Man, this took longer then I expected. When was the last time I've updated this story? October? November? Guess I must've lost count. I apologize for this unexpected delay. But besides school work, going around, and my morning job, I also got a new story posted up on Fanfiction I did since January. This is of course a story of one of my favorite games Bioshock and it's a prequel to Bioshock 2 that's based on the viral site for the game called, 'Something in the Sea.' Won't give you much detail if you haven't read it but if you want, you can check it out for yourself. As for this story, I didn't get any reviews from anyone in the last chapter. However, the hit counter is up to 46 hits. So as long as people are reading this story, I'm cool with that. Now for another action packed chapter of Doomed Titans. The team made it to the monorail and were this close to reaching Gamma. But just as they were about to get there, they immediately got derailed by not only an unwanted passenger but also a major surprise at the end. What will become of them now? Let's read to see what happens.
Chapter Notes
I'm pretty sure y'all remember the creature called The Empress at Cray's secret lab right? Well, its back, and this time, it's after the Titans. Also, this fight would be just like the boss battle from House of the Dead 4 in the subway train. This is going to be good. Another thing is that I need to skip a couple of parts from the Doom 3 video game because the monorail would take a long trip to Gamma and I can't jot down everything be that I'm almost finished with this story. But don't worry; I'll put what happened while the team is on the train to Gamma Labs.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or Doom 3
Chapter Forty-four: Last Train Home
R.R.T.S. Headquarters, Auditorium, Brazil South America: November 16, 2145, 9:18 A.M.
"All R.R.T.S. units report to the auditorium for an emergency briefing."
In the auditorium of the R.R.T.S. HQ, every marine within the facility took their seats and waited for the emergency briefing they heard about. Even Sarge's team was present and accounted for this occasion. The only problem is that the soldiers have no idea why they were called in the first place or what information their general is going to tell them. Only the sergeants know about this predicament and would wait for their men to get their chance to know what they're up against. After much waiting and anticipation, the general of the R.R.T.S. Special Forces came up on stage to begin his telling. He was a little old to be a soldier, but he had both experience and respect for his men and women. He has balding gray hair and wrinkled face, wearing an honorary uniform underneath his medium physic. One of the soldiers got up and demanded the others the general's attention.
R.R.T.S. Soldier One: "All rise and solute! General present!"
Everyone instantly got up from their seats and gave off a grand salute for the general. After a few seconds, the general commanded his men to stop saluting in a patronizing way.
R.R.T.S. General: "Adise men."
Everyone did that as they sat back down and listened to the general.
R.R.T.S. General: "Now I know you're wondering why you are all called here today. Well you're generals were already informed about this, but I need to speak to all of you in public to inform you what happened in the past 24 hours. Around 1400 hours, the Union Aerospace Corporation lost all contact with their Mars facility after what was suppose to be a testing activity within their Delta Labs complex. No one from the board had heard from the facility or Counselor Swan, who was investigating the crisis up there. But hours later, the UAC's Earth facility got an encrypted message from their Communication Facility. What they discovered was truly shocking. Observe."
The general turned his attention to the huge screen behind him showing the R.R.T.S. logo. The logo disappeared and in its place, the distress message from the UAC facility on Mars, explaining the situation. All the soldiers were shocked when they read the message. The message reads…
Code Red…
Mayday… Mayday…
Mars Facility under attack…
Multiple unknown hostiles…
Structure damage at an all time high…
Multiple casualties rising…
All communications and mainframe computers completely severed…
Request immediate military reinforcements immediately…
The general went back to the podium and went on with his discussion.
R.R.T.S. General: "From what the UAC on Earth understands is that their Mars base is heavily under attack. Unfortunately we don't know whom we're up against. However, by the sound of it, it might be a terrorist attack, or some kind of mutiny. But regardless, the attack on Mars has left many casualties and all systems in that area are disabled."
Suddenly, one of the soldiers got up and was completely upset by all of this.
R.R.T.S. Soldier 2: "That's bull shit!"
The general looked at the soldier in the back row that state that and silenced him on the spot.
R.R.T.S. General: "That's enough soldier! Now be that the Mars research facility is one of the prime buildings in the UAC, the board on Earth are worried that if it goes down, so will their investments. That's where we come in my soldiers. We, the Radical Riot Tactical Squad, are chosen to head up to Mars and assist any surviving marine that's up there."
Another soldier raised his hand and wonder something.
R.R.T.S. Soldier 3: "Exactly how many of us are going up there sir?"
The General looked at the soldier in the mid row and answered his question.
R.R.T.S. General: "All of you. The board of directors in the UAC think that the attack is still out of control that they are requesting all squadrons to head to the Mars base ASAP. All units need to report to the hanger for further briefing, assignments, and preparations. We will be then leaving to the facility to give the survivors all the backup they need. We also need to escort any unarmed civilians to safety and recover any data file that is vital to the Corporation. Any further questions?"
There was a harsh silence within the audience, knowing this is the most important mission they would ever get.
R.R.T.S. General: "None? Good. You will all leave in 0900 hours. You are all dismissed. Now move out!"
The general left the stage, leaving the other squads discussing in what they just heard. To them, it was going to be the biggest assignment ever. What they don't know is that up on Mars the darkest nightmare awaits them.
Delta Labs Military Complex, Monorail Entryway: November 16, 2145, 9:22 A.M.
All the way up in the Mars facility, the Titans and Alex were running to the reach the monorail. After that horrendous battle between Alex and his father Kelly, A.K.A. Sabaoth, they now had to reach Gamma Labs and the Ark to get the Titans to the past. But before they could leave, Jack Campbell, who saved Alex from total death, told him something very important and gave him something that can ultimately change the course of UAC history. Alex wasn't sure if he was going to do what Jack told him to do. But he needed to get the Titans back first before he could do anything else. The group continued to run down the hallway, getting closer to station.
Robin: "Alex, you sure you know where the monorail is?"
Alex: "We just need to follow the signs and hope we don't get blocked off."
They approached the airlock that would take them to the Monorail Station. The moment they reached the airlock and dark red cloud slowly hovered in front of them and a flash of orange lightning came down to the ground. That's where a Commando Zombie appeared and growled at the team.
Beast Boy: "Spoke too soon for that Al."
The Commando, upon seeing the team, extracted its arm at them and the tentacle attached it headed straight for them. The group immediately ducked to avoid the attack as the guardian got up and took his plasma rifle out, firing blue projectiles at the zombie. The moment it died, another flash of lightning came up from behind the team. They all turned around and saw another Commando Zombie ready to attack. Cyborg quickly took his chain gun and pulled the trigger. Once the drum started to roll and the bullets started to fly, the Commando was completely punctured with many holes and fell down dead. Thankfully, they were able to stop the two zombies from killing them, but suddenly, they heard the sound of lightning struck from around them. They looked around but saw no sign of any monsters around where they were. That's when Alex heard a loud roar right in front of them. He turned around and noticed he was looking at the airlock door. But then, he saw something banging on the door from the inside as pieces of metal and wires came out of it. Realizing what's going to happen, he looked at the team and warned them of what's to come.
Alex: "It's coming from within the airlock! Everyone get back!"
The Titans followed their guardian's order and got back as far as they could. Alex just stayed there and took his double barrel shotgun out to get ready for the opponent on the other side. The monster on the other side banged on the door harder and harder as huge dents were being formed in the process while it was roaring uncontrollably. After a couple of more hits, the airlock door was fully opened and tilted downward right onto the floor with a loud thud. From out of the debris smoke, a Pinky was in the airlock itself and roared right at the guardian. It charged at him and was ready to maul him to death. Alex quickly pointed the shotgun at the bull like beast, pulled the trigger, and shot it in the head. The Pinky collapsed on the floor and dissolved away to complete nothingness. Once their path is clear, Alex looked back at the team and told them to go.
Alex: "C'mon! We have to reach the Monorail now!"
The group joined together and went into the airlock. Luckily, the other end of the airlock was open or they would've done a repeat with Cyborg lifting the door and the others protecting him. Once they passed the airlock, they all noticed they were in the security checkpoint with the metal detector in front of them, a small lounge area on the right, and a security station not far on the other side of the room. They also noticed a group of security zombies with blast shield, protecting themselves from any known projectile that might hit them. One of the Z-Secs rushed into the security office and went to the terminal and activates something. The group wondered what the guard was doing until they heard an announcement from above.
"Attention: Security torrents online. Lethal force activated. Intruders alert… Intruders alert…"
The team looked up and noticed that a huge security torrent was lowering itself from the ceiling and turning towards them. Immediately, the drum begins to roll and was going to fire on them in an instant. Alex quickly looked at Raven and alerted her on what's going to happen now.
Alex: "Raven!!"
Rae knew what the guardian wanted to do and formed a black barrier to deflect all of the bullets the torrent uses. But the torrent continued to attack the team as the telepath's shield was beginning to crack and break. The moment it got completely shattered, she created another shield and kept on holding it as much as she could. Unfortunately, that shield also started to crack from the bullets impact and on the verge of falling apart as well. Raven was cringing from all the focus she was using and wasn't sure if she's going to hold together.
Raven: "I don't know how long I can hold it!"
Alex had to think of something fast before Raven's focus gets deteriorated and the team would be shredded in an instant. He took out a grenade on his belt and quickly armed it.
Alex: "Everyone get down!"
Quickly, the Titans got down as fast as they could while Raven held on to her shield for a little while longer. Within moments Rae's shield disintegrated the same time Alex threw the grenade and shoved the telepath down to the ground. The grenade flew up in the air and landed in front of the security zombies holding the shields. Once it got close to them, the grenade exploded, killing the middle of the undead and dazing the others. At the same time, shields flew all over different directions and were scattered around the area. One of the shields flew up to the torrent and hit right through the motor, causing it to spin out of control, shooting biliticly in the process. The Z-Secs who didn't get killed were immediately dissected by the weapon on the ceiling and turned to the security control room where the other guard was in. The bullets completely shatter the glass, destroyed the terminal, and killed the guard in point blank range. When that massacre was over, the torrent shut itself down and another announcement was heard.
"Maintenance, please report to the Delta Military Checkpoint. Security torrent offline."
When that mess was finished, Alex and the others got up and looked at the devastation a single sentry gun can do. Cy was amazed by this and whistled to himself lowly.
Cyborg: "Now that's what I call a slaughterhouse."
Robin was impressed by all of it too and looked at Alex for an explanation.
Robin: "That was a bit gory. Did you calculated on the grenade's trajectory and if one of the shields would cause the torrent to malfunction?"
