Chapter 8
The Teen Titans soared across the empty street. Robin was speeding on a motorcycle, and the rest were flying. Constantine had a sour look on his face. Jade noticed it and confronted him.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's just… I have a jet, my own jet. I have, like, a million ways to get around: I can fly, have a jet, can walk, or instantly teleport myself."
"So?"
He hesitated, "Flying always seems to take forever."
"Well, we don't mind."
They all flew at a quick pace, and were just above Robin. They weren't high in the air, but actually, close to the ground. They were close enough to hear the message sent from Oracle.
"A distress call was sent out in an area where a blimp crashed. I don't exactly know if the call came from somebody on or off the blimp. But either way, someone did cause that blimp to crash. Check it out."
"So who is it this time? Anyone we know?" Robin asked
"No, I don't know. Records and files don't list who it is."
"Right. We're on our way. Actually, we're coming up on the blimp now."
The structure looked like it had been half submerged in the ground, and had taken a severe nosedive. The coverings of it were completely burned off, as if the fire had been for a long time. It was horrible to witness. With no coverings, only the blimp's framework remained, which's curved bars made it appear as if a giant ribcage in an elephant graveyard. Some of the rafters remained, though, as if to give it some ceiling and protection. Any coverings that survived were the blimps basic rounded walls and ceiling.
Small fires were occasionally seen around and inside it, but most were died out. How long had this structure been here?
"Titans, careful." Superboy ordered.
Robin got off her cycle, and joined the others on foot.
They entered what was left of the blimp's structure, as if to make an inspection.
"See anything weird, guys?" Robin asked
No one responded, the place was dead quiet.
"Well, I noticed something," She continued, "How come the ground hasn't suffered any damage? It looks completely level. It was as if the blimp was built into the ground."
"So? What are you trying to say?"
"I think we've been set up."
"Very good, heroes." A scratchy, mechanical voice shot, disturbing the silence. The voice seemed to echo throughout the blimp's frames.
"The Teen Titans," it began, "And you've brought a friend."
The teenage superheroes and monster hunter searched the remains with their eyes, trying to locate the source of the voice.
"It is he whom I have the quarrel with. You have made a mistake in coming here, fools. For this will be your final hour. Leave the blasphemer to me, and you will live."
No one moved.
"No? Very well. You have chosen death, then. Know that I, Skelmar, will show you no mercy. Prepare."
The sound of mechanized movement was heard… repetitively.
They couldn't find the source.
It pierced the silence from seemingly everywhere.
Where was the noise?
Clank, seert, zzt. Clank, seert, zzt.
Where?!
Clank, zzt.
Robin noticed a white figure drop down outside the blimp, she pointed and they ran toward him. The figure revealed himself, making the Titans stop abruptly in terror.
After pushing back a long, white cape that hid his body to behind his shoulders, he had the appearance of a metal bug. A steel grasshopper. He was at least ten feet tall, and had skinny, white, metal arms. On the ends of the arms were huge, sharp claws that held in their grasp some kind of thin cylinder. His torso looked like a human skeleton, only metallic – with curved ribs protecting a bent spine of white iron. The waist too looked like a metallic human skeleton's pelvis. His legs looked the most like a grasshopper, them being so long. The part above the knee was pointing forward, whilst the part below it was pointing back – as if it were a "less than" sign ( ). The ankle and foot were the exact same to the claw, only larger.
His face was the most disturbing – if that even was his face. It might have been a mask. It appeared to be a silver flat skull's face, without a nose-hole. The eyes were slits, but smoked. Two cuts protruded upward, above the eyes, and sharply angled back toward the middle of the forehead. The mouth was like that of a skull, with two large flat fangs that ended it on each side. In the middle were metal slits, not exactly teeth, because they were practically connected to each other, and showing no sign of separation.
The eyes were frightening. Cold, dark, dead eyes.
Skelmar bent his legs, positioned his body low, then launched himself into the air. The Teen Titans' heads shot up, trying to follow his movements, gazing into the dusk of the setting sun. Skelmar took again to the rafters.
Their heads still gazing up, Robin gave a small grunt, which was meant to be taken as an order to draw back into the structure of the blimp. They obeyed, each of their eyes searching the above for the white fiend of metal to return.
