Titans: Elemental

Chapter 77: Revolution, Part 1

We see the full moon hanging in the night sky. Boisterous cheers are heard from ground level as three jets streak past, leaving smoke trails in red, white, and blue.

We see the streets of Jump City, and the Titans' favorite pizza hangout.

We see a banner marked "4th of July", identifying the cause of the celebration. Happy people are hanging out up and down the block, one kid runs with a sparkler while being chased by another, and every building in sight has a screen mounted near its roof to display an image of the American flag.

We see a group of nine; the citywide festivities are displayed from various angles on the others. In front of the assembly, Vic holds a heaping plate of burgers and hot dogs up into view.

Vic, "the burgers are cheesed, the dogs are hot, and the fireworks are about to begin. Man, I love the Fourth of July!"

We see the other Titans, on and around the couch in the living center of Titans Tower: the grid view we just saw was on its window/screen. As usual, Raven is reading while snuggled close to Jack.

Starfire, "please. This is a celebration of the month July, or of the number four?"

Blackfire, "I don't think so, sister."

Vic sets the food on the coffee table.

Dick, "your sister's right, Star. It's Independence Day, sorta like America's birthday."

Starfire, "oh! Should we then bake the America a cake?"

Bryan, "I could go for some cake."

BB, "no cake, and no tea!"

Beast Boy pulls out a crudely drawn presentation.

BB, "see, it all started back in 1492 with this tea party, in Boston. King George, or maybe it was King Norm, anyway…. The British were trying to make the colonists drink all this tea. But they were like, 'Dude! No way! We're sick of nasty, old tea and your crummy, English muffins!' So they decided, 'Revolution!'"

BB beams as Raven slides her chair up nearby.

Raven, "where'd you learn history? A cereal box?"

His face falls.

BB, "what's your point?"

Bryan, "Beast Boy, you can't be this stupid in an episode. It's now allowed even for the sake of a joke!"

BB, "fine, jeez."

Dick, "okay, the fireworks should be starting in five…."

The window/screen now shows the five-second countdown that precedes the start of a movie.

Titans, "... Four…."

….

A block of Jump City; the building screens are counting as well.

….

Titans, "... Three…."

….

The pizza joint.

Titans, "... Two…."

The countdown disintegrates into static, which in turn yields to an instantly recognizable face. Bald on top, a fringe of gray hair, small rectangular sunglasses, thick Cockney accent; it is the one and only Mad Mod.

Mad Mod, "hello, my duckies."

Starfire gasps.

Dick, "Mad Mod!"

Rose, "not this wacko again!"

Mad Mod, "so sorry to interrupt, but your revolution will not be televised."

We see the pensioner; he holds a ruby-topped cane identical to the one wielded by his holographic younger self in his first tangle with the Titans.

Mad Mod, "matter of fact, it's been outright canceled….", he twirls his cane, "as in, it never happened!"

He presses the ruby; in a blink, the screen is filled with a black-and-white hypnotic pattern, the sort that used to put Beast Boy out of action so effectively.

Dick, "don't look!"

All the Titans cover their eyes with their forearms.

….

In the city, the partiers are entranced by the pattern that plays over it.

Mad Mod says on the speaker, "you American colonies have been rebellious long enough", his head appears in the spirals, "I'm reclaiming this city in the name of jolly old England", a crown settles on his head; his body appears, "and you lot had best bow down before your new ruler…."

The background of the video dissolves to the British Union Jack flag.

Mad Mod, "... King Moddy the First!"

The newly-minted subjects kneel obediently as his crazed laughter rings out over the streets.

Mad Mod, "that would be me."

….

Back at the Tower. A Union Jack suddenly crashes down to cover the night sky entirely, while up from the horizon comes a black-and-white skyline reminiscent of London in the first half of the 20th century. The latter looks as if it has been cut out of an old photograph.

