A few levels down below the studio, Arny lay asleep in his chair with his arms folded and feet propped up on the creased shaped console. As he shifted in his sleep, his foot knocked an empty bottle over which rolled off the edge of the console. The sudden sound of glass shattering jolted him awake.
"Waah!" He quickly sat up. "Ah, just resting my eyes." His pressed a few buttons and pulled some levers before acknowledging the handheld camera that he'd left rolling for the viewers. "Oh... heh... it's just you guys." He awkwardly chuckled. "I didn't expect to get back with part twelve so soon." He stretched his arms before reaching over for the remote. "Let's go see how this unfolds." He aims the device at the camera and presses 'Play'.
THE DISPATCH
Part 12: Running The Gauntlet
(MSP) Audionautix - Deep Space
Beast Boy emerged into the school's lobby, he instantly noticed that something was different. One of the entrances doors now stood wide open, as if inviting him to go back outside. With his breath held, he moved towards it, coming to a full stop in the threshold. He couldn't see anything but could hear someone walking away just beyond the dense mist.
He fought the urge to go and check it out, he knew it was too risky... but this seemed to be the only way out. All the windows and emergency had exits greeted him to a thick layer of fog, which he didn't dared go in. The footsteps faded until they were no longer audible. Beast Boy took this moment to proceed forward and investigate. He'd only made a few yards before he spotted something. "Huh?" He rubbed his eyes, unsure if he was seeing things. Just as the main gates came into view, a mid-sized silhouette casting a pair of bright headlights could be seen.
A car was parked close by.
His pointed ears also picked up several noises coming from the vehicle. From what he could tell, the car's door was open and dinging, meaning the keys were still in the ignition. He quickly ran towards it, praying and hoping to find someone who could help him. Arriving at the vehicle he nearly doubled over at what he discovered.
It was the T-Car.
"Dude... no... it can't be?!" He almost couldn't believe it, but it was there in plain sight. "But... how?" He uttered to himself. He distinctly remembered leaving it parked near the main drag, so how did it get here? more importantly, who was driving? He scratched his head in thought, though he knew he'd never get a simple answer. Breathing out a sigh, he began to walk around the vehicle, examining it for any hidden clues. He found the driver's door half open, whoever was driving must have left in a hurry. Peering inside he found the interior light was on and the 'Door Open' warning light was flashing. Climbing into the drivers seat, he closed the door which made the dinging noise stop, only for a different noise to catch his attention.
'Beeeeeeep!'
Beast Boy paused, instantly recognizing the familiar sound.
"Cyborg!" He twisted his head back looking over the headrest. There, sitting motionless in the back seat was his robotic teammate. He still had his safety belt on along with his red eye which continued to blink on and off. "Oh thank god your still here!" Feeling a wave of relief wash over him, the green teen turned to spot something different outside. The road up ahead was unexpectedly a lot more clearer, while the other two streets were still shrouded with a wall of fog.
"Well, it looks like we're going this way Cy." Getting back into the habit of talking to his silent passenger, he took hold of the keys in the ignition and twisted them.
The sound of an engine filled the air as he slipped on his safety belt, pulling it across until it 'Clicked' in place. Placing one hand on the steering wheel, he reached down and released the handbrake. "I've gotta find a way back to the tower... I just hope this road stays in one piece." It was decided. Get back to the tower. That was his mission.
The T-car slowly pulled away from the curb, starting it's second journey into the thick mist. He drove along at a low speed, carefully navigating through the empty streets and watching out for any signs of danger. Each time he came to an intersection he'd see only one of the four routes would be clear enough to drive down. It almost felt as if the fog itself was alive, watching his every move, secretly leading him straight to... whatever is was that took over the city. Trying not to think about it that way, Beast Boy made a left turn onto a road that ran parallel to the local Central Park. He found it clearly hadn't been traveled in for a long time, the trees were all dead.
This was the same park that he the other Titans would often hangout in, especially when there wasn't any crime. He saw a group of evergreen trees that were planted around the parks main entrance. It was disturbing to see them all dead now. Reaching the end of the park the mist guided him away from the city center. He eventually drove passed Tito's junkyard, the only place to still be full of cars. Something odd he noticed: all of their mirrors were gone. Adding that to his ever growing list of unanswered questions, he was then directed left onto a narrow alley road, littered with discarded newspapers, cardboard boxes and all sorts of trash. The road bared right up a slight hill, a crossroad lay ahead. Just before he reached it, something came out from the right.
A dark colored car raced across the junction.
"Hey! was that...?! that looked like that strange car again!" Convinced he wasn't seeing things, Beast Boy floored the gas pedal. He twisted the steering wheel to the left, the T-Car skidded round the corner. "Hang on Cy! were going after... what the hell?" The road lead back onto a main street, but the car was already out of sight. "...where'd it go?" It was then he noticed the mist began a swirling motion, slowing acceding upward. It reached a point where he could now see the road layout more clearly, though it remained low enough to mask the sky. "What the hell is going on here?" Slowing down to a low speed again, he looked around but his target was nowhere to be seen.
