(A/N: In this chapter, our heroes will be getting a visitor and will form a reluctant alliance. This will also be the explanation of why the android felt the need to enter the body of an unwilling host. It'll also explain why the Highbreed sent it to Earth in the first place. It's going to be a long chapter! This is going to be a bitch.
But now, I think it's time for a little explaining of my own. I'm sure you guys have been itching to hear about the crazy theories I came up with that are the base for this crossover. I'll start with my theory about the Highbreed, my other one will be later. It won't be a full explanation of course since most of it will be explained in this.
In the episode "Vreedle, Vreedle" in "Alien Force" remember how there was a Highbreed bailiff in the courtroom of Judge Domstol? The genetic repair of the Highbreed DNA took place shortly before this and yet the Judge seems to be quite trusting of the bailiff. When Baz-L insults the Highbreed race and the bailiff gets angry, Judge Domstal has no reaction. Now, I suppose someone could say that outbursts in a courtroom are pretty common, but usually when that happens there's usually some kind of reaction from the Judge and usually more bailiffs show up and yet... nothing. My point is: don't you it's a little odd that Domstol wouldn't be hostile towards a Highbreed, but is to Kevin? And trusts a member of a species that tried to eradicate the entire universe just a few weeks prior at the very least?
All I'm saying is that it's entirely possible that at least some Highbreed didn't get involved in the universal genocide for one reason or another. The fact that the Judge doesn't have any reaction to the outburst indicates that he's probably been on Coda Coda for a while, possibly even years. I don't know about you guys, but if I was Judge Domstol I won't be so quick as to so easily trust any Highbreed, even if they had no involvement in the destruction of any race or planet.
Or it could be exactly what I've been thinking for a while now. The Highbreed were never the supremacist race we all believe them to be. Now, I hear what you guys are saying, I've heard it all before, so don't go there. What I mean is that if they were truly supremacists since the day they started believing in the philosophy of "the one true species", then wouldn't the Plumbers have stopped them before they had the chance to even start considering destroying anyone or anything?
Also, there's one more thing I'd like to point out here. If they had been inbreeding for thousands or possibly even millions of years, then they would've died out long before the events of "Alien Force". So, it leads me to think that the inbreeding epidemic was relatively recent. Recent enough to have affected the entire Highbreed race in such a way that they were down to their final generation.
It may not be much and largely circumstantial, but it's still something to go on and it is quite intriguing when you think about it. I understand if you don't think it's compelling or just rubbish, but like I said in the previous chapter, you just have to trust me. Some things will be cleared up in this chapter.
Just so you guys don't end up disappointed, Ben won't be transforming into many aliens in this chapter. The most he'll do will probably be two transformations at most. But everyone will start developing friendships with each other, which is something that I know you guys want to see.
One last thing before I forget; warning: mild racial slurs, some mentions of mental illness, physical and emotional illness, and a few more dark themes. I know this is a lot to take in, but I always feel like I have to say something. It will be continued in the next chapter too.)
V~X~O~X~V
After they finished looking through the containment quarter, the four of them decided to meet up with the others at the infirmary. It was just one floor above them, so it wouldn't be a very long walk.
Once there, they walked inside and found Cyborg and Kevin observing the monitors on his condition. While Beast Boy and Raven were looking at his unconscious form through a protective glass window.
"How is he?" Robin questioned as soon as they walked in.
"All the monitors and everything say he's fine," Kevin replied.
"All of his vitals are good, they all say there's nothing wrong with him," Cyborg added.
"People don't go unconscious because they're in good health, there's gotta be something wrong," he asserted. "Maybe it's something that the equipment can't pick up?"
"It's nothing physical or neurological," Raven spoke. "It's closer to something emotional."
This got everyone's attention. "What do you mean 'emotional'?" Ben asked, beginning to grow nervous and concerned.
"Think about it. There are two beings inhabiting the same body, there's bound to be some kind of conflict," she told them in an almost ominous manner.
Gwen went up to the glass and used her powers to check for herself. "She's right," she spoke, almost sounding terrified, "he's healthy physically, but his mind is fading."