Mad Mod, "the American Revolution was a hoax. The Declaration of Independence is a tissue of lies. There is no George Washington, and there never was. And from now on…. They're not cookies…. They're called biscuits! Say it with me…. 'biiiissss-cuuuuiiiittttssss.'"

….

We see him seated at a complex control panel, similar to the rig with which he tormented the Titans.

One of the many monitors shows the driver's-seat view of the tunnel, he is on a train.

Mad Mod, "there, now. We'll have you unruly Yanks acting like proper Brits in time for tea."

The whole train shakes. A thick cloud of dust clears to show the Titans at the forcible entry they have made.

Dick, "class dismissed, Mod. Your twisted history lesson is over!"

Rose, "and you're gonna explain how the heck you did all this!"

Mad Mod, "oh, is it now, my little snots?"

At the press of a button, a transparent barrier slides down from the ceiling of this hideout. Dick and Bryan somersault underneath it, leaving the rest of the team cut off on its far side, and leap toward Mad Mod. The walking stick whistles at him, but he gets five fingers around the shaft to stop it. Their six hands work up toward the ruby, just as kids do with a bat to decide whose team gets to lead off in a baseball game.

Dick, "aren't you getting a little old for this?"

Mad Mod, closest to the end, puts a thumb over the gem.

Mad Mod, "on the contrary, laddie. I'm feeling younger by the tick."

He presses the gem; instantly the three are wreathed in crackling red light and yell in agony. The other Titans stare in horror as Mad Mod's shouts gradually turn to deranged laughter.

Starfire, "Nightwing!"

Rose, "Winter Soldier!"

Vic aims his sonic cannon at the barrier and Blackfire shoots some starboard, but their shots ricochet into the ceiling. A ghostly image of Dick and Bryan floats into Mad Mod's mouth, and with a final flash the energy subsidies.

Dick and Bryan stand motionless for a long moment, then collapse to the floor with a feeble pair of groans; now they have become wrinkled, white-haired old men. Bryan's cybernetics are all rusted. Just in front of them, Mad Mod plants one foot near them. Dick and Bryan lift their heads with great effort to eye the black shoe and white sock. Where they have aged, Mad Mod has grown considerably younger; black shorts and blazer, untucked white shirt and loose black necktie, the full head of red hair sported by his holographic stand-in. His new ensemble, the sort often worn by boys at British private schools.

Mad Mod, "ha! Now that'll put the peas back in your porridge!"

Dick tries to grab his ankle, but can barely get one hand off the floor.

Starfire pounds on the shield, "you will change them back!"

Rose slashes as the shield, "I DON'T WANNA DATE AN OLD MAN!"

Mad Mod sits down, "sorry, loves, but like I've always said, youth is wasted on the young. Ta-ra, Titans!"

He throws a lever.

….

We see just outside the train; several explosive bolts blow, freeing the locomotive from the rest of the cars, and rocket thrusters extend from the sides. When they fire up, that lead car quickly pulls away from the others and Dick, Bryan and Mad Mod are carried out of sight. They sweep into a tunnel, a switch is thrown to route the track into an adjoining one, and the rest of the train crashes through a barricade that has been set here.

We see the Titans within the train.

BB, "crud."

Jack, "don't say that, you sound like Gizmo."

BB cringed.

At street level, an underground station entrance is shaken by the force of the train's crash; the group climbs the stairs through the clearing dust.

Starfire, "oh, where has he gone with our friends?"

BB, "maybe the same place he went with our city."

We see the drastically redesigned metropolis; the Union Jack filling the sky, British traffic signs and urban landmarks, even the classic red telephone booths. A fish market, where two old women are out for a stroll.

Old woman 1, "oh, look, dearie, kippers! Nine for twelve P!"

Old woman 2, "no! They smell like fish! I hate fish!"

As they pass, the door opens and a fish pokes its head out. It then leaps down the street. We see two soot-streaked chimney sweeps, one tall, the other short and squat, pop up from adjacent stacks.

