Hello everyone, I'm here and ready for another chapter. Now technically this was supposed to be over a year since I started with Doomed Titans. Of course since Fan Fiction removed my story cause they think I was breaking the rules, I had to revamp and upgrade my story. It happened on January or February and I'm hoping that it's not going to happen again. Now on to other news. I got two reviews from Rabukurafuto on chapter three and Rahkshi500 on the last chapter. Plus I have 68 hits on the last chapter, a little less then the others but still a pretty high number. Let's see if this one will get more hits. Now that I got everything out of the way, here's chapter nineteen. Alex and the Teen Titans made it to Communications and all they have to do is to protect the Main Communications Room until the Marine gets here. But with new enemies, deception, and new evils lurking, will this team get their head in the game or die trying?

Chapter Notes

The Lost Souls will make an appearance. Also, there's going to be a part on the chapter that's almost similar to the Communications level in Doom 3.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or Doom 3

Chapter Nineteen: The System is Down

Communications, Communications Access 1: November 15, 2145 6:27 P.M.

In the Communications Access way, it was quiet except for the sound of a zombie munching on flesh of a dead body. The elevator doors in the room opened up and Alex and the Teen Titans exit out of it. When they heard the sound of munching, they all remained quiet and sneaked at the nearest corner wall. Alex took out his double barrel shotgun from his back and peeked through the corner to see the zombie feeding on the lifeless corpse. Alex looked at the team and gestured that he'll handle this. Carefully, he slowly sneaked up behind the zombie, which was lucky for him that it had its back turned, aimed his shotgun at the undead and pumped it. The zombie heard it and turned around to find out where the sound was coming from. But when it did that, it got its brain blown off by the powerful shot of Alex's weapon. Once the zombie is dead, Alex looked down and saw both a standard shotgun and a case of shells. He picked up the case, took two shells out, reloaded his shotgun, and placed the rest in his pockets. Once the Titans joined him, Beast Boy looked at Alex and was concerned about where they are.

Beast Boy: "O.K., we're now here at the Communications Facility. How far is the Main Comm. Room from here?"

Alex took out his PDA and looked at the digital map to find out where Main Comm. is. After a few seconds, he looked at the Titans and gave them the details.

Alex: "Not far. All we have to do is to go through the skyway, enter registration, walk down a hallway, and we're there. Once we get to Main Communications, we'll protect it and keep it stable until Bravo Team or the Marine outside comes with the transmission card. So, what are we waiting for, let's get going before a monster or a zombie decides turn the computers into mulch.

Alex walked through the automatic door to the Sky Walk while the Titans followed suit. When they all entered the Sky Walk, Robin whispered something to his teammates.

Robin: "Listen up team. If Raven said was true and if Alex is working for those monsters, then we have to keep a close eye on him. But let's make sure that he doesn't get too suspicious about us."

Beast Boy: "I don't know Rob, he seems all right to me."

Raven: "Don't let appearances fool you Beast Boy. Alex is just like Terra, peaceful and innocent on the outside, dark and cold blooded on the inside. No matter how much good he has done for us, there has to be evil within his heart."

Beast Boy looked at the Empath and had it with Raven's words.

Beast Boy: "Raven, how can you say that when we don't know he's working for them? Do you even sense anything in him?"

Raven looked at Beast Boy.

Raven: "I don't need to sense anything when I got a hunch that he's leading us to our own deaths."

Beast Boy: "Then why don't you take your ridiculous hunches of yours and stick them right up your-"

Suddenly, there was a loud screech coming from the corner. Everyone stopped and looked straight ahead while Alex pointed his shotgun at the end of the skyway.

Alex: "We got company!"

An Imp came out of the corner, turned, and was about to charge up a fireball. But Alex fired his shotgun and blasts a hole through its body. It fell on the floor and disintegrated to ash. Just as they thought it was done with, they all heard dark low chanting and the sound of lightning strike form behind. That means that another monster was summoned. The door behind them opened up and an Imp came out of it. It charged up a fireball and was going to throw it. Beast Boy pushed two of his teammates out of the way and faced the beast himself.

Beast Boy: "This one is mine."

The creature threw the fireball at them as Beast Boy aimed his Grabber at the fireball and pulled the trigger. The weapon grabbed the projectile in mid air as he positioned it and let go of the trigger. The fireball was shot back at the creature and hit it, letting it fall and deteriorate to nothingness. Beast Boy smiled and looked at his friends, lowering his Grabber.

Beast Boy: "You know, I think I'm getting the hang of this thing."

Everyone couldn't help but have nervous smiles on them. They then went back to their business.

Alex: "Let's go."

They all turned right at the corner and continued down the path to the Main Comm. Room. Upon walking, Starfire looked at one of the windows and spotted the marine Beast Boy saw finishing up the last of the Cacodemons. While she was watching, Robin saw her look and the battle outside, approached her, and places his hand on her shoulder.

Robin: "Don't worry about the Marine. He seems to be taking care of this one his own. He'll catch up with us soon but right now, we have other matters to attend to."

Starfire nodded and the two joined the others and entered the Communications Lobby. Once they enter, they were greeted by four Z-Sec zombies holding shields and machine guns and they weren't in a good mood. They fired their weapons at the cornered Titans, but Raven created a shield of her own to protect her teammates from the barrage of bullets. Alex took out his grenade and waited for the right moment. Once the zombies reloaded their weapons, Raven removed the shield the same time Alex armed and threw the grenade. The grenade exploded and bodies started to fly in different directions while two of them burn to death. When they're all dead, the team headed to the registration desk. Alex looked at the two computers that are still on and working. He took a seat and entered the database while Cyborg headed to the door and realized that it's locked.

