The Titans made their way from the Tower to the area that had been reported as a "disturbance", only to find what looked like a third-world country war zone. Shop front windows shattered, uncountable numbers of shards of glass littered the concrete, traffic lights, as well as lamp posts, destroyed, laying in the streets. Cars that weren't already ablaze with flames, much like several of the buildings, were damaged beyond repair, or otherwise turned over. They did take notice to something peculiar out of the devastation that lay before them; there appeared to be vapor rolling off of the shattered glass, upon further observation, it was extremely cold to the touch. They knew they had to be close by still, and they wished to stop the carnage before it would spread to other parts of the sprawling metropolis of Jump City.
"So," Terra started, watching Robin brood over what he thought was evidence, "have you guys faced whoever this is before?"
Beast Boy was the only one close enough to hear Terra's question, the others still searching for clues, hoping to find the culprits.
"I don't know, no one else we know leaves a path like this, or on this scale, it's hard to tell." Beast Boy truthfully replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Whoever they are, they ain't nobody compared to us."
"You're awfully confident," Terra commented with a cocked eyebrow as the duo walked down the middle of the debris-ridden street while the others continued searching.
"That isn't confidence, that's the truth," he answered with a smile, getting a small grin from Terra as a reply.
"I hope it isn't anything too "serious"," She pointed out, "I'm still rusty, I mean, I haven't used my powers for so long, I don't know if I'll be any help or not."
"Don't sweat it," the changeling consoled, "any help is better than no help, besides, I have faith in you. If you really are rusty, then practice makes perfect, right?"
"I guess your right," Terra compromised, watching Starfire drift from area to area in the air, searching high while the others searched low. "Are you sure these guys are dumb enough to hang around after causing all this, I mean, they could have easily gotten away long before we arrived." She added.
"How knows-" Beast Boy began, only to be interrupted.
The interruption happened to be the sight of a blast of ice striking Starfire from behind them, her falling to the ground, all of the remaining Titans to divert their attention to where the attack originated from. Just as they wheeled around, their eyes made contact with the perpetrator, a young female, having the stature of a teenager in her later years. Her skin was a pale grey, almost white, while her hair and lips were a vivid, icy blue, her eyes as cold-looking as the attack she made on Star, blue in color as well. She lowered her hand, vapor from the sheer temperature difference around her emitting from it still.
"Maybe," Beast Boy finished, not looking forward to the latter of the two.
Just as B.B. finished his conversation with Terra, the others ran up to join them, including Starfire.
"Who is that?" Cyborg questioned amongst the group, watching her push a lock of her blue hair out of her face, much like Terra would do in a sense.
"I have no idea," Robin replied, brandishing his staff, "and I don't care."
"Are sure it's only her? I mean, it could be a trap," Beast Boy stated, thinking ahead for once.
"Only one way to find out," Robin boldly informed, preparing to attack, twirling his staff into an offensive position.
Before Robin could strike, he noticed that another figure was approaching. He was tall, red-orange hair parted down the middle, hanging in his face and all around. From what wasn't covered by his leather jacket or blue-jean pants, his skin was tanned. He looked up at the group of heroes with his green eyes, allowing them to easily stand out against his skin. The unknown attacker turned to him as he stood next to her, standing easily 6 inches over her. She turned back with a smirk on her face.
"Before we get started here," she began, her voice nearly as cold as she was herself, "let's get the pleasantries out of the way first."
"Gladly," Robin snapped, hardening his glare, still ready to attack, unphased by her eccentricity.
"I'm known as Frost, not original, but obvious, your friend can confirm that," she gloated, motioning to Starfire, who still wasn't happy being attacked from behind. "And this guy here is known as Inferno."
With a devious grin, he gave a small wave.
"So a girl with a de-icing problem and a hothead?" Beast Boy quipped.
"Go ahead and get your jokes in, because this will be the only time you can," Frost informed, narrowing her stare.
"Besides," another unknown voice began, a figure even larger than Inferno appearing from Frost's right, "he isn't that funny."
The group of heroes was finally able to adjust their vision on the figure. Besides the fact that he was a large male, the armor he bore made him look that much larger in size. No part of his body was visible, all covered by armor, and wasn't clad in protective metallic plates was clearly covered by the black undersuit. Even his face was shielded from view, covered by a midnight-black visor that sealed the helmet upon his head. The only thing that seemed to stand out was the armor upon his forearms, as they had been sculpted to house some kind of object in each, but as to all of these characters, they knew nothing of them.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Cyborg questioned, forming his right arm into his Sonic Cannon.
He took notice to the cybernetic's built-in weapon.
"You can say you and I are alike," he replied in an electronically-disguised voice as he did before. "Name's Decibel, and I am about to rock your world."
"Even though that sounded as about as corny as you can get," Beast Boy commented. "That still doesn't explain what you can do, unlike your elemental friends here."
Cyborg looked at him with an unamused stare.
"He uses sonic technology like I do," he informed his dense friend.
