The night sky is filled with dark thunderhead clouds. Flashes of lightning illuminate their contours. A bulky silhouette stands up among them and begins to swing a pair of sticks against the clouds; every time it brings them down, there is another strike and accompanying thunderclap. More lightning crackled in another patch of the sky. A second silhouette, this one much thinner and with hair down-swept and spiky, stands up and directs its hands here and there. There is a new flare-up every time it does so.
Meanwhile, something's happening at Titans' Tower. Inside, in the hall, Beast Girl has become a buffalo and is straining mightily at a rubber band looped over her horns, trying to catch it on a nearby hook. She succeeds and ducks away, coming up in human form with a mischievous smile on her face. Now she produces a large, filled water balloon that sloshes a bit in her hands, and she lets off a wicked little chuckle. "This is gonna be so sweet!" Beast Girl exclaimed.
"What are you doing?" The voice surprised her; she let go of the balloon and completely freaks out as she tries desperately to make a safe catch. Finally she gets hold of it and turns around, facing Revan. "Please tell me this isn't another ridiculous prank," he says. "Okay. It's not a ridiculous prank," Beast Girl replies. "It's a brilliant one." She laughs. Revan rolls his eyes wearily.
"Alright, check it out," Beast Girl continued. "'Member how Cyber put red dye in my shampoo and I turned brown for toe days? Well, brother, it's payback time." A pull string hangs down from the ceiling, and she reaches for it. "I give you," she says, pulling the string, "the Beast Girl Insta-Lube 9000!" She and Revan back up as a blueprint comes down; the words 'Beast Girl' and 'Insta-Lube' slide down beneath it, after which '9000' drops from the lower edge and replaces them. The diagram shows the rubber band, which is part of a floor-mounted slingshot, held back by the hook and with the balloon loaded in. A tripwire in front of the rig runs through overhead pulleys and is tied to a lever that is in turn connected to the hook.
On the blueprint, a rough figure of Cyber steps up and catches her foot on the tripwire. "See," Beast Girl says, "when Chrome-Dome steps around the corner, her foot tugs the string. The string trips the lever..." the blueprint shows this, "the lever releases the mother of all rubber bands..." shown on the blueprint, "which sends a balloon-load of motor oil flying right at her, and BOOSH!"
The blueprint rolls up, and Beast Girl puts the balloon in the rubber band. "Pretty clever, huh?" Beast Girl asks. "You're a genius," Revan said sarcastically. "It's just a little good clean dirty fun," Beast Girl said. A door opens; she perks up her ears to listen. "Here she comes," she says. She ducks away, then back to whisk Revan off. "Whoa!" Revan exclaims. They hide around a corner. "I don't think-"
"Shh!" Beast Girl exclaimed, cutting the empath off. "But what if-" "Shhh!" There is a long silence between them. "Why are we hiding?" a voice asks, breaking the silence. "Shhh!" Beast Girl's eyes instantly go as wide as saucers upon realizing that her target is nowhere near ground zero, and she flips out for a moment. Cyber is hunched down behind both of them. "Cyber?!" Beast Girl exclaims. "You can't be Cyber!"
"I can't?" Cyber asks. "If you're you," Beast Girl said, pointing at her cybernetic friend, "then who's...?" Footsteps echo out there as all three look out. An indigo boot steps into view and catches the tripwire. The balloon is released as Beast Girl jumps out in a frantic attempt to stop it. "NOOOOOOOO!" she exclaims. The victim is so taken by surprise that he literally can't see straight.
"Eek!" Starblaze lets out a surprised squeal as the balloon collides with his face, splattering him with the viscous contents, and knocks him onto his back. Beast Girl runs up. "Starblaze!" she exclaimed. The Tamaranean has propped himself up on his hands, but cannot see her due to all the oil covering his eyes. Cyber and Revan come over. "You okay?" the former asks him, who has finally got his eyes open.
