Okay, so I'm happy with the results of last chapter. I mean, 13 reviews! Man, that is more for any chapter of any story I've ever written to date!
Let's see if we can break the record again this chapter! Let's see if we can bump that record up to 14 (Or 20, I mean, an author can dream, right?)! And get more people to favorite or follow this while we're at it!
Also, sorry to those who wanted to figure out where Raven and Beast Boy went. This chapter is to mainly address what happens to our Titans shortly after getting captured. It is very interesting though! And it does answer some previous questions, yet adds more to the plot! One of my favorite kind of chapters in other words!
Mailbox Time! (A long list to go through for the first time since Forgive Me)
TheBeastAndTheDemon139: Sorry, can't say whether or not those guesses are correct for now. And a few spelling errors, I'll have to look through it sometime to find those darn things. Hope you enjoy this chapter friend!
Latisha McPeanuts: Very clever indeed! Enjoy this for me!
Sparity101: That's what I thought when I wrote it! Hopefully you'll think the same for this chapter!
Lilfitz04: Great to hear from you again Wyatt! I'm glad to see you are reading this story! Enjoy the chapter!
Golem XIV: I don't really go into any detail there, but that's because I just couldn't think of anything gross enough to satisfy me. It might get mentioned in a later chapter when both sides meet again. *shrugs* As to the use of his brain, we shall see, hopefully Raven will be a good influence on him in the future. Thanks for saying it was a great chapter! I hope you can say the same for this one, even though BBxRae isn't really mentioned until the end.
Foamsatmouth: It took me three days to write out that conversation. And one day to plan that escape. I hate writing the freaking conversations since it takes so long! But in the end, its so worth it! Hope you enjoy this chapter good friend! And I enjoyed seeing Masterblaster Al in 'Accidents Can Happen'
DimitraMitsos: Good guesses, sorry you don't get to find out this chapter. You'll get to see next chapter. And you might be surprised by what you learn... Anyways, Enjoy!
RPGPersona: I guess that bag would be considered cheating for a post office. And yeah, the Beast, while intelligent, is still primal in nature. So he is mainly thinking about his mate... not sure I should delve in on what he wants to do with her. I don't know about the dried meat, it might accidentally show up (evil grin). Oh, and not really. Beast Boy did grab Raven's magic mirror afterall. He seems to have a natural curiosity for anything that is Raven's. Your guess is also good, not answered this chapter though. Really great idea with Beast Boy leaving something for them to chase! I used it for this chapter! That scene is actually used to start out the next chapter! And yes, I answered your biggest question at the end! Hope you enjoy the chapter good friend!
J-Rob95: Not a problem man. Although I haven't heard from you since I'm Sorry. *Sigh* I really need to get over my freaking writer's block for it soon! Anyways, I'm glad that you're also reading this story of mine! I can only hope that you're liking what I'm doing with it! Enjoy the chapter!
HornedGoddess: Yep, they got away! Great guesses, sorry I don't answer that this chapter! But I hope you enjoy it regardless!
JasonKFpunk: Woohoo! Another reader attracted to my story! Great guess man, but sorry, not answered this chapter at least. I'm glad I put in the Young Justice too! I had a binge watch on it and I just couldn't resist not putting them into this story. Sorry I blindsided you with Raven, but I just love the two to pieces... I might have an addiction problem to these two. But its a good addiction regardless. And don't worry, this chapter shows who the real villain in this might be. And here's the next one for you! Hope you enjoy!
Hairul The Nightrage Beast: Haha, yeah! Make them look like a bunch of idiots! And I totally agree with you man, he acts so stupid most of the time, that people forget he actually does have a brain. And yeah, the Brotherhood of Evil could easily testify to that! Hope you enjoy this chapter man!