Alex shrugged his shoulders a bit and answered his question.
Alex: "No, I just threw the grenade just to clear the way. But I wasn't expecting the whole mass murder version with the security torrent. However I did find it pretty enjoyable. Let's just hurry before we get more surprises coming our way."
The moment he said it, a couple of red clouds hovered around them and bolts of orange lightning came down on the floor. That's when the Imps appeared around the group and screeched out loud. Alex looked at each of them and knew this was bound to happen. Beast Boy looked at the guardian and gave him a hint of advice.
Beast Boy: "Hey Alex, I know you want us to get back home so badly. But by my own experiences, in the future, don't ask for trouble!"
Alex: "Yeah, I will note that permanently. Just start attacking them!"
Everyone got to their battle positions, getting ready to fight off the demons. The Imps started the attack by charging up with fireballs and tossing them at the Titans. The group saw this coming and they both duck and dodge every flaming ball that was heading towards them. But Beast Boy decided to do the next best thing as he took his Grabber out and locked onto one of the fireballs that were heading towards him. He pulled his trigger and the thin green energy line got a hold of the ball of flames. Once he positioned it right, he let go of the trigger and launched the projectile at the demons that threw it. The Imp didn't have time to duck as the fireball flew at fast speed and hit it, dissolving the monster away into sheer nothingness. Robin took out an exploding disk and threw it at the second Imp. The demon saw it and ducked low to avoid the incoming projectile, but it didn't know that it could explode if it hits on any surface. Once the disk hit the wall, it exploded, taking out of the monster in the process and killing it without it knowing what just happened. The third Imp noticed this and took to the offensive by charging up two fireballs in each of its hands and throwing them at the team. Starfire returned that attack by floating up to the ceiling and throwing her star bolts at the enemies flames. Both projectiles hit each other and caused small explosion that block both the teams and the monsters views. Cyborg decided to take this opportunity to take them out while they're confused and activated his sonic cannon to blast them all. He waited for the right moment to open fire when the smoke starts to clear. When he saw the outline of the demons, this gave him that chance he needed; he pointed his weapon at the closest Imp and opened fire, sending a blue stream of energy at it. Soon after the first one was dead, he turned and targeted the second one before the smoke got the chance to clear up. As he fired, he didn't notice another Imp was on the ceiling, waiting to get the drop on him. Since the hybrid was busy picking off the bad guys, the monster took the chance and unlashed itself from the ceiling, ready to land on him and tear him apart. But before it could do that, it was caught in the air and was covered in a black energy like field. It then flew away from the group and crashed right through the metal detector, getting pierced by shrapnel and broken metal. Cyborg saw this go down and wondered what just happened. That's when he looked back and saw Raven with her hand lifted up and covered in black magic. Cy then smirked about it and gave her his compliments.
Cyborg: "Thanks for the assist Rae."
But the battle wasn't over yet. There are still a couple of more Imps to kill before they could proceed further. Be that they were wasting too much time right now, Alex decided to end all of this by taking out his plasma rifle and targeted any monster that was a threat. He pulled the trigger and fired multiple projectiles at the remaining Imps, turning from side to side and making sure he got all of them before they could attack. Once the place was cleared and the demons were gone, Alex lowered his weapon and sighed to himself.
Alex: "That's the last of them. Now as I was saying… Let's get to the monorail before we encounter any more surprises."
With that said, the group kept running to the end of the security checkpoint and turned to the left to enter a metallic door. Once they enter through it, and ran down and long hallway to get to another door that was right in front of them. But just before they could reach it, all the lights suddenly went out and the place was entirely dark. The Titans immediately stopped in their tracks and were waiting to see what was going to happen. Cyborg turned on his shoulder-mounted flashlight to get a better sight at the situation they were in. To his surprise, a couple of metal floor tiles and ceilings began to pop and a large number of Maggots came out of those opening and were right in front of them.
Cyborg: "Maggots!!"
Alex saw them too and took his machine gun out with a fresh clip in it for battle.
Alex: "Yeah I see them Cyborg. Let's take them out to get a clear path."
Beast Boy turned around and saw more Maggots coming up from the openings and were behind them.
Beast Boy: "Alex, I think we're surrounded!"
The guardian turned around and saw the Maggots right behind them as well.
Alex: "Great, looks like Betruger is pulling all the stops not huh? Cyborg, keep the demons in the back busy while the rest of us clear the front!"
Cy took his chain gun out and was ready for something like this.
Cyborg: "Got it!"
Alex quickly pointed his weapon at the hoard with the other Titans pulled out their weapons and charged their powers. Once the Maggots charged in the Teen Titans started their attack. Alex pulled the trigger and sent bullets flying straight to the demon's skulls. Robin took out a couple of exploding disks and threw them at the group, killing most of them on the explosions. Starfire threw a barrage of star bolts to pick off some of them. Raven used her powers to levitate all the loose tiles and ceiling gratings and threw them at the hoards, cutting most of them to bits. And Beast Boy turned into a gorilla and pound his fists to the ground, creating a ripple that sent some of the Maggots back. Cyborg, meanwhile, was killing every scrambling demon behind the team with his chain gun, ripping them all to shreds.
Cyborg: "C'mon you damn bastards! You want a piece of me? Come get me! I got plenty of ammo to tear you guys apart."
He kept on shooting the creatures down one body at a time without realizing that he was running out of ammo really quick. In fact, he wasn't aware of it until he heard a click coming from the chain gun. The hybrid looked down and saw the number counter on the gun is marked zero, realizing he used up all of the rounds. He then looked up at all of the remaining Maggots and chuckled nervously.
Cyborg: "Heh, heh… Then again…"
Immediately, all of the Maggots charged at the Titan pouncing on him at a moments notice. Thinking fast, he took the second approach and used his chain gun as a huge hammer, smashing anything that gets too close to him. Once they were out of his face, Cy armed both of his cannons and fired multiple stream of blue energy to mow all of them down. The battle kept on going until the last of the Maggots were quickly killed. Once all the demons were gone, Alex lowered his weapon and nodded in accomplishment.
Alex: "Hallway's clear. Let's go!"
Everyone ran straight to the hallway and went through another door, where they enter Elevator Access. There were two elevators in this room, both of them going down to the lounge of the Monorail. But the one on the left was not only busted, but also had that demonic growth growing through the opening. Fortunately, the elevator on the right is in operational. This relieved Alex as he approached the panel in between the elevators and pushed the 'Call' icon. As the lift was slowly heading up to the floor, the group heard clanking coming from both sides of the room. The team looked when they saw two alcoves opening up on both the left and right side and were completely surprised that there were two zombies holding chainsaws in their hands. They charged at the group, ready to cut them up into little pieces. Raven quickly formed a bubble shield and immediately deflected the sudden attack. When the two got back from the sudden move, they charged in for another go. But of course, this gave the team time to come up with a way out of this. Alex took his double barrel shotgun out and aimed it at one of the chainsaw zombies' head to open fire, causing pieces of brains and skull fragments to fly off it. Cy then armed his cannon and opened fire on the last one, sending it flying back into the alcove and killed it with one shot. Soon after the two zombies were dead, the elevator doors opened and the lift was there in no time. Alex looked at the lift and was glad it arrived on time.
Alex: "Just in time. All right everyone, into the elevator!"
The Titans went into the elevator with the guardian being the last to get in. When the doors close behind them, Alex pushed "Lounge" on the selection panel and the elevator descended downwards. At first, the group was going to make a safe journey down to the Monorail when all of a sudden…
Dr. Betruger: "You might have defeated me and Sabaoth, but Trigon and his army still has their sights on you. No matter where you run, no matter where you hide, they will find you and they will destroy you. Your journey ends now!"
Betruger's laughter echoed throughout the place the same time the lights started to blink on and off constantly. Everyone started to look around, wondering what's going to happen next. That's when they heard a stuck of lightning from above them followed by a low hissing sound. That's when they looked up at the ceiling and realized something is up there.
Alex: "Crap, we got trouble from above!"
He instantly pointed his shotgun up with a fresh load of shells and waited for whatever's up there to come in. After a while of waiting, the demon started to rip through the ceiling and took the roof off in seconds. Soon as the ceiling was partly opened, they saw a Vulgary trying to get through. With little hesitation, Alex pulled the trigger and shot the demon right in the exposed head, killing it at the moment. Soon after that, the elevator made a complete stop and the doors opened. But in front of them was another Vulgary that was waiting patiently for them to come down. And with Alex in the open and used the two shells on the first one, it would have a chance to kill him right in front of the Titans. The skeleton like lizard leapt up and was going to kill the guardian right on the spot. But Alex knew that was going to happen so he used his second most favorite weapon, his prosthetic metal arm. He tightened it up and gave the second Vulgary a quick sucker punch right in the face. It flew out of the elevator and hit itself on the wall, slowly trying to get up on the floor. Alex quickly reloaded his shotgun with two more shells and cocked it ready for another go as he slowly approached the semi unconscious demon. The Vulgary slowly looked up at the enemy and gave a loud and demonic shriek just before Alex pointed the gun at its head and pulled the trigger for an instant kill. When the creature was dead and taken care of, everyone else left the elevator and hurried through the door right in front of them. When they got through it they looked around and realized that they were in the waiting lounge of the Delta Military Monorail. There were rows upon rows of waiting benches for people to sit, a couple of TVs on every corner to watch some news, a vending machine area for snacks and drinks, and a couple of arcade games to play. Of course, the place has seen better days like the rest of the UAC as the benches were torn apart, some TV's were busted, one of the soda vending machines was turned over, and all of the arcade games were malfunctioning. Not only that, but demonic growth was spreading in every corner of the place and dead bodies and placed everywhere with pools of blood surrounding them. In fact, one part of the growth spread around the TV on the left corner that it too was infected and had a picture of the upside-down star symbol flashing in dark red. The group then looked at what's in front of them and saw the doors with the sign, 'Monorail' above it.
Alex: "There's our exit! Let's get there!"
The Titans all ran straight to the doors and thought they were all home free. But the moment they were in the middle of the room, the lighting of the place was replaced by a bloody red filter. That's when they realized that this was all just a trap waiting for them. They then heard Betruger's laughter spreading throughout the room and a red cloud appeared, blocking the Titan's path through the door. The moment the lightning struck, an Archvile appeared right in front of them and shrieked out loud. At first they thought that they were going to kill just the humanoid, but when it raised its arms to summon more monsters, they all looked around and saw four Hell Knights appear all around them.
Beast Boy: "Oh man… Not these guys again!"
