Doomed Titans

by LuisJM

After Terra defeated them, the Titans wake up in the UAC Facility on Mars in the year 2145. Now in order to get back to their own time, they must venture and survive the dark regions of the facility with the help of their guardian. TTDoom3 xover revamp

45. UAC's Hell

Good God! This is taking too long! I know I promise you people something really good on the last chapter but I had to make some changes. Here's the reason why. I had an idea making it a long version of the chapter and thought the action sequences would be a little shorter. But then I realized that this chapter is much longer then I anticipated. So to save on time and not straining my head to the point of exploding, I've decided on splitting this chapter in two like what I did last time. Sorry about this unexpected change, but I've been through a lot of stuff during the summer and I can't let you guys wait forever. I promise though I will give you the new twist I told you about on the last chapter. Now from the previous chapter, still no reviews and the hit counter is the usual, around 30 hits. Still perfect, though I was hoping someone would get me a decent review from time to time. I just hope someone would contact me back after this chapter. Speaking of which, things get interesting as we embark on another chapter of Doomed Titans. Only this time, Alex and the team have a huge blockade on their way to Gamma Labs. And to make matters worse, this blockade involves living Hell itself.

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

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Chapter Forty-Five: UAC's Hell

Site 3, Artifact Research: November 16, 2145, 10:57 A.M.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the base, the surviving marine was able to defeat the traitorous Kelly A.K.A. Sabaoth and took the BFG that the late Campbell used throughout his time surviving. Now his main objective is to reach the caverns and locate this Hellhole that's sending more demons into his world. But the only way in reaching the caverns is to take the mining car in Site 3 and the car wasn't in its loading station. Not to mention that most of the area needs security clearance that the marine didn't have. So he had to take a few shortcuts and open vents to get where he needs to be. He was lucky that he found a maintenance shaft that's connected to the Artifact Research section or he would be stuck walking around aimlessly throughout the place with zombies and demons everywhere. The moment he entered the room, he could tell that it has been taken over. In the room there were four huge tablets depicting the ancient civilization and the war between them and the demons that are attacking now. Behind them was demonic growth moving around like a bunch of living intestines and on the floor a demonic pentagram for the creatures to be summoned. He slowly took out his Soulcube, the very artifact that was taken to Hell but was rescued by him, and positioned it ready for a sudden attack. As he walked down the steps a cloud hovered over the pentagram and a flash of lightning came crashing down. Popping out of the evil symbol was a Hell Knight roaring at the survivor. The marine knew this would happen and threw the Soulcube at it. Once the cube reached its target, the demon was instantly dead with all its life being transferred to the soldier the moment the cube returned. But just as that was over with, more lighting strikes appeared and a group of Wraiths came down and charged at their target. With the cube out of power for the moment, he took out his chain gun and mowed them all down before they could strike. Finally, the room is completely cleared of demons and all is quiet. Just when he thought it was over, he heard a beep not far from him. He turned his head to the right and notices a small room next to the four artifacts. He approached the room and wondered if there were more monsters coming out of there. So he took out his shotgun and waited for the door to open. But just as the door opened, there were no demons of any kind, instead it was just a lone scientist trying to survive. He was close to his fifties with a bald look and a pair of glasses adorn on his face. Nervously, he looked at the marine and asked if the threat is over.

Pierce Rogers: "Are they all dead?"

The marine lowered his shotgun and nodded for an answer.

Main Marine: "Yeah, they're all dead."

This scientist then looked at the strange artifact attached to the marine's belt and gasped after what he saw.

Pierce Rogers: "You have the Soulcube! Just like what it says in the inscriptions."

The marine cocked an eyebrow and wondered who this guy is. Suddenly, he remembered about what Swan said about a scientist researching artifacts down in Site 3. He looked at the scientist curiously and asked him a question of his own.

Main Marine: "Are you Pierce Rogers?"

Pierce Rogers: "Yes I am. How did you know my name?"

