The Wicked One
Chapter 17: Questions
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The cave made not a sound as the odd group of heroes and villains sat, stood, and slept within the natural rock formation. See-More tried his best to stay awake and focused as they remained silent but he continually had to fight with the strange exhaustion that had plagued them since the crash. Thankfully he did manage to get one of his prototype shields to secrete from his eye in time to protect him in time but it still wasn't enough to keep him from hitting his head and blacking out. Now that he was awake the optical thief found it increasingly harder to remain so.
"Beastboy, I have a simple proposition for you." Fixit finally announced after he and the green colored Titan had finished their minute long staring contest.
"Forget it! I will never work for the likes of you!" Beastboy shouted back, fighting against his restraints as he knelt on the ground, See-More and Red-X had an amusing time several minutes go watching the Titan morph into nearly every creature of the animal kingdom as he tried to free himself, only to have Fixit's mechanical straps simply alter their size in order to keep the hero restrained.
"You may have managed to remove Blackfire's collar but I assure you your new restraints will not be removed unless I wish it."
"Yeah c'mon kid, just tell us what we need to know and we'll let you and your freaky dark demon princess go." Red-X spoke up, looking incredibly bored as he propped up his head with one of his arms.
"Never!" Beastboy shouted out in defiance, "Neverrrrrrr!"
"Beastboy I can make you tell me what I need to know." Fixit spoke up as he casually walked towards the Titan, "I only asked out of common courtesy."
"Well then you're going to have to do your worst." Beastboy growled as he stared into Fixit's blank, red eyes, the mechanic slowly raised one of his arms, "Because I-."
The Titan was instantly cut off as Fixit's clawed index finger made contact with his forehead. Immediately Beastboy's green eyes shone with a bright red to match the intensity of Fixit's now luminous eyes.
"What is your alias?" Fixit asked as he stared into Beastboy's red eyes.
"Beastboy." The green teen responded immediately.
"What is your name?"
"Garfield Logan."
"Garfield?" Red-X asked with a snicker. See-More couldn't help but chuckle as well. It was a pretty dumb name; he could understand why the Titan would want to be called something like Beastboy.
"How did you find us?" Fixit continued, pointedly ignoring the two thieves.
"I snuck onto the T-Ship as a fly before you took off. When the ship crashed I tried to rescue Raven and found the cave."
"Who cares how the twerp found us? Just get him to tell us what she did with Kyd Wykkyd." Red-X spoke up, throwing a thumb to the still dozing Raven.
"Yeah man! Wykkyd's been trapped like…forever!" See-More spoke up, mostly to try and add something to the conversation.
"What has Raven done with Kyd Wykkyd?" Fixit asked.
"I do not know." Beastboy responded on a dime.
"He doesn't know? Are you serious?" Red-X sighed rubbing a hand over his masked face. "We would be stuck with the dumb one to interrogate."
"I was afraid of this." The mechanic muttered, closing his eyes briefly before fixing them back on the green Titan. "Sleep."
Beastboy then promptly closed his eyes and fell over, a dreamy look on his face as he fell into a deep sleep.
"Well…what do we do now?" See-More asked hesitantly as his single eye watched Fixit move from one Titan to the other.
"There is only one thing left to do." Fixit spoke as he knelt down beside Raven, "I will have to enter deeper into her mind and extract the information."
"Slow down there Quick Fix…" Red-X spoke up as he attempted to back away from the pair, "Last time you tried this demon girl tried to kill me."
"I underestimated her willpower last time. I will not do so again."
"Right. Well I'll be busy getting as far away from you as possible, you know, just in case."
"Hey man, are you sure this is the best way to find Wykkyd?" See-More pressed, the last time Fixit went in too deep still fresh in his mind.
"I am sure See-More." Fixit replied without looking up at him, his hands gently resting on the sides of Raven's head, "But I do suggest that you and Red-X give us a wide berth of space."
"Don't need to tell me twice!" Red-X stated, already trying to stand up, "See-More you mind giving me a hand here?"