"Yeah, I knew that," B.B. covered up, changing his focus back to these strange individuals.
"Our intel was correct," Frost commented, "you really do have the lowest IQ of your friends."
"Hey!" B.B. yelled, offended, "I'm not stupid, I'm just not as smart."
"Hey, uh, Beast Boy," Terra whispered in his ear, "just quit while you're ahead, seriously."
"Are you done yet?" Robin finally questioned, ready to take them down.
"Not quite, Boy Wonder," The ice maiden replied, getting a furrow of anger from Robin, despising that title he bore for so long underneath his mentor. "Seeing how you are eager to…fall, my other allies will make quick work with their introductions."
Another female walked in from the left out of one of the destroyed buildings, her hair as blonde as Terra's, eyes too, but her hair was much shorter, and appeared to be frizzled at the ends. Yet another approached from the right in a similar fashion, a female of Asian decent.
"I would like to introduce to you our final members, Elektra," Frost motioned to the blonde-haired girl, "and Whirlwind," she finished, shifting their focus to the oriental female.
"So you're all here and ready to go down?" Robin quipped, the others preparing to attack as well.
"You won't find it so easy to defeat us, the graduating class of the H.I.V.E. Academy this year. Your…downfall is our final exam, and we promise to pass with flying colors." Frost explained, a devious grin creeping across her face as she finished her statement.
"I should have known it," Cyborg commented to his teammates, "Blood managed to get yet another school up and running. As soon as we deal with these guys, we need to find it."
"Agreed, but let's take care of priorities first," Robin answered, turning back to their new adversaries that stood before them.
Cyborg grinned as he turned back to their newly-found foes, popping his knuckles, as well as his neck.
"Time for the school of hard knocks," he stated, preparing to attack, "and you are about to fail."
Frost narrowed her icy stare that much more at the group of heroes.
"Attack pattern Alpha Omega!" she instructed, her teammates leaping into action.
Elektra, as well as Whirlwind, vaulted from their respective positions, easily making contact with the walled buildings beside them, nearly parallel with one another as well. Meanwhile, Inferno and Decibel charged head-long from either side, while Frost remained fixed in place.
"Titans, G-" Robin managed.
"Thunderstorm!" Elektra and Whirlwind exclaimed as they attacked, Elektra's energy dancing through the air, while Whirlwind's chaotic powers over wind took effect, a visible blast of air moving towards them. While in transit, both of these swirling entities of energy combined and intertwined with one another. This archaic offensive maneuver sliced through the air with amazing speed, finding its way to its destination. The attack connected only mere inches in front of Robin, as he was spearheading the heroes' standing position, knocking the group off their feet and sending them hurling through the air in all directions. Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy slammed into the pavement several feet from their previous position, while Cyborg had been thrown into a parked car, destroying it beyond recognition, and Terra had struck the wall of a building, landing on the sidewalk. Dazed, yet alert, Robin managed to see the green armor-clad being that identified himself as Decibel leaping into the air, and slammed his fists into the ground, a fissure splintering from the source, dancing across the pavement until it reacht Robin, vaulting him, as well as Star and B.B. into the air, only to land just as hard the first time. Frost only stepped forward as her teammates returned to their positions, smiling at their successful offensive maneuver. The Titans slowly rose to their feet, disoriented, yet ready, and not wishing to be attacked in such a way again.
"Can't have thunder without lightning, can we?" She quipped, "Give it up, your…defeat will be most merciful, while pleasing."
Robin dusted himself off, snapping into an offensive position.
"You and your friends are new on the block," he informed, "so you haven't been around long enough to know that no one has ever taken us down, and it will remain that way."
"Enough, Bird-Boy," Frost scoffed, "that's the last thing anyone wants; your heroic banter. It really gets old after awhile. Can't expect much from the young ward of the protector of Gotham City."
A small surprised gasp came from Robin. Not many knew of his past, and he knew those few, yet, her, as well as her companions, his newly-made foes, knew much of him and his past.
"Either I have a concussion," Cyborg managed, rubbing his head, leaning over to Robin, speaking only to where he could hear him, "but I could have sworn that she just said something along the lines of you being Batman's sidekick."
"You heard right," Robin replied, "I don't know how she would know of something like that, but it doesn't matter."
Cyborg nodded, focusing on them once more.
"Hey, Frost," Inferno questioned with a smug smirk, "do you think we need to use any of our advanced techniques on these wastes of life? Seriously, that was the most pathetic attempt of a defensive countermeasure I have ever seen."
"That's because there wasn't one," Frost replied in a similar tone, feeling as if the Titans were nothing compared to them. "They've lost their luster they had in their younger years, they're all washed-up."
"We're far from washed-up!" Beast Boy exclaimed, becoming furious at the insults, especially being told to his face. "We're just getting warmed up, you are going to regret ever messing with us."
"Ah, Beast Boy, the shape-shifter of the animal kingdom, I was wondering when you were going to open your mouth," Frost commented, as if she had been studying him, studying all of them.