"This is punishment?" Starblaze asked, puzzled. "I did something wrong?" Revan shook his head. "You didn't," he said, "she did." Beast Girl gave a sheepish grin-accompanied by a sheep's bleating. "Star! It was..." she trails off, then tries again. "...you weren't supposed to..." she trails off again. She starts to say something again, but Cyber's and Revan's disapproving glares stop her in her tracks for a moment.
"I didn't..." Beast Girl trails off once again and laughs. "Just remember to change that oil every three thousand miles." She tries to laugh again, but it dies on her lips. Starblaze stands up and leans over her; his rage is steadily building. "On my planet, we have a name for those who do such terrible things," Starblaze says to Beast Girl. "You are a...a...CLORBAG VARBLERNELK!" The oil disappears from his face on the last two words.
"I'm a what-bag?" Beast Girl asked. "You heard the man," Cyber said. "You are such a clorbag," Revan said, shaking his head. "Come on, you guys," Beast Girl says, "can't anybody take a joke?" A flash of lightning interrupts the standoff. "Titans!" Robyn exclaimed; her face is silhouetted by the glare. "Trouble!" The next lightning strike illuminated her fully before everything went black.
Lightning flashes among the storm clouds over the bridge across Jump City Bay. It finally strikes the roadway. A truck driver yells in surprise and cuts his wheels sharply to the right, braking as he does so; the truck stops just short of the smoking, flaming strike point. Many cars slam on their brakes to avoid a collision, creating an instant traffic jam.
As the smoke starts to clear, the two silhouettes seen among the clouds become visible within it. The last wisps evaporate to give a fully detailed view of both; they wear outfits that look like something like samurai armor, but without the upper body protection. The bulky one has blue skin and black clothing trimmed with blue, and she also wears a samurai-style helmet. A thundercloud is emblazoned on her chest, and she has long black hair. Her thin cohort, on the other hand, has light yellow skin and hair, and her outfit is red and yellow, with a lightning bolt on the chest. A headband keeps her hair out of the way and has a guard plate stretching down on either side to cover her cheeks.
Both wear armbands and wrist/shin guards. The two new arrivals look at each other and smile. "May we have fun here, sister?" The bulky one asked the thin one. "Of course," the thin one replied, creating a lightning bolt between her hands. "We are Thunder and Lightning! We may do whatever we please!"
Lightning throws the bolt upward, striking a suspension cable on the bridge. Sparks fly everywhere. "Look, sister!" she says to Thunder, "I command the sparks to dance!" She laughs as the strike dies out; the flickering remains fall all around in a shower. "Amusing," Thunder says. "Now listen as I make music!"
She claps her hands, creating an intense shock wave which radiates outward. The bridge cables are jarred loose and begin to whipsaw back and forth. The semi gets a smoking lightning bolt traced into its side. "Let all who pass this way know-Lightning was here!" The thin girl exclaimed. "And Thunder too!" The bulky girl added.
Thunder banged her fists together, knuckle to knuckle, and creates an earthquake that sets the stopped cars and their drivers trembling; all the alarm systems are set off in the process. The sisters laugh, and Thunder pats Lightning's shoulder. "Most amusing," the latter says.
"Hate to break it to you, but you girls have a lousy sense of humor," a voice said, surprising the two girls. They looked toward the traffic snarl where the Titans are standing on a truck trailer. It was Robyn who interrupted them. "This ends-now!" The Girl Wonder exclaimed.
"No one gives orders to Thunder and Lightning!" The latter said, shaking her fist at Robyn. "Taste my power!" She throws a bolt at the truck and just misses the Titans, who scramble in five different directions. The trailer gets a big hole blown through it, wiping out her graffiti. Starblaze does a U-turn and swoops down on Lightning with star-bolts blazing; she jumps onto a line of stopped cars, he does likewise, and they run on these parallel tracks and trade shots. The firefight continues for several dozen yards until Lightning gets in a lucky hit that knocks Starblaze down.
