IN Jump City?"

Hex nodded. "The Titans have a strict curfew of 8:00 PM. No cars or people on the streets, under penalty of death. Our patrols have to be done on very specific routes because of the constant watching by the Titans' surveillance systems."

"Speaking of which, how are you here?" asked Beast. "I mean, Stone's here; he's a Titan, right?"

"WAS a Titan," growled Stone. "The Titans' first act as 'administrators' was to find all metahumans within the city and either discipline them or exterminate them if they refused to join them. Thanks to Gauntlet's warning, the HIVE Headmaster managed to save a good portion of the city's meta population before the Titans came to power."

Hex's lip quivered as a horrific memory returned. "I wasn't one of those protected…after all, I was a bank robber. Raven was the one designated to me…but she didn't kill me quickly. She was SLOW." Hex scowled, her anger flaring up again. "Her mind…subjected me to horrible things…demonic things…horrible…" She clutched her head, her angry tone being replaced by one of fear. "Make it go away…those eyes…four demon eyes…GO AWAY…"

Stone protectively embraced the frail girl. "Calm down Hex. It's just a memory."

Mockingbird felt a great deal of pity for the two…but she sensed even greater shame from Raven. After all, in another time, through other decisions, she had given in to the evil within and tortured others with her demonic birthright. Who likes being told they were a sadist? Raven cleared her throat. "Then what?"

Stone frowned. "That's when I left the Titans. I couldn't take it anymore…the hypocrisy. We called ourselves the ones who were right…but when I saw what Raven did to Llarenes, I couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't. I broke into the cells, took Hex, and escaped the Tower. The HIVE found me before the Titans could catch up, and we joined them."

"Dude, this is crazy…" Beast scratched his head irritably. "What's with the HIVE? In our world, they're the bad guys!"

"Indeed," remarked Soulfire. "In our timeline, the HIVE is an organization dedicated to Grodd and his regime. They are most unpleasant."

Stone snorted. "Then you've never met our HIVE."

A manhole suddenly opened in the street. The first one out was a giant of a man – easily six-and-a-half feet tall – who was an absolute muscleman; he was obviously the one known as Goliath. A red shirt and red pants covered his husky frame. His feet were visible, showing brown fur. His thick, bare arms were covered by a metallic endoskeleton; apparently for more durability and harder blows. His head was largely similar to that of Mammoth's, save that his long orange hair was closely cut, and his beard was slightly longer. A black G was embroidered on his shirt. "So what's the deal Hex?" He immediately saw. "Wha…what the?"

"Move it snotbrain! Titan patrol units might be out!" The immature voice OBVIOUSLY belonged to Gizmo (this timeline's version of him, anyway). What surprised Raven was that what came out was a highly developed exoskeleton of nanobots. The current form the exoskeleton took was one of a human skeletal system, save for the fact that 'bones were thicker and less curved in shape. Also, there was no skull, and instead of a heart and lungs in the ribcage, there was a simple glass dome (well, it was actually a transparent polymer alloy that was harder than diamond, and a mere inch of thickness was the equivalent of 100 feet of titanium). In that dome was a liquid solution…and in that solution was a head connected to various wires. The head of Gizmo. The tyke looked ahead and blanched. "HEY! What the heck is a crudmunching Titan like Raven doing here? And what's with the monkeys?"

Cyborg leaned towards Beast. "At least some things don't change." The latter snickered. "No kidding."

Hex hissed, "Keep it DOWN Techno. You want to alert the whole city?"

Techno – this reality's Gizmo – grumbled as he came out of the manhole, followed by someone else. This person was easily older than the other HIVE members by at least ten years; his entire body was covered by a dark green uniform from head to toe, save for his mouth. The uniform hardened into thick, black rubber soles on his feet, for traction and support. A number of pouches lined his legs, in which sat explosive devices, flying discs, smoke bombs, gas grenades, flashers, and other assorted gadgets. Holstered to his hips were two laser blasters…and strapped to his back were nunchucks. And these nunchucks were thick metal rods linked together by a chain of pure steel. His uniform obtained a lighter color of green (almost lime) around the thighs, torso, and right arm. His eyes were covered by protective goggles, which were yellow in color. Finally, he sported a white shield insignia on his chest. "Just calm down Techno. Or you'll overload your suit'snanites again."

Raven paled at the sound of that voice. Coupled with the similar appearance (albeit a different color scheme), she knew who he was the counterpart of: the Ravager, son of Slade Wilson. "Who…are you?"

"My name is Sentinel. I was the first one to pass the final exams of the HIVE. I've remained behind ever since to serve as the team leader of the HIVE's special combat team, the Hive Five." Sentinel turned towards the manhole. "Sir, come on up."

Beast transformed into a hummingbird and floated in the air, trying to get a better look. "So…who exactly is the Headmaster?"

Hex smiled. "Someone with great skill…and considering what the HIVE is, he's got the character to back it up."

Raven stepped forward alongside Hex. "What does HIVE mean?"

Stone crossed his arms. "It means something that the Titans used topersonify. HIVE stands for the High Institute of Virtuous Excellence…and the Headmaster fits the bill."

When the final person climbed out of the sewer tunnels, Raven nearly had a heart attack.

The outfit was different; his body colors were dark blue, with the torso, forearms, and legs protected by blue, chain mail armor, the kind you'd often see on a medieval knight (except medieval knights did not have chain mail made of promethium). An AK-47 was strapped to his back, along with an M79 grenade launcher. Strapped along his chest were explosive grenades for the M79, and his belt was lined with pouches full of banana clips, fragmentation grenades, and shuriken. Tethered to his back was a sharp katana inside a black sheath. He wore orange gloves, orange shorts, and orange boots. However…the linking aspect was the mask.

Although it seemed to be made of cloth instead of metal, the design was unmistakable. Half colors, separated down the middle. Black on the right side. Orange on the left. His lone eye on the left side. An eye that was glaring at her.

Slade Wilson.

Raven sputtered, "Deathstroke the Terminator is the HIVE Headmaster…?"

The half-blind soldier chuckled. "I'm afraid you are mistaken." The cold, ruthless voice was so eerily similar. "I created the HIVE to empower metahumans who 'disagreed' with the totalitarian regime that these so-called 'heroes' constructed. They're the ones who've forgotten about true heroism…I'm here to help remind the next generation of what it really is. And that's why I am who I am…one who conquers those who try and cloak themselves in righteousness. I have no mercy for those…and when I face a foe, death is all that awaits." Although such speeches were not his modus operandi, this Slade was going to make it clear to Raven how things worked (and to be honest, he didn't like her. Then again, she looked like one of his mortal enemies). "I am Deathknell the Conqueror. And unless you start talking about why you're here…" He leaned in close, glaring at Raven with his one eye. "I'm going to simply kill you. Take no chances."

Raven could only stare at Deathknell with some vehemence. "Goodness. Even when you're the good guy I don't like you." She turned to Mockingbird. "Same as before."

Mockingbird's eyes glowed white.

xxxx

In the bay, on the island where Titans Tower sat in ruins, Larry the Titan remained, watching from afar.

Needless to say, he so dearly wished that he could help. But he couldn't, his magic finger wasn't so magic anymore. Without it, he was helpless. "Oh…I wanna help!" Cheerleading had gotten boring.

So all Ekard Mit could do was watch as Jump City slowly fell apart from the forces of the white rifts (along with whatever came from them). "Man…I wanna help." He began pounding the ground. "I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I-"

BZZT.

"-WANNA I WANNA!" Larry suddenly realized he was standing up. And he was all wet. And he was at the Jump City docks. And that it was night.

Larry blinked. "Uh…how'd I get over here?" Apparently, he had swam across the bay to the city.

He then looked to his right.

A Persian hissed. "Mroooow…"

Larry sweatdropped. "Uh…nice kitty?"

"MREEEOW!"

"WAAAAAAH!" yelped Larry as he ran as fast as his little legs could take him, fleeing as fast as he could from the Pokemon.

However, what he didn't notice was that several Sladebots were entering a rift…and then coming out anywhere from ten minutes to a half-hour later, carrying stolen technology with them.

You could probably guess why.

For outside Jump City, Deathstroke the Terminator watched his screens with vested interest. The Titans and the Justice League had been so preoccupied with everything happening in the city that his legions of Sladebots were able to work together in small units without any problem. Aside from some minor threats that arose from other timelines, his robots were able to enter these rifts and return with samples of otherdimensional technology.

Deathstroke smiled. There was no telling what gains he would make by day's end.

The time skips were getting annoying though.

xxxx

A rift opened.

Out came three separate groups.

Raven.

