*A/N* Whew! This one was a doozy. It's probably the most grandiose thing I've ever written. It was difficult to perfect, but here it is. Enjoy! *A/N*
"Doctor…"
"Is it ready?"
"Yes, but-"
"Bring it here."
Dr. Milos Fojtik couldn't help but hesitate. He had been skeptical of this project from the word 'Go,' and became increasingly nervous as it neared completion.
Fojtik had met Dr. Scissors when the latter was traveling abroad. Stopping briefly for a conference in Prague, Milos had approached him and showed him his work on his new project called Instant Hydration. Impressed, Scissors invited him to continue his project back in the U.S. Since then, Fojtik had become his apprentice and close friend, looking up to him and seldom arguing with him outside the occasional friendly debate.
Today was different. Scissors had been reclusive ever since his nephew began his spree of violence, and he had roped Fojtik into constructing a new kind of device from his previous prototypes. Although he created what Gustavos asked for, he could not calm his conscience, and had approached his superior to question his plans.
"Dr. Scissors, sir. I do not wish to be an obstruction…" Dr. Fojtik began, speaking with his heavy Czech accent. "But don't you think we should run a few tests before we attempt anything offensive?"
Gustavos Scissors didn't turn to look at his apprentice, choosing to keep his eyes on the statistics flitting upwards on the computer screen.
"There's no time. Judging from these readings, everything will go smoothly."
Dr. Fojtik hurried to his superior's side. "We aren't just talking about a technical fluke here, this is a human being's life! Your nephew, no less!" he demanded.
"Milos, I understand the risk entirely. But we have to think about what will happen if we don't intervene! Did you see what he did to dozens of innocent people today? This has to stop now!"
"But, I implore you, Doctor, we should at least make sure there is no chance of a fatality! Surely, as a fellow man of science, you can-"
"DAMN IT, MILOS!" Scissors bellowed, banging on his desk, causing Fojtik to jump back.
"Don't you understand?! Anton was my responsibility! I didn't keep a close enough eye on him! I spent my time here at this lab instead of seeking the help he needed! We wouldn't have had to build this godforsaken weapon if I had just paid attention! I created Weatherman, and now I have to stop him! If we have to sacrifice one life to save hundreds more, so be it!"
Dr. Fojtik didn't respond after this. Dr. Scissors came down from his heated rage, and exhaled heavily.
"Get the gun. I'll fire up the jeep." He said emptily, grabbing his keys from the dish and exiting the lab.
"Bůh nám pomáhej." Dr. Fojtik uttered under his breath, hurrying to the other room. Grabbing the silver, cylindrical apparatus seated atop the display stand. Checking for any imperfections, he took a deep breath and crossed himself.
"Dej mi sílu." He prayed, before slinging the heavy firearm over his shoulder and following his superior out the door.
A bulldog sped down the sidewalk of Main Street, dragging his retractable leash behind him, which clattered noisily. Gasping and snorting, he slipped between a woman's legs and hurried inside the restaurant she was exiting. Finding a seat in the middle of the room, he began barking frantically. The employee behind the counter couldn't believe his eyes.
"What are doin' in here?! Git!" he barked, gesturing to the door with his toothpick in hand. His order was ignored as the dumpy hound replaced his barks with howls.
Stepping out from behind the counter, the employee moved to grab the dog, but froze when he saw what was outside the window.
A humanoid creature, standing at nine or ten feet tall, lumbered through the street. Shiny, translucent, and featureless, the creature had foot-wide fists, and appeared to pay no mind to the cars blaring their horns and swerving to avoid it. The sun glinted off of its surface in tiny, blinding pinpoints.
A heavy-mounted pickup truck stopped in the middle of the street, its owner leaning his head out of the window and shouting obscenities at the monstrosity, and the Golem replied with a single swing of its fist. The pickup's entire front side was crushed, the driver's head ramming into the side of the window and knocking him unconscious. With that distraction out of the way, it continued on its way, stepping over the wreckage leisurely as the car alarm whistled.
As it stomped through the busy road, it paused briefly and glanced about itself. It was searching for something. How it could see with no eyes was anybody's guess.
A police car, lights flashing and siren wailing, swerved to a stop, blocking off incoming traffic. Another soon followed, and another, and another. Eight officers leapt from the vehicles, armed with shotguns and riot shields.