"So, you mean he's going brain-dead?!" Beast Boy shrieked.
"Dead?!" Starfire panicked.
"The monitors would show if he was going brain-dead," Cyborg mentioned, reassuring them, but also confusing him in the process.
"No. It's more like he's losing touch with himself," Raven uttered.
"So, it's like a brainwashing thing?" Kevin questioned.
"No-" Gwen paused for a second, then asked, "You guys know what Stockholm Syndrome is right?"
"Yeah, it's where the victim begins to sympathize with their captor, especially when they believe their life is empty and meaningless," Ben answered. Almost everyone in the room looked at him with a surprised look, "What?"
"It's just that," his cousin started.
"You sound smart for once," her boyfriend finished.
"Back on topic, how could that thing-" Cyborg started before getting cut off.
"It's called Angelos," Kevin corrected rudely.
"How could Angelos possibly have any kind of influence over him?" he questioned.
"While we were fighting it, it was acting like an agent on a mission," Robin informed, which was what they already knew.
"Which is exactly how it was programmed," Ben stated.
Beast Boy then realized something, "Every time we had a conversation he would use words that a soldier would use."
"Beast Boy mentioned his troubled past mere hours earlier," Starfire informed.
All eyes were on him for information, "He once told me that he lost his entire family at just eight-years-old and almost died seven times that same year."
Gwen's eyes widened slightly in realization, "So, that's it!"
"What is it, Gwen?" her cousin questioned.
Before she could say anything, a warning sound came from the monitors and there were blinking red lights. Everyone quickly gathered around the screens to see what was happening.
"What's going on?" Ben asked, close to shouting.
"His stress levels are way off the charts. Most people can't survive this kind of stress for very long!" Cyborg yelled in a panic.
They went to the observation window to see his state. From where they stood, it looked like he was just lying on the bed, inconsistent with what the monitors were showing, but a closer look showed that he was squirming and possibly trembling.
Ben tried to open the door, but couldn't, "It's stuck!"
Kevin went over and shoved him away, "Outta the way, Tennyson!"
He knelt down and absorbed the metal in the doorknob. He shaped his finger into something reminiscent of a key and picked the lock with it. It took a little time, but he was eventually able to open it. They immediately went to his bedside as soon as it was.
They saw that his eyes were tightly shut and he was sweating profusely; the bed sheets were damp with his perspiration. He was trembling so much that you would think an earthquake was happening, or an aftershock at the very least. He was apparently still asleep because he was punching and kicking left and right, but never in a specific direction nor directed at a specific person.
"Dude, what's wrong with you?!" Beast Boy shouted after a fist punched the air near his head.
"He's still asleep. He doesn't know what's going on or what he's doing," Raven claimed, her eyes glowing white, indicating that she was using her powers.
"Then let's wake him up," Kevin submitted, absorbing the wall, obviously ready to do whatever it takes.
"I may not be a physician, however, I believe it to be a mistake should we wake him in his current state," Starfire advised.
"She's right," Gwen agreed. "Whatever's going on in his head, it's clearly getting him worked up and violent. If we wake him up, he'll still be partially asleep and may not be able to distinguish what's real and what's a dream."
"Meaning he could lash out at us thinking that we're whatever he's dreaming about," Robin inferred.
"Could you or Raven cast some kind of relaxation spell or something?" Ben asked her quickly.
"My spells would only put him into a deeper sleep, I'm not sure what could happen if I use them on him," she claimed.
"I'm going to try something." Raven's eyes glowed white and she knelt down at his bedside near his head. She gently placed her hands on his temples and closed her eyes.
Within seconds his limbs dropped flat onto the bed and he went back into a peaceful slumber. His eyelids also relaxed and his breathing was calm.
Cyborg went back to scan his vitals and the monitors, he let out a sigh in relief, "He's out of danger y'all! That was a close one."
"Too close for comfort," Ben placed a hand on his chest.
"What did you do?" Gwen asked, very intrigued.
"I went into his mind and told him to calm down," she answered.
"Incredible," she gasped. "Can you show me how to do that?" She nodded with a small smile.