Her sister, meanwhile, is mixing it up with Cyber. They block or dodge a few of each other's punches and start to grapple. Thunder pulls her left fist back and readies for a powerful strike; Cyber's right arm configures into the sonic cannon. The fists swing and connect with each other, resulting in a shock wave which throws them far down the bridge in opposite directions. Cyber lands on her back, but Thunder brings a small cloud to herself and hops onto it to float upwards.
Robyn finds the big, blue hooligan bearing down on her and has to dodge a thunderclap. She leaps onto a guardrail, but another blast destroys that section and she has to move down a bit. The next attack breaks a support cable; Robyn grabs the swinging free end and is carried away an instant before Thunder obliterates that section of the rail. The Girl Wonder is carried high into the air before the cable starts to descend. She times her next move carefully and hurls herself over Thunder, avoiding a punch and grabbing the foe's shoulders to throw her across the pavement.
Lightning throws a bolt at Revan, who dodges the shot and launches himself downward for a flying kick. The yellow sister throws up her arms and is driven backward by his flurry of attacks. Finally she gets clear and shocks the empath with a bolt that sends him flying.
No sooner is he down, though, than Beast Girl-as a giant panda-lumbers up behind and catches her in a bear hug. Lightning struggles for a moment, then electrifies her entire body and gives the shape-shifting Titan a few hundred thousand volts. The shock forces her back into human form and causes her to let go.
Lightning laughs. "Your powers are strong," she said, "but mine are stronger!" Beast Girl, lying against a chunk of debris, groans and rubs her head for several seconds. She then gasps as Thunder's shadow falls over her. "Your power of the animals is impressive, green one," she said, warming up her fists. "Rise so we may do battle."
Beast Girl stands up. "Why are you doing this?" She asked. "Because it is not sporting to attack an unready opponent," Thunder replied. "No," Beast Girl said, "why are you wrecking everything?" Thunder was puzzled. "Uh, because it is amusing."
The green Titan gestured to the scared motorists huddling behind their damaged and overturned vehicles. "Do they look amused?" Beast Girl asked the blue girl. "I-"
"This isn't funny!" Beast Girl exclaimed, cutting Thunder off. "It's wrong!" An attack of conscience makes Thunder relax her power. Before Beast Girl can say anything more, though, a lightning bolt blasts her away and its shooter jumps down next to her sister.
"Ah, the thrill of victory," Lightning said, putting her arm around Thunder's shoulders. "Come, Thunder. We shall seek more amusement." They take to the air. Beast Girl sits up against a pile of rubble; she is dazed, smoking, and disheveled. Beast Girl shakes her head to clear it and finds Starblaze floating into view behind her. He is clutching his forearm.
"Well, that was a shock," she said. Starblaze turns up his nose and floats on. "Hmph," he says. "So, I'm guessing you're still mad?" Beast Girl asks. Cyber helps Revan to his feet.
"Okay, team," Robyn says as Starblaze and Beast Girl arrive. "We have to find those girls before they do any more damage. Cyber, search the west side. Revan, the east. I'll take downtown. Beast Girl, you and Star scan from the skies." Beast Girl looks uneasily up at the partner who has just been assigned to her. He has turned his back and crossed his arms.
"Um, maybe Cyber should come with me instead," Beast Girl suggested. "Cyber can't fly," Robyn said bluntly. "Oh," the green Titan says, "yeah."
Cyber pinches Beast Girl's cheek; a big sweat drop rolls down the latter's face. "Have a nice flight, my little clorbag," the metallic teen said.
At the open courtyard in front of the museum, Lightning and Thunder decide to cause some trouble. A couple of girls make their way across the courtyard on foot and bicycle before there is a mighty blast of lightning. The troublemaking sisters appear, scaring the women away.
"Magnificent!" Lightning exclaimed. "We can make much mischief here!" She strikes a large metal globe, which rolls away from its post towards a row of stone slabs. It bangs into one slab, which topples over into the next, and so on like a row of falling dominoes. Thunder has a look of trepidation as the last slab falls down. Lightning walks into view.