Tall sweep, "spittin' sport, Nigel! The vicar's got a stopped-up chimney!"

Down they go. Now a street-urchin paperboy leans into view and holds up a fresh issue.

Paperboy, "read all 'bout it! King Moddy teaches Titans a lesson!"

He raises the paper as the Titans pop up.

It is The Moddy Times; the headlines are "Heroes Captured" and "King Mod Saves the Day!"

The photographs: old Dick and Bryan each tied to a chair.

Vic, "hey! We've been Union-Jacked!"

Jack, "if I had to guess what the heck is going on; Mod is using his illusions, robots and screens to make this city seem as real as possible."

Rose, "that would explain all of this crazy crap we're seeing."

The sound of tromping boots is heard; all turn to look down the street, and we see a pair of approaching figures.

One figure is dressed as a Beefeater guard and carrying a shouldered rifle, but the hands are metal. We see the face, revealing the soldier as a huge, broad-chested robot, the second one is marching abreast with it. Monitors open up on both chests and begin to display Mad Mod's hypnotic pattern.

Vic, "hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast, and whatever you do…."

All cover their eyes.

Blackfire, "don't look at the…."

Beast Boy is already babbling and drooling.

Jack, "...hypno screens."

The robots close their chest monitors and take aim. High-powered musket balls flash toward the Titans.

Raven, "quick! Make him laugh!"

She, Rose, Jack and Vic rush toward the shooters, while Starfire and Blackfire carry the mesmerized Titan to relative safety behind a parked car.

Starfire, "um…."

She thinks very hard for a moment and then squeals as an idea hits her. Dropping Beast Boy, she shoves one hand into her other armpit and starts making fart noises; in an instant, he is back on his feet and laughing at the effect. Now he quickly re-styles his hair into a "mod" cut.

BB speaks in a British accent, "smashing, love. Jolly good laugh-"

He cuts himself off sharply, his eyes popping in sudden shock. His yell of horror echoes up among the buildings.

BB, "oh, dear! I'm a Tommy, a Limey, a Brit!"

A car drops to the sidewalk behind them and explodes.

Vic, "yo, Brit Boy! We could use a hand!"

Starfire and Blackfire fly in.

BB puts up his fists, "right, then. Have at you!"

Vic is driven back against a wall, then stares pop-eyed and leaps away before a shot can strike him. His trajectory carries him down behind the robotic attacker, which has a large wind-up key attached to its back, and dives. The cannon shot he fires off sends it into the wall amid a thick cloud of dust; just after he lands, his face goes slack and the android emerges intact for another go. When Vic tries a flurry of punches against the metal chest, he ends up with nothing but a pair of red, swollen hands and enough pain to make him whimper a bit. The Beefeater's only response is a raised fist.

Vic, "oh, boy."

He takes the blow and goes tumbling down the street.

Jack starts shooting ice beams at the robot, slowing it down only a little.

Above him, Starfire swoops in for a little low-altitude dogfighting. Her double starbolt traces along the block and explodes against the chest, but this, too, has no effect at all. The steel hands are raised skyward, and the arms extend to seize Starfire and reel her in. As she struggles against the bone-cracking grip, a car crashes against the Beefeater's back. Throwing her the full length of the block, it wheels to face in the direction of this new insults; Raven and Jack, who follow it up by dumping a double-decker bus on the enemy, end first, and a boulder right on top of it.

Raven and Jack land. Now they are the ones who get hit in the back, with a pair of rifle shots; we see the other robot, rifle in hand. It in turn is knocked away by Beast Boy as a roaring tyrannosaurus rex, and Vic helps Starfire to her feet. Raven starts to get up a moment later and is slightly surprised to find the shape-shifter back in human form and offering her a hand. An awful creak of metal draws their attention; we see the flaming bus, which is lifted clear by the first robot and thrown aside. Both are now heavily damaged, with sparks flying from their exposed circuits, but begin a new advance nonetheless.