Bluedog197: Dude, the description of your reaction to Wally's fate is priceless! One of these times, I'm just going to photocopy all the funny stuff you've said in your reviews and say it to people to see if they'll think I'm insane! I love it! And hey, don't you dare diss on Spitfire! That was actually one of the most heartbreaking moments I've ever seen! (Besides Spellbound, that is still #1 to me). I don't answer those first two questions, but that third question is answered this chapter. Those first two will be in the next chapter. And to end, I imagine you aren't the only one doing that. Some of you might even be rolling around on the floor instead of in a chair. Making their parents think their child has gone insane. Enjoy the chapter good friend!
Since last time: 3 more favorites, five more followers (a little slump in growth, but still growth nonetheless)
Updated: August 1, 2016 11:05 P.M.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, Young Justice, Justice League, or anyone else who might show up in this story. I just own the plot line.
Chapter Seven: Titans Turned
"Ughhhh, what happened? I feel like I got ran over by the T-Car… again. (Which probably brought back bad memories)" A very groggy Robin said to himself as he started to come to.
He felt a slight cool breeze on his face. For a second, he thought the fan in his room was on. He tried to bring his hand up to rub his face to relieve the headache he had forming.
Only, he found he couldn't move his hand.
Robin was briefly surprised by this, and for a moment he struggled to move his hand. Then he found that his arm wasn't moving either. In fact, he could barely even move his shoulder around, as it kept on hitting something. It was like something was holding it in place.
Robin risked opening his eyes, and the glare of the sun coming in through the windows almost blinded him. Everything around him was a blur for a moment. He couldn't tell where he was at all. Finally, after a couple of seconds, his eyes adjusted underneath the mask to see his surroundings.
He was in the Titans Common Room. And it was trashed. That was the short and simple truth.
Almost all the windows had been smashed. The shards from them laid on the ground in front of where they used to be, or down at the foot of the Tower far below. And of the windows that weren't smashed, they were very few, far in between,and filled with so many spider web crack formations as to make them almost entirely useless in blocking the ocean breeze coming in.
The couches that they had used to sit on to watch TV or some other activity were in pieces on the ground. The cushions were piles of stuffing in front of them. They weren't even recognizable as couches anymore. Most of the pieces were charred black and white from the explosive attacks unleashed in the room.
The DVD holder, Gamestation XL, game holder, basically the whole cabinet down beneath where the screen used to be was annihalated. Robin felt a few tears fall down his face as he saw all the High Scores he had ever achieved against Cyborg were forever destroyed. Mega Monkeys IV, Super Smash Racing, Zombieworld, all gone. It was the second most horrible thing he had ever seen. Then he continued to look around the destroyed room.
The Common Room looked like it had been poorly expanded. Many parts of the walls had been destroyed, showing the other rooms that had been nearby. Like Robin's evidence Room, his crime office, and the villain's trophy room. All of which were also trashed up.
The kitchen could only be described as a nightmare. With the fridge laying on its side, and it's blue moldy contents all over the floor (one of them was wiggling). All the cabinets that had held plates, bowls, utensils, and other stuff were destroyed. The granite counters were cracked and sunk into the cabinets beneath in some places. The only thing that seemed to have survived the attack in the kitchen at all was Cyborg's almost brand new automatic Waffle Matic machine.
Finally, Robin looked down at the reason why he couldn't move his arm. Or, as he figured out by this point, his entire body.
It was completely encased in a titanium part of the wall that had fallen into the room. He glanced to his other side, and saw the same thing had happened with his other arm. He was barely able to look down beyond that and find the same thing had happened to his legs. All four of his limbs, his torso, and his chest was stuck under at least a good six inches of solid titanium. The only part of his body that wasn't trapped was his head. So he could only move his head, unless breathing counted as movement.
For a second, he couldn't think why he was in this predicament. But then the memories of last night came rushing back into his head.
'Damn, I guess they did remember all my gloating about being able to escape from any trap back then afterall.' Robin thought to himself. And indeed, he truly was trapped.
He had a laser in the glove of his hand that could cut through ten inches of titanium, but if he couldn't move his hand it would be useless to turn it on since he couldn't move it without cutting through his hand. He also had a diamond tipped cutting device on the back of his belt that could cut through any holding material. But it was for freeing his hands. Freeing his behind would do nothing to help him in this scenario. In fact, just about every tool he had either in his belt, or on random parts of his body would be useless in trying to free himself.