Cyborg: "Hey, this door is seal tight!"

Alex: "Way a head of you Cy, going to gain access right… now."

Once Alex pressed the enter button he discovered something on one of the screens that doesn't look right.

Alex: "Robin, come check this out."

Robin approached the desk and saw one of the screens that said, "Communications: Lockdown".

Robin: "A lockdown?"

Alex: "Yeah. Looks like someone locked the entire level up to keep the monsters out. Too bad they didn't expect the creeps to appear out of thin air."

Robin: "But who would lock down an entire floor?"

Alex: "That's what we're going to find out."

Alex moved the mouse up to the Communications icon and clicked it. In an instant, the icon went from red to green and the door leading to the Main Communications Room unlocked itself.

Alex: "All right, we got access. Now lets get to the Comm. Room and get this over with."

Just as the team would enter the access way, they all heard sounds and evil voices from behind. They all turned around and saw four red clouds striking lightning and four Cacodemons hovered above the ceiling windows.

Beast Boy: "Ah man, not more of them."

Alex took out his plasma gun and aimed it.

Alex: "Great, looks like someone set a trap for us."

Robin looked at Alex and was a little suspicious at what Raven said back at the garage.

Robin: "Yeah, someone indeed."

The floating heads fired their energy blasts while the Titans fired back with everything they got.

Communications, Communications Garage: November 15, 2145, 6:29 P.M.

Back at the Garage, everything was peaceful and quiet except for the humming engines of the jeep the Titans were in. But this serine bliss was about to be interrupted when there was an explosion coming from the corner of the Garage Airlock, letting a metal tile fly off the wall and landed on the floor. After that, two people crawled out of the opening and entered the Garage. The first person out was Jack Campbell holding his BFG 9,000 and the second person was Counselor Elliot Swan. Swan observed the area then took out his PDA and gain access to the digital map. Confirming the location, he looked at Campbell and gave him the details.

Counselor Swan: "This is it, the Communications Facility. Above us is the Main Comm. Room where it is the primary link for off-planet communications, including transmissions that go from Mars to Earth. Now you know what to do when we get there?"

Jack Campbell: "Of course I do counselor. But are you sure you want to do this. I mean we're talking about only way to send backup and we're shutting down the transmission to get it. If the board finds out about this-"

Counselor Swan: "They won't know about it. I know this is a serious risk we're taking, but we have to make sure no one sends an SOS signal to Earth. Can you imagine what will happen if the signal is sent?"

Jack Campbell: "I don't want to think about it sir."

Jack kept observing the area and spotted a jeep parked in the garage.

Jack Campbell: "Looks like someone beated us to the punch."

Swan looked at the jeep too and realizes that they must stop the transmission now.

Counselor Swan: "Let's go!"

The two headed up to the elevated catwalk and approached the elevator. Once Swan pushed the "Call" icon and the touch screen panel, Campbell looked back at the jeep.

Jack Campbell: "So who do you think was in that jeep? The remaining members of Bravo Team?"

Counselor Swan: "Impossible! The rest of Bravo team was slaughtered when we were at Enpro. But all I know is that who ever was in that jeep must have that transmission card. And that means if they have already sent that signal we are all in danger. We must stop them at all cost."

The elevator doors opened and the two of them entered the elevator shaft.

Counselor Swan: "Campbell, once we get to the lobby, I want you to lock the Communications area off."

Jack Campbell: "Sir?"

Counselor Swan: "I don't want anyone else interfering with our mission. And if whoever was in that jeep doesn't have the card, then someone else would. Locking the area will hold them back while we shut down the system."

Jack Campbell: "Whatever you say sir."

The elevator doors closed as the two headed up to the second floor. But a few seconds later, the standard airlock door opened up and a marine walked out of it with his plasma rifle still clutched to his hands. As he stepped foot on the garage floor, he heard a radio transmission of Sergeant Kelly through his earpiece.

Sergeant Kelly: "Marine, are you at the Communications Facility yet?"

Main Marine: "Yet? Sir, I'm already here. You can imagine how hard it is for me to get here. Do you know how many floating heads I had to take down outside while I was trying to find some oxygen tanks to keep me breathing?"

Sergeant Kelly: "Quit your bitching soldier! You gotta get that message to the fleet now!"

Main Marine: "All right, I'll send the message. The problem is that this attack is getting ugly by the second. The way this place looks, I'm afraid that those monster must've destroyed the Main Communications Room already."

Sergeant Kelly: "Oh, don't worry about that. I've already sent a team down there to protect the room until you arrive. They might be there right now waiting for you."

Main Marine: "Really? Damn, should've told me that sooner Sarge. So who is this team you've sent?"

Sergeant Kelly: "You'll know when you see them. But right now your purpose is to warn the Earth fleet about our little predicament. And one more thing, watch out for Campbell and Swan. Those UAC suits don't give a damn about what happens to any of us. Now get a move on!"

Main Marine: "Gotcha."

The marine walked out of the airlock and headed for the Elevator. But before he could walk up, he stopped. He put his free hand on his belt buckle and took out what appeared to be the transmission card, which almost looks like an old game cartridge for a Nintendo or Sega system. Upon inspecting it, the marine was in deep thought.

Main Marine: "I wonder, why would the Sarge be desperate enough to have this transmission sent? Is it that urgent for Earth to know?"

