The chaos continues! I was nervous at first when I started writing this story. I wasn't sure if it would work out or if it would be well-received, but I think it's working out just fine!

windydays: Thanks :D It's an honor having this put in a C2 community! By the way, if you're looking for good parodies, you should look at Yet Another KOTOR Parody by HelenaL. It's really funny, and I think any Star Wars or Knights of the Old Republic fans will get a kick out of it. Just a suggestion. Anyway, on with the show.

Disclaimer: I own nothing


Chapter 4: Travel

"Of all the days to invade, they had to pick the hottest, most humid day of the summer," Beast Boy moaned.

"Yeah? Well, you're not going to help by complaining about it," Cyborg muttered. "And with everything that's happened, I can't believe you're talking about the weather."

"Excuse me for noticing that we're walking in an oven!" Beast Boy snapped back.

"Both of you, quiet! We have enough on our hands without you two bickering," Robin reprimanded. Even still, he couldn't help but agree with Beast Boy. Ever since the cylinder had hit, the Titans had a lot on their minds and hadn't even noticed the weather. Now that they had been away from the chaos, they finally noticed how miserable a day it was. Periodically as he walked Robin would have to wipe sweat off his forehead. As if the day wasn't bad enough.

The five Titans, along with a swarm of refugees, were trudging alongside the road. The only thing breaking the silence was the sound of the police officers who were getting the crowds to move along. They were headed for a small town east of Jump City, a place where hopefully they could stop and rest on their retreat. The tripod's semblance of invulnerability had forced them out of Jump City for the time. The five could only guess what chaos was still ensuing in their beloved home. While they were still fighting the first tripod, they had seen a second cylinder coming down. A little while after they left the city, they saw a third one coming down as they were walking. Like the others, it appeared to be heading for Jump city.

The worst part of it was that they could only watch it come down and do nothing. It was a horrible feeling for all of them. Never before could they remember feeling this helpless. Even adding to that was the undeniable guilt they all felt. They could not stop the invaders. For them, it was as if they had failed. At least, they had failed round one. All five of them held on to the hope that they would find a way to fight the invaders, and eventually beat them.

Starfire and Raven had retired from flying and walked next to their three male companions. While Raven was buried deep in her own thoughts, trying to sort through the chaos, Starfire couldn't help noticing the sadness all around her. It hung in the air like a thick cloud. Everywhere, she saw grief. People who had been driven from their homes walked heavily, as if each were carrying an immense load on his or her shoulders. Parents held their children; some of them crying, others wearing faces of confusion or pure fright. Some carried bags or cases of unknown items. Some may have been practical, others purely sentimental. The Titans had brought nothing with them, only what they had with them when they left Titans tower, which amounted to little more than clothes. She was reminded of the time she had gone forward into the future and found a world of darkness. It seemed that world was all around her now.

And despite all this, Starfire could not believe she knew nothing about these invaders. Their bulging black eyes, their sickly gray exoskeletons; and their odd language of hisses, clicks, and squeaks; she could think of no race that matched these heartless invaders. She could not imagine what part of the galaxy they had been from. And yet…something felt eerily familiar about them. It wasn't right! Starfire couldn't help but feel somewhat alien (more so than usual) in the situation. This wasn't her home world. It wasn't her planet the aliens were devastating. Yet, she felt the utmost sense of sympathy and compassion toward the earthlings. And the tragedy of it caused her sadness all the same.

"How long have we been walking?" Beast Boy finally asked, breaking the silences.

Cyborg looked at his wrist. "Only a couple hours. I don't know, guys. I'm not sure if we'll be able to make it to that town by sunset."

"Oh, great," Robin grunted.

"YOU!" an angry force shouted from behind. All five Titans and a few citizens spun around to see what had happened. To their surprise, a man who seemed to be in his middle ages was rushing at them. "YOU!" he shouted again.

"Um, guys?" Beast Boy asked nervously. The angry man rushed at them and stopped inches in front of Robin.

"You let this happen!" he spat. "Why didn't you stop them? Why didn't you fight them? It's your fault! It's your fault we have to run like this!"

From Raven's perspective, the man seemed to be treading a line between grief, rage, and insanity. She was surprised to see that Robin had remained calm in this. Starfire and Beast Boy seemed a little frightened, and Cyborg's face showed plain anger.