The Ape Titans.

The Hive Five, along with the HIVE Headmaster: Deathknell the Conqueror.

Techno muttered as his nanite suit shifted, as if displaying his agitation. "Stupid barfin' EMP field. Nearly fried my suit!"

"Can't blame Raven if we ended up in the Matrix." That had been the last world they had visited. They had immediately left when a human hovercraft had fired an EMP burst. "Besides, don't your nanites have safeguards?"

"To conserve energy, the safeguards aren't on 24/7. Who do you think I am? An idiot?" Techno snorted.

Stone sighed. "I hate these arguments."

"ENOUGH." Deathknell's command shut Techno up completely. "We are on a mission of utmost importance. Now shape up."

"Yes sir!" The Hive Five responded in unison.

Prime nodded. "Not bad."

Raven gazed at Deathknell oddly. "Pardon me for saying so, but I don't think you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart."

"A chance to save the city is enough of a reason…but true, I have an ulterior motive." Slade pointed at the right side of his face. "Noel Collins took my eye. Oblivion may not be the real deal, but it'll be good for releasing all of this tension."

Whatever you say, thought Raven with a frown.

CRASH!

Everyone impulsively gathered into battle positions as a winged creature – seemingly more like a monarch butterfly, except with a more humanoid body. The black, insectoid face of the creature twitched as the beast moaned painfully. "But…I'm so beautiful…" The flesh of the beast slagged away, melting to the ground. All that was left was a female redhead with a rather attractive figure.

"That's another Id down," commented a blonde man with white angelic wings and a white robes. "Vanity…a fitting name for Samantha Cummings. But geez…who'd have thought the Homecoming Queen would be so insecure?"

"You can never tell with first impressions," commented this reality's Raven. Her entire body was covered with black armor from head to toe, the most conspicuous part being the metallic wings and the helmet, which was shaped like a raven's head. The armor was slim, yet angular, giving her an otherworldly appearance. This was the Nevermore armor.

"Then I guess your first impression of me must've been crummy if I'm so awesome," cracked this reality's Beast Boy. He wore segmented green armor over his entire body, which became thicker around the shins, arms, and chest. His entire head was covered a by mechanical duplicate of a lion's face. The lion's eyes were colored yellow, while Beast Boy actually saw through a shield of glass in the lion's open maw. This was the King of Beasts armor.

"Actually, you're just crummy," jokingly retorted Cyborg, whose entire body was covered with gold. His battle suit was not bulky or segmented; it was smooth and uniform, making it seem as if he were a golden human instead of a cyborg. His form was gender-neutral, with the only suggestion to his male characteristics being the broad chest and muscular frame of the armor. The only human parts remaining were his face and shortly cropped hair. This was the Omegadrone armor.

"Robin, are you okay?" asked Starfire. Her body was not changed that much; her tank top and skirt were now armored, and her shins and arms were protected by extremely thick metal of violet color. She also sported a helmet, which fit her head perfectly, forming an M-shaped visor through she could see. This was the Tamaranean Battle armor.

"I'm just fine Star," replied Robin, who wore jet-black armor like Raven. Unlike Raven, his armor was more smooth than angular, and it was more humanoid in nature. The motif was black (even the large visor was black). The only exception was a red mark that ran down from the shoulder to the back…as if representing a scar…this was the Redbird armor.

The angel suddenly flashed and returned to his normal state. If one would accurately describe him, it would be 'short, blonde copy of Napoleon Dynamite without glasses'. His white T-shirt had the word 'Creator' on the back, and a strange helmet adorned his head; it was pure white, complete with a red visor. If one examined the inside, you'd find intricate technologies far more advanced than anything mankind had to offer by at least five thousand years (give or take a two). His name was Timothy Trevor, the Imagiknight. "Well, I suppose we should clean up."

"That'll have to wait."

The six warriors turned, facing the large group ahead of them. They saw humans, gorillas, and metas in one go.

Timothy Trevor suddenly asked, "So…how exactly did we not see you when you were standing right there?"

Raven shrugged. "Coincidence."

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

xxxx

BZZT.

Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Cyborg were moving along at a brisk pace through the downtown section of the city. All around them, things were getting worse. As was the time.

John Stewart grimaced. "These time skips are starting to get irritating."

"It only seems like it's been a few hours, yet our bodies are feeling the toil of a whole day of fighting," remarked Wonder Woman as she dove below a rift that had just opened in midair. "For all we know, the next time skip will send us to tomorrow, or maybe two days from now. By then, we'll all be too tired to do anything."

Cyborg grumbled. "Man, I sure hope not. Cy doesn't fight well without his sleep!"

Superman smiled at Cyborg's attempts to lighten the move. "Don't we-"

BZZT.

"-all." Superman suddenly blinked; a Tamaranean carrying a blonde and a green boy was flying right toward him. Total distance? Five feet. Possibility to dodge? Try next to zero.

CONK!

Or for that matter, negative infinity.

Kal-El grimaced as he rubbed his head. Starfire yelped as she was sent backwards from the blow, falling to the ground.

Wonder Woman caught them. "I have you."

"Thank you," woozily replied Starfire as she was put down on the ground. Beast Boy dusted himself off while Terra kept a hand on her wound. "Yo, Cyborg! You have any bandages? Or maybe a painkiller?"

A small needle came out of a slot in Cyborg's right arm. "Last one, so make it count. Hold still."

Terra grimaced as the anesthetic was injected into the skin near her shoulder. "Man…we need to get a medic or something."

"Don't I know it," replied Cyborg.

(Jedi-And is dealing with your request at the moment.)

"There," said Cyborg as he removed the needle.

Terra flexed her shoulder tentatively. It was already numb. "Thanks Cy-guy."

"Don't mention it."

"So we're all here," said Flash with a frown as he looked around the city. "Can't believe it's already night."

Starfire shook her head. "There is still Robin who has not yet been found. We have been searching for him!"

Green Lantern said, "Have you tried your communicators?"

"Yeah," muttered Beast Boy as he pulled another microphone out of his mouth (stupid media…). "Bleh…anyhow, he won't respond."

Superman frowned. "We'd better-"

BZZT.

"-hurry then."

Another time skip.

All of a sudden, Starfire shrieked. "EEEK! Hurry everyone, hide in the alley!"

Not taking time to argue, everyone charged into the alley. Moments later, they poked around the corner, staring at the street. "Look over there," muttered Koriand'r.

They saw a pack of wolves; well over a hundred of them. They were facing a little white bunny.

"…you've GOTTA be joking," said Flash.

Starfire shook her head. "It looks exactly like a Klumach Forthgror, one of the great beasts of the planet Omnicron Persiren 7!" And in the back of Beast Boy's head, he was wondering why that sounded so familiar. "We must not anger it."

"Come on Starfire," grumbled Green Lantern as the wolves pounced. "It's a rabbit. What could it possibly-"

BZZT.

"-do?" Green Lantern immediately retracted his words.

Now the little bunny stood atop a mountain of bones, its little mouth smeared with blood. And yet it continued to look like a cute, little bunny.

I wonder if I can change into that whatever it is, thought Garfield Logan with an inquisitive look.

Terra immediately said, "I vote we keep searching for Robin."

"AGREED," replied everyone as they took off away from the Klumach Forthgror.

xxxx

A rift opened up. Raven came first, followed by the Ape Titans, the Hive Five, and Timothy's Titans.

Everyone looked down. "Uh…why is the sky on the ground?" asked 'King of Beasts' Boy.

Then they realized they had come out…upside-down.

And now that they've realized it, they will now fall.

"WHAAAA!"

Raven, Mockingbird, Soulfire, Techno (whose suit shifted to include a propeller for levitation), Nevermore Raven, and 'Battle Armor' Starfire were the only ones who didn't fall.

The others crashed on the ground. Prime, Sentinel, Deathknell, Hex, and Redbird Robin were the only ones who landed on their feet. Prime caught Timothy Trevor and set him down on the ground. "Well…that was unpleasant," muttered Timothy as he looked around. It looked like Jump City…except very shiny. Rows of gleaming spires, one after another. "Did Brainiac 13 attack this place or something?"

"That's exactly we wondered when we came here," said Raven. And she was in deep thought…because she knew this place was the home to the metahuman that had called herself 'Myth'. The one that, in this timeline, was her daughter.

Speaking of daughters…

A hand suddenly wriggled out of the pile of metahumans. "GET…OFF!"