Starfire, "they are…. Quite durable."

Blackfire, "that's putting it mildly."

BB, "British engineering, love. Finest in the world."

Raven, "can you please stop talking like that?"

BB, "you're just jealous because I sound like a rock star."

Rose, "you sound like the love child of Austin Powers and Ringo Starr, ya twit!"

The two half-wrecked androids march on.

Vic, "stand your ground! We can take 'em!"

More clomping boots are heard; Beefeaters are coming out from a side street.

Raven, "but we can't take all of them."

Jack, "no we cannot!"

Now they are at the mouth of an alley.

BB, "RUN AWAY!"

Rose, "listen to Monty Python!"

They all flee as the platoon marches in after them.

….

We see a different stretch of the city, later in the evening. The bridge over Jump City Bay has become a low, arch-supported structure on which a few guards are keeping watch; one sweeps a flashlight beam over the water as Big Ben chimes. We see the roadway to one of the arches, water underneath it. The flash plays over, after which the robot using it moves off, all quiet on this front. Heavy footsteps die away as the Titans peer out from their hiding place under the bridge.

BB wipes his face with a handkerchief, "phew! Jolly good thing those squaddies didn't fancy a swim."

Fed up, Raven yanks his new coiffure off, exposing the normal hair beneath, and socks him with it hard enough to set his head spinning. Once he has regained his bearings, his voice returns to normal.

BB, "dude! Why'd you-? Haha! Sweet! I'm American!"

Raven, "you're welcome."

Vic, "hey! We need a plan! We have to stop Mad Mod, save Bryan and Dick, and take back the city. I know they're tough, but we gotta tackle these tin toys head-on. Full frontal assault!"

Blackfire, "right on! I'm with Victor."

He bangs a fist into his palm.

Starfire, "no. We must find Richard and Bryan. Once their youth is restored, they will lead us to victory."

Rose, "I'm in agreement with Starfire."

Raven, "you're both wrong. Mad Mod's behind all this, so we have to sneak into his control room and take him down first."

Jack, "that seems like a solid plan."

BB, "no way. What we need to do is go underground! Organize a resistance movement, starting with a trained gerbil army!"

Vic thwacks BB over the head.

They all argue before Raven suddenly yells, "ENOUGH! Arguing solves nothing. We need to pick a plan and stick with it."

Vic, "it may not look like it, but this is still America. So I say we vote", he raises his hand, "who's for full frontal assault?"

Blackfire raises her hand.

Starfire and Raven do likewise on their next lines.

Starfire, "find Richard and Bryan."

Rose raises her hand.

Raven, "sneak attack."

Jack raises his hand.

BB, "Gerbil commandos! Actually, training gerbils takes forever. I vote for Starfire and Rose's plan."

The "election" winner giggles on the receiving end of a very dirty violet-eyed look.

Vic, "it's your plan. Lead the way."

….

We see another section of the city; now it is daytime, and the Titans poke their heads out from behind a clock mounted at second-floor level on a building. Finding nothing here, they duck away.

Back on ground level, Big Ben chimes and they look here and there. They are running up walls and along rooftops and scoping out as much of the district as they can. We see a manhole, from which they cautiously sneak a look, then at another block, Vic leans out from behind the corner of a building. His forearm panel is beeping.

Vic, "got a lock on Bryan and Dick's locators. Dead ahead."

The others peer out around him. Starfire is eyeing a rather imposing piece of architecture, topped by a large belfry. At this distance, two figures can be seen near the edge of this; they are a wizened Dick and Bryan. They are seated in a pair of chairs just like the ones Mad Mod designed to hold the Titans in his Institute for Bratty Teenage Do-Gooders, but this time they are not clamped down.

Starfire, "Richard?"

An ecstatic gasp, and she has left her vantage point to fly straight up to the belfry.

Starfire, "Richard! Bryan!"

