"I really hope this is the last tweak you'll make to these." I said to Cyborg as I examined my energy pistols. "I don't think I'll be able to keep track of any more after this."

"Don't worry, it is." Cyborg said from the training course's control panel. "Let's do a test run of them. There will be three phases. When you're ready, just tap the hammers."

"Uh...?"

"It's the back part of the barrel, right above the safety."

"Right. Okay."

"Countdown initiating."

I examined my guns as the countdown reached from ten to zero. Catapults emerged from the ground and spewed tennis balls at me. I gulped and aimed my pistols, shooting as fast as I could. Eventually, my fingers grew tired, and the tennis balls increased in number. I shielded my face as they pelted my body.

"Hey, turn it off!" I cried.

The catapults powered down. I lowered my arms and turned to Cyborg.

"Maybe you should have used the new mod." Cyborg said, casually leaning on the control panel. "Initiating countdown again."

I huffed a sigh and faced the catapults. I lifted my pistols up and touched the hammers. The metal jumped back and clamped around my hands and wrists. The red cybernetics glowed, and I stared at my hands. The new mod, gauntlets, covered my hands, knuckles, wrists, and half of my forearms, leaving the top half of my fingers exposed. I wiggled my fingers, and I could hear the soft, mechanical shifting.

"Let's do phase one again!" Cyborg called.

The catapults started shooting at a slower pace this time. The first tennis ball flew at me, and I reeled my fist back and shoved it forward. I punched the tennis ball, and it flew the opposite direction and bounced to the ground. The pacing quickened, but not to the extreme of the first time.

"Phase one complete." Cyborg said. I sighed and shook out my arms. "For the next one, a word of advice: you'll still look cool when you punch the air."

"What does that even mean?" I said.

"Starting phase two!"

New catapults appeared and they shot discs into the air. I glanced at my gauntlets, clenched my fists, and threw a quick punch. Four lasers shot out from my knuckles and hit a few of the discs. I smiled and continued punching. It looked like a homemade fireworks show, shooting my lasers into the air before they hit the discs and exploded.

"Nicely done." Cyborg said. "Get ready for phase three. Don't mess him up too badly."

"Huh?" I glanced back at Cyborg when the air around me filled with smoke. I coughed and waved a hand in front of my face to clear the air. I peeled my eyes open, just in time to see a green-cladded fist fly at me. I gasped, jumped to the side, and stumbled out of the smoke. I brought my fists up, waiting for Robin to jump out. Seeing how nothing was happening, I stole another glance at my gauntlets. The glow had migrated, its focus on the palms of my hands.

I wonder...

Something wrapped around my ankles. I looked down and saw Robin's grappling hook. The rope tightened, and my feet came out under me. I landed hard on my butt. I threw punches in the direction of the cloud of smoke, firing multiple lasers into it. Robin somersaulted out. I thrust my arm toward him, my palm open and facing him. A red laserbeam launched out from my gauntlet. Catching him off guard, the laser hit Robin in the chest. He flew back and landed on the ground. I unraveled the rope around my ankles and stood up.

"Ow." Robin groaned as he stood up.

"I think you've got the hang of things." Cyborg said.

"So... did I win?" I said.

"It looks like it to me."

I clapped my hands together, laughed, and turned to Robin as he stepped to my side. "I guess the apprentice has become the master now."

Robin scowled, took out his bo-staff, and swiped it against the back of my knees. I yelped and crashed on my back.

"Not quite." Robin said. "Maybe next time we'll focus on your issue with getting distracted too easily."

I sat up and rubbed my head with a wince. The sound of sirens echoed on the training course, and we looked and saw the windows of Titans Tower flashing red.

"All right! Let's put those puppies of yours into use!" Cyborg said.


We filed into the living room. Beast Boy paced in front of the TV screen, which broadcasted nothing but static.

"What's the problem?" Robin said.

"What's the problem?! I was going to watch a new episode of Danger Team 5, but I couldn't because Control Freak's ugly mug was stretched across the screen! He's possessed our TV!" Beast Boy cried. He picked up the remote and changed the channel. "Just look!"

"Howdy, there, and welcome to 'All About that Bass'! Today, I'm out on the river..." a middle-aged man sitting in a small canoe said, his fishing rod in hand.

"Terrifying." Raven mumbled.

"I swear, he was just there! I'm not making this up!" Beast Boy said, frantically flipping through channels.

"Perhaps you have occupied too much of your time consuming television." Starfire said. "Do you not recall that Control Freak was taken to jail?"

"Change it to the news." I said.

Beast Boy did so, and the screen displayed an anchorman with thick eyebrows, an obvious toupee, and a painted smile.

"We interrupt your daily program to bring you this news alert." he said. "Authorities have confirmed that a dangerous criminal known as Control Freak has recently escaped from prison."