"Yeah, sure thing." The thief responded as he walked over to his fellow teen and wrapping an arm around his shoulder lifted the masked criminal up. Red-X only let out a few groans of pain as they made their way over to where Beastboy slept on the opposite side of the cave.
"So we should make a plan incase this doesn't go exactly as planned…" Red-X suggested as the two of them looked on as the mechanic silently delved into the Titan's mind.
"What kind of plan?" See-More questioned.
Yet before the other thief could respond a terrible, demonic scream suddenly rumbled through the entirety of the small cave. The two thieves looked back towards where Fixit and Raven were only to be forced to jump in surprise when a blur of motion suddenly went sailing past them and crashed into the cave wall beside them. See-More's eye was then glued to wall where a very battered and beaten looking teen in a black and blue costume now lay.
"Kyd Wykkyd!" The thief exclaimed, making a move towards him, only to be stopped by Red-X.
"I think you might want to hold off on a reunion." His fellow thief informed as See-More followed his gaze to see that Fixit was now the one lying on the cave floor while a very awake, and very pissed looking Raven now stood before them, four red eyes glowing in the midst of the blackness of her shroud.
"H-hey Rae, long time no see!" See-More greeted with a sheepish smile, to their surprise Raven smiled back, but it was a very large, very creepy smile.
"At last, at long last I am free again!" Raven declared, her voice shaking loose stones free from the cave walls, the sorceress then reached down and lifted up Fixit from the ground with a tendril of dark energy, "So my savior likes to play mind games? Allow me to offer my gratitude in kind…"
"You know that plan I told you we should plan?" Red-X whispered into See-More's ear.
"Yeah…"
Raven then dropped Fixit to the ground, yet the mechanic remained standing, head bowed.
"Well…here it is…"
Fixit then looked up, though the red eyes they were expecting were now totally encompassed by blackness.
"RUN!" Red-X shouted, shoving See-More away from him and towards the cave. The optical teen took several staggering steps towards the cave entrance, expecting Red-X to be right behind him, but when he looked back all he could see was black tentacles of darkness plow into the masked thief, sending him into the cave wall and out of sight.
"Oh man oh shit oh man oh crap!" See-More cursed as he ran out of the cave. Using his x-ray vision See-More peered through the back of his head only to see a very demented looking Fixit hot on his trail.
"Succumb to the darkness!" Fixit called in his eerie melancholy voice.
"No thanks!" See-More shouted back, doing his best to keep a good distance of space between him and his pursuer.
"There is no use in fighting." The mechanic then shot out his hand and through the back of his head the thief could see several black tentacles suddenly shoot out from his arm. I didn't know he could do that!
See-More dodge rolled to the side as the black tentacles made a strike at his back, as soon as he was back on his feet he was back to running, Fixit hot on his tail. The optical teen desperately wanted to switch to one of his gazes that would help fend off his former comrade but he never really devoted his time to memorizing how many turns were needed for each gaze and his free time was currently occupied by switching between his regular vision and x-ray.
"Ohmonohshitohmanohshitohman." See-More breathed using his normal vision to sprint around a large, jagged piece of rock, he switched back to his x-ray vision just in time to see a black tendril slam into the back of his head.
With a gasp of surprise the teen's world turned upside down as his feet left the ground for several seconds, his reality quickly righted itself however when See-More's body returned to the ground, his body suddenly pelted by the numerous jagged rocks that littered the planet's surface.
The teen tried to stand back up, despite the new pains and aches that wracked his body, but he wasn't more than halfway off the ground the black tentacles suddenly slammed into him, wrapping around his mid-section and lifting him back into the air.
See-More looked over to Fixit's face with the intention in trying to talk some sense into the mechanic. But as soon as the thief's eye locked with Fixit's his entire body froze over. The villain's usual blank stare was all but gone, replaced completely with a hatred and rage so deep and so filling it took See-More's breath away. But it was looking into Fixit's eyes, into those two black coals of burning anger, that convinced him that his comrade was long gone.
"Let's play a game." Fixit breathed, his stoic voice suddenly dripping with malice, "I'm going to smash you into the ground and count how many times it takes for your body to turn into a bloody mess of nothingness!"
