"The Fullmetal Titan"

By cdc100

Summary: Edward Elric is a new resident at Jump City. When the city is in danger, the Teen Titans must turn to the Fullmetal Alchemist for help.

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or Playstation.

Chapter Eight

"Settled In"

Soon, the boys had their belongings moved from their apartment in Jump City to their new room in Titans Tower. Deciding to take a break, Ed came out of the room, and took a seat on the sofa next to Cyborg. He stretched and yawned; the typical sign of exhaustion.

"You look beat, Ed," said Cyborg.

"Yeah. It's been a long day," the alchemist replied.

"What do you think we ought to do next?" asked Al.

"I don't think it's a good idea to do any work tonight, Al," said Ed. "We deserve to relax a little bit after that little event."

"As much as I might agree with him," said Raven, "I have something that the two of you might want to take a look at."

"Like what?" asked Ed.

"I'll be back. It's in my room."

She turned around, and went through the door at the rear of the living room, and proceeded to her room.

Cyborg quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" asked Ed, noticing the gesture.

"Raven never lets anybody look at her room, much less anything in it."

"So, we're in for a treat, is basically what you're saying?"

"Not necessarily," said Beast Boy. "Her room… is possibly the creepiest place on the planet."

"How do you know that?" asked Ed.

"We snuck in there once," said Cyborg. "Long story."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Ed, making a hand motion as if to say, "Bring it."

"All right," said Cyborg. "What happened was, we had a fight with Dr. Light, one of the other local villains around here. Raven kind of went into this trance after one of his attacks, and turned into this demon thing that tugged Light under her cloak; Scared the heck out of him. After that, Raven was acting kind of moody, and Beast Boy did something that upset her."

"Hey! Like I was supposed to know that offering her breakfast would tick her off!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Well, anyway, we went into her room to apologize to her, and…"

"Cyborg's literally 'knocked' the door over," chuckled Beast Boy.

Cyborg groaned.

"After that, we found this mirror on her dresser."

"Let me guess. It wasn't an ordinary mirror, was it?" asked Al.

"No," said Beast Boy. "It turned out to be a portal into her mind. We found different sides of Raven's personality, and a fragment of her father. We helped her defeat her father, and we made up."

"Do you guys have any idea how impossible something like that is in Amestris?" asked Ed. "Then again, I guess it's kind of impossible for someone to change into different animals, too. And yet, here you are."

"Doesn't make any sense, does it?" asked Beast Boy.

"Not a lot," said Ed, shrugging.

They heard the whoosh of the doors opening behind them. Raven came in holding a pile of books. Or, rather, she was levitating them.

"What are those?" asked Al.

"There were some books on alchemy that I found in the library at Azerath," said Raven.

"Really?" asked Ed. He was about to put his hand on one of the books, but then turned to look at her, waiting for her approval.

"Go ahead. Take a look," she said.

Ed immediately picked up the book and flipped to the first page. As he read the words, his eyes whizzed across the page.

"So, what do you think?" asked Cyborg. "Anything that looks familiar to you?"

Ed didn't respond.

"Uh… Ed?" asked Beast Boy.

Ed still didn't respond.

"He does that," said Al. "We both do. Whenever we read, we shut out whatever else is around us."

Raven grunted in acknowledgement.

"You'll have to teach me to do that," said Raven.

"It's one of those things that can't really be taught," said Al. "It just kind of came to us."

Ed still didn't say a word. He was too engrossed in the book that Raven had shown him.

Just then, the Titans heard the whoosh of the door behind them once again. In stepped Starfire and Robin.

"Hey, everybody," said Robin. "Are Ed and Al all settled in?"

"They finished a while ago," said Cyborg, not taking his eyes off Ed.

"What is happening?" asked Starfire, catching sight of Ed. "Is Edward not well?"

"No," said Raven. "He's fine. He's just kind of…"

Ed finally shut the book.

"That book describes Amestris in almost exact detail," he said. "Thanks for letting me see that, Raven."

He got up and walked over to the window, enjoying the view that the Titans had of the city.

"Hey, Ed," said Robin. "I had a question. I wasn't sure if I should ask it."

"Well, you've brought it up. You might as well get it out."

"Right. I was wondering. You said you tried to resurrect your mother, but that it didn't work. Why is that?"

Ed sighed.

"It's not exactly something you'll understand, but I'll explain it as best as I can."

He turned to them, walked back over to the sofa, and sat on it. He then pulled out a small one-inch-thick book from his coat pocket. He leafed through it, and found the page he was looking for.