"Well?" the man asked angrily.

Robin merely glared back at him. "We tried. There was no way we could beat it. Not yet."

"Liar!" the man screamed. "You didn't try! You didn't try at all! You let them do this!" He broke down in front of Robin and started tearing up. His words, however, pierced all the Titans like a knife. They had all felt a similar feeling of guilt, and this only multiplied that feeling even further.

"We're sorry," Robin said to him. The man only started crying and walked past Robin. Robin merely looked back and shook his head. Cyborg started for him, but Robin stopped him. "Let him go," the masked Titan told him.

With that, the five young heroes continued their trek. A few minutes later, they heard a loud rumbling pierce the air. They looked up and saw a group of fighter jets streaking toward Jump City.

"They obviously don't know about the force-field," Cyborg said gloomily.

Starfire sighed. "Maybe they will be able to do something," she said hopefully. The others said nothing.

Beast Boy casually kicked a pebble across the road. A small rumbling emanated from his stomach, and he placed a hand on it. He realized just now that he had had nothing to eat since breakfast that morning. He could sure go for food right now. From the looks of things, however, he had a long wait.

Finally getting tired of the heat, Beast Boy transformed into a lizard and crawled alongside the group. At least as a cold-blooded animal, the heat would be more bearable. Seeing this, Robin shook his head, although he couldn't help envy the green changeling a little.

Raven had been silent almost the whole trip. Her hood was pulled over her head despite the heat. If she was uncomfortable, she clearly didn't show it. She was buried deep in her own thoughts, trying to make sense of the chaos while sorting through her own emotions at the same time. For the mage, keeping her emotions in check was essential. Little by little, she was realizing that her previous suspicions about the invaders had been correct. There had to have been more coming. She could only hope that more would not fall where they were headed; at least not until after they had reached it.


The five Titans and the crowd of refugees walked for what seemed like ages. Little by little, the sun set and the shadows grew longer. They only had a couple more hours until dark. Nobody had said a word to each other throughout the entire trip. Silence hung over them like a cloud. Finally, out of the blue, Cyborg spoke.

"Alright! It's not much further now!" He pointed to the GPS on his wrist. "Just a few more miles. Looks like we'll make it before dark after all."

"Thank Tamaran! I am exhausted," Starfire sighed.

"Alright, guys," Robin addressed them. "Once we're there, we'll stop and rest a bit. If they haven't evacuated already, we'll get the rest of them out of there."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'm starving," Beast Boy moaned.

"Aren't we all," Cyborg added. "I sure hope you brought money with you."

Beast Boy paused. "Um…"

"If the town's evacuated, I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Robin said dryly.

Overhead, they saw another group of fighter jets heading west toward Jump City. The Titans could only watch as they streaked overhead toward defeat. They were surprised they hadn't seen any military convoys yet. Perhaps they had gone toward Jump City by a different rode, or just hadn't shown up yet.

The question was answered prematurely when the dull hum of vehicles killed the silence. The Titans looked and saw what appeared to be military humvees driving down the road. As they got closer, they also spotted convoy trucks loaded with soldiers. Behind them, tanks and assault vehicles rumbled across the pavement. Many of the citizens cheered upon seeing this, others simply remained expressionless.

The Titans were relieved, for the first time that day. Perhaps they could help get the civilians away from Jump City and to safety. They could only hope. Robin waved his arms as the heavy convoy trucks neared them. To his relief, they slowed and eventually came to a stop once they reached the crowd.

At the front of the line was an armored humvee carrying a burly-looking soldier in the back. He promptly opened the door and stepped out to meet Robin.

"You people came from Jump City?" he asked Robin immediately as he scanned the crowd.

Robin nodded. "Yes, we have. I'm Robin, and we're the Teen Titans. These people have all evacuated Jump City. We're trying to get them to safety."

The soldier nodded and looked back at Robin. "I'm Sergeant Brunskey. We've just been told to deploy to Jump City. Apparently, there's some wacky stuff going on there. We were just told all this weird crap about meteors and aliens and giant machines! Any chance you could fill us in a little bit on what exactly went on back there?" He looked at Robin inquisitively, hoping he could provide an answer.

