Hail, citizens of Fanfictionnia! Caesar has declared today a holiday for Zeus, and has demanded I provide thee with another helping of Titanic exploits. Since I enjoy not being dead, I promptly complied. Now then, one quick disclaiming, and I can push this story into double-digit chapters…again!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans, Magic: the Gathering, or any other intellectual property mentioned in this fictional piece. Lawyers, go back to chasing your ambulances.

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The chamber storing the Mox Sapphire began to glow, especially the dull blue channels, which were now shone an almost blinding cerulean. Four devices resembling satellite dishes extended from the device, each originating at the shoulder and hip, if one thought of the chamber as the trunk of a giant body. As they crackled with azure energy, there was, on the edge of hearing, a low chuckle.

The only person in the room who picked up that chuckle was Beast Boy, his ears twitching as they detected the subsonic frequency. "Uh, guys," he said worriedly, "I don't think this is-" But before he could finish, a cerulean beam of lightning shot out from one of the chamber's "shoulder"-level dishes and hit the changeling. With a muffled sound somewhere between a gasp and a squawk, Beast Boy transformed into a blue chicken.

Raven and Cyborg stared at the azure avian in wonder. "Sorry!" Dr. Stone called out from his console, "Energy spike, couldn't send it through the bleeder vents quite yet."

Beast Boy didn't seem very interested in the technical aspects of his situation. He piteously clucked, desperately trying to change back. "Quit joking around, BB, change back," Cyborg commanded.

"BUKKA! Buk bukka buk buk buk buk. Buk buk bukka buKKA!" Sadly, Beast Boy could only speak in Chicken, while his fellow Titans could only listen in Confusion. Slowly, his feathers shifted from their new blue back to the original green, and he managed to reassume his human form.

"You wanna tell us what that was about?" Cyborg asked, arms crossed.

"DUDE! I was trying to change back. It just wasn't working!" Beast Boy cried. He turned to glare at the hulking shape that had zapped him. "I don't think that thing likes me."

"Impossible," Dr. Stone scoffed. "It's just a gemstone. It can't have emotions!" A screen on the console beeped a cheery little tune. "Great! Generator at 100 efficiency. Deactivating preliminary limiters." With a series of seemingly random button combinations, the Sapphire-holding chamber seemed to grow brighter, though its light was already at eye-watering levels.

Cyborg suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Dad," he called, "what exactly did you design that thing to do, anyway?"

As Dr. Stone looked at his creation with pride, he explained its purpose. "This device uses the gem's energy to form specialized electromagnetic fields. With those, it can become a sort of super recycling plant. It can crush and compact metal, reshape it, we've even found it can change the color of things to a bright blue!"

"We noticed that." Beast Boy bitterly muttered.

Cyborg ignored his peeved teammate. "Wow, just imagine the possibilities."

Indeed, rumbled a deep voice. It was the same voice Raven heard while in telepathic congress with Sapphire, only amplified many times over. It boomed out of the containment unit, much to the amazement of almost everyone there.

"What the..." began Dr. Stone, whose attention was quickly pulled to one of his consoles. It was blaring an alarm and flashing in a violent shade of red. "This doesn't make sense! The capacitors have completely shut down. The chamber's receiving five gigawatts every second! It should have exploded from that much energy exposure!" Frantically, the researcher tried everything he could to restore order and logic to the situation. "It's no good!" he cried finally, "I've been locked out!"

Of course, the voice rumbled, I can't have you gentlemen interfering, now can I? With that, all four of the construct's emitter dishes blazed with blue energy, launching it at the military refuse scattered about the hanger. Dr. Stone and company had done well. The energy beams effortlessly bent, compressed, reshaped, and otherwise redesigned the metal to form a most formidable form. Arms and legs were quickly formed from the smorgasbord of parts, with joints composed of naked cerulean energy. The detail was astonishing. Individual fingers were almost lovingly crafted by the magnetic power; accents on armor were carefully adjusted for maximum aesthetic impact to accompany the physical. Amazingly, the entire forging process took place in a matter of seconds. The end result was a vaguely humanoid shape, masterfully crafted, but clearly designed for combat. Now then, spoke the Mox Sapphire, snug in its new body, if you would all be so kind as to let me go forth and consume all metal to construct the ultimate body for myself?

The three Titans assumed a triangular formation, with Cyborg closest to the newly made mech. "I don't think so," said the technoteen.

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Meanwhile, the psychiatrist had finally managed to get both Robin and himself into his office at the same time. Unfortunately, Starfire wouldn't let him do anything while she wasn't present, having heard many a nasty tale of Earth "head-shrinkers." At the moment, he was administering a Rorschach, or ink blot test, one of the few that had made it past the Tamaranean's highly suspicious screening process.

"What do you see now?" he asked Robin, holding up another ink-splattered card.

"SLAAAAADE!" the Boy Wonder shouted in reply. He was drooling slightly, and his eyes were probably racing from side to side. Of course, the mask made it kind of hard to tell.

The psychiatrist nodded. "OK, and this one?"

"SLAAAAADE!"

The bespectacled head examiner sweatdropped. Obvious obsession, coupled with the stress of having to ensure the safety of an entire city and puberty. No wonder this kid was a mess. He decided to give it one more try. "What about this one?" He had unknowingly picked a card that, in complete defiance of the odds, had a perfect silhouette of Slade on it.

Robin took a deep breath, ready to blast the name of his archnemesis at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, a mysterious signal went off in his mind. There was a battle about to begin. Years of well-honed superhero team leader instincts kicked in. "TITANS, GO!"

The psychiatrist breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, we're making progress."

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The Titans tried to engage the giant machine. Unfortunately, the Sapphire appeared to have figured out a counterstrategy for each Titan. Raven's telekinetic powers were negated with blinding flashes of light. Cyborg's assaults were short circuited via electromagnetic pulses. As for Beast Boy, it just kept turning him into a chicken. Several minutes into the battle, all three teens were exhausted. As Beast Boy once again left a feathery, friable form, he moaned, "Dude, how are we supposed to beat this thing if it can stop everything we do?"

Cyborg frowned and shrugged. "I really don't know." He turned to his father. "Dad, any ideas?" There was an uncomfortable pause. "Dad?" Dr. Stone was paralyzed at his console, standing ramrod straight and slightly glowing with a periwinkle aura. Furious, the half-hardware hero faced his adversary. "What," he growled, "have you done to my father?"

"He's not the only one," Raven noted. It was true. Every researcher on Project: Thaum was stopped in his or her tracks, standing at attention.

Please, scoffed the Sapphire, do you really think I'd keep those who constructed this shell aware and able to exploit whatever failsafes they put into it? That would be downright silly.

"Oh, and constantly turning me into a chicken isn't?" Beast Boy snapped. A brief crackle of azure lightning later, an indignant indigo rooster was angrily clucking where the changeling stood.

Ahhh, The Sapphire gave a sigh of contentment, that never gets old.

"Enough of this," Raven growled, "we're taking you down." With that, the three charged the Sapphire in one final, desperate gambit. It was do-or-die time, and something would be doing the latter.

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For those of you scratching your heads about what creature the Sapphire formed, it's the Arcbound Overseer from Darksteel. Also, for those of you who are Magically inclined, be sure to check out my personality test in the M:tG fanfic section. (It's under Video Games.) Now click the pretty button, and you will receive fudge. Lots and lots of fudge.