"Have I finally lost it?" He openly questioned his sanity, glancing up at Cyborg in the review mirror. His frequent 'Beeping' severed as a reminder that he wouldn't get an answer. Sighing, he looked back at the road. "...just keep going Garfield, keep going." He muttered his real name, knowing the Tin Man wouldn't hear it. They drove down a number of streets for a good few miles, though this time he wasn't being guided by the fog. He'd now manged to find a familiar route that would lead in the direction of the tower. "OK, Ok now we're getting somewhere. Assuming there's a way outta this. Dude... this is starting to freak me out." He made another left turn onto a road with a steep in-climb, the top barley visible through the mist. Bracing himself, he slowly made his way up. The T-car's engine revved angrily as it climbed the hill, wanting desperately to reach the top. "C'mon baby, hold it together... you can make it." He encouraged in a manor similar to the robotic titan.
(MSP)
Finally they reached the top, slowing to a stop as another crossroad came into view. "Sweet, now we just have to..." He was silenced as the dark colored car appeared again from the left, rolling to a halt.
(MSP): Dark Ambient Background Music - Elise will take you and show no mercy
"There it is!" He gasped, preparing for a chase, but the car didn't move. "What's it doing? how come it just..." He was cut off again when four more identical cars arrived at the scene from the other streets, one at each junction. "There's MORE of them...?! what kind of a twisted... hell why am I even questioning this stuff?!" Staring back at the strange group of vehicles, they all remained stationary. Their blacked out windows shielded their drivers from view, with only their bright white headlights acting as their sight. Beast Boy gripped the wheel tightly, now starting to doubt that these cars were here for him to follow. They were waiting for him to make a move.
He looked a the road straight ahead. The four cars had left him a wide enough gap to get through. From then on, it was down to the 100,000 horsepower plasma turbine engine, and all the practice he'd gotten on the Gamestation 2. "Hold on Cy, it's gonna be a wild ride!" Beast Boy hollered. Slamming his foot down on the gas pedal. With tires squealing he peeled out into the street, driving between them. The numerous pairs of headlights all flared red and they began to take off after them. Driving up a small hill, two more black cars appeared on each side of the street... seemingly out of nowhere.
There were now seven cars pursuing them. The young shape-shifter had his foot full to the floor, yet the black cars were already filling up his review mirror. One of them charged forward, ramming the T-Car.
"Son of a-!" He fought for control as his rear end was shunted. "There's too many of 'em! I'm too exposed! I gotta get outta the city!" He searching desperately for an escape route, but all the side roads and alleyways were submerged by dark fog. As he joined a street that had a cable car track running through the center, he was broadsided from the left, forcing him onto the sidewalk. He yelped as he smashed through a newspaper stand and ricochet off a phone booth before rumbling back onto the road. His course had become limited to the main districts where he was out in the open. All he could do was try to out run his pursuers... which was proving to be no easy task. Realizing this he began frantically looking through the array of buttons on the dash, trying to locate one of the many weapons that Cyborg had installed. The was a lot of buttons in turn, but he soon caught sight of a labeled row of buttons that consisted of 'rockets', 'sonic cannon', 'hi-beams' and 'tire spikes'. He kept searching until he came across... 'smoke emitters'. That might be useful... he reached and, hoping the car's gadget would work... pressed the silver button.
It made a 'Blip' noise and he looked up at the review mirror to see a trail of white smoke pour out the back of the T-Car. He'd activated the smoke screen. This bought him some time as the cars briefly lost sight of him. He looked ahead to see a set off red headlights coming towards him from the other side of the tracks. With his breath held he steered the T-Car as far to the right as he could. The oncoming red headlights narrowly missing him before disappearing into the cloud of smoke behind him. Knowing fully well that the smoke would only slow them down, he scanned the buttons for another rear-firing weapon. That's when he caught sight of the 'oil slick' button. Stealing another glance up at the review mirror, he saw the smoke screen had ran out, the black cars now baring down on them. Licking his lips, he waited until they were but a few yards from his rear fender. With one hand on the wheel, he reached over and pressed the button.
The sound of screeching tires was heard from behind as the pursuing cars lost traction, spinning and sliding across the road like it were an ice rink. "Ha-ha! looks like you were right Cy! nothin' can stop the T-" Beast Boy's cheering was short lived, as he looked ahead to see another vehicle emerge through the mist. It was driving down the center of the district, along the cable tracks. As their distance shortened, Beast Boy saw it didn't have a pair of red lights, but a normal yet very bright singular headlight. It didn't seem to be aiming for him... instead, a bright blue lazer beam was fired from it, shooting passed the T-Car. The changeling looked back in astonishment. The lazer beam struck one of the black cars, it disintegrated into a puff of black smoke on impact. "Woah! what was that!" He whirled his head back at the rear window. Several bright flashes lit up the street as the strange car continued to blast the remaining black cars making them disappear.