Robin paused for a moment then explained as best he could. "They came down in these giant pods or cylinders. The first one crashed in the woods near Jump City earlier today. After it cooled down, they came out of their pod. We didn't do anything at the time because we had no way of knowing if they were hostile or not."

The Sergeant took this in with surprising lack of emotion. He just stared at Robin and motioned for him to continue.

"They came out and just looked at us for a minute. One of my friends – Raven," he nodded his head toward the half-demon mage, "warned us to get out of there at that moment. It was lucky she did, or more people might have lost their lives."

"Well, what happened?" the Sergeant asked impatiently.

"Something erupted out of it after that. It's one of their war machines. It walks on three legs. It's a tripod. After it came out, it started shooting at everyone around it!" He shook his head.

"And you couldn't stop it? I thought you guys were supposed to be superheroes?" the Sergeant huffed. Beast Boy and Cyborg scowled at him.

"We tried to fight it, okay?" Cyborg cut in. "But those things are really powerful."

"How so? What kind of weapons does it use?"

"They fight by using some kind of laser or heat ray. They have three – two in the front, one in the rear that can aim in different directions. They also have these tentacles that they can strike and pick up things with and poison gas as well."

"Geez!" the Sergeant remarked.

"And that's not the worst part. We couldn't stop it because they're using some kind of a force-field. Everything we've tried can't get through to it."

The Sergeant looked back at his men then at Robin. "Well, thanks a lot for the info. We'd better get a move on, here. Okay, men! Let's-"

"Wait!" Robin stopped him. "What about these people here? Aren't you going to do anything about them?" Robin glared at him and motioned toward the mass of civilians behind him.

"Oh yeah…" he paused. "Where are you headed, anyway?"

"We're heading for the town north of here. We were hoping to be able to get these people to safety."

"Well, I have news for you. That town has already been evacuated. The incident at Jump City has already become big news. The mayor evacuated it as soon as he found out about what had been happening."

"Then what might you suggest we do?" Starfire asked him anxiously.

The Sergeant sighed. "Well, you can stop there if you need to rest of get supplies. With the entire town evacuated and aliens running around, I doubt they'd care if you took a few things. If I were you, I'd keep going east."

"But what about the rest of them?" Beast Boy asked angrily. "How are these people going to get out of here? Aren't you guys going to at least give them some help?"

"Hey! Listen here, kid, I'm not the general. I'm just obeying orders. We were told to go to Jump City, we weren't told to escort you people out of here. We're already delayed enough as it is by talking to you!"

"But you cannot just leave them!" Starfire protested.

"I know that! But we weren't exactly prepared to evacuate an entire city!" He paused and shook his head. "Look, we don't have the means to evacuate everybody here. The best I can do is radio in and ask them for assistance here. I don't think we have enough vehicles do evacuate everybody, but maybe they can at least give you some assistance to lead you guys to safety. I can't promise anything, though!"

"Well, please try it. These people need help," Robin said earnestly.

The Sergeant only nodded. "Okay, people! Let's move out!" He climbed back into the hummer, and within seconds the entire convoy was moving again. When the last vehicle passed by, Robin and the rest of the Titans looked gloomily at each other.

"Sorry," Robin said to the rest.

"Don't be. It's not like there was much else we could have done," Raven assured him.

With little else to do, the group decided to keep walking east away from Jump City. They could only fathom as to what kind of chaos was ensuing back there.


At last, the borders of a residential neighborhood came into view. They had reached the town at last. And there was still no sign of military assistance for the refugees. Along the way, a couple more convoys had passed, but all were headed for Jump City. Right now, the only official help was the police officers who were helping to escort the civilians along the way.

"There it is, guys," Robin said, pointing. "We should stop here for a bit and rest before we move on."

"Thank god! I'm so hungry," Beast Boy moaned.

"Well, we should pick up some supplies here before we leave. No telling how long we might be wondering around after this," Cyborg suggested.

"Good idea. We should check some of the local stores. I doubt they cleared their merchandise before leaving," Robin added.

"I just need to rest. I have grown exhausted for some reason," Starfire said.

