Chapter Fifteen
The heroes walked toward the cliff, surveying the city. They could faintly here people cheering in the streets. And they had good reason; not only have the deaths of their loved ones been avenged, but also the terror that hung over the city was gone at last.
And once again, the debt of gratitude was owned to the heroes once known as the Teen Titans. This time, though, they shared the feeling with a visitor from another universe.
"Well, I'll be off now!" the Doctor finally said.
The Titans stared at him.
"You're leaving?" Starfire asked.
"Quick as I can."
"But...but...we have not shared in our victory!"
"I'm not much for celebrations."
"Sounds like me." Raven muttered.
"Please stay a while." Nightwing pleaded. "We couldn't have done this without you."
"Besides," Cyborg said, "I'd like to match you against my pizza eating skills. I still got 'em after all these years!"
The Doctor smiled. "Thanks, but no thanks. Its past time I went back to my own universe."
"What will you do?" Raven asked him.
"Soon as I'm there, I'll seal the rift between your dimension and mine. That way, no one else will bother you."
"So, we'll never see you again?" Starfire said, teary eyed.
"Yep.' the Doctor nodded.
The Tamaranian grabbed him .
"Then we definitely must engage in a feast of victory! It will also symbolize your farewell feast!"
The Titans watched with amusement as the Time Lord was dragged by Starfire.
Then, without warning, Raven collapsed. A metal fist had cracked against the back of her head. She laid on the ground, bleeding from her head.
Hearing the noise, the group faced the assailant and gasped. Standing before them were two Cybermen.
One appeared ordinary enough. The closer of the two, however, was unique.
It stood almost eight feet tall. Its body was black in color, and had several additional armor plates at strategic spots on its limbs. Most distinctive was the head; it was black on one side, orange on the other. The eyes glowed a vicious red.
Nightwing recognized this new foe in a matter of seconds.
"Slade?" he hissed.
"In the flesh." came the reply. "Or should I say, in the metal."
The voice was still that of Slade, but with a harsh mechanical overtone.
"How the hell did you survive?" the Doctor asked, perplexed.
"My meta-human powers apparently still work in this new form." he explained. "As you recall, as long as my brain is intact, my body will regenerate. Apparently, it still works even in this form. Therefore, I was able to withstand your little assault."
"And that one?" asked Cyborg, pointing to the other Cyberman.
"That one? Oh, just a fortunate coincidence. You see, the neural implants in that one's brain that were installed by me so many years ago were quite useful in protecting the mind. I later made a physical link to it, and repaired it with my own powers."
Cyborg took in what he was told. Then, the awful truth came to mind.
"You're saying...that...that's...Terra?!"
"Congratulations on your deductive reasoning." Slade told him.
"Terra?" Nightwing said softly. "It can't be!"
"I was once known as Terra." came the reply.
It sounded nothing like Terra, but rather in the same dead, mechanical tone the other Cybermen had.
"She's proven quite useful." Slade remarked. "I was impressed with her first assignment. She also proved a good shot against your green friend, who I see isn't here. I suppose the Daleks finished him off, eh?"
"You monster!" Starfire yelled at Slade. "You killed Changeling!"
The Doctor shook his head.
"It's not enough for you, is it?" he said, fuming. "You couldn't be content with taking their friend away. You couldn't be content with simply using that girl as a slave. No, you had to go and have her humanity and spirit taken away as well! And then you had to have her kill one of her former friends! Well, I will personally ensure that you share the same fate as your incinerated friends!"
Slade laughed. "Really Doctor, how can you do that?"
He smirked at him. Then, collecting himself, he gave the command: "Titans, go!"
The team sprung into action. Cyborg tackled Terra, while Nightwing and Starfire battled Slade.
The Doctor moved Raven's body to a safe location before joining the fight. He whipped out his sonic screwdriver ran to assist Cyborg.
Slade, meanwhile, had deployed his weapon, housed in his right forearm. He took several shots at the two Titans antagonizing him, but none connected.
Meanwhile, Cyborg was bringing Terra to her knees when the Doctor arrived.
"Hold this thing still!" he said as he applied his instrument to the chest plate of the villain.
"That thing happens to be a former friend of ours!" Cyborg told him.
"Your friend is gone! Whatever was part of her was taken by the Cybermen! There's nothing that you can do!"
At that, the plate came off. Terra then electrified her body, sending the Doctor and Cyborg flying off her. She then reached for the fallen Titan.
"Cyborg!" the Doctor said. "Blast into the chest cavity! That should disable it"
Nodding, he did as the Doctor ordered, transforming his arm into the sonic cannon. He fired it exactly at the target, and was rewarded by his efforts as the fiend was blasted several yards away.
When she recovered, Cyber-Terra doubled over, screaming. Then, she stood up.
"Where am I?" she asked. Her voice was still that of a Cyberman. "What has happened to me?"
She examined herself, and screamed.
"What just happened?" Cyborg asked.
