How is everyone today? Let me be the first in apologizing for the long wait. I just got caught up with things outside my computer and I was pretty busy. For one thing was college, had to do term papers and study for tests. Another thing is cleaning around the house; mom certainly needs my help pretty bad. And lastly was a story contest for another website, at which it complicated things further. But now I'm back and my semester is half over. So now I might concentrate on giving you all the updates you need. Let's start off with the news. Still there was no sign of anyone reviewing my chapters, but the hit counter on the last chapter is almost up to 50. So at least I'm glad people are reading it. But I really need to see the reviews if I'm doing and okay job and no flames by people complaining about my work. So when you have the time, please review this chapter after you read it. I would appreciate it much. Now that we're done with that, chapter thirty-eight of Doomed Titans is in total effect. The rest of the Titans and Alex finally woke up from their state of sleep and realized they were on the operating tables ready to be dissected for the love of science. With Beast Boy being the first subject in the military project, they know that there's nowhere else to go. Will they be able to escape this nightmare, or will something else might happen? This chapter is full of suspense, deception, and surprises. So you better stick to your seat to find out what will happen next.
Chapter Notes
Finally, after all this waiting I now have the last monster making its debut in this chapter. I don't want to give out some details being that this is the suspenseful chapter, but I'll leave you with a few hints. It's big, it's aggressive, and extremely deadly. Guess what I'm talking about when you're reading this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or Doom 3.
Chapter Thirty-eight: Unexpected Guest
Alex's POV
Great, as if my day has gotten worse. First, demons came out of Betruger's main teleporter and wreak havoc all across the UAC facility. Then our path to Gamma Labs has been blocked off by many occasions. Now this! At first I thought Cray was going to help us stop that insane doctor from destroying Earth and ruling the universe. But now I know that he was just using us so he can get what he wants. And what he wanted so badly was the Teen Titans themselves. All this time I was trying to get the team away from this project that would kill them. Instead, I lured them into the project in the first place. How could I be so stupid?! I trusted Cray and to think he was going to help us save Earth from a post apocalyptic future. Now I see him for what he truly is, a lying backstabbing piece of shit that puts science first before lives. Now I've been knocked out, three times in a row, and the Titans are going to be turned into tested dummies for Cray's experiments. It's all my fault. If only there was some way to get out of this mess…"
Robin: "Alex… Alex wake up."
Delta Labs, Cray's Laboratory, Operating Lab: November 16, 2145, 5:45 A.M.
Alex had no idea what had happened. First of all he got knocked out of unconsciousness the third time and now he has no clue what's going on this time. But then he just heard a familiar voice from right next to him. Though it was pretty faint, he got a good feel on who the voice belonged to. And that voice was Robin's voice.
Robin: "Alex… Alex wake up."
Rob's voice was a little off, but it was slowly coming back. What was also coming back to him was his vision. At first, it was a little blurry to begin with, but then it was slowly getting clearer. When the darkness faded and his sight cleared, the guardian realized he's looking up at the ceiling with bright lights shining down on him. He shook his head a couple of times and wondered what had happened. That's when he heard Robin's voice again, only this time much clearer.
Robin: "Alex, are you there? Wake up it's me."
Alex managed to shake his head a little and started to groan. That's when he started to say something in a harsh voice.
Alex: "Robin?"
He slowly turned his head to where the voice was coming from and saw the Titan leader all cuffed up on a surgery bed. Next to him was Starfire who head her hands, feet, and torso with red energy shackles and a red visor over her eyes. Both seem to be heavily awake and were looking at both their surroundings and situation. Rob watched on as Alex slowly woke up and had a sigh in relief.
Robin: "Thank god. Thought you were out completely."
Alex: "What happened?"
Raven: "You tell us."
The guardian turned his head to the other side to see who called him out and saw Raven next to him. She too was cuffed, only this time; she was wrapped around in some white obsidian light, probably of a holy kind. Next to her was Cyborg with a huge metallic and unbreakable cuff wrapped around his chest and arms and another one over his legs.
Raven: "We were sleeping in our dorms one minute and when we woke up, we're in this operating room we never seen before."
Cyborg: "Yeah, but that ain't the half of it. The moment we woke up, we saw Beast Boy on an operating table, getting ready to be dissected."
Alex: "Beast Boy?"
Cyborg: "Look straight ahead."
Alex lifted his head up and saw the changeling tied up to a surgery bed with cutting tools next to him and a heart monitor and IV bag filled with morphine attached to his arm. Starring at the limp, but breathing body, the guardian looked around the place to know where he was. After scanning the area with his eyes, he realized where he and his team is and was horrified at what would happen next.
Alex: "Oh no…"
He looked back and forth to see the rest of his teammates and told them what's happening.
Alex: "Guys, I think we're in deep shit. Dr. Cray and the others have been keeping a secret from us and betrayed us from the start. Now they're going to use you all for a special project to stop this invasion. We have to get out of here and save Beast Boy before something bad happens."
Robin: "What did it look like we're doing? We've tried to get out of these restraints but it's hopeless."
Starfire: "Agreed. I tried to use my Tamaranean strength and star bolts to get out, but unfortunately these energy cuffs seem to disable my abilities."
Cyborg: "Tell me about it. This stuff is like the cuffs Mad Mod put us in. But these seem a whole lot stronger then his."
Dr. Cray: "That's because I tooken the liberty of upgrading your cuffs. Can't let you use your powers in an attempt to escape now can we?"
The team heard the voice and knew whom it came from. Suddenly, their beds began to rise up slantly to get a real good view of the place they're in. That's when they saw Dr. Cray rolling along on his wheelchair and Rhino Squad leader Scott Voss not far behind him. They also saw the rest of Rhino Squad and Cray's science team waiting patiently behind the huge screen terminal. Just looking at the 'good' doctor made Alex cringe in disgust.
Alex: "Cray…"
The doctor looked at the guardian and felt sorry for what he did. So he went on ahead and apologize to him face to face.
Dr. Cray: "Mr. Kelly, allow me to apologize for what transpired to you a while ago. I didn't want you to ruin everything we have planned for so long."
But Alex wasn't taking that as he turned his head away from the doctor and had a sour expression on his face.
Alex: "Save that bull shit for someone who really cares."
Dr. Cray: "Either way you put it, we've come too far to put this operation at the ready. We get not let someone like you get in the way for our work."
It was then that Robin interrupted Cray and wanted to know something.
Robin: "Wait a sec.. What do you mean by our work? What's going on here? What is this place? What do you want with us?"
Cray looked at the Titan leader and could tell he wants some answers. So he decided to suck it up and told them the truth.
Dr. Cray: "Well since you're all here, I believe it's time to tell you the truth."
He turned his wheel chair around to look at Karmack in the back and gave him the order.
Dr. Cray: "Mr. Karmack, if you mind."