Everyone finally picked up the pace, and they saw that they had landed on top of a girl. A teenager, to be more precise. As she picked herself up, her uniform could be seen. Her white hair was shaved completely on the right side, with the left side hanging down over her left eye. A ring was pierced through her right eyebrow, and her eyes were colored light purple. She wore a long, white leather trench coat, along with a black shirt and black pants. She also wore black boots, complete with black, fingerless gloves (apparently, opposite colors was the theme). She glared at the entire group, yelling, "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU GUYS?"

"You know the drill Mockingbird," said Prime.

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

And then the memories of Raven's story and her meetings with the Ape Titans, the Hive Five, and Trevor's Titans…and of Oblivion…

The daughter of Savior and Raven paled as she stared at the massive group assembled before her. "…you're kidding…"

"I wish I was," replied Raven.

Kyra Collins grimaced as she reached for her communicator. "Donar, this is Kyra."

"Kyra? You find something on your patrol?"

"You could say that. Bring the others here IMMEDIATELY."

"We'll be there in a few."

Kyra closed her communicator as she stared at Raven. It was eerie to look at her mother…except she wasn't her mother. "…huh. This is kind of strange."

"That's certainly an understatement," replied Raven as she lowered her hood. "So…in this timeline, you're my daughter with…?"

Kyra nodded.

Raven was silent. So Noel and I did have a child in this timeline. However, she had one question. "What's with the get-up?"

Kyra blinked. "Huh?"

"The outfit. A piercing in the eye? Half of your hair shaved? It's not exactly something I'd see Noel allowing."

Kyra chuckled; this Raven was as brutally honest as her mother. "My father gave me a bit of leeway as a kid."

"I see," remarked Raven, a sweatdrop on her head. Noel? With leeway? The thought of it was amusing. "So…what are your abilities? Do you have your own Shimmer?"

"No…but I improvised. Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Chains suddenly slid out of her trench coat's sleeves, coated in black energy.

Techno blinked out of disbelief as his suit shifted to create a visual scanner, which zoomed in on the chains. "Oooh…unbelievable! Those chains are made of pure promethium! That stuff's cruddin' impossible to find!"

"Glad you like it," replied Kyra with a grin. "A gift from Superman!"

"Glad he's such a paragon of virtue in this world," muttered Deathknell, his tone indicating bitterness.

Kyra – having had the advantage of memories implanted into her by Mockingbird – knew about the Justice Lords and the Titans of Slade's world (the thought was odd to her; Slade Wilson being a good guy!). "What did he do to you? Take out your eye?"

Deathknell chuckled. "That was Savior's doing. Superman, in an attempt to force me to disband the HIVE, killed my wife." He almost seemed to delight in Kyra's shock. "And now you know. So I'd advise you not ask anymore questions."

Sentinel calm put a hand on Deathknell's shoulder. "Father. This world is not ours."

Slade narrowed his eyes as he stood at his full height. "You'll have to forgive me, young Collins. After all, I'm only human."

Kyra couldn't help but smile in defiance. "You know, my father always said that."

Deathknell narrowed his eye.

"Um…Kyra?"

Kyra turned around to see her teammates arriving on the scene. Raven gazed at them in silence.

The first one that caught her eye was a lanky teenage boy with neatly combed brown hair and goggles with special lenses (since he had to wear glasses to help see, these goggles served as his glasses in battle. Except they wouldn't fall off or break.). His slacks and blue shirt were hidden underneath a large white lab coat, its coattails coming to his ankles. It was latched together with black straps of velcro, and they matched his black rubber gloves. Although his coat's sleeves were long, they couldn't hide the metallic device on his wrists; each one had a small, vial-shaped hole. Hidden by his lab coat though, was a metallic vest that held dozens of vials. Most vials held a different chemical or element, although some were empty. The metallic vest was connected to his spinal cord, which allowed for mental control of the device (you see, during his battles, it had become clear that his mixing talents were often not fast enough…and they were incredibly fast to begin with. So with aid from Noel Collins and Victor Stone, he had constructed a vest that would not only hold vials for his chemicals, but it would also allow for him to mix them together with a thought. The concoction would then be put in an empty beaker and shoved out of the holes in his wrist devices. Thus, it was ready for use. It had been a lifesaver many times.). It was why he, at first glance, seemed bulkier than he really was. His name was Walt Rod. Codename: Beaker.

The second one was a man of six feet. His long, flowing hair was blonde, and when you factored in his white tank top and tight black pants, one would assume he was homosexual (which he wasn't. Although whether he knew how much he represented the homosexual stereotype was another matter altogether.). He had a muscular build, although he wasn't what you would call a 'bodybuilder'. His eyes were a clear blue color, yet they possessed a sense of wisdom and knowledge that seemed too old for him (although he was easily older than he at first appeared). He wore no shoes; they were too uncomfortable for him (plus, he was strong enough to the point his feet could endure walking on hot coals). To complete the ensemble, he wore a metal glove on his right hand, and a leather strap through a belt loop on his pants. A metal war hammer hung onto this strap; it was thick and heavy, and lined with Norse runes. It was none other than Mjolnir, the hammer of the God of Thunder. And the one who wielded it – Donar Magnison, son of Magni, son of Thor, son of Odin, of the house of Wotan – was its current owner. Codename: Donar (Yeah, his name was his codename).

The third one was of comparable size to Raven or Kyra. Her platinum blonde hair – tied in a ponytail – was of shoulder length, and her brown eyes held a degree of innocence (considering that she grew up on the streets, this was surprising) within them. She wore golden flare pants and a white shirt that said 'Light Up My Life' in green glitter. She was not busty, but nor was she a flat-chest; she would be what one called a natural beauty (as Donar will attest). Her name was Sierra Illescas. Codename: Razzle Dazzle, for she had mastery over light.

The fourth and final one was a giant of a man, bigger than even Goliath or the Ape Titans. Towering at eight feet, his muscular body seemed to say 'Hulk? Who's he?'. He wore a brown bomber jacket and custom blue jeans to fit his massive body. His head – covered with shortly cropped brown hair – was protected by a black infantryman's helmet. His bones were thick as well (his chin seemed to jut forward by at least six to eight inches), and his overall appearance made him seem nitwitted. Which he wasn't; he was actually quite intelligent, but his body made it hard to think clearly enough to speak concisely. He just took time to talk…and if you looked at his clear green eyes, you'd see that they glimmered with intelligence. His name was David Malone (before his operation, that is; now he just went by the name Brick). Codename: Brick Wall.

Beaker had been the one who had spoken. "Pardon my query, but why exactly are there gorillas, former adversaries of your parents, and armored counterparts of our predecessors?"

Kyra smiled. "Meet my team. Beaker, Donar, Razzle Dazzle, and Brick Wall."

"The new generation of Titans?" asked Raven.

A dark, almost painful look came to Kyra's eyes. "No…it's a long story that I won't go into. We aren't the Titans. We go by the name of UPYOURS."

"…what?" Raven blinked out of utter astonishment. "Don't you think that's a bit…'unorthodox'?"

"To say the least," said Redbird Robin.

"What's your codename?" asked Omegadrone Cyborg.

"Kyra Collins."

Razzle Dazzle exclaimed, "Uh…I thought it was Myth!"

Kyra groaned angrily. "I THOUGHT I SAID THAT NAME IS VERBOTEN!"

Raven sweatdropped. "What's wrong with Myth? And what about the whole 'secret identity' thing?"

"I HAVE no secret identity. I am who I am," retorted Kyra.

Donar said, "To be fair, I didn't know who you were when we first met."

Kyra nearly strangled Donar with her chains. And she ended up doing so anyway. Until Brick separated them.

Raven smacked her forehead. Mockingbird, just give her teammates the info they need so we can get back.

Gladly, thought Mockingbird as her eyes glowed once again.

xxxx

Robin had trouble keeping his eyes open.

It was all of the time skips; he was feeling the toil and pain of actions he couldn't remember doing. His body did, however. And it was beginning to take its toll. He just wanted to rest…to sleep…

NO.

Robin shook his head. He had no time to afford to be tired. Even though it was in the darkness of early morning, he refused to give into his body's commanding urges to sleep. All he could do was keep moving forward. To keep fighting. To keep-

He saw Sladebots.

The Sladebots – the 'Dots', the humanoid variety of robot – were walking out of a rift with a large piece of metal. Judging from the wires dangling from it, they had torn it out of whatever had been on the other side of that rift. Which meant one thing: stolen technology.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" roared Robin as he whipped out his bo staff and began his pursuit. The five Sladebots grabbed the large metallic object together and took cover in the nearest alleyway. The Teen Wonder grimaced as he poured on the speed; without worrying about any explosive discs, they might use a teleportation device like Slade had. Can't let them get away!

The Sladebots were suddenly sent flying out of the alleyway, their bodies eviscerated into little pieces.