"Do you want to take your "test"," Cyborg stated, becoming agitated, "or do you need more time to study? Either way, it adds up to all of you going down."
"Very well then," Frost admitted with a smirk, changing her posture slightly, "you heard them team, let's complete our assignment, and return to Headmaster."
They all systematically nodded, locking their vision upon their targets, the Titans.
"Titans, Go!" Robin ordered, his allies leaping into action.
"Attack Pattern Beta Atari!" Frost ordered, her and Whirlwind charging headlong towards the Titans as they rushed them as well, as if they were opposing armies running at one another upon an open battlefield. Yet, amidst the chaos, Frost and Whirlwind were matching one another's movements, nearly mirroring the other in perfect tandem order. With a small twirl around before sliding to a stop, the duo charged up an attack with their respective powers. Finally, they thrusted their hands forward, releasing their charged energies.
"Blizzard!" They exclaimed simultaneously, having a similar effect as the earlier attack, but indeed resembling a storm of ice.
To their surprise, Robin had watched them, as any alert opponent would, and countered, him and the Titans splitting up, avoiding what would have been a devastating attack upon them. Robin reacht for his belt, taking out a triplet of discs, launching them with an arcing motion of his arm, aiming them for the duo that just struck. Frost and Whirlwind defended themselves, but the discs didn't strike them, but the ground in front of them, exploding into thick clouds of dark smoke. In the confusion, Robin struck, swinging his staff low through the smoke, striking both opponents in a manner that took their feet out from underneath of them. Meanwhile, Inferno picked Terra out as his next "victim", but she wasn't about to go down without a fight. He unleashed several blasts of fire from his hands. With her extraordinary geomancer powers, Terra lifted a spot of the pavement, as well as a large chuck of the earth below it up from the ground, blocking the fiery attack. In the same motion, Terra leapt upon the newly-created boulder, taking flight towards Inferno as he prepared to strike once more, seeing Terra was going to prove to be a worthy challenge. Inferno struck once more, only to have Terra's flying form nimbly dodge each fireball that came her way with ease. With precision, Terra retaliated, using her powers to break off several chunks of the earth she rode upon, using them as weapons. Inferno avoided them as long as he could, but Terra struck successfully, leveling the pyrotechnic to the ground. She halted to a stop, hovering just above the ground as he stood up, shaking his head from the attack.
"Come on, I just woke up from a 7-year hibernation," Terra taunted, arms across her chest, a cocked eyebrow to go with it.
"Don't worry, little girl," Inferno replied, dusting himself off, "I'm just getting warmed up."
"Oh, please," she added, rolling her eyes, "besides that being one of the most corny one-liners in the book, you and your powers just make it that much more insulting to hear. Just let me win and the humiliation won't last as long."
Inferno's stare hardened at Terra's taunting. His hands began to glow a hellfire red as he powered up, similar to Terra's yellow energy that emitted when she conjured the earth around her.
While Terra and Inferno squared off, Cyborg had his hands full with Decibel. Unlike the others, he actually seemed to be a challenge to him. Evenly matched, both in terms of skill and technology, the two of them were locked in a stalemate of sorts. The cybernetic and soundmaster grappled with one another.
"I'm impressed, Cyborg," Decibel commented, his voice still altered by his suit, "you are proving to be more of a challenge than I predicted. Not bad for…inferior and obsolete technology. No matter, your demise is inevitable."
"We'll see about that," Cyborg growled, forming his right hand into his signature Sonic Cannon.
As he did so, the audible sound of Decibel's Sonic Generators in the forearms of his armor charging up. Cyborg brought his Sonic Cannon level, as did Decibel's fist. They collided, dispelling their respective energies, forming a quagmire of unstable energy between the two. The chaotic energy finally dispelled in a violent explosion, sending both combatants flying through the air in their respective directions. Cyborg made contact with the ground after his short stint through the air, sparks erupting as he skidded to a halt on the pavement. He quickly rose to his feet, finding Decibel on his feet as well, except he was running full stride towards Cyborg. With a battle cry of sorts, Decibel leapt into the air, drawing his fist back. He thrusted it forward as he landed, driving it into the pavement. An immense shockwave rippled through the surface, fissuring the roadway, but the majority of it went in Cyborg's direction, traveling at high speed. The arc of sonic energy kicked up debris as it continued to race towards Cyborg. Right as it was about to deliver its devastating damage, the earth in front of Cyborg rose up, stopping the sonic blast dead in its tracks, merely dispersing across it. Out of bewilderment, Cyborg looked around, only to catch the glimpse of another rock to fly in front of him, except this one had a figure in its path as it had been struck by it. The figure happened to be Inferno on the receiving end of Terra's powers.
"You owe me one, Cy," Terra announced, drifting down in front of him on the boulder she summoned earlier.
Before he could reply, Decibel demolished the rock wall Terra had formed only moments ago with his sheer strength. Cyborg raised his Sonic Cannon, unleashing a blast of blue energy from it, leveling Decibel once more.