"Sister!" Lightning exclaimed. "Did you see what I..." Lightning trailed off at the look on her sister's face. "Something troubles you?" she asked Thunder. "The green one's words," Thunder said. "She says our fun is...wrong." Lightning laughed. "Wrong?" she asked, still laughing as she puts her arm around Thunder's shoulders. "She speaks nonsense, sister! How could such amusement be wrong? The fun is only beginning." She leads Thunder away.
Starblaze is flying, looking intently down towards Jump City. Beast Girl, as a hawk, glides next to him. They land among the damaged courtyard of the museum. Beast Girl turned back to human form and they begin to inspect the smashed slabs. "Well, either they were just here, or this is the ugliest modern art I've ever seen," Beast Girl said, trying to make a joke. "You are not funny," Starblaze said. "You are a clorbag varblernerk." He walks away; Beast Girl follows.
"Come on, Star," she says as she catches up with the Tamaranean boy. "You can't stay mad forever. What? Do I have to do the face?" Beast Girl smiles. "You know you can't resist the face."
Except for a glance out of the corner of his eye, he has not looked her way throughout all of this. In no time flat, Beast Girl has transformed into a small kitten with huge, shining eyes. She meows as endearingly as she can; Starblaze looks down at her for a long moment.
"Hmph," he said, turning up his nose as he walks away. Beast Girl returns to human form with a surprised meow. "He resisted the face!" she exclaimed. Starblaze has now reached the point where the globe was anchored. Smoke rises from the stump. Beast Girl runs up again. "Just talk to me, Star!" she exclaimed, kneeling. "Come on, this is no fun!"
"Wrong again, green one!" Lightning exclaimed. Laughing, Thunder floats into view on her cloud and throws a beam downwards. She is joined by an equally jubilant Lightning, also firing away. The sisters' onslaught connects with many parts of the courtyards. Starblaze runs down one side and manages to keep just ahead of Thunder, also on foot; when he reaches the end, he goes straight up the wall and does a long, high backflip to come down behind her. Starblaze throws a star-bolt but misses Thunder.
Lightning gets a bolt ready. She flings it at Beast Girl, who changes into a rabbit and hops away. Lightning chases her towards the ruins of those slabs and fires again. The startled green bunny runs away, and returns in the sky as a crane. More lightning comes her way and is just barely dodged; now she drops to the ground as a mouse and runs toward Lightning. The projectiles are very easy for her to evade now. Lightning laughs. "Your animal forms cannot protect you forever!" She shouts.
Beast Girl, as a bighorn sheep, barrels into her and sends her flying. Starblaze flips and leaps his way to the end of the courtyard as Thunder closes in. She projects a beam toward him, he counters with a mighty star-bolt, and the two attacks meet between them and cancel out. Starblaze's energy starts to overwhelm Thunder's. "Huh?" Thunder says, confused. The star-bolt reaches her and knocks her across the open expanse to land squarely on the spot where the globe had stood.
Beast Girl, now a giant bear, moves in on Thunder, and Lightning takes her fallen sister's place against Starblaze. The ursine Titan gets to her hind legs and plows into Thunder, driving her to the courtyard wall, then runs up in human form and grabs her collar. "I don't want to hurt you," Beast Girl said. "And I don't think you want to hurt me."
"Pain does not amuse us," Thunder replied. "Could've fooled me," Beast Girl said. "Keep playing rough, and innocent people will get hurt." This makes the big blue girl think a bit.
A fence separates the concrete of the courtyard from the museum lawn. There is a sudden puff of smoke, which solidifies into a tall figure wearing long red traveling robes and a broad, flat-crowned hat. An arm is lowered from the face, revealing long white hair blowing about an old but strong male face. The overall impression is vaguely Oriental, and is reinforced by the thin mustache and beard. Only one eye, the left, can be seen.
Under the red robes, the man wears black ones and has hidden an old wooden box on a tripod. This has a hand crank in its side, much like an old-style movie camera. The sorcerer smiles evilly and begins to turn the crank. The front cover falls away to expose a camera lens, which glows red and then white. Beast Girl and Thunder are caught off guard as the ground trembles. "Huh?" Both girls say, confused.
