Disclaimer:
I, Syraxes, do not own the Young Justice Animated Series, the Young Justice video game, the tie-in comics, the original comic series that shares its name, or the new comic series that also shares its name. They are the property of Time Warner, Warner Brothers Studio's, and DC Comics. I am simply a humble fan, making this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release.
Jump City Port
February 18th, 00:21 PST
Kori was the first to land, though she could hear Match and Harper come in behind her. She heard Match set Artemis down, Kori's entire being was focused on one singular point. She had to find out what happened to John. She had the data he was using, and using it to find the warehouse would be child's play.
"Match, Beetle, fan out. See if you can find anyone else. Selene, you're with me."
Harper and Match took to the sky, and Artemis ran up next to her. Kori was pleased to see her bow out and ready. "Is that it?" Artemis nodded towards the darkened warehouse.
"Yes."
Kori took point, leading Artemis through the dark night. The special contact lenses John had given each one of them came with several features (access to the internet, a complete HUD system, internal communications) but none more effective right at that moment than the night vision. Other than the world tinged green, Kori could see just as easily as if it were day.
The door to the warehouse hung slightly open. "You'd think that this place would be locked."
Kori threw the door open. Inside was empty, except many crates stacked around. "All the lids have been ripped off," Artemis muttered.
Kori nodded grimly. "That was where the enemies waited for Red X to ambush him."
Finding evidence of a struggle wasn't hard. Crates were smashed, blood was one the ground, and some weapons remained. Kori picked up one of the knives off the ground, scanning it with her lenses. There were no fingerprints or any identification marks.
"He, Kori, I think I found something," Artemis called.
Kori discarded it and walked through the warehouse over to her. "What is it?"
"Take a look at this. An intact crate. Every other crate in here has been damaged, but this one is perfectly intact."
"Yes, that is quite odd." Kori ripped the lid of the crate off. It was full of white packing peanuts. On the top was a black phone. Kori picked it up, clicking the screen on. A map flickered to life, displaying the area they were at that moment, followed by a message: If you want Red X back, you will come to this location at noon. Bring the Beetle girl, and we will exchange him for her. Fail to do so and Red X will die."
As soon as the message disappeared, a new location on the map popped up. Kori resisted the urge to crush the phone.
Abandoned Cabin
February 18th, 09:21 PST
Francis watched the two aliens with a distrustful eye. That wasn't to say that he thought all aliens were bad, but at least one of them was a member of the Reach; the alien race that had attempted to conquer the Earth. If it wasn't for the control chip on his neck, Francis would have never worked with them. If Francis still had free will, he'd have roasted the bug alive by now.
Francis turned his attention away from the alien and towards the beetle on the other side of the room. He felt a certain kinship with the alien. While he wasn't subject to a control chip, he was just as much of a slave as Francis. He probably had the worst deal. Francis might not be able to disobey commands, but at least he was the one still in control of his own body. He moved it. He wasn't trapped in his head, watching as his body did unspeakable things.
Francis would have liked the chance to talk with the beetle, but his scarab was the one in control, not him. He didn't want to talk with the thing that made him the Reaches puppet, dancing and singing the right tune.
Francis winced when the boom-tube opened just behind him. The thing was loud enough on its own, but when it opened only a few feet from his ear... "What the hell?" He demanded.
Cheshire looked at him, and Francis had the feeling she was smirking at him behind her mask. "I'll be leaving you, Shiv and Ebon here. Aquamaria, Talon and I have business elsewhere."
His ex-girlfriend crossed her arms. "Business? What business. You didn't say anything about-"
"You are on a need to know basis," Cheshire interrupted her. "You are told what you need to know. In the boom-tube."
Maria glared at the assassin but fell in line. Francis knew from personal experience that she hated being told what to do, but with the control chip on her neck, she didn't have a choice. Talon entered the portal behind her, completely silent.
Cheshire waved at him before stepping into the tube. It closed with a bang.
"Well, now it's just us," the Reach Commanded spoke. "What do you humans do for fun? We have hours until the trade is supposed to be made."
Francis stared at the bug for a moment before turning away. He had been instructed to help him capture the beetle that was with the Titans, or else retreat if everything went sideways. Cheshire said nothing of making small talk with the creep.
The alien waited for a few more seconds, before shrugging when no one answered him.
"He's kind of a creep," Shiv said, throwing his arm over Francis' shoulders. "Think all aliens are creepy?"
Francis shrugged his shoulder off. "No more than you."
"Ah! That hurt." Shiv feigned pain, grabbing the spot where his heart was. "Why to cut deep. But I bet I can cut deeper."