"We're even," Cyborg informed with a smirk, both of them rushing off against their opponents once more.
All that happened on the ground was impervious to Starfire as she battled her own nemesis of the moment in a sense. Elektra used her powers to apply static energy to a piece of sheet metal, allowing her to pursue the Tamerainian in the air. She easily matched Starfire in terms of agility and speed as they flew, darting between buildings and such. Every move Starfire attempted, Elektra matched with ease. Seeing that she was unsuccessful at attacking her opponent off guard, Starfire relied on her warrior pride and turned while still in motion, flying backwards. Her eyes, as well as her hands, glowed with energy as she prepared to attack.
"You and your friends will be failing your exam!" She exclaimed, unleashing her pent-up energy, throwing numerous Starbolts at Elektra.
Elektra dodged the emerald energy orbs as the approached her with ease, continuing her aggressive advance upon Starfire.
"I beg to differ," Elektra replied, arcs of electrical energy traversing from her palms. She turned her palms outward towards Starfire, the arcs becoming more intense, then finally leaving her vessel, dancing across the sky much like actual lightning would. Starfire shrieked with surprise as she dodged the electrical attacks, rushing in close to strike once more. Elektra was unable to defend herself, finding the receiving end of Starfire's fist. She struck with extreme accuracy, dethroning Elektra from her flight, tumbling down to the streets below. Starfire pursued, not allowing her to retaliate in any way possible. Just as Elektra impacted upon the street below, creating a large crater in the pavement, Starfire let loose a blast of energy from her eyes, inflicting even greater damage. Debris and dust had been kicked up from Starfire's combination of attacks, so Elektra's condition was unknown, so she approached cautiously, landing, and taking small steps forward as she peered into the billowing cloud. No sooner than she did, yellow, archaic energy erupted from the cloud, knocking Starfire off of her feet, as well as frying her hair, intense enough to singe the ends of it black. The Tamerainian started to rise, shaking the confusion from her head, seeing Elektra slowly walking out of the crater, energy dancing across her body as she conjured it, her hair beginning to stand on end.
"Not bad," Elektra commented, raising her hands to attack once more, "but there's something you gotta learn."
"What is that?" Starfire snapped back, quickly rising to her feet. "You are nothing and you have nothing of value to teach me. You are nothing more than a villain and I refuse to learn anything from you!"
"Can't say that I tried," She commented, shrugging her shoulders, "but you will regret it."
"You will be the one that is to be regretting," Starfire reassured, clenching her fists, preparing to attack once more.
Elektra merely charged her palm with electricity, using the other to gesture for Starfire to "bring it".
Starfire merely pressed both of her hands together in front of her, palms facing Elektra. She let out warcry as her eyes flared a jade green, her hands doing the same. Before Elektra could figure out what the Tamerainian was up to, it was too late. A powerful blast of energy erupted from Starfire's hands, much like the same she shot from her eyes, but many times more intense. This sustained blast impacted violently upon Elektra, sending her careening backwards with enough force to embed her body into one of the many buildings that surrounded them. Starfire eased her stance, but knew that her adversary was far from finished.
"It has been the "brought"," Starfire commented, patting her hands together as if she were removing the dirt from them.
Elektra's only reply was her body falling flat on her face from the crater it had just created. Yet, she slowly rose, in pain, but still willing enough to continue combat with Starfire. As to her surprise, Inferno bounced across the pavement, then skidding to a halt at her feet, badly beaten. She looked up to find Terra, numerous stones already suspended in midair, flying towards her, twirling them about her vessel as her eyes. She looked at Elektra, who was surprised that she was able to down Inferno, her stare unchanging, arms folded across her chest.
"One down, four to go," she informed, a certain cockiness about her voice.
"Oh gracious friend Terra, you are successful!" Starfire congratulated, "You will be assisting me, yes?"
"You don't look like you need it, Star, but, yeah, I'll be helping you out," the geomancer replied, setting down on the ground, arms still across her chest.
Elektra, still in pain from Starfire's onslaught, kicked Inferno, attempting to wake him from his unconscious state.
"Get up!" She yelled, kicking him a second time, getting an exasperated moan. "Your target wasn't even assigned, how has she managed to down you?"
"Assigned?" Terra thought, yet remained focused on the duo.
"She's…tougher than you think," groaned Inferno as he slowly rose to his feet, weak.
"Oh really?" Elektra snapped back at his failure against Terra. She turned to face Starfire and Terra once more. "Need I do your work as always?"
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Inferno cautioned, knowing what Terra was capable of, only to cringe in pain.
Elektra ignored him, charging up an attack once more, refusing to go down, but it seemed to happen anyway. Her entire body appeared to be energized as she struck out at Terra. She reacted, jutting a rock wall up in front of her, the bolts of electricity merely fizzling out across its surface, impervious to the earthen insulator. Terra, being quick to think on the go, took flight from behind her makeshift fortress of stone she just created, distracting Elektra by launching the small stones that floated around her, more of an annoyance than anything. What attacks Elektra managed to get off were way off target, Terra nimbly dodging whatever could be considered a threat. High above her, Terra then began a steep dive, nearly vertical, her target Elektra. Just as she did, Starfire took Inferno down with a single Starbolt, he far past fighting condition.