Sweat began to run down Superboy's temple as he gripped his gloved fists hard. Robin drew her bostaff. Jade, Constantine, and Warhawk positioned to fight.
Constantine closed his eyes, and tried to sense him. But he couldn't. Why not?! Was he using some kind of mental cloaking device? Or did he even exist at all?
The question was answered by the familiar sound of clanks.
Skelmar was on the move.
He was repositioning himself amongst the rafters and ceiling posts, calculating his next move to strike.
The fools know not what awaits.
The skies became much darker, and the blimp lost its illumination – making it very difficult to see.
The area was dead silent.
The claw from each of Skelmar's feet released its hold of the partial roof. The sound from this signaled the Titans that Skelmar was right above them!
Constantine's face whipped around, eyes catching sight of the white figure falling toward them.
In mid-air, Skelmar's sharp thumbs pressed a button on the metallic sticks he held in his hands. The top of each cylinder opened up, and a two-foot long black rod shot out, extending to its full capacity. The rods became surrounded by a glowing green electrical current, that spiraled around it and sparked when each ion reached the top.
These were his electroswords, and Superboy immediately knew that it was Kryptonite.
The Teen Titans scattered a few feet, and Skelmar landed feet first in the center of the circle of five… kicking up dust from the land.
"Titans, attack!"
Jade used her ring's light to make an extension of her arm for an assault. Skelmar hit her twice, making sparks fly. The two green energies collided but for a second. After knocking her back, Skelmar glanced behind him to see Superboy and Robin attack him simultaneously. He jabbed his right electrosword at Superboy's arm, causing him to cry out in pain from the Kryptonite, and with the left he brought the sword down hard, slicing the bostaff in half.
Constantine leapt into the air, quickly drew his pistols, and pummeled Skelmar with them. The monster extended his arms in opposite directions, and rotated his upper body at unthinkable speed. Although his head wasn't moving, his torso looked like the blades of a helicopter in action, even with his cape following in momentum. Each of the blasts was halted by the rapid spinning of Skelmar. The bug positioned his body to redirect a blast back at Constantine, knocking him down.
Lying on his back, head gazing at his foe, Constantine holstered his pistols back under his arms. He quickly got to his feet, drew his sword, and saw that the spinning Skelmar was moving toward him with full attention.
Skelmar stopped spinning, and went back to the individual strikes of one electrosword at a time. He made a couple slashes at Constantine's left side, but then made to cut him in the right arm. Constantine, set his fists holding the sword to his face and pointing the blade down vertically, blocked it. He then motioned his blade from right to left at Skelmar, who returned the favor with two strikes to Constantine's back, which the boy blocked with a flip to the left.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Skelmar swung his right electrosword behind him, hitting Warhawk squarely in the chest. The rest of the Titans attacked now, and when Constantine maneuvered a backflip inches away from the right hand of Skelmar, he thrust his sword horizontally at the metal opponent.
Skelmar knew how to manage more than one opponent. He threw his electroswords in the air, stood on his hands, and caught them with his feet.
Kicking madly and gracefully at the same time, Skelmar blocked every attack that was presented to him – from Jade's green blasts, to Superboy's hard kicks and heat vision, to Constantine's sword thrust upward, to Robin's quick wrist action of her half bostaff.
Then Skelmar cartwheeled toward Warhawk, who opened his hands and activated sharp talons for combat. In the midst of the cartwheel, Skelmar reassumed his original stance, with the rods in hand. Crossing his arms, Skelmar slashed twice at Warhawk's swinging claws. Next, bringing each electrosword from the opponents behind him to the opponents in front of him for a few seconds, Skelmar again turned his attention to Constantine.
Making a motion so quick the hunter could hardly notice it, Skelmar made a small jump and raised both electroswords over his head to bring them down on Constantine. Using the levitation skills granted to him maternally, Constantine jumped backwards onto a thick horizontal rafter, and whilst his right hand held the sword, he thrust his left hand forward fast in a motion of power.
Skelmar lifted his head, and knew what came next. Avoiding the force, Skelmar leapt to a wall, as the impact made a two-foot dent in the floor from Constantine. Skelmar spun himself so that he would land feet first on the wall, and bent his legs to launch himself back at them.