"Her emotional inhibitor must have been destroyed!" the Doctor explained. "Now she sees herself for what she truly is. And in a case like this, the truth really does hurt."
Terra staggered about before facing Slade.
The massive fiend was fending off Starfire and Nightwing. The battle had not gone well. Nightwing's attacks were of finesse, but had little effect. Starfire used mere brute force, but Slade deflected her blows. He finished the battle by grasping the Tamaranian's arm and slinging her to the ground. He then caught Nightwing's wrist and squeezed, breaking bones as if they were sticks. He then tossed him aside.
"All these heroics for nothing." Slade told him.
"Stop!" yelled Terra.
Slade looked at her. "What are you doing? Kill them!"
Terra stepped toward him. "I have listened to you long enough! You will die once again!"
Slade immediately deployed his weapon and fired at Terra's head, blasting out the eyes. She gave a death cry before falling to the ground.
"No!" cried Starfire.
"You will all share her fate." he said coldly. "Starting with you, my former apprentice."
He pointed his weapon at Nightwing, who was nursing his crushed wrist. He braced himself for death, but instead heard a cry from Starfire.
"No!!!" She was on her feet, fuming. "You have caused my friends enough pain, Slade!" she yelled. "It is past time you were executed!"
"Try it, my dear." he taunted.
The two began a fierce battle.
Starfire fought with an unchained fury. Though Slade was able to block the blows, they caused damage to his metal body. He was also beginning to overheat from the starbolts Starfire was also unleashing upon him.
The Titans and Doctor cheered for her. But even without encouragement, Starfire still would have had all the motivation she needed. Anger and hate she held in her heart were being released now in this battle. She gave the villain no mercy.
"You can not hurt me!" Slade yelled, defiantly as Starfire grasped the villain's arms.
With that, he energized his hands, electrocuting Starfire. She screamed in pain, and then fell to the ground, exhausted and in pain. The remaining Titans and the Doctor were aghast.
"You die now, my dear." Slade hissed.
Cyborg was about to make his move, but Nightwing stopped him.
"Let's give him the sonic boom." he whispered.
The bionic hero smiled. "I got the sonic if you got the boom."
Slade ignored the pair as he brought his weapon to bear.
Nightwing flung an explosive at the villain, while Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at the appropriate frequency. The impact on Slade was enough to blast his forearm to junk. He clutched his damaged limb.
"You'll regret that, Titans!" he yelled.
He leapt to his feet, rushing at the heroic pair. He delivered a powerful kick to Cyborg, sending him flying away. With his good arm, he simply slung Nightwing to the ground. When he landed, he stepped over the hero.
"Now you die!" he hissed.
Then, a huge rock was flung at the monstrosity. The Doctor turned to see Raven standing, arms outstretched.
"You've caused us pain for the last time, Slade." she said. "You have already killed enough. Now, it is your turn to die."
The other Titans stood on either side of her. Meanwhile, the Doctor ran toward the TARDIS, dashing inside.
The mystic used her powers to slam Slade into the ground several times. She took pleasure in it, as her abilities had returned with a vengeance, now that the interference field from the Daleks was gone.
She showed no mercy as she unleashed her anger, beating the villain in the ground, scuffing his metal body and leaving several scratches and dents.
"You amuse me, Raven." Slade said when Raven finished her assault. "You can beat me, damage me, and thwart any plan you wish. But I just keep coming back."
The Doctor returned. "It's time I helped rectify that situation!" he said.
He held was looked like an explosive device.
Raven was inspired, and so grasped Slade in a large, black claw of energy.
"I see your abilities have returned." the Doctor remarked as he attached the bomb to back of Cyber-Slade's head. "Let's give the city some fireworks." he said when he finished.
Slade chuckled. "Can you do it, Titans? Can you kill me? If so, then you become like me."
The Doctor glared at him. "All they're doing is holding you at a safe distance. Me, I have no trouble seeing you die. After all, everything must come to an end, Slade. All things die."
Slade glared at him. "My blood will on your hands then, Doctor. I hope you can live with it. And you too, Titans."
"It wouldn't be the first time for me." the Doctor told the villain.
"In that case Doctor, I'm sorry I didn't get to know you earlier. You could've taught the Titans a thing or two in their youth."
"Enough of this!" the Doctor told him.
"Very well. But remember Titans, evil will always be around, even after I'm gone. Don't let your guard down."
With that, Slade let out an appalling laugh.
Wincing in disgust, the Doctor nodded at Raven. She sent the laughing villain high into the air. The Time Lord then clicked his sonic screwdriver, pointing it at the target.
A loud and powerful explosion burst in the sky, mercifully bringing an end to the insidious laughter, which echoed for a few seconds. The Titans stared in awe, breathing a sigh of relief. Their deadly enemy was now defeated, once and for all.
The Doctor stared at them. "You know, Starfire." he began. "I'm considering taking you up on your offer."
Nightwing glared at him. "Before we do that, we have something to take care of."
"What's that?"
"We must honor those that have fallen."