All four Hell Knights charged their green fireballs and threw them at the team; the same time the Archvile blasted a line of flames at them. Raven quickly formed another bubble shield and all the incoming projectiles were deflected. With no other choice, Alex looked at the Titans and gave them orders.
Alex: "All right, this is our only chance in reaching the monorail. We all need to split up if we're ever going to end this fight. Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy, each of you need to take on one of the Hell Knights surrounding us. Robin and I will take care of the Archvile. This is our one and only shot into getting to Gamma Labs. We must do this if I'm ever going to get you guys back home. Is that clear?"
The team listened in and was shocked by what their guardian said. Each Titan taking on the monster by themselves? That wasn't an order, that was complete suicide! But they know that the only way to Gamma Labs is right behind those doors and the only way in reaching is to kill off all of the enemies as fast as they could. So be that as it may, it was their only chance in getting there. So without having a second opinion, they had confident looks on their faces and nodded their heads for a yes. Alex smiled at that and gotten his plasma rifle and machine gun ready for firing.
Alex: "Good… Now when the time is right, we'll charge in and attack all the creatures. Raven, when I say the word, let down you're shield. Wait for it…"
Alex took a good look to see if the beasts stopped firing. After a few good minutes, the Archvile stopped spreading the flames and the Hell Knights stopped firing their balls of green flames. That gave the team an opportunity they needed as Al looked at Rae and gave him the demand.
Alex: "Now!"
Raven quickly let down her shield as the team got ready for the next battle. That's where Robin gave out his famous words.
Robin: "Titans, GO!!"
Immediately, everyone split up and they all took on each of the demons around them. Cy, BB, Star, and Rae took on the Hell Knights while Robin and Alex tag team to kill the Archvile. Starfire started to fly up to the ceiling and fought back with her star bolts, hitting the demon with each precision mark. The Hell Knight tried to cover up as much as it could, as the bolts of energy seem to absorb the demon's hard skin. The huge monster quickly retaliated by throwing his green fireballs at the flying Tamaranean. Star quickly dodged and avoided each of every projectile with grace and agility and was thinking of another way to destroy this lumbering demon. That's when she came up with a really good strategy. She continued to dodge every green projectile, looking for a good opening to strike. Once she got the opening she needed, her eyes started to glow and shot out a beam of green light right at the Knight's head. In a few quick seconds, the demon's head exploded and its body fell flat on its back, disintegrating away to nothingness. Cyborg took on the second Hell Knight with his sonic cannon armed and ready. The huge beast started to throw fireballs at the hybrid, making every shot count like the last. Cy kept on running, ducking, and dodging every attack the beast kept throwing while at the same time firing his sonic cannon. Though he made some good hits, the demon still wouldn't go down. The Hell Knight charged up another fireball and threw it straight to the metallic Titan. Cyborg immediately jumped out of the way seconds before the ball of green flames hit him and took cover behind the metal pillar. He needs to think of another way taking the humongous brute down and fast. He looked down and noticed a dead marine body that was holding a chain gun with an ammo belt attach to it. It was there that he finally found his way in disposing the demon. Meanwhile the Hell Knight got extremely close to the hybrid, hoping to tear him to bits. But the moment it got close, Cyborg came out of his hiding spot and had his chain gun poised and ready for damage.
Cyborg: "Eat bullet piercing led you Godzilla freak!"
He pulled the trigger, the drum started to run, and multiple bullets came out and shot the demon in multiple sections of the body. The Hell Knight slowly stood back and was completely overwhelmed by the sudden assault. Cy kept on firing more and more and was hoping that the monster would die soon. But what he completely forgot was the marine who use to have his chain gun that he used up most of his ammo. The moment he started his weapon it immediately stopped and had no ammo again. Cy looked down at the ammo counter and realized that he picked a bad time to be low on ammo.
Cyborg: "Ah man… Not now!"
The Hell Knight noticed that and decided to pull off a huge opportunity to take the hybrid down. Once it pound on the ground, it created a ripple in front causing tiles to fly out and headed straight to the hybrid. Cy felt that and flew away from the blast. Luckily, Cy was able to land right on one of the benches feet first and looked up at the demon with a pissed off look on his face.
Cyborg: "All right, that's it! You have officially messed with the wrong Titan!!"
The moment he said that, his sonic cannons and his shoulder mounted rocket launchers opened up and he opened fire. Streams of blue energy and mini rockets flew straight towards the beast and it all hit it in point blank range. The Hell Knight didn't have time to cover up as it was completely obliterated by Cy's horrendous assault. When the assault was over and the smoke cleared, the hybrid noticed that the huge demon was nothing more but a huge pile of ash on the floor. He smirked on what just happened and was glad that was over.
Cyborg: "Aw yeah… Now who's the big man in the house?"
But that was only two Hell Knight's that were taken out. There are still two more to deal with and the other two Titans are taking care of the situation. The third Hell Knight was throwing multiple fireballs at Raven but the telepath used a shield to protect herself from the incoming projectiles. She needs to find a way to take down this beast before the shield could break and kill her off. Fortunately for her, Rae has a way to do just that. Her eyes glow bright white as objects around her started to glow black and levitated off the ground. Immediately and suddenly, the objects hurtled towards the demon in many directions and hit it in multiple places. A few loose benches hit the Hell Knight in the side, then a vending machine got its arm, and two arcade games attacked its sternum. The demonic monster couldn't take it any more as it charged up more of its fireballs and this time threw them at the objects that were hitting hit. The green balls of flames hit a broken bench, another vending machine, and a few trashcans. Raven knew that the Hell Knight was holding back and has to think of some other way in taking it out. That's when he looked behind her and noticed a fire extinguisher connected to a metal pillar. Seeing that gives her a really good idea, the telepath pointed her glowing hand on the extinguisher and it was covered with the same black magic, levitating in the air. She then threw her hand forward and the extinguisher flew straight towards the Hell Knight. The beast saw this and threw a fireball at it to avoid contact. But the moment the green ball of flames hit it; spews of white foam came down and landed on top of its face. The monster screamed out in pain as the foam got to its eyes, making it impossible to see. This gave Raven the opening she needed, as she lifted her hands up and chanted her magic words.
Raven: "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!!!"
Within moments, every object, every piece of metal, and every bits of debris lifted up off the ground and flew straight to the Hell Knight. It barely had time to defend itself since the foam blinded it as multiple projectiles hit and pierced its skin, killing it in mere moments. Soon as the body dissolved to nothing, Raven gently landed on the ground and was glad that was over. But there was still one more to go in this game and Beast Boy's handling it. He was using his Grabber to take the green fireballs the last Hell Knight was throwing and tossing them back at it. But those little shots weren't enough and kill the beast as it continues to throw more fireballs at the changeling. He then duck and dodge every known attempt while grabbing more fireballs and firing them back at the demon. Still, it wouldn't kill the humongous monster. So he decided in order to defeat this brute, he has to be bigger like it. So he put away his Grabber and transformed into a Sasquatch to be of equal size of the Hell Knight. He roared and pound on his chest for a physical battle as the demon looked at him and gave out a demonic yell too. Soon enough, the two started to charge in and began their attack. Once they were close to each other, the two started out with a test of strength, having their hands together and forcing each other to submit to the other. This went on for a while until the Hell Knight pulled a fast one and head butt the changling in the face. BB got dazed by the head butt, but regained his composure and retaliated with an uppercut in the chin. The demon, feeling the attack, struck back with extending its claws and started scratching the green Titan. Beast Boy managed to block off that strike, but his arm had small gashes with blood seeping out of them. For a couple of minutes, the two kept on attacking with everything they got as fists were flying. In fact, the whole battle was physical that the blood was coming out of their mouths and cuts were shown when they scratched each other. Beast Boy had to finish this quick before he gets completely mauled to death. During the fight, he noticed a broken pillar to the left that support ceiling and it has it slanted diagonally with a sharp point at the end. Looking at that for a moment, he decided to use this as a weapon. But how to get the Hell Knight to that direction is a complete different story. He waited for a moment and see what the demon was going to do. When he saw it charging right in for the final blow, this gave the changeling the opening he was looking for. Instead of fighting it in the form he was in, he immediately changed into a snake and slithered past the brute's legs, avoiding the attack just like last time. The Hell Knight wasn't aware of what happened and wondered where was the changeling. Before it could know where he was, BB turned back into a Sasquatch again and tightens his body for the final move. The moment the Hell Knight turned around, Beast Boy gave the demon a swift punch right to the face. The impact lifted the monster off of its feet and was flying to the very direction of the broken sharp pointed metal pillar. It wasn't aware it was heading straight towards the spot until it felt something incredibly sharp pierced through its skin and penetrated the entire body, from back to front. The Hell Knight screamed out loud in pain as its body slowly dissolved away to the point of death. The changeling turned back to his human self and panted heavily with small wounds on his arms, glad that he was out of that mess. But this battle wasn't over yet one bit. There was one more obstacle to take care of and that's the Archvile blocking their exit. Fortunately, Robin and Alex will take care of that creature. The two rushed to the humanoid to attack, but it knew their strategy and fired a line of flames at them. Both of them saw the flames coming at them and started to avoid it before they got burned to a crisp. Alex jumped to the side and took cover behind a row of benches while Robin took out his grappling hook and fired at a near by metallic pillar, retracting from it and flew in mid air while holding onto the grappler. Once they were out of harms way, that was when they begin to battle back. Alex took out both his machine gun and plasma rifle and got out of his hiding place, pulling both triggers and shooting out bullets and plasma projectiles. The Archvile saw that and formed a fiery shield to protect itself from the incoming firepower. But what it didn't know was that it was nothing more then a mere distraction as the Boy Wonder made a turn while flying in the air with his grappler and flew straight to the demonic humanoid. The moment he approached it, he let go of his grappler and performed a torpedo kick in the air, knocking the creature in the back without even letting it notice that something was up. The Archvile landed on the floor and toppled down a couple of times before stopping. As it slowly got up, it saw Robin with his R-Sword armed and ready, pointing it at the monster.
Robin: "Sorry, but we have someplace to go right now and you're in the way."
The Archvile quickly got up and shrieked at the Titan leader, getting ready to fight him. It started by using its claws and began to slice up Robin bits. Robin was able to avoid those slashing attempts as he used his sword and did his own slicing moves. He managed to do some attempted strikes on bits of its body, but the demon was still alive and more pissed then ever. It retaliated with more cuts as the Boy Wonder block them all with his sword. The guardian saw this and wanted to help, but Robin was in the way that it would be impossible for him to shoot the demon down without actually hurting the Titan's leader. So he came up with a different plan to destroy the humanoid. He took out his grenade and slowly armed it. Once he heard the click, he looked up at Robin and yelled out…
Alex: "Robin, catch!"