"Hey man th-that doesn't sound like a very fun game for me!" See-More exclaimed, desperately trying to make time as the tendrils of blackness rose him even higher into the air, "How do we decide if I win!"
Fixit looked up at him, giving him the most wicked of smiles.
"If I get to 100, you win." The black tentacles then rose for the final time and See-More realized he was moments away from being slammed into the painfully rocky ground below. Gripping the dial on the side of his head See-More aimed his eye at Fixit and twisted.
"I'm really sorry for this man…I hope!"
The teen then let out whatever gaze he had landed on. To his surprise an intense sonic blast erupted from his socket, the sound echoed throughout the air around them. Fixit only had time to raise a brow before the blast connected with his head. The mechanic let out a horrible human scream mixed with the echoes of a machine and See-More watched as both sides of his head, where his ears would be, suddenly exploded outwards.
All at once the blackness left his eyes and the black tentacles fell from around See-More, giving the teen enough time to land on his feet, albeit with enough force to send a jolt of pain up to his brain.
"Fixt! Hey, you okay man!" See-More called as he ran over to the fallen mechanic. Fixit's eyes were closed and his face was strangely peaceful despite the wires that now hung out from the sides of his head, static pulsing around them.
"Oh man oh man. I didn't kill you did I?" The thief asked as he knelt beside his comrade. Not much to his surprise Fixit didn't respond. "Oh man oh god oh man."
See-More then attempted to lift the mechanic up, only to realize that he was much heavier than he looked, it was like trying to pick up an iron anvil. Even trying to drag him by his feet proved to be an impossible task.
Okay okay…what would Jinx do… See-More thought to himself, something he thought a lot when he was in a jam, only this time thinking about her brought a dark pang to his heart, She'd probably just make out with Kid Flash.
Brushing those thoughts aside See-More sat on the ground, quickly regretting it as the jagged rocks dug into his backside. Still, he remained where he sat and quickly went through the numerous gazes he had, looking for something that would help him with moving Fixit. As he sat there and searched he began to realize just how many different visions he had, many he had never even used before despite the fact that it was him who designed it. Well, all each on except for the sea of naked ladies that suddenly filled his entire gaze. With a deep red blush covering his face See-More quickly moved on to the next one, remembering vaguely that he meant to get Gizmo back for messing with his eyewear. Though thinking that just filled his heart with more weight.
That's why I'm here. See-More reminded himself as he continued his search. To bring them back, all of the HIVE members.
See-More then began thinking to himself about HIVE as he flipped through the nearly endless series of useless visions. Had they started recruiting again? Probably, he decided. I wonder who replaced Brother Blood. See-More couldn't remember seeing his old headmaster with the rest of then when they worked for the Brotherhood of Evil which meant that he was probably still locked away in high security. That was probably for the best to, See-More couldn't particularly remember anything they accomplished while under his tutelage, from the moment he was headmaster until the moment he was stopped by the Titans everything was just a long red blur.
Granny is probably in charge again. The teen thought with some hope. He always liked the old woman despite her overall strict and stern attitude. He knew she cared about them, maybe so much in fact that she is looking into the entire class's disappearance right now! See-More smiled to himself at that thought, taking comfort that all might not be lost if they failed now. \
Not that we will…but still.
"S-See-More?" A soft, mechanical voice suddenly called out, breaking See-More's train of thought.
"Oh man!" See-More quickly switched to his normal gaze to look over to Fixit, his heart losing some of its extra weight to see that he was looking back. "No way! You're alive!"
Fixit gave him a quizzical look before raising a hand, attempting to touch one of the gaping holes on the side of his head. See-More was quick to stop him.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you." See-More suggested with a helpful smile, slowly placing Fixit's arm back to his side.
"I can't hear you, or anything else." The mechanic spoke up, his red eyes staring squarely into See-More's single eye, "What happened?"
In response the thief merely shrugged, smiling helplessly. Fixit's eyes leered.
"Sorry man, I don't know what to te-."
"You did this." Fixit spoke before laying his head back down to the ground. See-More looked down at him with a mixture of surprise and guilt.