Robin's mood became considerably better. The others. I must've finally caught up with them! He turned the corner…and froze in his tracks.

Oblivion stared at him coldly. "Hello Fearless."

Robin paled; it was Oblivion. In the back of his mind, he wasn't surprised that Oblivion had attacked the Sladebots; in his current state of mind, anyone and everyone was an enemy. What surprised him was that he was called by his nickname of Fearless. Were Noel and Gauntlet's minds coming back to the forefront…?

No. That stare was too cold. It was simply Oblivion's psyche picking up on base traits and memories from the original minds that composed it. Which is what worried Robin; what if he had started picking up Savior's tactical prowess…?

"Raven once told me that she had to put a bit of herself into every spell she casts." Oblivion clenched his fists, resorting to Savior's own catchphrase. "I'd like to test that theory." Then his eyes glowed. "Azarath…"

Robin blinked. What?

"METRION…"

It finally occurred to him. The spell Raven had concocted earlier to free Noel and Robert. That had contained part of her energy…which meant, with Oblivion's abilities…that he had access to Raven's power. With one big difference.

"ZINTHOS!"

A far bigger power supply.

The bolt of black energy pressed against Robin and sent him flying backwards. "AAAAARGH!"

Oblivion calmly walked out of the alley, the Glimmer emerging from his wrists. His eyes glowed as Robin's uniform was shrouded in black energy. "Stay still."

Robin felt a raw chill go up his spine. Even though the Glimmer had a very long reach…the magical aura of Raven's that he now controlled had even longer range. With the added bonus that you couldn't see it coming.

Tim Drake could only stare as the golden terror towered over him, icy blue eyes staring at him like daggers.

And then Oblivion used the Glimmer to break Robin's index finger.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

xxxx

Raven and the tremendous amount of backup that she had gathered fell out of a rift. Beaker commented, "Pardon my saying so, but do you not think you have enough metahuman assistance for the confrontation with Oblivion?"

"One more group," commented Raven. To be honest, she wasn't truthfully sure if all the help she HAD gathered would be enough. Then again, it had only taken the Teen Titans and Young Justice to stop the Lord of the Night. And that had been only 13 teenage metahumans. She had at least 23 seasoned heroes with her.

Cyborg the Gorilla gazed around. "Say. This place looks like it came from Leave it to Beaver."

Everyone looked around…and realized that the area they were in seemed kind of 'old-fashioned'. There was a strange kind of essence in the air….a more youthful, innocent vitality that was missing from the darkened cities of the Hive Five and the Ape Titans. Even the shining metropolis of UPYOURS' timeline had a dark core. This place possessed nothing of the sort.

All of a sudden, a red-haired police officer with a big nose walked out of a donut shop. He stared quietly at the assortment of teens, metahumans, and primates before him.

Then he gulped and shouted in an Irish accent. "Sweet petunias! The Injustice Guild must've conjured up an evil army of some sort! Better call the Justice Guild!" He immediately ran off for his squad car.

Gorilla Cyborg turned to Omegadrone Cyborg. "Did he just say the Justice Guild?"

"I think he did," muttered Beast.

Then KOB Beast Boy, Beast, Gorilla Cyborg, and Omegadrone Cyborg immediately huddled together.

The armored 'King of Beasts' asked, "So, do you guys have the original issue set?"

Beast grinned. "I've got the first volume, complete with a limited edition holofoil Issue #25: The Injustice Guild Appears!"

Gorilla Cyborg snorted. "I beat you both. I've got Issue #1!"

"DUDE," muttered both of the Changelings.

Omegadrone smiled. "I've got you ALL beat. I've got the limited-edition, golden cover Issue #0!"

The three stared at the golden Omegadrone Cyborg in awe. Gorilla Cyborg protested, "NO FAIR! They only printed 5,000 copies! It explained how the Justice Guild came to be and their secret origins to boot!"

Omegadrone grinned cockily. "Not my problem."

"AWWWW," moaned both Beast and the 'King of Beasts'.

The Ape Titans and Trevor's Titans sweatdropped out of embarrassment.

Techno snickered. "Man, they're getting worked up over some snotty comic books."

Stone chuckled bitterly. "I would too, if I still had any. Left my collection at Titans Tower though." Hex clutched his hand for reassurance; the past was the past. No use feeling any regrets.

Goliath sniffed the air as he stared at the sky. "Hey, who's the green guy?"

Raven stared into the air…and found a white-haired man flying towards them. An azure cape with a large collar was affixed to his body by yellow buttons. He wore a long-sleeved light green shirt, which was tucked into black pants. A brown leather belt with a gold buckle was fastened around his waist, and he wore long, light green boots. He wore a large, dark green mask that covered his whole face from the forehead to just above the mouth. Yellow bracelets encompassed his wrists, and a yellow shield was emblazoned on his chest. A green ring of similar design to the shield design was on his right hand's index finger.

The ring was glowing, forming a bubble shield for his 'passenger'. The aforementioned passenger – who was a pretty muscular fellow – wore a long-sleeved yellow shirt and blue pants, complete with black underwear (kind of like how Superman wore red underwear). He wore black, pointed shoes, and his ankles and wrists both had two steel rings wrapped around them. He wore a brown built, which had a small, miniature turbine built into it instead of a buckle. His muscular face was similar in structure to Superman's, and his eyes were narrow to the point where it was hard to see them. His brown hair was neatly combed (again, looking similar to Superman's hairstyle. Did these two share the same fashion designer or something?), and a large, blue T was embroidered on his chest.

"They don't look happy to see us," commented Hex.

"Then again, neither were you," replied Prime. Hex glared at him momentarily. That is, until a third person arrived from the ground.

If the Flash were more muscular, he'd be like the person that just arrived in a burst of red. He wore a red, skintight bodysuit that covered his body from neck to ankle. He wore yellow shorts – buckled together by a black belt – over his waist, and he wore yellow shoes over his bare feet. His hands were also bare, though they were clenched into fists. He wore a red helmet – complete with large goggles – with a yellow stripe down the middle; it was made of a pure iron. To finish it off, he had a yellow lightning bolt symbol on his chest.

The first two set down beside the red man. The red man said, "Mind explaining why such a colorful cast of characters is here in Seaboard City?"

Omegadrone, Gorilla Cyborg, Beast, and the 'King of Beasts' nearly wet themselves. These three people were superheroes. Superheroes that had belonged in a fictional comic book…but their exploits were great nonetheless.

The Green Guardsman.

Tom Turbine.

And the Streak.

Members of the Justice Guild of America.

Raven glanced at Mockingbird.

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

The three Justice Guild members wavered momentarily…and they stood tall again, staring at the ensemble of heroes gathered before them. Gathered for one purpose: to stop Oblivion.

The Streak walked forward and extended a hand. "Raven, was it? The Justice Guild will gladly assist you."

Raven smiled as she took the man's hand. "Thank you."

Tom Turbine stepped forward. "But we can't leave Seaboard City undefended."

"When I got the call from the police sergeant, I was assisting Cat Man and Black Siren with halting a bank robbery," replied the Streak. "I'll go tell them to remain here and protect the city while we help stop this Oblivion character." He took off in a streak of red.

The Green Guardsman looked at Raven's entire team. "Do you think this will all be enough?"

Raven turned around and gazed at all the superheroes she had managed to unite…to help someone they had never met before. Not only because of the severity of Oblivion's threat…but because they were willing to do so.

That was heroism.

The Ape Titans.

The Hive Five.

The Imagiknight's Titans.

UPYOURS.

And now, members of the Justice Guild of America.

Raven smiled. "I think we have enough."

xxxx

"AAAAAAAARGH!"

Oblivion enjoyed the screams for some reason.

Robin writhed as Oblivion snapped his right hand's pinky. "Please…stop…"

"No," remarked Oblivion. He didn't truly know why he was doing it. All he knew was that he was enjoying it. Probably because this little boy had fought him earlier. Yes…that was it. And if he was enjoying himself, there was no harm in it, right?

His concentration had lapsed, just for the moment. Robin slipped a hand to an explosive disc – ignoring the pain in his shattered fingers – and threw it at point-blank range. It slammed into Oblivion's face.

CHOOM!

Robin winced from the wave of heat that slammed into him. However, it had hit Oblivion far worse. His face was burned and bleeding from the explosion…but then his head glowed.

The flesh healed rapidly, and the wounds disappeared.

Robin cursed; Oblivion had just given himself super healing, if only for a moment. Then, his body began to lax; hope was beginning to abandon him. In the midst of a torn city that was falling under the weight of a shattering reality, he was alone with the enemy.

