Ah, screw the intro. Let's get to the story, shall we? Apologies will come after the chapter. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual.

Chapter 6: Countryside

Nightfall came, and the world was enveloped in darkness. For hours, the Titans slept in the cold basement of the abandoned home until the tip of the sun started to creep over the horizon. Gradually, the beams of sunlight crept through the narrow cracks in the windows and illuminated the basement. There was a screen door leading to the back yard on one end, and it just so happened to face east. Sunlight poured in through the large opening.

One of the beams fell on one of Beast Boy's eyes, waking him from his uneasy slumber. He blinked lazily and let out an animal-like yawn. He sluggishly sat up with the faintest hope that the last forty eight hours of his life were a dream. They weren't.

The other Titans were still sleeping. Cyborg had passed out on the couch, with Robin snoozing with his face buried in the cushions on the opposite end. Starfire slept soundly on a chair across from them. And Raven…was nowhere to be found. Beast Boy's heart leapt into his throat. He spun frantically around and was relived to see her standing near the screen door, staring out through its window. Beyond her, the view through the window showed the rural landscape beyond as well as the sunrise.

If she noticed him being awake, she didn't show it. She continued to stare through the window, as if she was studying the outside. The sunlight filtering in through the windows cast a piercing silhouette of her shape.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked nervously. She was silent.

Finally, she murmured, "So still…"

Beast Boy's ears instinctively perked up. He had never realized it, but there was always a sort of activity going on in Jump City. Thousands of sounds, smells, and motions constantly filled the place; nothing ever seemed still. It now suddenly felt as if someone had pressed pause.

"It's so quiet," Beast Boy finally whispered back.

"It's the stony silence after the avalanche," Raven replied flatly.

Uncomfortable, Beast Boy decided to change the subject. "How long have you been up?"

Raven sighed. "At least an hour now." She paused uncomfortably. "They are growing stronger. I can sense it. Each hour that passes, more of them arrive. The invasion is in full force now."

Beast Boy winced. Of all things, this was what he wanted to talk about the least. And yet, it was still the thing that mattered most. He hated the irony. He sighed again and moved closer to her, yet still keeping his distance. "I hated fighting those things. But waiting around while they continue to destroy everything is even worse," he said while smiling sadly.

Raven shook her head. "Man has been fighting himself since the beginning of his time. Never before has any other species rose to challenge him. And now, the biggest threat facing he faces is not even of this world. Fate, it seems, is now without a sense of irony." She drew a long breath and continued to stare.

"What do you think we should do now?" he asked inquisitively.

For the first time, she turned her head to meet his gaze. "What can we do? We must fight them. But unfortunately, our foes have proved so far to be rather invincible. How do you fight an invincible enemy, Beast Boy?"

"I guess," he stuttered, "Maybe find their weakness?"

"But what weakness do they possess? What can we hope to find that will enable us to win?" She closed her eyes. "Until then, it will be a defensive war we fight. The best we can hope for now is to protect the innocent from them – to shelter them from harm if we can."

Beast Boy couldn't help but admire Raven's ability to keep a level head through all this. The sudden invasion had gotten to him immensely, yet she was able to remain cool and calculating through it.

Beast Boy heard stirring behind him and turned to see Cyborg sitting up. "Good morning, Cy," Beast Boy said, trying to sound cheerful. The huge teenager merely groaned in response. He stretched out his arms and loosed a deep yawn.

"Geez, what time is it?" he asked, noticing the sunrise.

"Who knows. We should probably get out of here soon, anyway," Beast Boy suggested.

Cyborg reached over and shook Robin awake. The masked Titan blinked and sat up. Cyborg walked over and did the same to Starfire. With everyone awake, the Titans decided to discuss the course of action.

"There's a large town about northeast of here," Robin told the others. "If it's populated, chances are it's next on their list. I don't want them to arrive before the people there have gotten a chance to evacuate. We can at least try to get everyone to that base Lieutenant Myers told us about yesterday."

