Zatrion Presents…

Of Ninjas, Titans, and Specters

I don't own the Teen Titans, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Mortal Kombat. I do claim Nekros, Tek-NOS, Talleon, Tim and Zatrion.

Note: "Talking", Thinking, "Mind Speech"

Chapter 3: Unforeseen Consequences

In the Netherrealm…

"Your so-called generals are failing, Talleon! I should have expected this!" Noob yells out. Only 30 minutes ago, he was absolutely sure that he would be freed. Now, his plans are in doubt.

"This was expected, Noob. Relax." Talleon says.

"How can I relax? My only chance of freedom has essentially been ruined, because of your ignorant generals!" He turns his back to Talleon, planning to leave the Dorfen.

"I knew that something along these lines would occur. It always does. Besides, there are other ways to get free."

Noob pauses and turns his head back to Talleon. "If so, how?"

"I know that there is portal in the walled city that leads to the Nexus." Talleon gazes towards the mentioned city.

"What, pray tell, is the Nexus?" Noob turns to Talleon, an eyebrow raised.

"The Nexus connects all realms. From what legends I was able to decipher while there, the Elder Gods created the Nexus as a place for their Champion to save all realms.

"I'm afraid I don't follow you."

Talleon sighs, and sits down, preparing to tell his disciple the history of reality. "Ages ago, before any realms existed, there were the Elder Gods and the One Being. The One Being fed on the Elder Gods. Soon, the Gods created six weapons that shattered the One Being. Using the remains of the One Being, the Elder Gods created all of the realms. The Elder Gods placed the six weapons, called Kamidogu in 6 different realms. Yet to this day, the One Being's conscious still exists, seeking to regain his power."

"How can the One Being regain it?" By the tone of his voice, he is relatively unconvinced.

"If he were to gain control of the weapons, he would have most of what is necessary to regain his power."

"Yet, he would still be missing something." Noob feels confident, having felt like he shattered his master's preposterous story.

"Very good, Noob. Yes, he would still need an amulet. An amulet created by a Fallen Elder God."

"Shinnok's amulet!" Exclaimed Noob.

"Yes. The One Being tried once already through the Dragon King, Onaga, five years ago."

"I was there, Talleon. Onaga was defeated." Perhaps this old fool has more insight than I previously thought.

"Onaga was able to collect the six weapons and the amulet, but was unable to succeed in his quest. As you said, he was defeated."

"What about the Nexus?" Noob's patience is wearing thin.

"Ah yes, you must forgive me. The Champion of the Elder Gods is to collect the weapons and the amulet, take them to the Nexus, and place them on the altar so they would be transported to the Elder Gods."

"So, the Nexus is the closest that mortals can get to the Elder Gods. Is there a way to actually see them?" Yet another plan is being concocted by Noob, this time to attack that foolish Thunder God, Raiden.

"I don't know. All I know is that you do not need the child to escape from here."

"And you tell me this now?"

Ignoring this remark, Talleon continues. "There is one problem when trying to gain access to the Nexus. It can only be entered when wielding one of the weapons."

"So where are the weapons located?"

"As I said, there are 6 Kamidogu, and they are spread across six different realms. From what I understand, they are located in Earthrealm, Outworld, Edenia, the Realm of Seido, Chaosrealm, and this very realm." Talleon then proceeds to stand.

"I thought that all of them were gathered in Outworld. How can they spread out over the realms again?"

"I guess that the Champion of the Elder Gods was able to return the Kamidogu to where they rightfully belong."

"Who is this Champion?"

"… I cannot say in all honesty, for I do not know."

"Very well. Can you tell me where the Kamidogu is in this realm?"

"After you take control of this realm, you will find information regarding its location." Talleon turns and begins to leave the Dorfen.

"Where are you running off to, master?"

"Staying in this realm for too long will drain me of all my power. I must return to Jugon in order to regain my strength."