"See?!" Beast Boy said, flailing his arms in emphasis at the screen.


We followed Control Freak's signal to Cook's Electronics. It was after hours, and it would've been completely dark were it not for the rows of TVs playing different programs: a 1950s' sitcom, an alien sci-fi, a cheesy soap opera, a James Bond-esque action movie, a kids' program starring a talking, rhyming pelican, and another sci-fi that heavily resembles Star Wars. We gathered behind a drooling Beast Boy as he stared at the screen.

"Oh, man, Clash of the Planets?! This is a classic!" Beast Boy said, leaning in closer.

The screen turned to static, and Control Freak's face filled a majority of it.

"Hello!" Control Freak cried. Beast Boy shrieked and jumped back. The wall filled with Control Freak's image. "Enjoying yourselves, Titans? You might as well sit back and watch, because there's no way you'll be able to stop me!"

"It's only a matter of time before we find out where you are, and once we do, you're in big trouble!" Robin said.

"You already know where I am!" Control Freak said. He leaped across the screens and appeared in the sitcom background. "Here I am!" Control Freak scurried across each of the TV screens, changing all the backgrounds into static. "Try and catch me if you can!"

His face disappeared, surrounding us in static.

"He's somewhere in here. Find him!" Robin said.

"Uh... I don't know about that." Cyborg said, checking his scanners. "He's not in the building, he's in the TVs. He's inside the shows!"

Collectively, my friends turned to me.

"Oh, I get it. Very funny, guys." I said with my hands on my hips. "At least I can tell you how he did it."

I led my friends to the back room. A large spotlight shined on a giant replica of Control Freak's remote.

"Whoa." Cyborg said, checking his scanners. "This thing's big and bad enough to break half the laws of physics."

"Can you try and pull him back out?" Robin said, running his hand along the side of the remote.

"I think so."

"Hey... what does this do?" Beast Boy said, reaching for the big, flashing button at the top.

"Don't touch-!"

Beast Boy planted his hand on the button. There was a bright flash of light that engulfed us. The walls of TVs vanished.


The light subsided, and we stood in the center of a brightly lit stage. A large, cheering audience hooped and hollered in front of us.

"...that." Cyborg said.

"Helloooo, everybody! It's time for everyone's favorite time of the day- Quiz Monkey!" a man wearing a bright orange suit cried.

"What did you do?!" Robin said.

"Congratulations, guys. Now you know what it's really like to be inside a television show." I said.

"But, for you, would that mean you are inside a television program that is inside another television program?" Starfire said.

"Don't put my brain through that kind of torture!" Beast Boy cried, clutching his head.

"Welcome to my domain, Titans!" We turned and saw Control Freak sitting inside a car. He revved it up. "Now, how about a game of tag to kick things off? Sayonara!"

Control Freak slammed his foot on the gas, and the tires screeched and lurched the car forward. We jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit.

"Titans, after him!"

As we chased after him, the background changed similar to someone changing the channel, bringing us to a new station: first a new station, then an energy drink commercial, and finally that All About that Bass fishing show.

The scenery changed again, and I stood with my friends in the middle of a black and white swamp. A thick fog hung in the air.

Beast Boy paled. "We should get out of here. Now."

"Where are we?" Raven said.

Beast Boy pointed to a small wooden sign that read, "JONES LAKE" in faded white paint.

"I saw this movie before- It Came From Jones Lake." he said. "If we don't get out of here, the giant monster's going to come out and-!"

The goopy water nearby bubbled, and a giant fish monster emerged. He roared which, coupled with Beast Boy's and Starfire's screams, made my ears ring.

"Dudes, there's nothing to worry about." Cyborg said as the monster stepped behind him. "This thing's not real. This is all special effects."

"Maybe outside this world of televisions, but in here, it's as real as you and me." I said.

The monster grabbed Cyborg and threw him into the swamp.

"Don't worry about the monster. We need to find Control Freak." Robin said. "Everyone, split up!"

We jumped in six different directions, plunging into different parts of the channel guide. I landed in a bush. I shoved the pointy branches aside and untangled my hair and clothes out. As I stood, I watched a laser fly in front of my nose and hit a tree nearby, scorching a hole into the trunk. I turned and saw the Off-World Outlaw, a cowboy-like alien with green skin and glowing red eyes. He wore a dark blue shirt, black gloves, pants, hat, and cloak, and he held a laser pistol in one hand, the other tucked in his holster belt. He grinned, flicking the toothpick in his mouth with his teeth. He pulled out his other pistol and rapid fired. I ducked behind a tree, the smell of burning wood wafting in the air.

I pulled out my energy pistols and poked my head out, firing a few times before hiding again. I touched the hammers and my pistols wrapped around my hands, transforming into gauntlets. I waited for the pause in the shooting before running out. The lasers whizzed past me and landed behind my feet. I thrust my palms at him and launched double Iron Man lasers at him. One hit one of his pistols, causing it to fly out of his hand, and the other hit his chest. As he stumbled back, I ran toward him. I jumped in the air and punched him. My cybernetic fist connected with his cheek, and as he fell to the ground, he crackled like static and disappeared.