A low yet loud growl suddenly echoed in the room, catching everyone off guard. It caused them to jump slightly in shock and look around for the source.
"What's that sound?" Ben asked.
"Sounds like either an Appoplexian or a Vulpimancer," Kevin commented, his armor now gone.
Beast Boy giggled in embarrassment, "Sorry, guys, haven't had breakfast yet."
As if on cue, Ben and Kevin's stomachs growl too in unison. Ben scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, I guess we're pretty hungry too."
"Come on, let's go have breakfast," Robin was about to walk out of the room, when Cyborg stopped him.
"Are you sure we should just, you know, leave?" he asked with clear uncertainty.
"I'm not entirely sure if it's a good idea myself," he admitted, "but we can't just drop everything because we're afraid something will happen."
"I guess you're right," he caved in. He smiled and looked at his wrist, "Besides, it's almost time for me to kick BB's butt in video games!"
"Say, you guys wouldn't happen to have any Sumo Slammers games would you?" Ben asked with a smile.
"Only every game ever made!" Beast Boy grinned enthusiastically.
"Then what are we waiting for?" All three of them eagerly ran out of the room.
Everyone else followed them soon afterwards. The last person to leave the room was Robin, who gave a long glance to their unconscious "guest" before he turned out the lights and left.
While breakfast was being made in the kitchen, everyone was doing their own thing. Cyborg, Ben, and Beast Boy were playing a Sumo Slammers game, Kevin kicked back on the couch and watched, and Gwen was with Raven in her room looking through some of her spellbooks and magical objects.
Breakfast was being made by Robin and Starfire. He was really only there to make sure that she didn't try to slip some Tamaranian ingredients into the food.
One of the sumo wrestler avatars pushed another, almost knocking him to the ground. "Ha!" Beast Boy guffawed, "Got you again!"
Cyborg gritted his teeth and grumbled, "Arrogant little grass stain!"
He stood up on the couch, "Say what you want but you…" his avatar did a foot sweep "...are…" he lifted him up by the belt "...beat!" he finished him off with a tsuri-dashi, or lift-out.
His victory was cut short by Ben, "Don't be celebrating so soon!"
His avatar did an Ipponzeoi, or a one-armed shoulder throw, then a Komatasukui, or an over thigh scooping body drop, to his and defeated him. He smiled confidently and crossed his arms as his new friend's jaw dropped and then started fuming.
"How?!" he shouted, clearly outraged. If he were any angrier, he would be ripping his hair out.
"Years of practice," he replied smugly, folding his arms behind his head.
"Can someone go get Raven and Gwen?" Robin asked. "Breakfast is ready."
"I'll get them," Beast Boy volunteered and got up from the sofa.
In Raven's bedroom, the two girls were looking through each other's respective spellbooks. Gwen was looking through the Book of Azar, while she was looking through her Grimoire.
"I have to admit some of these spells are pretty impressive," Raven told her.
"Your's are too," she replied.
"Who taught you how to use magic?" she asked.
"No one, I first used the Charms of Bezel, then I got a hold of an old enemy's spellbook and I've been using magic ever since," she explained.
"It took me a few years before I could use magic properly," she told her, smiling slightly.
"Well, I think it has something to do with being an Anodite," she responded. "An Anodite is an energy being with the power to manipulate mana."
"You said that mana is the source of all life energy," she remembered.
She nodded and started to look through the pages of her spellbook, which was still in her hands, "I can show you some of my favorite spells to use."
Before she could really show her anything, there was a knock at the door. Raven opened it and saw it was Beast Boy.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Breakfast is ready," he answered.
They closed their books and left the room. All three of them were hungry and ready for something to eat. As was everyone else.
Once everyone was in the kitchen, it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. They all got plates and filled them with as much food as they could carry. It was finally time to kick back a little and enjoy a well deserved breakfast.
This was unfortunately short-lived, however. Alarms started blaring throughout the Tower just minutes after they started to dig in.
"Oh, come on!" Beast Boy groaned after swallowing his tofu eggs.
"That alarm can't mean anything good," Kevin uttered.
"It doesn't," Robin corroborated sternly. "There's an intruder somewhere in the Tower."