"I hope this works," Terra thought as she rocketed towards Elektra, who appeared to be charging up once more for a devastating attack, the geomancer her target.
"Say goodbye," Elektra said to herself with a hiss of evil about her voice, her energy becoming nearly uncontainable as Terra neared her position.
"Here goes nothing!" Terra exclaimed as she leapt off of her rock she was riding towards Elektra.
Just as planned, Elektra unleashed her fury upon the rock, obliterating it, hoping to take Terra with it, but was confused not to find the blonde-haired geomancer with it. Before she could realize what had happened, she felt the coldness of dirt and broken pavement creep up her body. The earth entombed her up to her neck, containing her power, making it useless. Terra was behind her, having done a backflip, landing on her feet. She merely walking up to her, coming around to face the helpless female.
"Not to shabby, eh?" She quipped with a smirk of satisfaction, "simple science lesson at work here, if you didn't know that already. Stone isn't a good conductor of electricity last time I checked, so have fun trying to get out of there."
"You better hope I don't," Elektra growled, struggling, but to no avail.
"I'd love to stay and chat with you guys, but I'm needed elsewhere," Terra replied with a small wave of her hand as she ran, leaping upon another conjured bolder, taking flight across the ground, nearly skimming it. Starfire made sure that they weren't going anywhere by keeping guard. To her surprise though, as she approached the others, as they weren't far up the street from they were, Robin and Beast Boy had already managed to corner Frost, Whirlwind was long out of commission. Cyborg and Decibel were still going at it, blow for blow, each nearly mirroring the other. She floated in at high speed, taking aim at Decibel.
"Cyborg, heads up!" She yelled, leaping off of her perch upon the boulder as it sped towards him.
Surprised, the cybernetic quickly turned around, seeing what Terra was up to. He quickly ducked, Decibel seeing the boulder speed towards him, but it was too late. With tremendous force, the boulder slammed into his chest, easily leveling him, knocking him back several feet. He remained dazed as his remaining teammates regrouped, the Titans surrounding them. Starfire had caught up with them, tossing the two incapacitated opponents her and Terra defeated amongst the those who remained standing. Cyborg gave Terra a high five as she landed with the rest of the group, staring down those that were combating them, and failing miserably.
"Last chance, guys," Robin boldly stated, having every right to do so, "give it up, and we'll take it easy on you. This is only a fraction of what we are capable of."
Frost, who was as about as angry as a person could get, sized up her remaining allies, seeing that they indeed didn't stand a chance to hope to defeat them. She let out a sigh, lessening her stance a little, as did Decibel, the others incapacitated and unable to show any kind of reply.
"Very well then, Robin," Frost announced, but lying to cover up her actions for the moment, "me and my team admit defeat, you truly are better fighters than we."
"All it took was for us to knock some sense in you, didn't it?" Beast Boy quipped, crossing his arms.
"Indeed," she replied, not liking the green changeling one bit, "but, whatever it is that you need to do, do it."
"I've got questions for you," Robin informed, pointing at Frost, "and you are going to answer them."
"Really? Well, Robin, I'm sorry to inform you that I haven't the time to play 20 questions with you and your team," she calmly replied, a devilish grin creeping across her visage as she flung her palm forward, releasing several small objects from her hand. In the same motion, she activated her powers over ice, combining them with the objects to make them erupt into a blinding, white light, along with a thick, billowing cloud of impenetrable smoke. In the confusion, Robin attempted to seek out their opposition, but as with the others, he was unsuccessful, their targets getting away, only to fight and cause destruction another time.
"Damn," Robin cursed under his breath, still coughing, as well as his eyes watering from Frost's escape maneuver that allowed her and her team to disappear with ease. The other Titans were unable to find them as well, seeing how they were experience the same thing Robin was. After several moments elapsed, they finally gained control of their sensory, seeking out one another.
Cyborg rested his hand on Robin's shoulder, getting his attention.
"Don't worry about it, man," he stated, "after a beating like that, I don't think they will show up for quite some time. Besides, I don't know if you saw or not, but Terra could have taken all of those guys by herself."
Robin nodded, and then turned to face Starfire as she prepared to say something.
"I agree with friend Cyborg, Robin," Starfire interjected, floating up to him, "friend Terra opened up a large can of the butt whoop."
He looked at Terra, her only smiling, accompanied by a small wave.
"I don't think they expected her, that's why, but in any case, you did play a major role in our victory, Terra." Robin admitted with a minute smile, something he rarely did, even when he was with Starfire.
"Come on, guys, I was only helping out, I didn't "save the day"," Terra replied, not wishing to have all the attention, "but I did notice that they weren't expecting me as you said."