Karmack nodded and turned to the terminal to type a few keys on the console. Soon after that happened, the huge screen went static and then showed footage of the Titans themselves combating the dangerous criminals and evilish monsters. Clip after clip, each scene showed a Titan showing off their powers and abilities against evil. As the team watched themselves on the screen, Cray turned around and told them about why they're in the secret surgery room.
Dr. Cray: "Now I know you all are wondering why you're here? Soon after you all were discovered, the UAC Board of Directors took the liberty of studying your life in the historical archives. What they found out was that your powers and abilities were quite exquisite and extraordinary. So they were able to put together a few contracts and they, along with Sergeant Kelly and myself, signed the contracts and made everything official."
That made the Titans feel more confused then ever as Cyborg wanted to know about these contracts Cray was talking about.
Cyborg: "Contracts? What contracts?"
Cray turned to the hybrid and answered his question.
Dr. Cray: "I'm glad you ask Cyborg. Those contracts we signed discussed about special projects in the works, mostly military applications. They believed your powers and abilities could be useful for creating new and powerful weapons. Things like plasma rifles that shoot out green star bolts, gravity guns that can lift even the heaviest of objects, prosthetic arms to turn into industrial weapons so that marines will continue to battle, even your weapons Robin, are real effective to combat closer encounters."
Robin heard everything Cray said and couldn't believe it. UAC consider the Titans, his team, as power source for weapons research. But he left out one Titan out of the equation, Beast Boy. What is he doing on the surgery table, and what does Cray have planned for him? To figure out those answers, the Boy Wonder asked about his friend.
Robin: "And Beast Boy? What about him?"
Cray looked back at Robin and turned his chair around to see Beast Boy, still sleeping peacefully on the surgery bed, not knowing what would happen to him.
Dr. Cray: "The changeling has different perspectives for the UAC. You see, due to the genetic structure of his DNA, his body acts as a healing agent throughout his body. Meaning that whenever he retains damage, the wounds close up the moment he gets cut. Once we perform a few tests, Beast Boys ability would be excellent to create med shots for a soldier's wounds to regain quickly."
Robin: "Then why tie him all up and start surgery? Why not get a blood sample from him and call it a day?"
Dr. Cray: "We could do that, but it would take years of research to make it all possible. So in order to finish this project quick, we have to perform extensive surgery to see what makes him what he is."
Robin: "And what does that mean?"
Alex: "Isn't it obvious Robin."
The Titan leader turned his head to look at Alex while the others did that as well wanting to know what the guardian was thinking.
Alex: "What Cray is trying to do is to see how you're powers and abilities work. Now for you Robin, they're just going to borrow your belt and look at your weapons, just to see if they can duplicate your tech in an attempt for close combat. But ask for the rest of you, well it's a whole different story. Unlike Robin, you guys have special powers and abilities no other human being would carry. Like Starfire's star bolts and eye beams, Raven's levitation talents, Cyborg's metallic weapons system, even Beast Boy's shape shifting ability and healing mechanism. What Cray is trying to do is to open you up and find out what makes you tick. In short, Cray and his team are going to kill you."
That last sentence had all the Titans, except Beast Boy who was still asleep, gasped in horror. It was one thing in surviving a nightmarish place filled with zombies and demons, but its another getting killed by your own kind. Robin looked down at the doctor and had a disgusted look on his face.
Robin: "Is all that true doctor."
Cray turned his head away from the team and knew that most of it is. He then look back at them and told them the truth.
Dr. Cray: "Most or less. You see, in an attempt to achieve scientific research and development, the UAC is willing to make a few sacrifices in the years to come. For example, if we want to turn Mars into a second Earth, we would need unlimited funds, extensive plant research, and large amounts of air samples in order to make it all possible. Even Betruger's teleportation experiments needs funding and study of archeological research to understand how the ancient civilization teleporters worked. This project needs more then just funds and research to create the latest in military weaponry. It takes human test subject, or anyone close to human, to see where the source of the weapons comes from. So to answer your question Robin, yes the UAC tends to make as many sacrifices for the greater good, even if it's the lives and the innocent."
Robin look right behind Cray and saw Rhino Squad waiting for the procedure. He then started to wonder what the military team had to do with any of this. So he looked at the Squad leader and wanted to know how he's involved.
Robin: "And what about you Voss? What does your squad have to do with this? I thought we were on the same side."
Voss lowered his head and shook it, thinking this is all wrong. He wanted to help and save the Titans, but his top priorities are as important as the Titans. He decided to muster up his courage and explained to him his point of view.
Scott Voss: "Believe me when I say this Robin, but we are still on the same page. But please try to understand, we are in the middle of a deadly situation. In order to survive this type of situation, you need better and powerful weapons that could help you survive. You see, when Cray found us and took us to his lab for protection, he promised us that he would create weapons that will help us win this battle. In exchange for that, we promised to protect him and his lab at all cost. At first, we don't know what type of weapons Cray would make for us. When he told us that the sources for our weapons were coming, we waited for them to come. But the more we wait, the more impatient we got. We told Cray what's the hold up of our weapons and were beginning to start a mutiny against him. That's when he told us that the Teen Titans were coming to help us, our main power source for our weapons. At first we thought he was kidding, but when he showed us the security cameras in Delta Labs we knew he was serious. Now we heard rumors about you guys waking up yesterday and thought they were all but baloney. But the moment you guys arrived at the entrance to Cray's lab, we were shocked at the fact that you came to save us. Indeed you helped us a lot back there, but we knew that soon you would be treated like animals in life support. We want to help you out and get you out of here so together we could stop Betruger and save the rest of the universe. But we kept a promise to Cray and there's no way to break the promise."
Cray turned his wheelchair slightly to see Voss and agreed with him.
Dr. Cray: "Indeed… Mr. Voss and his squad seem very useful for my protection. Since I am a frail man with a brilliant mind, I need all the help I could get if I'm ever going to survive this ordeal. Rhino Squad was the help that I need but I knew they needed something in return. So I promised them I could give them the best weapons for their survival. Now I didn't know what type of weapons I could give them, but when all of you came, I wasted no time in telling them what I found. And since I hold the contracts from the Board and have all the tools needed, I realized I need to get started on this operation as soon and possible."
Raven: "Then why haven't we've been told about this?"
Cray turned his head to see the telepath and answered her question.
Dr. Cray: "Cause it was meant to be kept a secret. Please try to understand this my friends. The Board of Directors would be worried that if you find out about our little project, you would eventually have a violent reaction. The Board and a few other leading personnel, like Sergeant Kelly and myself, decided to keep this under lock and key so you would live a normal carefree life until the time has come. Ever since your arrival, we were able to keep this project secretive until we are ready, but for some reason someone had the nerve to spit it out and told it to someone very close to him. Isn't that right Mr. Kelly?"
Cray turned again slightly to see Alex, knowing what the guardian knows. At the same time, the Titans turned their heads to their friend, being a bit confused on what Cray said.
Robin: "Alex, what is he talking about?"