While pondering that thought, the airlock behind him closed automatically. That made the marine brake his train of thought as he turned and looked back at the door. Suddenly, the room's lights changed to bright blood red and he heard evil voices coming everywhere. In a flash, red lightning strike from the opening down below the floor as metal pentagon tiles jumped out of their spots. As it so happens, two Cacodemons float up out of the hole and grunted at the marine, who sighed, puts away the card, and aimed his rifle at the two monsters.

Main Marine: "Aww, give me a break!"

The Cacodemons fired the same time the Marine blasted them with his plasma rifle.

Communications, Communications Access 3: November 15, 2145, 6:32 P.M.

Meanwhile, Alex was puncturing holes in the zombie with his machine gun while the Titans stand behind him. The zombie fell to the floor but it didn't die, just twitching furiously. Alex then took out his pistol with his free hand and aimed it at the undead's head. He opened fire and made a clean shot directly to the forehead. With the being now completely dead, he put away his pistol and kept looking at the zombie.

Alex: "There's something more worst then a zombie, and it's a twitcher."

He then reloaded this weapon with a fresh clip then looked at the Titans.

Alex: "Let's get going."

Alex started walking and turned right to descend down the steps while the Titans followed him. Once they were all together, they approached the single automatic door and it opened letting them through their objective.

Alex: "This is it, the Main Communications Room."

The Titans looked around the area and were amazed at what they saw. The place almost looks like a the command center for NASSA that had terminals for Comm. frequencies and interfaces and multiple screens that act like scanners, radar, and information, including the two big screens in the front showing the maps of Mars, both Western and Eastern hemispheres. Everyone looked astonished at the area but Alex headed to the terminal in the front that does outer transmission links from Mars to anywhere in the universe, including Earth. Luckily for both him and the others, the entire area is still operational, including the transmission terminal.

Alex: "Good, looks like everything is still online. Guess those creatures are dumber then they look. Humph… Those creeps know how to do an ambush, yet they don't know how to dismantle equipment."

He turned to look at the Titans only to find out that they are still gazing at Main Comm. He sighed as a puff of anime smoke came out of his mouth.

Alex: "Hey!"

The team snapped out of their trance as they saw at Alex looking a bit impatient.

Alex: "If you're done acting like a bunch of kids in a candy store, I need this place secure incase any zombies or monsters are in here setting a trap for us."

The Titans nodded spread out to look at every corner of the room to find anything suspicious. While they were doing that, Robin joined Alex and took one final look at the terminal that Alex was using to gain access for planetary transmission.

Robin: "This doesn't make any sense. This strange attack started hours ago and all the places they've destroyed, they haven't taken out Main Communications. How can that be?"

Alex: "Well you should thank the person who locked down the entire level. He or she didn't want the them to destroy it so they decided to restrict access the protect this place so that they would keep all communication channels opened."

Robin: "But still, if those creeps can't enter through the doors, they can still teleport out of their own dimension."

Alex: "Maybe, but my guess is that they don't have a clue what this place can do. So this makes us lucky."

Robin: "I see…"

Alex typed a couple of sequences on the keyboard and gained access. But when he looked at the screen next to a slot device to install the transmission card, the screen said "Orbital Communications Terminal: Primary Access" on the top, but down below it said, "Scan PDA for Security Clearance". Alex only response is to bow his head in defeat.

Alex: "Shit…"

Robin looked at Alex, not sure what's going on.

Robin: "What is it?"

Alex: "It said we need security clearance from a PDA to gain access to the terminal."

Robin: "Then why don't you use your PDA for access?"

Alex then looked at Robin with an expression of, "You're serious?"

Alex: "Because I've never been to Communications ever and my clearance is nothing but jack shit."

Robin: "Then I guess that means we have to find one that has the proper clearance and head back."

Alex: "Are you crazy. Finding one is close to impossible, not to mention that it could be farther away from here, maybe in another facility. Where are we going to locate one at a time like this?"

Starfire: "Friends, come quickly!"

Robin and Alex looked up to see Starfire at the second terminal. The two went up the elevated steps and joined her, with the other Titans not far behind.

Robin: "What is it Starfire."

Starfire: "Look what I found."

Starfire pointed down at the terminal and stepped aside. What the team saw was a bit of a shocker. Underneath the terminal was no monster, no zombie, just a normal UAC employee with a machine gun of his own and a med kit next to him. By the way he looks, he could be asleep.

Beast Boy: "Is he dead?"

Alex: "Only one way to find out."

Alex slowly lifted his hand up and carefully touched the man's shoulder. When he did, the employee panicked and scurried to get his machine gun. Everyone jumped away from the man, afraid that he might leap out and kill someone. He got up and aimed his weapon at the Titans and Alex.

Alex: "Uh… Nope, he's not dead, yet."

UAC Employee 2: "Who are you? How did you get here? Where did you come from? Are you working with them! Stay back! I got a machine gun here and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Alex remained cool and tried to reason with him.

Alex: "Whoa… Easier there Mr.…"

He took a good at the guy's nametag that says, "Seamus Blake".

Alex: "Blake. We're not working for anyone. We're only here to help."

The person, who was called Seamus Blake, looked at the team in suspicion.

Seamus Blake: "Wait. You mean you're not one of them?"

Beast Boy: "Hello! Does it look like we are going to eat your flesh and brains?"

Blake sighed in relief.

Seamus Blake: "Oh thank goodness. You are all alive. I thought for a second there I was the only one around here."

Alex: "Just don't celebrate just yet. We need help on getting an emergency transmission to Earth, pronto."

Blake looked at Alex and was a little suspicious.

Seamus Blake: "I'm guessing that you were the one that disable the lockdown throughout the floor."

Alex: "Yes I did. I have to shut it down so that my team and I would get here and protect this area. Did you have anything to do with the lockdown?"