Francis twitched his hand, flames licking his fingers. "Try it."
"Cheshire finds out about this she'll make your lives miserable," Ebon interrupted. Francis knew he was right and extinguished his flames. The last thing he needed was to have Cheshire on his ass.
"You're no fun, Ebon," Shiv complained.
Ebon snorted. "We're not here to have fun."
"I know. We're here to help out the two aliens." Shiv jabbed his thumb at the Reach beetle behind him. "Why are we doing that? Weren't they the ones who tried to take over the Earth?"
"Why are we doing anything these days?" Francis asked sarcastically. "Because Cheshire told us to and we have a control chip on our neck."
"Oh yeah. That's why," Shiva said happily. "Think we could convince the alien's to get the control chips off?"
"And lose our help? I doubt it," Francis muttered, glaring at Commander. "All they'd have to do is ask if we'd help if the chip is removed and we couldn't die. I know I wouldn't be here without the chip."
"I would. If they paid me," Shiv told them greedily.
"They're aliens," Francis said, turning to look at Shiv like he was an idiot. "Why would they have human money?"
Shiv shrugged. "Lots of reasons, I guess. To get people to help them. To bride people."
Francis sighed and turned away. Shiv was right and he just didn't want to admit it. Instead, he looked at the masked hero they had tired up, his arms tied firmly away from his body. Francis wondered what the face under the mask looked like. Cheshire wouldn't let them take it off, something about her employer making sure the mask stayed on.
Oh what Francis wouldn't give to find out who slapped a control chip on his neck and forced him into this situation. He'd roast them alive. Not very heroic of him.
"Hey kid," the masked hero called. Francis looked back, seeing Shiv in deep conversation with Ebon. Both the aliens were at the far side of the room. Francis looked back at the hero. He didn't have standing orders not to talk to the hero. Just not to let him out or help him.
Francis crossed his arms and met the heroes' eyes. Or he thought he might be looking into the heroes' eyes. The mask made it hard to see. "What's up, hero?"
"I can see the control chip on your neck. I take it you're not here by choice."
Francis snorted. "No shit."
"I also take it you can't help me. That's fine. How about you just listen to me. I might be able to help you out when my friends get here."
Francis narrowed his eyes. The guys was tied up, kidnapped by Francis and his team. What could he do? "Well, I'm listening."
Jump City Outskirts
February 18th, 12:21 PST
Harper took a deep breath. She was walking into this to help John, she knew that, but if anything went wrong, it was her freedom at stake. If the Reach got her, they could put her scarab back on mode and then she'd be a slave, trapped in her own body. The Reach wouldn't have a vested interest in her team. Just her.
If they got her on mode and made her just as much as a slave, what would she be forced to do? They could make her attack her brother. Kill him. Attack her friends back in Happy Harbor. The friends she made at Murakami. Her teammates.
Harper felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Kori smiling at her. "It does no good to worry now. Worry will only cloud your mind. You should try and clear your head."
That was easy for her to say. Kori wasn't the one at risky of becoming a slave in her own body. But Harper nodded anyway, taking a deep breath. Kori was the warrior princess. She came from a warrior planet. Harper supposed she'd know a thing or two about preparing for battle.
"Kori's right," Match called, floating down next to her. Harper blushed when he put his hand on her shoulder, the smirk she was getting used to appearing on his face. "Everything will be fine. We'll go in, get John out, and make sure whoever decided to kidnap him knows who the Teen Titans are. And what happens when you take one of us."
Harper smiled at him. "Yeah, you're right."
"He was bound to be right about something," Artemis called from across the plane.
"That hurts, babe!"
Beeping began from the control room and the plane slowly began to descend. Kori nodded at Match. "Are you ready?"
Match gave her a thumbs up. "You know it."
He flew across the room, grabbed Artemis and flew out at the hanger when the door opened. Harper watched them leave and wondered if they'd be able to get John out before everything hit the fan.
When the plane landed, Kori looked at her. "Are you ready?"
Harper nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."
The scarab's armor extended, covering her body. She followed Starfire out of the plane and came up to an old log cabin. A literally log cabin. It was the first time Harper had ever seen one in real life. The large lake behind it reminded her of her mother's family's old summer house.
The door to the cabin opened and the second alien she had ever seen in person walked out. Unlike Kori (who just looked like an orange woman), this one appeared more alien. He resembled the Reach Ambassador that he had been on TV a few years ago.
Behind the alien, the Reach warrior she had fought at the mall came out. With him were two boys followed by the warrior, ski masks covering their faces.
"Ah. You must be Starfire," the Reach alien began. "I am Commander, the leader of this task force. You are of the Reach and will be returning with me."