"How long will you be away?" A coward never leaves before a coming battle.

"An hour at the least, a day at the most." By this time, Talleon has left the Dorfen.

"I will wait your return." Turning around, he once again looks back into the realm viewer crystal.

1111

Jump City Streets – 9:11 AM

"So, are you going to attack me, or will you bore me into submission?" Tek-NOS asks. He remains in his Hapkido fighting stance, waiting for the slightest hint of a possible attack.

"Beast Boy, grab the kid and get him out of here." Robin whispers, looking at the aforementioned teen.

"What am I, the body mover?" jokes the green teen.

"Not now. We have to ensure that this maniac is stopped, and collateral damage is a high possibility."

"In English, please?"

"Move the kid so that he won't get blown up." Cyborg utters in an almost silent voice.

"Oh." Seeing that the boy is behind Tek-NOS, Beast Boy turns into a mouse, beginning to move to him.

Seeing this, Tek-NOS gestures behind him, launching 5 small discs from a launcher that popped up from his right wrist. "I'm afraid that the child must stay." With these words, 4 of the discs land in a square shape while the remaining disc hovers in the air. A crimson field connects each of the discs, creating a pyramid surrounding Tim.

"What did you do?" Robin looks past this mechanical monster to the crimson pyramid.

"I made sure that I won't be distracted by any… heroics focused on the boy. And I can assure you that it cannot be broken by any of your means."

At that very moment, there was a very audible zapping noise. It seems that Beast Boy touched the crimson energy, and was shot back to the Titans.

"I guess I forgot to mention the crimson Tesla effect. It assures that nothing can pass through to the child, whether it's something physical or anything else." While he cannot lie, he can choose to withhold information until he feels prudent.

"Titans, GO!" With that cry, Robin pulls out three explosive discs and throws them with unerring accuracy. Each one hits Tek-NOS in his chest, leaving dents and charred spots. At the same time, Cyborg blasts him in the head with his sonic cannon, causing the head to snap back. Raven uses her power to levitate 2 gas guzzlers into the air while Starfire charges a massive Starbolt. Working in tandem, Raven throws the vehicles at Tek-NOS and Starfire launches her Starbolt at the vehicles. The cars impact the mechanical monster with bone-shattering force. Amazingly, he is able to stop the flight with minimal force. He realizes too late that this was a trap. The Starbolt strikes the gas tank of one vehicle, causing an explosion. The explosion created a chain reaction, engulfing the giant in a torrent of flame reaching high into the sky.

"Booyah!" Cyborg yells out.

"Aw, why didn't you save any for me?" Beast Boy has finally regained his senses, shaking his head.

"Well, you should have got off your butt and got into action!"

"Hey, I can't help it that I got electrocuted! Next time a baddy comes by, save some for me."

"Hehehe. Don't worry, there's still more of me to go around!" The voice boomed out of the raging inferno.

"Show yourself!" Robin is obviously surprised that that… thing could still be alive.

"With pleasure." Tek-NOS strolls out of the fire, undamaged save for the dents and scorch marks. "Did you think that something so… elementary would do me in?"

"Hrragh!" Starfire flies into the sky, her hands and eyes glowing green with energy. She has seen things that defy explanation, but this behemoth has done something that very few others has had the opportunity to do: This thing scared her, and she feared for more than her own safety. She didn't want anything bad happen to her friends, and certainly did not want any harm to come to the one she has grown to care for. To her, this monster was something that must be stopped by all means. If it meant draining all of her energy into her attacks, so be it.

"Star, what are you doing?" Robin is now looking up. As the former partner of the Dark Knight, he still has to remind himself that he can only do so much. Seeing Starfire rise up, preparing to attack, he realized that this was such a time. At the same time, he is in absolute shock. This Tek-NOS character strolled out of the fire as if it wasn't there. And to show only cosmetic damage, (and little amounts at that!) he realized that this may be a futile effort on their behalf. One last he thinks of before snapping back into reality is that being a hero is to stand in the face of adversity, no matter what the outcome may be.

