The Invasion

The battlefield looked grim. Starfire was lying on the cold, dark, street blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were closed and her breathing labored. Robin was sprawled out on top of a destroyed pizzeria. His left arm was bent at an odd angle and his back had numerous stab wounds. Cyborg wasn't much better off, his left arm was torn off and his chest impaled on the sharp end of a Slade-Bot's sword. His normally glowing eye was dead and his breathing shallow. Raven was the only titan not near death. Her cape billowed as she ripped through the horde of Slade-Bots sieging the city. As her friends fell she gained even more strength through her emotions allowing them to take a bit more control for once. Although she knew this could be dangerous she knew allowing the Slade-Bots to win would be worse.

While fighting the bots she heard a weird noise coming from the back of the robot army. It got louder as it got closer and she could start to make out a giant Flying Fortress. Nearly as tall as her tower and as wide as the street she was flying above, it cast a shadow on the city below as it passed. She stared at it in shock and horror as she saw the Slade logo on the side of the vessel. Her eyes widened even more as she saw the cannons mounted on the airship turn to face her and begin firing. She dodged bullet after bullet from the metal monstrosity while attempting to destroy it with her dark magic. As she fought it however, the Slade-Bots to to the skies and swarmed her. She instinctually put up a magical shield to protect herself from the onslaught. It was useless however as it was broken almost as soon as it formed. Feeling hopeless, she unleashed a burst of power destroying many of the bots surrounding her and slowing down the rest. Her tactics failed once again however as she was stabbed through the stomach by a Slade-Bot sword and tumbled out of the sky. Landing in a pile of rubble, Raven attempted to get up to no avail. She then fell back as her vision started to leave her.

When she awoke, she was greeted by the sound of fighting and chaos. She looked around to see the members of Titans East fighting back the tide of robots. Bee was knocking bots out of the sky faster than they could take off. Aqua Lad was using the nearby bay to extinguish some of the nearby fires while asking the sea creatures for their aid. Mas and Menos were running around the group landing fatal blows to any Slade-Bot foolish to get in their way. And Jinx was using her sorcery to clear out giant swaths of robots. Raven almost smiled as Jinx landed next to her concerned. The rest of Raven's team had already been brought to the Tower's medical center and were undergoing treatment by their mechanical medic. Raven protested as Jinx helped her up and walked her to Mas and Menos for a fast transport. Once in the medical bay, Raven immediately felt weak and collapsed on a bed awaiting treatment for her injuries.

Meanwhile...

"Slow down dammit!" Beast Boy yelled at Alyssa as she raced him through the forest in ethereal cheetah form. Her cheetah changed into a lion as she approached a clearing. She then turned to face Beast Boy ready to fight.

"Aww, come on" Beast Boy whined, "can't I have a rest for once?"

"Not until you defeat me every time we spar." Alyssa teased with a smirk. Four weeks had passed since Slade's massive invasion on the city and the oblivious Beast Boy had almost completed his physical training with Alyssa. Inwardly he wished he could train with her forever. As he prepared to complete his final battle test, he wondered how his friends were doing and whether or not they missed him. He sadly smiled as he remembered Raven's rare smile, Starfire's cheerful personality, Cyborg's love for video games and, Robin's brotherly attitude.

"What's wrong Beast Boy?" Alyssa asked concerned.

"Ah, it's nothing, you ready for this." He said as he shook his head and shot her one of his signature smiles.

"More ready than you are!" Alyssa replied as she leapt at him claws unsheathed. Beast Boy stayed in place as she soared through the air choosing only to move as she landed. He the clawed at her hind legs damaging her as he took this opportunity to strike. As he charged at her wounded form, she changed into an insect and flew out of harms way. Expecting this, Beast Boy transformed into a falcon and flew up high in an attempt to locate her. Within a few seconds he had spotted her and began to charge talons extended. As he got within range, Alyssa changed into a gorilla and stomped Beast Boy into the ground. With her powerful paws pushing his head into the ground she began to change into a lion in an attempt to claw him. Beast Boy took this opportunity to summon an ethereal bear and free himself from her grasp. Not expecting this, Alyssa was slow in reacting as the ethereal bear brought its powerful claws down on top of her. She was crushed and cut badly as the bear continuously smashed her feline form into the ground. Becoming enraged, Alyssa transformed into her angel form, sprouting angel wings and becoming stronger/faster and more deadly. She flew high into the sky. Looking down she prepared to charge at Beast Boy and hit him while he was in ethereal form. Awed, Beast Boy stared at her beautiful form not quite sure what to do. She chose this moment to strike. Rapidly dive-bombing, her attack hit its mark. Beast Boy's ethereal began to dissolve as he was impaled through the shoulder. Becoming enraged himself, Beast Boy's form began to change, he grew to twice his height gaining three times the muscle and sprouting claws on his hands and feet. He also began to grow green fur as he slowly turned into the feared beast. This time however, he had an ethereal copy of his form encompassing his body. He suddenly engaged Alyssa, both powerhouses immediately locked into battle trading blows left and right. The fight went on for hours, the two seemingly evenly matched. Slowly but surely, Beast Boy got the upper hand and eventually smashed Alyssa into the ground knocking her unconscious.