But Alex didn't listen; instead he lowered his head real down and slowly shook it back and forth. He knew the truth, yet he never told it to the team about what would happen if he doesn't take them back to the past. But Cray tooken the liberty the telling it to the Titans.
Dr. Cray: "He didn't tell you? Hmm… Such a same… And you thought he was your friend."
Robin looked back at Cray and demanded answers this time.
Robin: "All right, spill it! What's going on here? What does Alex know we don't? Tell us!!!"
Cray turned back to Robin and explained everything.
Dr. Cray: "Very well then… As you already know Sergeant Kelly is one of the few who knew about this project, so he never told a soul about it. But apparently there is one soul that he entrusted and couldn't keep it from him. And that's his very son."
Robin then turned his head back to Alex and had his eyes wide in shock.
Robin: "No…"
Dr. Cray: "When Sergeant Kelly assigned his son to be your guardian years ago, he wanted him to have some friends. He never got the courage in telling the truth. But as time went by, when he got older and understandable, Sergeant Kelly knew that the time had come. So on this day, he told his own flesh and blood the truth, about this project, about what we were going to do. And since Mr. Kelly here is a guardian he needs to know about the team he's taking care of. And even though he now knew it, he never tells it to any of you. Guess he had some sympathy to you, or lack of confidence. Or maybe it's the fact that he doesn't want to tell you about it at all. Whichever way you put, he didn't want you to know."
There was a long harsh silent throughout the room as everyone kept their mouths shut the whole time. That's when Robin broke the long silence and was a bit upset about Alex's secret.
Robin: "So… You knew about all of this?"
Again, another harsh silence. Alex was right now in a moment of telling them the truth or keeping his mouth shut the whole time. But since Cray told them about this little secret, he had no other choice but to tell them anyways. The guardian took a deep breath and told them all the truth.
Alex: "Yes…"
Robin: "Before or after we woke up?"
Alex went back to the silence, not knowing if they're ready to know the next answer or not. So he sighed and told them anyways.
Alex: "After…"
The room went back to being the silent treatment. All the Titans were completely surprised about this. They thought they knew about Alex, but they had no clue they knew him under this position. Robin stared at him with a sternful look and was upset about this. He then exploded right into the guardian's face.
Robin: "I can't believe you! All this time we trusted you into getting us back home. And instead of that, we were tricked and now being treated like a bunch of guinea pigs! How could you!? Betraying us like that and not telling us the truth? I thought you were on our side. I thought you were our frie-"
And that's when Alex started to scream back at the leader.
Alex: "I DIDN'T BETRAY YOU!!! AND EVEN IF I DID YOU THINK I WOULD BE STUCK IN THIS THING ALONG WITH YOU!?!"
Rob shut up instantly when he heard Alex's scream. Everyone else was shocked to see and heard what just happened and couldn't believe their guardian would yell at their leader. Even Alex was surprised at what he done. He lowered his head, took another deep breath to calm himself down, and sighed in despair.
Alex: "I didn't betray you… I was just trying to save you…"
That made the Titans blink a few Titans, realizing that he was telling the truth.
Robin: "Save us?"
Alex kept quiet most of the time until he decided to tell them at the right time.
Alex: "Yes… You see, I never knew about this project to begin with. Being the guardian that I am, I had to know everything about the people I'm protecting. When my dad told me about this, I was completely shocked and horrified about what they would do to you. I tried to tell him to stop this project, but my dad wouldn't listen. He thought that it was best for the Union Aerospace Corporation; I thought it was completely murderous. So since dad wouldn't do anything to save, I put matters into my own hands."
When Robin heard all of this, he put the pieces together and understood why his guardian taking them home.
Robin: "So that explains the fact that you are taking us to Gamma Labs and use the Ark to take us back to the past. You want to save us from being turned into test subjects."
Alex: "Yeah…"
But the Boy Wonder wondered something that wasn't right. For example, if Alex knew about this, why had he kept it a secret? So he asked the guardian his question.
Robin: "But I don't get it. If you knew about this the whole time, why didn't you tell us sooner? If you told us the truth, we would've marched in to your father's office and explain our point of view."
Alex's only response was to shake his head and answer him as reasonable as he possibly could.
Alex: "It's complicated really. Like Cray said, the board of directors signed the contracts for this weapons project and they signed it up to make it official. Trying to oppose this program is just like trying to protest against a bailout from the U.S. Congress. Once they sign it, there is no way in terminating it. I didn't want you to know about this under many reasons. For one, I didn't want you to be so upset that you would march to dad and be aggressive with him. Secondly, even if you do succeed, it won't do shit. Since the board finalized everything, you won't be able to force them in removing everything that they work for. They never care about the people they work for; all they care about is money for their ever-growing need to create more advance weapons and equipment to stay on top of their competitors. And the last reason, is that you're all my best friends. Ever since I met you all, I was just an average guardian doing a job. But the more I get to know each and every one of you, the more I felt different about my role."
He turned his head to see Robin and told him something he remembered all too well.
Alex: "Back at the maintenance area Robin, when you told me the reason why dad assigned me into being your guardian because we wants me to make friends. That part was right. Ever since the death of Jim, I'd always stay away from others for I feared of what would might happen to them. When dad assigned me to you when I was young, I had some doubts about what would happen when you woke up. But now with all Hell breaking loose, all possible routes blocked off, and now this project that would happen, my only goal is to protect you guys at all cost until we get to Gamma labs. That's what friends do for others, help each other out and protect them from any dangers. Now I didn't want you to be worried it all, but I can't just sit around and wait for something bad to happen to you. Maybe if I hadn't listen to Dr. Cray in the first place, knowing what he was really going to do, I should've-"
Alex stopped in mid sentence and turned his head away further from the leader. From what Robin could see is that Alex's eyes were beginning to swell up in tears. He and all the others Titans knew that Alex didn't want them to be in the situation and felt completely sorry for his actions in the past. The guardian turned his head back to Rob with tears rolling down her cheeks and apologized to them.
Alex: "Robin, I am so sorry…"
He then lowered his head in complete shame and started to whimper to himself. As he started to cry, Cray listened into the whole thing and never knew Alex was this close to the Titans. He wanted to scrap all this and get them out, with Alex's permission of course. But he had to follow orders, so he had no choice but to begin the project.
Dr. Cray: "So now you all know. I could imagine all the pain you are all going through right now. But be that as it may, we're wasting time and we can't let Rhino Squad wait any longer. Mr. Sponzerally, if you please…"
Sponzerally, A.K.A. Pinky, came out of the crowd and approached the sleeping changeling. He was completely clad with a surgery uniform complete with surgical gloves, a shower cap, and a mask that covers both his nose and mouth. As he was at Beast Boy's side, he looked at the tray filled with surgical tools and search for the one he needed. While he was doing that, Cray explained to the team what was going to happen.
Dr. Cray: "Now I could imagine what all of you are thinking as of right now, so I'll make it as simple as I could. What we're going to do is to open you up, to see how each of your powers work and where it's emanating from. It will start off simple really, begin with your internal organs, then open up the arms and legs for some tissue samples, and a little brain surgery to understand how they work. Of course, Alex stated that Robin won't be involved in this surgery, since he's only human, but for the rest of you, we might need to get an inside look at each of you."
