Chapter Five
The Titans faced the Dalek for a few seconds. Then, Robin put their plan into action.
"Say Dalek, you're supposed to better than any of us humans, is that right?"
"Correct!" it said. "We are the superior beings of the universe!"
"And yet, to defeat us, you needed knowledge from an inferior being; Slade. What do you say to that?"
"Your species may be inferior, but the knowledge you have can be put to superior uses! Therefore, the source of my data is irrelevant!"
"You also have Slade's memories, don't you?" said Raven. "In a way, Slade is part of you."
The Dalek considered this. "That is not true! I am a Dalek! No part of me is human!"
"Are you sure?" Raven asked it. "Check yourself. Think of the memories and ideas you have. They are all from Slade, an inferior human being."
The Dalek thought about what she said. As it did, memories and feelings that were not it's own came about. "You...are correct! What has happened to me? What have I become?"
"Something more than what you already are." said Cyborg. "You're not just metal. You're something more."
The Dalek stared at him. "You do not know about us, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Inside this mechanism is a living creature. Me! The Daleks are the perfect blend of flesh and machine. We are superior!"
"So, you are inside that machine?" asked Starfire.
"Yes! What is your point?"
"It must be dark and lonely."
"Daleks do not have a concept of...of...loneliness." The Dalek appeared confused.
"I...I do feel loneliness. But not because of what I am. Because...I am the only one of my kind on this planet. I found this out when I reconstructed myself."
There was an air of sadness to it's voice.
"I think its working!" Robin whispered to the other Titans.
"Perhaps too well." Raven remarked.
The Dalek began traveling back and forth, as if it was pacing. As it did so, it muttered to itself quietly. Then, it stopped and started at them.
"I have thought it out."
"And?" Robin asked it.
"Considering the type of human Slade was, it is not such a loss for me to carry his ideals inside me. He was superior, roughly equal to a Dalek."
"You don't mind having human feelings?" asked Cyborg.
"No. Slade had little use for them, just as I do. And now, with his intellect, ambitions, and savvy, combined with my own hatred, I shall conquer this world!"
"What have we done?" Raven said.
"What do you mean?" Starfire asked.
"Our psychology has backfired. The Dalek...it's insane! It combined Slade's desires with it's own!"
Robin nodded, understanding what the mystic was saying. "And that makes it worse than before."
"Correct!" yelled the Dalek. "And you will be the first to fall to me!"
It closed in on the Titans, it's weapon at the ready. Then, something heavy hit it, but bounced off it's shield.
Standing behind it was the man-beast form of Beast Boy. He hit the Dalek with the very table he had been laying on, but now realized how useless a gesture it was. He reverted to human form.
"Well, it was worth a shot." he said.
"I shall finish what I started with you!" the Dalek told him.
"No!" Raven yelled.
"Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"
Before the Dalek could fire, Raven summoned up a part of her she hoped never to use again; Rage.
She now had four eyes, all which glowed a viscous red. Black tentacles of energy snaked from her. She also doubled in height.
The tentacles wrapped around the Dalek tightly enough for Raven to grip it, despite it's shield. Her action caused it to miss Beast Boy. Instead, it's death ray hit a wall, leaving a glowing hole of motel metal in it.
"What is the meaning of this!" screamed the Dalek.
Raven flung it outside the window, leaving quite the mess. She gave chase.
The Dalek had righted itself by the time Raven reached it. It took aim with it's weapon, but was grabbed before it could fire. Raven slung the machine skyward. It fell back to Earth, screaming, and hit the ground with a thud.
But Raven wasn't finished. She grabbed the Dalek again, and began beating it on the rocks. The other Titans had joined her, watching the spectacle.
"Have pity!" the Dalek yelled.
"Why should I?" Raven retorted. "You never did! You never intended to show us any pity!"
"Raven, stop it!" Robin told her.
"Yes, please Raven!" added Starfire. "You see? It is defeated!"
Raven calmed down and reverted to her normal self. She was panting from the effort.
"Sorry guys." she said. "But it was all I could think of."
"It's okay, Raven." said Robin.
The Titans then approached the Dalek. The once great machine was now battered and scorched. The energy shield was gone, the manipulator arm bent, and the eye stalk cracked.
"You...have...done well...Raven." said the Dalek. "You have...shown what...you...can...do."
"Don't try to appeal to me." she replied.
"You would...make...a good...Dalek."
Raven turned away, disgusted at what it told her.
"Wait!" it said.
"What do you want from her?" asked Beast Boy. "You already forced her to do something she didn't want to! What else do you want?"
"I want you all...to see me...as I truly am."
Intrigued, Raven returned. "I'm here. Show us."
The Titans watched in awe as the front part of the torso opened up, as did the 'filter section'. Inside, was a maze of wires and tubes. Amidst it all was a green skinned creature with a single eye. It looked like a mutated amoeba, with several tentacles around it's body. A massive brain topped was on top. The single eye was yellowish in color, with an oddly shaped pupil. The thing pulsed with breathing.
To the Titans, the creature was a thing of a nightmare. It was incredible something so powerful could be controlled by something so pathetic.
"Okay, we've seen enough." said Robin.
The other Titans merely stepped back a few feet. The Dalek closed itself up again.
"What do you do now?" asked Cyborg.
"Simple." replied the Dalek. "I avoid capture."
"How?" asked Starfire.
"Exterminate." it replied.
The Dalek then levitated off the ground and righted itself. Then, the spheres from the base detached and encircled the Dalek. They surrounded the thing with a bubble of energy. Then, it vanished in a bright explosion of light.
The Titans stared for a minute or so before going back inside the Tower.