'I wonder how they got me into this thing anyways? Did Connor bend all this titanium around me while I was unconscious? Or did M'gann learn how to density shift those around her into these kind of prisons?'
Robin took a look at the sun outside the window as he thought on it. He tried to judge its position in the sky. It looked to be about a quarter of the way up in the east. So… it was somewhere between 10 to 11 o'clock.
'Okay, so, the fight was about six to seven hours ago… I must have been knocked out and placed in here by M'gann when it was all over... but where the hell did they put everyone else… wait!'
"STARFIRE!" Robin screamed loudly for his girlfriend out of worry. He then listened to see if she had heard him and called back. When he heard nothing, he tried screaming her name again. And again. And again. Pausing for a few seconds after each time to listen to her response.
Finally, after the tenth time, when his throat was getting sore, Robin heard footsteps coming from his right where the Common Room doors would have been if he could see them. He couldn't tell who it was. But they sounded sort of familiar to him for some reason. But in a way, it wasn't registering in his mind.
Finally, the footsteps stopped on the outside of his field of vision. He tried to turn his head to see who it was, but couldn't move it far enough to see who it could be.
"Who are you!? And what the hell did you do to my team!?" Robin shouted at the mysterious person. He expected an immediate response, but the figure stayed silent for a moment. As if he/she was contemplating something.
"Well, answer me!" Robin shouted. And the figure stayed silent again.
Robin looked like a vein was about to break in his head and prepared to shout again when the figure finally moved into his vision. He was a few inches taller, his shoulders slightly broader than before, but Robin was able to recognize him instantly.
The figure was brown, with blue pants and was wearing a red sleeveless shirt. On his back where the two crooked weapons he carried everywhere. From these, he could produce a variety of weapons for battle. From a whip, a mace, a scimitar, a sword, etc. All of which would be made from the water he could control. The thing that struck the deepest chord in him though were the light blue eyes. Not hard and glaring, but calm and gentle, like an ocean breeze. Like that of a natural leader. But somehow, they seemed… off?
"It's been a long time. Hasn't it, old friend." Kaldur's deep, yet calm voice spoke. How long had it been since Robin had spoken to him. Two years. Three? Ever since he had quit the Young Justice to go solo long ago. Was it just him, or was it to deep for some reason?
Robin calmed himself of his anger, knowing that to yell at Kaldur would get him nowhere. In a way, it was just like talking to their Aqualad in Titan's East. They were almost that similar because of their background. They were normally laid back, and didn't really respond to anger. Although they did like jokes.
"It has." Robin calmly replied back. Before he continued. "Where are they Kaldur?"
"They are currently in your holding cells. Being questioned by Zatanna as to where your other two teammates are, or where they could be going." Kaldur calmly replied almost immediately.
"So they got away?" Robin asked. Hiding the small amount of happiness he was feeling.
"Yes. Blue Beetle, or Jaimes made the mistake of trying to track them down by the signals that their communicators emitted while in the sewers with the rest of us. It took us most of the rest of the night to track the signals since the sewer system here in Jump is so erratic and messy. But around 6 A.M. or so, we thought we had finally caught up to them somewhere in the middle of the city. Jaimes dived deep down into the dirty water and everything, thinking he had found them." Kaldur paused.
"They had ditched their communicators while down there, didn't they?" Robin asked. Already knowing the answer.
"Either that, or that changeling of yours flushed them down the toilet. And led us on a wild goose chase through the sewers while he got away by other means. Jaimes is currently having his scarab go through the security camera footage to find out how he escaped while he showers all that muck off. But so far, no luck." Kaldur said.
"Well, I can't say I'm disappointed then. I did want them to escape." Robin replied. Then came a pause in the conversation.
"I can't believe you actually fought us, your old teammates, just to allow our two targets to get away." Kaldur said at last.