A broad energy beam shoots past them from the camera and smashes cleanly through the intact row of concrete slabs. It just misses Starblaze and Lightning, who have broken off their duel; the latter sidesteps, but she gasps as a shower of ruined stonework comes straight down toward her. "Star!" Beast Girl yells. The shadows of the crumbling slabs fall over her.
The two sisters back up in fear and awe at what this newcomer has just brought about. "Your gifts are your own," the sorcerer says, voice echoing. "Who are they to tell you how to use them?"
"And who are you that commands such power?" Lightning asks. "Show yourself!" The dust from the destruction of the concrete slabs starts to clear. "As you wish," the sorcerer said. The haze parts to reveal him standing within. "I am but a humble old man-" The camera, abandoned, shuts down. "-whose power is drawn from nature, like your own. Come with me, and sow as much destruction as you please." He turns away. "Yes!" Lightning exclaims, "more fun!" Thunder restrains her with a hand on her shoulder. "Will we harm anyone?" She asks. "What? The green one has poisoned your mind." Lightning said.
"This destruction-will we harm the innocent?" Thunder asks again. "Would it matter if you did?" The sorcerer asked. "You are unique. Gifted. Better. Why should anything interfere with your enjoyment? I am going. Follow, if you wish." He walks out of the courtyard; Lightning follows. "Come, sister, and leave your foolish thoughts behind," Lightning said. Thunder takes a few steps after them, but stops and looks back at the pile of crumbled stone for a moment. She then turns to catch up with the other two.
A small green spider-Beast Girl-scuttles out of a hole in the pile and climbs up the side a bit; she then returns to human form. "Star?" Beast Girl calls out. "Starblaze? Where are you?" She climbs down. "Come on! Gimme a sign here!" She starts to dig. "You have to be alright, okay? 'Cause I-it was just a joke, you know? Back at the Tower, and..." She trails off. "I'm sorry," she said. "I never said it, but I'm really, really sorry. It was supposed to be funny. And you could've been hurt, and..." Beast Girl trailed off.
She strains to lift a good-sized fragment and manages to get it clear of the pile. "...I'm a total clorbag," she finished softly. A tall shadow is thrown across her. It's Starblaze, with not so much as a scratch on him. Beast Girl turns around. "Huh?" The confused girl says.
Starblaze gives her a warm, forgiving smile that instantly perks her up. "Starblaze!" Beast Girl cried. Taking kitten form again, she jumps into his outstretched hands and he cuddles her to his chest(1). Beast Girl looks up at Starblaze and meows happily. "I am glad you are unharmed as well," Starblaze says with a laugh. Beast Girl takes human form and kneels before him. "I am so sorry. You gotta forgive me," she says. "I already have," Starblaze says, helping Beast Girl up. "Now those evil sisters must be made to apologize." "I don't think they are evil," Beast Girl says. "I think they're just like me."
In a clearing in the mountains outside Jump City, a few scarecrow-like dummies have been set up, consisting of two crossed tree limbs with a blanket wrapped around them. Some characters have been painted on the cloth. Across the area, more such dummies have been set up, and the sorcerer stands among them. "Sticks and leaves?" An annoyed Lightning asks. "Is this a joke? There is no fun in blasting such frail targets!"
"Are you certain, young mistress?" The sorcerer asked. "Try. You may like what you see(2)." The young mistress in question groans and throws a bolt at one of dummies; it instantly catches fire and makes her rethink her opinion of the whole exercise. "Dancing lights!" Lightning exclaimed. "Pleasing."
"Let Thunder try her hand," Thunder said. She stepped toward and throws a blast, causing the thing to disappear in a small explosion and a great clap of sound. "Wondrous noise!" Thunder exclaimed. "See, sister? There is no harm in our fun," Lightning said. "And there is much more fun to be had," the sorcerer said.