Seamus Blake: "Indeed I did. You see, I'm in charge of the whole Communications department. I lock the entire place up because I'm afraid those… things would come here and completely destroy the place."

Raven: "That I can tell."

Robin: "Where is everybody else? Are they supposed to help you or something?"

Seamus Blake: "Some of my employees got scared and ran out of here, probably got killed in the process. Ralph and I were the only ones in the room until he left to get some reinforcements to protect us. It's been two hours already and he never came back. I'm afraid the monsters got to him. I was thankful that I found a machine gun and a few clips in the access room outside. It's not enough, but I have to defend the Main Comm. Room one way or another. Now I don't know what to do."

Alex: "Well no need to fear Blake, cause the reinforcements you're looking for is here."

Blake chuckled a little and as he picked up his med kit and approached the first terminal. He put both his machine gun and med kit on the right side of the terminal. The team followed him as Alex was the first to approach him.

Seamus Blake: "Not the kind of help I wanted, but help none the less. I've been trying to gain communication to some of the soldiers that are surviving out there. But with most of the transmission routers offline and half the systems malfunctioning, I had to track them down on a low frequency. So far, this isn't getting me anywhere."

Alex: "That's why we need to send the distress signal to the UAC on Earth to warn them about our situation."

Blake looked at Alex and was a little speechless about that.

Seamus Blake: "You sure that is a good idea."

Alex: "We have no choice but to call them and get all the back up we need. Of course, this terminal needs security clearance to gain access to orbital connections."

Seamus Blake: "Hmph… Well just be thankful I have that clearance and if you want to send that distress signal so badly, then stand aside."

Blake took his PDA out of his back pocket and inserted it into the slot below the monitor. He punched in a few key sequences into the computer and watched as the monitor started loading all the data from his PDA.

Seamus Blake: "This is going to take a few seconds, but it will be ready for you."

Alex smiled.

Alex: "Good."

As the screen continued to load, Blake started to rub his head and feeling some strange pain in his brain. He headed to his med kit, opened it, and took out some painkillers medication. He then opened his prescription bottle, took out two pills, popped them into his mouth, and drank a can of Robo Cola soda that was there for a while. Alex looked at the guy and was a little concerned about what he's doing. Blake then looked at the Titan's guardian and explained.

Seamus Blake: "Been having a headache ever since this attack started. I am using these pain killers to ease the migraine, but it keeps on getting worse and worse by the second."

Alex shrudded his shoulder, understanding what this guy is saying, and who could blame him? When you realize that the whole world is going straight to Hell, you're bound to have a headache sooner then later. Anyways, the entire team was waiting for the terminal to finish loading, unaware that two shadows was watching them through the window in the hallway and started to run for the Comm. room. Once the monitor was finished loading, a message popped up that said, "Loading complete. Orbital transmission online. Please insert transmission card." Blake approached the monitor and nodded in approval as he took his PDA out of the slot.

Seamus Blake: "All right, we're all ready to transfer the message."

He then looked at Alex and offered him a hand.

Seamus Blake: "Now hand me the transmission card so we can alert Earth."

Alex then got a little worried as he rubbed the back part of his head and had an anime sweat drop coming down it.

Alex: "Uh… Yeah, about that. You see, we don't have the card in our possession."

Blake expression changed when he heard the news.

Seamus Blake: "You don't?"

Alex nodded more nervously.

Seamus Blake: "Then if you don't have the card, then who does?"

Alex: "One way to find out. But first, I need to make a quick call to someone. You don't happen to have a Vid Comm. Station, do you?"

Seamus Blake: "No, but we have a radio comm. terminal on the left side. It connects to any comm. frequency throughout the base."

Alex: "Excellent."

Alex headed to the radio comm. terminal and typed the destination in the, "Search for Frequency" page. Robin approached his guardian, a little curious at what he's up to.

Robin: "Exactly who are you calling at a time like this?"

Alex: "My dad. He has to know we're here or things could get ugly."

Once he typed down "Delta Labs" he pushed the enter button to search. The screen then showed a list of communication area in Delta with the status next to them. He could tell that most of them were temporarily offline, but there's one that showed the strongest signal and it came from the military sector in Level 5. He used the pad mouse to move the pointer to the "connect" icon and pressed it. He waited for the connection to be made when he heard a crake in the lines and the voice of his father came out of the speakers.

Sergeant Kelly: "Hello. Is someone there? This is a closed frequency for military use only. Identify yourself."

Alex couldn't help but giggled with his mouth closed, then calmed him down.

Alex: "Chill out dad, you sound like someone that is on a paranoid field trip."

There was a sudden silence on the radio comm. until Kelly started talking.

Sergeant Kelly: "Son?"

Alex: "Yeah dad, it's me."

Sergeant Kelly: "Oh… Thank god. I haven't heard of you ever since the Military Complex. I thought I was going to loose you. What happened?"

Alex: "Well, let's just say we went into some trouble here and there. But we managed to get to Communications in one piece."

Sergeant Kelly: "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that you're at Communications already."

Alex: "Well I am talking to you through one of the terminals at the Main Communication Room and standing next to the orbital comm. terminal."

Sergeant Kelly: "Excellent work son, you and the Titans proved to get the job done. Is everything operational?"

Alex: "Well by the way the place looked, everything is still intact and the connection from Mars to Earth is still establish."

Sergeant Kelly: "That's great news to hear. And I got better news for you. A marine is heading to your position with the transmission card. Once he gets there, he will handle the rest. Soon, we'll be getting all the fire power we need."

Alex: "The more the merrier I always say."