Main Marine: "Swan told me about you, that you have answers about this Soulcube I got."

Rogers look at the cube then back at the marine, realizing that there is a chance to end this madness.

Pierce Rogers: "All right, come in. I'll tell you all you need to know about the Soulcube. Hurry now, before those demons return!"

Nodding, the marine decided to enter the small room so he can get the information needed to stop this Hell from spreading.

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Monorail Tunnel 34: November 16, 2145, 11:01 A.M.

And speaking of Hell spreading, Alex and the Titans were on their way to Gamma Labs when they hit a huge snag. First off they had a confrontation with the Empress and with their surviving instincts and Alex's strategy, they were able to defeat her. But then, after that horrendous event, the train had reached the end of the line, but in a bad way. Their train just suddenly got derailed when a huge gaping hole appeared in the middle of their path and the monorail itself plummeted downwards to the pool of lava. Fortunately, they were all able to get out of the mess in one piece, but they are now grasping the big picture. After escaping that debacle they were now looking at what appears to be a Hell cavern created from the demonic growth that's spreading and what looks like an earthquake that occurred. Alex just stared at the grotesque images of large skulls, spine like walls, jagged rock teeth, and slithering growth that's been placed everywhere and couldn't believe what he was seeing. He then collapsed on the ground and was at a lost of words.

Alex: "No, no, no… This can't be happening…"

Robin approached him and couldn't believe what he was seeing as well.

Robin: "What happened to this place?"

Raven: "Isn't it obvious?"

The two turned back to see Raven, knowing what they are seeing.

Raven: "That demonic growth we've been encountering is spreading faster then before. And by the way this looks, this growth appears to be transforming the facility into an environment that would fit well with the demons."

Beast Boy listened in and realized what she was saying.

Beast Boy: "You mean that Hell's officially taking over the UAC? Oh crud…"

Alex: "Well we can't stop now! We're just this close to reaching Gamma Labs and we can't let this get in our way. We just need to find another way to cross this river of lava below us and reach the place."

Cyborg: "And how are we going to do that when our only path is now gone?"

Alex looked back and could tell this won't be as easy as he thinks. He then looked around and noticed that the huge chasm is big and wide, meaning there could be more paths within this place. So he looked at Starfire and asked her to do a simple favor.

Alex: "Hey Star, can you check this place out and see if there's another path heading to Gamma?"

The Tamaranean looked at her guardian, nodded and flew out of the tunnel to enter the chasm. She looked over the long steep area to find some other alternate route. After flying high and low, she discovered a way out of there. She flew back to the others and told them the good news.

Alex: "Well Star, anything?"

Starfire: "Yes I have. There is a path that can get us to the other side."

Alex smiled and was pleased with her discovery.

Alex: "That's good to hear. Can you take us there?"

Star's response was a simple nod for a yes.

Alex: "Well then what are you waiting for? Show us the way!"

Starfire: "Affirmative! This way!"

She then flew back out of the tunnel, showing the others the way. The others then walked down the end and noticed a small cliff path on the way and jumped down to it. Once they were on the cliff, the boys continued to walk down it, while the girls were flying. As they continued to reach their route, they realize that they were getting a little toasty. They know that there was a river of molten lava from under them and had to be careful. One false step and they will fall into the river, burning to death. After a long walk through the cliff, the group discovered something beyond the horizon. Starfire saw this too and pointed it out.

Starfire: "There!"

The group looked at their route and was a little unease. What they saw was a rock made bridge that goes from one side to another. The problem is that this bridge is over the moving lava and it looks a little too rickety for them. Beast Boys eyes were completely wide and couldn't believe this is the path they need to take.

Beast Boy: "That's it? That's our alternative route? That doesn't look safe!"

Alex looked at this rocky bridge and knew this was their only shot.

Alex: "Safe or not, we're going to cross it. Move!"