"What? How? Did you just read my mind?"
Fixit didn't respond and it took a moment for See-More to realize that he was still deaf.
Hey uh…can you hear me? See-More thought in his head, his eye trained on Fixit's face. Eyes closed the mechanic slowly nodded.
Well…if it means anything…I'm real sorry man…
Fixit didn't say anything back for a moment and just when See-More was about to think something further his eyes slowly opened, fixating back on the thief.
"Why did you have to attack me?"
You attacked me first! See-More thought quickly, Raven got into your head somehow and made you her puppet.
Fixit nodded, somewhat sullenly. "And where is the cave? And Red-X?"
Oh er…the cave is… See-More looked around them, expecting it to be just over the horizon but to his dismay it was nowhere in sight, Fixit must have chased him farther than he anticipated. That's a good question man.
"And Red-X? Is he alright?"
See-More felt his throat tighten at that question, he was grateful now that he didn't have to actually speak to Fixit.
That's…another good question.
Fixit let out a mechanical sigh before suddenly sitting up then standing up in one fluid motion. See-More quickly stood up as well, looking at his comrade with some apprehension.
"Hey man, you sure you should be up and walking around so soon?" See-More asked out loud before realizing his mistake and quickly repeating the question in his head.
"I'm fine." Fixit replied curtly, he then made a move to feel his holes again but thought twice about and lowered his arm back.
Well…I guess we should try to find that cave. See-More suggested with a small smile before beginning to switch to a proper scanning vision.
"See-More." Fixit spoke with such a sense of urgency that the teen quickly stopped what he was doing and faced the mechanic, face full of worry. "I'm sorry, for endangering the mission."
"Don't sweat it." See-More replied, worry replaced with a smile as he switched to his scanning eye, the lens now reflecting a grid pattern where his eye used to be, they would find the cave in no time.
Fixit felt a strange clarity quickly arise in the air around them. He had believed that feelings like guilt were all but behind him, that they no longer held an impact on him. How strange that joining with a band of degenerates would prove him so wrong. He once again fought the urge to feel what happened to his ears.
"How how exactly did you manage to damage me this way?" Fixit asked out loud, not concerned at all that his voice would change despite him being unable to hear it. He was genuinely curious however, when he first met See-More he believed the young boy to be little threat. See-More smiled sheepishly in return.
I didn't mean to hurt you so bad. It was just a little blast of sonic energy.
All at once Fixit's cold body grew colder.
"You…used a sonic pulse?"
Yeah man, it was just something I chose at random. I was lucky you didn't end up killin' me!
"See-More we need to leave…now."
"Wait…why?" Fixit read on See-More's lips, as the teen turned to face him. Fixit was about to reply but suddenly the young thief's face changed, what once was an expression of simple curiosity suddenly gave way to pure surprise and horror as his single eye looked at something behind the mechanic, the grid pattern disappearing from his gaze.
See-More then grabbed Fixit's arm and tried to pull him, screaming something Fixit no longer bothered to try and figure out. He slowly allowed his eyes to close; it all did not matter anymore.
"Fixit we have to go!" See-More shouted, tugging at his un-moving comrade though Fixit remained still. The teen looked back to where he saw the two orange figures, only to find that they had gotten much, much closer.
The first orange figure rammed into See-More. To the thief it was like being hit by an armored truck and in an instant he was on the ground, an orange skinned and armored man pinning him there and shouting things at him in a strange language.
"Hey man, lay off I-!" See-More tried to shout but the orange man placed a firm hand over his mouth, the other holding down both See-More's hand's by his wrists with little to no effort. See-More struggled helplessly against the alien, but it was like being stuck in concrete. The thief's single eye darted over to where Fixit was only to see the mechanic was knocked down by another orange alien, the creature keeping one foot on Fixit's back while he held both arms in the air. The thief desperately wished he could see his comrade's face. The orange alien holding Fixit shouted something that sounded like a question, tightening his grip on the mechanic's arms.