"I'll take a look around," Ben stated.
He activated the Ultimatrix and searched through his playlist. He hit the face and the green light enveloped him. He transformed into a slim, black and blue furred alien with feline-like features.
"Fasttrack!" he exclaimed. He turned to his friends, "I'll alert you when I find something." He quickly took off leaving a blue and black trail behind him.
"While he's off doing that," Gwen started, "I can use my powers to sense if there are any additional lifeforms inside."
She used her levitation powers and crossed her legs, going into a meditative state. She concentrated her mana and the mana of everyone inside. It only took her a few seconds for her to find exactly what she was looking for.
She set herself on the floor and looked at everyone with a worried face, "We have a problem, our intruder is in the infirmary!"
Everyone's eyes went wide and they all immediately rushed to the infirmary. There was no time to waste.
Kevin took out his Plumber badge and contacted Ben through the built in communicator, "Ben! Meet us in the infirmary!"
"Copy that," he replied through his Ultimatrix.
By the time they got there, Fasttrack was already in the room. The lights were still off, but he appeared to be using his sharp arm blades to someone wearing some kind of armor.
The lights were turned on and they could see who he was fighting. He was fighting a muscular man with considerable height. The man wore black and gray body suit along with some basic armor, a utility belt, boots, gloves, and a mask. The mask was what stood out about him, it was black on the right side and orange on the left. It someone the Titans immediately recognized.
Robin gritted his teeth and spat, "Slade!"
"That's the guy that sent those robots?" Kevin asked.
Cyborg nodded, "He's one of the toughest guys we've ever fought."
He smirked and absorbed the metal in the medical equipment, "This is going to be fun."
Before he could get in on the action, however, Fasttrack was hurled at them and the momentum carried his body straight into Kevin's. The impact caused them to slam into the wall. Fasttrack turned back into Ben and Kevin groaned as he lost his armor.
Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire immediately went into battle. Gwen was about to join them, when she noticed Raven's eyes glowing and she appeared to be ruminating.
"What's wrong? Do you sense something?" she asked.
"Yes, but I'm not really sure what to make of it," she replied.
"What is it?" she asked again.
"Normally when we fight Slade, the typical emotions I sense coming from him are of someone who's calm and confident of themselves, that nothing can or will go wrong," she explained.
"What kind of emotions are feeling from him now?" she questioned, intrigued by what she was saying.
"I'm getting the feeling of someone who's worried, concerned. Not for themselves, but for someone else. It's almost in a fatherly way," she answered, her voice almost sounding a little crestfallen.
Her eyes widened when she heard this and she felt sympathy for the man who was supposedly quite dangerous. The only question on her mind was: who was he so concerned about? Surely it couldn't have been one of the Titans, could it?
Her questions were answered when she heard a distressed groan come from the bed the unwitting host of Angelos was sleeping in. She noticed that he would often block attacks that were accidentally directed at him. Hardly the behavior of a cold-hearted psychopath.
She used her powers to create a wall of mana that separated them. She knew of the risks and possible outcomes of her actions, but she decided to take a gamble anyway.
"Gwen! What are you doing?!" Kevin shouted.
"Wait! I don't think he's here to cause us any trouble!" she tried to reason with them.
"Yeah, right!" Beast Boy scoffed at the notion, "He's been trying to kill us for years!"
"She's right," Slade spoke, "I'm not here to fight you, Titans."
"A likely story," Cyborg hissed.
"He's telling the truth," Raven told them. "I can sense his sincerity."
"If you're not here to fight, then why are you here?" Ben questioned.
He turned towards the sleeping XL Terrestrial, "I'm here for him."
Everyone, with the exception of Gwen and Raven, was on the fence at his statement. Not really certain of what to make of the situation. In spite of how they felt, they had their powers and weapons ready to strike if needed just in case.
He reached down and nudged his shoulder in an attempt to wake him, but he did not. He tried it again, but he still slept. As a last effort, he gently caressed his cyan cheek and, miraculously, it woke him up.
His head was still spinning and it was difficult for him to make out the person that awakened him. All he could see was a black and orange blur.