Carefully, the team approached the bridge and step over it. Although it was a little hard to get through, they were able cross it without any worries. As they reached the middle, Cyborg noticed something on the other end through the smoke and pointed to it.

Cyborg: "Yo, what's that over there?"

The guardian looked up at what the hybrid saw and noticed what appears to be a cave of some kind.

Alex: "It looks like we have a way out of this place. Let's go!"

The group was just about to reach there until they head an evil low cackle within the place. The group looked around and wondered what was that about. That's when they saw a large number of clouds above them with strikes of lightning soon after. In a matter of seconds a dozen Cacodemons appeared and floated down to the group, ready to take them down. The group looked up and noticed the beasts heading towards them.

Robin: "Company from above!"

Alex noticed that too, but then looked down and saw the hot lava below them. That's when he realized what was bound to happen.

Alex: "Take them down! They're going to knock us into the lava!"

The Titans noticed that and got ready to fend off the creatures. Since Starfire and Raven were in the air, the two flew up and begin their assault by firing star bolts and aurora blasts. They managed to get a few but there were others and scattered through the place and retaliated by spitting out plasma fire. Raven armed her shield and deflected the projectiles while the boys instantly ducked as the blasts headed straight towards them. Knowing they have to end this, the group got up and joined in on the fight. Alex took out his plasma rifle and held on to the trigger to start firing, Robin threw a couple of exploding disks, Cyborg armed his shoulder mounted mini rockets and blasted away, and Beast Boy grabbed a couple of plasma blasts with his Grabber and fired them back. The battle kept going as they try to put an end to this. But what the team didn't know was that the Cacodemons was giving nothing but a distraction. For as they were fighting, more clouds appeared from behind them and a large number of Lost Souls appeared in one flash, screeching and rocketing to them. Raven could sense something like that coming and immediately turned around and warn the others.

Raven: "Behind you!"

Alex turned around and saw the group of flaming skulls heading to his friends, warning them of the possible danger.

Alex: "Everyone GET DOWN!"

Quickly the boys took cover and missed the demons attack by a few inches. Ask for the girls, Raven created a bubble shield to deflect the skull's attack, killing a few of them, and deflecting the headless demon's blasts. As the boys got up, Alex realized that they were in deep trouble.

Alex: "This situation is getting from bad to worse…"

He looks back at the cave and knew they had to get out of the place immediately. He turned to the others and told them to vacate the area at once.

Alex: "I think we stayed long enough! Let's leave this place!"

Robin looked at him and could agree that the place seems awfully crowded for them to fight. He looked at the others and gave them the order to retreat.

Robin: "You heard him Titans! Fallback!"

The Titan boys heard that as they all ran to the other end of the chasm. The girls did the same thing and flew down to them while firing their bolts and blasts at the oncoming demons. As they were heading to the cave entrance, the demons followed them, spitting out fire plasma and screeching with rocketing speed. Everyone continued to fire back as much as they could and though they were able to take down a few, there are still a lot more to dish out. The group made it to the other side of the chasm and quickly entered the enclosed cave. But just as they entered the cave, Robin and Cyborg stopped and looked back at the entrance they went through. They could tell by the enclosed room and the many demons that would get in would be a great opportunity to kill them all in one blow. Alex immediately stopped in his tracks and look at the two members, wondering why they stop when they would be killed.

Alex: "What are you two waiting for? Let's get out of here before they catch up to us!"

But they didn't listen; instead they took out an exploding disk and armed a sonic cannon, waiting for the moment to strike back. They then heard screeching and grunting coming into the tunnel, meaning that the Cacodemons and the Lost Souls are approaching them. They positioned themselves for the right moment to strike and when they saw the shadows of those demons, the two charged in, ran right up to the wall, and jumped off, performing their ever favorite sonic boom. When the exploding disk and the blue energy blast connected, they form a blinding light that would spread down the path and kill everything in its wake. Once the flying demons saw the light, they had no time get out as they were dissolved away on contact and the light came out of the tunnel scarring the remaining groups to fly away. Alex saw this and sighed in total relief knowing they had something up their sleeve. They then continued to run to the others that left them as Alex started talking to them.