He then threw the grenade at the direction of the fight, hoping that the Boy Wonder would catch it. Rob quickly looked up and saw the grenade heading towards him and went back to the fight to keep himself on guard no matter what. He had to hurry up before the grenade could land and explode both him and the Archvile out of existence. He waited for the right moment to attack and ducked down a high slash attack. Soon enough, he got the opening he needed as he used his sword and got a direct slice up the demon's neck. Blood suddenly spilled out of the wound as the Archvile grabbed a hold of its throat, trying to seal it up. Robin quickly put away his R-Sword and lifted his hand out to grab the armed grenade in mid air. He then looked back at the wounded Archvile as it screeched out loud with a broken voice box. With the mouth opened, the Titan leader stuffed the grenade right into the monster's mouth and said something before he left.
Robin: "That otta shut you up."
He took out his grappling hook again and launched it far away from battle, flying away before the blast could take place. The Archvile tried desperately to get the grenade out of its mouth, but it was wedged in the throat so tight that it was cutting off the circulation of air. After a much failed attempt, it screamed silently in defeat as the grenade exploded and rip the humanoid up from the inside out. When the battle was over, the lights returned to its normal coloring and everything went back to normal. After that, the group came back together and told each other a job well done.
Robin: "Nice job Titans."
Alex then looked at Beast Boy and notices a few lacerations on his body.
Alex: "What happened to you Beast Boy?"
Beast Boy looked at himself and answered his guardian.
Beast Boy: "Oh… I got a little too physical on the Hell Knight. But don't worry, I'm fine."
Alex: "Still, it looks serious. Let's hurry to the monorail and get out of this crazy place. I'm sure there's a med kit in there for the wounded."
Soon enough, the group left the waiting lounge and passed through the open doors to enter the boarding area of the monorail. Alex scanned the area with his machine gun to see if there were any monsters to take out. Fortunate for him and the others, no demons were present at the time, yet. But was really fortunate is the fact that there was a monorail waiting for them with its doors opened. This monorail wasn't no ordinary one through, it had ten cars for more people to get in. Alex lowered his weapon and was excited they got a monorail.
Alex: "Yes! I knew there would be a monorail here."
Robin turned his head to the guardian and was surprised at what he said.
Robin: "You knew about it?"
Alex looked at the Titan leader and answered.
Alex: "Of course. It's obvious dad must've used this train to take him here. So it was nice of him to leave it here for us to take."
The guardian cringed when he said the word dad, since he betrayed him and he had to fight him to the death a while back. But he brushed that aside and went on with the mission. He ran into the monorail just to check to see if there were more baddies to kill, which once again there was none. He kept on checking while the Titans waited for him to see if they could enter. After waiting for half a minute, Alex came out of the monorail and has a smile on his face.
Alex: "Well the monorail's in good condition and its operating in full capacity."
Robin: "Can it take us to Gamma Labs?"
Alex: "Better. It's an express! It can take us straight to Gamma without any stops along the way."
Beast Boy: "Well, what are we waiting for? Next stop, home!"
Everyone quickly got into the monorail and were about to leave. But just as they entered the monorail, they all heard a familiar yet powerful voice.
Dr. Betruger: "Going somewhere?"
Everyone immediately looked up and knew that the voice was in fact Betruger. Even Alex couldn't help but to lift his head up and groaned to himself.
Alex: "Oh hell…"
Dr. Betruger: "I don't know what you all are up to, but I'm not going to let you get away with it. Prepare to succumb to your death!"
The moment he said that out loud, multiple red clouds hovered in the docking area and flashes of lightning rain down on the ground. Within moments, multiple Commando Zombies appeared and they were all holding chain guns, ready to fire. Alex and the others saw this and were quickly alerted by the guardians command.
Alex: "Everyone take cover!!!"
Quickly the Titans avoided any open areas of the monorail like the windows or the doors, hoping the bullets won't hit them. The commandos then pulled the triggers and bullets flew out of the spinning drums to reach their targets. Luckily, the monorails metal walls were bullet proof so that bullets only made a few dents, but the windows started to shatter when the bullets hit them and glass shards rain down on the team. Robin had it and took out a couple of exploding disks to take them down, but Alex stopped him there and told him the main objective.
Alex: "Forget about them! We have to get to Gamma at once if I'm ever going to get you guys back home! Get to the control terminal in the front and activate the monorail system! Go Now!"
Robin looked at his guardian and nodded, knowing that their objective is getting close at hand. He then put away his disks and hurried to the front of the tram to reach the control center. As he was going to pass an open door, the commando zombies saw him and concentrated their fire on the Titan Leader. Raven saw this too and had to protect Robin before he turns into Swiss cheese. She lifted her hand up and a black wall covered the open door and deflected all of the bullets, just in time for the Boy Wonder to run right past it. He was almost at the control station when he sees the windows to his right cracking with bullet fire. Knowing what's going to happen, Robin jumped up and rolled down on the floor the same time the windows broke and small projectiles started to fly. He rolled right through the door in front of him and entered the control station of the monorail train. The undead soldiers tired to shot the front windows of the train to reach their target. But unfortunate for them, the glass in the front deck was bulletproof; meaning the driver of the monorail would be unharmed during a brutal attack. Robin, upon entering the control terminal looked at the screen that reads "Begin Transfer" and pushed that icon. Once he did that, an announcement was heard through the speakers.
"Now leaving Delta Labs. Next stop, Gamma Labs. Stay clear of the closing doors."
The doors of the monorail suddenly closed and the windows that had the broken glass sealed up to prevent any air breaches when going outside the facility. The train then started to move slowly then went fast in a mere twenty seconds, getting away from the gunfire. Some of the Commando Zombies were trying to get a clear shot, but it was too fast for them to shoot at. So the rest of the undead soldiers dropped their weapons and jumped off the platform, charging at the train with their inhuman speeds through the tracks. The team didn't know that the demonic foot soldiers were heading to them until it was too late. One of the Commando Zombies jumped up and went on to the roof of the monorail. Everyone one heard a loud clank on the rood and knew what that meant.
Beast Boy: "Um… I think we got some unwanted passengers on top of us."
Cyborg: "They're trying to get in from the roof! We have to take them out before they break through!"
That's when Alex stopped the hybrid before he does anything stupid.
Alex: "No! Don't shoot the monorail up! You do that and the moment we're out in the surface, we won't have any oxygen to breathe in. Besides, the subway will take care them for us."
Cy looked at Alex and had in incredibly confused look on his face.
Cyborg: "Say what?"
Meanwhile, outside the monorail, one of the Commando Zombies was able to get on the roof and was about to penetrate the metallic roofing. Its tentacle arm started to shift and transform into steel blade, ready to cut the roof like a hot knife through butter. It was going to succeed too until it didn't expect what was ahead of it. When it was about to pierce through the roof, the soldier noticed something straight ahead and looked up to see it. When it did that it saw a metal wall in its way with a sign on it that says, 'Low Bridge' and a gap that goes up to its neck. It had very little time to react as the wall hit its face and completely decapitate it in the process. Its limpless body then flew off the monorail and headed towards the other Commando Zombies that were still chasing after the train. The body then hit the others and they all tumbled down on the ground, letting the train get away with its passengers. Alex heard that sudden decapitation and smiled at what happened.
Alex: "See… What I tell ya? The monorail took care of the Commandos quick and easy."
He looked around the train and saw a med kit on the wall. Since he knew that Beast Boy was injured due to the fight he head with one of the Hell Knights, he thought the changeling needed a small patch up. He approached the med kit and detached it from the wall then throwing it to Robin. The Boy Wonder got the med kit and looked at it with pure awkwardness.
Alex: "Here… Patch BB up. He might need it after the fight he had moments ago."
The guardian then walked away from the Titans, heading to the next car.
Robin: "Where are you going this time Alex?"
Alex stopped in his tracks and turned his head to see the team, just was he was about to enter through the door.
Alex: "It's going to be a long trip to Gamma Labs. You guys need some rest after that long battle. If anyone needs me, I'm going to be in the last car. I need to be alone with my thoughts…"
He continued to walk through the door and disappeared from view. All the Titans watched on and were a little confused at their friend leaving.
Beast Boy: "Okay… What was that about?"
Raven: "Isn't it obvious?"
Everyone turned to Raven and answered BB's question.
Raven: "Alex is still depressed. Even though he's acting all tough and protective on the outside, inside he is extremely hurt. The moment he knew that his father betrayed him; his heart sank deeper into the pit of despair. And no matter how hard he tries to hide it, it will always come back to him. And besides, he's not the only one who felt that have been betrayed by someone close to us."
Raven was right, as the Titans bowed their heads in sadness and remembered about Terra. From her being discovered, to their friendship with her, to the sudden betrayal and attack, all the way down to their untimely 'deaths'. They felt as if a part of them was taken out and used as a scraper, scraping on a rough metal wall. Robin shook off those hard memories and reminded his team about the true object.
Robin: "It doesn't matter. Right now our main concern is heading to Gamma and enter the Ark. Once we get back to the past, we will finish what we started. Right now, let's gets some rest. There's going to be a big fight when we get there and we don't want to keep our guard down."
Everyone nodded as they got to the other cars and decided to take a nap while the train ran smoothly through the tracks, slowly reaching its destination.
While the Titans were taking the monorail to Gamma, they missed a lot of stuff as of late. First of all, Alex's father, Sergeant Kelly A.K.A. Sabaoth killed Jack Campbell and took his BFG 9000. The surviving marine who made it out of Hell knew this and looked for the traitor that killed Campbell in Central Processing. Unfortunately the moment he entered the CPU section, he was greeted by Kelly, but not the Kelly he was expecting. His body was horribly disfigured and with his arm that was melted and seared was cut off and was replaced with a mechanical claw like arm. To top it all off, the bottom half of his body was a huge tank like machine and his back had more military tech with a shoulder mounted BFG, the same BFG that Campbell had, to rip people to shreds. It was no doubt that Kelly was long gone and in his place was Sabaoth, the real Sabaoth. The fight was so intense and so brutal that the marine thought he was going to be a goner. Thankfully, with his quick thinking and use of weapons, the marine was able to destroy Sabaoth and took the BFG from him. Now all it matters now is to find Dr. Cloud and head to Hell's gate, wherever that is.