After everyone's heads turned, Skelmar propelled himself forward headfirst at tremendous velocity. Landing hard in the middle of the group, the shock forced all into the air and away… except Superboy.
It was very dark now, and with the dust kicked up from that crash, it was practically impossible to see your own nose.
But Superboy saw Skelmar and ran at him. Charging his heat vision, he sent three blasts of red eye stream at the skeleton. One at his shoulder, which Skelmar disallowed by placing his electrosword at a diagonal direction where the arm was bent outward and his hand at his waist, making the angle for deflection perfect at the shoulder. Superboy sent another one at Skelmar's face, which he flicked away. The third was designated at the right hand, which was the cause of failure. Skelmar slightly tossed his right rod into the air, making the heat vision miss it completely. He then brought his left blade hard across Superboy's face, the pain making him drop to one knee. Skelmar caught the other sword vertically, as it only fell a few centimeters, and gripping it hard…
…struck.
Robin's eyes shot wide open as she witnessed what happened, all in seven seconds. They abruptly shut, not wanting to see, but still hearing the thud of his fall.
Constantine's mouth dropped under his mask, and he turned, extended his arm, and reached behind him. Enveloping several pieces of debris with negative energy… he sent them at Skelmar.
Slashing his swords up and down, up and down, up and down, the villain swatted the pieces of rock and metal away like flies.
Jade flew at him in a fit of rage, but was caught off guard when Skelmar kicked his right leg forward, his foot clutching the girl by the face. He stomped his foot down hard, snapping her neck.
Warhawk followed, lunging himself at Skelmar in assault. But the steel beast brought his left leg over his head, bending his back forward, and also grabbing Warhawk by the neck. With the right leg still clutching Jade's limp body to balance him, he did the reverse gesture – throwing Warhawk into the air above him, bringing the left leg back to the ground, then throwing the right leg up and back too, standing on his hands, released the other victim, then moved his legs again to the floor, and stood upright. The two bodies flew through the air, and into the ceiling.
Constantine and Robin attacked him now, Constantine with his sword, and Robin with the remaining half of her bostaff. She wielded it like a sword. Skelmar engaged the two. Constantine spun around twice, trying to strike him in the leg, but with a simple flick-of-the-wrist downward, Skelmar averted it. Robin tried to hit him in the jaw, but Skelmar deflected that with a motion of the blade rising from waist to shoulder. His head alternating between opponents, Skelmar began twirling his electroswords at a very rapid rate, making it extremely difficult for Constantine or Robin to beset him at all.
Skelmar then stood like a flamingo, on one leg, cocking the other one inward, and releasing it hard like a horse that bucks. The blow hit Constantine so hard in the stomach that it caused him to drop his sword and sail into a pile of debris. When he hit it, two large columns came down on top of him.
Focusing completely on the red-head, Skelmar struck violently at her with alternating rods. This caused her to constantly realign her body from side to side, left to right, to match each of his blows.
Constantine pushed the two columns off him, and tried to stand up and clear the rest of the debris away.
Soon to be overwhelmed, Robin cried for aid.
"Constantine! Hurry!"
The hunter hurled himself forward, but was too late.
Having both electroswords on the right side of his body, Skelmar used one to fiercely knock away the girl's weapon, and the other to smack her into a pile of rubble.
Constantine stopped abruptly.
"No, Robin!"
Skelmar turned to the blasphemer, and picked up Robin's dropped weapon with his left foot.
Constantine extended his hand, making his faithful sword return to him.
He gripped it hard with both hands.
Now standing only on his right leg, Skelmar bounced as he lightly held each of the weapons, slightly twirling each one.
Sweat appeared on the eyebrows of Constantine under his mask as he looked at the body of the fallen Superboy and rubble that housed Robin. He blinked once, the eyes then returning to his opponent.
The sweat made the mask stick to his face.
Skelmar's right foot pushed off the ground, and launched him into the air.
Constantine stood poised for battle, and Skelmar's hand-blades were above his head.
Father Thomas' blind eyes shot open.
The thunder clapped, and the rain beat down upon the roof.
"Hmm. The coming Nightmare grows darker. I fear for the son of Raven. The dark cloud of Sin," Father Thomas breathed, "blinds us all."