Chap. 22

All Together Now

But before any kind of extermination could take place, Rorek let loose with a huge blast of magical energy at the two heroes. Neuron and Beast Boy were forced to leap to the sides to avoid the blast. But as he hit the ground, Neuron fired off his electrical bursts, which likewise scattered their enemies. Rorek and See-More dove behind one of the spires since it's current magic-infused state made it an invincible shield. "You really should have done better then hiding in the basement!" Neuron yelled as he continued to attack. As the bursts exploded around them, See-More turned to ask Rorek what they should do. But before he could get a word out, the wizard's hand wrapped around his throat. "You said we were hidden!" Rorek all but screamed into the young villain's face. "I…. Didn't…… know…" See-More gasped out. "It ….. clear…..before.." "Apparently not." Rorek sneered, as he released his grip. Moving out from behind the spire, Rorek let loose another bolt of magic at Beast Boy, who morphed into a bird and flew above it. However, the efforts of Gizmo and Kyd Wkyyd kept from moving forward. Using the distraction, Rorek turned to Raven, put her in full paralysis, and created a shiedl around her to take her out of the equation. Turning back to See-More, Rorek snarled, "You are lucky I still need you, or you would be dead now." "Hey, what about your magic?" See-More gasped, as he rubbed his throat. "Why didn't that hide us?" "It still is hiding us, fool!" Rorek answered. "These two stumbled onto us by accident. My shield is still protecting us from their communication and magic. These two are an accident you let happen, and we will deal with them as such. Thankfully, I was able to gain a few defensive spells from the book." "I noticed." See-More said, as he turned back to the battle.

"How long have we been searching?" Heatstrike asked, as the BRAT-Mobile flew around the clouds in the far southern outskirts of Jump City. "Almost two and a half-hours." Whimpernel answered, from his position by the window. "And what have we found in that time?" Heatstrike asked. "That birds can shit at almost any height?" Polar asked. "We knew that already." Bartman said, as he kept his gaze ahead of them. "Look guys, I know that this is tedious, but we have to find Raven. You heard what Brett said. And he's never been wrong about magic before." "Yeah, but there has to be something we're missing up here." Heatstrike shot back. "I mean, it's not like we're going to see a giant neon sign that says, 'Rorek's evil hideout, come one come all'." "Hey, if you have a better plan, I'd love to hear it. Until then we stick with the plan Robin laid out." Bartman said, silencing Heatstrike for the moment.

Yet as he turned back to the front window, Bartman found himself agreeing with Heatstrike. The city was huge, and despite their view from the air, the B.R.A.T.S were coming up empty. There had to be a better way to conduct the search, but he just didn't know what it was. Maybe Starfire is having better luck. He thought, as his hand moved to the radio. Flipping it on, he said, "Bartman to Starfire, come in." "I am in, Bartman." Came the alien's voice over the radio. "Are you having the luck?" "Not a thing. What about you?" Bartman asked. "I have nothing either. Why can we not find her?" "I don't know. I'm thinking we should call Robin and the others, try to find a new approach."

But before Star could respond, Heatsrike's voice rang out, "Hey, I've got something!" The B.R.A.T.S turned to see him bent over the radar screen. "We've got a signal! Her communicator's on!" "Are you sure?" Polar asked. "This could be a trick." But then there was a crackle of radio static, and Robin's voice saying, "Bartman, BB and Neuron went to trace a signal in the west side and found Rorek. They're currently engaged; get there now!" "On our way!" Bartman barked into the radio. "You get that Star?" he asked. "Indeed. I shall you meet you there!" Star said as she signed off. With the coordinates flowing into his computer, Bartman quickly turned the BRAT-Mobile in the right direction.