My surroundings changed, and I was now in a dojo. I looked around and saw my friends standing around me.

"Oh, man. I can't believe we just went up against the baddest of the bad guys in all of TV history!" Beast Boy said, stomping his feet excitedly. "I don't think my heart can take any more of this."

"We haven't even gotten to the best part, my grasshopper!" We turned and saw Control Freak dressed in a black samurai-like outfit with silver gauntlets. He struck a karate pose. "You have me. Now, come and get me."

He leaped into the air with a battle cry. One-by-one, he took out each of the Titans. As he approached me, I threw a punch. Control Freak grabbed my wrist and threw me over his shoulder. I landed on the ground alongside my friends.

"No longer will people like you do me wrong and push me around. Because of this world, I get to be whoever I want to be, and what I want to be is your nightmare!" Control Freak cackled and flew off using the bionic boots he wore.

"This is not good." Raven said.

"Hey, at least it can't get any worse, right?" Beast Boy said.

On cue, the dojo was replaced by a blank, gray area. "NEWS ALERT" appeared in bold letter in front of us, but they were backwards and reversed from our point of view. Past the words, I could see the newsroom from earlier.

"This just in." said the news reporter. "Because of the criminal Control Freak's interference, televisions all over the city have been producing harmful alpha waves that disrupt the neural pathways of anyone watching the broadcast."

In a flash, we were now on the set, standing next to the news reporter.

"I think things just got worse." Raven said.

We appeared on a talk show, startling the host so bad he flipped his chair back and fell to the ground.

"We must conduct a plan that will stop the Control Freak from changing the people's brains to mush." Starfire said.

"And how do we plan on doing that? The kid's invincible here. He knows everything about these TV shows here just like Ciela knows everything about this TV show!" Cyborg said.

"If only we also had someone who's watched a lot of television that could help us beat Control Freak at his own game." I said, grabbing Beast Boy and shoving him into the middle of the group.

"That's right!" Beast Boy said. "Come on, guys. It's time to fight nerd with geek!"


We crept through the dark hallway of the space battleship. Beast Boy signaled for us to stop while he poked his head down the hallway, checking to make sure the coast was clear. He turned to us and used a bunch of signals, none of which we understood, so we continued walking.

"How do you know if we're going the right way?" Robin said.

"We just passed the engine core, which is right below the detention level. All we gotta do is follow the main particle flux conduit to the galactic command center." Beast Boy said.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or afraid." Raven said.

"I bet if that came out of my mouth, you'd have no problem with believing me." I said.

Raven smirked. "I'd believe you... I'd just call you the weird one."

I rolled my eyes as we came to the command center. The door slid open, and we saw Control Freak standing over one of the characters, a forked lightsaber-like weapon in his hand.

"Titans, go!"

Control Freak laughed. "You cannot defeat me!" He leaped in the air and shoved his feet into Starfire's back. She swerved and crashed into Raven. Cyborg threw a punch. Control Freak swiped the lightsaber against an exhaust pipe, showering Cyborg in steam. I pounded the sides of my fists together, transforming my gauntlets to my energy sword. I swung, and Control Freak met with his weapon. The energy from his lightsaber created sparks that fell at our feet.

"You know, Control Freak, this episode makes me think that I actually have something in common with you." I said. "But there is one glaring difference."

"Oh? And what's that?" Control Freak said.

I smiled. "This won't end well for you." I shoved Control Freak back. "Beast Boy, now!"

Beast Boy grinned, stomped his foot to the ground, and rubbed his hands together above his head while he chanted out loud. Control Freak's eyes widened as lightning bolts flashed above him before striking him. The light subsided, and Control Freak was trapped inside a two-dimensional box.

"Impossible! How did you know the Ha-Jun Kang?!" Control Freak said, pounding his fists against the box.

"You're not the only one who knows a lot about TV." Beast Boy said with his arms folded.

Control Freak pouted. "It's not fair! I had omniscience! This was supposed to be my world!"

"You have that 'omniscience' until you start to change things. After that, anything can happen. It took me three seasons to really learn that." I said.

Starfire and Robin carried him away. Beast Boy and I high-fived.

"What does that even mean?!" Control Freak cried over our shoulders.

"What made you think you had anything in common with that weirdo?" Beast Boy said.

I shrugged. "I guess his intentions of being here. He came here to escape his reality. I did that at first. Maybe I'm doing that still."

"Although, I think it's safe to say that we've rather have you on the team than him."

I chuckled. "Imagine him running around dressed like me."

"Ew! Don't give me that picture!"

I laughed. "Too late! You're welcome!"