"I didn't exactly leave the Young Justice on the best of terms Kaldur. You know as well as I do what happened the day I left." Robin casually said.
Kaldur shook his head. "Still, why would you fight us for two teammates? Why risk Batman's anger? And that of the rest of the Justice League? They're just two people, dangerous people at that." He asked curiously.
"I'll be blunt. I don't think of anyone on my team here as teammates Kaldur. I prefer to think of them as a family. And those two were no exception, as they were like the little brother and sister I never had under Bruce's care." Robin answered.
Kaldur raised his eyebrow at that. "A female Tamaranean, a half metal and half human being, a green animal changeling, and a half-demoness daughter of Trigon, are family to you? Compared to us?"
Robin would have shrugged if he could. "Hey, I was immature back then. I didn't exactly get on everyone's good side. And I've learned a lot more about team dynamics and being leader here than I ever did when I was a part of the Young Justice team. We've had more freedom to work here without the Justice League breathing down our necks. We've been able to train and take down tough criminals by ourselves. Like Raven's demonic father, Brother Blood, the old Doctor Light, we even took down Deathstroke... twice." Kaldur blinked at that last part.
Pause "But above all, I've been able to bond with my new family here. Unlike when I was a member of the Young Justice. Sure, I might not be as immature as I was as a thirteen year old, I might become a little obsessed with my work at times, and I might even live up to my real nickname a time or two still. But I managed to bond with all of them in some way Kaldur. Heck, I even found love with Starfire, something I never saw in a million years. And it wasn't like that one time kiss thing I did with Zatanna on New Year's after months of flirting with her, but real genuine love that built up over the course of a couple years... I couldn't have just given Beast Boy and Raven up to you guys. Cause in a way, it would have felt like I was giving up on Cyborg, and Starfire. Like I was giving up on my family. I even went to hell and back to save Raven. I would never give up on them willingly."
Kaldur stayed calm with his outer appearance. No one, not even the author, could tell what he was feeling. "I'm guessing the other two might feel just as passionately about this then?" He asked.
Robin nodded his head, trying to hold back the laughter that wanted to escape. "To Cyborg, that little grass stain you targeted is like his best friend. While Raven is the little sister he loves to put his big brother act for. And as for Starfire… don't even suggest trying to get rid of those she considers to be more her friends and family to her than anyone else. Otherwise, I'd hope that you had Superboy's strength and durability. Because you would probably almost die on the spot from her initial rage."
Kaldur stayed calm. "What about the fight earlier though? Most of my teammates were unharmed for the most part. Care to explain?"
"From what I saw, she was only attacking Connor. And she was whooping his boyish butt all over the room during the fight. If he didn't have invulnerability, he would probably be black and blue all over. Heck, it was only because of M'gann entering into Starfire's mind and forcing her unconscious that Superboy lived to tell the tale." Robin said with a grin on his face. The memory of his girlfriend beating the crap out of Boy of Steel pleased him a lot. Then a grimace at when she had fallen all of a sudden in the middle of a series of punches to the poor man's face. He had rushed to her aid at that point, when everything went black. He probably got hit in the back of the head or something.
Kaldur grimaced as he looked around the room. "Was all this damage because of their fight?" He asked.
"Most of it. And it was mainly your teammate causing it, not my girlfriend. Her attacks were mainly on him, unlike his, which seemed to be focused on the infrastructure around her." Robin said rather sarcastically.
"That was not supposed to be part of the attack plan." Kaldur said in that same calm voice to himself.
"Yeah, tell that to Boy of Steel. Wherever he is." Robin drawled.
"You know, his sense of anger… hasn't gotten better since you left." Kaldur added on.
"Yeah, I kind of noticed. He kept on trying to go at me when he thought Starfire was down." Robin said sarcastically again. Kaldur just rolled his eyes at that.
"I'm serious Dick. Superboy was supposed to fall back if the initial plan failed. Yet he brought all of you into the fight. And our two targets got away in the process. That wasn't supposed to be what happened. We were supposed to be in and out. You wouldn't have even known-" He was saying in a serious tone.