Meanwhile, the R.R.T.S. squads were preparing themselves for a battle in the UAC. With their weapons ready and a quick briefing on where the drop offs going to be and each squad's objective, the teams were ready to save Union Aerospace. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a snag before they could leave. A sudden storm came out of nowhere and delayed the rescue for an hour or two. Luckily, this will give the surviving people in the Mars facility enough time to stop the hoard from taking over Earth, if they could stop it.
Speaking of which, the Titans were slowly heading their way to Gamma, getting closer and closer to the Ark. Though the monorail they were in is an express, it still moves slowly through the dark tunnels and outside environment. But this was a relief for them because there were no monsters to fight and they needed all the rest they could get. The Titans were sleeping after the multiple battles they have faced. But for Alex, it's a whole different story.
In the last car of the monorail, he was still awake, completely spaced and depressed. Ever since he discovered that his father, the only family he had left, betrayed him, he felt completely heart broken. He placed his hand into his pocket and took out his wallet. Upon opening it, he took out an old picture he kept after his mom died. He looked at the photo and saw his mom, dad, and himself when he was younger, four-years-old to be précised. The moment he looked at the photo, a flood of memories flowed right into his mind. Some of them were happy times, others were sad, and the rest was completely tragic. Memories such his third birthday when his mom and dad were together for the first time before he headed out to battle. The time when he heard the news that his mom died of cancer while he was in kindergarten. The day he was attending a funeral of her mother when Kelly comforted his son. The moment Kelly took Alex to the UAC to begin a new life. When he met his friend Jim and became happy again. The fatal accident in Delta where his arm was gone and his friend was dead. Right down to the day that he was assigned as a guardian for the Teen Titans. For every memory that passes him, he started to shed tears over and over again until he started to willow in despair. He lowered his head and started to cry to himself over what happened a while ago. He was crying so hard that one Titan heard it and headed to the last car. When he heard the door open, Alex stopped his sulk and regained his composure to see who it was. To his surprise it was none other then the telepath, Raven.
Alex: "Raven? What are you doing here?"
Raven: "Checking to see if you are okay."
The guardian cleared his throat and tried to hide the sadness in him.
Alex: "Well, I'm all right. Just didn't have any sleep is all."
Raven: "Are you upset of what happened to your father?"
He blinked a couple of times and wasn't sure how to explain that so he lied a little bit.
Alex: "No, of course not. Why did you ask?"
Raven: "Because I could sense your anguish during my meditation. I could tell that you're frustrated over something."
Alex turned his head away and was silent for a moment. After being quiet for a while, he then fused up.
Alex: "My father was the only family I had left since mom died. He was the one who took good care of me, trained me to be just like him, comforts me whenever I feel sad. I always thought that he was a trust worthy guy, but now after what I saw I… I…"
Raven: "You felt like you've been betrayed."
Alex turned his head away and was starting to shed a few tears, hearing the word 'betrayed'.
Alex: "Anyways, I never knew this would happen in my life. Even though we were never close since he is the master sergeant, we are still family no matter what. I never really thought it would come down to this. Why could dad do this to me? Why?"
The guardian remained completely silenced, thinking about this sudden turn of events. Raven could tell from his body language that he was pretty hurt, physically and mentally. Thinking of a way to make him feel better, she approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder, comforting him.
Raven: "Relax… You didn't know your father was working for Trigon until now. None of us weren't aware of his traitory. You can't just beat yourself up on what happened. And besides, you're not the only one who had his back stabbed by the one you trusted."
Alex slowly lifted his head and turned back to Rae, with tears flowing down his cheeks.
Alex: "Really?"
Raven nodded and explained why.
Raven: "My friends and I were betrayed once by Terra and it struck us in the heart so hard. When we first met her, we thought she had great potential in joining the team. But when Robin asked her that she needed training since she could barely control her powers, she instantly ran away thinking that Beast Boy told him. Weeks later, she returned with her powers in check and saved our home from being destroyed. At first, we thought that she was loyal member of the team and a real good friend, but we were wrong. A week later, our home was under attack by Slade's robotic minions. At first, we don't know how they were able to disable out security system or how they manage to get in. That was when Beast Boy returned from his 'date' and told us that Terra was Slade's apprentice. We were completely shocked and angry after what happened. Not only did Terra give our worst enemy our access codes to the Tower, but also us. Our flaws, our weaknesses, everything he needed to take us down easily. And just like that, Terra returned and attacked us all, took us down one at a time, and almost killed us. That lead to the conclusion that not only we have been betrayed, but we were also hurt to the point of nothing."
Alex listened in on the whole story and thought it was touching, yet at the same time completely arbitrary.
Alex: "I heard this story before Raven, remember? I learned about all you history when I was assigned guardianship to you."
Raven: "Maybe, but there is more to it then that."
Alex: "Oh really? And what's that?"
Raven: "That we were close to Terra as you were with your father. You see, when we first brought Terra into our home, we thought we would keep her in, make her a part of our family. We trusted her that we were completely defenseless. That was our true weakness we had, trusting someone we first met. You're weakness however is different then ours. Though you have the combat and skills that make you invincible, the one thing that made you weak was your family. First you lost your mother when you were young and seek your father for comfort. And to that end, you trusted him to take care of you. And now that this happens, the only family member you have left betrayed you. What I'm trying to say is that you're not the only one who is on the same boat."
Alex remained completely silenced by this and could agree with Raven on a couple of things. For one, his dad stabbed him in the back just like the Titans were stabbed by Terra. For another, he trusted his father just like the Titans trusted their friend. So if he would put it in perspective, he's not the only person that now walks the same path. But there was one thing that still bothers him and will forever haunt him till days end. He looked at Raven and sighed to himself.
Alex: "You're right Rae. I'm not the only one on this boat that felt deceived. But you are forgetting that I no longer have a family to be with. I'm an only child remember? Now that mom is gone and my dad working with Trigon, I got no one to turn to."
Raven: "True… But there is another family you have that's important. Us."
Al cocked an eyebrow and thought she was just joking. Turns out, she's not.
Raven: "Indeed we might look like it, but the Teen Titans are more then just a team, but we're a family. We look out for each other, we take care of each other, we share discussions, we seek comfort for one another, we share. We do what other families do. Even each of us has different traits that make us feel like a family. Robin is a watchful and protective father. Starfire is the kind and pleasing mother. Cyborg is the big helpful brother. Beast Boy is the obnoxious little brother. And I am the shy and silent sister."
Alex: "And what that makes me? Chop liver?"
Raven: "No, not that. We were thinking you are more of a family pet."
Now Alex heard enough when he heard her answer to him and looked at the telepath more quizzically then ever.
Alex: "Really? A family pet?"
Raven: "Yes, mostly a guard dog. You see, when your father assigned you to watch over us, he was actually sending you to a new family that understood you. All you life, all you needed was to have someone as a friend and you succeeded once but lost to soon. It's almost like a dog that lost his master for a few months after being bought and felt neglected. The dog is then taken to a shelter and wait for someone else to come and raise him. That's when we came in. When we first met, we realized that you needed a home and love and to that end took you in and made you part of the family. And in return, you guard us from any intruders that would come and protect us until the very end. Like I said, though we don't look like it, we will always be a family no matter what."
Alex listened well and agreed under some points, though stupid as it might sound. He is like a guard dog, watching over his teammates and protecting them. He smiled to himself and remembers all the times that he had to save the team under a number of occasions. They even helped him and saved his life a number of times. To that end, he approached Rae and gave her a deep and emotional hug.
Alex: "Thanks Rae. At least I have a family that cares about me."
But unfortunate for him, Raven didn't like the whole hugging thing, even when Starfire hugs her some times. So she asked in a kindly emotionless manner…
Raven: "If you don't let go of me in five seconds, I'm going to have to send you to another dimension worse then Hell."
The guardian immediately snapped his eyes open and quickly stop hugging, not wanting to know about this other dimension his friend just said.
Alex: "Sorry about that Rae. My bad… Just got a little caught up in the moment."
He immediately sat and pretended like that didn't happen. Rae then sighed to herself and decided to head back to her friends and continued meditating. She turned around and was about to leave until Alex said something to her that he remembered.
Alex: "You know what Rae, you said to me that you were the shy and silent sister correct?"
The telepath stopped just a couple of inches from the door and took a quick peek behind her to see Al.
Raven: "Yes…"
Alex: "And when you say shy and silent, do you actually mean secretive?"
Now Raven turned around fully and was suspicious at where Alex is going with all of this.
Raven: "What are you trying to say?"
Alex took a deep breath and started to explain some things.
Alex: "What I'm saying is that throughout this crazy adventure, I've seen some of the strangest things yet. For one, most of the monsters that were trying to attack seem a bit hesitant on you. Even the first Vagary we encounter didn't kill you when it pinned you down. Second, the moment you read The Book of Scath, you felt a little scared at what you were reading even if you don't show it. And thirdly, when you approached Betruger back at Delta 4, he didn't even finish you up when he had the chance."
Raven was quite surprised that he remembered all of this even in the middle of a battle. Alex got back up again and started to draw a conclusion.
Alex: "I don't know what's going on here Rae, but all of this seems to be connected to you. You said to Betruger that Trigon ordered him to keep you safe, like you're an important asset to them or something. And as far as I'm concerned, you're hiding the truth from me and your friends. Now explain to me what in God's name is going on here or do I have to beat the answer out of you."
Rae listened to what Alex said and sighed sadly to herself. It was obvious she was keeping a secret from her friends. In fact, she was keeping this secret ever since she met them. They always kept to themselves when they decided not to ask her about past. But now that Alex asked her, she didn't know what to do and she didn't want him to force the truth out of her. So giving this much thought, she looked at her guardian and accepted this demand.
Raven: "Okay, I'll tell you. But a fair warning, you not going to like what you hear."
Subway Maintenance, Tunnel 18: November 16, 2145, 10:38 A.M.
Meanwhile, in one of the subway's maintenance tunnels, an Imp was feasting on the remains of a repair worker that was working on the lighting before the attack. It was enjoying its meal that it didn't know something was lurking from behind. As the Imp was finishing up its late breakfast a huge shadow came behind it followed by the sound of some kind of chainsaw. It turned around to see what's behind it, but the moment the creature did that it was immediately got ripped to shreds. When the gore fest was over, all that's left was a pile of blood and remains. The huge creature got up and looked at what was suppose to be a demon with sinister red eyes. Just as the monster was enjoying its handy work, it immediately heard a loud horn bailing away not far from it. It turned its head to the direction of the sound and wondered what it was. It then walked to the very direction just to see for itself.