The town was eerily quiet. The usual sounds of daily activity – cars, planes, and people – were gone. On top of that, everything was so still. No cars were running on the street; no people were walking to and fro on their daily affairs. The five young heroes examined it as they moved along. As far as they could tell, nobody had been left behind. It was a ghost town. Now, the only people in it were the refugees from Jump City and the five Teen Titans.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Starfire asked. "On the ground? We cannot simply break into someone's home."

"I know," Robin replied. "We may have to sleep outside, even if nobody's home."

"Sometimes being a good guy can be so uncomfortable," Beast Boy sighed.

Raven scanned her surroundings. The sun was now setting, and very soon it would be dark. From what it seemed, this was only a small town. It didn't appear big at all, and it can't have been big judging how fast they had been able to get people out of it. There were few vehicles around, and she guess the EMP blast hadn't reached this town.

"According to this, the nearest road leading out of town is that way." Cyborg pointed as he looked at his GPS. "So we should keep that in mind in case we have to get out of here in a hurry."

"Good. We should stop for a minute. Beast Boy, you and Cyborg should go look for supplies. Raven, Starfire, and I will go scout around."

"Scout around?" Beast Boy looked at him sarcastically. "With Starfire and Raven?" Cyborg stifled a laugh. Raven merely shook her head.

"What?" Robin asked innocently, not noticing Starfire blush. "We're going to look for a decent place to rest here and keep an eye out for any stragglers."

"Okay, just checking," Beast Boy said, rolling his eyes. He and Cyborg went off.


The two of them came to what looked like a little shopping center. Lined up were several stores, including a supermarket, a hardware store, and an electronics store.

"This looks like a good place." Cyborg said. "Let's raid!"

"Wait for me!" Beast Boy called.

The two of them entered the wide, dim halls of the supermarket. The managers hadn't even bothered to lock up, which saved them the trouble of having to break a window. The heroes didn't like the idea of stealing, but present circumstances forced the option on them. The two of them both picked up shopping carts and went up and down the isles, putting various foods and supplies in them as they went and chatting along the way.

"I'm telling you, those two are hilarious," Beast Boy said as he picked up a bag of dried fruit.

"What? You mean Robin and Starfire?" Cyborg asked as he picked up a case of bottled water.

"Yeah! Everywhere they go, they gotta be together. They're always flirting with each other so bad and yet still act like they're just friends!" He laughed.

"I get a kick out of it myself," Cyborg smiled. "But they probably don't want the rest of us to know."

"Come on, it's not as if it's a big secret! You don't have to be a mind-reader to know they both have a huge crush on each other."

Cybor paused, and then grinned. "You mean like you have a huge crush on Raven?"

The changeling's eyes widened, and then he blushed. He seemed to choke before squeaking out, "Oh, please. She's a friend. Even if I did have a 'huge crush' on Raven, she hates me. I can't get within ten feet of her without her slamming me into a wall or something." His ears dropped.

Though he was in denial, Cyborg could tell Beast Boy's voice contained real sadness. For once, he actually felt sorry for him.

"I think Raven likes you," Cyborg said.

"Really! Um, I mean, you think so?" the changeling asked hopefully.

The cybernetic Titan nodded. "Yup. Just call it a hunch of mine."

Beast Boy sighed. "I don't know, Cyborg. She thinks I'm the unfunniest thing since the black plague. No matter what I do, she still doesn't want to warm up to me. Maybe I'm just ruining it by trying. Maybe she won't ever like me."

Cyborg put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't say that, man. If there's one thing I've learned about Raven, it's that she tends to keep everyone at arm's length, and she loves to hide things. If she's feeling happy, sad, afraid, whatever, she doesn't like to show it. I think the same thing's going on with you."

"Really? I don't know…"

"Look, Raven's afraid of showing emotions. And if you didn't notice, if she's afraid of something, she tends to distance herself from it. Maybe the same thing is true with her feelings about you. Just give her time, Beast Boy. Who knows? She might come around."

Beast Boy perked up a little. "Maybe."


Meanwhile, Robin, Starfire, and Raven were scouting out a small section of the neighborhood. Beside them was what looked like a small café or restaurant. The lifeless Neon sign read "Steve's Place." Robin cautiously stepped up to the entrance, peering through the windows. With the other two following close behind, he opened the door and stepped inside. It was a quaint little place, and looked much like a typical diner.