With unrelenting force, Starfire rains down countless Starbolts, each one hitting its intended target with the force of a small missile fired at the speed of light. She resorts back to her earlier days, and her training. She was taught to always attack the most vulnerable portion of the enemy. While he may show no overt weakness, she noticed that his head snapped back when he was struck by Cyborg's attack. Taking this signal, she focused all of her attack onto the head of the mechanical behemoth.

Ignorant girl, she doesn't realize that she's only making me stronger, thought Tek-NOS. He takes calm collection of his surroundings, looks back towards his intended target (who is still unconscious), and activates his Combat Adaptation Program. With this program activated, he begins to study the one attacking him. No matter what she does, I will come out the victor. After a few moments, he analyses the material he was able to gather from her attacks. So, she uses solar energy and converts it into pure bio-plasma. I can surmise that the strength of the attack depends on the emotions of said attacker. During this time, his right arm begins to change, turning into what appears to be liquid metal. Thank the High Powers for nanotechnology.

During this time, Raven has landed and begins to plan with the other Titans on what their next plan of action will be. Looking behind her for only a moment, she notices Tek-NOS' right arm beginning to turn into a fluidic state. What is he doing? More important, HOW is he doing that? Using her telepathic abilities, she is able to hear the last bit of his thoughts. "Guys, I think Tek-NOS might adapt to all of our abilities."

"What makes you say that?" Robin looks at her.

"I was able to read his thoughts, and it appears that he is infused with nanotechnology."

"Nanotech!? How can he get nanotech?" Cyborg looks at her incredulously. "Better yet, how can you be sure that he has nanotech?"

"Look at his right arm." Saying that, she nods her head towards Tek-NOS' direction.

Glancing behind her, the metallic teen looks at the arm of his enemy, and notices that his arm is quite different than the rest of his body. It almost appears to be in a state of change. "Maybe you do have a point, Rae."

"If what she said is true, then…" Robin looks up, and finally puts two and two together. "Star, Stop!"

Still ignorant to the voice screaming at her below, Starfire continues to attack the enemy. Ignoring the fatigue from her relentless assault, she swoops in to deliver the final attack with her eye blasts

By this time, Tek-NOS has fully adapted to her attacks, and has found a way of converting her energy blasts into energy that he can store in his reserve tanks. His right arm, which was liquid mere moments ago, has solidified into a new weapon; a variable level plasma cannon. Without missing a beat, he aims the currently charging cannon at the Tamaranian princess. Just when she is about to attack, it reaches full power. She realizes too late that he has her dead in his sights.

"So sorry." With these words, he fires the cannon point blank into her chest.

1111

Oh, my. Bet you didn't see that coming did you? Or maybe you did? I don't know.

I finally got a review after a period of waiting, and I was ecstatic. For the review, I give out 10,000 virtual gold stars. The next review will hopefully come soon, so I await its arrival with great anticipation.

PSBefore I get any hate mail, let me go on the record and say that I do not wish to portray any character out of character. I may have changed around on how Michelangelo reacted, but you have to realize that he saw a man murdered and his brothers severely beaten. The shock of these events caused a change that will be apparent throughout the story. I also know that I have yet to produce Zatrion. He will be mentioned, though not by name, multiple times by Talleon, have telepathic conversations with Tim and will make a physical appearance in later chapters. As for how late… It really depends on my creativity. Please be patient with me, and I will do my best.

PPSI do not wish to bash any characters. This is meant to be a gloomy fic, so having the heroes beaten down is just par for the course. As to why I left certain characters out, (like Slade,) they will make an appearance in a later fic. You see, I wish to create a series of fics surrounding my original characters. As for the next fic, I have it planned out, but I wish to finish what I started before continuing.

REVIEW, AND REJOICE!