"Oh, boy..." I mumbled with my elbows on my computer desk and my face propped in my hands. Tonight's episode was "Mad Mod". The Titans would be captured by the crazy old geezer who specializes in hypnosis, brainwashing, and everything British.
I doubt I'd wake up from being knocked out cold like the other Titans. Would I wake up in the Titans' Tower or inside Mad Mod's illusion-filled palace?
I had to figure out a way to counteract Mad Mod's hypnosis. So, I went straight to my trusty friend, the internet (well, as trusty as searching it can be). The biggest factor from my research is that the person being hypnotized has to be willing to be hypnotized, otherwise it doesn't work.
Well, Mad Mod wants to hypnotize people, including the Teen Titans, to be his slaves. I don't think I'll be willing to be subject to his plots anytime soon.
But will this simple information be enough to resist Mad Mod's hypnosis? Probably not. Who knows? I'd just have to wait and see.
And besides, if all else fails, at least I'll wake up the next morning hopefully snapped out of the hypnosis.
I slid out of my desk chair and headed downstairs.
"Nice to see you again." Mom teased from the couch in the living room. She turned down the volume of 'Say Yes to the Dress'. "You've been cooping yourself up in your room whenever you get home from school."
"Sorry, I'm doing a lot of research... for a project I'm doing." I said. "It's only for a couple of months."
I headed into the kitchen, my stomach growling for food. I opened the fridge, grabbed an apple, and walked back to the living room. As I took a bite of the apple, I paused. I pulled back and stared at the bitten apple in my hand.
I didn't have to force myself to eat this instead of a cookie. In fact, I wanted to. I thought. I bit down on the apple piece in my mouth. The sweet juice exploded from the piece and filled my mouth. I swallowed the mushy apple and took another bite with a small smile.
Mom's eyes remained on me as I entered the living room again. "You know, Ciela... Something about you has been different for a while."
"Really? What's that?" I said.
"I don't know. You just seem... happier."
I smiled sincerely. "I met some new friends a couple of weeks ago. They've taught me a lot."
"That's great, honey!" Mom got up off the couch. "It makes me glad knowing you're doing better."
I glanced at the half-eaten apple and touched my Teen Titans' necklace. Out of all the moments I spent in that world, it was in this moment when I felt lighter.
"Yeah." I said. "I am, too."
I didn't wake up in the Titans' Tower when I entered the world. I woke up in a classroom. One side of the room had a large blackboard with many pieces of chalk and a dust-covered eraser in the holder at the bottom side. In the corners of the room were busts of Mad Mod. The ceiling and floor were covered in a black and white checkered pattern while the left and right wall were a silvery-gray. There was no door.
One of the black checkers in the ceiling opened up, and Robin plummeted from it and landed on the ground. He was bound to a chair.
The screeching of chalk filled the air as Mad Mod's face was drawn on the chalkboard.
"All right, now, boy. It's time for school!" Mad Mod said.
A hand emerged from the back of Robin's chair and held his head still and his eyes open (that is, I guess they were still open. He is wearing a mask.).
"A quick session with one of my hypnoscreens will get your attention. As a bonus, it'll erase everything else in your brain as well!" Mad Mod cackled as the walls were covered with hypnotizing spirals.
Stay focused. You don't want to get hypnotized. I took a deep breath and pulled out one of my energy pistols. I ran around and stood in front of Robin.
"You came at a good and bad time." Robin said.
"I'm here to make sure you guys don't get brainwashed. Now, hold still. I don't want to shoot off your hand." I raised my pistol and aimed at the cuffs holding Robin's wrists. The lasers hit the cuffs and shattered them. Next, I took out the cuffs around his ankles. Robin yanked off the hand holding his head and threw it at the hypnoscreen. The hypnotizing images stopped, leaving all-white walls.
"Hey, you little rebels! If you're going to destroy school property, school property's going to destroy you!" Mad Mod's voice echoed in the room.
One of the white walls tore open as a large missile entered the room. Holes opened in the Mad Mod busts, and lasers poked through their eyes and razor blades through their ears. They approached us.
"It's Counting Time with Moddy!" Mad Mod said. "Ten... nine... eight..."
"Got any plans?!" I gulped.
"Seven... six..."
"Consider this your next training session." Robin said. "Today we'll be focusing on agility!"
"Five... four..."
The busts shot lasers from their eyes. I lunged out of the way, landing hard on my side with a painful grunt. I lift one of my pistols and shot at a bust. The laser cut through its head and destroyed it.
"Three... two..."
"Let's go!" Robin cried as the other bust crumbled to pieces from his kick. We sprinted towards one side of the room and dove through the wall, ripping it like paper.
"One!"
As we ran down the checkered, round hallway, the giant missile flew towards us. It exploded, engulfing us in smoke and shooting us into the wall. I smacked my back against the wall and hit the ground half as hard. I expected at least a broken bone, or death, but I felt fine.