Alex: "Okay, that tricky move you did back there, smart. But you should've told me about it before you start it."

Robin: "Sorry bout that. But I thought it was best to give the beasts the element of surprise."

Alex: "Still, a little warning wouldn't hurt anyone."

They continued to walk as they meet up with the other group. What they notice was that the three was starring at something. Curious, Alex approached Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven wondering what were they seeing.

Alex: "Hey guys. What are you looking at?"

Just as Alex asked them, he looked up at what they saw and was amazed in horror. What they saw was a door they have never seen before. There was an arch pillar with a resemblance of a demon skull looking down on them, and the door showed a graphical mural of a dozen of souls screaming in total pain underneath the fire. Once everyone looked at it, they know that they were in big trouble. Even Beast Boy gulped and was a little nervous.

Beast Boy: "Heh, heh… Guess that's a sign of things to come. Right?"

Cyborg: "Definitely BB. It seems that the demons are making themselves right at home."

To that end, Alex loaded up his double barrel shotgun and walked in front of the group.

Alex: "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go and crash the party.

The group nodded and got ready to enter through the door. Once the stone door opened, they entered a long hallway made of rock and gravel. What they find pretty strange is that the demons did some redecorating while the facility went down. There was long arches up on the ceiling, on the left side were windows, and on the right side charred bodies next to the window burning brightly. The group looked around and was completely amazed by all of it.

Raven: "When you mean the demons making themselves right at home Cyborg, you're not kidding."

Starfire: "This almost feels like the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show. Correct?"

Robin: "Home Edition? This looks more like Hell Edition."

Alex: "Whatever the case, we need to see if this path would take us to the entrance to Gamma Labs."

Beast Boy: "And if there were monsters waiting for us?"

Alex then cocked his shotgun for a quick and simple answer.

Alex: "We kill them all and let God sort them out."

Alex walked down the long hall with the Titans not far behind him. As they headed down, Alex couldn't help but to look at the view through the windows. Amazingly, all he's seeing behind every window is what appears to be a deep dark void with floating rocks. He finds all of that surprising because he thought he was in the UAC complex. But judging by Hell's growth spreading all over the place, he knows that both realities are beginning to merge together into one. Worried by this, he has to reach Gamma and get the team home quick before this infection spreads further. As they continued to walk, Robin has somewhat of a sneaky suspicion behind all of this.

Robin: "Hey Alex, do you find this a little strange about all of this."

Alex: "About what?"

Robin: "About walking into that long hallway that possibly go to nowhere. Do you really think this would take us to Gamma Labs?"

Alex: "It's the only way through, so it's the only option we have. Why did you ask?"

Robin: "Well, I had experience with this type of problem and every time my team and I walk down hallways like this, it can only lead right into a-"

Suddenly, everyone felt a rumble underneath their feet as a pentagram appeared below them. Suddenly, the floor started to lower itself and descended downward with the team on it. Realizing what just happened, Alex turned to Robin made a good assumption.

Alex: "Let me guess… We walked right into a trap?"

Rob sighed to himself and answered.

Robin: "Looks that way."

The guardian snickered about that and shook his head.

Alex: "Well, looks to me Betruger showing us the way. Let's not waste his time."

The rocky floor continued it's decent downwards with burning charcoal and hot ash around them. Where it was taking them, is their guess.

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Site 3, Artifact Research: November 16, 2145, 11:20 A.M.

Meanwhile, the marine was in the control room of Artifact Research with Pierce Roger in front of him. He wanted to know everything about this Hell and what they want and the scientist would explain it all to him. After a brief story, the marine rubbed his chin and pieced everything together.

Main Marine: "So let me get this straight. You're saying that the civilization that lived on Mars looked exactly like us?"