"Get them away from her!" Rorek cried out, as he let loose another magical burst. Neuron dodged it easily, and returned fire with both barrels. Meanwhile, See-More and Mammoth found themselves trapped by a green raptor. Kyd Wkyyd and Gizmo moved to help, but thanks to a blurred mass of punches, they stopped dead in their tracks. "One, two, three." Neuron counted, as the two villains fell to the ground unconscious. "I thought you had better then this Rorek!" the speedster yelled out, as he headed towards the wizard. "Oh believe me I do." Rorek answered, as he began to cast another spell. But before he could finish, a stench of brimstone filled the air, and a bird-shaped grapple wrapped around his body, pinning his arms to his side. Rorek turned to see what was going on, only to be hit by a blast of light and dark. "Getting lazy Rorek." Robin said. "You turn Raven's communicator on, even for a second, and you didn't think we'd find it? "Time to pay Rorek." Nightstalker said, as Robin and Cyborg moved to take care of the HIVE. "Raven saved you last time, but now you're mine." "You think you have enough power to stop me, old man?" Rorek snarled, as he got back to his feet. "Well yes. But just to be sure, we're going to show you real power." Lightweaver answered. Suddenly, the two of them began to be surrounded by the raw power of light and dark. Eyes on Rorek, they began to move their hands forward. But as they made contact, Rorek's face broke out into a smile.

Normally when they merged, they felt a sense of unity, a common purpose between them. But this time was different. Instead of that, both of them felt as if wires were short-circuiting within them. Their powers sparked and sputtered, a living demonstration of what was happening inside the two warriors. Finally, there was one colossal spark, and Brett and Sara drew away from each other in pain. It was only that they realized that their armor was gone. As they tried to make sense of what had happened, they suddenly heard the mocking sounds of Rorek's laughter. "I always have a back-up fools." He said. "Don't you remember when I drained the magic from Raven's room? I threw a little something else in there as well. An opposites-repel spell that was sent into your blades. All you had to do was try and form the Almagan and it took effect. I hope you enjoy having your powers shorted out for a few hours. I know I will." With that, he threw forth another magic bolt, that slammed into both Knights and threw them across the floor. Rorek smirked, and started to walk forward to finish the job. But then he felt a pair of cold metal hands on his shoulders. "Really, Cyborg." He said, as he grabbed hold of the bionic Titan's arms and forced his magic into the circuitry. Cyborg howled in pain, as the magic forced him to drop to his knees.

"I believe it's time you leave this world Cyborg." Rorek said. "But I know there's someone better qualified then I to send you out." As he said those words, Jinx walked up beside him. Cyborg looked up, his eyes filled with sadness, as he saw this executioner. "Please Jinx." He moaned, as the young witch came to stand before him. She made no sound, only raised her hand up to destroy her former love. "You can't. Not after what we had. Please." "We had a lie." Jinx whispered. "Then why can't I get over it?" he begged her. "I still care about you Jinx. I can't fight you, and I don't think you can destroy me. And I don't believe you'd let this lunatic kill all those people out there." Jinx stared at Cyborg, her hand raised and glowing. Her face was stone, unmoving and unfeeling. Yet as she looked on, her hand began to lower, the energy to fade.

"Idiot!" Rorek cried out, as he came to the front. Shoving Jinx aside, he moved himself into position to destroy Cyborg himself. His hand all but burst into flame with magic, as Rorek prepared to destroy his foe. But as Jinx hit the ground, a clatter came with her, a clatter that made Rorek, and everyone else pause. Turning to see what had made the noise, Rorek's eyes widened. Jinx lay on the floor, beginning to rise to her feet, and next to her hand was a Titans communicator. "You…" Rorek breathed. Jinx raised her head, and stared at Rorek defiantly as she took the communicator in her hand. "You sent the signal. You lead them here!" Rorek cried out. "What!" Mammoth yelled in surprise, pausing in his attempt to pummel Robin. "I promised you a ruling position in the world, and you betray me! Why!" Rorek howled in anger. Jinx came to her feet, and staring at Rorek with righteousness in her eyes, said, "Because I won't have a throne built on human bones. " "What are you talking about?" Gizmo asked, utter confusion on his bruised face. "Don't you get it? If we do this, we'll be responsible for hundreds of deaths. All these people will be on our conscious for the rest of our days. Stealing is one thing, but this….. this is too much. I can't be a part of it."

"Well, that's too bad then." Gizmo said. Suddenly, the short criminal's backpack sprouted out two plasma blasters. Before Jinx could move, he fired, blasting her back. As Jinx lay crumpled against the wall, Gizmo came forward, guns glowing in readiness. "Consider this your pink slip Jinx." He sneered as he came closer. "You know that having a conscious is a liability for us." Jinx shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs, but she was too groggy to move, or use her powers. And then, she ran out of chances to try, as Gizmo moved into firing position. "Bye-bye witch." He said mockingly, as he prepared to fire.