She throws her arms wide open to embrace Dick; as soon as she touches his shoulders, though, they flicker, as do the rest of him and Beyan, as do the chairs. A holographic decoy.

Starfire, "huh?"

On the belfry floor are three items; the communicators, which put out the signals Vic picked up, and a small emitter marked with the Union Jack, which created the false image that has now disappeared. A small red light on the latter is flashing. Starfire gasps in shock, realizing too late that the device has a second purpose, and is flung backward with a scream when it explodes in her face. She sails most of the way down the block and crashes to the street on her back. As she sits up, groaning and rubbing her head, the others gather around her.

They stare up at the belfry, which slides upward several yards to expose a large television set beneath it. Mad Mod's image flickers into focus on the screen; he is now wearing a powdered wig and kingly garb, complete with the crown from the prologue.

Mad Mod, "I'm afraid not, pet. Jolly old Nighty and Winty's here with me…. Sound as a pound. But it looks like you lot have wandered into a trap."

The group stares in complete bewilderment, Mad Mod laughs, and we see the entrance of the building. As his laughter swells and then dies down, a section of road slides away and up comes a squad of android Beefeaters. We see just how badly outnumbered they are, one after another, those rifles are leveled and the heroes start to back away.

Starfire, "I do not believe my plan is going to work."

Rose, "at least it was a good try."

Mad Mod, "fire!"

A volley of shots roar forth..

Everyone bails out: Blackfire, Jack Starfire flying, Vic and Rose running, Beast Boy taking wing as a falcon, Raven dropping through the ground in her "soul-self." Shots explode against the macadam surface where they had stood; the robots bring their guns back to high port and watch the smoke clear. Raven surfaces within it and is promptly joined by the others; Beast Boy is back in human form.

Vic, "who votes for a full frontal assault?"

Blackfire, "now you're talking!"

All of them charge.

Mad Mod, "don't just stand there! Keep blasting!"

The robotic redcoats all follow orders. BB becomes a leopard, Raven comes up behind him, Jack slides over on a slab of Earth with Rose on it, Blackfire is already shooting her starbolts, and Starfire carries Vic along to bring up the rear. Vic fires a short burst from his cannon before she slings him bodily into one of the shooters; his flying punch tears a hole from chest to back, and down it goes. Another rushes up from behind, his eyes pop, and he catches a rifle butt upside the head that sends him tumbling. No sooner has he slid away, though, than Beast Boy rushes in as himself and turns into a triceratops. Those three horns find their mark and launch the robot into a high arc; it explodes like a bottle rocket at the top of its flight, and he returns to human form.

BB, "hahaha! USA! USA! US-"

A robot steps partially into view in front of him; he trails off, and several sweat drops run down the back of his head. The shot comes almost too quickly for him to react, but he becomes a turtle and lets the tough shell deflect it. He is driven into the floating Starfire, knocking her down, whereupon Raven gets back into the act by tearing a fissure in the street that races toward the squad. They are momentarily thrown off balance by the tremors and flying rubble, but soon they right themselves and level their weapons.

Jack shoots lightning at several robots, electrocuting them hard enough to make them explode in a shower of metal and torn up clothes.

Mad Mod laughs at the besieged heroes. Beast Boy is back in human form, but he turns into a pterodactyl as all charge across the square.

….

We see the battle on a monitor in the instant king's control room. Dick and Bryan watch it for a moment, then turn away sadly only to get Mad Mod's hands on their shoulders. A bit of drool has collected at the corner of the puckered mouths.

Mad Mod, "quite a show, eh? Quite a show! Oh, yes. Jolly old Nightwing and Winter Wonder Bland do love to watch the telly, don't they? Well, in that case, how's about a little preview of coming attractions?"

The press of a button brings up a new shot on the monitor: a white field against which the words "COMING ATTRACTIONS" are displayed in black. A Union Jack background appears.