"Then we'd better hurry," Cyborg stated. "The less time we stand around talking, the better."

"Are we still gonna take that bus?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean, it has a lot of space, but it doesn't seem like the most inconspicuous vehicle."

"Yeah, I know," Cyborg moaned. He was still wishing they had brought the T-Car along. "I don't want to say it, but we might want to lift one of the cars left here. I mean, it's not like they're gonna miss it."

"Cyborg, I am not sure that would be right!" Starfire protested.

"Desperate times, Star," Cyborg said back.

"And how would you hijack one, anyway?" Robin asked, eyebrows arched. "Unless you…"

"I can hotwire easily enough," Cyborg said with a devilish grin.

"Cyborg!" Beast Boy said in disbelief.

"Hey, it's not like I do it just for fun, you know. It just happens to be a handy skill in times like these."

"Well, if we're going to do it, we'd better do it quick," Raven added.

"Okay gang, listen up!" Robin cut in, silencing them. "At this point, we don't know of any way to fight these Martians yet. Until we find a way to beat them, there's not much we can do. Until then, our main goal is to save everyone we can from them. How's that sound?"

Everyone nodded in grim determination.

"Okay then. Let's go, Titans!"


Deciding that a bus was no longer a practical vehicle to use, Cyborg decided on a rather large SUV he found inside one of the garages. With a little hotwiring, he got it running while the rest of the Titans loaded the supplies from the bus into the car. As an extra measure, Cyborg siphoned some of the gas off the bus to carry along just in case.

Within moments, they were all on their way toward the city. It was a couple hours' worth of driving time at least before they would get there, however. With nothing really to do, Beast Boy sat lazily in the back seat and felt himself drifting slowly to sleep as miles of countryside passed before him. Just when he was about to doze off, a strange sight off in the distance startled him awake. When he saw what it was, he automatically feared the worst.

"Hey, guys! Guys! LOOK!" he shouted, pointing outside the window. "Stop the car, Cyborg!"

"Beast Boy, what the heck is it?" Cyborg asked, sounding annoyed. He complied with the changeling's request and brought the car to a halt. As soon as the vehicle was stopped, Beast Boy unfastened himself and leapt out of the car with the rest following after him.

"There!" he said pointing. Off in the distance, just over a tree-covered hillside, a small pillar of smoke was rising.

"Oh, great," Robin moaned. Starfire cupped her hands over her mouth. Raven merely glared at it.

"Oh, man. Please tell me it's not them," Cyborg groaned. He examined the hillside and found a small path of flattened trees as if something large had plowed through them and crashed into the hillside just beyond.

"Robin, what will we do?" Starfire asked earnestly. The masked Titan paused nervously. His hands balled into fists as he struggled over what to do. Should they keep going, or investigate. Finally, he came to his decision.

"Let's go over and check it out," he finally said.

"Robin, are you crazy?" Beast Boy asked, both frightened and bewildered.

"Look, that thing has probably just landed. We might be able to at least see if it really is one of their pods."

"Robin, what else could it honestly be?" Cyborg asked with arms folded.

"Look," Robin said a little louder than expected as he jerked his head in Cyborg's direction. "I know it's most likely a pod. But if it is, we might have a chance to destroy it before they come out."

"But we've been over this before, Robin!" Cyborg protested. "Those pods are like fortresses! They're impossible to crack!"

"I know!" Robin shouted unexpectedly. He turned his head back to look at the smoke. "But they have to come out eventually, right? And we know they don't put up their shields right away. Maybe if we're lucky, we can get them just as they come out before they put up their shields."

"Sounds like a long shot to me, Robin," Cyborg huffed.

"Yeah, I know. But what else can we do?" he asked grimly.

After moments of debating, the crew finally decided to investigate the crash site. Starfire and Raven decided to fly off and investigate from above, then come back with news. A while later, the two of them returned.