As they aimed at the Golem, it tilted its head back slightly and made a few short, rasping noises. A crude imitation of laughter. The officers opened fire, muzzle flashes blinking like camera bulbs and spent shells raining on the pavement. All this barrage of bullets managed to do was leave a few scratches on the glossy surface of the Golem. A crack began forming across the creature's head, not from the bullets, but of its own accord. The lower half distended grotesquely like a human jaw, revealing serrated icicle teeth; the faceless statue had opened its mouth.
All at once, a torrent of fire launched itself from the newly formed mouth, enveloping the officers in blazing heat.
"A fire-breathing ice monster. Give him points for originality."
The creature's jaw snapped shut, leaving the officers singed, but relatively unharmed thanks to their shields. Turning to look behind it, the golem growled with pleasure at the sight of five teens standing in the now deserted road.
"Look who's all grown up." Beast Boy said.
"Today's Forecast: Hail." Cyborg declared.
"So, what was your plan anyway, Anton? Turn yourself into a brainless monster just so you could cause property damage? The old Hulk approach." Robin jeered.
"And here I thought he was smart." Raven added.
"He is an arsonist at heart, and little else." Starfire finished.
The monster that was once Anton Scissors snorted, unimpressed. Raising its fists into the air, it smashed the pavement in front of it into gravel, before roaring like an enraged bull and charging.
The Titans scattered, except for Cyborg, who remained steadfast, firing his cannon and hitting Scissors in the chest. Stumbling backwards, the creature snapped its 'mouth' open and let loose a blast of fire, which Cyborg narrowly avoided. The creature took a swing at the Titan, missing him thanks to a well-timed duck.
Starfire shot into the air, speeding in front of the Golem. With pinpoint precision, she threw a starbolt, which collided with the side of its head. Not even making it flinch, the creature responded by lunging towards her and attempting to bite her. Catching her foot, it tore her boot off and left a nasty laceration across her ankle.
With Starfire distracted by her wound, the creature turned back to Cyborg, and snarled when he saw no one there. Whirling back around, a green triceratops was there to greet it, attempting to head butt the icy juggernaut. The creature countered with a downward swing, slamming its fist into the dinosaur's head with massive force. Beast Boy fell to his stomach mid-charge, rolling forwards and ending at the Golem's feet.
The Golem raised one of these feet and attempted to stomp on the reptile's head to finish the job, but was blinded by a burst of light from one of Robin's flash flares, its foot veering to one side and breaking more asphalt.
Raven levitated one of the largest pieces of the broken street into the air, and launched the truck-sized chunk of rock at the Golem. Nailing it in the shoulder, the creature was finally knocked onto the ground, flattening a police car in the process, the asphalt landing several feet away.
Robin hurried over to the downed behemoth and lobbed two of his bombs into the air.
"Cyborg!"
"Got it!" Cyborg let another projectile fly and hit the bombs mid-air. The Golem managed to cover its face with one of its fists before the explosion came, and the appendage was blown to pieces.
Before Robin could celebrate, the creature flung its destroyed fist downward in his direction, the explosion inadvertently leaving behind a chunk of ice that was sharp and pointed like a dagger. Moving too late, the knife-like stub snagged his cape and rammed it into the ground, trapping him in place. Seeing its chance, the Golem belched another round of fire, swallowing Robin entirely in an inferno.
"ROBIN!" Starfire shrieked. The golem leapt to its feet and swung its unbroken fist at Starfire, catching her off guard and hitting her in the side. She whirled away, out of control, before her head met a street lamp loudly and painfully, and she fluttered back down to the ground, unconscious.
"Okay, you walking Freezer Pop, you want to play rough?!" Cyborg bellowed.
Kicking off of a nearby curb, Cyborg activated the jets in his boots and rocketed through the air towards the Golem. Unfortunately, the Scissors-monster had seen him do this, and was more than ready for his attack. As Cyborg prepared to punch, the Golem used his new knife-hand to swipe upward at Cyborg, cleaving his left forearm entirely free from his body. Using the ensuing shock to his advantage, the Golem struck the teen out of the air with his undamaged fist, bashing him into the street below.
Huffing with satisfaction, the Golem turned to look for the other two. It had saved the best for last. The green one was remarkably fun to play with, he was so immature. It almost made it feel sorry for him, it felt like an adult stealing candy from a baby.