Pierce nodded for a response and explained further.

Pierce Rogers: "More then that I believe. The civilization had somewhat of a hierarchal structure, deciding on who's the top and who's at the bottom, mainly soldiers, workers, architects, and so on."

Main Marine: "And these demons attacked them because…"

Pierce Rogers: "Because of their obligations. From what the tablets and manuscripts have stated, these creatures that are attacking us now have orders from their lord to kill off everyone in the universe in an attempt at eternal peace. Their lord believes that all races across the galaxy are too dangerous for their own good and decided to exterminate all of them. So he and his legion went from planet to planet, destroying everything in their path. When they approached Mars, the battle between the civilization and the demons was devastating and many lives were lost, mostly from the civilization. Just when all hope was lost, a brave warrior descended from the skies and protected the civilization and keeping the hoard at bay. It proclaimed that he had come from Azarath to send the demons to a dimension where they would never escape and to do that he used the Soulcube. It's the very same weapon you are holding right now."

The marine look down at the artifact he was holding and was a little curious about all of it. He then looked up at the doctor and asked him something else.

Main Marine: "So what's so important about it? All I know so far is that it can only work once I kill five demon souls and use it once at another demon just to restore my health. I don't see anything else that's completely special."

Pierce Rogers: "That's where you're wrong. You see, in order to eliminate Trigon, this warrior sacrificed half the civilization for their souls to be absorbed and with that he and the Soulcube were formed into one. After a fierce battle, the Azarathian warrior destroyed Trigon by stabbing him right into the heart and with that he and his minions were banished to a dark dimension where they will never escape. That dimension was none other then Hell itself."

The marine listened to all of this and still was confused by all of it.

Main Marine: "Well I still don't understand what this has to do with how to stop them now. I mean I do know how this mess started, but how to end it is another story."

Pierce pondered about this and came up with a conclusion.

Pierce Rogers: "Hmm… Maybe your right. But maybe there is another way. I was able to do some research and discovered a way to use that device you got in your possession. From what I could understand, there is some kind of Hell's gate emanating underneath the facility. If you can get down there, you can use the Soulcube to seal off the gate and prevent more of this chaos from spreading to Earth."

Main Marine: "And how am I going to get there? It's not going to be easy finding a sign that says Hellhole."

Pierce Rogers: "That won't be a problem. Right when the attack started, there was a huge energy spike within the main excavation deep within the caverns. I got a hunch that that's where the Hell Gate is located. There's a mine cart on the other side of the site that will take you down to the caverns, but it's under lockdown. You need to head to the Freight Cart Control and unlock it. Here, take my PDA."

Rogers took his PDA out of his pocket and handed it to the marine.

Pierce Rogers: "It has security clearance through out this place and will let you into the control room post haste."

The marine got the PDA and downloaded it into his own. While it was n the middle of downloading, the marine asked the doctor one more thing.

Main Marine: "And what about this Trigon? Will he be waiting for me?"

Pierce Rogers: "I don't think that's going to be a problem. According to the ancient prophecy, Trigon is held captive in a different prison somewhere on Earth where no living soul would step foot in. From what I could understand, someone that shares the same bloodline as his, a key of his if you will, would only release Trigon. Fortunate, there is no chance that Trigon would bear a child and even if he did, that child would've been dead by now."

Main Marine: "And even if this child is still alive and he or she opened Trigon's prison, how will we stop it?"

Pierce lowered his head and sighed to himself.

Pierce Rogers: "Unfortunately, we can't do anything about it. The tablets stated that only the Azarathean warrior would be resurrected and would use the Soulcube to penetrate Trigon's heart once more. Though I don't know if that's possible as well, since we don't know what the warrior looks like or even if he exists at this time. But that doesn't matter right now. What you need to do is head to the main excavation, find the Hellhole, and seal it off with the Soulcube. That will stop the demons from reaching Earth before the fleet arrives."