He didn't want to admit that two fellow Titans were about to kill him, no matter how much they had been corrupted. He was about to die at the hands of two Titans.

Oblivion snarled as he grabbed Robin by the neck with his right hand, lifting him into the air. The anger in his expression was palpable. "You…you keep trying to hurt me…you won't be doing it again."

Robin managed to choke out, "The others…will stop you…"

A flash of raw anger came to the fusion metahuman as he recalled the others that had hurt him earlier. "You think they'll be able to hold me back? You think they'll protect you?" hissed Oblivion. "You can't stop me. I'll NEVER stop. And for trying, I'll tear you apart molecule by molecule and memory by memory until there's nothing left of you but screaming, traumatized ATOMS."

A hand grabbed his wrist, causing him to release Robin.

Oblivion turned to see Wonder Woman. "You can try." Then the warrior of Themyscira punched him in the face.

Oblivion met a building head on, and it collapsed upon him.

Robin grimaced as he got to his feet; the Justice League and the Titans had regrouped at last. Starfire worryingly floated over to Robin. "Robin! Are you okay?"

The Teen Wonder muttered, "Only my fingers got hurt…but his power's just too much."

"Come on Fearless, don't give up now," remarked Cyborg as his metallic feet crunched the debris under his feet. "We've gone through worse before. We'll come back on top."

"Not unless we get some backup," muttered Green Lantern. "Where's your friend Raven anyway? She hasn't even gotten back yet!"

"You called?"

The Titans and the Justice League turned…and gaped in shock. Raven had over two dozen warriors behind her, all surveying the damage.

"It's worse than I thought," muttered Prime.

"No kidding," remarked Razzle Dazzle as her skin shivered. The energy that had infiltrated the air throughout the entire city – and only now beginning to spread outside to the sea and countryside – was of a distinctly chilling persuasion. It was powerful, yet had no alignment. Neither light nor dark. Probably because Oblivion was not evil, nor was he good. He was a being of chaos, a living force that existed only to destroy.

However, judging by what he had just done to Robin, the consciousness of the fused warrior was beginning to adapt to the emotions of the two minds it spawned from. And if things kept on like they were, Oblivion would transform from a being of chaos to a being of darkness.

They couldn't let that happen.

And judging from all the people Raven had brought, there was still a fighting chance.

Of course, the various Beast Boys and Cyborgs were all staring off in one direction.

Omegadrone blinked. "There's no way."

"YES way," retorted Gorilla Cyborg.

"An army of ninjas?" said Beast Boy.

"AND an army of pirates?" said the 'King of Beasts' out of awe.

Cyborg grinned with excitement. "Oh man, that is the coolest battle EVER."

"You said it," replied Beast out of concurrence.

Stone stared at the group from afar. "Wish I could joke like that," muttered the rocky metahuman, his eyes becoming downcast.

Techno snorted. "Man, quit the snotty angst act. It's worn itself out."

"Just shut up Mikron," grumbled Hex, her eyes momentarily flashing. Techno promptly fell to his feet as a brick fell on him from above (they were standing right next to a building on the verge of collapse, FYI). The mistress of bad luck grinned at Techno's curses.

And all the while, Tara Markov wondered why there were no alternate versions of herself. Perhaps it was because she had already died in each reality the various superhero teams came from (save for the world of UPYOURS and the Guild; the former because she wasn't even in UPYOURS, and the latter because it was set in the 1940s, before she was even born). But why let her know and scar her?

Meanwhile, Starfire, Soulfire, and 'Battle Armor' Starfire floated over to each other.

Starfire gazed at Soulfire. "Why are you wearing a swimsuit?"

Soulfire asked 'Battle Armor' Starfire, "Why are you wearing such strange armor?"

'Battle Armor' Starfire remarked, "You have no eyes!"

"And yet you do!" astonishingly retorted Soulfire.

"And you have a belly button!" exclaimed Starfire.

"But you do not!" yelled Soulfire.

"Oooh…" muttered all three Tamaraneans, quiteeasily fascinated by the changes in their alternate selves.

Prime chuckled as he turned to Robin. "At least something's don't change…" His deep eyes suddenly looked sorrowful. "It's a shame…I've almost forgotten what my human body was like. Seeing you is like looking in an old mirror."

Robin was silent as he walked slowly, surveying the various people Raven had brought. Simian versions of ourselves…and the Titans from Timothy Trevor's world. He still remembered the Imaginknight and his tale of the struggle against Weltall.

Robin paused at the Hive Five. The HIVE…? He gazed at Stone. The metahuman averted his gaze. The Teen Wonder, though slightly confused, walked on…and paused a few steps later. His hair stood on end. "Slade."

"I am not the Deathstroke of this timeline, Robin." He leaned down and gazed intently into Robin's eyes. The Teen Wonder stood tall, not backing down from the gaze of Deathknell.

The HIVE Headmaster stood back, seemingly content with what he saw. "You still have the spark of heroism. Don't lose it like your counterpart in my world did."

Robin nearly disregarded the advice simply because it was advice from Slade. Yet he acknowledged it with a simple glance; it was good advice nevertheless.

He looked at UPYOURS (he too arched an eyebrow when he learned of their team name) and the Justice Guild as well. Finally, he returned to his reality's Raven saying, "Glad you made it back. Even though it took a while."

"That's something I've been meaning to ask." Raven looked up at the sky. It was early morning, and the sky was slowly brightening as the sun began to rise (though the rifts all over the place provided plenty of light). "I was only gone for a couple of hours at the most. Why did so much time pass here?"

"Time is skipping forward," answered the Flash. "The place has gone absolutely loco." He looked around. "Hey, where's GL?"

Green Lantern was floating in front of the Green Guardsman, who was looking back with some measure of confusion. "…do you know me?"

"…an alternate version of you," remarked John Stewart, as he recalled his first meeting with the Justice Guild. As it had turned out, the Guild had only been illusions conjured by an angry young child. Yet it had been real to John. "I fought alongside him in battle. A good man."

Scott Mason – the Green Guardsman – smiled. "Well, if you were an ally of another version of me, that's good enough. I'll be glad to fight alongside you once again, if that makes any sense."

Green Lantern smiled as he shook his head. "Of course."

"So…what now?" asked Trevor as he muttered 'Electrowheel' and vanished in a flash. When it faded, a muscular male of six feet remained. His body was covered by a slim exoskeleton made of blue metal, which counteracted with his yellow bodysuit. His feet stood upon skates with spherical wheels (thus allowing for total control over his movement), and his arms crackled with electricity.

"We let Robin decide."

Everyone gazed at Superman. "This is the Titans' city. And he's their leader. He's in charge."

Robin couldn't help but feel slightly in awe; Superman still had faith in him. He already knew his teammates still had faith in him as well. "Alright then…first I'll need a roll call."

Robin listened to all the names…and found he had some issues with a few. Particularly, the multiple versions of a few Titans. He gazed at 'Battle Armor' Starfire. "Um…Starfire?"

"Yes?" replied both at once.

"Not you Kory, the one in armor."

"Oh, my apologies." Starfire floated away. 'Battle Armor' Starfire asked, "Yes?"

Robin said, "Well…I don't want to have a name mix-up in the middle of battle. Think a name change for the time being would be okay? Like…Sunfire or something?"

The armored Tamaranean giggled with glee. "That was my mother's name! I will gladly accept it!"

…okay, that was easy. Robin turned to the three Cyborgs. He gazed at the golden Cyborg. "You can simply be Omegadrone."

"No complaints."

He then looked at the cybernetically-enhanced gorilla. "Hmm…well, you are a gorilla…maybe just CyGor?"

"CyGor eh? Sure." The gorilla immediately opened his mouth and roared humorously. "I AM CY-GORE! BLOOD AND GORE! BLOOD AND GORE! BLARGLEBLARGLEBLARGLE!"

The Cyborg and Beast Boy variants laughed.

Robin turned to the Beast Boy multiples. "Beast is already okay…I think I'll just you 'King', after your army."

The armored Beast Boy grinned. "Works for me!"

"Better yet, how about KOB Boy?" CyGor whooped, "Yo, KOB Boy! Got any corn? I already ate all of mine!"

The Cyborg and Beast Boy variants laughed again. Save for 'KOB Boy', who merely fumed. "It's not THAT funny…"

"Quiet guys," muttered Redbird (the Robin of Trevor's world was content to calling himself Redbird – after his armor – until Oblivion was dealt with. Same thing with his timeline's Raven, who would call herself Nevermore.), his black armor slowly becoming more visible in the early morning light.