Sergeant Kelly: "Now, once you're done defending the area, I want you and the Titans to head to Delta and join me at Delta in level one. I'm going to need all the help I can get. You understand."

Alex had a lump in his throat when he heard his dad saying he needs back up, Titan's back up at Delta. But he has to bring the Titans to Gamma and take them to the Ark to send them back into their own proper time. Of course, Gamma Labs is right past Delta, but the last thing he wants is the Titans to meet face to face with the devil itself. So he decided to do the wrong thing any young man would do, lie.

Alex: "Of course dad, we'll get there as soon as possible."

Sergeant Kelly: "Good choice son. I'll see you when you get there. Be careful out there. Kelly out."

The radio comm. connection was shut off and Alex shook his head in disbelief. Robin looked at Alex and couldn't believe what he just heard.

Robin: "You told him that we will be heading to Delta? I thought we were going to Gamma Labs after this and now you changed your mind?"

Alex was getting aggravated as he looked at Robin.

Alex: "Will you relax for just a second? We're still going to Gamma Labs. I just lied to dad so that he won't get a little too suspicious at what I'm doing."

Robin: "Well you should've told him about what we're doing."

Alex: "I told you before, if he finds out I'm toast. But don't worry about it, once the Marine gets here with the transmission card, we'll leave here and head to Gamma in no time."

Just then, the two heard footsteps coming from outside the Communications Room as they direct their attention at the door leading out to one of the access corridors.

Alex: "And speaking of Marines."

Alex then left the terminal and headed to the door to greet the Marine. The door opened but Alex had his head bow down as a traditional greeting.

Alex: "You must be the Marine dad told me about. I would like to introduce myself but we don't have time for it. You got the transmission card to send-"

But when he looked up, what he saw was the front end of a BFG 9000 and holding that gun was Jack Campbell.

Jack Campbell: "No, I don't. But I do have something that can blow you away."

Just as he said it, Counselor Swan came next to him and looked at Alex, still shocked at what he saw.

Counselor Swan: "Hello Alex, funny seeing you here of all places."

Alex: "Counselor Swan?"

Counselor Swan: "You were expecting someone else?"

Alex backed away as the two entered the room with all the Titans and Blake surprised at them coming in. Swan turned his head to see Campbell and gave him the order.

Counselor Swan: "Keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't do anything stupid."

Jack nodded at he looked at each Titan member and the head of Communications.

Jack Campbell: "You heard the counselor! Nobody move and no funny stuff either!"

Everyone remained where they were, hoping not to get blasted from Jack's own personal weapon. While Swan was with both Alex and Robin, still surprised to see them here.

Alex: "Counselor Swan, what an unexpected surprise. I thought you were dead like everyone else."

Swan snickered at that remark.

Council Swan: "Well I've would've been dead but thanks to Campbell over here, we're surviving this chaos."

Alex looked at Campbell still keeping an eye on the Titans, then directed his eyes at the weapon he was carrying. With a little inspection, he found out what the big gun is.

Alex: "Is that the BFG 9000? I thought those things unstable."

Jack, who was still keeping his focus on the team, talked to Alex.

Jack Campbell: "Yeah, they are unstable. But once you get the hang on how it works, it is pretty useful for extreme situations. Now you know the reason why I call it urban renewal."

Alex shook his head then looked at Swan, still wondering what are they doing here.

Alex: "So, what brings you here?"

Counselor Swan: "Funny, I was going to ask the same thing to you."

Alex was going to say something but Robin butted in and explained.

Robin: "We're here to guard the Main Comm. Room from any enemy that gets here until the marine comes with the transmission card."

Counselor Swan: "Is he here?"

Alex then answered Swan's question.

Alex: "No, but I talked to my dad and he says that he's going to be here any minute now."

Counselor Swan: "Good."

Swan walked past the two and headed to the orbital terminal to type a few key sequences. Alex kept watching him, not sure what he's up to, and approached him.

Alex: "Counselor Swan, what are you doing?"

Counselor Swan: "I'm going to close the connection between Mars and Earth before its too late."

Alex: "You can't do that. We need that terminal to send the distress signal to the fleet."

Counselor Swan: "There won't be a distress signal when I'm done here."

Alex: "What are you talking about?"

Swan turned around to look at Alex and gives him an explanation.

Counselor Swan: "Let me put it to your head nice and simple. Once the signal is sent to Earth, then there will be hundreds of ships, probably thousands."

Alex: "And that's a problem because…"

Counselor Swan: "You just don't get it so you? If those ships head here, then those monsters will get a one-way ticket to Earth. And if that happens then that means-"

Jack Campbell: "It means Earth will be turned into an apocalyptic planet full of death and pain."

Alex looked behind to see Jack and was shocked at what he heard, as well as the Titans themselves who couldn't believe it as well. He then turned back to see Swan and was going to protest against this plan.

Alex: "Have you gone completely insane? Didn't you see what's going on out there! We got hostiles just about everywhere! Appearing out of nowhere, surprising anyone from dark corners and alcoves, dropping everyone like flies! Hell, we don't know what we're up against. Under situations like this, it is reasonable to call for backup."

Counselor Swan: "True, but until we can figure out what we're up against this installation is under UAC control. I can not afford the lost of a billion people and I will use any means necessary to make sure that won't happen."

There was a silence filling the room until Alex asked him one more question.

Alex: "Tell me something Swan. Was this order filed directly from the Board or was it your own plan from the start. Or to make this question more easier for you, does the Board even know what you're doing?"

Counselor Swan: "I have to do what's right for both the UAC and Earth. That means I have to make sure that the signal won't reach the fleet and nothing is going to get in my way."