He pointed his finger out at her. Harper glared at him, though the gesture was probably lost, given her face was hidden behind the faceplate.
"Where is Red X?" Kori asked.
Commander waved his arm back at the back. "He is being watched by one of my associates inside. Once the girl is with me, we shall leave and you may recover your teammate."
Harper smiled. Kori's lenses were steaming a feed to Match and Artemis. Now they knew exactly where they were.
As if to emphasize her point, the loud bang! echoed through the back of the cabin.
When the two masked boys turned around, the armor on Harper's arm constructed itself into the staple gun. She aimed it at Commander, hoping to pin him into place, but the other Scarab jumped in front of him, constructing a sword to hit her stable out of the way.
Artemis - Selene
Artemis watched the stream play through her lenses, watching as Kori and Harper confronted the Reach aliens, and perhaps more surprisingly. two masked humans. "I can't believe it," she hissed.
Match, who was standing on her other side, looked over at her. "Can't believe what?"
"Those two! The Reach tried to invade and conquer the Earth! Now they're working for them? Talk about betraying the human race"
Match shrugged. "That is not good. What do you think? Money? Power?... Women?"
He finished off the last word with a smirk. Artemis rolled her eyes. "All of the above? " She couldn't believe that they'd work for the Reach. The alien empire that would have made slaves of them. Did money or power mean that much to them?
When Kori asked about John, Artemis found what she was waiting for. Confirmation about where he was being kept. She turned to look at Match, who nodded. "How are you on the quiet front?" She asked.
"Do you mean can I not cause a commotion? You know it, babe." That flirtatious smirk followed. Artemis couldn't help but return it.
She drew an arrow from her quiver, loading it into the bow. Pointing it down, she sprinted to the back door of the cabin, going to check if it was open. Right at that moment, however, the curtain in the window opened, revealing a third ski-masked wearing person.
Artemis cursed her luck when the boy raised his arms, a fireball raging to life. He just had to be a meta. She quickly turned the arrow on him and forced the force of the explosion when it went off, knocking fire boy away from the window.
"What happened to stealth?" Match demanded, dropping down next to her.
Artemis shrugged. "The guy in there saw me. He was going to attack."
Match just snorted, but Artemis didn't stay to hear his follow up. She ran into the room and found John tied to the wall. His hands were forced open, palms against the wall so he couldn't hold anything. "Don't worry, Red. We're here to get you-"
Match landed right in front of her, the fireball meant for her slamming harmlessly against his chest. The masked boy conjured more fire and shot a stream of it at him. Match, being a Kryptonian, flew through it and slammed fire boy through the wall.
Before Artemis could begin untying him, the two boys from early kicked the door in. A glowing purple aura coated the arm of the first one and he ran towards her with a cackle. Artemis leaned down and swiped his legs out from under his feet, the boy fell to the ground with a crack! She raised her boat and kicked him in the face as hard as she could.
From the floor right by the now unconscious boy, a swirling portal of darkness opened and a hand reached out for her. Artemis jumped back and struck it with her bow, causing it to pull back.
Kori - Starfire
When she watched the recording of the battle with the scarab warrior in the mall, she had been under the impression that while it was indeed a skilled warrior, it simply couldn't hold up to the Warlords of Okaara. The hell that she went through under their watchful eyes as she was being groomed to rule Tamaran. Before Komand'r forced her way onto the throne.
Getting the chance to fight a Reach scarab in person, she had only one conclusion; Kori had been wrong. The warrior before her might be merely a puppet to the Artificial Intelligence on his back, but that didn't mean she owed him anything other than pure respect. The beetle warrior fought like a demon. Had the Warlords of Okaara been able to see him, even they would have been impressed.
Kori raised her hand to block the blade, making sure it cut onto the piece of metal on her arm. That it didn't touch her skin. She raised her foot and kicked the beetle, sending it flying, but the armor constructed a jet pack. Harper came up from its left side, slashing at it with her own blade, but the warrior countered, blocking her blade with its own.
Starfire shot into the air, attempting to meet the beetle in combat while it was fighting Harper. Perhaps not the most honorable thing to do, but with John's life on the line, Kori didn't care if she fought fair. Before she could reach the two, the beetle warrior swung Harper around, hurling her towards Kori.
She dodged out of the way as Harper came streaming past. Kori charged up a starbolt and hurled it at the warrior, watching as it hit his armor. She fired another way, though he was more prepared this time and used his sword to cut into it.