Starfire, Cyborg, and Raven, was a whole lot uncomfortable with what the doctor said. In fact, they don't like the way he said it at all. They try to use their powers and abilities to get out of the surgery tables, but Cray's state of the art cuffs are too much for them. Starfire then used her eyebeams to spark the eletricuffs off of her, but the visor over her eyes deflected those beams instantly. After that failure, she looked down at Cray and was completely angry at him.
Starfire: "You are a cruel man!"
Cray peered at Star and retorted back to her.
Dr. Cray: "I am not a cruel individual miss Starfire, I'm just a man who's doing this in the name of science. Now I will have all of you watch this procedure so that you would understand what you're going to be into. But when it's finished, I'll make sure that you're sedated enough to live through the surgery. If you live through it."
He turned around in his wheelchair to look at Pinky and gave him the order.
Dr. Cray: "Mr. Sponzerally, begin the operation."
Pinky heard the word and nodded back with approval.
Pinky: "Right away Dr. Cray."
He went back to his tray to pick a tool perfect for the job. That's when he picked up some kind of electric cutter used to cut the turkey, now used to cut people in the middle. He approached the changeling and slowly removed the shirt to show some of his green skin. Pinky then took out a disinfected patch on the part of the skin he was going to cut. As he was going to rub it around, Cyborg whispered to Robin about something.
Cyborg: "Hey Robin, are you figuring out a way out of here?"
Robin looked down and moved his hand around a bit. What he was doing was picking one of the cuffs with his little pick he has completely stored in his glove. So incase of a situation like this, he would have something to get him out of a contraption that could tie him, cuff him, or torture him. He tinkered around with the cuff to find an opening to gain access to. But there was little effort into that.
Robin: "I'm trying, but Cray's special cuffs are a lot harder then the others I picked."
Alex, who still had cheeks filled with tears, heard that conversation and took a peek at Robin to notice he was tinkering on the cuff with the pick. Looking at that, Alex realizes what the Boy Wonder is doing. So he turned back to what is happening to Beast Boy and was a tad surprised at this movement, whispering to the leader.
Alex: "What are you doing?"
Robin: "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to get us out of here."
Alex: "And you didn't tell me about this because…"
Robin: "Well for one thing, I don't want Cray to suspect anything. Another is that we have to escape this place and save Beast Boy before he becomes the first large dissected frog."
Alex looked back at the surgery table, and saw Sponzerally almost finished sanitizing the area of Beast Boy's chest. He then looks back at the leader and whispered to him quickly.
Alex: "Well, you better hurry up. Cause it looks like they are about to dissect Beast Boy."
Robin nodded and continued to meddle with the pick into the cuff. After a few attempts, he was able to insert the pick into the hole of the lock. Now for the hard part, finding the right direction to unlock it. As he was fumbling with the cuff, Pinky finished sanitizing the area he wanted to cut. After that, he turned on his cutting tool and it started to move fast like a mini chainsaw. Looking down at the unconscious changeling, he took a deep breath and begins the process.
Pinky: "All right… Here goes nothing."
He lowered the cutting knife to Beast Boy's chest and was about to cut him up. Both the Titans and Alex turned their heads away, not wanting to see what would happen next and they thought it was going to be the end of their little friend. But suddenly, the lights all around the area started to flicker constantly and the screens begin to short circuit. After a few short seconds, the entire lab shut down with all the lights off in a blink of an eye. When the emergency power went online, Pinky put away his cutter and looked around at what transpired.
Pinky: "You have got to be kidding me!"
Cray too looked at the sudden blackout and was a little confused at what just occurred.
Dr. Cray: "What happened?"
Pinky looked at the doctor and answered his question.
Pinky: "It appears that it might be some kind of power outage or something. Don't know where the cause is coming from."
Dr. Cray: "Then continue with the operation Mr. Sponzerally."
Pinky: "Sorry Cray, but I can't do it. Most of the tools I need rely on solely main power. I can't use the life support systems on all this cause if I do, it might cause another blackout."
Cray thought this through and realized that that's going to be a problem. With his secret lab on life support, if Sponzeraly uses his surgical tools to open up Beast Boy, the lab would be offline and completely defenseless. So he looked at both Karmack and Sledge and gave them an order.
Dr. Cray: "Mr. Karmack, I want you to head to the generator rooms and restart the power. We don't want to risk using our emergency power to continued on with this project. Mr. Slidjonovitch will aid you incase the demons managed to break into the lab and apparently shut the generators down."
Sledge looked at Voss, knowing that he's the one that gives out the order. The Rhino Squad leader, knowing that his men followed his orders, gave Sledge the approval.
Scott Voss: "You heard him Sledge. Escort Dr. Karmack to the generator room and keep him safe from any hostiles."
To that end, Sledge nodded.
Sledge: "You got it commander. Come on Karmack, let's get the power back on."
The two left the operating room and headed to the generator area to restart the power. Meanwhile, the Titans and Alex were quite relieved at the fact that that little incident saved their changeling for the moment. Alex sighed in relief, lucky that Beast Boy managed to survive the temporary bullet.
Alex: "Whew… That was too close for comfort."
Cray heard that and turned his wheelchair around to see the guardian.
Dr. Cray: "Understand Mr. Kelly that this is a temporary setback. Once Karmack restarts the power, we will continue our goal."
Alex: "Sure, like that's going to happen."
Dr. Cray: "Mr. Kelly, I could see you're not taking this seriously. We're in the middle of a serious crisis on our hands. The only way to prevent a further catastrophe is by destroying the main teleporter once and for all. Indeed there would be sacrifices, but the rewards would change all of that. Nothing's going to stop us from achieving this milestone."
Soon as he said that, everyone heard a devilish voice that was completely familiar.
Dr. Betruger: "Is that true…"
Suddenly, the huge screen on the wall turns back on and was completely static followed by sarcastic laughter. Everyone looked at the screen and could tell where both the voice and the laughter came from. Soon as they know it, the screen showed the face of the very doctor that started the whole mess, Dr. Betruger. Cray turned his wheel chair back around to see the screen and had the angry look on his wrinkled face.
Dr. Cray: "Dr. Malcolm Betruger…"
Dr. Betruger: "Dr. Winston Cray… Never thought you would be alive at this time of devastation. Though it wouldn't matter anyways, you won't last long."
Dr. Cray: "Is that true, well I'll have you know that I'm in the middle of something."
Dr. Betruger: "So I see… Well it doesn't matter anyways. Those new weapons you will be creating will never work. Even if they are successful, you will never stop me in time before the fleet comes. You still won't stand a chance against me and my children."
Dr. Cray: "Really? Well that's where you're wrong Betruger. We already know your main portal's weakness. And once we exploit it, the universe will be spared."