"'Water: 35 liters, Carbon: 20 kilograms, Ammonia: 4 liters, Lime: 1.5 kilograms, Phosphorus: 800 grams, Salt: 250 grams, Saltpeter: 100 grams, Sulfur: 80 grams, Fluorine: 7.5, Iron: 5, Silicon: 3 grams, and trace amounts of fifteen other elements.'"

"What the heck is that?" asked Beast Boy.

"It's the total chemical makeup of the average adult human body," said Ed, "all the way down to the follicles of your eyelashes. When we tried to bring mom back, we put together all of the necessary elements needed for the body. But back then, we neglected the fact that a person needs more than just a body to live."

"It does?" asked Beast Boy.

"It needs a soul, Beast Boy," said Raven.

"Oh, right," said Beast Boy, chuckling nervously.

"We knew that it was forbidden long before we tried it," said Ed. "And yet, we tried it anyway. I guess one body and a leg is the price of trying the forbidden. And the price of my brother's soul is an arm."

"So, that's why you guys want the Philosopher's Stone?" asked Cyborg. "To bring back your mom?"

"No," said Ed.

"We've accepted the fact that our mom won't come back to us," said Al.

"Right now, I just want to get Al's body back," said Ed. "And we can't do that by ourselves."

"Don't forget about your arm and your leg, brother," said Al.

Ed tucked the book back into his pocket.

"Well, I'm going to hit the hay," he said. "You all have a good night."

"'Night, Ed," said Robin.

Ed waved at the gang, and shut the door behind him.

"He really seems to care about you, Al," said Robin.

"Yeah. All we have is each other. We have to depend on each other for survival."

"Hey, you've got us," said Cyborg, smiling. "If we can, we'll help you find the Philosopher's Stone."

"Honestly, I don't know if you can. We'll have to leave for Amestris someday, and our search would begin again. And I don't know if you guys would be able to come."

"That is true, Alphonse," said Starfire. "but until then, you can depend on us to help you!"

She threw her arms around Al again, making him giggle.

"Yeah. Thank you all for your kindness."

Beast Boy suddenly realized something, and smiled.

"Hey, Al…" he said.

"What is it?" asked their armored friend.

"Do you remember when Starfire offered you… food?"

He chuckled, and Al sounded panicked.

"Yeah," said Cyborg. "I was curious about that."

Al chuckled nervously.

"Oh, uh… you were, huh?" he chuckled again.

"Did you actually eat any of it?" asked Beast Boy, with an evil look.

Al stood from the seat.

"Uh… yes! I mean, no! I mean… oh, my gosh! Look at the time! Well, I guess I'd better be getting to bed!" he turned and ran out of the room, leaving Cyborg and Beast Boy rolling on the floor laughing.

"You two are so sadistic," said Robin.

Back in their room, Edward was looking at a picture that he kept tucked away in his coat. It was a picture of him and his brother, standing together with their mother, and a burnt out face in the upper left hand corner.

"Damn you, Hohenheim," he said. "Damn you."

It was then that he heard the sound of clanging metal outside his door. He tucked the picture back in his coat as Al walked into the room.

"What happened to you?" asked Ed.

"Long story," said Al, sounding relaxed.

He sat down on the bed on his side of the room. He noticed Ed's expression.

"What's wrong?" asked Al.

"Our dad. If he had stayed with us…"

Al's armor creaked.

"You really haven't forgiven him after all these years, have you?"

Ed walked back over to his bed.

"I think you know the answer to that, Al. I don't care what his reasons were. He shouldn't have walked out on us."

He closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him. When Al was sure that Ed was asleep, he spoke.

"Brother… I know how you feel…"

Back in the living room, Raven started to shake.

"What is it, Raven?" asked Cyborg.

"I just felt… something bad."

"Something evil?" asked Beast Boy.

"No… just something really negative. It's Edward."

"What about him?" asked Robin.

"His emotions… I feel them. It's like a mixture of a bunch of different emotions."

"Such as?" asked Starfire.

"Hatred… guilt… sadness… anger… He's reminiscing about someone who really hurt him once… I've never felt so much hatred in my life, even for my own father."

Robin turned and looked toward the door that led out of the living room. He then looked in the direction of Ed and Al's room. He was puzzled by those two boys.

A little less than a week had passed since Edward and Alphonse had been made members of the Titans. Nothing had happened in Jump City since the xenothium theft that posed any kind of danger. Even when it was a day when the Titans could take it easy, Ed and Al would stay in their room, much like Raven. During one such day, Robin happened to be passing by the boys' room. He had not seen much of them since they had been instated into the team. His curiosity getting the better of him, he knocked on the door of the brothers' shared room.

"Yes?" came the voice of Edward.

"Hey, it's me, Robin."

The door opened, revealing Ed's face.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"The others and I were wondering why you guys stay holed up in your room all the time. You're not confined to that particular spot, you know."