At the same time, back in the monorail car, Raven told Alex everything he needed to know. After she finished with her story, Alex eyes were wide in surprise and fear and was freaking out on all of this.
Alex: "Oh my God… You have got to be kidding Rae! You mean to tell me that Trigon is actually-"
Raven: "Yes…"
Alex: "And you're the-"
Raven: "Yes…"
The guardian placed his hands over his face and rubbed them up and down, groaning to himself.
Alex: "I can't believe this… I just can't believe this! I always wondered why your profile is mostly blank and how your history of your life doesn't give much detail. And now I know! Why didn't you tell me of this to begin with?"
Raven remained silent for a few seconds until she decided to give him an answer.
Raven: "Because I didn't know how you're going to react when I tell the truth. The moment we met, you did notice that the information you need to know about me was mostly blank. I told before that there are some boundaries in my past that you dare not cross. I never really wanted to tell you the whole story about my private life and even if I do, I don't know how to explain it. I was born to this world for a reason, that I was going to fulfill my destiny. And no matter how much good I did as a hero, I could never forget what would happen in the end."
Alex: "You should've told us sooner when you discovered the Book of Scath. Maybe then we should've figured all this out in some way. Perhaps there was a way to prevent it."
Raven: "No, you can't change anything! It is my destiny and there's no way to stopping it. I have to do what I believe is right."
Alex then looked at Rae and still detested this.
Alex: "But it's not right! It's completely wrong! We're trying to stop these demons from reaching Earth and possibly destroy the entire universe. And after what I heard, instead of helping us you are helping them! No wonder why these demons have been after us the whole time. They just want to take you in so you can help Betruger end everything! Is that something you really want?!"
There was a long harsh silence throughout the entire car as Raven kept her mouth shut. Alex sighed to himself and stood up to pace back and forth, adsorbing as much information in his head as he could.
Alex: "Okay, okay… Of all the things I've seen and hear this really takes the cake. You of all people, who have a future a head of them, just decided to follow what someone says? Ever since my mom died, I didn't know where my future lies. When I went to UAC with my dad and made Jim my friend, I thought my future was set. But after that accident, again I don't know where my future will head to next. Now I'm a guardian to you and your friends and I couldn't be happier then ever. That's life for you Rae; you never know what surprises are around every corner. You got a long life a head of you and there are many opportunities for you to take in the near future. But honestly, go you really think you want to throw all that away just because of a destiny you heard when you were born? NO! You just have to live you life the way you live it. Make friends, find true love, get married, have kids, and die happy. That's how you're supposed to live you life! Not giving all of it up just so you can help the someone else!"
Raven remained silent throughout the conversation, not wanting to get involved in the conversation. Alex rubbed the temples of his head and tried to finish this talk.
Alex: "Look, I'm not making any accusations. I know what you're trying to do is the right thing, but understand this… You can't just give up everything just for this one path! You must give this up and move on with your life! Don't waste it!"
Outside the monorail and not far from it, the same huge creature walked down to a lone catwalk to the direction of where the sound was coming from. When it approached the middle, it looked to the left and saw a pair of faint lights getting closer to it. The creature's eyes glowed brightly as it positioned itself ready to drop.
Back in the train, the guardian remained silent after the sudden turn of events and wondered something that could be important to the rest of the team. He then looked at Raven and asked him one more question.
Alex: "Does your friends know of this?"
Raven looked down to the steel floor and sighed to herself, answering his question.
Raven: No, I haven't… They have no idea of what I'm really am."
Alex lifted his head up and rolled his eyes around, knowing this is a situation the team has in front of them.
Alex: "Well they should know… You've been keeping a secret from them Rae. They must know the truth."
Rae remained silent for most of the time and knew she can't keep this secret forever. Ever since she met them, she had been using her powers for good, helping others in their wake, protecting the innocent, stopping the bad guys, everything she can do to make her forget who she really is and what is her purpose. But every time she use her powers, her destiny would never go away even if she had to help others. She wanted to tell her friends to truth of her existence, but she would always wonder what the consequences would be. Would she still be accepted for being a reliable team player? Will they turn on her and send her to prison? Or will she suffer a fate far worse? She always wondered what her fate would be if she tells them, so she always keeps her history a secret from them. She even locked most of her private files on the Titan mainframe in an attempt to protect her identity from others, only giving them her name, age, and where she lived, nothing else. But no matter how hard she keeps this secret, it would only be a matter of time before they would find out. But now that Alex knows her secret, he needs to force her into telling the Titans the truth. Sighing to herself, she realized that there is no escape from this at all. She now has to tell them. So the telepath looks up at Alex and said…
Raven: "All right, I'll go talk to them."
Alex smiled and was pleased with what she said.
Alex: "Good. Now let's get back to the others and tell them before we reached Gamma."
They were about to leave until they heard a loud thud coming from above them with lights flickering on and off. The two looked around to see what just happened the same time the lights in the car were completely off.
Raven: "What in dear Azar was that?"
Then they heard the sound of chainsaws blaring from above them.
Alex: "I don't know Rae… But it doesn't sound good."
Suddenly, they saw the end of a chainsaw, the biggest they saw, penetrating the roof and cutting up in a straight line. The two were surprised by this and had no idea who or what was up there. Of course they didn't realize that another chainsaw blade was piercing through the wall and heading towards them. Raven saw this and alerted her guardian to avoid it before it turns him into a bloody salad.
Raven: "Look out!"
Al turned around to see the incoming blades and quickly jumped away from them with Raven following from behind and jumped her seat before the chainsaw got her as well. For a moment, they got out to safety for the moment. Once they got up and observed the damage of the car, half of it just got completely ripped and detached itself from the rest of the car, spiraling away from the rest of the monorail. The two were shocked as they saw part of the train gone in an instant. But what really shocked them the most is that something was coming down from the roof and got into the half ripped train. When the two saw the huge creature, they couldn't believe what they saw. The creature had black skin with a blue like tinge around the edges, two red glowing eyes, and was holding a double wielding chainsaws on each hand. Alex takes a good look at this beast and realized what it was as his eyes were wide in total fear.
Alex: "Ah shit! It's the EMPRESS!! We have to run NOW!!!"
Raven, who was scared even if she looked emotionless, agreed with the guardian and the two decided to run to the next car. The creature saw this and screeched out loud to attack. Using its wielding chainsaws, it cut a part of the benches and angled it to throw it right at the two. At the same time, both Alex and Raven made it to the door and was about to open it. But just at they were about to do that, something hit them from behind and got them stuck at the moment. Alex took a quick peek and realized that a cut up bench got lodged in between the two.
Alex: "Great, we're stuck! Can't budge at all…"
He quickly peeked back and notice the Empress heading towards them with chainsaws ripping through the train's walls. On instinct alone, he looked at the telepath and gave her an order.
Alex: "Raven, are you waiting for something? Get this bench off of us so we could leave now!"
Raven closed her eyes and concentrated hard enough to get the bench off of them. After much focusing, she opened her eyes and they were glowing white with pure power as she said her magic words.
Raven: "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!!!"
Immediately, the bench started to glow black and started to wiggle its way out from the walls. As she was doing that, the Empress got closer and closer to the two, ready to kill them off in one swing. After a couple of attempts, the bench was removed from the two and was thrown telepathically at the huge beast. It then used its chainsaws and cut it all up before it could reach it. Since Alex and Raven were now free, they quickly opened the door with the touch pad and sealed it shut before the Empress could reach them. But the two of them know that it would be a matter of time before it could cut through the door. The moment they turned around to get away from the monster, they all saw the rest of the team, all wide-awake and confused as to what was going on.
Alex: "Robin? What are you doing here?"
Robin: "We heard something in the back and we had to check it out. What happened back there?"
Alex look back at the door and to the Titan leader, realizing that they could be in grave danger.
Alex: "Trust me… You don't want to know what's behind that door. Let's get to the front before things could get really worse!"
The Boy Wonder was getting more confused then ever and tried to calm the guardian down.
Robin: "Whoa! Slow down for just a second. What are you talking about?"
Alex took a deep breath and explained it from the top.
Alex: "Okay… You guys remember the Empress sleeping in the tube back at Cray's lab?"
Rob cocked an eyebrow and wondered where this is going.
Robin: "Yeah, I remember. Why did you ask?"
Alex: "Well…"
Before Alex could give him an answer, two chainsaw blades appeared next to both him and Raven, making some kind of sideways sandwich. Quickly, both teammates got out of the way from the spinning blades and rejoined the others, watching in shock as the two weapons cut through the locked door. Suddenly, the walls and the door busted open and blew off just about everything. The moment the smoke cleared up, everyone saw the Empress standing in total glory with her chainsaws high up in the air, shrieking in delight. Everyone looked on in sheer horror and Beast Boy pointed up and stuttering with his mouth.
Beast Boy: "Is… Is that the…"
Alex: "Yep…"
Cyborg: "And by the looks of it, she's awake and extremely pissed."
Robin: "So, what are we going to do?"
Alex: "Only one thing we should do. Run!!"
Alex started to run away as fast as he could while the others looked on. The Empress screamed one more time and charged right at the group with her chainsaws cutting the walls and windows of the second train. Immediately, the Titans took Alex advice and ran away, hoping not to get cut up. They reach the end of the train and Alex opened the door for the others to get in. Once they entered the third car, Beast Boy closed the door and locked it tight, sighing in relief.
Beast Boy: "Phew… That was too close."
Alex: "We're not out of the woods yet. That thing will find a way getting in this train shortly. We have to push forward and get one step ahead of the Empress before she gets to us. Move it!"
Everyone nodded and hurried to the other end of the monorail train. Just as they reached it, they all heard the familiar rattling sound. They all turned around and saw the same chainsaws cutting open the roof of the train. When the roof exploded, the Empress came down and was ready for another attack. Everyone positioned themselves and waited for the creature to make her move. The monster looked at all the benches and poles that were around her and came up with an idea. She used the chainsaws to cut the benches and poles and flung them straight at the team. Cy armed his sonic cannon and fired at any thing that was heading towards them. He keeps on shooting shot after shot of incoming benches, poles, grates, and whatever was cut up to pieces. As the hybrid was busy with the creature, Alex clicked on the panel and the door opened instantly. Once the door is opened, he looked at the others and told them to move.
Alex: "Door's open! Everyone keep moving!!"
Quickly, the group left the third train to get away from the Empress while Cy stayed behind to give them some time. Once everyone escaped, the hybrid decided to slow it down by shooting her in the face. The Empress felt that and staggered a bit to regain her composure, giving time for Cyborg to flea the scene. Once everyone moved into the forth car, Cy told them what he did.