Swan turned back around and finished the sequence to shut down the communication linkage. Once he pressed the enter key a window popped up saying if he wants to disable connection, so he moved the pointer to the "Yes" icon with the mouse pad. But before he can click on it, he heard a cocking sound from behind him.

Alex: "Say yes, and I'll blow your brains right out of your head."

Swan turned around again and saw Alex aiming his double-barreled shotgun at Swan. Robin, Blake, and the rest of the team were stun to see him do something this senseless.

Robin: "Alex, what are you doing?"

Alex: "Back off Robin, I'll handle this from here."

Jack saw this coming, so he aimed his BFG at Alex. Swan saw him doing that and stopped him before he can do some real damage.

Counselor Swan: "Hold your fire Campbell, I'll take care of it myself."

Jack nodded and returned his attention to the others that were remaining where they are. Swan looked back at Alex that was still keeping his eyes on him with Matilda in his hands.

Counselor Swan: "Now Alex, I know that what your doing is your job. Well I have a job to do as well and the last thing I want is to have each other on opposite sides of the board."

Alex: "I know that, but what your doing is ruining the chance of rescuing the many survivors still trapped in the facility, if there are survivors."

Counselor Swan: "Even if there are survivors here, then they have to fend for themselves if they want to get out of this alive."

Alex: "So basically what you're saying is that we send them all straight into the slaughter?"

Swan: sigh… "You don't get it do you, if those ship enter Mars, all of Earth will be destroyed. I can't let that happen and you won't stop me from doing it."

Alex slowly put his finger on the trigger and slowly pushed it, but not enough to make a bang.

Alex: "Watch me."

The two stayed like that for, in their minds, a long time, waiting for either one of them to screw up. Meanwhile, Seamus Blake was watching the whole thing unraveling when suddenly his head started throbbing in pain, only this time it was stronger then before. He hurried to get his medication when Jack saw him and pointed his weapon at him.

Jack Campbell: "Hey! I thought I told you to don't move!"

Blake looked at Campbell at the same time rubbing his forehead from the pain to give him an explanation.

Seamus Blake: "I know that, but I have a serious headache right now and I need to get my medication at once."

Jack noticed him rubbing his head and sighed.

Jack Campbell: "All right, take your meds and be done with it. But don't do anything else."

Blake nodded as he grabbed the prescription bottle from out of the med kit and tried frantically to open the cap. Back to Alex and Swan, the two stared at each other not turning their attention to anything else around them. Alex was holding his shotgun with tireless arms while Swan tries to reason with him more.

Counselor Swan: "You know killing me wouldn't make any difference. And even if you did, that's a sign of a mutiny. Is that what you really want?"

Alex: "I don't care. I'm here to do one thing and one thing only, to protect this room from any hostiles. And by the way this looks, you are one of them."

Just before Alex can do something about it, Robin came in and put his foot down on the whole thing.

Robin: "That's enough Alex. Stop this nonsense right now!"

Alex turned his eyes to see Robin keeping his shotgun in position to Swan's chest.

Alex: "Robin, what do you think you're doing?"

Robin: "Look Al, maybe we can just listen to Swan for once."

Alex: "And then what? Let him destroy our chances in getting out of here alive? I'm not going to let that happen."

Robin: "Don't you think you're going a little too far on this?"

Alex: "Too far! I'm just following orders to protect this station until the Marine comes with the transmission card."

Robin: "And even if the transmission is sent, you think this will endanger the lives of billions of people on Earth?"

With that, Alex looked at Robin a little confused then before.

Alex: "What do you mean by that?"

Robin: "Why is it that the monsters we've encountered haven't destroy the Communication Room yet. Why is it that the attacks we've bumped into kept on getting worse as we were getting closer to here? I think those creatures want us to send that transmission."

Alex: "Bull shit! If they want us to send the distress signal so badly, they wouldn't attack us in the first place. Hell, maybe they would've roll out the red carpet if they want us to pass through."

Counselor Swan: "Robin has a point there Alex. You think defending this station is more important then saving the lives of the millions and millions of people on Earth? You think that once the fleet gets here, do they stand a chance against this threat we're up against? Is this what you want?"

Alex looked at Swan, gave all this some thought, then came to a decision.

Alex: "No, this isn't what I want. But we have no other choice. We got people dying out there, most of them scientists and civilians, and I can't just wait idly by and watch this entire facility go straight to Hell. That's why I have orders here to defend this area by any means necessary."

Counselor Swan: "You are making a big mistake here Alex!"

Alex: "Oh really? Well let's see about that."

Alex was about the pull the trigger again. But before Robin could stop him from doing so, they all heard a loud thud on the metal floor followed by loud moans coming from the right. The three turned to see where the noise is coming from and saw Seamus Blake with both hands on his head and screaming in agony. Alex looked down and saw an open bottle with pills spilling out on the floor. He looked back up and saw Blake backing up against the wall and hit it with his fist, trying to get the pain away. Alex lowered the shotgun away from Swan and approached Blake, trying to calm his nerves down again.

Alex: "Hey Blake, You're okay?"

Blake moved away from Alex and approached the many screens. Alex couldn't help but notice that there's something crawling inside his face.

Seamus Blake: "AH! My face! There's something moving in there! My brain is… is on fire! I'm feeling… fucked up on the inside! I can't take this shit anymore! Someone… Anyone… HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, Blake's head started to shake furiously and blood started gushing out his ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. In seconds, his head burst open as his skull flew out and burst into flames. It started floating around and was screeching. Alex, Swan, Campbell, and the Teen Titans couldn't believe what they just saw a few seconds ago as the skull set sights on the first person it saw with it's demonic like eyes, Alex. Without being prepared for it, the skull came rushing to him with a loud scream and opened its jaws. Alex immediately point his shotgun at the thing and opened fired just as the skull was a few inches at the two open barrels. The skull exploded and turned into a puff a smoke as Alex tripped and fell on his ass, still surprised at what transpired with his eyes wide in fear.