He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times in an attempt to clear his vision. It didn't work the first time or the second time, but eventually he was able to make out the features of the vividly familiar mask. It was someone he immediately recognized.
He smiled weakly and grabbed onto his arm, "Slade…"
It was all he could muster before dizziness and tiredness took over once again. He was about to go back into another slumber, but Robin had a few questions to ask him first.
He went to the other side of the bed and tapped on his cheek to keep him awake, "Stay with us, I need to ask you something."
He groaned and muttered, "Go... ahead."
He showed him the piece of paper with the rough drawing he found in the containment quarter. "Tell me what this is," he demanded.
He looked at it and narrowed his eyes, "Too… sick." He pointed a shaky finger at the masked man next to him, "Ask him."
He showed the drawing to Slade and growled, "Talk!"
He looked at it, then at him and replied with a very amused voice, "Ah, so he triggered it after all."
He gritted his teeth, "You better start talking!"
"Before my demise at the hands of your old friend Terra and even before I took in you as my apprentice," Robin's eyes narrowed to the point of being as sharp as knives, he was unfazed by this and continued, "I gave him a device that would release a hallucinogen stored in a capsule inside the mask of my robotic replica. I told him he could trigger it whenever he wanted, but I never thought he would."
The entire time this was happening, he was nodding off to sleep and it was taking everything he could muster just to stay awake. He gave a weak glare to Slade when he implied his qualms. He barely seemed to notice though.
"He gave no... specifics, but I was... able to... figure it… out," he slurred.
He put the pieces together and came to his conclusion, "Hence the drawing, you felt guilty about it, didn't you?"
He gave no response, instead closing his large eyes and reopening them slowly. It was the closest he could do to a nod.
He seemed to understand this and went on in a reassuring manner, "I don't blame you for what happened to me." He gave a death glare to the man in front of him, "I do blame you though."
"I had nothing to do with it, you were the one who took the mask," he replied pointedly.
He had no way to respond to this because, truthfully, he was right. It was his fault for taking the mask in the first place. He should have known better and not let his borderline obsessive personality get the better of him. He would never admit this though, he would never admit it because he would be agreeing with a madman.
"Can I… sleep now?" he asked.
He broke out the state he was in, "Oh! Yeah, you can go back to sleep."
Even though he had been nodding off to sleep for a little while now, he didn't fall asleep right away. This was partially due to catching a glimpse of the Ultimatrix. His vision was still quite blurry, but he was able to make out the familiar symbol on its face.
He smiled shakily and weakly uttered, "Plumb...ers." After he said the single word, he fell back into a deep slumber.
What he said greatly confused everyone, save for the three who already knew what he was talking about and the one whom nobody could ever tell was intrigued or could care less. Though, in this case, he was more curious and intrigued by this if anything.
"'Plumbers?'" Beast Boy repeated. "Is there a problem with his toilet or something?"
"No," Gwen started, "what he's talking about is completely different from ordinary plumbers."
"The Plumbers are an intergalactic law enforcement agency," Ben informed. "The three of us are all deputized Plumbers."
"In fact, we're the only law enforcement in this entire quadrant of space," Kevin added with hints of smugness.
Gwen and Kevin showed them their badges, while Ben simply held up the Ultimatrix. All three symbols were identical.
Beast Boy looked at them with amazement, "Cool! How can I get one?"
Ben chuckled, "You'd have to go through Plumbers' Academy."
"Or get deputized out in the field by a Magister," Gwen added.
"In our case, we had to go through both because our training was incomplete," Kevin told them.
"Changing the subject, why are you really here, Slade?" Robin questioned harshly.
"Always so straightforward," he remarked with levity, then went right to the point, "I'm here to forge an alliance with you."
"You're joking, right?" Ben asked with clear uncertainty.
"No, he's serious. He really wants to help us," Raven spoke.
"How do we know we can trust you?!" Robin demanded.
"You're still alive, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically, his voice flat.
"He's completely sincere with the things he says," Raven pointed out.
"And XL does seem to trust him," Cyborg added.