"Well, what's up?" Robin asked from afar. As they neared, Robin saw that Starfire was wearing a frightened expression and Raven had her usual stony stare.

"Um, guys?" Beast Boy asked frightened.

"To answer your question, it's not a pod," Raven answered as she hovered in the air. "You should probably see it for yourself, though."

Curious, Robin allowed Starfire to carry him off while a Pterodactyl Beast Boy lifted Cyborg off toward the site, with Raven flying close by. As they neared it, the crash site came slowly into view behind the tips of the trees. The object they beheld, however, was definitely not a Martian pod.

"Geez, it's a plane!" Cyborg shouted as Beast Boy carried him. Indeed, before them lay the smoldering wreckage of a commercial airliner. The huge passenger jet was in bad shape. One of its wings had come off, and it was almost split in half at the middle, revealing the inside of it.

"Geez…" Robin muttered as he gaped at it.

The jet looked as if something had exploded from the inside, resulting in the split. Perhaps the fuel inside had exploded. There were in fact several large char marks on the plane's hull. Around the site, a few small fires had erupted, sending smoke into the air.

Finally, they arrived, and Starfire and Beast Boy dropped Cyborg and Robin. Beast Boy changed back, and the two girls landed beside them.

"Oh, man. This is just sick," Cyborg groaned. "What the heck could have happened here?"

"It looks like it exploded! There's char marks everywhere," Robin observed.

"Yeah, but how? Planes don't just explode in midair like that! To do that, it'd have to be-" Cyborg stopped in mid sentence as the realization dawned on him. "Oh, man," he groaned again.

"I guess the Martians are very thorough," Raven remarked coldly. Oddly, the most unusual and frightening aspect of the crash had yet to dawn on them.

"Um, guys?" Beast Boy finally asked worriedly. "Where are all the people?"

The rest except for Raven stared dumfounded at the site. Sure enough, the numerous dead bodies that should have been there were absent. Gone.

"Maybe…they survived?" Starfire suggested, though her tone clearly indicated she didn't believe what she was saying.

"Survive a crash like that? No way," Robin replied.

"Then where the heck are they? Dead bodies don't just up and walk away!" Cyborg shouted, waving his hand at the smoldering wreck. "Crap, they should be all over the place!" The huge Titan climbed up the wreckage and peered inside. Not a single body was inside the plane.

The group went silent, all deliberating. Starfire spotted something at the corner of her eye and looked in that direction. She let out a quick gasp which caught the attention of her friends.

"What's wrong, Star?" Robin asked. Starfire merely raised a hand and pointed. The rest all moved to get a better look at what she was pointing at. There, leading up out of the forest and to the wreckage, were what appeared to be deep tracks of a giant, three-legged object. A tripod had been to the crash site. Where it was now, they had no way of knowing.

Out of the group, Beast Boy whimpered. Raven lowered her head. Suddenly, everyone knew exactly what had happened, but were too afraid to come out and say it.

Finally, "Those filthy Martians," Robin growled. Starfire covered her eyes in grief. Raven closed her eyes and muttered silently to herself. It was painfully obvious now. For whatever diabolical reason, the invaders must have stolen every single body away from the crash site, leaving only the tangled, burning wreckage.

"What kind of sick, evil beings are these things?" Starfire asked out of the blue.

"Ones that view us as animals," Raven replied. The rest glanced back at her, then back at the humongous tracks.

"Dang. What on earth could they want those bodies for?" Cyborg asked, then gulped.

"I don't know. And I don't think I want to know," Robin answered. "I think we should move on, though."

The rest didn't object. The entire thing gave them the creeps. They all wanted to be away from the crash site as soon as possible.


The five of them finally made it back to the car, not saying a word to each other on the way. Just before they piled in, Beast Boy spoke up.

"Hey guys, can I, um, go?" he asked sheepishly.

"Go where?" Starfire asked. Raven rolled her eyes.