"I know." Robin interrupted. "I basically laid out your whole original attack plan to Wally. He and the others didn't take it so well. And that was when the fight started." Robin said. Kaldur nodded his head.
"I was wondering if Wally was telling me the truth or not when he told me about that." Kaldur said.
"He was if he said I totally went all detective on him. Speaking of Wally, where did he go?" Robin asked.
"He is currently in your infirmary. Being treated by his girlfriend for a broken nose that the changeling gave him." Kaldur replied.
"Wait, Beast Boy broke his nose? I thought Wally was supposed to be too fast to be hit by him in any form. Wouldn't he have been able to dodge whatever Beast Boy had thrown at him?" Robin asked.
"Unless that something was a wall at a 100 mph, then yeah." Kaldur said.
Robin finally couldn't help it. That laughter that had been trying to escape him for a while finally came out. He was laughing so hard, his trapped chest was hurting from not having enough room to breathe in and out. Yet be couldn't help it. He had always joked with his friend that one day, he would run smack into a wall. And he had always said that would never happen. If he got out of this okay, he would make sure Wally never lived it down.
"So wait, if Wally and Artemis are in the Infirmary, Jaimes is taking that shower, and Zatanna is in the cell block, then where are Connor and M'gann?" Robin asked.
"They are likely to be in one of the other showers here. After we came back, they had looked through both your teammates rooms to find clues. But when they came to the changeling's… let's just say I've never smelled anything so horrible in my life. They opened the door and walked in… and I had to drag out their unconscious forms."
Robin started laughing even harder. 'I wonder if Connor turned green like his girlfriend after that! Man, I hope Cyborg saves the film in that room for later!'
"So, do you mind telling me who warned you we were coming beforehand?" Kaldur asked Robin calmly, while Robin was still laughing..
Robin took a few seconds to calm down enough to speak. "Nah, you know me Kal. Adopted son of the world's greatest detective and all. I didn't need any help figuring out your dumb plan."
Slade was probably chuckling to himself if he was listening in at that part.
Sigh "Can you at least tell me where you sent your two teammates off to so my team doesn't waste much time finding them. Zatanna can't get the location from your other teammates minds. It's as if they don't even know." Kaldur finally said in a somewhat irritated voice. Robin didn't notice.
"Well look at you, you seem to finally be learning some detective skills yourself Junior. Keep it up and someday, you might be half as good as me." Robin said while chuckling like an idiot.
"Wait, you're telling me they seriously don't know where they are?" Kaldur asked, trying to stay calm and failing. Again, Robin didn't notice.
"Kaldur, I don't even know where they went. Why the hell do you think those two would somehow know?" Robin said, before he started laughing again. Kaldur's face seemed to briefly flicker to rage for a few seconds, and Robin's laughter instantly stopped. Had he taken it too far this time? Kaldur had never looked this angry before, even when Tula had died.
Then his face was calm again. Almost eerily so, as if it wasn't really him. "That's a little unfortunate then. I was hoping to make this quick and painless for everyone." Kaldur's voice said. Yet, at the same time, it didn't sound like him.
Robin shivered in his metal prison. It was as if his old friend had somehow changed in front of him. "Um, Kaldur. Are you okay there buddy-" Robin was suddenly cut off. As Kaldur's hand reached out and grabbed his forehead. Before it glowed a bright red.
Robin screamed out in agony as he felt like his mind was being torn apart inside his brain. Memories flashed past his eyes, to fast for him to make out every individual one. As some being went through his whole life inside his mind. Analyzing everything that made Robin, Robin. It felt like forever, but it was only a few seconds that this torture lasted.
Finally, the glow faded away. And Robin slumped back in his metal prison. His mind was starting to black out from the pain he felt. As he looked up at the face of his friend. Yet, was it his eyes, or was he shifting before him.
As Robin sank into unconsciousness, he heard a voice. A female voice, shout what sounded like a word. But how could it be a word?
"Etaivilbo!"