"Not to mention if he's as strong as you say then he could be a valuable asset," Ben submitted.
After a few more assertions, a decision was finally made. It may end up becoming something they would regret later, but in this line of work you just have to take some risks.
Robin had the pleasure of informing him of the decision, "Alright, Slade, it's a deal, but one double-cross and you've got a date with a jail cell."
He glanced at the sleeping teenage villain beside him, then back at them and nodded, "Fine."
While this was going on, Gwen just couldn't help but notice something a little unusual about him. She noticed that his hands were noticeably pale compared to the rest of his body.
Kevin rudely cut in on their jaw when his stomach growled, "I don't know about you guys, but gonna go back to my breakfast."
"Ditto to that," Beast Boy agreed.
They were just about to leave the room, when Kevin noticed Ben messing with the Ultimatrix. He was tapping on the face and turning the dial numerous times.
"Hey, Tennyson, you coming?" he asked.
He snapped out of what he was trying to figure out, "Oh, yeah, I'm coming."
The three of them left, while everyone else stayed behind for a little longer. When they got back to the living room, they found it in a mess.
Food was scattered all over the floor and drinks were spilled. Broken pieces of ceramic from at least one plate were everywhere. When they looked over the couch, they saw a big mutated silkworm eating their food.
Beast Boy gripped his hair and shrieked, "Silkie!"
Kevin gritted his teeth and jumped over the sofa, absorbing the floor as soon as he landed. He morphed his hand into a mallet, "You're ground meat, worm."
He was about to just that when a purple, orangish-tan, and red blur swooped in and stopped him. The blur was actually Starfire, who picked up the mutant worm.
"Apologies, friends, I must have forgotten to feed him," she looked ashamed of herself.
Cyborg groaned when he saw his empty plate, "I guess that's what we get for leaving our food out when we have a pet worm that eats everything."
Gwen couldn't help but notice that her cousin was uncharacteristically quiet. As a kid it used to scare her when he was too quiet. She saw that he was messing around with the Ultimatrix again, he looked either really ticked off or confused about something.
"Ben, what's wrong?" she asked.
"I just can't figure out why it doesn't seem interested in his DNA," he answered.
"Maybe there's already a sample of his species in there," Kevin put his oar in.
'Maybe,' he thought with serious doubt.
"How many aliens do you have in there anyway?" Beast Boy asked, snapping him out of his state.
"Sixty-three unlocked aliens," he answered.
"What do you mean 'unlocked aliens'?" Robin asked.
"It actually has over a million DNA samples from across the galaxy, but I can only use sixty-three of them," he replied.
"Over a million aliens?!" Beast Boy shrieked. "Dude, that's crazy! How can you use them?"
"I'd only be able to use all the aliens if I have Master Control," he responded.
"How could you get something like that?" he asked again.
He shrugged, "I don't know. I've been asking Azmuth, the creator of the Ultimatrix, for years, but he keeps telling me to figure it out on my own or 'maybe for my eighteenth birthday'."
"Guys, we could use some help," Kevin chimed in, his hand morphed into a shovel and carrying shards of ceramic.
They cleaned up the mess Silkie made while they were in the infirmary. Let this be a lesson to pet owners to never just leave stuff lying around, otherwise it's one hell of a mess to clean up.
"Well, I guess we'll get started on another breakfast," Cyborg spoke after they finished cleaning.
"Actually," Ben started, "I was thinking that we should call an old friend of ours and ask him about the android." He went up to the computer and started typing, "Mind if I use your computer?"
"Go ahead," Robin replied.
He continued typing until he logged into a communications system. The system was apparently encrypted because he appeared to be having trouble with contacting someone.
He looked at his cousin, "Gwen?" She nodded.
He got up from the chair and she took his place. She started typing on it, then held up her Plumber badge and was able to gain access into it.
Just minutes later, she got up from the chair when she was able to successfully use the system. The screen was very staticy as it tried to get into contact with whomever they were contacting.
The static cleared and a red and orange Highbreed with yellow eyes appeared. "What sort of insignificant speck would dare be foolish enough to contact the Highbreed Council?" he demanded roughly.