"Yeah, I noticed that as well," Cyborg commented, "it's as if all of them were unable to combat her because they didn't know how her powers worked and what her weaknesses were, if any."
"They probably forgot that lesson back at the Academy," Beast Boy joined in, "it wouldn't have mattered though, Terra took almost all of them down, hard."
Robin drowned out his comrades' voices as they congratulated once another on their recent victory, but it wasn't, they got away, and Robin couldn't rest until he knew what they were up to, why they had sought them out and no one else. Blood was up to something, something big, and Robin wasn't about to stand around and wait for it to happen.
"Come on, we need to get back to the Tower," Robin informed, disguising his order to be friendly towards his allies and friends.
"Oh, Robin, come on, let's stop for some pizza, I mean, we haven't done that in awhile, and besides, we've earned it. Terra hasn't went with us forever, so come on, let's go," pleaded Beast Boy, motioning towards Terra, as she was surrounded by Cyborg and Starfire, re-enacting the scene of the battle in a sense, and how Terra administered such devastating blows with ease.
Robin actually thought for a moment, he wanted his team to have fun, seeing how it kept them in good spirits, but he needed to find out what Brother Blood was up to. Yet, he couldn't think about it on an empty stomach.
"Sure, why not? Let's go," Robin gladly stated, turning to the content group of Titans "Cy, Star, Terra, come on!"
Luckily, their favorite place they frequented, yet not recently, was only a couple blocks walking distance from their current position, which seemed to pass like nothing, except Robin continued to brood over the current situation, continuing to tune out any distraction whatsoever. Just to the look, he appeared to be in a deep trance, yet he was conscious enough to his surroundings, something he did quite frequently, and what made him such a great leader, but was also his own downfall at times. Robin thinks a lot, but sometimes, thinking too much can be a very bad thing, in which he has found out many times over in the past, especially when those thoughts involved Slade, his arch nemesis, and will always remain that way. Cyborg waved his hand in front of Robin's face, his stare unchanging as they continued forward, nearing their destination.
"Yo, Robin, you ok?" Cyborg questioned, looking closer at him.
"What? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he replied, "I was just thinking."
"You think too much, man, you better watch it before you fry your brain," he joked, but really being concerned for Robin, knowing how he acted when he got this way. "Seriously though, man, you got plenty of time to think, let's just relax and have some fun, be friends, not the Titans, for once. Trust me, it will help, just..hang out, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. You're probably right, Cy, it'll do me some good." Robin succumbed, not wanting to rain on everyone else's parade. No matter how much he pushed it out of his mind though, it still remained: Blood was up to something, and he needed to get to the bottom of it…fast.
Only mere moments later, they found themselves at their favorite table on the open-air promenade overlooking the city and its streets a mere story below. When they took their seats as they always did, something seemed different, to Beast Boy anyway. Terra didn't sit in her spot that she frequented when they visited, but instead sat in Raven's. The others didn't mind, but it played with Garfield's mind. He felt as if Terra was unknowingly taking Raven's place, merely replacing her, what he has feared all along, his worst nightmare coming true: They were forgetting about Raven. Yet, he hid it from the others, not wanting to bring up the painful events once more, and not so soon. Things had just seemed to return to normal. A rather familiar face approached the Titans, ready to take their order.
"Well, well, well," he announced, sizing them all up, "look who it is. Haven't seen you guys in a long time, what's the occasion?"
"Besides us whipping butt?" Beast Boy replied, taking his mind off of his current dilemma he would have to reveal eventually. "Or the fact that we have another familiar face joining us, or you didn't notice?"
"Come on, kid," he protested, "give me a break, what will it be?"
"No, come on, answer me, you've got eyes Sam, take a look, which one of us haven't you seen in awhile, I mean a long while," the changeling pressed, wanting to get an answer out of him.
He succumbed, surveying the inhabitants of the table.
"Let's see here," he began, rubbing his chin, "Robin, Cy, B.B., Star, and…"
Sam stopped, finally realizing what he was getting at. He saw Terra.
"You're familiar, I'll say that, but you're name slips my aging mind at the moment," Sam admitted, cocking his eyebrow.
"I'm Terra," she informed, pointing to herself.
"Ah, yes, Terra," Sam replied, then snapping to attention, surprised, "hey, wait a minute, weren't you the one that saved the city. They told me about it one time, how you sacrificed yourself or something or other, but how are you here?"
"It's a long story, and we're hungry," Cyborg interrupted, "so let's make with the eats."
"Sure, sure, whatever, but I also notice that you seem to be missing that dark empath of the occult, Raven, a lovely, yet different lady, where is she?" Sam asked, unknowing to her fate.
There was an eerie silence, Sam not knowing what he had done. Their smiles and cheerful depositions quickly faded into gloom and near depression, as if they were asking one another to inform him of what had happened, not wishing to do it themselves.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Sam pressed, concerned for some of his regular customers, as well as what he considered friends.