The unexpected attack gave him the chance to escape, but just who had come to the rescue? was there someone else also trapped in this nightmarish hell of a city? and why did seeing that blue lazer beam seem so familiar? with his mind focused on the battle taking place behind him, he failed to see an object appearing in the road.
BASH!
He cursed, hitting the object head-on, it slipped beneath the T-Car and was being dragged against the tarmac. He raised himself up in the seat, trying to see what he'd hit. "OH CRAP!" The road ahead suddenly ended at a cliff and he had no time to hit the breaks. The T-Car launched off the edge, becoming airborne for a few seconds as it entered the thick mist... then it went into a nosedive. Beast Boy screamed in absolute terror, falling through the mist with no hope of stopping. The T-Car tumbled end over end over... and over... and over again! He braced himself for impact and prayed for his very soul.
SPLASH!
(MSP)
Water appeared around the T-car. "Oomph!" He groaned, holding his head, which ached due to hitting the roof. The T-Car had fortunately landed the right side up, and was now floating in some kind of lake. "Uuugh... now where am I?" He was surrounded by the total grayness from the fog, and couldn't see anything beyond the front of the car, which was already beginning to submerged under the water. "Oh shit..." Realizing that the car was starting to sink he quickly reached over and pressed a button labeled 'hover jets'. The cars wheels rotated inwards, sealing up the wheel hubs and replacing them with the jets. Beast Boy grinned as the front of the T-Car rose back above the water level, keeping it afloat. "Who knew the hover jets would work so well on water...?" he mumbled, then looked at Cyborg in the review mirror. "I guess you'd probably lecture me for sayin' that." Cyborg only 'Beeped.' in response.
(MSP) Audionautix - Deep Space
With the jets now activate, he cautiously piloted the T-Car through the blinding fog. There was no way of telling where he had to go, or could go for that matter. This continued for at least a mile, and was beginning to unnerve him, fearing that he would go over another cliff. Eventually, his eyes caught a glimpse something in the distance. Seeing this as a sign that he was near land, he surged towards it. As it slowly came into view, he was able to see the clear out line of a very tall building, taking on the unique shape of an alphabet letter. His eyes stared in absolute disbelief.
Titans Tower emerged from the fog.
"I'm... home?" He whispered. A few yards in front of him was in fact, Titans Island. "Then that means... I'm in the ocean?!" he gaped around, surprised to discover that the ocean still existed, though now it was abnormally calm. Feeling it best to get back on dry land, he steered the T-Car towards the slipway that lead to the garage. Reaching the slipway and making shore he deactivated the hover jets, he drove onto the island. "Wait a sec... that doesn't look right..." Beast Boy stared up at the letter-shaped building ahead of him. "Oh crud..." He couldn't even say it. The building had been locked-down. All the windows were covered by a thick wall of armored plating, the place had been sealed tight... it looked completely dead.
He followed the short path that lead to Cyborg's shrine to all things involving cars and machinery... the garage. Arriving at it's entrance, he was surprised to find the garage shutters had been left wide open. But how could this be? the lock-down should of closed off every known entrance to the tower. Deciding it was best not to question it he drove inside. Parking inside he switched the engine off and climbed out. It was then he first saw the amount of damage the T-Car had sustained from the chase. It was quite bad. If Cyborg had seen it in this state, he would have had systems crash and a heart attack all at once. The paint was littered with large dents and scratch marks, bearing the scars of battle. The left side-view mirror was cracked and bent. The front fender was crumpled with the remains of a police barricade wedged underneath it, while the rear fender was hanging off from the right. The tiers looked okay, but he knew they would only last so long. "Oh boy... I really hope you don't hold me responsible for this Cy." Beast Boy sighed nervously.
His gaze landed on the Tin Man sat in the back set, he now need to get him to his room, but he didn't even know if the tower was safe. Pondering his options, he decide to search the tower fist. "I'll only be few minutes Cy... just... don't get stolen." With that said he turned towards a pair of double doors and pushed them open.
(MSP)
The video transition cuts back to Arny taking a sip out of a Buzz Cola can. "That was part twelve, and just in time for the one year anniversary of this story." He placed the can on the console before picking up a built-in telephone. "And to celebrate, I'm just gonna make a quick phone call..." He dialed several numbers.
Somewhere at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a technician sitting at a computer received Arny's call. "Hello Oak ridge? this is Jump City Ghost Planet Industries. We need to order a T-437 Safety Command Console." The technician looked at his computer screen before responding.
"Err, Jump City my computer shows your T-437 Console is fully operational." Arny took hold of the Buzz Cola and casually started emptying it all over the console.
"Err, I suggest you- Oh, my God, OH, GOD, NO! OH, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING, THI-YOU'RE OPERATED WITHOUT A T-437, JUMP CITY! OH, SWEET MOTHER OF MERCY, I MEAN...I MEAN MY GOD!" As the technician panicked, Arny set the empty can down before giving the audience the 'OK' sign.