"No, I have to um, go to the bathroom," he corrected her, blushing.

Robin grunted. "Alright, Beast Boy. Just hurry up, okay?"

The changeling nodded and dashed off. The side of the road was lined with trees at the edge of a wooded area. Several bushes sprang up by the side as well. Beast Boy looked around, sighed, and walked deeper into the woods.

"Beast Boy, where are you going? Do ya really have to go that far?" Cyborg called.

"I don't want you guys to see anything!" he replied back.

"For crying out loud!" Cyborg yelled back. "There's nothing we would honestly want to see! Or maybe you'd like all of us to wear blindfolds just to be safe?"

"Just hurry up, Beast Boy!" Robin cut in.

Beast Boy groaned and quickly decided on a spot, hidden from view. "Maybe you can do it as a dog so it won't look weird!" Cyborg yelled sarcastically from the road.

"Shut up!" he replied.

Feeling rather awkward, Beast Boy shrugged and decided to get it over with. Right as he reached down at his zipper, something strange caught his eye. He leaned forward and squinted so he could get a better look at it. His eyes focused on a tree about fifty feet away near the side of the road. Forgetting he had to go, Beast Boy approached the tree. When he was finally close enough to get a look at what looked so strange about it, he practically gasped.

"Beast Boy, what's taking so long? Did you have one too many bottles of water, or something!"

"GUYS!" Beast Boy's scared voice came back in response. Sensing something was wrong, the other four dashed over to find Beast Boy.

"GUYS!" he called again. The other four finally found him standing in front of a tree, pointing at it and looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Beast Boy, what's…" Robin's voice trailed off as he noticed what had shocked Beast Boy.

"What's going on here?" Cyborg asked in angry confusion. He too stopped dead when he noticed the tree.

Winding up the tree from the base to about halfway up the trunk, clinging stiffly to it, was a plant unlike anything Beast Boy or any of them had ever seen. It appeared to be a thick vine of some sort, creeping its way up and around the tree and edging out along the ground around it. The vine branched off in hundreds of places like ivy and vaguely resembled a net. Tiny leaves sprouted from the plant in various ends. The oddest thing about it, though, was the color.

It was red. Deep red. The red weed, whatever it was, also seemed to be feeding off the plants around it. The tree it wrapped around seemed faint and weakened. The grass near the vine had started to turn brown and prickly. Beast Boy turned and found traces of the same red vine springing up on the ground nearby.

He didn't know what it was, but he only knew that it wasn't from this planet.

Cyborg cursed. "What the heck is this stuff?" he shouted. The entire past few moments had been one disturbing revelation after another, ending with this.

"I don't believe it," Raven muttered as she edged closer to the plant. "They're seeding this planet."

"What?" Robin asked.

The mage turned. "This plant, whatever it is, is not from this world! It was obviously planted by the Martians. If they're seeding this planet, it's not good."

After moments of uneasy silence, Robin finally said coldly, "Looks like you were right, Raven. Forget sightseeing. The invaders really are moving in."

"Oh, man," Beast Boy whimpered again. "This is not good. Not good."

Starfire drew nearer to the vine and gingerly touched it. The weed felt smooth and strangely moist. It seemed to be thriving despite being on a different planet. Suddenly, a surge of angry emotions boiled up within Starfire. Without warning, her eyes glowed green. Her hands swirled with energy, and she unleashed a green bolt at the vine. The rest, startled by her actions, jumped back in shock.

The Tamaran furiously loosed her green death upon the vine, burning it to a crisp. She didn't stop until every last inch of it was dead. When she was done, the alien merely stood there with a cold, hard look in her eyes. Her head dropped, and a small, barely visible tear rolled from her right eye.

Cautiously, Robin approached her from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Star. Let's go." The Tamaran merely turned around, head still gazing at the ground, and let Robin lead her away.

"Why did this happen?" she whispered to herself.