The two thrill-seekers grin at each other. Lightning flies across the clearing, blasting one target after another, and Thunder leaps high and slams a fist against the ground to open a furrow. A target at the end of it lights up, followed by several others when she redirects her efforts. Now both sisters work in tandem and turn one target after another into blazing torches. They finally stop their assault and back up to the sorcerer. "More targets, old one!" Lightning demanded. "Yes, please, give us more," Thunder said.
"That won't be necessary," the sorcerer said. "You've done quite enough." He produces a metal disc from underneath his robes. It bears a character, Chinese in appearance, that looks something like a stylized letter S. The sorcerer scales the object over the clearing as Thunder and Lightning watch, totally baffled. It stops high in the sky and spins in place; electricity crackles around it as it picks up speed, culminating in a mighty orange flash.
It is suspended over the burning target as rays of light shoot down to strike every last one. Beams of orange light start to play between them and just miss the two puzzled sisters. These have traced out a large, rough humanoid shape on the ground, with a final wide beam from above touching the heart area. When the light show stops, the outline starts to burn intensely; the sorcerer holds up a staff topped with the same character that was on the disc he threw.
"Rise," the sorcerer said. The apparition does so with an unearthly screeching noise. It has that character engraved on its forehead. "Burn, Fire!" The sorcerer exclaims, "burn it all!" It starts down the mountainside toward the city proper, but stops upon finding the Titans some distance away. "Didn't anyone ever tell you?" Robyn asked. "Play with fire, you're going to get burned(3)."
The beast swings a flaming forearm at the team, forcing them to scatter. Robyn looks up from the duck-and-cover position she has assumed and sees Fire pushing trees aside and making its way toward Jump City. Smoke and flames billow in its wake. The sorcerer waves the fumes aside with his staff.
"Good," he says. "Very good." Thunder and Lightning cannot believe what they have just had a hand in unleashing. "Sister, what have we done?" The former asked. The thing continues down the mountain.
Fire stalks on toward the city. The Titans chase it. "Titans! Go!" Robyn yells. She pulls even with the creature on foot while Revan does likewise in the air. Pulling a couple of grenades from her belt, she throws them at its feet; they throw up a wall of smoke when they blow. Revan flies through it all. "Flames can't spread if there's nothing to burn," he says. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" His spell uproots several trees.
"Good idea, Revan," Robyn said. "Beast Girl! Starblaze! Help him out!" These two put on a burst of speed, and Beast Girl turns into a buffalo to deliver a crushing headbutt against the base of a tree. It topples into a row of others and brings them all down. Meanwhile, Starblaze takes up a position high above the boughs; he throws a star-bolt that blows another clump of old growth to matchwood.
Her cannon at the ready, Cyber leaps toward Fire and lets go with a terrific when she lands. It skims the ground and throws up a wall of dirt in the beast's face. It takes some time for the view to begin to clear. Fire is nowhere in sight among the dust clouds. Beast Girl is in human form again. "Is he out?" Beast Girl asked.
In answer to her question, Fire stands up, still blazing and now roaring mad. "You had to ask," Revan said. As it screeches some more, Robyn runs up for a closer look. Up the slope to one side, standing on a stone outcropping, is the sorcerer. He grins maliciously. Robyn is starting to put it all together. Thunder and Lightning stand behind the sorcerer. "Go, young mistresses," he said. "Fire is your creation. They have no right to destroy your fun."
"Yes!" Lightning exclaimed. "We must fight!" "But, sister-" "Do not annoy me with your foolish concerns!" Lightning exclaimed, cutting Thunder off. "Come!" The blue sister thinks it over for a moment, and both of them disappear in a flash of lightning. The sorcerer turns away from the spot where they stood and spreads his arms; he starts to laugh in triumph, but it dies on his lips as he hears Robyn's yell in the distance.
The Titans' leader sails across the clearing and lands a flying kick that sends the staff flying. It sticks in the ground, walking end down, and Robyn lands next to it. However, the thing pulls loose and sails back into the old man's hand. The tense seconds pass as the two face off; finally the sorcerer breaks the silence, his voice starting to take on a tone similar to that used by Slade. "Robyn," he said. "We meet at last."