Beast Boy: "Uh… What the heck just happened?"

Somehow, Alex got the urge to get up and say something out of his stuttering mouth.

Alex: "I… I… I don't know. It occurred so fast that I didn't have the time to prepare. I never… never seen anything like that in my life."

He looked down to see the dead body of Blake with his head nothing more then an open purse dripping with blood.

Alex: "Can't believe that this skull came out of this guy's head. Didn't even see it coming."

Before Alex can do something about the body, there was loud screeching coming from above the area. Everyone looked up and saw flaming light coming out of the open vents.

Cyborg: "Looks like there more of those skulls inside the ventilation shafts."

Alex: "Not anymore."

Alex opened the shotgun, popped in two new shells, closed it, and pumped it. Robin directed his attention at Alex and saw him aiming his weapon at the shafts.

Robin: "Alex wait!"

But too late, Alex pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The shells pierced tiny holes in one the vents, but it didn't hit any of them.

Alex: "Shit!"

He reloaded the shotgun again, aimed, and opened fired.

BANG!

Missed, reload, fired.

BANG!

Missed, reload, fired.

BANG!

And repeated the process again and again and again until he accidentally fired it at the vent bars that pour out the cool air. But when he blew the bars opened, it opened the floodgates to a dozen of flaming skulls coming down and started attacking.

Alex: "Holy shit! We got incoming, lots of them!"

Alex ducked one skull, put away his shotgun, and took out his plasma rifle to start firing projectiles at the skulls.

Alex: "Everyone take them out! But whatever you do, don't destroy Main Comm.!"

Soon enough, everyone started the attack. Robin took out two birdarangs and used them for close combat against the new entities. Starfire fired her star bolts and eyebeams at any of them that's flying around, but couldn't fly since the room had a low ceiling. Cyborg turned on two of his sonic cannons and he went Scarface on a couple of them as well. Raven created a wall barrier in front of her to protect herself from the skulls approaching her way. Jack Campbell decided to take the direct approach and fired his BFG at the ceiling where more skulls were coming out. He opened fire and let the ball of green energy hit it. But when he did, the lights went out and the announcer's voice came out of the speakers.

"Power fluctuations in Main Communications router 48A6. Attempting insulation reroute."

Alex looked up at the second terminal and saw Jack with the smoking BFG in hand.

Alex: "The hell are you doing!"

Jack looked at Alex and was confused at what he means.

Alex: "Don't fire that weapon, one huge blast will destroy the Main Comm. and kill us as well."

He immediately ducked his head from an incoming fire skull and fired his plasma gun at it. He then stood up and fired a couple of shots at two more. Meantime, Jack looked at his gun and had an idea that can work incase something like this happened. He ejected the empty cartridge and took out a full one out of his pocket, but before he could insert it into the BFG, another skull came out of nowhere and rushed to him. Campbell immediately ducked down before something bad would happen, but in the process, dropped the cartridge as it rolled underneath the console and into the small gap. Jack cussed under his breath as he bent down and tried to reach it with his left arm. At the other end of Main Comm., Beast Boy was ducking and dodging every attack the skulls made by morphing into a hummingbird and zipped from one part of the station to another. Suddenly, a skull charged behind him, ready for the attack. When BB turned around and saw it, he quickly shifted into a turtle and used his hard shell to deflect the attack. They both collide on impact, letting the changeling fly down to the floor and hit it. He changed back to his human self and shook off the small headache at the same time the lights went back on. He looked up and saw the flaming skull, shaking off the blow too then looked at the changeling. It screamed, opening it's jaw to reveal its razor sharp teeth, and flew directly at him. Beast Boy took on a risky maneuver and aimed his Grabber at the burning skull. Once he pulled the trigger, the line of green light came out and grabbed the skull. When he released the trigger, the skull vanished in an instant. Beast Boy stood up, looked at the gun, and smirked at the fact that he has a weapon that is useful to take out these things. Speaking of which, two more came out of the blue and rocketed straight to BB. He saw them coming and aimed his grabber at them.

Beast Boy: "All right you Ghost Rider rejects, prepare to meet Beast Boy, monster exterminator!"

He pulled the trigger and zapped one of them to dust. The second one flew past the changeling, avoiding the blast. But Beast Boy turned around, aimed at the thing, and blasted it. Meanwhile, Swan was cornered at a terminal, trying his best to avoid the multiple barrages of the skulls. When he felt something on his right side, he looked and saw the machine gun Blake had before his head exploded. Swan quickly grabbed the weapon and open fired on a few skulls. When he looked at the screen on the gun, he noticed that he's low on ammo. He turned his head left and right to find some extra clips when he spotted the body of Seamus Blake around the screens with a few clips lying next to it. By instinct, he rushed straight to the clips while dodging the skulls attack. He successfully got there, gathers the clips and started firing and reloading a fresh clip. He shot down the two at the left side of the area and in the process, destroyed a couple of monitors. Now Cyborg had his hands full, or should I say cannons full, as he was blasting skulls left, right, up, and down. But they all keep on coming out of the woodworks from the open vent that Alex blast opened. Three more skulls came down and were going to attack the hybrid but he saw them and fired his cannons at them. The blue lasers destroyed the skulls, but dismantle a few power boxes on the wall that were rerouting power to the comm. terminals. Once they exploded, the lights went back down, the screens went static, and another announcement was made.