Once the download of the Pierce's PDA is complete, the marine put his digital assistant away and was about to leave with the information he needed. But before he would leave, he turned to the scientist and asked him one more thing.

Main Marine: "You're sure you're all right staying here?"

Rogers looked at the marine and explained that he'll be fine.

Pierce Rogers: "Don't worry about me. I'll lock the door as soon as you leave. Good luck."

The marine nodded and left the room. Once the door locked itself from behind, he knows what he has to do. He needs to head to the Freight Cart Control Room and unlock the train, then he had to go deep within the caverns. And once he gets to the Main Excavation site, he will use the Soulcube to seal up the Hellgate for good. No problem. As he was walking towards his next destination, he could see clouds appearing around him. The moment flashes of lightning came down; a group of Imps came out and shrieked at him. Looking at all of them, the marine took his plasma gun out and got ready for a hectic fight.

Main Marine: "All right boys, let's dance!"

---

Unknown Location: November 16, 2145, 11:25 P.M.

Minutes later, the Titans and Alex were still making a decent downwards into the dark abyss by movable rocky floor. They still have no idea where the lift was taking them, but they do know is that something was waiting for them. After a long trip, the stoned floor made a complete stop at a large darkened room with no light what so ever. The group looked around and could tell that they couldn't see a thing.

Raven: "A dark room… Wow… That's really comfortable."

Alex: "They're probably getting the advantage on us. Let's shed some light into the situation. Cyborg!"

Cy nodded and activated his shoulder-mounted flashlight just to brighten the place up a bit. He then scanned the area and noticed that the room they were in was a deep cavern with jagged pillars and an unstable floor. Alex looked at the light and could tell there was nothing, but asked Cy if the ghost is clear.

Alex: "Well Cyborg, anything?"

Cy shook his head to couldn't see any threats at all.

Cyborg: "Naw, I don't see anything. Just a dark cave with no life."

But the moment he said that, they all heard loud shrieking coming from around them, followed by strange lightning blasts and then a lot of scampering. Raven looked back at the hybrid and was a little annoyed at this.

Raven: "You were saying?"

Alex: "Damn! Sounds like we got Wraths surrounding us. Everyone hold your position and wait until they reveal themselves!"

Everyone quickly prepared themselves as they waited for the Wraiths to show up and attack. So far, nothing to report. All they could hear is scampering around as if the creatures were waiting for the moment to attack. Robin raised his R-Sword up in the air and was patient into when they will plot an assault. The moment he thought about it, he could feel something breathing from behind. At the same time, a flash of orange lightning appeared and the first Wraith came up from behind the Titan leader, ready to make the first slash. But Robin could tell that it was behind him so he gripped his sword tighter and waited for the right moment to strike back. Once the demon lifted its knife like arm up in the air, Robin could sense that and turned around to deflect the attack with his own sword. But this exposes the Boy Wonder as the Wraith used its other free claw to cut the person through the stomach. Quickly, the leader took out birdarang and used it to block off the second attack. Problem now is that Robin now is completely cornered, so to speak. He had to think of something quick before the Wraith breaks through and would literally cut him down to size. The team noticed all of this too and had to do something before its too late. Starfire decided to charge up a star bolt looked for a good opening to fire back. Cyborg thought of the same thing and armed his sonic cannon to fire at the creature. Unfortunately, they almost forgot there were more around them. A couple of Wraiths then appeared out of the blue and charged towards the others. The two quickly turned back around and fired their powers and weapons at the group heading towards them. They were able to get rid of them and kill them in one shot. Suddenly, more and more Wraiths appear out of the woodwork and all shriek at the same time. Alex witnesses it all and lifted his plasma rifle with his finger on the trigger.

Alex: "Here they come! Take them out!"