Dr. Betruger: "So that's what you're going to do is it? I can pretty much understand your concern Cray, but let me remind you who is in charge of this facility."
But before Betruger could tell him, Cray pounded his fist on the chair and yelled as loud as he could to the crazy doctor.
Dr. Cray: "No! You listen to me. Of all this time I trusted you in the UAC, I thought I had high hopes in your experience. But now things are completely different. You betrayed the people you work with, created that unforgiving portal of yours, unleashed Armageddon through out the entire facility. Now you want to spread this evil to Earth and even the entire universe. You are no man Dr. Betruger, you are a monster!"
Betruger's only reaction to that is the chuckle to himself.
Dr. Betruger: "So you think I'm a monster huh? That's where you're wrong Dr. Cray. What I'm trying to do is to bring peace throughout the universe. And to do that, I have to rid it of the beings that plagued war and death through out the galaxy. A peaceful existence, that's what we want in this world. And me and my children will make it happen."
Dr. Cray: "You won't get away with it Betruger. Once Rhino Squad reaches your main teleporter, they will put an end to your reign once and for all."
Dr. Betruger: "Oh I'm afraid they won't stop me. As far as I know, they got bigger things to worry about."
This made Cray a little skeptic at what the doctor said and cocked an eyebrow to wonder what he meant.
Dr. Cray: "What do you mean by that?"
Before he could come up with an answer, Voss heard Sledge calling on his radio comm. and noticed he was feeling a little in a panicked state followed by sudden gunfire in the background.
Sledge: "Commander, this is Sledge. Can you hear me?"
Voss put on the comm. frequency and responded back.
Scott Voss: "Loud and clear Sledge. What's seem to be the situation?"
Sledge: "We've got a problem here. Something broke into the lab and started wreaking havoc throughout the place, destroying everything in its path."
Scott quickly calmed the Rhino Squad member before he could loose his mind.
Scott Voss: "Whoa, whoa… Calmed down soldier. What do you mean something broke into the lab?"
Sledge: "Something big, not human! It found us while we were heading to the generator room to restart the power. It already killed Karmack, and now it's after me. I'm trying to slow it down, but my weapons showed little effect against its power. I can't hold it up for much longer!"
Scott Voss: "God damn it Sledge, give me conformation of the threat!!"
Sledge: "Conformation? The thing is big and extremely dangerous!!! What more of a conformation do you want!? I can't keep this up forever! I'm going to need heavy backup! This beast is really pissed-"
Suddenly, static engulfed his earpiece and the communication was immediately cut off. Voss heard everything his soldier said and was pretty shocked by all of this. Cray then looked at the squad leader and wanted to know what happened.
Dr. Cray: "Is there something wrong Mr. Voss?"
Voss looked down at Cray and told him what he heard.
Scott Voss: "Doctor, I think we have a problem. I got a call from Sledge and he told me something had infiltrated the lab and killed one of your assistants."
Dr. Cray: "What? What would attack my secret laboratory?"
Scott Voss: "I don't know. But from what I could understand before the communication was blacked out was that whatever killed Karmack and attacking one of my men is big and extremely dangerous."
Cray listened in and pondered this through. He then remembered that Betruger told them that they had bigger things to worry about. So he looked up to Betruger, who was still on the screen, and asked him one final question.
Dr. Cray: "What did you do Betruger?"
Betruger gave off and wicked smirk and answered him in the nicest of ways.
Dr. Betruger: "Just thought I give you a little going away present to you and your friends. You have always been a good teacher to me and showed my what science truly is. But since this will be the last time we talked, I believed it is time to move on with our lives and part ways. Thank you for everything good doctor. Oh, and it isn't personal, it's just business."
That ended with Betruger laughing an evil laughter and the screen went completely static. Everyone was a little uncomfortable with what he said as Ramirez looked at Cray and Voss and wanted to ask a question.
Ramirez: "Um… Exactly what did he mean by that?"
The two were about to answer, but Alex interrupted them both and told the Rhino Squad member the truth.
Alex: "Isn't it obvious?"
Both Cray and Voss turned around to look at the tied up guardian as he told everyone the answer they didn't want to hear.
Alex: "Betruger had found you out and you all are completely fucked."
Suddenly, they all heard loud footsteps not far from them followed by low grunting and roaring. Everyone was startled at the sudden sounds as Rhino Squad had their weapons up, ready for a fight.
Peter Chew: "What was that noise?"
Johann Strauss: "I think that's the completely fucked part."
The sound of the steps got louder and the roars and grunts were getting closer. The Titans, Rhino Squad, and the rest of the science team couldn't figure out where the sounds were coming from as it echoed throughout the room. Louder and louder and louder it got until suddenly it stopped without them knowing what happened. The entire room remained silent as Rhino Squad waited to see what would come out. After a minute of waiting, Crispy lowered his weapon and took a real deep sigh.
Crispy: "Huh… That's strange, it all stopped. Maybe it left…"
But just as soon as he said that, a huge explosion came out of the wall where the huge computer screen was, causing pieces of debris and shrapnel flying everywhere. The squad and scientists was caught off guard by this and tumbled on the floor, luckily avoiding the debris. Even the concrete slabs few over Beast Boy without leaving a scratch what so ever. But huge chunks of rock and metal were hurtling straight to the Cray, Voss, and the Teen Titans. Immediately, Voss ran straight towards Cray and forced him off the wheelchair.
Scott Voss: "Look out!"
They both hit the floor as the huge debris went over them. But the Titans were completely tied up, unable for them to move and get away from the chunks of rock and metal. But for Raven, even if her hands were cuffed doesn't mean she couldn't use her hands to create her magic. So she closed her eyes and reopens them, making them bright white energy.
Raven: "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!!!"
Just then, a black hole opened up and engulfed the big debris into the abyss. The portal then closed up as the team was completely surprised at the telepath's sudden action. Alex then looked at her and had a thankful grin on his face.
Alex: "That was too close to call. Thanks for the quick save Raven."
Raven didn't look at her guardian, but was panting after that last move and accepted his thanks.
Raven: "No reason to thank me Alex. I was just trying to save myself and my friends. And that was somewhat of a last resort."
As the smoke cleared and the place was a complete mess. Rhino Squad and the rest of the science team got up and wondered what transpired.
Crispy: "Okay… What just happened here?"
Johann Strauss: "I don't know… Some kind of explosion or something?"
As the group was talking about it, again they heard another set of loud footsteps only this time; it was closer to them then ever. The squad readied their weapons to know what was coming, hoping to take it out now before it could strike back. Meanwhile, Pinky was slowly getting up from the sudden blast and was tilting next the Beast Boy, who was still sleeping peacefully after the explosion. As he looked up at the big hole in the wall, he noticed something coming out of the hole, and it wasn't human. It was getting closer and closer and the shape of the creature was much more noticeable. Fearing the worse to come, his reaction was to point up at the thing and alerted the squad out loud.
Pinky: "Behind you!"