Cyborg: "I was able to hit the Empress in the head. It didn't kill her, but would give us time to get away from her faster."
Robin: "Nice work Cyborg. This would give us time to get away from her and come up with a plan to-"
Before he could finish, they all heard gunshots coming from their right as windows started to shatter.
Alex: "Take cover!"
Everyone quickly duck down before the barrage of bullets had the chance in hitting them. When they got down, the guardian looked up to see what was firing at them. What he saw was another monorail train that joined theirs and in it were multiple Z-Secs with machine guns and shotguns. Seeing that, Alex groaned to himself, not expecting that to happen.
Alex: "Z-Secs? No, NO! We don't have time for this!"
He turned his head to see the others and warned them about what's going to happen.
Alex: "Listen, we have a major situation right now! Those zombie bastards are trying to stall us until the Empress is up and about. We have to kill them now before its too late!"
Everyone nodded, knowing they have to dispose of the guards as Alex gave them the command.
Alex: "Return fire!"
Everyone got out of their cover fire and fought back with bullets, birdarangs, star bolts, aurora blasts and plasma charges. The battle went on for a couple of minutes until all the security zombies are dead and the train next to them disappeared into another tunnel. They took a sigh of relief as that was over. But the sigh was only momentarily as they heard the sounds of cutting chainsaws coming from the door they went through. They all looked to their left and saw the Empress bursting out of the door and screamed out loud in a booming voice. All the Titans backed away, knowing they got a bigger problem on their hands.
Beast Boy: "That's not good…"
Alex: "Everyone RUN!!!"
The team ran for their lives as they headed to the end of the train. At the same time, the creature ran towards them and used her chainsaws to cut everything in her path. When they got there, Alex placed his hand on the panel and hoped that it opens.
Alex: "Hold that thing off while I open this door!"
Robin nodded and took out a bunch of exploding disks from his belt and waited for the right moment to throw them. Once the Empress was in range, he threw the disks as they connect to her body. They exploded and the humanoid monster was taken back by the attack. This gave the team time to open the door and left the train section. Once they enter the fifth train, everyone took a breather for mere moment. Alex looked at Robin and wondered if he took down the Empress.
Alex: "Did you get her?"
Robin: "Threw a couple exploding disks at her. She won't go anywhere after that."
Unfortunately, the moment the Titan leader said that, they all heard a huge stomp from above them. Everyone looked up and wondered what was that. But when they heard the sounds of chainsaws, they knew what it meant. The guardian looked at Rob and had a questionable look on his face.
Alex: "You were saying…"
They all starred up at the ceiling with their skills ready incase the creature will burst through the roof. But there was nothing yet as the team waited for her to attack on the first try. Beast Boy kept looking periodically and was a little nervous. He looked at the others and asked them what's taking so long.
Beast Boy: "Okay… Shouldn't it be coming down and rip our faces off by now?"
Everyone looked at Beast Boy and could agree with him on that assumption.
Cyborg: "Yeah… Why isn't she attacking right now?"
Robin: "Maybe, she's strategizing a way to attack. Cray did say that the Empress was part of the super soldier program before it got scrapped. After our attacks, it's trying to do a different approach. Though I don't know what she's up to, we have to be ready for the-"
Then, without warning, a chainsaw blade pierced through the ceiling and was approaching the Boy Wonder's head. Alex saw this and ran to him, pushing him out of the way. The two were able to get out of the blade's death hit as the others were surprised by that move. Both Alex and Robin got up the same time the blade went up and out of the ceiling. As the two were recovering, Raven looked at Rob and cocked an eyebrow.
Raven: "Didn't see that coming."
Suddenly, another blade came up behind the telepath as she was just standing there not realizing what has happened. The Titans saw this and was more shocked then ever.
Beast Boy: "Didn't see that either!"
The group then got down as more chainsaw blades keep on penetrating through the roof. Robin then got up and knew what the Empress is trying to do.
Robin: "It's trying to kill us above with her chainsaws. We have to get out of this train before it gets the chance."
Alex got up and agreed with his friend on that occasion.
Alex: "Then lets get out of this place before we get shredded!"
Everyone quickly ran away from the sudden assault and headed straight to the exit on the other side. The Empress could tell they were running away and placed both her chainsaws right through the roof, running after them with the blades cutting in a straight line. The team reached the end and Alex placed his hand on the panel to open it. But when they look back, they noticed the chainsaws heading towards them really fast. Raven got out of the group and quickly formed a black wall the hold the blades at bay. Though se was successful, the spinning gears of the chainsaws started to crack the wall the moment they got hit.
Cyborg: "Way to go Rae!"
But the telepath was having a hard time keeping the shield at bay as she was squinting in despair.
Raven: "Better hurry… Don't know how long I can hold it for."
Alex nodded and clicked on the 'open' icon on the panel. The moment the door open, everyone begins to run to the next train with Raven tagging behind having the two blades of death following her. Fortunately, everyone got out of there and were alive for the moment. As they have entered the sixth train, they all heard sounds of whispering all around them. Just then, multiple red clouds appear and flashes of lightning soon after. That was when a group of Imps appeared in the train car and shrieked at the group. Alex groaned so lowly, he made it sound like he was his own monster.
Alex: "As if this day gets any better… Kill them all!!"
The guardian quickly took out his double barrel shotgun and shoot at the closet demon he could see. Robin took out his birdarangs and threw them at the second Imp. Starfire flew up and used her star bolts to blow up two more creatures. Cyborg activated both of his sonic cannons and fired blue lasers at four Imps. Raven levitated loose items around the train car and threw them all at the remaining demons, knocking them out for the moment. Some of the Imps managed to avoid the incoming projectiles and started to throw fireballs at the group. Beast Boy saw this and used his Grabber to take the balls of flames and fired them back at the demonic group quickly. Still, there were a few more Imps left on the train car. Alex decided to finish it up by taking his machine gun and pulling the trigger, picking them off one by one. After all of that, the Imps were dead and ashed away. Everyone was glad that was over, but they knew that there was a bigger threat from behind them. They heard loud thumping sounds on the roof and knew the Empress was over their heads. They waited to see what she's going to do so that way they could strategize a way avoiding her. When they heard the chainsaws, they knew she had something up her sleeves. They waited to see what her next move is until they heard the sounds of machines blaring to their left side. They quickly turned their heads to see the two huge chainsaws on one end of the train, ready to slice them to the sides. Alex saw this as well as he looked at them and screamed out at the top of his lungs…
Alex: "Run!!!"
They all quickly followed the guardian's orders and ran for their lives before things went from bad to worse. At the same time, the beast pierced the walls with the chainsaws as metal and shrapnel fly everywhere. It was fortunate that the team was able to get out of that spot or they would've gotten killed on the impact. But the moment they ran, the Empress decided to follow them as she run climb on the wall with the chainsaws going straight in a line. Alex looked back and saw the creature heading towards them again with her chainsaws in a different direction. Noticing that, he knows he can't open the door with the touch pad for it will take too long. So he decided to take on an alternative method and looked at Starfire for help.
Alex: "Star, can you blow that door off at the end? We have to get through it before the Empress kills us!"
Starfire looked up at the locked door and had a confident smile on her face.
Starfire: "Gladly…"
Her eyes started to glow green and gotten brighter and brighter by the second. In an instant, she fired her eyebeams at the metal door and the door blew off its support, giving the team an opening to get in. The guardian was pleased with the results and urged the team to push forward.
Alex: "There's our opening, lets move!"
The team continued to run much faster then ever as the duel wielding chainsaws were reaching them. They finally reach the open door Star destroyed and entered the seventh train car. Once everyone stopped, Alex turned around to see if the humanoid monster hasn't pierced through the walls of the doorway they just entered. To his surprise, the chainsaws weren't following them after all. They just disappeared unknowingly. The guardian scratched his head and wondered what happened to the monster.
Alex: "That's strange… I thought the Empress was after us. Where did the Empress go?"
Everyone turned around and they too saw the Empress not following them, yet. Of course, Beast Boy always has his stupid assumptions.
Beast Boy: "Maybe she got tired and gave up."
Everyone looked at the changeling and they all have that disturbed glare on them. Beast Boy just got comically small with a sweat drop coming down his head for a response. Robin then shook his head and explained that that wasn't the case.
Robin: "No, that sounds too easy. That creature is too smart to think we're too much for her. She must be trying to devise another strategy."
Alex: "In that case, we should keep moving and reach the end before she could strike again."
The moment he said that, he heard stomping from above their heads. They all looked up and could tell she was still up there and found another way in getting in. They waited for the Empress to make her move as they have their weapons and powers at the ready. In mere seconds, they heard the sounds of the chainsaws as the creature started to cut. They did see sparks, but it wasn't from behind or on top of them. Instead, the sparks were coming from the other side of them, right where their next exit is at. Alex noticed that and now found out what the Empress is going to do and looked at the Titans to warn them what's bound to happen.
Alex: "Everyone get out of this train now! We have to leave now before-"
But it was all too late. They all saw the chainsaws cutting through the roof and opening it up. After that, the Empress went down and was face to face with the team about ten feet from the exit. The humanoid shrieked out loud and lifted her chainsaw weapon in victory, though it didn't kill them yet. Everyone just look at the creature and knew they were in serious trouble.
Raven: "That's not good…"
Cyborg: "Dude, the freak is blocking our exit! What now?"
The Empress revved up her weapons and quickly charged at the group, ready to kill them all. The team noticed that and were now in shock and horror.
Beast Boy: "It's charging at us!!"
Alex quickly pointed his weapon at the thing and told the others to do the same.
Alex: "Just fire at it! We need to get through!"
Everyone quickly pointed their weapons at the freak and started to fire at it. They just simply threw everything at the beast from bullets to disks to bolts of energy, the works. But no matter how hard they hit, the Empress wouldn't slow down. As she was inching closer and closer to the team, Starfire fired a star bolt right to the creature's head. Once it hit her, the humanoid soldier stumbled back and was feeling a bit of pain. Alex looked at that and remembered Cyborg firing his laser cannon at her face a few cars back. That's when he realized that he has discovered the Empress's weakness. He looked at the others and told them what he saw.
Alex: "Aim for the head! That's the only weakness!"
Everyone looked at their guardian and nodded in a response at the same time the Empress regained her composure and charged at them again. This time, everyone knew what to do and fired everything they have at the Empress's head. Though some of the projectiles missed her, there were some that got her face as well. The creature didn't have time to defend herself as she backed up to the very place she entered. As she was above the opening hole, the Empress shrieked out loud and jumped up to the roof to quickly recover from the assault. Once she was out of the way, their path was clear. Raven noticed that and was surprised that the Empress would give up so soon.
