Disclaimer: I do not own you or the Teen Titans.
Oh, and I've really been in the design phase for my upcoming fic, so...yeah.
A/N: for those who forgot, as of the 3rd chapter the action is in live-action.
Chapter 5: ...you know who to call.
"Control Freak?" a TitanCon attendee exclaimed.
"That's right, fans! The Big Bad of the Teen Titans television series, Control Freak, has arrived!"
"Dude, Slade's the Big Bad!" somebody shouted, angering Control Freak all of a sudden.
Control Freak pointed his remote at the offender...then lowered it, saying "No matter. He may be the main villain now, but soon, after I learn what the Fanboys have learned, even He will submit to my genius!"
As if that wasn't clear enough, Control Freak made his demands: "Bring me as many superhero-origin comics as you can, and you will live to see your heroes make their final stand."
"That's it?" you hear Beast Boy say right next to you. "All that Techno-jumbo, parallel earths, all for a COMIC BOOK? Even I'm not that obsessed!"
"Not exactly, Beast Boy." said Raven all of a sudden; "The comics there are based on us. The Teen Titans."
And before Beast Boy can ask what she means, she carrys on a bit further: "This is Earth-Prime, remember? All the stories are based on what actually happens in other universes. Universes like ours."
Suddenly, Robin pulls you aside, and asks you "How did my parents die?"
"…trapeze accident. Why?"
After a pause, Robin suddenly says "Titans, we need to get to TitanCon!
Your friend, realizing what's going on, grabs his car keys, and says "I can give you a ride!"
And you speak up as well: "I want to stay behind, see if I can inform you of Control Freak's progress."
"You'll need one of these!" Cyborg exclaims, throwing a communicator your way. After the initial excitement of holding a real Teen Titans communicator, you look at the screen, and see your friend driving the Titans to the convention.
Robin pulled out his communicator, and said "How much time do you think we have?"
"A few minutes at least; the ads should be starting any second now, and the action never starts during an ad break." you say, and the ads start just as you finish.
….
After the ads, you pull the communicator open, and say "The ads are over!"
You see your friend, on-screen, say "That's alright, since we're pretty close anyway."
"Alright, Titans" Robin addressed his teammates, "Here's the situation: We're on a world where the average comic-book geek knows all of our secrets. What's more, we have a criminal who wants to know what this world's comic-book geeks know. If he does find out, our world's superheroes will be powerless to stop him! The fate of our friends-and their heroes-depends on us!"
"Do not worry, we shall perform the kicking-of-the-butt in time! Of this I am certain!"
Just after Robin's pre-battle speech, the screen changes to Control Freak loading his stolen comic-books and DVDs into the back trunk of his (mysteriously fixed) Remote-Mobile. You whip the communicator open, and exclaim "Hurry! He's loading the stuff in his car's back trunk!"
"I'm on it." said Raven, who suddenly surrounded her hands with black, swirling energy.
The screen cuts to Control Freak again, who's just about to drive off…when his trunk burst open, and with black energy surrounding them, the comic-books and DVDs flew up onto the top of the building!
"HEY! GIVE THOSE BACK!" the pudgy purloiner shouted.
"You want them? You go through us."
Control Freak looked around, and saw himself surrounded by the Teen Titans all of a sudden.
"Go get 'im, guys!" you exclaim.
"Why, hello, Titans! I hope you can put on a good show; Everyone's watching!"
And then, for the third time that day, he converted his car into a giant mecha. With a pull of a lever, the robot's torso started spinning around, arm-mounted cyclone-generators creating a wave of solid air that knocked them all back!
After he landed on his back, however, Beast Boy became a cheetah and ran towards the massive foe. Successfully dodging the wild spinning air, he got under the robot and shifted into a Megatherium (prehistoric 'giant sloth'), which then prodeeded to slash at the robot with it's massive claws! One of the robot's hip-joints was damaged in the assault, and the stress of the heavy upper-torso caused it to break the rest of the way-resulting in the robot falling over again.