Kori charged another starbolt, but this time she didn't release it. The green aura surrounded her fist and when she was close enough to the Reach warrior, she slammed the bolt into his chest. He screamed, but unlike so many other warriors, he didn't falter.
The armor on his arm was constructed into a plasma cannon (she had seen Harper's armor do it enough times) and he shot her point-blank. It felt like plasma scorching her bare skin. A human never would have survived the attack, and she was very grateful for her people's biology at that moment.
Match - Match
The fire that licked against his skin felt little more than a tickle. It didn't cause him any mild discomfort, much less actual pain. Match raised his arm and slammed it into the fire boy's chest, watching as he was hurled back into the forest.
That probably wasn't enough of an attack to take him out, but the goal was to get John to safety, not win this battle, so Match turned around and flew back to the cabin. When he saw a dark hand coming out of a swirling vortex of darkness, it took him by surprise. Match focused his eyes on the arm, feeling heat swell up right behind them. His heat vision struck the arm, and the sound of a scream followed, which let him know that arm belonged to someone.
As the arm was pulled back into the darkness, the other boy in the ground recovered. Match focused him, the familiar sensation of heat starting from the back of his eyes, but Artemis beat him to it. She smashed her bow across his face and the bow went down again.
Match turned towards John, flying over to him. Ripping off the ropes that held him was child's play and he fell rubbing his arms. "Fire boy. Where is he?" John asked through the Red X mask, his voice distorted.
"Out in the forest," Match said, wondering why flame boy seemed too important to John. Before he was able to ask why his leader wanted to know, he ran through the now open door. Match flew after him, but a wall of darkness blocked the door and a fist came out, decking Match in the face. Judging by the yelp of pain from the darkness, that punch hurt him more than it did Match.
He shot another beam of heat vision into the darkness.
Harper - Beetle
As she recovered, Harper watched as Kori slammed into the ground next to her, the front of her uniform completely burnt away from the plasma. Chest fully exposed, she turned away from the alien princess, giving her the privacy she deserved.
She looked away just in time to see the beetle shooting towards her, it's blade out. Harper constructed her blade from the armor covering her arm and clashed with the falling beetle.
The impact of the other beetle pushed her further down into the ground, but she held. Harper told the other scarab to construct the sonic canon, and then she pointed it right at the beetle's face. Its faceplate peeled back, revealing the flesh and blood face underneath just for a moment before the warrior was shot back into the trees.
As he disappeared from her sight, Harper stopped to collect her breath, breathing deeply. "We must continue the attack, Harper Row. Allowing the other scarab time to recover is a tactical error."
"I know," she managed to get out. Taking one more breath, Harper shot out into the trees. It didn't take her long to find the beetle warrior, the ground recovering from her last attack. His faceplate reformed itself as he glared up at her. Harper met his glare and shot down towards him.
Harper pinned him, and she might have been able to hold him, but then what? He had a scarab like her, and she was learning from personal experience that those scarabs didn't give up. They were violent and very smart. It would get out of whatever trap she set and come attack again. She didn't know if she could knock out the person inside the suit, and if that'd even stop the scarab at all. The person inside was little more than a puppet.
Harper was detracted. Contemplating her next move, she couldn't react in time to the enemy scarab's attack. The tendrils shot out of his scarab and into hers. "If you cannot be captured, then I will destroy your scarab. It must not remain in human hands."
He wasn't kidding. Harper could feel his influence spreading through the tendrils, shooting up towards her scarab. The power to destroy it, and thus killing her. The intent, the power was forcing its way into her scarab...
But that connection was a two-way street. "Scarab."
"I know, Harper Row. We are not alone."
"No, we're not. We aren't puppets of the Reach. We're partners."
Harper could feel the scarab in agreement with her. For that moment, the two of them were completely in-sync. They would not end there. The two of them, working together, pushed the intruding scarab back. Back out of their armor, into the other scarab. Unlike them, it was a puppet. It was working by itself, manipulating its host's body while doing the Reaches bidding. How could it ever hope to stand up to them while they were acting as one?
Harper could feel it once the two had entered the enemy scarabs armor. They could feel the host's resent. The scarabs desperate attempt to overpower them and avoid destruction. But that wasn't what Harper wanted to do. Neither, it seemed, did her own scarab. It might just be because if they started fighting now, the other scarab would overpower them and they'd be finished, but for now, it was with her.
Instead of destroying it, Harper corrupted the Reach's influence on it. In a way she imagined was similar to what happened to Blue Beetle, she reached into the other scarab and reset it. Harper could feel the pain of the host as the process took its toll, but Harper knew the pain would be worth it.
The host below collapsed, and the enemy scarab deactivated. The two would only be out for a few minutes at best, but when they came to, everything for them would have changed.
