8 Months Later
One thing was for sure, the Freddie's Bar was not as packed as it had once been. Most of the residents had fled Boulder, Colorado the day She came to Denver but those who could not move away were stuck in a strange stalemate between the Army of Midnight and the Metas that were attempting to keep them contained.
Robin sat on the stool in his usual uniform, but it had since been upgraded with more armor and devices built into the chest plate and greaves. He even now had a mask that was connected to the whisper net so that he could communicate with the rest of squads functioning. Useful inventions thanks to a man named Tony Stark who had come over from the other side. At the moment though, it was recessed in the receptacle attached to the back of his neck waiting for his mental command.
Robin stared at the dirty glass of whiskey that sat in front of him. Every Friday he came into this bar to order one and there it sat while he thought. The TV blared up in the corner of the worlds' reaction to the terrors that were unfolding.
The young man glanced up at it as a pretty reporter reported the news from the day.
"Good evening, I'm Jane Lodel with ZNC news. Today, The United Nations held a joint announcement with The Justice League and the International Department of Meta-Human Affairs announcing that efforts have begun in recruiting metahumans to take on the rise of the Midnight Empress. This unidentified woman appeared six months ago with an army of insectoid robots and took over the majority of Denver, Colorado."
Robin hid the shutter as shaky cam footage appeared that showed a wild Raven, black dress clinging to her body, her wild waist long hair blowing in the breeze. Her eyes glowed a brilliant gold while energy blasts leveled streets and took out resistance. Just off to the side, he could make out the purple of Blackfire and pink of Jinx, the two bitches that were not far from his friend's side.
"We stand here today, " Superman said as the scene cut back to the meeting. "united to resist this new menace that is facing our planet. We may not be sure what we they are but I will not standby and let this planet I love fall to them."
The pretty journalist re-appeared, her spectacles perfectly balanced to show her blue eyes. "Will report more as soon as we know what the JLA have planned. Again, please remain away from Denver, Colorado or the surrounding cities."
'Yeah, not much I can do about that.' Robin scoffed to himself. The problem with Midnight taking Denver is that the weakening of the dimensions had allowed the Kaz-Kal to return. Those bugs had taken up residence in the nearby cities, and though some had fallen, others still stood. Boulder was one of those.
The door to the bar slammed open, and Cyborg stuck his head in.
"Got a swarm coming this way, Boss. You ready?"
Sighing and leaving his drink untouched, he stood and threw down an extra few dollars for the barman.
"Let's go put them back in their holes."
Robin strode out into the light as he mentally ordered his mask to activate. The pieces of metal snapped together until they covered the upper portion of his face. It took a quarter of a second for the augmented reality to kick in to show the location of his New Teen Titans.
Standing on his spider limbs behind as their support specialist, Gizmo had been instrumental in getting the Teen Titans combat ready. He had Cyborg had worked hard to come up with effective weapons that took down Kaz-Kal. Kyd Wykkyd stood silently beside Starfire waiting while Bumblebee was checking over her equipment one more time. Each one had a color and symbol assigned that appeared on all their augmented reality systems.
"Kaz-Kal swarm heading towards downtown Boulder, Robs," Gizmo said through the speaker in his headset. "looks like thirty or forty."
"Foraging attack," Wykkyd muttered under his breath.
"Usual attack pattern until we figure out what they are up to," Robin said mounting his armored motorcycle. "They've been adapting to us so they could be trying to lure us into a trap."
Cranking the pedal, his bike revved and speed off with Starfire and Kyd Wykkyd going airborne and Gizmo hitching a ride on Cyborg.
Once Denver had given up the fight against her, Raven had done something she had never thought possible. It took some guidance from Millineum, who appeared to be a very wise and ancient creature, and an immense amount of power but she had summoned from a reality a massive fortress of old that took up twelve blocks and displaced the abandoned buildings into his reality.
For two weeks, Raven was at the mercy of anyone who wanted her dead, laying on a comforter but Jinx had never left her side — feeding her, talking to her, and pleasing her whenever she felt like it. A deep part of her hated treating the girl like a slave, but she was long past carrying.
Now, with her fortress in place and Millenium's troops guarding it, she was in a position to move on to her next mission, freeing sovereign.
Raven had climbed to one of the higher towers that had been a guard post in some ancient war. The four human-sized cyber-insects stepped aside silently to allow her to pass. She could see much of the city, most of it dark while the remnants of humans that she had not bothered to pressed, lived on the outskirts. Kaz-Kal had made a home in the no-man's land, and she did not care. They were smart enough to stay away, and she still had Blackfire kill a swarm or two to make sure they knew their place.