"I don't understand the physics of this world sometimes." I panted.
"No need to fret, my li'l duckies!" Mad Mod stood at the end of the hallway. His pink-red hair and round, blue sunglasses were too young for his old age. After all, he was actually older than time. He wore a blue tux, black loafers, and held a black cane with a large, pink jewel. "You may be out of the classroom, but class is never dismissed!"
Mad Mod hopped onto the ceiling and ran. Robin jumped up and tried to grab him, but the distance was just big enough to where he couldn't. Mad Mod cackled and ran away.
"Don't worry about him." I said, grabbing Robin's arm to keep him from running after Mad Mod. "This is Mad Mod's territory. We're powerless against him right now. We need to focus on rescuing the other Titans."
"Do you know how to navigate this place?" Robin said, gesturing to our checkered surroundings.
"No. It's too confusing. But if we wander around, we'll find the main room again."
After five minutes of wandering down the path, I realized my mistake. The checkers stretched on forever in front and behind me.
"I don't think this is going well." Robin said.
"Fine." I grumbled. I scanned the checkered scenery around me. I pulled out one of my pistols and shot a laser at the wall. It ripped through like paper, leaving a golf ball-sized hole. I walked over to the wall and peeked through. "Look! It's the main room!"
Robin walked over, grabbed the hole, and ripped it apart, giving us enough room to crawl through. We looked around the room, but Mad Mod wasn't around. A scream, Starfire's scream, pierced through the air, coming from a door on the other side of the room. We ran inside and into a large library, where the bookshelves almost touched the ceiling twenty feet above us. A ladder was propped against one of the bookshelves, and we climbed up to the top.
"She's over there." I said, pointing to the hypnoscreen close by. I was about to take a step, but I realized the gaps between bookshelves and the many feet separating here and the ground. I gulped nervously.
"Come on, we gotta move." Robin said.
"I'm not as agile as you are!" I said.
Robin sighed impatiently. "Okay. Take your time. I'll go on ahead."
Robin leaped across the maze of bookshelves and jumped down to where Starfire was. I watched my feet and took a deep breath. I winced and jumped across the small chasm. My feet planted against the next bookshelf, and I paused a moment to sigh in relief. One leap down, fifteen more to go. As I continued to press forward, confidence slowly leaked back into me. I ran along the tops of the bookshelves and jumped to the next with precision. I reached the last bookshelf.
And I jumped.
Realizing my foolish mistake, I screamed as I plummeted to the ground.
Idiot Ciela! How can you be so careless?! You're so stupid, stupid, STUPID!
A pair of hands grabbed my arms, abruptly halting my freefall. I gasped.
"Are you all right, Ciela?" Starfire said.
I gulped. "Uh, yeah. Thanks." Books flew off the shelves and towards us like birds. "Let's get out of here, quick. Those books are not friendly."
Starfire carried me up and set me down on top of the bookshelves before grabbing Robin and bringing him up, too. Below us, a couple of books exploded from impact. Robin and I ran across the tops of the bookshelves while Starfire flew and shot the books with her starbolts. When we reached the door, I grabbed Starfire's hand and she let me down to the ground. We hurried through the exit and shut the door. The rest of the books exploded, causing the door to vibrate and leak smoke through the cracks.
"Thank you, friends, for rescuing me." Starfire said.
"We still have to find a way out of Mad Mod's crazy castle." Robin said. "This entire place is rigged. Nowhere is safe. Whenever we get out of one trap..."
More Mad Mod busts emerged from the lines of the illusory walls. Each brandished a dangerous weapon: razors, lasers, electric cattle prods, mini missiles, and boxing gloves.
"...there's another one waiting." Robin grumbled.
"This way." I said, leading the two Titans away from the murderous statues. The path suddenly dropped down and we fell. We landed in a chemistry classroom. The ceiling was covered with periodic elements. Test tubes and beakers filled with colorful liquids were as tall as us; each one we passed by created a strange funhouse mirror image of us.
One of the images I passed by showed the closest depiction of me, the first time I've seen something like it since I entered this show- a realistic me from my world: large.
I cleared my throat and forced my eyes to look forward. Seated at the other end of the room and in front of a hypnoscreen was Beast Boy.
"Now here's a stellar student!" Mad Mod cackled. "A great example to you all. With an empty brain like his, he's perfect for my hypnosis!"
"Beast Boy, awaken! Your friends are here!" Starfire said, removing the white dunce cap from his head and snapping her fingers in front of his face. Robin worked on removing the restraints. Beast Boy's eyes echoed the hypnotic images of the large screen. Starfire thrust her arms at the screen as her hands glowed green with starbolts.
"Wait!" I cried, yanking her arm away. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The tops of the beakers popped off, and the liquids they contained bubbled up and leaked onto the floor. The rows of chairs behind us melted when the liquid touched them.