Robin sighed as he stared at the massive gathering of heroes before him. All united for a single purpose. Perhaps that was one of the greatest strengths of humanity; for people of differing ideals and backgrounds to bind together under the duress of horrible strife.

And Oblivion had certainly caused strife.

"A crisis has befallen Jump City," said Robin aloud, ignoring the pain in his fingers; Raven was already healing them (for she had no need to use her fingers in battle). "Due to the intervention of a madman called Deathstroke the Terminator, two of our teammates were fused together. They became a being with unbelievable power…and that power suppressed their minds, giving birth to a new consciousness that called itself Oblivion. At first, he was a pure force of chaos, destroying because he had no choice. But now, Oblivion is starting to come to terms with his raw emotions…and if he manages to calm himself down on a mental level, our chances of winning will plummet. His powers in the hands of a calm warrior would not be a pretty sight…so there's only one solution." He cracked his knuckles, momentarily relishing in the feel of unbroken fingers (he'd have to thank Raven later). "We charge en masse. We overwhelm him. We grind him into the ground. Hopefully, we'll incapacitate him long enough to find a way to split him apart. Is that understood?"

No one said a thing.

That is, until Myth (Robin had politely asked for her to use codenames, at least for the time being. She could live with it) grinned wickedly. "So basically, we just kick ass?"

Robin nodded with a smile. "Lots of it."

xxxx

Oblivion snarled as he punched his way out of the rubble.

Those irritating rats. They were going to be torn apart…and he would do it with his BARE HANDS.

He pulled himself out and glared at the Titans…but then he blanched at what he saw.

A red sun was rising above the hill of rubble the heroes stood on. A red sun for a bloody day.

Gathered before the super-powered teen were seven teams of superheroes.

The Teen Titans: Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Terra.

The Justice League: Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern.

The Ape Titans: Prime, Soulfire, CyGor, Beast, and Mockingbird.

The Hive Five: Hex, Stone, Goliath, Techno, Sentinel, and Deathknell the Conqueror.

The Imagiknight's Titans: Redbird, Sunfire, Omegadrone, King (or KOB Boy, if you prefer), Nevermore, and Timothy Trevor's current form of Electrowheel.

UPYOURS: Myth, Beaker, Donar, Razzle Dazzle, and Brick Wall.

The Justice Guild: The Streak, Tom Turbine, and Green Guardsman.

A grand total of 35 superheroes had gathered to face him this morning.

As eerie as it seemed, the trumpet of horns sounded through the air (most likely from a nearby rift) as the respective leaders of each team yelled.

"Titans, CHARGE!" roared Prime.

"HIVE, forward!" commanded Deathknell.

"Titans, ATTACK!" yelled Electrowheel.

"LET JUSTICE PREVAIL!" cried the three Guild members.

"UPYOURS, HO!" shouted Myth.

There was momentary silence as everyone turned to face Kyra Collins. Beaker coughed, "Um…you DO realize what you just said? Up. Yours. Ho. Understand?"

"I DON'T NEED THE UNCOMFORTABLE MENTAL IMAGE. JUST ATTACK!" shrieked Myth.

Robin whipped out his bo staff. "Justice League…Titans…"

Oblivion permitted himself to swear. As it turned out, the censorship spell was still in effect. "Matriarch fornicating feces."

"GO!"

The fists of the Flash and the Streak slammed into Oblivion's face.

And the rest charged.

xxxx

Within his hideaway, Slade watched with vested interest. His robotic drones had already gathered several hundred pounds of technological material and teleported back to his lair (to be honest, it was kind of a boon that the time skips were here; it made the wait seem shorter). He was sure to gain some knowledge from what he had attained.

However, it was the rifts themselves that had his interest…particularly, a group of rifts near downtown that were clustered together in close proximity. His scanners were picking up large amounts of particles of foreign origin (which was almost always a case for dimensional rifts). The clincher for Slade was the fact that as more rifts appeared in that cluster…the greater the concentration of chronotons. Raw time particles…the quantum of time itself.

It had been hard enough to find enough chronoton molecules for his Chronoton Destabilizer. Those rifts were now spewing forth enough chronotons to power a hundred of them.

The sheer amount intrigued him…because they hinted at a possibility that even he felt was too good to be true. Even HE wasn't that lucky.

Still…

He issued a command to all available robots and servants. He wanted them to gather at that spot. He would be there, waiting for them.

Slade Wilson smiled behind his metallic mask; things were going very well for him.

xxxx

The two speedsters cut away as the onslaught began.

Superman's heat vision. Green Lantern's energy beams. Laser vision and Starbolts from Starfire, Soulfire, and Sunfire. Sonic blasts from Omegadrone, CyGor, and Cyborg. Electrical bolts from Donar, Electrowheel, and Techno (who had formed an electric gun out of his nano-suit). Psychic blasts from Raven, Nevermore, and Mockingbird.

The torrent of energy lashed against Oblivion with enough force to level a whole city. He managed to make it through still standing, albeit damaged in a visible way for the first time in a while (heavily burned skin and damaged armor). Nevertheless, it was already healing.

Then Wonder Woman's golden lasso wrapped around Oblivion. She swung around in circles, slowly going faster and faster – Oblivion was getting DIZZY – before she let go. The fused Titan went high into the sky…where Green Guardsman was waiting.

His ring shot forth a glove made of green energy, which he used to smack Oblivion back down into the ground. The golden teen shook his head as he got to his feet.

"Perhaps you haven't heard…"

Oblivion looked up to see Tom Turbine. His namesake – the turbine – was spinning inside his belt; as a result, electrical energy built up in the conductive bracelets around his wrists. "But in Jump City…crime doesn't pay."

Two electrically charged punches slammed into his chest, sending him into the air. And it wasn't surprising; Tom Turbine, when fully charged by his energy belt, was almost capable of Superman-level strength.

Oblivion could only grunt as his body went numb from the shock. He didn't even have time to heal himself before Goliath caught him. The mammoth of a man (pun intended) grinned. "Hey there." He then slammed Oblivion into the ground with a mighty heave.

Stone was immediately there, landing atop Oblivion with his rock-hard knee. The fused Titan gagged as Stone grabbed his feet and swung him around, building up momentum before releasing him.

Oblivion crashed into a building. Hex calmly stood in front of it, even as her eyes glowed pink. "You shouldn't be playing here. This place is scheduled for demolition."

Then the foundations – weakened by Hex's powers – collapsed, and the building fell on Oblivion like a stack of cards. The impish girl smiled. "Just a case of bad luck."

Then the building's remains exploded as a myriad of Glimmer lines slashed through the rubble. Oblivion roared out of sheer fury as he stood, glaring with absolute hatred at Hex. "YOU DIE." A Glimmer strand shot at her, ready to lodge itself in her brain.

Whackwhack-whack-whackwhack-whack-WHACKWHACKWHACKWHACKWHACK!

Oblivion's brain suddenly felt multiple concussions as Sentinel dashed in front of him and swung his nunchaku around. The metal rods slammed into the teen's face over and over again, even as he tried to form a coherent thought. That's when Grant Wilson stopped his attack and pulled Oblivion behind him before elbowing him in the back of the neck.

Beaker stepped forward as a tube filled with a colorless liquid popped out into his left hand. He opened the vial and doused Oblivion with the liquid. Less than a moment later, Donar flew in from behind and slammed Mjolnir into the reality manipulator's back, sending him flying. "Pardon my asking, but whatdid you douse him with?"

Walt Rod cleared his throat. "The process is rather complicated, so I'll be short. The first chemical I mixed would absorb the air molecules around Oblivion as he moved. Seeing as how you just launched him into the troposphere, there'll be plenty of molecules to spare. The second chemical in my concoction would divide the molecules into their individual elements. Of particular importance are the miniscule amount of hydrogen molecules and the more abundant oxygen molecules. The third and final part of the concoction would transform the liquid into a gelatinous substance, so it wouldn't slip off." He turned to Donar. "Do you know what occurs when pure oxygen and pure hydrogen combust?"

Donar blinked. "Uh…"

Beaker finished, "An explosion. And judging from the profuse amount of air our dear foe happens to be flying through, it'll be a big one."

The one to provide that explosion would be Slade Wilson: Deathknell the Conqueror.

For as Oblivion flew toward him uncontrollably, Deathknell calmly slipped a grenade into his M79 launcher and fired. It made a strange, hollow 'FOOMP' sound as it flew towards Oblivion.

It hit.

The fiery explosion was immediately followed by an even bigger one. Oblivion howled with agony as he landed on the ground, skidding to a halt over fifty yards away.

He looked up to see a green jackhammer.