"Who are you?!" Robyn demanded. There is no answer, except for a charge with staff raised for a swing. Robyn meets it by hurling herself at the enemy as Fire moves closer to the city.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Revan said. This time, he has targeted the creature itself. The stream of black energy pouring from his hands breaks against the giant's form and stops it in its tracks. When he relents, its flames have gone out, leaving the body black and smoking.
The surface begins to crack all over; finally the creature lights up again and Revan gasps in shock. It slams its fists together and creates a pyrotechnic shock wave that blasts away all the trees within several dozen yards. He is thrown back by the overpressure, as is Cyber.
She slams down, and Starblaze and Revan land and start to help her up. Before they can get her upright, though, a lightning bolt flashes down and knocks all three even farther away. The sisters descend to the clearing; Lightning warms up her hands and advances, while Thunder stays put and gets ready to attack.
Before she can throw that curveball, though, Beast Girl-as a tiger-steps into view before her. "Stand aside, green one!" Thunder exclaimed. Said green one just roars. They charge at each other, but before any blows can land, violet smoke boils up and covers the entire clearing.
When it clears, the girls find themselves in the middle of a bank of clouds in the same color as the smoke. Thunder is among them, but her body is largely in shadow. "I do not wish to harm you," Thunder says, in a slightly echoing voice. Beast Girl is also shown in shadow. "But you want to destroy homes and innocent lives?" she asked, her voice also echoing slightly.
"No," Thunder said. "Then what are you fighting for?" Beast Girl asked. "My sister and I...the old one says we are unique, gifted, better," Thunder replied. "Gifts don't make you better," Beast Girl said, "just different. It's how you use them that counts." Thunder turns this over in her mind a bit.
Meanwhile, Lightning is still fighting the boys. "It seems your power has its limits," she said, holding up a sparking hand. "But mine has none." She is standing over the unconscious Starblaze and getting ready to light him up like a Christmas tree-but before she can do so, a blast from Thunder plows her away. Starblaze comes to and looks in the direction of the shot.
Thunder pushes over a charred tree as she steps up, and Lightning gets to her feet. "You betray me?!" Lightning yells, warming up her powers. "We have done wrong, my sister," Thunder said. "Our fun must stop." Lightning is still warming up her powers. "No commands Lightning," she yelled. "Not even Thunder!" She throws a wide beam; the impact sends Thunder tumbling among the trees.
Robyn and the sorcerer, meanwhile, continue their melee as the mountain burns all around them. Slowly but steadily, the young Titan retreats downhill before her attacker's swings. Soon, though, she holds her ground and blocks one strike after another, then sidesteps when the upper end of the staff is jabbed at her. It hits a tree and sends up a wisp of smoke as if it were a red-hot branding iron. The sorcerer grimaces down at her.
Fire continues its inexorable advance towards the lower houses as the other four Titans gather to watch. Beast Girl is back in human form. "Those houses go, the whole city could go," Cyber said. "We gotta stop the fire." "How," Revan asked. "Any way we can," Cyber said. They run down the slope.
Lightning throws a bolt at Thunder from the air. The electricity washes over her and hurls her back against a wall of rock. Thunder slides down to a sitting position and groans wearily. Looking up, she finds her sister standing over her and ready to unleash a king-size shock at point-blank range. "Tell me, sister, are we still having fun?" Thunder asked.
Lightning's conscience gets to her. "No," she said, turning off her powers. "Observe," Thunder said, pointing to the battle between the Titans and Fire. The latter is hit in the face with a sudden torrent of water, accompanied by an elephant's trumpeting. Revan is casting a spell to hold the flames back, Beast Girl-as the pachyderm-is spraying water from her trunk, and Cyber has opened a fire hydrant. Starblaze descends among them.