John - Red X
Running through the forest, John tried to look in all directions at once. He had promised Francis, and he would do his best to keep his word. It wasn't the boy's fault that he had been kidnapped, a control chip slapped across his neck. If John could-
The fireball coming from his right distracted him. John jumped back and out of the way, barely moving in time. "So someone got you out? The bugs plan must not be going too hot."
John snorted, bringing out two short staff's. "You're going to have to do better than that," he told Francis.
Both of the other boy's arms erupted into fire. "You asked for it!"
That was what John was hoping for. If Francis came at him, it would give him the chance to take him out. Francis bolted towards him and John flung one of his staff halves towards the other boy's face. Francis dodged out of the way, but John didn't expect any less from someone trained personally by a Shadow. Even if Cheshire no longer worked for them.
John used his other staff to knock Francis' arm away from him, deciding that he'd rather not be burned if he could afford it.
He slammed the other staff part into the flame boy's stomach as hard as he could, wincing at the sound of bone snapping, but it had the desired effect. Francis doubled over, and John activated the electricity in his glove. Putting it on a low setting, he slammed it in the back of his neck. The control chip burned out in a moment.
Francis collapsed on the ground, gasping for air like a fish out of water. John leaned down by the kid, offering his hand. "Are you alright?"
Francis, face sweating, nodded and grabbed his hand. "T-thanks."
John pulled him up. "Are you okay if I leave you here for now? Your friends are still wearing their chips and I want to get them off if I can."
"Yeah. Go ahead."
Artemis - Selene
The boy who called himself Shiv looked at her and Match, sweat dripping down the side of his face. She couldn't blame him. Outnumbered and outgunned, he didn't have a chance.
So he turned around and ran. Artemis quickly drew an arrow and aimed it at him as he threw the door open, only to come face to face with Kori. She took one look at the boy and pushed him back into the room, landing on his ass.
"H-hey now," the boy called. "Let's not do anything I'll regret."
Artemis snorted. "I won't."
"Wait!" John yelled, running in behind Kori. Artemis turned to look at him, and she felt a sense of relief. When he had ran out, she was afraid he'd get himself a few broken bones, or worse getting himself caught. Which would have made the whole excursion pointless. "Starfire, Match, can you hold him?"
As soon as the words were out of his mask, the boy jumped to his feet and turned around. Looking at the window, he made a jump for it. Artemis released the arrow and blew him back in a small explosion. Match shot across the room and grabbed his arms, pinning them behind him. John sprinted across the room, slapping his hand against the boy's neck.
Harper - Beetle
When the other beetle woke up, Harper offered him a hand up. He took it and she pulled him up. Her body tensed and she waited to see what he was going to do.
"I... I can move my own body," the beetle scout muttered, staring at his hands. "I can't believe it. I forgot what it feels like to move my own body."
He turned to look at her, though Harper couldn't see his face under the faceplate. "I don't know how to thank you. You've... Given me my life back."
She raised her hands. "No thanks are necessary. If our situations were reversed, I hope that you would do the same. You're free now. The two of us could go capture the Reach agent-"
"No," the beetle said, cutting her off. "You have given me my freedom. I will never be able to repay you. But I cannot help you here."
"What? Why not?" She couldn't understand his reluctance. If it was here, trapped inside her head for years. she thought she'd be ready to take revenge. "You're not going back to the Reach, are you?"
If he was, she would have to stop him. She couldn't just let him go back to his captors. Help them to do what they did to him to someone else.
"I am. Beetle of Earth. You helped me. You saved me, but there are thousands of others. Beings who found a scarab, and was forced to turn against their world because of it. They're like me, trapped inside their skin. I... I can help them. Like you helped me."
"You want to go free the others?" She clarified. "It's not going to be easy. If they overpower you, they could destroy your scarab. They might even be able to put you back on mode-"
"I know the risks. But it's something I have to do."
Harper couldn't even imagine what it must be like to be under the influence of an on mode scarab. How would it affect her?
"Okay. Good luck."
The other beetle smiled. "Thank you, beetle of Earth. Now, I must go rescue Commander."
Author's Note:
Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the twelve chapter of Teen Titans: Rising.
Since the battle was going to focus on many different fights, I decided that a change in POV would be the character hero name in bold, signifying who's POV we were changing too. I couldn't exactly put a new timestamp on every POV change, which was for the most part what I have been doing up until now.
The contact lenses mentioned in this chapter are part of the Darkware we see in Young Justice: Outsiders. Let's just say that technology has been shared between the two groups.
Pa tr eon . com (slash) Syraxes