And then all went dark.
Two hours later
"Friend, do you think Robin is the okay?" Starfire asked her metal companion opposite of her. Both of them were behind blue class four containment fields that were normally for criminals they caught that the police couldn't hold in their prisons because their specialized cells weren't ready yet. They were the best of the best. No one could possibly break out from these bad boys.
But now, they were holding two superheroes. Cyborg, and Starfire. They had been up for three hours now. After their attempts at escaping, they had chosen to sit at the corners of their cells. Wondering as to the fate of their three friends. Or friend, best female friend, and the boyfriend in Starfire's mind. Cyborg wondered about it inside his mind, and didn't really voice it out like Starfire.
"Man, I don't know Star. I haven't learned anything since the last time you asked two minutes ago." Cyborg replied in an almost irritated sarcastic tone.
He had designed these containment fields too well it seemed. They even kept him disconnected from the Tower Mainframe when on. A failsafe for the off chance he were to ever go rogue. He never could have imagined it would ever be used against him like this. And now, he didn't even know where Rob was. Or if green bean and Rae were truly okay or not.
But worst of all, he didn't know if his baby needed a tire change or not!
"Oh, I am so worried for their wellbeing friend. I just wish I could know if they're alright or not." She said in a worried tone once again.
"Star, I am too. But we can do nothing about it for now. We just have to wait." Cyborg said back to her. Wanting her to just be quiet so he could think if there was a way to override the fields from the inside..
"But I can't do the waiting friend Cyborg! I have been doing the waiting ever since I woke up to this room where the sun doesn't shine and make me feel the alive and energized! I don't know if Robin is okay by himself! I don't know what friend Raven and Beast Boy's condition out in the world! I don't even know how my little bumgorf feels about waking up in my bed to find me missing!" She started to cry at the end. Cyborg started to massage his temples again.
"Star, everything is fine. I know grass stain got himself and Rae the packs at the very least. It registered in my systems before that giant flying bug knocked me out while I was dealing with the archer. There's a good chance they got away. And I'm sure they're just questioning Robin since he is the leader. And their old friend." Cyborg forced himself to calmly reply.
"But what about my precious Silkie! He must be so the scared and lonely at this moment! All alone in my dark dreary room! (Yeah, filled with stuffed animals and pink hearts, so like Raven's I imagine) Oh, if only I could be there to comfort him!" She shouted in misery to herself.
Cyborg facepalmed. He was on his wits end dealing with his emotionally distraught Tamaranean sister figure. And he was within a hairs breadth of losing it. "Star, I'm sure that Silkie is just fine. I'm a little more worried about us right now."
Starfire seemed to ignore him. "Oh, I wish Silkie were here in my arms! Throwing up the food I give him! Eating away at the couches we sit on! Helping me with my cooking! Sob It's almost like I can hear him now! Calling my name in misery! Oh, woe is me!" Starfire said to herself. And Cyborg looked about ready to explode.
When he suddenly heard a sound coming from the darkness outside of the cell. Almost like a gurgle.
"Wait, Starfire! Calm down!" Cyborg quickly said. "I think I hear something." He said in a quieter voice.
Starfire was reluctant, but did the shutting up and started to listen too. Both of them stayed still, listening out into the darkness for the sound. After a minute passed, there was another gurgle. Along with the sound of something sliding across the floor towards the light. Cyborg's eye widened.
"No way, is that-" Cyborg started to say.
"Silkie!" Starfire screamed in absolute joy as her pet mutant larva came out into the light. It had a happy look on its face, like it had just eaten a large batch of zorka berries. It let out another gurgle as it started off towards the other side of the room. Where the control panel for the containment fields was. Starfire had a look of joy on her face, while Cyborg groaned to himself.
"Man, there ain't no way in hell that pet of yours will know how to shut off these bad boys! It's far too advanced for even normal people to know how to operate them-" Cyborg was cut off by the blue energy fields suddenly shutting off. He looked at the control panel in shock to see if Silkie had actually hit the right sequence in buttons and levers to get the fields to turn off.