Everyone looked behind them and couldn't believe what they're seeing. Coming out of the smoke is a huge behemoth of a creature they never seen before. He stands almost ten feet tall and was bulging with inhuman muscles. It has sharp razor claws on its hands, and demonic like feet for leverage. And though it had no eyes to see, it did heave razor sharp teeth that can eat through anything. Starring at this huge demon, everyone was both horrified and shocked at what they were seeing. Chew observed it and gave Johann his two cents.
Peter Chew: "Actually Strauss, I think that's the completely fucked part…"
Ramirez looked at this creature too and noticed something in its hand. He pointed at it and asked the team about it.
Ramirez: "Guys, what is that?"
They all looked at what the beast was holding and wondered what it was they were seeing. But what they saw completely shocked them. Hanging by a leg was Sledge and he was all battered up and bruised severely. What made them gasped in horror was that his head was completely severed, leaving only a neck with blood tinkling down like a drizzle of rain. Voss saw this and was speechless at what happened to one of his men.
Scott Voss: "Oh no… Not Sledge…"
The huge demon then lifted the now dead Marine up in the air, opened its jaws, and dropped him into his mouth. It chewed and chewed as Sledges body was being ripped to shreds inside. Once it took a deep swallow, it looked at the groups all around it and gave off a loud monstrous roar that shook the room to the breaking point. Knowing this is now or never, he gave the remaining squad the order.
Scott Voss: "Everyone counter fire! Kill that thing before it kills us! Go, go, go!!!"
Immediately, Rhino Squad backs away from the beast and took cover behind all the debris and turned over surgery tables close to where the blast took place. Both Pinky and Cloud however ran for their lives and away from the huge monster. Immediately, the group opened fire with their weapons, hoping to take it down with everything they had. Voss joined in and helped his team taking the brute out of commission. But the Titans were stuck in their surgery beds, looking at the battle-taking place in front of them. As Alex watched on, he realized they need more help than that.
Alex: "Oh man, Rhino Squad doesn't have a chance against that thing."
He turned his head to Robin, who was still trying to get out of one of his cuffs, and asked him if he was out.
Alex: "Robin, are you out yet?"
Robin was still picking on the locked cuff he had, hoping he's close in escaping.
Robin: "Almost there… Just a little more…"
He kept twisting the pick around, hoping to get a successful breakthrough. After a couple of attempts and a few minutes of patience, he heard the click and the cuff opened up, making his right hand free at the moment. Seeing that, he lifted his free hand up and out and was pleased at the result.
Robin: "Yes! I did it!"
Alex rolled his eyes and sighed to himself, knowing that this is only the start of getting out.
Alex: "Well good for you Robin. Now do you have another way in getting yourself out of here, not to mention all of us as well?"
The Boy Wonder looked around and spotted a terminal that operates the surgical beds, cuffs and all. Starring at the device, he smirked and came up with a plan.
Robin: "I think I do have one."
Back to Rhino Squad, they tried everything in their power to kill this massive beast with everything they have. But no matter how hard they tried, nothing seems to work. But they kept on shooting anyways, hoping that it would slow it down.
Scott Voss: "C'mon men, hold it back! Don't let it get anywhere near the scientists!"
They kept on shooting to make sure it doesn't move forward. But for Crispy, he had other intensions in mind. From what he could understand, it was the same creature he saw dragging his friend McCan to his death back at the maintenance passage. So with determination in his heart, he came out of his hiding place and charged at the demon guns blazing. Voss saw him running towards it and demanded him to come back.
Scott Voss: "Crispy, what the hell are you doing? Get back here at once! You know what will happen if you get close to it!"
But Crispy didn't listen, as vengeance was in his mind completely. As he stopped right in front of it, he aimed his machine gun at its sternum and opened fire on the beast, screaming at the top of his lungs.
Crispy: "Hey freak show, remember me? You killed McCan you bastard! Now it's payback time! C'mon bring it! BRING IT!!!"
He kept on shooting and shooting at the beast until he ran out of ammo. He then took out his pistol and continued to attack.
Crispy: "Is that the best you got? Hit me! HIT MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"
The demon looked down at an enraged Crispy and instinctively lifted its arm up with claws extended out and swung down at the Rhino Squad member. The impact of the hit sent Crispy flying to the wall with really deep lacerations on his body and one on his face. When he got slammed into the wall, his body completely broke apart, killing him instantly. The squad saw it all go down and were completely horrified at what the demon did and Crispy's response to his last words.
Peter Chew: "CRISPY!!!"
But Voss got them back to the target at hand.
Scott Voss: "Concentrate your fire on the demon! Don't let it kill anyone else!"
The remaining squad went back on the attack and hit the big monster with everything they got. Meanwhile, the Titans were still locked in their operating tables while Robin came up with a plan to get them all out. With one of his hands free, he opened his utility belt and took out his birdarang. After giving it precise aim, he threw it and the birdarang flew straight to the small terminal. In a matter of seconds, the flying object hit the terminal as sparks were flying just about everywhere and the screen went static with the words 'error' appearing over and over. Soon after that happened, the cuffs on the surgery beds opened up, along with the visor over Starfire's eyes, as Alex and the Titans were free from their clutches. Starfire and Raven flew up when their shackles were off of them while the boys landed on the ground, quite relieved of their freedom.
Cyborg: "Oh yeah, now we're free baby!"
But Alex cut the opportunity of freedom short as he pointed out the task at hand to the others.
Alex: "We're not out of the woods yet guys. We've got one big obstacle in the way at the moment."
The Titans looked at what Alex was pointing at and saw the ferocious beast battling Rhino Squad. To that, Robin nodded and gave the Titans the order.
Robin: "Alex is right gang. We have to destroy that thing if we ever going to get out of this lab. Let's go!"
The Titans nodded and they all charged in to attack the huge monster. At the same time, Rhino Squad was still shooting whatever they can to put this beast out of commission. But still, their weapons had little effect against it. The person who was closest to the demon was Joahnn Strauss with his plasma rifle in hand. He continued to fire over and over again he could do no more. But as he continued to fire, there were no more plasma projectiles coming out of the nozzle no more. He looked down at his weapon screen and noticed that the ammo capacity went straight down to zero.
Joahnn Strauss: "Shit! I'm out, I'm out! I need to reload!!"
He scurried through his armor and took out a plasma cartridge to make a quick reload. But he didn't know that the huge demon was looking down at him and took the opportunity to strike. So it raised its arm and swings the backside of its fist at the Rhino Squad member. Strauss didn't have time to react, as he was busy putting the fresh cartridge into his weapon. Once he got the cartridge in, he looked up and saw the demon's backside of its fist in his face. He didn't had time to avoid it as he got hit full on and flew back up in the air. Obviously he would land on the ground and will be all right. What he didn't know was that one of the pieces of rock with some twisted steel poles sticking out was right behind him. Without warning, his body was suddenly pierced through one of the steel poles in a diagonal direction of where he was landing. At the same time, the Titans were rushing past him without noticing he was getting killed. But when Alex passed him and heard a sudden stabling sound, he turned to the right to see Joahnn on the verge of death. Upon seeing him in a critical state, he looked down and saw the squad member's plasma rifle hanging by the limpless fingers. Thinking that he didn't have a weapon in his hands as of yet, he decided to take the gun from the now dead marine. Positioning the gun to his hands, he looked at a now dead Strauss and thanked him for the weapon.