"Primary communication systems offline. Attempt to configure secondary tower failed."

When the lights turned back on, Alex saw the metal hybrid did what he did with the cannons and tried to stop him before he does something worse while avoiding and firing flaming skulls.

Alex: "Hey! Be careful with all the equipment! One more blast like that can shut down the entire Communications Room!"

Cyborg looked at Alex while trying to avoid some of the skulls quick flying maneuvers.

Cyborg: "Well what do you want us to do? Let these things rip our faces off?"

Alex: "Just protect what's left of the equipment! We need the remaining power in this place to keep the transmission terminal online!"

The two went back to business the very second as the entire room was completely engulfed by hoards of living skulls. Soon enough, everyone was busy taking them down their own way. Robin was using his birdarangs to slice them in close combat. Starfire was throwing green projectiles at the ones attacking her friends. Cyborg kept firing his two sonic cannons at any of them coming out of the open vent. Raven was using her dark magic to fire black needles out of her fingers tips to penetrate their skulls the same time she's creating wall barriers to protect herself. Beast Boy kept using his Grabber as a weapon against them. Alex was firing his plasma gun at the others flying around and attacking him. And Swan was using his machine gun to blast the ones that were close to him. Ask for Jack, he was trying to reach for the green cartridge underneath the second terminal. He was lucky that the skulls were only concentrating on the people that were attacking them, or he would've been a sitting duck. He slid his fingers underneath the console to touch the cartridge. When he got it, he gently pulled it out with his fingertips first, then the whole hand. The green cartridge finally was out and Campbell pushed it into the BFG and was ready for one final blow. He looked around the room and found Swan a little busy popping shots at the skulls and damaging a couple of monitors along with it.

Jack Campbell: "Counselor, get over here right now!"

Swan looked at Jack and hurried to reach his position while dodging laser fire and flying skulls. When he made it behind him, Campbell then pulled the trigger and started charging the BFG to maximum power. Swan took a gander at it and wasn't sure what he's doing.

Counselor Swan: "Exactly what are you planning to do with that?"

Jack Campbell: "Raise hell."

As Jack was charging his weapon, Alex and the Titans gathered together in a circle blasting at all the skulls that were surrounding them. Alex was reloading a new cartridge out of his belt strapped around him and into the plasma gun when he looked up and saw Jack putting his weapon to full power. He remembers about the BFG's the marine's are using for full-scale assaults. The ammo is nothing but an energy core with a seeker chip module that targets all unfriendly forces. But this weapon is unstable because if you charge it too long, it will overload and explode, killing the person using it in the process. But once it's charged to full power, it can literally destroy everything in its path. And if Campbell is using it, and they're in the Main Communications Room, then that means…

Alex: "Oh no…"

He turned his head to see Raven firing aurora blasts at the skulls.

Alex: "Raven! Shield us up!"

Raven looked at Alex and was confused at what he means.

Alex: "NOW!"

Raven quickly turned on her shield without hesitation and engulfed the team in a dome shape. Campbell then opened fired once the BFG went to full capacity and the huge green ball of light flew straight to the shield and it exploded, the explosion did destroy all the skulls, but it also short circuited all the systems, blew up the second terminal, destroyed most of the screens, and damaged the first terminal. Upon the explosion, the ceiling above the Titans and Alex's head started to crack and then caved in. Of course the shield protected them from the falling metal debris but the heavy weight of it caused the floor to gave way and created a large hole. It consumed the team as they screamed to their unnatural deaths while the ceiling debris fell on the hole and sealed it shut. Once the smoked cleared, the only people left were Swan and Campbell with the Comm. area destroy in a fiery mess.

"Communications system overload. Communications shutdown."

Swan stepped forward and looked at the mess while Jack reloaded a fresh cartridge. The counselor couldn't help but to look at awe at the chaos at what use to be the Main Communications Room.

Counselor Swan: "I can't believe something like this would happen. I heard BFGs were powerful, but nothing like this!"

Jack Campbell: "We had no other choice sir. You told me that we have to shutdown the comm. center before it's too late and I had to make a last ditch effort to do it."

Counselor Swan looked at Campbell and was furious.

Counselor Swan: "But still, you should've told me how powerful that thing is. I mean I'm thankful that we were able to disable the transmission but the Titans and Alex got caught in the crossfire and fell to their doom. For all we know they should be kill by now!"

Jack Campbell: "Relax counselor. If we know the Titans, they can survive even the most dangerous of situations. Besides, I'm sure they'll be all right."

Counselor Swan: "They better be. Because if I see a body of one of them in the facility, the board is going to have my head."

Swan turned his head left and spotted a marine outside the hallway that watched the whole thing go down. When the counselor took a closer look, he spotted the transmission card on the soldier's belt buckle. Knowing this is the guy the Titans were waiting for, he looked at Jack who was looking at the marine too.

Counselor Swan: "We should get going before things get really heated up."

Jack Campbell: "Good thinking sir."

The two fled the scene and exit through the door to the left, then locking it on the outside of the Main Comm. Back outside the hallway, the marine put his hand on his ear to communicate with Kelly and gave him the bad news.

Main Marine: "Sarge, we have a problem."

End of chapter nineteen, one of the many hard, long, grueling stories I had to put together. Got to tell you, this was a bit complicated for me, but I managed to make it real good for you to read it. Now on the next chapter, tensions run high, trusts are tested, and a new monster is revealed. Will this be the Titans final downfall! Stay tuned and find out. Please Review.