Calmly, Ben lifted his arm and pulled down his sleeve. Gwen and Kevin were equally as calm as they raised their badges.
The Highbreed's eyes widened and he immediately apologized, "M-My apologies, Ben Tennyson. To what do we bestow the honor of you contacting us?"
"Tell the Highbreed Supreme that an old friend is calling and tell him it's urgent," he replied, his voice beginning to turn serious.
He vehemently nodded and left to do just that. It was almost amusing to see the drastic change in his behavior. From hostility to apprehension.
Soon, a seemingly average Highbreed with a green arm came into view. In the background two Highbreed stood behind him, the one that so 'kindly' greeted them and another with blue and green coloring.
Ben smiled when he saw him, "Reiny, it's been awhile."
"It has only been two weeks since we have last spoken," he reminded him dryly.
"It's just an expression," he explained. "Like a metaphor or a simile."
He seemed to understand and immediately got right to the point, "I have been hoping to hear from you for some time, Ben-Ben Tennyson. Tell me, have you found Angelos?"
He looked around the room nervously before he finally answered, "Uh, yes and no."
"Elaborate," his voice now low with dissatisfaction.
He turned to look at the Titans with a nervous smile, "Care to elaborate for him?"
"Unbelievable," Gwen had her hands on her hips.
Robin looked at his team and saw that most of his teammates were quite intimidated by the tall alien. He took a step forward, "I will."
"Who are you?" he questioned.
"I'm Robin," he introduced himself, then gestured to his friends, "and this is my team. We're the Teen Titans."
He eyed the young team and his eyes landed on Starfire, "You have a Tamaranian."
"Is that a problem?" he questioned aggressively.
"Not at all," he assured, "Tr- Tamaranians are quite powerful. They are a prime example of deceiving appearances." He then got back on topic and questioned, "Where is Angelos?"
He took a deep breath and explained, "When we got back to our city after a... long trip, a creature suddenly attacked us and we started fighting it all over town. Just when we thought we took it down, it attacked a bystander and…" he paused and swallowed his tension, "it went inside of his body."
Surprisingly, he doesn't look disgusted by his story, he appeared to be more worried than anything else, but it was hard to tell, "I see. Continue."
"We immediately took him back with us to our headquarters and put him in quarantine when he finally came out of a coma," he finished.
"What is his condition?" he asked.
"He's asleep right now and seems to be doing okay. According to Beast Boy, his condition goes up and down," he informed, gesturing to his friend.
He swallowed nervously and told him what he observed, "Just yesterday when I was giving him his breakfast, he was doing a bunch of exercises. Later when I gave him his dinner, he started to look sluggish."
"He's fighting back," he uttered.
"His body might be fighting back, but his mind isn't," Raven spoke. "I felt it. It has some kind of influence over him and I think has to do with that he can sympathize with it."
"I felt it too," Gwen backed up her claim. "He's allowing it to influence him. He's not fighting it, he might be embracing it."
"That is a problem," he stated.
"Perhaps he doesn't want any help," Slade chimed in. "After all, it's a lot harder to save someone who doesn't want to be saved, isn't it?"
"What I still can't figure out is how it could possibly go inside of him or influence him at all?" Cyborg questioned.
For several seconds, he said nothing until he decided to reveal a shocking revelation. It was quite the bombshell and very unbelievable yet also believable all at once.
"To answer your first question, it is because of one of my bioengineers," he answered, his tone slightly ominous.
"I know this might be something that I'll regret asking, but… what happened?" Kevin asked, slightly hesitant.
"One of my bioengineers who had a hand in the design and creation of Angelos confided in me that DNA and tissue samples taken from a Xenocite leftover from the war were used as the basis of its genetic material," he explained. "It wasn't until after Angelos was sent to Earth that I was informed of this."
"If it has Xenocite DNA then it all makes sense," Gwen stated.
"It does?" Beast Boy asked, very confused.
She nodded and explained, "Xenocites instinctively attach to a host's body and rewrite their DNA to turn them into DNAliens. Since it forced him to swallow it, that could mean it was having trouble attaching to him and entered his body in a panic. Its ability to absorb matter could have something to do with his illness."