He didn't see Silkie on it. But when his eye looked down, he saw a chewed up hole in the machine. With a very happy Silkie sliding its way out of it. It was gurgling happily to itself while a few wires were sticking out of its mouth. Starfire swooped in and picked up her pet with a large smile on her face.
"Eeeeeh! My smart little bumgorf managed to free us! I am so the happy! I feel like I could sing all 2000 verses of the Ode to Gratitude to you little one! What about you friend, shall you join me in… uh, friend?" Starfire floated across the room, happiness dimming to slight worry as Cyborg was staring off into space.
She floated up to him, and waved her free hand in front of his face. She got nothing from that. So she tried poking him, and he fell back onto the ground. The only sound he made was that of his bulk hitting the titanium ground. Starfire stared at his shocked form for a moment, before she shrugged and started singing the first verse to her smiling little bumgorf.
Meanwhile, Cyborg was on the ground. Unable to respond to anything as his systems started to hook back up to the Tower. Yeah, he was also in shock from Silkie being their unexpected savior. And from him eating his way through solid titanium.
But his systems were giving him all the current data as to what had happened in the past twelve or so hours. From details about the Tower, the systems that were running, problems in the infrastructure, to the security camera feed of almost 102 different cameras.
And Cyborg processed it all in about five minutes while he laid on that ground. Including what had just happened to Robin. And what was coming their way.
When he had finished, he sat up straight almost immediately. Looking as if he had seen a ghost or something. As his face looked to be very pale.
He looked over to the still joyous Starfire, who was on verse 52 of her song. Swinging Silkie around in her arms without a care in the world. And was reminded of what he saw in the film from about two hours ago to now. And what they were going to do next.
Starfire didn't notice at first that Cyborg had even grabbed her. But when the doors opened and she felt a rush of air, she looked down at last with Silkie in her arms at the frantic Cyborg. Who was now deep in panic mode and running at top speed down the hallways of the Tower.
"Um, friend, what seems to be the matter?" Starfire asked curiously. Cyborg didn't answer for a minute as he took an alternate route away from the hallway leading to the Infirmary. And then opened a door to a flight of stairs.
"We need to get as far away from here as possible!" Cyborg finally shouted when he felt that he was out of hearing range of anyone in the Tower. And that was when they were halfway down the many flights of stairs towards the bottom.
"But friend, why the big hurry? And what about Robin? Is he going to be meeting with us outside the Tower?" Starfire asked. Concerned for her boyfriend. She was still being pulled along by Cyborg as she floated in the air.
Cyborg stayed silent. Not wanting to answer her question. At least, not yet. He hit the bottom of the stairs running. And ran through the door that led to the garage. His target?
His precious T-Car. And quickest way away from the nightmare he knew was approaching.
"Friend, we will be meeting up with boyfriend Robin outside our home, right?" Starfire asked a little timidly. Not even her little bumgorf inside her arms was making her feel better now.
"I'm sorry Star, but we can't wait around for your bird boyfriend. In fact, I'd rather leave right now before he gets down here to meet us." Cyborg said in a hurried voice. Already halfway to the T-Car. They were almost to freedom.
When Starfire suddenly dug her heels into the ground. Stopping him a good twenty feet from his baby. Cyborg was still in panic mode as he turned around. "Star! Are you crazy! We need to get out of here now!" He shouted at her.
"Not until you tell me why we need to leave boyfriend Robin behind with the enemies that want friends Beast Boy and Raven this instant! Otherwise, I'll do the charging back up there to rescue boyfriend Robin!" Starfire shouted back at him.
"Trust me when I say this Starfire! He doesn't need rescued anymore, at least in the physical sense! And we need to leave now!" Cyborg yelled back as he continued to try and drag her to the T-Car.
"What do you mean friend!? You aren't making the much sense! Is he trapped in some other way that I'm not aware of?!" Starfire shouted back.