"Raven…died, Sam," Beast Boy solemnly replied, paining him to utter the mere words.
"Oh man, sorry, I didn't know," he apologized, "I'll leave it at that, I know it must be tough for you."
"You have no idea," Beast Boy thought, not wanting to drag out the conversation upon Raven's passing that he felt that could have been avoided somehow, but it is what she wished.
"It's alright, Sam," Robin replied with sympathy, "you didn't know. Maybe when it doesn't hurt as much, we'll tell you about it. No matter what though, it will, and there's nothing we can do about it."
Sam nodded, understanding what Robin was getting at.
After ordering, they did what anyone could do: waited.
"So," Cyborg finally stated, breaking the silence, "uh, Terra, what happened back there?"
She turned to him, cocking an eyebrow out of confusion.
"What do you mean?" She replied, awaiting an explanation.
"When you straight whipped those guys is what I mean. Your powers seemed…different, it's hard to explain, but I can tell. Maybe it would be easier to understand if you yourself elaborate upon it." Cyborg continued, getting everyone else's attention to be focused upon Terra.
Feeling the pressure everyone's eyes watching her, awaiting an answer, Terra finally gave in to the influence.
"I'll admit something about it." She began, letting out a sigh of sorts, "When I was using them, I felt kinda…supercharged or something, but I don't know why."
"Interesting," Cyborg commented, rubbing his chin, "it could have something to do with that revival serum, I mean, it did have a rather large dose of pure Xenothium in it, and that stuff is pretty potent."
"What about you being all frozen-like in stone all these years?" Beast Boy added, "I mean, couldn't that have something to do with it as well? Maybe you have a lot of pent-up energy and you will be like that for a while until it all balances out."
"Maybe both, who knows?" Terra answered, shrugging her shoulders, "but who cares? I'm here, and I kicked butt, that's all that matters right?"
Everyone seemed to chuckle at Terra's comment, lightening the mood greatly.
"Seriously though Terra," Robin began, "about your powers. Not only do you seem to be, well…more powerful, but your control, or at least what you showed us today was superb, it seems as if you have mastered them. Not only will you aid us greatly, but we have one of our friends amongst us once more."
"Thanks, Robin," Terra heartily replied, "that means a lot to me."
He nodded, and their conversations continued, but Beast Boy remained out of them, beginning to ponder upon the thought he wished wasn't true, as he feared it was becoming a reality.
The cold, steel doors slowly slid open with a pneumatic hiss, as did the entire like within the confines of the H.I.V.E. Academy, still new from its recent construction. Frost, as well the remnants of her team, scuffled their feet as they entered the main hall of the Academy, the very same that contained their Headmaster's throne of sorts. Inferno was barely standing, staggering. Decibel was carrying the encased Elektra while Whirlwind leaned upon him for support as they approached. The vast room itself allowed for their minute steps to echo, making it that much more monotonous to face him. Frost reluctantly faced forward, swallowing hard as her sight took in what laid ahead of them. A figure was seated in a throne atop ascending stairs 3 tiers high. He was dressed in his usual robe showing the signs of the Headmaster, the one and only Brother Blood, his artificial eye glowing intently in the darkness from his hood. He looked up, seeing his "graduating students".
"Ah, I see you have retuned, young ones," he beckoned, slowly lowering his hood, revealing his cybernetics that were infused with his own biological form. "I presume your assignment was successful?"
Frost stood there, facing his judgment, but dared not lie to him.
"No, Headmaster," she solemnly admitted, yet remaining strong with her response, "we failed. We were not ready for such an assignment."
Blood lowered his head slightly as he let out a sigh as he closed his eyes, lifting himself out of his throne, his robe straightening out as he did so.
"You...WHAT!" He exclaimed, snapping his eyes open as he did so, causing his students to jump at the mere sounding of his enraged voice.
"We…failed, Headmaster," Frost replied once more, keeping her composure even in his visible rage.
He quickly approached them, only stopping short of nearly running into Frost, leaning down in her face.
"Do you care to explain why you failed?" Brother Blood queried in a sinister whisper.
"Our studying of the members benefited us greatly, Headmaster, but…" Frost explained, pausing for a moment.
"But what?" Blood pressed, still eyeing her menacingly.
"But there were 5 members, and we were told there would only be 4. Not only that, but she controlled earth, and had superb control over her abilities. None of us were able to combat her, we knew none of her weaknesses as we did with the others, and with her aid, the Titans defeated us." Frost explained, attempting to not allow Blood to faze her.
"A young girl with geomancer powers? Then it is true, even beyond the grave, Slade is successful with his creations. That girl is known as Terra, she was inactive for the longest time, I really should incorporate her into the…lesson plan." Brother Blood stated. "Yet, it proves that you and your team are nothing more than failures to me and this Academy. You should have been able to succeed even without knowing about her."
Frost lowered her head slightly, as did the rest of her allies.
