Just to reassure you: this fic is NOT dead in the water; I just haven't had much time to write. I wasn't able to work on this for a while simply because of lack of free time. School sucks, that much I've learned. But anyway, thanks for the reviews, everyone! Keep 'em coming.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Chapter 5: Aftershock

Starfire and Cyborg didn't even have to wake the others; the distant boom was enough.

"Whoa! What was that?"

"Was it them?" asked Robin immediately, fearing the worst.

"I'd bet my power core it was them," Cyborg said.

"Oh, great," Beast Boy moaned.

The five of them poured out of the abandoned diner and onto the black streets. The arrival of the cylinder had brought out the refugees. Some were fleeing; others were looking to see where it might have landed.

Cyborg pointed out in a direction north of the town. "I think it might have landed off in that direction!"

"Oh no! Whatever should we do?" Starfire asked desperately.

"Maybe we can destroy it! Get them before they have a chance to get us!" Robin suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea, but we'd have to hurry," Beast Boy said to them.

"But what about the people? What should we do about them?" Starfire asked.

As if on cue, they heard cheers echoing from the streets accompanied by the rumbling of heavy vehicles. The Titans rushed in the direction of the sound and were overjoyed to see another military convoy passing through and stopping in the town. The five heroes rushed over to see what they were hear for and praying they were the assistance they asked for.

A line of hummers, trucks, tanks, and jeeps all made up the convoy. At the very front, a black man in battle dress uniform stepped off a jeep. Seeing the Titans, he called out to them.

"Are you from Jump City?" he asked them.

"We are! We fled from there earlier today!" Robin shouted back.

"Well, I'm Lieutenant Myers. We were told to come here to find refugees from Jump City. We're here to get you guys to safety."

"Yes! Oh, thank you very much, friend!" Starfire flew over and hugged the soldier, who seemed rather shocked at the unexpected affection. Some of the other soldiers, Cyborg, and Beast Boy all laughed, and Robin simply buried his face in his hands.

"Um, thanks, miss," he said to her after she released him.

"What took you guys so long, anyway?" Beast Boy asked him.

The soldier rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. "We had to come a long way, okay? And we weren't issued the order until recently. Seems like most troops in the immediate area were sent to Jump City to fight those things."

"Well, you're just in time, cause one just landed about 30 seconds ago!" Cyborg yelled from across the street.

"We know. We just saw that thing come down as we entered the town," the soldier told them.

"Guys, I don't know how long it will take for the tripod to activate, but I'd rather not find out," Raven said grimly.

A voice rang out over an amplifier. "Everyone get into the trucks! "Repeat! This is a call to all citizens in the area! You are being evacuated! Do not stay here! Please board the convoy in calm and organized manner!"

The lieutenant turned to the Titans. "You had better get out of here, too. That thing may come out at any minute."

After a while of helping to evacuate the refugees, a realization hit Robin. "Wait guys!" he shouted out of nowhere. "That thing just came down, but who says we have to run? We should destroy it now before they have a chance to come out!"

"But Robin, we cannot even be sure it will work!" Starfire protested.

"I agree with Starfire," Raven interjected. "These beings are intelligent. I doubt they would build pods that could be destroyed easily. And besides, if they can withstand space travel and colliding with the earth, who says they can't withstand our attacks?"

"But we have to try!" Robin said. "I'm not going to let another one of those things get away with destroying more innocent lives! Not if we can prevent it!"

"Robin, I'm telling you, it won't work!" Cyborg cut in. "They've already tried that! I heard it on the radio. The military tried attacking one after it came down, and they had no luck, either."

"Yeah? But who says we can't do it? We have to try while we have the chance!" Robin yelled.

"Robin, please! We cannot take that chance! Not with all these people in danger!" Starfire pleaded.

"Guys, we don't have much time!" Robin seethed. "It's either now or never!"

"Robin, listen to me! It won't work!" Cyborg shouted.

Raven could feel the tension mounting already. "Well, while you bicker amongst yourselves, our enemies are right at our doorstep!" she hissed.