Before he could reply, he heard a sound off to his right. And he instantly realized in his panic to get Starfire to safety, the threat had already made it to the room. He couldn't believe he hadn't been checking the alerts coming from the security camera footage in his mind then.
"Get down!" Cyborg shouted. He dove into Starfire and sent the both of them to the ground. Above them, a familiar explosive disk went flying through the air. As if in slow motion, Cyborg traced the path it was taking through the air. As it flew above them…
Boom!
It hit the open hood of the T-Car; blowing the whole thing up in a fiery explosion.
KA-BOOM!
The shockwave registered in his ears. Starfire was yelling something at someone. Silkie was sliding away from the loud noises.
Yet Cyborg couldn't take his eyes off his baby. His destroyed, mutilated baby. Months of work and upgrades, gone. The feel of the road, never to be felt again.
A tear rolled down his face.
"Ezeerf ni ecalp!" A voice shouted.
Cyborg and Starfire froze. Both of them were unable to move anymore, or register what was happening.
For a moment after that, there was silence. Besides the sound of Silkie sliding through a hole in the wall. And the smoldering remains of car heaven's latest addition.
Finally, a figure emerged from the shadows. Dressed in the all too familiar traffic light costume he wore every day. A second figure, a black haired woman, walked at his side. The one that had uttered the spell.
The two of them walked up to the frozen Titans. With the one in the traffic light costume making sure they were unaware of what was around them. Before he finally turned to the woman.
"They are frozen lady Zatanna. Are there any further orders?" Robin's voice asked. Yet, it didn't sound like Robin.
"No. You are no longer needed. Go back to whence ye came." Zatanna said, as if it was a command.
Robin's head nodded once, before he slumped forward onto the ground. Unconscious once again that day. The spirit that had possessed him left his body.
Zatanna looked around, as if she was checking to see if anyone else was around. Just to make sure, she looked over to the open doorway.
"Morf a reirrab!" She chanted.
Suddenly, the walls closed together. Forming a barrier between her and the outside world. "Yortsed eht aremac sdeef! Esare eht egatoof!" Zatanna continued to chant. In the corners of the room, magic covered the security cameras. Old camera feed was erased. With a few more choice incantations, the garage started to look like a battle had happened in it. Tables overturned themselves. A few craters formed in the ground. Scorch marks appeared on the walls.
Finally, it was finished. If her teammates ever wondered where she was at, she could give them the story that she stopped the Titans from escaping through the garage. They'd also never know she had impersonated the real Kaldur, who was still out on patrol in the ocean.
Satisfied with having the first part done, she leaned over the three Titans. She repeated the Latin words she'd need to use for this next spell again inside her mind. Even though it had worked once already, she had seen how it made the person more prone to their anger than before. She needed to make sure she really got the borrowed spell right this time. After all,she wanted to arouse no suspicion.
One way, or another, she'd make sure that by the time she finished, Raven's old teammates would have all but forgotten her. The only memories she'd leave, or those few that she would change… Would make her look like their enemy. And not even close to family. She'd even add in how she and the Changeling were lovers or something like that for fun. Just to make the next meet up a little more interesting...
She thought on it a little more. Deep down, she wouldn't have minded giving the Boy Wonder another kiss. But then she thought of using Robin and Starfire's natural feelings for each other as an incentive. Another way of driving a wedge between them and their former friends.
With the check inside her mind done, Zatanna started her chant. Not a possession chant like she did with Robin before.
But a complete restructuring of their memories starting with a mind wipe.
'One way, or another, I'm gonna get you... Raven Roth of Azarath.'
Author's Notes:
And the plot thickens…
Thanks to RPGPersona for mentioning Silkie and having Beast Boy leave something for them to chase! Both of them made excellent additions to this chapter in my opinion.
Also, not sure when the next update will be. I'm working on a requested one-shot side by side with this chapter. And this chapter ended up being finished first. So I want to work on finishing my one-shot first before the next chapter of this.
Look out for it in the next couple days! It is going to be called... Dark Side. Hope you guys will be interested in it!
Till Next Time
Allen