Raven: "Wow, that was easy."
Alex: "It's just trying to recover. This gives us the time to leave this train before she could strike back again. Let's go!"
Quickly, everyone ran to the end and opened the door. The group then entered the eighth car and continued running for their lives. They heard the creature following them from above as large stomps was heard around them.
Starfire: "It's following us!"
Alex: "Keep running! We need to reach the end as fast as we could!"
They then heard the chainsaws moving above them and knew the Empress was planning another attack. So they continue to run and were about to reach the exit. But suddenly, a chainsaw blade came right in front of them, blocking their path. The group stopped in an instant with Alex's face just a few inches from the spinning blades. The chainsaw was then lifted up and disappeared out of existence. Alex looked up at the wide hole and was aware it was still trying to recover while at the same time trying to kill them. Robin noticed that and didn't like the odds.
Robin: "Why do I get the feeling she has other ideas in mind?"
They heard more drilling noises from above, as the guardian knew her strategy this time. He looked back to the others and told them to get down.
Alex: "Duck!"
Quickly, everyone got down once more the same time two blades of spinning death came crashing down to the roof seconds after. Alex placed his hands over his head as shrapnel came raining down on him. As he got his head up, he turned to the right and noticed a green duck next to him, quacking awkwardly. He knew the duck was Beast Boy, making fun of Alex's orders as Al got a little bummed on him.
Alex: "Not that kind of duck!"
Both the chainsaws were lifted off the floor and vanished for the moment. This gave the others a chance to bolt to the exit.
Alex: "Go, go, go!"
The Titans quickly got up and made a mad dash to the door. While they were reaching it, the chainsaws continued to rain down on them through the roof. The team dodged and avoided the oncoming onslaught from above as they reached the door. However, they didn't have anytime to unlock it via pad because they didn't want to get killed from above. Cyborg pushed Alex out of the way and used his humanoid strength to punch the door open, removing it from its hinges. With the door opened, everyone get through without a scratch and entered the ninth train car to continue moving forward. Just as they were running to the last door, they heard chainsaws behind them followed by smashing and crashing. Beast Boy turned around and saw two chainsaw blades in two separate directions, one on the left and one on the right. He freaked out and warned Alex what he saw.
Beast Boy: "Alex!"
The guardian looked back and saw the chainsaws heading close to them. To his reaction, he kept on motivating the team.
Alex: "Keep moving guys, we're almost there!"
They headed straight to the door but didn't have the time to open it. Quickly, Beast Boy pushed everyone out of the way and turned into a rhino at full speed. He immediately speared the door with his horn and blasts it off its border along with the wall. With an opening made, the team ran right through it and entered the last car of the monorail. Unfortunate for them, it was also a dead end as Beast Boy skidded to a stop at the controls that operate the train. He changed back to his human self as the others stopped as well.
Beast Boy: "Guys, I think we're trapped here."
Raven: "Gee, you think?"
Cyborg: "Terrific… Now what are we going to do?"
That's when they heard the rattling of chainsaws from behind them. They all turned around and saw the cutting around the ceiling and walls of the monorail moments before an opening was created and the Empress came down. Once she landed on the floor, she looked at the Titans and noticed that they're trapped. She then turned around and started to cut the floor with her chainsaw, causing the rest of the monorail to detach itself and tumble around at high speed. Once she turned back to the others and shrieked out loud, the team was now scared as ever.
Starfire: "We're trapped!"
Alex: "That's just what I wanted it to think."
Everyone looked at the guardian and was curious at what he meant by that.
Robin: "Exactly, what are you trying to pull this time?"
Alex looked back at Rob and answered him with a confident grin.
Alex: "Just trust me Robin, I know what I'm doing."
The group waited for the humanoid creature to come towards them. Just as they expect, the Empress charged in with her chainsaws positioned for the one hit kill. Everyone wanted to fight back, but Alex lifted his hand up while holding a plasma rifle with the other hand.
Alex: "Wait until I say so…"
The group looked at him again and thought he was crazy to not fire at a charging enemy, but they followed him anyways. At the same time, the creature bolted towards the team and lifted her chainsaws up in the air, cutting the ceiling in the process. Once she approached the group, she was about to cut them down to size. As she was doing that, Alex gave them the word.
Alex: "Now!"
Immediately, everyone avoided the attack as the chainsaws hit the terminal and destroyed it completely. Discovering an opening they pointed their weapons and powers at the beast's head and started to fire. And with a close enough range, the Empress had nothing to avoid it. The creature took to many hits in the face as it backs up and retreats quick. But the team didn't stop there, as they followed the humanoid and continued to shoot it with everything they have. The Empress kept on backing up, inching closer and closer to the edge of the open train car. Once she reached the end, she dangled at the edge, not wanting to fall to the fast moving ground. She then used the chainsaws to pound them into the metal floor and hold on to them to regain her balance. But while doing that, she was completely defenseless. This gives Alex the chance to finish her off. He slowly took out his shotgun and approached her with a confident look on his face. The Empress continued to try to hang on as much as she could and was going to get up and out of the mess until she looked up and saw the open barrels of a shotgun at her face. She looked to the side and saw Alex smiling very wickedly at what he's going to do. But before he could pull the trigger, he said something to the Empress that would ultimately end her life.
Alex: "This is your stop…"
He pulled the trigger and open fire at the creature's face. In a matter of seconds, the Empresses head exploded causing blood chunks and brain matter to fly in every direction. Without her head, her body was a hundred percent limp as her hands let go of the chainsaws and fell to the floor, tumbling and disjointing every part of her body. Once she's dead and long gone, Alex lowered his shotgun and sighed to himself for a job well done. Robin, after watching what happened turned to Alex and asked him about it.
Robin: "You planned all of this didn't you?"
Alex turned to the leader and was smiling very wickedly.
Alex: "Sort of… When the Empress found us I had to think of a way in getting rid of her. So the best option was for getting to the front of the monorail making her think that we're trapped. But I was using that option to trap her as well. And as you saw, it worked like a charm."
Raven then looked at the guardian and lifted an eyebrow up in confusion.
Raven: "You know this would've been much helpful if you have told us from the start."
Al shrugged his shoulders and shook his head from the telepath's response.
Alex: "What? And ruin all the fun? As much as I want to do that, I didn't want the freak to know what I'm planning."
As the others were talking, Beast Boy, who was at the front the whole time, watched through the windshield to see how far they were going. That's when he noticed something that wasn't quite right and alerted the team.
Beast Boy: "Hey guys, I think you should see this."
Everyone turned to the changeling and wondered what he wants this time. They all rush to the front and check to see what he saw. What they notice is that there was a light coming out of the end of the tunnel that was glowing an orange color. As the train kept moving forward, the light kept on growing bigger and glowing brighter. Robin looked at that and wondered what it was.
Robin: "What is that? Gamma Labs?"
Alex took a closer look at the end of the tunnel and noticed something that wasn't right.
Alex: "No, it can't be. Gamma Labs isn't until the next few miles. There isn't nothing that goes down to the tunnel except a…"
Suddenly, the guardian took a much closer look at the end of the tunnel. To his surprise, what he found was completely shocking. This opening at the end of the tunnel is in fact a destroyed tunnel that has been derailed in the middle of where they should be going. He quickly looked at Cyborg and warned him of the dangers ahead.
Alex: "Cyborg, stop the train! Stop it now!!"
Cyborg looked at Alex and nodded, heading to the controls to turn it off. Unfortunately, the terminal was gone, probably because the Empress trashed the terminal with her chainsaws.
Cyborg: "We got a problem! The terminal is gone! This train is moving really fast!"
Starfire: "What shall we do?"
Alex look up and noticed that they were reaching the end of the line. With no other option left, he came up with a last ditched effort.
Alex: "We jump…"
The Titans looked at their guardian and thought he was kidding.
Teen Titans: "What?"
Al then lifted his head up and screamed it out loud this time.
Alex: "Jump!!"
Quickly he turned around and ran back to the spot the Empress had fallen with the Titans following behind him. The train continued to move faster and faster, getting closer to the part of the open tunnel. Just as the monorail was about to reach the end, Alex and the Titans made a daring and dangerous jump about a couple of feet from their imposing doom. Fortunate for them, they made it out without harm as the front monorail train flew off the derailed tracks and plummeted into the ground below. The entire group was semi conscious until they slowly got up and took a breather. Alex started to rub his head and check to see if the others made out all right.
Alex: "Everyone okay?"
The others heard their guardian and gave him their responses.
Robin: "I'm all right, I think…"
Starfire: "My bones are unbroken."
Cyborg: "All my systems are on the green."
Raven: "Peachy…"
Beast Boy: "Still in one piece."
Alex heard them all and smiled to himself.
Alex: "Good…"
Once everyone was up and walking, they all started to ponder what just happened.
Cyborg: "Okay, tell me what happened wasn't what we expect."
Beast Boy: "A huge humanoid monster with two chainsaws in each hand trying to turn us into sausage and a train that got derailed suddenly. What do you think is going to happen?
Starfire: "Well I do find it quite sudden that the Empress that Cray kept for so long would wake up and try to kill us. How did it wake from the slumbering tube anyways?"
Robin: "Maybe it was from the surprise attack the Hell Knight pulled on Rhino Squad. The shaking and explosions must've knocked her tube and woke her to kill again."
Cyborg: "Good thing that's over… Now we can head to Gamma Labs and get back home.
Raven: "Problem… Our monorail is long gone. How are we ever going to reach Gamma?"
Robin: "Simple, we walk down the tunnel. We're closer to the labs so we'll be there soon."
Alex: "I don't think that's necessary."
The group turned around and saw Alex looking at the damaged tunnel that was blocking their path.
Robin: "What do you mean by that?"
Without even looking at them, Alex told the team to come with him.
Alex: "Take a look and see for yourself."
The group looked at each other and decided to see what their guardian was looking at. Just as they approach the edge, they couldn't believe what they saw. All around them, there was a wide canyon with rocks forming human skulls and demonic growth in parts of them. Few rocks were levitating and on the bottom is a pool of hot molten lava. Along parts of the wall are long razor tooth like rocks piercing through the canyon. Upon looking at this horrid scene they knew what they were looking at. Hell has finally reached the UAC.
Shocking turn of events much. This would give the next chapter a much more suspenseful story line. Again, I apologize with the chapter. Be that I'm almost done with the story. These chapters might take longer then expected. I hope I finish this up soon. Please Review.