"I know, Headmaster, there is no excuse for me or my team failing our objective. If punishment is to be enacted, I am solely responsible for what has happened, I am a leader, and I am the one that led them to failure." She calmly stated.
All of their attentions were grabbed by her bold statement.
"Frost," beckoned Decibel in protest, only to get a hand snapping up to tell him to be quite.
Brother Blood cocked an eyebrow at her loyalty to her team, willing to sacrifice herself before them in a sense.
"I am impressed by your leadership, Frost, which is why you rightly bear the title," Blood semi-complimented, "but that won't be necessary."
She looked up, confused, as did her teammates.
"I-I don't understand, Headmaster," she honestly replied, watching him slowly pace back and forth.
He faced them, a
minute grin upon his face.
"I never expected you to defeat the
Titans, they are powerful foes indeed, even I have struggled against
them, but I am impressed by how well you fared against them overall,
my students. Yet, this wasn't your true assignment."
"Excuse me, Headmaster?" Frost questioned, even further confused to his orders.
"This was merely a test of your skills, and you have succeeded. Would you like to receive your true "final exam"?"
"Yes, Headmaster," they all replied in unison.
A devilish smile crept across his face.
"Good," he stated, "good. Now if you will excuse me, students, I must concur with Professor Chang on other matters, but within a few days, you will be briefed."
They all nodded in unison, as a team.
"I am impressed, mortal," Trigon complimented, merely satisfying himself in Slade's agony. "You are quite difficult to break, but it will happen, it is inevitable."
Slade wearily looked up at the demon, knowing that it was only the beginning, and his torment was to be eternal.
"What are you going to show me now in a futile attempt to bend my knee before you?" Slade questioned with a small chuckle, only to get a silent sign of rage from Trigon as he looked down upon the condemned soul.
"If it matters, mortal, yes," Trigon replied in a growl, narrowing his twin set of eyes in unison, "if you think the loss of your wife, as well as your eye, was the end, you are sadly mistaken."
Slade let out a low chuckle, even it coming as a surprise to Trigon, but he contained himself.
"You don't get it, do you?" Slade queried. "Even if you "break" me in this cesspool of tormented souls, of what value does it bring you truly? Even if you do get your wish, how do you benefit from it, as I will be here for eternity, and the moment will only last for a short while. You aren't one that plans ahead, are you?"
"As with you and the other souls, Slade," Trigon answered, almost as if he were having a normal conversation with another being, "your torment brings me great pleasure, the more sins and evils committed by one being, the more pleasure I have of revealing their ways to them, watching all that has happened to them, all that has brought them here. It is all so real, as you found out, but you are unable to do anything but watch yourself ruin your life, and bring you to my dwelling. You are a special case though, mortal. I allowed you to roam the Earth plane once more in exchange for the Portal's delivery."
"And your plans would have succeeded if you hadn't screwed me over. All you had to do was grant me life, give me my flesh and blood once more, and you would have had the world to yourself. Yet, after seeing the destruction, death, and chaos you reined upon Earth, I vowed to fix the evils I caused; even I am not heartless enough to wish something like that upon the world." Slade added, choosing his words wisely, knowing that Trigon could force excruciating pain on him at any given moment.
"How admirable," Trigon quipped, being extremely sarcastic, "no deed of goodness or honor will ever reverse what you have done to yourself. In terms of a tainted soul, you aren't far behind some of the rather well known men of evil in history, maybe you've heard of them? Hitler? Stalin? Minh? These are only a few of them, but you, mortal, are not far behind them in terms of evil. For all I know, they or others could be your idols in a sense."
"I know of them, but I worship them in no way," Slade replied, "I'm surprised I haven't seen some of them, or is this just a private session?"
"Humor me while you have the chance, mortal," Trigon stated in a sigh of sorts. "but you failed your wife as a husband and father, truly beginning your dark path that has led you to me. What manifested next in your pathetic life set your ways in stone. Do you know what I am speaking of, mortal?"
Slade's eye snapped open with surprise as he truly realized what Trigon was referring to.
"I…do," Slade slowly replied, keeping his composure, wishing to not relive it once more.
"You can avoid reliving this terrible moment, mortal," Trigon nonchalantly stated. "You know what you must do."
"I-I refuse," Slade boldly replied. "No amount of suffering will get me to bow before you. I've done it once, I vowed never again."
"Then so be it," Trigon finished, preparing to use his own underworldly powers.
"Maybe I shouldn't let my stubborn pride make my decisions," Slade thought as he watched the swirling energy beginning to cultivate around the demon's hand.
"Now, mortal," Trigon beckoned, preparing to force Slade into a living nightmare so real, yet unable to change the outcome. "You lost your wife and children, but even in your absence in their lives, your son wanted to follow you in your footsteps, only to fail and die, all because he wanted to be just like his father."
Slade's eye widened as he could feel the energy beginning to transport him as it did last time, wishing to relive this, or any of it, and in truth, it was a punishment far worse than anything Trigon could physically do to him.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Slade thought, gritting his teeth through the immense pain he was feeling.