Robin lifted Beast Boy from the chair and shoved him into Starfire's arms. "Get Beast Boy out of here."
Starfire nodded and carried the drooling shapeshifter out of the room.
"Hop on." Robin said, crouching down with his back facing me.
"You're... going to give me a piggyback ride?" I said.
"Well, you can't fly, and you said yourself that you're not as agile as me."
"Are you sure you're...?" I held my tongue to stop my words. Are you sure you're strong enough to carry me?
"We haven't got much time!" Robin cried impatiently. The liquids crept closer.
I took a deep breath and hopped onto his back. I kept an iron grip on his shoulders, like a cat sticking its claws into your shirt after you pick it up. Robin stood up, and I didn't hear any grunts or signs of struggling. Was he super strong or was I super light?
"Hang on." Robin said right before he jumped onto the top of a chair. I yelped and tightly wrapped my arms around his neck. He choked against my grip. "Easy, easy!"
"Sorry." I said, loosening my grip enough so he could breathe.
Robin jumped from chair to chair, each landing jolting me. The colorful liquids eating at the floors mixed together, creating a sickly yellow that smelled of sulfur. I buried my nose into my hair to try and stifle the stench. Robin lunged through the open door, and Starfire closed the door behind us. Robin set me down, and I sat against at the bottom of the winding stairs to clear the nausea of repulsive fumes from my nose.
"Beast Boy, it is Starfire, your friend! Please, awaken!" Starfire cried, shaking the hypnotized Titan. "Is there any way to cure him of this?"
There was a loud crash. Starfire, Robin, and Beast Boy hid behind the staircase.
"That's not Mad Mod." I whispered. One of the doors opened, and Cyborg and Raven entered the room. "Hi, guys."
"Glad to see you two safe from Mad Mod." Robin said.
"No kidding. This place is seriously messed up." Cyborg said. "Where's Beast Boy?"
I pointed to the ground, where Beast Boy lay in a pool of his drool.
"He was hypnotized by Mad Mod. We can't snap him out of it." Robin said.
"Let me try something." Cyborg leaned over and belched in Beast Boy's ear.
Beast Boy burst into laughter. "Nice one!" he cried. He stopped and looked around. "Uh... Where are we? And whose drool is this?"
"Wonderful! Now that we are reassembled, we just need to locate an exit!" Starfire said.
"Or we can make one." Cyborg said, summoning his sonic cannon.
"That's not a good idea." I said. "Anything you destroy will turn around and try to destroy you. This place is littered with traps, but there's a twist to this place- the Mad Mod that you've been chasing around isn't real. The real Mad Mod is an old, rickety man who's sitting at a machine and controlling this entire illusion."
The walls of the building disappeared, replaced by hypnoscreens. Raven held up Beast Boy, who was hypnotized again. Mad Mod busts surrounded us.
"These hypnoscreens rip easily. All we have to do is use these statues to our advantage." Robin said.
Several of the busts shot lasers at us. We split up. I stumbled away from the lasers and fired back my own, destroying many of the statues. One of the statues pulled out a chainsaw.
"That one! Use that saw!" I called.
Starfire kicked the bust and sent it flying. The saw cut through the hypnoscreen, leaving a long, deep gash. Wires and pipes peeked through.
Around me, I saw the busts knock out the other Titans and trap them in chairs. Beast Boy stood in front of a hypnoscreen, hypnotized once again.
"Robin! Go!" I called, pointing to the tear.
Robin nodded and used the floating portraits to climb higher. The Mad Mod busts turned to me. I gulped and pulled out my energy pistols. One by one, the busts died from their power being cut off. I breathed a sigh and shot down each of the busts as they powered down. Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg broke free from their chairs, but Beast Boy remained hypnotized. The hypnoscreens faded into white before they rolled up, revealing the camera equipment in the background. Mad Mod's portraits went blank and crashed to the ground, knocking over leftover busts, too.
We found a hatch that led to the outside. Cyborg opened the hatch and tossed Mad Mod out onto the roof, who was tied up with ropes.
"Aw, yeah, it's good to be back in reality!" Cyborg said, inhaling the fresh air. A small cluster of seagulls flew by, squawking their hellos to us as they glided across the black and white sky.
I peered into the hatch. "Everything all right, Starfire?"
"Ohhh!" Starfire grumbled. She floated to the top of the hatch and set down Beast Boy, who was still hypnotized. "I have tried many maneuvers, but none of them are enough to awake Beast Boy! I fear his brain may be gone forever!"
"Since when did Beast Boy have a brain?" Raven said.
Beast Boy sat upright and cackled. "Good one!" he cried. He paused in realization and scowled. "Hey, that's not funny! I totally have a brain!"
I patted Beast Boy's shoulder and sent him to follow the other Titans while they dragged Mad Mod away.