But before he could, a scream of "NOOOOOOOOOO!" shot out behind him. Gizmo whirled around in time to see Cyborg grab Rorek and toss him to the side. He then turned his eyes onto Gizmo, and the teenage genius saw a fire in them that he'd never seen in the bionic Titan before. Gizmo's hand moved to fire his weapon, but before he could even get his hand on the trigger, he felt Cyborg reach out and crush the blasters with his bare hands. Gizmo tried to activate another weapon, but then he felt his backpack being ripped away from him, and a hand wrap around his collar. And then all he saw was an enraged face. A deep, rage-filled voice then filled his eardrums, "LEAVE…….HER……ALONE." "ok." Gizmo said meekly, as he was tossed to the side like a sack of potatoes.

Cyborg watched Gizmo hit the floor and crumple, and then turned his attention back to more important things. "Are you okay?" he asked Jinx, as he put forth his hand. Jinx looked up, and seeing the outstretched hand said with a shaky smile, "I think I am now." Putting her hand into Cyborg's, she let him pull her up. "I thought that you hated me." Cyborg said. "I thought you did too." Jinx answered. "I guess we were both wrong. Maybe I've been wrong about a lot of things." "Always time to make amends." Cyborg said, as he came closer. "Did you mean…." Jinx began, but before she could even finish, he said, "Every single word. What made you finally accept it?" "I just realized that I needed to listen to the right people."

But before either of them could say anymore, they heard a certain angry wizard cry out, "ENOUGH!" They whirled around to see Rorek blast the now-powerless Brett into the melee of Titans, B.R.A.T.S, and HIVE. The two of them prepared to fight, but before they could, felt themselves being lifted up off the ground and hurled forward. They crashed into the group of metahumans, knocking everyone to the ground. "Surrounded by traitors and fools!" Rorek said, as he turned to face them. "No more! I will have my power and complete my destiny, and there is nothing any of you can do about it!" With that, Rorek spread forth his arms. Green energy began to surround him, growing until it was all-encompassing. Then, he suddenly brought his arms back in and the energy expanded, spreading out throughout the warehouse and striking the others. But the energy did not destroy them. Instead, the heroes felt themselves being moved, pushed back by the force of the magic. As it continued to expand, they moved back faster and faster, until they were actually pushed out of the warehouse and onto the streets.

"What the hell was that?" Mammoth yelled, as he got to his feet among the mass of fallen meta-humans. "The worst possible thing that could happen." Brett answered grimly, as he too rose up. The warehouse was now covered with the green energy that had pushed them out. "A Dagma force-field. The strongest in existence. Once it goes up, nothing gets in or out, until the caster drops the spell." "But that can't be right." See-More said, coming to stand behind his teammate. "We were supposed to be immune to this, and watch you die." "He promised you a potion?" Brett asked. The two HIVE members nodded. Brett just shook his head angrily and said, "If you really wanted a potion, why don't you drink some sewer water? The magic that he's unleashing has no antidote, no way to avoid it. Once he finishes what you set in motion, we're all dead men." "You lie!" See-More said, as more of the heroes and villains got to their feet. "If I'm lying, then why didn't he give it to before?" Brett asked. "He must have promised you power in his world right? If that was enough, why not give you the antidote then, especially if he trusts you enough to let you survive? Because it doesn't exist! He made all that up you'd help him, and now we're gonna pay the price."

"Believe him guys." Bartman said, as he came to his feet. "Brett was finding out about magic when you were a chromosome in your dad's gene pool. If he says it's true, then it is." For a second, the HIVE stood quiet, seemingly sticking to their guns. Then that image died, as they turned and began pounding on the force field surrounding the warehouse. "What can we do?" Robin asked with the utmost urgency in his voice. Brett wished he could have answered the question with a positive response, but instead he said, "I don't know. Sara and I could have taken it down with our powers, but now…." "But there has got to be something! We can't let it end now!" Cyborg cried out, his arms still around Jinx. "I wish I could say there was Cy, but I just don't know. Right now, it would take a miracle to break that field, and I………" Suddenly, the bat stopped. Looking around, he seemed to search for something. Then he gave a small smile. "Maybe we have a miracle after all." "What do you mean?" Neuron asked. "We're one short."