The floor was coated with black and white tiles. The wall facing the street was lined with red, cushioned booths sitting beside windows. On the other side was a counter/bar lined with sitting stools. A cash register sat near one end. Upon closer examination, Robin found that it had been emptied. He couldn't tell if someone working here had taken all the money, or if someone had walked in and taken it. At seeing it, Robin shook his head and wondered how someone could care that much about money, or that it would do them any good in a situation like this.

"I think we should stop here for the night. It's not much, but hey," Robin said to the two girls. It was already getting dark outside, and it wouldn't be long before it was pitch black. Outside, he could see some of the fleeing civilians from Jump City wondering the streets. Some refugees had decided to move on, but others had decided to stop at the town.

Starfire sighed and slumped down into one of the seats. "This is terrible," she said at last. "I can only imagine what sort of calamity must be taking place back at our home. I cannot stand having to run away like this!"

Robin sat down next to her. "Don't worry, Starfire. Don't lose hope. We'll beat them. We'll find a way."

"Thank you, friend Robin," she said, smiling at him. "It is just that this is so much to take in all at once. I am sure it must be worse for you – this being your home planet."

"It's hard on all of us. You live here, too. We're all in this together."

Meanwhile, Raven stood by pretending not to notice the scene. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard what sounded like a truck horn. Behind that sound she could here the vibrations of a heavy engine. She and the other two dashed out of the diner to see what it was. To their surprise, a large public bus was rumbling down the street. And who should be driving it but Cyborg himself.

Seeing them, he waved from behind the wheel and brought the heavy vehicle to a stop next to them. The door opened and Cyborg called from inside.

"Hey, guys! Look what I found!"

"Cyborg, what the heck are you doing with that?" Robin asked as he stared in shock.

The small green form of Beast Boy emerged from the bus and leapt onto the pavement.

"Cyborg and I found this! Like it?"

"Any reason why you hijacked a bus?" Raven asked him.

Beast Boy blushed. "Not hijack, exactly. But we did it for a good reason!"

"We have a vehicle to get out of here, now!" Cyborg shouted from the inside. "And we can take people along in it! I don't know about you, but it beats walking!"

Robin actually grinned in satisfaction. "Good work, guys. Thanks. Now, did you happen to get some supplies?"

Cyborg nodded, got out of the driver's seat, and got out of the bus. "Yeah, we got some food, water, a couple first-aid kits, and some other stuff. We got extra food just in case someone else might need it. Oh, and we got this…" he leapt back into the bus and emerged seconds later holding a small radio. "I got this radio for us. I figure if the stations are still up, we'll be able to listen in and maybe get some news on our current, um, situation."

"About the invaders, right?" Raven asked.

"Right."

Robin looked around and noticed the darkness that had set in around them. "Well, it's dark. We should get some sleep and continue in the morning."

"Maybe one of us should keep watch?" Raven suggested.

"I'll do it," Cyborg volunteered.

"Are you sure, Cyborg?" Robin asked him.

He nodded. "I'm sure. You guys need sleep more than I do. And I should make sure nobody steals our ride."

"Okay, then. We'll cycle throughout the night. I'll go after you, Cyborg," Robin said.

"No, Robin!" Starfire cut in. "Please, you are tired. Let me do it."

"I'm okay, Starfire. Don't worry about it."

"No, I insist," she said, pleading him. "Let me do it." She gave him her usual begging, puppy-dog stare. After a moment of thinking it over, Robin grudgingly agreed.

"Okay, that settles it, then. I'll keep watch for half the night, Starfire will take over. You people better catch some winks, now," Cyborg told them. The five of them stepped back inside the abandoned diner, and within moments, all except Cyborg drifted into uneasy sleep.


Starfire watched as a tripod erupted out of the ground. Its scorpion head swiveled around, and its eye-like spotlight shone on her. Out of nowhere, her four friends appeared and rushed the tripod. Leading the pack was Beast Boy, who had turned into a tiger. The tripod saw him and effortlessly picked him up with a metal tentacle. It swung back and hurled him far off into the distance, and he disappeared from view.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire shouted.