Then there was Raven. She truly was a work of art. It purred with apprehension at the idea of keeping her for itself. Maybe after this was over, it could turn back into Anton Scissors and freeze her solid, preserving her beauty forever. No, that would be sacrilege. A specimen that flawless had to be kept warm. A little training, and she would do whatever he asked.
The Golem's jaw snapped open once again after this period of silence lasted for too long. Mustering up the energy, it spoke.
"Come out…come out… wherever you are…" it croaked.
The silence that followed only served to exacerbate the thirst for more destruction. The Golem bared its icicle teeth and scrounged the surrounding area for any sign of the remaining Titans. The other Titans lay exactly where The Golem left them, blacked out and wounded.
"What's the worst that could happen?"
"You end up in a coma, I end up catatonic."
"Besides that."
"Garfield, no offense, but I don't trust you with that kind of power."
"Do we have another choice? We're pretty much out of other options, here."
"I can think of plenty."
"If it works, we win. Hands down. No contest."
"And if it doesn't, we lose the battle, and I lose my boyfriend. No. Way."
Beast Boy grabbed Raven's shoulders. The two had silently ducked into an alley after Cyborg had been taken out.
"Rae, listen to me. I know I screwed up earlier, but you have to trust me on this. Robin said himself that he thinks our relationship is bad for this team. It's time to prove him wrong. This can only work with someone who you have a deep attachment to, right?"
"Even if it did work, I don't know if I could handle it, and I know for certain that you couldn't."
"Raven… you remember how nervous you were when you asked me out, don't you?"
"Now's not the time, Garfield."
"That was a huge risk, wasn't it? What if I said no? What if we could never look each other in the face again? It could have destroyed our friendship, couldn't it? But you trusted me enough to try it anyway. And look at us, we're really going somewhere!"
Beast Boy cupped Raven's face in his hands and gave her a look of utter determination.
"It's time to trust me again, Raven. I can do this. You can do this. We can do this. We can work as a couple, and we can work as a team. Let's show 'em all."
The Golem roared in frustration, unable to locate his prey, and swiped at a telephone pole, felling it like a tree.
"It's now or never, Raven. Do it."
Raven gulped, took a deep breath, and looked the changeling directly in the eye.
"Praesta mea in eum. Ut qui a nobis." She began, taking Beast Boy's hands from her face and clenching them tightly.
Her eyes slowly rolled over black.
"Don't break eye contact with me." She warned. Beast Boy complied, staring into the gaping tunnels that had replaced her violet eyes.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"
Raven chanted her mantra, beginning as a whisper and steadily rising into a murmur.
Beast Boy felt something shift inside of him. His mouth fluttered open, and he began silently mirroring Raven's chanting. His eyes glazed over, although they didn't budge from their spot. His pupils soon grew to an unnatural size, swallowing up his irises and eventually both of his sclera, leaving two glossy pits as dark and refracting as Raven's.
Raven allowed her conscience to slide through the invisible hole she had formed in the wall of her mind, her body stopping its chanting and becoming still as a statue. Beast Boy's head twitched once or twice from the unpleasant sensation of an invisible being worming its way into his mind.
"…thos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." Beast Boy had replaced Raven in the position of chanting, and began quietly uttering her mantra with the same stoicism and conviction.
Within the confines of his now dually occupied mind, Beast Boy's conscience was pleased to feel the cool, reserved change Raven's brought into his usually overactive thoughts. Politely shifting to the side, it allowed Raven's conscience to take the helm.
All at once, Beast Boy ceased chanting, let go of Raven's hands, and turned to march out into the street. Eyes still ink-black, he stared up at the Golem, who ceased trying to destroy a post office and turned to look at the changeling. Letting out a snort of impatience, it stomped into the center of the road and glared eyeless-ly down at Beast Boy, dwarfed in comparison.
Somewhat impressed that the green teen hadn't bothered transforming yet, The Golem raised it's unbroken fist into the air threateningly.
All at once, Beast Boy raised his arms out to his sides.
"Aspice, CORVUS!" he bellowed, Raven's voice echoing alongside his own.
The changeling became lost in a swirling void of black and green, which rose into a fire-whirl of dark colors, easily twice the size of the Golem. Finally taking its shape, a colossal, roc-sized, green-black raven loomed overhead, eyes glowing white with wings spread.