"They also have gifts," Thunder said, "but they use them for good, while we waste ours on dangerous fun." She puts her hand on Lightning's shoulder. "If we are so special, sister, let us act special. We must help," Thunder said. "But how?" Lightning asked. "Our gifts can only destroy."
"True," Thunder said. "But together we have another gift." They are gone in a flash of light, ascending into the cloud cover. When they have vanished from sight, a blast of lightning is seen from within. The four Titans find themselves staring at a mountain in flames and a walking inferno that has not let up one bit despite their best efforts. It towers over them and roars.
Thunder strikes the clouds with her sticks and Lightning directs her hands here and there, producing the same effects as before. The glare plays over both of them and a driving rain begins-the result of combining their talents. At ground level, Fire looks up in alarm at the downpour, then screams in agony as its flames go out in a thick wall of brown smoke. When the view clears, there is nothing left but a few piles of ashes. All the Titans but Revan cheer wildly; Beast Girl is in human form.
Up on the mountain, the sorcerer has caught the front of Robyn's tunic and hoisted her up. The former's tone of voice is now unmistakeable. "Robyn," the sorcerer says. "Is that the best you can do?" There is a tremendous flash of lightning that whites out the entire view.
When it subsides, the view is at ground level; Robyn drops into a crouch, free of the man's grasp. The robed figure has thrown up an arm to guard his face; he brings it down after a moment, revealing it to have been only a mask that was damaged in the strike.
Most of the left side has fallen away, and underneath is a smooth expanse of red-orange metal with a narrow slit for the eye. The last remaining pieces come loose to fully expose that half of Slade's still-concealed face-the first time that any of it has been seen.
Robyn gasps in shock and stares, frozen in place-and after a long moment, the mastermind disappears in a blast of smoke. The view clears to show the metal disc he threw into the air to bring Fire to life. Robyn regards it thoughtfully, then picks it up for a closer look. "Slade," she whispers.
The Titans continue to celebrate. Beast Girl has her tongue out to catch the raindrops. "Ah, yeah!" she exclaims with a laugh. "That's what I mean!" Cyber exclaimed. "Very nice!" Beast Girl turns away from the street and sees Thunder and Lightning coming down from the mountain. She crosses to them. Lightning looks away, showing very clearly that she would rather be doing anything else right now.
"I am sorry for all the trouble we made," Thunder said, bowing. She nudges Lightning, who faces forward. "I am..." Lightning said, also bowing, "also sorry." Thunder and Beast Girl shake hands. "You have taught us so much, green one," Thunder said. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me," Beast Girl said. She gestures to Starblaze; he steps forward. "Thank the person who taught me," Beast Girl finished. Starblaze and the sisters bow to each other. "And thank you for helping to defeat the flame monster," he said.
It is now sunrise of the next day, the clouds have broken, and a rainbow stretches up from the horizon behind the Tower. The entire team is on a ridge overlooking Jump City. Robyn hands Slade's talisman to Cyber so she can give it a looking over. "So, Slade wants to destroy the city," Cyber said. "Question is, why?"
"I don't know," Robyn said. "But I will find out-and he won't get away with it." Beast Girl comes up behind Starblaze. "So...am I, you know...still a clorbag?" she asked. "Mmm-no," he said. "I believe you are more of a...milnip wusserloop."
Not being too fluent in Tamaranean, she does not what to make of this label for a moment. Bewilderment quickly gives way to a big grin, though.
"SWEET!" Beast Girl exclaimed, dancing around. "I'm a milnip! Who's your wusserloop? Huh?" She stops dancing; for a moment, her eyes have stars in them.
"That's a good thing...right, Star?" A puzzled Beast Girl asks. The Tamaranean just chuckles and goes airborne to get home. Revan follows him, while Robyn and Cyber start running. The green Titan is left standing by herself. "Star?" She asks again, before sprinting after the others.
I'm just spouting these out.
(1)- If Robyn had saw that, she would've had a fit. Then mentally kicked herself for having a fit.
(2)- Why did he say that?
(3)- What was that!? That was the dumbest one-liner you have ever said Robyn!