Unfortunately, Control Freak ejected from the robot just as soon as he realized it was going down. Luckily, it ejected him quite a distance into the air. Starfire flew up to grab him...only to watch him completely vanish right before her eyes!
As that happened, Robin heard this behind him: "HA! Have you so soon forgotten my ability to summon items from the TV dimension? And here, in Earth-Prime, our world is the TV dimension!" Robin turned around to find...
"Red X?"
Actually, it was Control Freak in Red X's suit. (needless to say, the sight of a morbidly-obese man in a suit designed for a teenager causes you to say "HOLY-That is wrong on SO many levels!")
Control Freak used the xenothium-gauntlets of Red X to fire several X-shaped energy projectiles at Robin, forcing him to leap out of the way...only to have a giant glob of red adhesive fall on top of him. As he struggled to get out, Cyborg suddenly noticed that the xenothium power-belt of the suit was really stretched out as it tried to accommodate Control Freak's waistline. Thinking quickly, Cyborg launched his hand out at the belt, which it latched on to before Control Freak noticed. With a little maneuvering, the hand-on-a-cable detatched the belt from the villain's waist, rendering the suit useless!
Frustrated, Control Freak sent the suit back to the Titans' home dimension...and then used his remote on a nearby manhole cover, turning it into a miniature flying saucer! It flew up into the air, fired a little green beam at Cyborg...and he was lifted off the ground by the tractor beam! Luckily, Starfire was on her way down at the time, and as soon as she noticed it, she shot the saucer with a starbolt.
Cyborg plummeted to the ground, landing on his feet... only to find himself face-to-face with a very familiar green-suited midget!
"Now, Gizmo," shouted Control Freak, "GET HIM!"
And before you can blink, Gizmo had jumped on Cyborg's back, and pulled out a very sinister-looking device! And immediately after you blink, Cyborg's systems were hacked, and he was in the middle of shutting down.
"NO!"
As Gizmo was sent back to his home Dimension, Beast Boy leapt for Control Freak...who whipped around and used his remote on the shapeshifter! Beast Boy tumbled to the ground, and attempted to become an octopus and grab that remote-only to find that he was wearing a very familiar skin-tight bunny-suit!
"DUUDE! NOT COOL!" he shouted.
"And how did he know about Mother Mae-Eye without having been there?"
Control Freak, as if in response to your question, turns towards the screen and says "For those who are wondering, the Mae-Eye incident was a hot topic in prison for weeks after it happened! Every villain worth his laser guns was laughing at Beast Boy's look!"
Suddenly, Raven appeared behind him, and growled "No one gets to emasculate Beast Boy but me. Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" as a gigantic black talon reached out of the ground at Control Freak. (meanwhile, you swear you can hear the collective hoorays and squeals of the BBXRAE shippers.) The villain managed to jump out of the way, at which point he turned towards Raven and said "Getting angry over the slightest insult to your position in the universe? You're so much like your dad."
"I AM NOTHING LIKE MY FATHER!" Raven shouted, as light started to disappear around her, and her eyes appeared to cloud over in red... (causing you to shout "NO! Don't let him push you!")
"GOTCHA!" Control Freak exclaimed, and he pointed his remote at her...and before she could react, she was surrounded by a floating, swirling body of water, with holes in it for air! Control Freak gloated; "I learned all about Trigon from his old errand-boy. It didn't take me long to figure out that the angrier you are, the more demonic you become! And running water is too pure for demons to cross!"
And seemingly to prove his point, Raven tried to punch through the floating whirlpool-and pulled her hand back in pain the instant she touched it! "RELEASE ME AT ONCE!" she shouted, only to have Control Freak seemingly ignore her!
"Three down, two to-" the villain is suddenly interrupted by a starbolt flashing a bit too close to his remote for comfort.
"LEAVE RAVEN ALONE, YOU-" and before she could say 'chlorbag,' Starfire was suddenly grasped in the tentacles of the TV-monster from their very first encounter with Control Freak! The electricity made her hair stand up on end, and made her helpless in it's clutch.
"HEY! CHEAP SHOT!"