"We know," said Al.

"We've just been kind of busy. We're working on something."

"What is it?" asked Robin.

Ed gestured for him to come inside. He led Robin to the center of their room. On the floor was a large, elaborately-drawn transmutation circle. Latin and Greek words and letters covered the circle from rim to center.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Ed.

"It probably would be if I knew what it was," said Robin.

"It's the transmutation circle that we'll need to get home."

"You've spent all this time in your room working on that?" asked Robin.

"Yeah. I don't know if it will work or not, but we've got a long process of trial and error ahead of us, and we might as well start now."

Just then, Starfire floated into their room.

"Friend Edward, friend Alphonse. Why are you sitting all alone in your room?" she asked.

"We're trying to figure out a way to get back to our world."

"Portals can be made through the use of alchemy?" asked the alien.

"I believe so," said Ed. "You would not believe what we can accomplish using alchemy. When you learn to use it, mending a glove and a coat are just a parlor trick."

Robin scratched the back of his head.

"Well, we thought that maybe you'd like to join us for a movie night," said the masked hero.

"Movie?" asked Ed. "What is that?"

"It is a wondrous experience!" exclaimed the alien. "Images are projected on a screen in the front room, with audio that matches the movements that are displayed!"

"You don't say," said Al. "Is that what that screen is for?"

"Yeah. We wanted to just have a little bit of "Teen" time. What do you say?"

Ed and Al looked at each other.

"We have been working pretty hard, Ed," he said.

Ed smiled.

"We'd be happy to join you."

With that, the two set down their chalk and their books and followed their two new friends to the living room.

"So, do you guys do this kind of thing all the time?" asked Ed.

"Yeah. There are times when the city doesn't really need us, and we can just kick back," said Robin.

They entered the living room.

"Ah, Robin," said Beast Boy, in a voice of fake authority. "I see you have brought the two newest additions to the Couch Potato Crew. Please, take a seat."

Ed smirked, and Al giggled.

"Oh!" exclaimed Starfire. "We have no chair for friend Alphonse."

"No need," said Al, who proceeded to draw a transmutation circle. He tapped the circle once, and the floor began to shift upwards, forming a makeshift chair. An ugly one, but one that was clearly strong enough to support their hulking friend.

"Problem solved," he declared.

"Okay…" said Beast Boy in an ominous voice. "Fellow Couch Potatoes, prepare for your world to be rocked. 'What is the movie?' you might ask. Well, this movie is a war movie to end all war movies. It takes place during the final years of World War II, and revolves around the plot to assassinate the Russian Emperor, Rudolf Hittuler."

Cyborg fired a slingshot-like object in his arm at Beast Boy, knocking him backwards.

"He means that they're trying to kill the German Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler."

"Fuhrer?" asked Ed.

"Yeah. It's the German word for 'leader,' or 'guide,'" said Raven.

"It's also the title of the ruler of Amestris," said Al.

"Anyway," said Cyborg. "Bottom line, it's a great movie. Who feels like watching it?"

He hit the open/close button on the remote, and the movie began to play.

The whole movie sent chills down the hero's spines. When it was over, everyone was still at the edge of their seats.

"Dude!" yelled Beast Boy. "That… was… so… AWESOME!!!"

"Yeah!" agreed Cyborg. "I mean, we knew what was going to happen, but I still thought, 'Oh, please let this work!'"

"I agree, friend Cyborg. It was very exhilarating!"

"What did the off-worlders think of it?" asked Beast Boy.

"I thought it was pretty good," said Al. "But I was a lot more fascinated by how this large, thin screen is capable of this."

"The miracles of modern technology," said Cyborg. "The television is the new storybook."

"It also rots your brain," said Raven.

"Yeah, yeah," said Beast Boy. "TV rots your brain. Big furry deal."

"Case and point," said Raven, pointing at Beast Boy.

"That was actually pretty enjoyable," said Ed. "We should do this another night."

"Way ahead of you, Ed," said Cyborg. "We've got tomorrow night already booked."

"Sounds fun," said Ed.

Just as Ed and Al were about to leave for their bedroom, the alarm sounded.

"What is that?" asked Ed.

"It's our alarm. It lets us know when somebody is causing us trouble in the city."

He punched a few buttons on the terminal, and on the screen appeared a window that showed a giant brown green-eyed glob wreaking havoc on the streets, along with an orange, violet-eyed alien who looked a lot like Starfire.

"Plasmus and Blackfire are attacking," said Robin.

"Guess that means we should move it!" said Ed, sprinting out the door.

"Hey! Wait for us!" exclaimed Robin. He, Al, and the other Titans ran after Ed.

To Be Continued…