The fusion warrior gagged as Green Guardsman bombarded his abdomen with relentless force. The Guild member immediately transformed his jackhammer into a hand, which he used to grab Oblivion and throw him elsewhere, towards another group of superheroes.

Trevor's Titans.

Electrowheel grinned as his exoskeletion crackled with electricity. "Okay guys, time for a combo attack. Make it up as you go!" The Imagiknight's wheels spun as he dashed off to catch the now-woozy teen. His hands short forth a bolt of electricity that latched onto Oblivion and pulled him down into Trevor's grasp (think the Grappler beam from Metroid).

Electrowheel began spinning around in circles – easy to do with spherical wheels – before throwing him away with a burst of electrical power. "GUYS! DO IT!"

Redbird dashed forward before delivering a vicious uppercut to Oblivion's chin. King (BOY ON THE KOB!) leapt into the air, slashing at Oblivion with his claws. Omegadrone's arms morphed into golden hammers, which he slammed right into the fused teen's chest. Nevermore sent him further upward with a slash from her wings, followed by a bolt of black energy.

In the air, Oblivion was caught by Sunfire.

And Soulfire.

And Starfire.

The three stared at each other. Starfire said, "May we kick the butt?"

The other two Tamaraneans smiled.

They kicked Oblivion's butt once. They giggled for a few seconds at the humor of it all before grabbing him and diving downward at high speed, spinning around as they did.

Oblivion was too dizzy to do anything…couldn't attack…couldn't muster a defense…the PAIN…

SMASH!

The three Tamaraneans burst away just before Oblivion hit the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of ash and dust. The reality manipulator hacked up blood, coughing horribly. There was a lull in the fighting at last…he could-

The hand of a gorilla grabbed his ankle.

"I don't think so," remarked Mockingbird as she threw Oblivion over her head towards the Ape Titans.

Beast leapt into the air and brought both fists together, slamming them into Oblivion's back. Prime immediately grabbed Oblivion as he fell, his hands now sporting brass knuckles (custom fit for gorilla hands). He gave the fusion several painful blows before tossing him to CyGor.

The cybernetic gorilla grabbed Oblivion (goodness, he looked torn up), grinning all the while. "And this is why you should watch what you eat." He opened his mouth, revealing that his Sonic Cannon was built into his mouth.

CHOOM!

Oblivion howled yet again by the sonic blast. A new source of pain came soon, for missiles – launched from Cyborg – collided with him, dousing his body with more fire. As he fell to the ground, his body jolted with pain as Beast Boy – as an ankylosaurus – whipped his tail at Oblivion, the bony club at the end adding to the force. Oblivion skidded along the ground, even as he was bombardedfrom the air by heat vision and Starbolts.

He was suddenly picked up by Sentinel, who held him tight around the neck with his nunchaku. Myth assisted him by wrapping her promethium chains around Oblivion. "Deathknell, NOW!"

Deathknell dashed forward as he pulled out his katana.

Oblivion's eyes suddenly cleared…and he finally began his counterattack.

"THIS HURTS!"

He kicked Slade in the chain before using the Glimmer to smack Sentinel and Myth in the face. He wiggled free of his constraints and howled, sending out hundreds of Glimmer lines to attack. "STOP FIGHTING ME!"

The ground was suddenly lit by pink energy.

And Oblivion fell to his knees, for the piece of debris he had been standing on broke apart into dust. Elsewhere, Hex smiled.

The lapse allowed the superheroes to continue their assault.

Electrowheel and Tom Turbine both grabbed Oblivion, zapping him with electricity before sending him flying with powerful jabs. He landed in the arms of Brick Wall, who gave him the most painful bear hug in the world (a bear hug that would put bears to shame!) before slamming into the ground and stomping on him.

"Don't mind if I do," remarked Stone as he picked Oblivion up – punching him twice for good measure – and tossed him over to Goliath, who delivered a ferocious haymaker.

"BEAST MODE!" howled King as his armor shifted over more of his body, making him look more like a lion. He leapt at Oblivion, slashing and clawing before biting into his side (and consequently finding the armor was still too strong for him to chew through). So he merely leapt back as Razzle Dazzle blasted him with a bright light (a very bright light…but seeing as how Oblivion was in utter agony, he couldn't even open his eyes). Beast grabbed the fusion with his feet (hurray for opposable toes!) and slammed into the ground. He jumped away just as Wonder Woman came up, punching him ferociously before throwing him to Superman.

Superman grabbed Oblivion and delivered blow after devastating blow. The Kryptonian couldn't believe how much punishment the boy had endured…but there was no time to afford taking chances. They had to stop him here and now.

Kal-El heaved Oblivion towards the two Scarlet Speedsters. The Flash and the Streak both ran around the reality manipulator, delivering millions of blows in seconds. Then, as the ground rumbled, they dashed off before a rocky spire arose from the ground. Terra's eyes glowed yellow as she rose the massive bulk of rock into the air…and then she broke it apart with a thought, screaming as she bombarded Oblivion back to the (now unrecognizable) street with each and every rock.

"DON'T STOP!" yelled Robin as he pulled out his explosive discs. "PUT EVERYTHING YOU HAVE INTO THIS ONE!"

And so they did.

Laser blasts. Heat vision. Starbolts. Sonic blasts. Explosive discs. Grenades. Electricity. Psychic energy. Magical blasts. Every single long distance attack at their disposal tore into the mound of rubble Oblivion was buried under, creating a massive explosion that echoed through the ruins of Jump City. So much energy…poured into an attack so powerful that even the Lord of the Night wouldn't have emerged from it unscathed.

Enough power to rival an atomic bomb in its intensity.

They stopped…and silence ensued.

The heroes each had their own collective sigh of relief.

Robin flexed his fingers. "Looks like it's finally over."

"YAY!"

Everyone blinked as Larry rushed up and hugged Robin's leg. "That was the BEST!"

Robin blinked. "Larry, what are you doing here?"

"I came to cheer you on!" exclaimed Ekard Mit. "Now let me get close to that guy so I can get my magic finger back!"

Robin nodded. "Okay. Terra, let's dig him out."

The rubble that covered Oblivion – nearly all of it dust after the explosion – suddenly shifted. A rumble drifted through the area.

All 35 superheroes paused. The Flash muttered, "THAT can't be good."

And then a power greater than an atomic bomb responded.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Oblivion's terrible howl echoed through the air as a column of white energy erupted from him, tearing into the sky. More rifts opened up by the dozens, and some even merged together. A particularly large cluster of rifts had merged together to form a single, large rift. Larry the Titan screamed as he dove into a trashcan and hid.

Robin didn't care about the rifts. All he saw was Oblivion. An Oblivion without any injury. An Oblivion who was now completely fresh. An Oblivion who was supremely ticked off.

"Dude, that's SO not fair!" protested Beast. "That's just cheating!"

"SHUT UP." Oblivion punctuated this with a Glimmer fist that stretched toward Beast and punched him in the face. The fusion glared at the others with utter, fiery rage and contempt. "You all just wouldn't stop…you just had to keep going…well you know what? I'M NOT THE TYPE TO LET GO OF A GRUDGE."

Robin paled; the moment he feared had arrived. Oblivion's psyche now had made the leap over to evil…and now the fusion would start fighting with a purpose. We've lost…

Clapping.

Everyone turned to face the singular rift that had been created from many. Standing in front of it…was Slade Wilson. Deathstroke the Terminator.

Robin hissed. "Slade. What are YOU doing here?"

"Merely taking advantage of a new opportunity." The mercenary was now wearing a jet pack of some sorts on his back…but what would he have need for it? "You see Titans, while you've been contending with Oblivion here, my robots have been entering numerous realities and stealing anything of value. I was to be merely content with my gains, even as I watched the good show you were putting on. I never expected Raven to actually find so much help though. Bravo."

Deathknell's eye narrowed at the arrogance in Deathstroke's voice. "I can see why Robin doesn't like him."

Deathstroke ignored his counterpart by continuing on. "But then this came to my attention." He pointed at the rift behind him. "Multiple rifts were exhibiting increasingly large amounts of chronoton particles. And seeing as how time travel happens to be a particularly regular occurrence for certain people, I've learned from scientific reports ad eyewitness accounts of those who DO go back in time…that the further back in time one goes, the more chronoton particles are present." He stared at the Titans – HIS Titans – and said, "This rift is exhibiting more chronotons than any other time traveling incident ever produced. Hundreds, THOUSANDS of times more." He smiled behind his mask. "I arrived at only one conclusion. What could be exhibiting so many chronotons?"

Green Lantern was silent as he listened to the analysis of the rift from his power ring…and he paled at the conclusion it had arrived at. "Oh no…Deathstroke you fool! DON'T DO IT!"