"She is correct," he agreed with her claims. "Angelos was created with the abilities of an Osmosian in mind. They have the ability to absorb matter, energy, and power among other abilities as well. It would not surprise me if it is indeed what ails him."
"That must be how it was able to defeat us so easily," Cyborg stated, his eyes widening.
Then, something hit Ben like a brick wall and he immediately turned to Reinrassig, "Wait a minute, I thought all the DNAliens were either turned back into humans or destroyed during the war!"
"They were," he confirmed, which relieved several people, that is until he continued, "...only on Earth and several of the worlds that were invaded. We kept the rest to use in experiments."
"Experiments?!" he exclaimed, along with many others.
"Why would you ever keep them?! I thought you considered them to be 'half-breed vermin'?!" Kevin shouted.
"Rest assured, we did not keep them with the intent to use them in the invasion of other worlds," he reassured. "We kept them to rewrite their DNA in order to change their behavior."
They all looked at him absolutely dumbstruck. Sure, they believed him when he claimed that they wouldn't be used in terrorism, sort of, but it was still difficult to comprehend.
He noticed their expressions and explained, "You see, long ago Frieden, the Highbreed Supreme of the time, decided to create a race of protectors in order to protect the solar system in which they resided. Eventually, inhabitants of other planets heard of this and requested protectors for their home worlds as well. Due to the high demand for them, they were given the ability to reproduce along with an artificial planet to reside on. He called them the Locrix."
"The Locrix?!" the Titans all exclaimed in unison.
"Guys, what's wrong?" Ben questioned.
"We were told that the Locrix were a malevolent, genocidal race," Robin informed.
"You are partially correct. Centuries ago, they rebelled against us and began to attack the people they were supposed to protect," he confirmed his claim. "We believed it to be due to the Locrix becoming too intelligent and they were immediately shut down."
"But they weren't shut down, we fought them," he avowed.
"I see. One year ago there was a breech in the system that kept them out of commission. The Plumbers in that quadrant checked it out, but found nothing," he stated.
Now, this was something that was a real head-scratcher for everyone. The Titans had fought the Locrix and saw them get put out of commission. Ben and his team had been around the Plumbers their entire lives and wondered why they never heard of this.
"However," he continued, "there were some who refused to believe their claims. They decided to send two Locrix to each planet where there had been a Locrix protector. When the Highbreed Supreme before me got word that none of them came back, he used it as an excuse to declare war against the entire Universe."
"This is all very interesting," Slade interjected, "but what does this have to do with the android? More importantly, what message could it possibly be protecting that's so important?"
He sent him a look that could only be paralleled to a glare. He was silent for a second, before he finally explained his reasons, "While searching through the records of the Highbreed Counsel, I stumbled across an account of an investigation into the malfunction of the Locrix. Most of it was destroyed, however, I was able to decipher a key piece of evidence that proves the Locrix did not attack the innocent due to a glitch in their DNA, they were tampered with. Once I learned of this," he looked at Ben, "I requested Angelos to be created to send this information to you, Ben-Ben Tennyson. It was given strict orders to find you at all costs." He looked at the Titans, "When it landed in your city by mistake, it must have panicked and went on a rampage."
"So, XL Terrestrial really is just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Robin uttered, mostly to himself.
There had always been a small glimmer of doubt in his mind about whether or not the fact that a potentially dangerous villain just happened to be in the same area where they were during that time. This seems to prove that he's really just an innocent victim in all this.
"Bring this XL Terrestrial to me," he instructed. "I wish to see his condition for myself."
V~X~O~X~V
(A/N: Yup! Once again, I was right! This was a bitch to write and to finish. This is the longest chapter I've ever written.
The other theory will be in the next chapter and hopefully it won't be as long as this one. I really don't care if you don't think it's a good enough theory to go off of. Last I checked, you're not the one who's writing this, I am. If you guys think it's intriguing, you're more than welcome to add on to it.
I recently put up a poll in my profile if you didn't know, you can check it out if you want. Anyway, I'm really busy with other stuff right now, so I'm gonna wrap this up.)