Beast Boy was about to say something when Cyborg suddenly dashed off. "Cy!" Beast Boy called out, but he was already almost out of sight. Already, crowds of frightened refugees were piling into the convoy trucks in a desperate attempt to get away from the Martians who could appear at any second. People who had seen or heard the cylinder arrive had already come piling onto the streets even before the convoy arrived.

He took a fleeting glance at the sky overhead. He could not believe after all that had happened that only twenty four hours ago he and Raven were watching that same sky. But it didn't hold the kind of beauty and wonder it did the last time he looked at it. Now, it seemed ominous…almost threatening. And there, like a red eye in the sky, was Mars.

A nearby vehicle horn shook Beast Boy out of his daydream. The bus which Cyborg had lifted earlier was now speeding toward them, headlights blaring, and came to a screeching halt near the convoy. The half-machine Titan honked the horn again and opened the door.

"Everybody, get in the bus! Get in!" he called out. Scared citizens who had had trouble boarding the military trucks turned and packed into the bus.

"Cyborg!" Robin called out.

"I'm going to help get them out of here! You guys go ahead!"

"We are not leaving you, friend Cyborg!" Starfire called back. The Tamaran turned to a frustrated Robin. "Robin, please, we have to go."

Robin glanced around angrily, clench his fists, and finally let out an angry "Alright!" The tension was terrible. It was a race against time as the Titans and the soldiers struggled to get the people out of there before the invaders arrived.

A while later, the bus was full. The Titans could only hope the military had brought enough trucks to evacuate them all. Upon seeing they were full, Lieutenant Myers gave them an okay to leave.

"Guys, get on the bus!" Cyborg shouted to his teammates. Out of the blue, a loud sound echoed from the distant darkness. Everyone fell silent. The Titans all snapped their heads in the direction the sound had come from. Another loud crack sounded from the direction the cylinder had landed.

"Uh-oh," Beast Boy whispered.

A loud crash, like something huge bursting out of a shell, echoed again. Then, a loud, eerie sound like a foghorn blasted out of the silence. The Titans' eyes widened in pure fright. "Go!" Robin shouted. He, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven dashed for the bus.

"Robin!" Raven called. "You go ahead. The rest of us will fly alongside."

"Raven, are you sure about that?" Robin asked. The mage nodded. "We'll be fine."

"Hey, do I have a say in this?" Beast Boy asked.

"Just shut up and do it!" Raven shot back. Beast Boy had no choice but to comply.

"Everyone, move out!" Lieutenant Myers yelled. Already, some of the full military convoys had pulled out and were making their way out of the abandoned town. As the last of the civilians boarded, Myers focused his attention on the Titans again. "You'd better get out of here. They'll be on us any minute." With that, he ducked back inside his hummer.

"Robin, quick!" Cyborg called. Robin dashed toward the vehicle and leapt inside. The bus was packed to the gills with scared refugees. Robin ducked behind Cyborg's seat.

"I'm in, Cyborg! Let's get out of here, quick!" he commanded. Cyborg needed no convincing. Without hesitating he stepped on the gas pedal and the heavy vehicle lurched forward. A sudden realization hit Cyborg. Without thinking, he switched off the bus's headlights as well as all the inside lights. The bus was enveloped in darkness, earning some panicked shouts from the crowd.

"Cyborg, are you crazy?" Robin shouted from behind.

"Relax, Robin!" Cyborg activated a night-vision feature in his mechanical eye. "If that thing arrives and sees us driving away, we're as good as dead! At least with our lights turned off it has less of a chance at seeing us."

"You're right! Good thinking, Cy," Robin said. He glanced out the window to see if he could see the other three Titans.

"Is he crazy? He just turned off his headlights!" Beast Boy said as he flew in bird-form next to Starfire and Raven.

"No, he's right!" Raven observed. "If they leave the lights on they'll see us!" Her senses told her they didn't have much time. Already, she thought she could here the faint echoes of giant footsteps in the beginning. The tripod was already on its way.

"Hurry, Cyborg," Starfire whispered to herself.

The bus and the military convoy were lined up like ducks on the road. Carefully, Cyborg navigated the twists and turns in the road. He just hoped his night vision wouldn't fail on him.

"Cyborg, do you know where you're going?" Robin asked.