Alex: "Thanks… I might be needing this for now."
He ran straight to the action and pointed the plasma rifle at the big demon. Soon enough, both teams were attacking the monster with all they could muster. Robin threw a bunch of exploding disks at the brutes leg to cut it down to size. Starfire and Raven flew up in the air and threw star bolts and aurora blasts at it from above. Cyborg activated his sonic cannon at fired blue laser beams at its chest. And Alex fired the Plasma rifle at every part of the body that is weak. The only members of Rhino Squad, Voss, Ramirez, and Chew, were firing what's left of their weapons at the creature as well, thinking that the numbers option was the only thing that could stop it. Meanwhile, the rest of the science team was in a bit of a panic upon watching this horrified action taking place. Cloud and Pinky were looking at each other and started to get a little scared.
Cloud: "That's it, we're not even safe here. We have to get out of here quick before we are over run!"
Pinky: "Well that's fine by me, but what about Cray? We can't leave him here."
He pointed to the where Cray was as Cloud looked at what he was pointing at. He noticed that Cray was down on the ground and out of the wheelchair when Voss pushed him down. But he couldn't get up due to the fact that his elderly body couldn't get up by himself. Looking at that, he nodded and came up with a solution.
Cloud: "We won't have to. Quickly, we have to pick him up and get him out of this lab at once. Hurry!"
Pinky nodded as they both ran straight to the good doctor. At the same time, the Teen Titans and the remaining Rhino Squad members were still duking it out against the monstrous beast. Birdarangs, star bolts, aurora blasts, laser beams, plasma projectiles, and bullets kept on hitting the demon, but still nothing seem to affect this brute. As all wasn't going according to plan, Voss decided to do one last hurrah. He took out a grenade from his belt and immediately armed it, ready to throw.
Scott Voss: "Fire in the hole!"
He threw the grenade at the monster as both teams quickly took cover behind the debris around it. As the grenade hit the beast, it exploded on impact and fire and smoke covered the blast. As both teams came out of their hiding places, Ramirez lowered his head and gave off a deep and pleasant sigh.
Ramirez: "Thank god it's over."
Alex took a closer look at the smoke that's in the way and noticed something moving behind it.
Alex: "Um… I don't think it's far from over."
Approaching through the smoke was the dangerous demon completely undamaged with only sheered skin and bullet wounds. Everyone saw it all and was completely horrified at its survival.
Raven: "We're officially dead…"
Back with the two scientists, they approached a downed Cray and immediately picked him up.
Cloud: "Cray, are you okay?"
Cray looked at Cloud and answered him calmly.
Dr. Cray: "Don't worry about me. You two get out of here while you still can."
Sponzerally turned his head to see Cray and shook it for a no.
Pinky: "Sorry doc, there's no way we're going to let you stay here and die for nothing. Now let's get out of here while we still have a chance."
Both scientists carried Dr. Cray by the shoulders and carefully rushed him out of the lab. Meanwhile, the both teams stood in shock as the huge demon wasn't killed by Voss's grenade. Shaking from the effects of the blast, the beast look down at the teams and immediately roared a tremendous roar. Just then, the demon tightened its first and something was charged from within it. What they saw what looked to be like a fireball like the Imps, but the color of the fireball was green just like the Vulgar's. Then its other fist tightened itself and another green fireball appeared in it. It raised both fireballs up in the air and roared even louder. The team watched on as the bulking beast was preparing to fire.
Alex: "That can't be good…"
Robin starred at the creature that has its lands glowing with green fireballs and realizes something. He turned back and noticed Beast Boy still sleeping on the surgical bed even after all the sounds of a battle-taking place. What he also noticed was the propane tanks around the lab, use for experimental purposes. If that thing hits the propane tanks, it would mean some dangerous results. He looked at the others and gave out the next order.
Robin: "Everyone head to Beast Boy! We need to take cover before it decides to blast the tanks. Raven, can you shield us from an immensive blast?"
Raven looked down at the changeling and then looked up at the propane tanks that are around the area. She looks back at him and nodded for an approval.
Raven: "I think so… I don't know."
Robin: "Then we're just going to have to find out for ourselves. Move it everyone, take cover!"
The Titans immediately ran to Beast Boy in an attempt to take cover. Meanwhile, Rhino Squad continued to shoot the monster with the remaining ammo they have. Ramirez took a quick peek and noticed the group leaving, probably getting as far away as they can. He looked at his commanding officer and told him what he saw.
Ramirez: "Sir, the Titans seem to be getting away. Shall we go after them? Cray needs them for the project."
Voss, without gazing at one of his comrades, answered him as instinctive as possible.
Scott Voss: "No! We can't chase a bunch of teens while this demonic entity is in the way. We must stay here and kill it first before we could pursue anyone."
Ramirez: "But sir…"
Scott Voss: "That's an order!"
Ramirez remained silent for a moment then nodded and went back to the mission. Meanwhile, Cloud and Pinky were reaching the exit of the surgery lab with Cray over their shoulders, hoping to get away from the thing that's attacking the place. They were just close to the exit and they were glad that they're almost out.
Pinky: "We're going to make it!"
But that was soon cut short. As they were closer to their freedom, Rhino Squad were still hitting the beast with everything they got, thinking that it would soon be dead. But what they didn't know was that it completely charged up its fireballs and was ready to finish everyone off. As soon as it did that, it gave off a blood-curdling roar and immediately threw random balls of green flames all over the place. Voss saw that and alerted the remaining squad of the coming danger.
Scott Voss: "Take cover!!!"
Rhino Squad ran for their lives to find cover while green fireballs were flying in every direction. At the same time, Robin, Alex, and the other Titans approached the sleeping changeling and went around him. When Robin saw the brute launching an array of fireballs, he looked at Raven and gave out the command.
Robin: "All right Raven, do it now!"
Raven quickly waved her hands around as they were covered by black obsidian energy. In a matter of seconds, the black dome appeared and covered the Titans to protect them from a sudden death. But for the rest of the people, they didn't have any luck at all. Every green fireball flew high and low, hoping to hit anyone that stand in their way. But the moment few of them hit the propane tanks, they all exploded destroying the entire lab and causing more debris to fall on to anyone. Voss saw this and alerted his remaining team from the danger above.
Scott Voss: "Incoming!!!"