'Peaceful,' the voice in her head said. Since the ripping of dimensions and giving herself completely to the energy in the archon ring, she could hear her Sovereign's voice much clearer. At times, she still went to the secret dimension he made her to talk and to listen to past stories.
"It is," she said out loud. The insect troopers did not even note the fact she was talking to herself.
'I'm sorry for the suffering you have gone through,' Jason continued. 'I sometimes struggle with making you be the one to do this.'
"I know, but it has to be done," she said. "You've seen the world through my eyes. Even know our enemy plans to bring destruction our way instead of working peacefully to bring you to hear and to end the suffering."
'Everyone fights what they fear.'
"Mistress."
Raven turned her head sharply to see the shadowy form of Jinx hiding quietly in the doorway. The Empress motioned with her head, and her little pinkette slave approached.
"What?"
"She's left the palace again."
Raven nodded. Last two months, Blackfire had been leaving when she thought nobody would notice. She had placed guard posts and listening towers around the area to try and monitor but Raven had not yet decided to pursue her actively. It could be anything from blowing off some steam by killing Kaz-Kal or using a man for her pleasure. If she was not actively trying to undermine the work, then she didn't care what she was doing.
"If anything new comes about her actions, let me know."
"I think it was a brilliant strategy when you made her service you," Jinx continued following her mistress down the stairs. "It reminded her of her place in the hierarchy."
"It would also anger her enough to make a mistake if she's planning something against us," Raven continued remembering the morning fondly in the throne room where Blackfire was given the order. The girl was not as energetic as Jinx, but she got the job done.
"You are not worried?"
"Not yet. Let us get some sleep. I think you have earned yourself some attention."
Jinx's eyes brightened excitedly at the prospect of being on the receiving end. She had been a good girl indeed.
The battle lasted for three long hours, and the Kaz-Kal were trying to lure them into a trap. The New Teen Titans had been a thorn in their side every time they tried to forage and would have done anything to take them down.
This time, it was an ambush of much larger creatures, stronger, and very agile. It seems they were either a new unit or they could evolve.
For being enemies only a year ago, The agents of the HIVE and Teen Titans had melded into their fighting team. Gizmo was dedicated to finding and saving Jinx which Robin could not fault him for. He, himself, wanted to rescue Raven though neither knew if it was possible. Bumblebee had moved Titans East out of Jump city in the first days of the Battle of Denver as the JLA chose to set up camp in the Titan's Tower to be closer to the fight. The time had changed and the position to summon Sovereign was coming to the United States.
Bumblee was here for revenge. The second day of battle, Titans East had been cornered between a flank of Midnight soldiers and the Kaz-Kal. Speedy and Más y Menos had been killed in the first wave while See-More who had joined them had been severely hurt. Aqualad had to find the news in Atlantis has Colorado was too far inland for him to be much good. He also had to return to Atlantis as Arthur had summoned him. Bumblee had made one clear, the one at fault was Blackfire who had led the assault and the one she would murder.
Kyd Wykkyd on the other hand never really explained why he was there though Gizmo said it was the same when he was part of the HIVE. If he had chosen to ally with a team, he was loyal until death, or it disbanded.
At the moment, the five were camped on the roof of one of the buildings, campfire glowing softly. They had built it under a lean too of metal, so the light was not readily seen. Gizmo had also become the chief of the team taking the cans and rations into some edible. They all sat around, strange bedfellows but a team.
"How's Garfield doing?" Starfire asked quietly.
"Not happy that JLA has him assigned to Star City. Because he's still recovering, they want him training the new metas that are coming forward."
Robin was glad his friend had lived, and for the most part, his old team was intact. Starfire snuggled in under his arm, and he held her close. So many times had Raven accused them of being a "will they won't they" that they never actually decided. Robin could see that Starfire cared deeply for him, but it was a bond that only war could create. That was probably why neither had made any romantic moves or consummated a physical relationship. The most was that they curled up under the same blanket so neither had to be alone.
"Any news on the three bitches?" Bumblee asked. "HQ moving on them yet?"
Her voice was hard, but Robin kept his even.
"No. They're still trying to come up with a way to either neutralize or inhibit some of the power the three have. They've repelled every attempt. We're just lucky they're content to stay in their fortress."
"Yeah, that was a big surprise when that thing appeared," Cyborg stepped in. "Every readying I got went off the scale."
The group fell silent, and Robin stood to stretch, signaling it was bedtime.
"We got an early morning team. Gotta find the rest of those nests and clear them out."
With that, Starfire stood with him, and they snuggled under the makeshift bed for the night.