"I'm fine, trust me!"

Outside, Raven could here the footsteps getting louder with each passing moment. She, Starfire, and Beast Boy flew close to the roof of the bus, occasionally looking back to see if the Martians had arrived.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Cyborg spotted the highway leading out of town. "There it is!" he shouted. He turned the wheel and followed the convoy trucks onto the entry ramp. The truck sped up the ramp, and soon, they were on the spacious road. Cyborg pressed down on the pedal and the bus accelerated even faster. His heart raced, and he hoped to god that the tripod wouldn't discover them.

Starfire looked back, and finally she saw the towering terror emerging. Over and behind the trees, she saw its huge scorpion head swiveling around; the blinding spotlight blazing down on the ground.

Cyborg glanced in his rearview mirror and practically yelped when he saw the tripod's reflection in it. It picked up one of its gigantic legs and sent it crashing down on the ground. It paused for a moment, and then fired its blue beams at the town below. Robin had dashed to the back of the bus to catch a glimpse of what was happening.

"Geez," Beast Boy muttered. Starfire and the others were crestfallen, but they were at least grateful they managed to get the others out in time.

Cyborg turned his focus back to the road ahead of him and gave a satisfied grin. They were safe, for now.

"Close call," Robin whispered to himself.


The Titans passed through what looked like countryside for some time. A few hours of non-stop driving passed like a year. By this time, the sun had come up. Cyborg wasn't sure where they were headed; he was just following the convoy ahead of him. The thing he cared about most was just getting away from the invaders. The half-machine hero let out a drawn-out yawn. The realization hit him that he hadn't slept in nearly twenty-four hours. Robin himself had to struggle to stay awake. Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy had taken a break from flying and rode along in the bus.

"Where are we?" Beast Boy finally asked after some time.

Cyborg glanced at his GPS. "We're in some kind of rural area. There's not a town around for miles."

"Are we ever gonna stop? We've been driving for hours," Beast Boy moaned.

"Could you not complain for five little minutes?" Raven growled.

"Hey, they're slowing down," Cyborg observed. Surely enough, the entire line of military trucks packed with civilians were slowing down. When the convoy at last came to a halt, Cyborg opened the door and the five Titans departed the vehicle. The landscape was little more than flat plains with an occasional hill or patch of trees. From the looks of it, some of it appeared to be abandoned farmland.

Robin wasted no time in finding Lieutenant Myers. The soldier was inside his humvee talking to a couple other marines. He was holding a map in one hand and a radio in the other.

"Officer, what's going on?" Robin asked him.

Lieutenant Myers shook his head. "There's been a slight change of plans. We were originally going to head for this city right here." He pointed to a dot on the map that appeared to be a good distance north of their position. "We were hoping to drop the refugees off there."

"Let me guess," Robin replied. "It's been visited."

The soldier nodded. "Nope. But the officials there are scared it's next on the list. They want everyone moved down right here." He pointed to a dot on the map that was a good distance southeast of their location. "It's a small town with a military base. It's kind of remote. The guys figure the Martians might overlook it since it's such a small town. They seem to prefer targeting the populated places."

"So what now?" Cyborg asked.

"Well, we head there, of course. But we gotta do it soon."

"What about the nearby towns? What are we going to do about them?" Robin asked.

The soldier paused. "We were told to head straight for our destination."

"Care to elaborate on that?" Beast Boy asked.

The soldier sighed. Robin and Cyborg both glared at him. "We were told to head straight for our destination. We can't go looking for survivors or stragglers."

"What?" Robin asked loudly. "You're just going to leave them?"

"Look!" the soldier snapped back. "I want to get those people to safety as much as you do. But we don't have a lot of time, here. If one of those… 'things' comes here while we're looking for stragglers, we're as good as done. We got lucky back there, but we're not in any position to test our luck again. Our goal here is to get the people we already have to safety."

"But you cannot just forget about them!" Starfire objected. "What if someone needs help?"

The soldier's gaze fell. The other marines who were with him seemed no happier at the situation. "I'm sorry. But we have orders."

"But you can't--" Beast Boy started, but Robin cut in.