But that was too little, too late. Ramirez was about to reach one of the wider operating tables to get cover from the falling debris. But one of the green fireballs hit him in the back and burned him up in an instant, letting him scream in pain before his death. Chew made to a slanted metal slab to protect himself from the incoming fireballs, but didn't listen to Voss's orders. As he hid, a concrete slab on the ceiling came down and rocketed towards him, flattening him upon impact and leaving nothing but a pool of blood all around it. Voss immediately panicked and try to head to the closest cover he could think of. When he saw a storage closet completely opened up, he knew it was his only chance at survival. So he ran into the storage room seconds before a bunch of metal scaffolding fell and block the entrance. Meanwhile Cloud, Pinky, and Cray were just about to reach their exit and were a few feet away from freedom. But that soon changed when a pile of stone and metal debris rained down and immediately block their only path out. The two stop in their tracks and were shocked at what they saw in front of them.
Cloud: "No! We're trapped!"
Cray thought this through and came up with another way out.
Dr. Cray: "Hurry! We should take the hole the beast went through. It might be the only way out even as we speak."
The two scientists look at the hole the evil brute created and nodded together. The two continued to carry Cray over their shoulders and slowly ran to the hole with debris and fire raining all around them. They were getting closer to their destination until something fell in front of them. They look up and noticed it was a propane tank that was hanging on the ceiling for heating purposes. As it fell, they all panicked and tried to avoid it.
Pinky: "Look out!"
The two scientists get back, turned around, and ran for their lives. But with Cray over their shoulders, it was harder for them to escape. Within seconds the propane tank hit the floor and exploded, sending the three to fly forward into their deaths. Ask for the Titans, they were well protected by Raven's shield as debris was falling all over them. Soon enough they were completely buried under all the concrete rocks and twisted metal. Once the explosions concluded and the smoke cleared, the surgery lab was nothing more then a major disaster area straight out of a hurricane. The only thing that was walking around was the demon approaching what appeared to be two burnt bodies, but between the two was Dr. Cray, still alive from the blast but couldn't move cause of his disability to walk. He rolled over to look up and saw the monster staring at him with its eyeless face. It then lifted up it head and roared once more. Cray began to get scared and slowly crawled backwards, trying to get away.
Dr. Cray: "No… Get back… I'm warning you!"
The huge beast look back down and quickly scooped Cray up and tightened him with its fist. Cray screamed in complete terror as the brute stomped idly by and exit the ruined lab through the hole it created. Once it leaves, the place was entirely quiet with nobody living. But there was a team that was still alive. In the center of the lab, the pile of chucks and what not exploded in a black obsidian blast and cleared everything around it. Emerging out of the rubble was the Teen Titans themselves as Raven took a deep breath and was relieved after the sudden blast. Robin approached the telepath and was completely pleased what she done.
Robin: "Nice work Raven."
Rae looks at the Boy Wonder and smirked a bit.
Raven: "Don't thank me Robin. Just be glad that I had enough rest to regain my powers."
As she was taking a breather, Starfire, Cyborg, and Alex was around Beast Boy, trying to wake him up. The guardian and the hybrid were removing the needles and pads that were on his arm while the Tamaranean was doing the waking.
Starfire: "Beast Boy, are you there. It is I Starfire, your friend. Please awaken. Beast Boy? Beast Boy!"
Star used any means to wake him up, but nothing seems to work. That's when she came up with an ultimatum by taking a deep breath and screamed out loud his name. But before she was able to do that, her two friends saw this and covered her mouth before she could yell. Alex leaned closer to her and explained to her the situation they're in at the moment.
Alex: "Don't scream out loud Star! Did you not notice that huge beast that we were attacking? If you scream out loud, you're going to get its attention and it'll kill us. Don't you understand?"
Starfire, realizing what was going to happen nodded for a yes as Al and Cy removed their hands off her mouth. Before they could figure out a way to wake Beast Boy up, they all heard him yawn and realizing he was waking up. Alex got close to him, wondering if he could hear him.
Alex: "Beast Boy, are you up?"
To his answer, the changeling flutter his eyes open and saw Alex with his expression changed from worry and happy.
Beast Boy: "Alex? Starfire? Cyborg? What's going on? What's happening?"
Hearing that, Robin and Raven approach the others and explain to Beast Boy what went on.
Raven: "Believe us when I say this, you wouldn't want to know."
Robin: "But all and all, we're glad you're still alive. Do you know what happened to you after we left you at the infirmary?"
Beast Boy slowly sat up and placed his hand on his head, rubbing it from the sudden pain he was feeling.
Beast Boy: "I… I don't know to tell you the truth. The moment you guys left, something seeped into the room and knocked me out completely. Next thing I knew, I was dreaming about being operated and people were going to open me up to find out how I change. I all felt too real."
The team was completely silent when BB told him his side of the story as Alex rolled his eyes around and sighed to himself.
Alex: "Actually Beast Boy. It was real minutes ago."
He pointed his finger up and whirled it around the area for Beast Boy to take a good look. When he had the chance of taking a peek, the changeling realized he was in a room he had never seen before. Not only that, but the place was in complete shambles. The computer terminals were thrashed, concrete slabs and twisted steal was everywhere, and fire spread through a couple of areas. Looking at all of this, Beast Boy scratched his head and was pretty confused at all this.
Beast Boy: "Okay… Where am I and what happened to this place?"
Cyborg: "It's a long and very ugly story BB. We thought we almost lost you."
Beast Boy looked at his hybrid friend and was more confused then before.
Beast Boy: "Lost me? What are you talking about?"
This was when Alex cleared his throat to get the Titans attention. As they look at their guardian, he gave the orders.
Alex: "We'll explain everything on the way. But right now, we got a mission to do. Robin, you, Starfire, and Raven take care of Beast Boy until he's ready to fight. I'm sure Raven's healing abilities will make him feel better. Cyborg, you come with me so we can get our weapons out of the dorm rooms. We might need them on the road ahead. Let's go!"
The team nodded and followed their guardian's orders. Robin, Star, and Raven healed up Beast Boy while Alex and Cyborg headed back to their dorm room to get their weapons, along with Beast Boy's. But while they were doing that, something else was happening within the lab.
Delta Labs, Cray's Laboratory, The Freak Show: November 16, 2145, 6:03 A.M.
Deep within the entrance of the Cray's lab, the rejected halls, or the freak show, was a total mess since the big demon burst in and wreak havoc throughout the place. Few of the tube containers that had all the rejected military demons and monsters that came out of the portal were cracked and broken. But one of them was destroyed entirely. That one contained the Empress project. The container fell during the attack and landed on the floor, broken up and freeing the huge humanoid from its prison. It remained lying on the floor for a long time until oddly enough, its eyes started to glow bright red and started to growl by itself.
Ooooohhhhhh… Now this is getting pretty interesting. So that ends chapter thirty-eight of Doomed Titans. Again I would like to apologize for the long wait. Being the busy bee that I am, I never have the time in completing these stories. But I will continue on the next chapter and update for you as soon as I could. And speaking of which, the next chapter involves a lot of action as Alex and the Titans get closer to level 4 and the main teleporter. But something was waiting for them, something big and extremely pissed off. What's going to happen? Wait and see. Please Review.