"We were both sent by Blackfire, to rescue her." Fixit spoke as soon as the alien had finished speaking. See-More's eye bore into the top of his head.
What're you trying to do man, kill us? See-More thought, though Fixit did not respond.
Both the aliens froze at the mention of the word Blackfire, from the corner of his eye See-More watched as they both shared a secret, knowing glance. A second later the sound of static and splitting wires filled the empty air as Fixit's captor ripped both of the mechanic's arms clear off their sockets. Fixit made not a noise but See-More was screaming now as electricity surged from the newly opened wounds. The next moment See-More's captor released his hand from the thief's mouth.
"What the hell are y'all doing! What-!" But that was all the young boy got out before a large orange fist made contact with his face. All See-More heard was a sharp, loud cracking noise before blacking out into unconsciousness.
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The room was dark. Very dark. It was so dark in fact that even Beastboy's night piercing vision couldn't see through it. What he could see however, was enough to make the hairs on his neck stand on end.
There were only two light sources, one pointed over him and the other pointed over a wide, glass-looking tube that held Raven. Though as Beastboy watched as his friend repeatedly beat herself against the prison he surmised that it was definitely built of something stronger.
There were two guards that stood directly outside of Raven's tube, the young sorceress stared down hatefully at them and shouted silent curses and threats through the 'glass'. The guards wore shiny, purple armor that reminded Beastboy of a lot of the stuff people wore in those Final Fantasy games he used to play. Though the parts of their bodies that weren't clad in armor shone with a bright orange intensity, the pieces began to fall into place in Beastboy's head as he stared into their glowing green eyes.
"Hey!" Beastboy called out, his only restraints consisted of the same device that Fixit had used to restrain him earlier only now there were heavy chains that clung to his body and ended wedged into the ground, effectively keeping him on his knees. Still, he wasn't trapped in the tube, he knew they could hear him. "Why are you guys doing this! We're Titans, you know, the good guys?"
The two guards did not even acknowledge him, Beastboy wasn't even sure that they blinked.
"Helloooooo? Dudes?"
Still nothing.
"You guys are Tameranians right?"
The two guards exchanged looks then and a flicker of hope ignited in Beastboy's chest.
"I've been here before! Raven has two! We're friends of Star, er Starfire! You guys know who Starfire is right?"
The two guards then turned back to him, their cold green eyes never changing, still glowing bright green. Beastboy recognized that as a sign of hostility from fighting alongside Starfire, he also couldn't help but notice the rather large, elaborate spears they were now carrying. Slowly they began to make their way towards him, disappearing into the darkness between his and Raven's cells.
"Er…Starfire's dad…uh her Gnorfic or something…he's like…the king…or something…isn't he?" Beastboy hurriedly remarked, grasping at any information as the guards undoubtedly approached.
"We came here not that long ago cause Starfire was going to get married but her sister was gonna make her marry this gross green thing and Robin didn't like it and we found out that it was all a set-up so we helped overthrow Black-."
But it was as far as Beastboy got as the guards suddenly thrust their spears at his neck through the darkness. The blades stopped less than an inch away and all at once the words died on the Titan's lips, they looked much sharper this close up. His wide green eyes staring helplessly at the angry green eyes of the guards.
"Senpar udnek." One of the guards hissed, Beastboy subconsciously gulped. He recognized that phrase from when he actually annoyed Starfire to the point of anger and she shouted it at him, she quickly apologized and explained in length that it basically meant shut-up. These guards didn't look like they were in the mood to apologize anytime soon.
"G-got it." Beastboy breathed.
"Retsnag!" A new voice suddenly called out, at first Beastboy assumed it was one of the guards again but that idea quickly left him as the two that held the spears at his neck suddenly backed away, disappearing once again into the blackness.
A few moments later a new Tamaranian took his place. He was tall and slender, his finely shaped body not hidden by armor but a rather revealing set of cloth wrapped around his chest and waist. Beastboy knew he recognized the long flowing red hair and the calm, abnormally attractive face from when he was last here but for the life of him he couldn't think of where.
From behind the newcomer the two purple armored guards stepped back into the light of Raven's tube. The young empath still beating against her prison and shouting silent curses.