Suddenly, Control Freak turned in your direction, and said "I know what you're thinking, watchers. I'm being way too cruel to the Titans. But these are just-"
"That's enough, Control Freak!" shouted Robin, who had managed to free himself from the xenothium-based adhesive. "You've hurt my friends enough."
Control Freak turned towards the Boy Wonder, and said "It was necessary. Trust me, it really hurt, doing that to Starfire... (cut to an extreme close-up of his tear-filled eyes) "But I had to do it! After all, in the eyes of thousands of fans, you're the only real Teen Titan! The rest are just backup dancers for your lead-!"
Upon hearing this, Robin leapt in the air, somersaulted, and landed feet-first on his foe's hastily-raised arms. Another flip after this blocked attack, and Robin wound up behind his foe.
"As I was saying, the Titans' return to Television has to include an epic final fight between the main hero and the villain!"
Robin spun around angrily, a birdarang in his hand... but just before he could throw it at the man who beat up all his friends, he stopped!
Control Freak, who was just about to use his remote, noticed his opponent's sudden pause, and likewise did the same out of surprise. "What the heck?" he asked.
"You could've had him on the ropes!" you shout at Robin from your sitting-area.
Robin dropped out of his action-ready pose, and put the birdarang back in his belt. "That's it?" he asked, "That's what you broke the fourth wall, beat up my friends, and put all of my world's superheroes in danger for? A final battle? Why couldn't it have been any of the others?"
"Who else should it be? Beast Boy's just comic relief, Raven's all dark and moody, Cyborg's no more than a walking computer, and Starfire-(he pauses here, as it pains him to say this about the girl of his dreams) she knows next to nothing about humans!"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" shouted a nearby Starfire-loving fangirl.
"But you;" Control Freak continued, ignoring the fangirl, "You're the BOY WONDER! The very first teenage costumed crime-fighter! Everyone else follows your example! So, what are you waiting for? Show 'em how the pros do it!"
Robin gritted his teeth in anger, reached down to grab something from his utility belt...
...and unclasped the buckle, took the belt off his waist, and tossed it on the ground! Everyone, including you, gasped at Robin rendering himself helpless.
"NO! That's not supposed to happen! You're supposed to kick my-"
"If a fight with me is all that this was about, a fight is the last thing you'll get." A visible scowl appeared on Control Freak's face.
(the silence at seeing Robin do this is so thick, you can hear it.)
Robin continued: "The comic-books weren't what you were after; it was me! All you care about is appeasing the fans of the Cartoon! All you care about are 'Those who are Watching!' Sure, you've debased and dehumanized the very characters they care about, but it's OK! As long as you make it a good show for the fans!"
"And that's not all I'm angry about, either! Why is it that I'm the best? Just because I was the first? There are people who've, as you put it, 'followed my example', and improved on the base I laid down! There are better teen heroes than me, but you won't give them a chance to prove it!"
"And another thing: My friends are not 'backup dancers'! If they were, why isn't the show called 'Robin and Company' rather than 'Teen Titans?' I'll tell you why: I'm not the single most important person on the team!"
Robin stopped here, to catch his breath after such a long-winded speech. Control Freak took the break in the rant to ask "Well, what about your fanbase? Yours is the largest of the entire team!"
"That's not because I'm the star of the show...it's because, at the end of the day, I'm worth writing stories about. Just like Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire. Contrary to what I think you told me, they have fanbases of their own! So what if I have slightly more fans? That doesn't make them any less of the good characters they are."
"At one point, you called yourself the 'master of mass-media.' If that were true, you'd know what makes a good show, and what makes good characters. Thing is, you don't; and that is why I won't fight. It wouldn't be a good show."
….After a long pause, you start to hear people from inside the convention building clapping and cheering Robin for his heroic speech. You join in, even though you're observing the event through your TV set.
A fan walked up to Robin out of the crowd, and says "Wow! You showed him who's boss, even without fighting him!"
Ten seconds afterwards, Control Freak exclaims "FINE! If you won't fight, then neither will I! It's no fun anymore..." and tosses his remote onto the ground in front of him.