For the first time in his entire life, Anton Scissors felt fear. Real, genuine, petrifying fear. Even in his icy suit of armor, the magnificent being towering above him could rip him to shreds with a flick of its glowing talons. As the golem backed away slowly, the raven tilted its head to look down at the trembling ice monster. Instantly, murderous rage flared up inside of the bird, as it saw what it had done to the other Titans, and recalled how it had abused both youths that created it. Opening its beak and letting out a screech, it readied itself to crush the puny arsonist in its talons, the anticipation of the crunch of ice and broken bones almost too much for it to handle.
But before it could exact vengeance, something slowed it to a stop. A scent. The faint, unmistakable scent of lavender. Another sensation followed; the raw pain of crying filled the throat of the avian deity. Through its body, a warmth permeated its feathers, the same warmth one receives from curling up with a loved one, both internal and external.
The raven felt its rage vanish, yet refused to release its prisoner from its talons. The world would gain nothing through the murder of this pathetic young man. Wrath begets wrath. This criminal belongs in a place where he can allow his sick fantasies to torture him, maybe one day, he could repent for all his wrongdoing.
The raven, clarity rushing through it, concluded what had to be done. Letting out a seismic burst of energy, the Golem shattered into tiny flakes of snow, revealing the terrified young man within. Dropping him onto the pavement, the raven was satisfied, and vanished.
It was a while before Raven regained her conscience. She found herself standing alone in the alleyway where she had originally left her body. She heard the chatter of people coming from the street, and went outside to examine what had happened. She flinched when a speck of cold prodded her nose. Glancing about, she saw hundreds of flakes dancing in the air, landing on the hot pavement and melting in the summer sun. It was snowing in the middle of July.
"RAVEN!"
The sorceress turned to find herself tackled in a back-breaking hug.
"Hello, Starfire."
The princess was beaming, despite the fact that she held an ice pack against her head.
"You and Friend Beast Boy have done it! The living statue is no more!" she exclaimed.
"Is everyone alright?" Raven queried.
"Friends Cyborg and Robin are quite injured, but are receiving treatment at the health vehicle as we speak. As for friend Beast Boy, he is resting upon a movable cot."
"What about Scissors?"
Starfire pointed. A gaggle of policemen had surrounded the spot where Anton had fell.
"He has not budged an inch! Please, Raven, you must tell me how the two of you defeated him. I awoke, and he was no more."
Raven gave Starfire a legitimate smile. "Let's just say we used our heads."
Starfire's inevitable confusion brought a short laugh out of Raven, but it vanished immediately when the policemen began shouting and reaching for their weapons. They were flung backwards by a burst of heat, and Anton Scissors rose, now without his mask.
"RAVEN!" he snarled, creating an icicle-dagger and raising it manically above his head.
"Time to split you open, bitch!" he spat, and sprinted towards the two shocked Titans.
Raven, exhausted and reacting too late, simply braced herself for the impact. She was shocked to feel it never arriving.
Opening her eyes, she saw Scissors, still in his offensive stance, locked into place. His eyes were wide open, and his mouth trembled. Keeling over, he fell flat on his face onto the broken pavement. A large dart protruded from the back of his neck, seemingly having been fired into it.
Raven looked around and saw a man with a snow white beard in a lab coat, standing a few yards away from his target with a weapon over his shoulder. A younger man next to him wore a lab coat of similar make and a flabbergasted expression.
"I apologize for my late arrival… Milos and I just finished it this morning."
Gustavos Scissors handed the weapon to his apprentice and walked over to the Titans.
"Dr. Scissors?" Raven asked.
"Doctor, what is this? How did you find us?" Starfire added.
"I thought about what you said to me in the lab for a long time yesterday, Ms. Starfire. I concluded that in order to reclaim my honor, I had to reap what I had sewn. I refuse to let the misdeeds of another define my success, especially when this other is one of my own mistakes."
Dr. Scissors leaned down to his unconscious nephew's side and checked his pulse.
"He's alive. The Instant Dehydration Dart didn't kill him, Dr. Fojtik."
The Czech man sighed with relieve. "Díky Bohu!" He exclaimed.
At his side, the good Doctor ran his fingers through his nephew's hair.
"I'm sorry for never being there, Anton. I promise I'll give you all the attention you'd ever need from now on."
*A/N* Dr. Scissors has repented, Anton has been defeated, and Raven and Garfield have proven that they won't allow their hateful sides to blur the line between right and wrong. The good guys win. Who wants French Toast? *A/N*