"No, he's right Beast Boy," Robin said sadly. He turned back to the lieutenant. "We can do it. You can get these people to safety."

"What?" Starfire asked.

"We'll look for people, Star. It's the best we can do for now. If someone out there needs our help, we'll give it to them." The other four heroes nodded in grim determination.

"Are you sure about this?" Myers asked him. Robin nodded. "Okay. We have enough room to carry your passengers. Although I'm not sure if it's a good idea to travel in a vehicle as big as that."

"We'll manage," Cyborg told him. Although he was wishing he had the T-Car with them. A while later, the people who had been riding in Cyborg's hijacked bus boarded the convoy trucks. Once everyone was boarded, Myers gave the signal for the convoy to get moving.

"Good luck!" he called out to the young heroes. Within moments, the entire convoy drove off and disappeared from view.


The Titans all sat outside under the bus's shade. Robin stood propped against the bus with his arms folded. Cyborg was examining his GPS, and Beast Boy was throwing rocks at seemingly nothing. Raven squatted on the ground with her hood over her eyes, and Starfire merely stood nervously, unsure of what to do. The sky was almost cloudless, with a gentle breeze flowing over the landscape. The only sound came from the wind and the birds chirping. The scene would have been rather soothing had it not been for the dire situation the world seemed to be coming to.

"So, run this by me again?" Robin asked.

"As near as I can figure, we can head south first," Cyborg replied. "That's the closest town. It's a good distance, but we should make it in no time as long as we have a vehicle. Although once we're there, we may need to consider getting a different vehicle."

"Well, the sooner we get going, the better," Raven muttered from her meditations.

"If we find anybody, we can bring them along. I think we have enough food to be out here a few days. If we ever need to, we could go back to that base Myers was talking about. Beyond that, I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

Little more was said beyond that. Each Titan was buried in his or her own individual thoughts. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours they could hardly believe it. It was so much to take in at once.

"Cy, are you sure you're up to driving? You haven't slept at all."

"I'm fine, Robin," Cyborg insisted. "We'd better get going here." Robin suggested again that Cyborg take a break and rest, but the cybernetic hero insisted. The bus filled with the five young heroes traveled south toward what Cyborg said was a small section of suburbs. A few hours later, they arrived at what indeed looked like a small suburb. The houses were placed sporadically, with a decent amount of space separating each one.

When that suburb came up empty, the heroes moved on to the next one. Each house came up just as empty as the last. They searched long past noon. Finally, they came to what appeared to a house in another rural part of the area. The Titans walked up to the entrance and wrapped on the door.

"Hello?" Robin called.

"You know, if there was anyone around, they probably would have seen or heard us by now," Beast Boy suggested.

"Can't hurt to try, I guess," Cyborg supposed. Robin tried the doorknob, and to his surprise, the door eased open. Cautiously, Robin stepped inside.

"Hello?" he called again. No answer.

"Seems empty to me," Raven said.

"I guess everyone decided to cut and run," Beast Boy observed. The inside of the house was fairly simple: white walls, quaint furnishings, white carpeting, and the like. And as every other house, it was eerily still. From behind him, Beast Boy heard Cyborg give another loud yawn. "Cy, are you okay? You seem really tired."

"Nah, I'm fine Beast Boy," Cyborg said lazily.

"I think perhaps we should rest for now," Starfire suggested. "We are all tired, and we need our strength."

"Yeah, you're right, Star. We'll continue after we've had some sleep." It wasn't near sunset yet, but the Titans were all exhausted. They all had gotten very little sleep the night before, and Cyborg had none. "We'll stay here for the night. Normally I wouldn't do this, but we don't have much of a choice," Robin told them.

A little while later, the Titans gathered in the basement of the house, deciding it would be safer then sleeping upstairs. The basement was good enough, anyway even if a little crude. There were couches and chairs below, and that would be good enough. They were tired to the point of not caring about sleeping on the ground, anyway.

They had tried to catch news of what had been happening elsewhere, but the house hadn't been receiving power. Having their first moment of peace in a while, the heroes finally managed to discuss the situation more fully.

"I just can't believe it might be gone," Beast Boy said sadly. "Jump City…Titan's Tower…all gone. It seems like ages since we've been there."