"What? What's wrong?" asked Green Guardsman.

"That rift…it leads back to before the dawn of time!"

A collective gasp came from nearly everyone. Deathstroke merely smiled. "Correct."

John Stewart glared at the mercenary. "It's a universal law Deathstroke; NO ONE is allowed to gaze back or even go to the dawn of time. It's forbidden!"

"Because the Guardians of the Universe fear that someone who does go back to the time before time began will rewrite history…effectively making themselves a god." Green Lantern stared in shock. This was very pleasing to Deathstroke. "I have many sources Green Lantern. I know why your higher-ups on Oa forbid this action. And to be frank, I don't care what they think."

"DON'T DO IT SLADE," growled Robin as he glared hatefully at the mercenary (how? how had Slade gotten the jump on them once again?).

"I've broken the law many times in my life Robin. Do you really think I care if I break another?" With a press of a switch, his jetpack activated. Even as he hovered into the air, hundreds of Slade's robots – the humanoid Dots and the more bulky Bots – poured out of the alleyways. "My last attempt at achieving godhood failed. Now I have been presented with an opportunity to reach it once more. And even dear Oblivion has been a boon…the radiation normally found with chronotons during time travel is nonexistent with these rifts. I don't even need any protection."

Oblivion just stared, not even focusing on Deathstroke…mostly on the massive vortex.

"Farewell Titans. If you should still be in existence by the time I'm done…it'll be most amusing to see how you'll have fared in my new world." Slade chuckled as his jetpack propelled him into the time portal.

"GET HIM! WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!" howled Robin.

The Dots and the Bots immediately opened fire and charged. They outnumbered the 35 superheroes by at least 60 to 1. And even then their goal wasn't to destroy the numerous warriors; it was merely to stall for time. Time for Slade to rewrite history as he saw fit.

Robin tore through as many of the robots as he could, whirling his bo staff like a possessed man. He couldn't stop. Ignore the tiredness. Ignore everything. Just stop SLADE-

A Bot slammed its massive metal fist into his back. Robin howled as he was sent to the ground. Even as Redbird and Prime came to assist, Robin couldn't help but stare at the rift.

Then he realized Oblivion was gone.

Where…?

He couldn't hold it off anymore. The tiredness and his body's screams for sleep took precedence.

Robin finally blacked out.

xxxx

Slade Wilson had been extraordinarily lucky.

Things had just fallen into place one after another. The spell that had stuck Noel Collins and Robert Candide together. The arrival of Ekard Mit. The multiple rifts. And at last, the vortex to the time before time began.

Deathstroke wasn't one to believe in fate…but even he couldn't help but wonder if someone was looking out for him today.

However, luck could only go so far…and it was finally time for him to endure a setback.

And considering all that had happened, it was a tremendous setback.

For Oblivion – the red fins on his shoulder blades spinning like propellers – suddenly burst past Slade.

Deathstroke couldn't help but goggle at what had just occurred. It had been too bizarre a sight…and then it finally clicked. "No." Slade reached for Oblivion's ankle…but he was already too far ahead. "NO!"

Slade increased the power to his jetpack. Oblivion was still moving further ahead.

The mercenary's eye narrowed out of anger. That accursed boy…he won't foil my plans this time!

xxxx

Oblivion had been inexplicably drawn to the vortex.

He wasn't quite sure why…but he sensed tremendous power beyond it. Utterly unimaginable energy, eclipsing his own massive power without question.

Needless to say, the psyche within him was intrigued. Intrigued by the raw power.

He wanted to see it.

So he kept pouring on the speed…and at last, he entered the whiteness.

All around him was an infinity of white…an endless expanse. The only exception was a massive pool of purple energy that spanned miles and miles in diameter. Within it was all of the matter that would spawn the universe. Everything that would ever exist…in pure energy form.

In the midst of that pool were two hands struggling for dominance. A white hand in a green glove…and a metallic hand made of anti-matter. Although Oblivion did not know it, he was staring at the hands of the Spectre and the Anti-Monitor, each one trying to overpower the other. Raw bolts of orange energy erupted from the hands.

Oblivion calmly descended toward the stream of energy. Utter power…what if he used his power upon it? The fusion stared at it with blue eyes…and put his hands into the raw energy.

Simultaneously, a window opened up in the expanse, revealing a scientist of Oa by the name of Krona. He was pointing at the energy pool from the other side of thewindow. "…you talk of legends of destruction should I learn the truth. You are a DOLT!" Foreign, pinkish energy leaked from the window.

The unholy face of the Anti-Monitor peered out of the purple stream. He roared with all the force he could muster. "Now Krona – open the portal. Peer back to the dawn of creation! DO IT NOW! NOW! NOW!"

The Spectre roared in defiance. "NO! We have not lost! Not yet! More power! I need more strength! MORE! MORE!"

The energy from Krona's machine mixed with the power of the Anti-Monitor and the Spectre…but unlike before, there was a new random element.

Oblivion's immense energies – capable of altering anything and everything – poured into the energy stream as bolts of power racketed his frame. The fusion screamed as loud as he could, his pain echoing throughout the expanse of whiteness.

The Anti-Monitor gazed at Oblivion. "WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?"

The Spectre looked in astonishment at Oblivion. "Who is he that commands so much energy?"

Oblivion's interference had introduced a random factor into the equation. Powers that affected magic and reality itself stormed through the pool, mixing with those of the Anti-Monitor, the Spectre, and Krona's machine.

Then the stream vanished into whiteness, as Oblivion was propelled outward through the rift that he had inadvertently created.

Further back into the rift, Deathstroke's eyes widened as Oblivion's body slammed into his, pushing him back. "What have you done? TELL ME!"

Slade got no answer.

xxxx

In Jump City, sheer power – along with Oblivion and Deathstroke – erupted from the rift.

"They're back!" exclaimed Superman.

"But what's going on-" Robin's words were cut off as he was devoured by the whiteness.

All of Jump City was consumed. The white energy didn't spread any further…although invisible ripples of power did spread out, affecting everything they touched…that is, everything that had been changed.

Oblivion had altered creation.

xxxx

In the beginning there was only one, a single black infinitude.

So cold and dark for so very long…that even the burning light was imperceptible.

But then the light grew, and the universal infinitude shuddered…and the darkness finally screamed, as much in pain as in relief.

For in that instant a Multiverse was born.

A Multiverse of infinite worlds, vibrating and replicating…and a Multiverse that had once been one, became many once more.

xxxx

We turn back the Earth of our Titans…one of the multiple Earths, which had yet to receive a designated name.

Metropolis.

McDonald's.

As surprising as it was, the time skips had not affected the areas outside of Jump City. Why? The immense powers of Oblivion had done strange things to the city. To be honest, there was no explanation for it; simply that Oblivion's energy had seemingly put Jump City in its own realm, where what affected the city only affected it and nothing else.

This was why Phil and Ralph were still eating lunch around noon, whereas it had been the dawn of the next day at Jump City.

Phil snorted. "This stinks." He was eating his fourth Superburger – a McDonald's burger with buns shaped like Superman's symbol and a super secret sauce – which is why the comment seemed strange to Ralph. "You seem to be enjoying them. And they're actually okay."

"Not the burger. This place promoted free Kryptonite to people who bought at least three." Phil downed the rest of the Superburger. Ralph merely sweatdropped.

Sheesh, you need to learn some manners.

Bite me Io.

Squire! Don't use such a tongue in front of a lady.

Io? A lady? PFFT.

An invisible ripple passed through everything. It was immediately noticeable because a fat, obese guy wearing a 'PS3 ROXXORS MY BOXXORS' transformed into a slim Buddhist monk wearing a red gi.

The man stared at the meal in front of him. "Oh…oh GOODNESS! I have defiled my oath! NOOO!" The monk wailed as he spat out his food – apparently, he was a vegetarian – and dashed out of McDonald's.

Phil and Ralph could only stare.

The Jedi Knight commented, "A time ripple."

Phil grimaced. "Yup."

"Something's changed."

"Yup." He then stared at his watch. "3…2…1…"

A familiar voice erupted from the watch. "PHIIIIIL! MY OFFICE, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Phil sighed dejectedly. "Yes sir." He stood up with Ralph, ignoring the stares he was getting from the other customers. "I can't get a break…"

xxxx

TO BE CONCLUDED…

NEXT TIME…

Epilogue

xxxx

Author's Notes: (collapses) 61 pages in 6 days…my biggest chapter ever since the final chapter of Zero 2: A Revision…over 20,000 words…(dies)

I hope you all enjoyed it.

See you soon, and please review!