Mad Mod, "King Moddy's Royal Army…."

Tanks roll through as fighter planes zoom overhead; possibly World War II-era P-51 Mustangs, judging from the markings.

Mad Mod, "... is gonna run roughshod over your gormy little friends. Pity there's nothing you can do about it, eh?"

They tiptoe away on the end of this.

Dick and Bryan give wheezy little growls and lowers their eyebrows as best they can, given their advanced state of physical decline.

….

We see a grassy area; as planes buzz past, they bolt toward a tree and take cover. Now the tanks fire, blowing away the old growth and sending up a mushroom cloud where it had stood.

Vic rushes at one of the metal shock troops and lands a punch to send it skidding down the block. It barely has time to stop before Beast Boy thunders across as a rhinoceros; the impact knocks it into three nearby robots and drops all four to the curb. Vic backs up to him, cannon going full tilt.

Vic, "keep fighting!"

Beast Boy resumes human form; Starfire backs up a bit.

Blackfire, "I think we're gonna win!"

Raven, "you sure about that?"

They all turn towards the sidewalk, where many, many reinforcements are waiting to get into the act, with Mad Mod's tanks to back them up.

Vic, "ooo-kay…. So much for my plan."

Jack, "I guess that leaves us with one plan left…. "

A tank zeroes in on the Titans.

BB, "RUN AWAY!"

Rose, "you got it, Monty Python!"

They do so without delay. The tank opens fire ay the far side of the wall they had been standing next to. A large hole is blasted through it, revealing the tanks across the square, and they pop up from beneath and proceed to evacuate themselves through it. Beast Boy assumes falcon form on the way out. Now the troops march off as Mad Mod addresses the Titans from his television screen.

Mad Mod, "off you go! You lot couldn't beat the Brits in 1776, and you can't beat us now!"

He laughs madly, the sound ringing out over the city as the Titans make tracks amid a flurry of rifle fire; Starfire is carrying Vic along. Blackfire is carrying Rose along. A tank rolls down the street, after which we see Vic in a very large shell hole.

Vic, "the sky looks like a giant British flag! The whole city's gone haywire!"

BB, "dude, tell me about it", the background goes psychedelic behind him, "bangers and mash? Bubble and squeak? Toad in the hole? Don't British people speak English?"

Jack, "well, technically, they're speaking English from England."

Rose, "not the time, dude."

Vic, "well, that's two plans down-"

Raven, "-and two to go."

BB, "okay. First, we're gonna need a cargo plane full of shaving cream, then-"

Starfire's hand clamps onto his mouth.

Starfire, "may I still do the vote for Raven's sneaky attack?"

Raven, "alright. Listen carefully. This is what we're gonna do. Cyborg…."

….

Reviews:

raven 2012: well, I'm glad you liked the chapter so much.

Ushindi: thanks. Glad you liked both chapters. 1. Love Cheetah. Especially in JLU. 2. Hmm. Starfire an Blackfire: Star Saphire. Raven: Indigo. Robin: Green. Cyborg: Blue. Beast Boy: not sure. Same goes for the others.

Bailey Radcliff: thanks so much.

Canadude2029: happy to hear all that. Glad you like my ideas.

pokemonking0924: thanks. Glad you liked that.

DaV1nc136: thanks. Don't worry, Raven will have opened up a lot more, especially to Jack. But I think the reason Raven constantly pushes others away is for a specefic reason; HER FATHER IS A DEMON TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD. That would cause anyone to become distant. Combine that with how her powers go nuts if she doesn't control her emotions, her mother being a runaway teen before she joined the church of Trigon, left it and went to Azarath, Raven has solid reasons for her being the way she is.

….

I've got a new poll up. I'm planning on a Ben 10 and Teen Titans crossover harem story in the near future. One where Ben ends up with Starfire, Raven, Blackfire and (maybe) Looma. So, this new poll is to see if there are any additional girls people would wanna see in the harem.