"I don't understand it, though. Why are they here? Why did they come down and invade on a whim?" Robin asked frustratingly.

"Because they're sadistic and evil, that's why," Beast Boy growled.

"I doubt it. At least, I think there's more to it," Raven hypothesized. "These beings are intelligent, that much we've gathered. They also seem to have no compunction against killing us off. I think there's got to be some reason why they are here."

"Maybe they're just here to conquer us. You know, make us their slaves," Cyborg suggested.

"Possibly. But we can't tell for sure right now," Raven said.

"I just can't believe these things are from Mars!" Robin said. "I mean, it goes against everything we thought. Mars was supposed to be a dead planet. Lifeless!"

"I guess we were wrong," Cyborg sighed. "It doesn't make sense, though. Why didn't know about them? I mean, for them to have avoided detection, they'd have to be living…"

"Underground," Raven finished for him. Her eyes widened. Suddenly, Beast Boy remembered the conversation that he and Raven had on the roof of Titan's Tower.

"I have to tell you something," Starfire said suddenly. The other Titans stared at her curiously. "These invaders were not unheard of. My people had known about them."

"Say what?" Cyborg asked, confused.

Starfire breathed a long, deep sigh, and went to explaining. Ever since the invaders arrived, Starfire had felt a strange sense that she had heard of them before, and she was right. She realized it last night, when Cyborg told her the aliens were from Mars.

As a child, her father had sometimes told her how Earth wasn't always the only life-giving planet in its solar system. Apparently, its neighbor planet had also harbored life at one time. She heard about a race that had "crawled on four legs" and built "gigantic machines" as testaments of their empire. But then, their planet started to die. And with their planet, the race started to die. Or so they had thought.

"My race thought they had died out. They thought they had gone forever, but we were wrong. My father told tales of how they were vastly intelligent and were experts of war. And now, they have returned." She lowered her head in grief. "I knew about them all along, I just did not remember. I am so sorry."

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Robin asked her.

The Tamaran raised her head; her green eyes had started to glisten with tears. "You mean you are not angry with me?"

"Why should we be? You didn't know. And it's not your fault they invaded, anyway," he assured her.

"Although it would have helped a little to know this before. How come you never told us, Star?" Cyborg asked.

"They were just legends - child's tales, almost! I thought nothing of it, and forgot that they even existed."

"It's okay, Starfire. Just relax," Robin said calmly.

"You said something about their planet dying," Raven asked her. "What happened, if you remember?"

"About their planet? All I know is that I heard tales that it was much like your planet. But eventually, it started to die. Trees died, water dried up or froze, and the air thinned. And with that, their race disappeared. We thought they had died out, but it turns out they had simply fled underground."

Raven brooded on this. The Titans eyed her curiously, wondering what she was thinking. At last, the mage spoke. "Do you think it's possible…that perhaps they aren't here for us?"

"What?" Beast Boy asked.

"What if they aren't here to conquer us? What if they are here simply for…our planet?"

"Our planet?" Cyborg asked.

"Why not?" Raven replied. "It makes sense to me. Their own planet is no longer hospitable to their own kind. But our planet is perfect. Our planet is still livable. We have everything they need. Perhaps the Martians are here to set up their own society, nothing more. This war here – perhaps it is a war for our world."

The Titans stared blankly, dumbfounded at this.

"Do you think it's true?" Beast Boy asked after a moment of hesitation.

"I don't think anything right now. But of the choices, I'd say it's a good bet," she said darkly.

"Oh man," Beast Boy groaned. The green changeling slumped down on a couch. "So tired."

"We all need to sleep. We'll continue in the morning and figure things out," Robin said to them."

Meanwhile, Cyborg had already passed out on a sofa. The Titans all followed his example and lay down for the night. Each one brooded over the events that had transpired. Thoughts of Martians, tripods, and Jump City filled their thoughts as they passed into uneasy dreams.


Once again, sorry this took so long. But as I've said before, I don't have much time to write anymore, with school and everything going on. But I do intend to finish this fic. There are few things more disappointing then an unfinished story. Be sure to drop a review, any ideas, criticisms, etc. are fine, too. Adios.