"It's okay, Star," Robin tried to comfort her. But even Robin could feel his own desperation starting to sink in. Something had to be done, and fast. More and more the horrible reality weighed down on him: the entire world was at stake.


The group finally made their way back to the car. They piled in and drove off, resuming their path to the city. The car they drove moved a little too slowly for Cyborg's tastes. He really wished they had brought the T-Car. After a few minutes of driving, Robin finally spoke up.

"Hey Cy," he said. "Let's turn on the radio. Maybe we can catch some news."

Cyborg nodded, and Robin leaned over and switched on the radio. Not surprisingly, static was all that was heard. Robin adjusted the radio, trying to sort through the static, until finally some audible dialogue was heard. He quickly tuned the radio until the sound could be heard clearly. On the other end, a male voice was speaking, rattling off news of the invasion thus far. The Titans all listened intently to the radio, eager to hear any news from the rest of the world.

"About seven tripods, and an additional cylinder, have been reported about nine miles east of St. Louis, and are making their way toward the city." the man spoke.

"Dang. I hope they made it out in time," Cyborg said. The rest quickly shushed him.

The man continued, "A wave of tripods have now made their way through Houston, and according to witnesses have already leveled the city. A second group was reported about twenty miles north of there. All fighter jets dispatched to the city to attack the invaders did not return. In addition, a large group of tripods have been seen pouring out of Jump City, and are making their way due east."

Robin pounded on the dashboard angrily.

"More Martians were already spotted landing in Philadelphia and New York. A wave of military forces dispatched by the Army and the Air Force are heading for the two cities, and are trying to-" the voice was drowned in static.

Robin cursed. "Figures!" He slumped back in the seat and folded his arms angrily. "Step on it, Cy." The cybernetic teenager complied, and the SUV lurched forward even faster.


As they drove, clouds started to gather as they neared the next city. By the time they spotted the buildings in the distance, it was overcast and dark. From the looks of things, Beast Boy predicted it would soon rain. His prediction proved true when water droplets started pattering against the windshield of the car.

"Well, this is nice," Cyborg grunted. He switched on the wipers. The Titans neared the city little by little. It wasn't a big city, but it was at the same time significantly larger than the town they had been in. As they approached, they came to a railroad track running across the street. The red lights were flashing, the warning bell was ringing, and the divider lowered.

"Looks like some people are taking the train out," Beast Boy said from the back. The rest merely sat and waited for the train to cross. They soon heard the rattle of train wheels approaching. Beast Boy's ears perked up.

"That train sounds like it's coming pretty fast, doesn't it?" he asked the rest. Cyborg merely shrugged. The sound of the train grew louder, and at last, it came into the view.

Every Titan in the car gasped.

The train rocketed over the tracks, out of control. The entire thing seemed to be lit up with blazing fire as flames erupted out of practically every window of every car. Starfire screamed. Raven's eyes widened to the size of plates, and Beast Boy loosed a scared yelp. Cyborg let out a surprised "Whoa!", and Robin's jaw dropped.

Within a few seconds of its arrival, the train cleared the road and kept hurtling down the tracks, gradually disappearing from view. As if everything were normal, the red lights stopped flashing, the bell silenced, and the divider raised.

Every Titan in the car stood frozen, overcome from the shock of what they had just seen. After moments of staring emptily ahead, Robin finally snapped out of his trance. They had to get to the city, and fast.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" he yelled. Cyborg was more than happy to comply, and his foot instantly went to the gas pedal.


Just to assure you, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. This is the longest I've ever gone without updating a story! Sorry about that, guys. But as I've said, I don't have as much time to write these fics as I'd like. My AP course teachers are sadistic, I tell ya:) The fact that I got lazy on these fics didn't help much, either. This chapter's a little shorter than the previous ones. I don't know how soon I'll be able to update, but I hope you at least liked this chapter, and aren't too mad at me for the cliffhanger. Also, I upped the rating of this fic just to be safe. As always, please R&R. Cheers.