Raven launched a black wave at the machine, and it bounced harmlessly off its force-field. The tripod responded by firing its blue and fiery-red beams at Raven. All three hit her, and she was vaporized into dust.

"Raven! NO!" Starfire screamed. Robin and Cyborg were left, and charged at the tripod just the same. "Please, stop!" Starfire pleaded them. But they didn't listen. Cyborg fired several times at the gigantic tripod, each one exploding on the force-field and doing no damage. The tripod saw him, picked up one of its massive legs, and brought it crashing down on top of Cyborg, squashing him like an insect.

"NO!" Starfire screamed. Robin was the only one left. He pulled out a fighting staff and rushed at the machine. He didn't even get a chance to get close. The tripod reached down with a tentacle and picked him up effortlessly. As Starfire watched in horror, the windows of the tripod transformed into huge eyes which stared at Robin hungrily.

Then, in the most bizarre twist yet, the entire front of the tripod split and opened, turning into a massive jaw outlined with teeth. It picked up the struggling Robin and lifted him above its jaw. "Let him go! Please, DON'T!" Starfire screamed. "ROBIN!" The tripod's tentacle let go of Robin, and he fell into its jaws. The jaws closed and swallowed Robin whole.

"NOOOO!"


Starfire awoke with a gasp, with sweat gathering on her temples. She sat up and looked around and beheld the familiar, dark interior of the abandoned diner. She breathed the biggest sigh of relief she had in a long time. It had all been a dream. No, a nightmare.

"Bad dreams?" she heard a familiar voice ask.

She turned her head and saw Cyborg sitting down next to the bar.

"Yes, friend Cyborg" she said weakly. She looked back quickly to make sure Robin was still there. When she saw his familiar form sleeping in one of the booths, she breathed another sigh of relief. She looked back at Cyborg and noticed he was listening to the radio he had picked up earlier. The voice of what sounded like a middle-aged man came from the radio.

"I've been listening to this since you guys went to sleep. Thought I'd try and catch some news about what's going on."

"And have you learned anything?" she asked hopefully.

Cyborg nodded grimly. "A lot. Apparently, Jump City was not alone. More and more cylinders have been arriving since the first one fell today. It's happening all across the country. They're mostly falling in populated areas and cities, wherever there's lots of people. And what's worse, they seem to be coming down in countries across the world. They've already been spotted in all the continents. Well, except Antarctica."

Starfire felt dizzy. She slumped down and put a hand over her head. It really was an invasion. It was worse than they had previously thought.

"They're using similar tactics everywhere they land," Cyborg continued. "Most of the time the aliens themselves don't even come out, like the ones in our city did. They usually just land, wait a little bit, then come out in their machines. After that, it's fairly consistent. They open fire at anything that moves, usually sending out an EMP very early on to disable vehicles. Then they just go on a rampage. A couple times they've used that poison gas they used on us, but most of the time they stick to their lasers and force-fields."

Starfire wanted to cry. The situation seemed to be getting worse every time she heard or thought about it. She couldn't help thinking about all the innocent life forms that were dying at the hands of these monsters. They were worse than any villain they had ever faced, even Trigon in some ways. These weren't demons, they were advanced life-forms. They should know better. They shouldn't be such barbarians. After moments of fighting to hold back tears, she finally squeaked out a question, "And have we learned where they are from?"

Cyborg paused uneasily. "Yes."

"Where?" she asked anxiously.

"This may surprise you, but they're right from this solar system. Right next door, even."

Starfire looked at him, confused.

"Scientists tracked the objects coming from a nearby planet, the one closest to us at the time. Starfire, they're from Mars."

"Mars?" she squeaked. Then, she finally realized why the invaders seemed eerily familiar. It now came back to her. Her thoughts were interrupted when the night sky seemed to light up outside. A bright, white light shined through the windows before fading. A split second after, a loud boom echoed in the distance. Cyborg and Starfire looked worriedly at each other.

"Uh oh," he said.


I know, I know! I'm sorry for the cliffhanger! But take comfort in knowing that the next chapter is already underway. As to when I'll get it posted, I don't know. I'm currently working on two fics, and with school starting soon, updating frequently will be difficult. But I promise to update as often as I can! Hope you liked this chapter.