"Why are you guys keeping us locked up like this?" Beastboy asked as he stared up into the Tameranian's eyes, his were a lot calmer looking and less glowy than the guards, perhaps it meant that he was more reasonable as well, "Aren't we all good guys here!"
Instead of answering the alien man simply looked back down at Beastboy, a gently smile creeping up on his lips. After another moment or two Beastboy's brow furrowed as his anger began to swell.
"Okay dude, what exactly is going on he-?" But the Titan was once again cut off as the man suddenly grabbed Beastboy by the chin and in one fluid motion brought their lips together. Beastboy's eyes grew instantly wide with surprise and horror.
"DUDE!" Beastboy shouted as the Tamaranian finished the kiss and backed away slightly, the Titan began spitting at the ground wishing desperately he had a free hand to wipe his mouth and then hit his assaulter. "What the hell did you do that for!"
"You are Beastboy yes? Of the Titans?" The Tamaranian suddenly asked in perfect English, his voice calm and sultry.
"What? Yes!" Beastboy exclaimed, the gross moment momentarily forgotten as hope once again sprung in his chest. Yet it was quickly dashed as a knife was suddenly pressed against his neck, the tip already breaking the skin. The Tamaranian looked down on the surprised Titan, the small smirk still on his lips.
"You will reveal to me where the Titan's Tower is. If you do not I will kill you, simple yes?"
As Beastboy looked wide eyed into the alien's beautiful face a sudden mixture of realization and dread finally sunk down deep into his body.
"Or, if you prefer to be the heroic type and still refuse…" The Tamaranian continued, turning slightly so that Beastboy could clearly see Raven's cell as well as the guard who had his finger over a particularly menacing looking red button, "…we shall kill your little friend as well."
Another subconscious gulp.
Not good.
Very not good…
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His entire body ached in pain as the thief slowly returned from his forced dive into unconsciousness. He was vaguely aware that one of his shoulders had popped out of place…again. The pain there was particularly intense, even more so when he popped it back into place, though he managed to only let out a low hiss as the throbbing lessened, slightly.
The haze of pain and weariness that plagued his eyes slowly began to clear, it didn't take long for the teen to realize that he was in some sort of large purple colored beam of light, and that he was not the only one there. With slow and careful steps he made his way across the circle of light towards the closest circle to him.
"Fixit?" The teen questioned the figure that lay face down in his own circle, the thief reached the end of his own and found that he could go no further, the purple light was more than just light…it was also a prison. As the teen's eyes cleared further he happened to notice that the mechanic was missing both his arms.
"Fixit!" The thief called, smashing his fists into the walls of light. His comrade remained silent and unmoving. "Fixit can you hear me!"
"I'm afraid Fixit is a bit indisposed at the moment." A sickeningly familiar voice spoke from behind him. The same confidence, the same manipulative tone, just minus the mechanical echo.
"All according to plan Blackfire?" Red-X questioned, the weight of the world dropping into his gut when he turned and saw the black-haired Tamaranian standing in the center of the three cells of her former comrades while she stood tall and assured, guards flanked at her sides and a rather large man standing somewhat distantly behind her.
Blackfire's cold purple eyes looked from the smash-eyed form of See-More to the ripped apart Fixit to the badly beaten body of the master thief and her smile faltered.
"All according to plan…" Blackfire agreed, fists clenching at her sides, "…all except for one.
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Close…I was so close… My body was strangely un-harmed despite being severely beaten by a half-demon for what seemed like an eternity though my mind still carried the scars and it refused to move my body at more than a snail's pace.
It didn't matter…I was still close. The large palace that appeared to have been carved into the side of a mountain loomed over the horizon.
This was where Blackfire was being held prisoner. I lightly gripped the cloak that fell over me like a dark shroud. I would get in there and find her…find See-More, Red-X, and Fixit to…I would find them all and free the rest of my teammates…
And then I will proceed to strangle them all to death for putting me through all this crap.
I smiled at the thought as I pulled my cape around me and disappeared into the darkness. It was always nice to dream.
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