Suddenly, the screen cuts to Robin, who's eyes widen...then narrow. You brace yourself...
...And before Control Freak could realize what happened, Robin had rolled over-and grabbed-both the discarded utility belt and remote! And as Control Freak processed his opponent's sudden change in attitude, Robin grasped the battery-door of the remote, maneuvered his fingers a little, and within seconds exposed the battery compartment of the Remote of Doom.
"What the-" an astonished Control Freak stammered, "How long were you waiting for me to drop my guard like that?"
"I wasn't;" Robin replied; "the idea had only just occurred to me."
"EPIC!"
Once again, giving his enemy no chance to react, Robin quickly ripped the batteries out of the remote.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Suddenly, bright white light starts to envelop everything that was affected by that remote over the past few hours: the cop cars that were trashed in the chase were suddenly fixed, as is your roof (making you say "phew! Glad I didn't have to explain that to Mom."), the comic-books were back on their shelves in the convention, the Remote-Mobile reverted to it's original, undamaged form, and (most importantly) all of the things that Control Freak had done to the other four Titans were undone! Cyborg powered up, the bunny-suit &TV-monster disappeared, and the prison of running water suddenly collapsed onto the ground, allowing a (considerably-less-demonic) Raven to get back on her feet!
"ALRIGHT! Back in the show!" Cyborg exclaimed, as they started to surround the villain that neutralized them.
Control Freak walked backwards, away from his revived enemies, fear in his eyes...but then he remembered the dual-bladed plasma-scimitar that he kept in his trenchcoat! He pulled it out, ignited it, and lunged forward with newfound confidence!"
"TITANS, GO!"
Starfire started off, throwing a large starbolt his way. Of course, the plasma-scimitar allowed him to block it...but that diverted his attention while Beast Boy snuck up behind him, and then smashed into his behind (as a ram)! Control Freak was launched forward-straight into Cyborg, who quickly restrained him as Raven telekinetically destroyed his weapon.
"No! NO! This wasn't supposed to happen! What happened to the epic final confrontation?"
"We just had it, Control Freak." stated Robin, calmly; "You lost."
Suddenly, the crowd of Titans-fans all shouted "TEEN TITANS GO!" In response, everyone started waving...
...except Raven, who floated near Cyborg and said "You do know how to get us out of here, right?" causing Cyborg to blush with an 'of course I can!' look.
-one scene transition later-
The Titans (in their familiar animated appearances once more) sat in the lounge room of the Tower, taking a long break after a hard day of crime-fighting. Beast Boy, out of curiosity, asks Robin "So, your big rant back there, was it for Control Freak, or our fans as well?"
"Just Control Freak. I will admit, it is nice to know that someone likes you enough to make stories about you."
Starfire asked "Beast Boy, do you have any particular reaction to having...fans?"
"Well, what can I say? Chicks dig the ears." he responded, wiggling his pointy ears (and earning another eye-roll from Raven).
Raven asked a question as well: "Do you think the fact about Earth-Prime's existence will affect us in any way?"
"Not for long;" replied Cyborg; "We'll probably forget it in a week."
"Just as well. No one has ever made a good story by simply trying to please the fans." added Robin.
The screen pans out to the household of another person watching the show, who says "That was awesome! I wonder where they get the idea for plots like this!"
Then the screen pans out to you, as you look at the 'camera', and, after a pause, wink.
Then the end credits start to play:
T-E-E-N, T-I-T, A-N-S,
TEEN TI-TANS, Let's Go!
T-E-E-N, T-I-T, A-N-S,
TEEN TI-TANS, Let's Go!
T-E-E-N, T-I-T, A-N-S,
TEEN TI-TANS, LET'S GO!"
FINALLY! After nearly a month, I finally appease my increasingly-impatient fans! (no offense intended)
I promise, the next story will be much quicker on the uploads.
If I break that promise, feel free to end any Author Alerts you have.
EDIT: My new story is not only posted, it's in the Comics: Batman section.