He pulled the trigger in an instant and fired blue projectiles at the ones closest to him. Raven levitated a bunch of boulders around her and threw them at the others farther away, flattening them completely. Beast Boy turned into a gorilla and attacked the ones that were closer. Star and Cy went on with their attack, firing star bolts and plasma lasers at the rest. But for Robin, he's still trying to wrestle with the first Wraith that attacked him and trying to get rid of it. He still has both his R-Sword and birdarang deflecting the demon's claw arms and trying to hold it back. We wished his friends would go and save his life but they have their hands full at the moment. So that means he has to do this all by himself. As he was thinking of another way out of this mess, he then noticed that even though the Wraith had its claws on the objects Robin was using, it was completely vulnerable. This would give the Titan leader a chance to knock the beast out and provide the finishing blow. He lifted his leg up and started to give it a pushing kick to the sternum. The demon got pushed, causing it to loss its balance and nearly fall. Once it got its bearings together it was going to attack again. But it didn't have the time to retaliate because Robin charged forward and impaled the Wraith with his sword through its mouth. After that much force, the Titan leader lifted his sword up and split its skull in two, causing it to fall limply on the floor and turned to ash. At the same time the rest of the team was finishing up on the rest of the demons, bringing everything to the table. After an intense battle, all the Wraiths were killed and the place was quiet again. Alex took a deep breath and was glad that was over with.

Alex: "Man, that was too intense for words. At least that's done."

Cyborg: "Yeah but there's only one problem. How are we going to get out of here? This place is so dark that we don't know where the exit is."

Suddenly, the ground started to shake again, causing the Titans to fall to the ground. Beast Boy looked around and realized they're in big trouble again.

Beast Boy: "What's happening?"

Robin: "Could be another trap! Everyone get out before-"

But before Robin could warn them, something strange just happened. One part of the rocky wall slowly opened up, revealing a lighted pathway that could take them somewhere. The group just watch as the path opened up in front of them and was confused by this unexpected change of events.

Raven: "Okay… Is it me or did someone shown us the way through?"

Alex: "My guess, the second option."

Starfire: "Who would give us an opened path?"

Robin: "It's probably Betruger. He's trying to toy with us now!"

Alex then got up and dusted himself off; knowing there's no way in avoiding this mess.

Alex: "Still, we have a way through now. Let's take it before more of those Wraiths show up to finished the job."

The others got off the ground and proceeded with going into the open path that were shown before them. Once they walked through the opening, they entered a stairway that goes upwards. All around them were stone walls that look loose on some bricks, the floor was littered with litted candles on both sides, and on the higher wall in front of them was an upside-down cross with a fresh dead body hung on it and entrails hanging out. The group was a little disturbed by this but moved on anyways so they can find a way to Gamma Labs. Once they reached upwards, they turned to the right into a smaller corridor that takes them to a huge opening at the end. As they were approaching it, they felt a gush of hot air coming through it. The moment they entered, they realized in front of them was a huge pool of lava with a pieces of broken floor floating around. On the other side was a wide arch opening that could take them to another part of this strange place. And on the right side was a humongous demonic skull slowly sinking into the lava. Looking at all of this, Cy groaned to himself and couldn't believe what he was looking at.

Cyborg: "Great… Now what?"

The guardian looked around and wondered how to get on the other side. When he looked at the rocks floating on the lava bed, he knew what to do.

Alex: "We get on the rocks. They seem to be floating in the lava and not sinking downwards. Needless to say, it's and only way in reaching the other side."

Beast Boy look down and the boiling hot lava and gulped out loud while sweating bullets.

Beast Boy: "heh, heh… Yeah… Jumping over rocks floating in lava. That's very reinsuring."

Robin: "Either case, we have to get out of this place. Though Beast Boy's got a point. The moment we're on those rocks the demons will appear and knock us down into the lava before we could reach the other end. We need a plan and fast."

Alex looks back at the Titan leader and smiled to himself.

Alex: "Not to worry Robin, I got a plan that could work."

He then looked at the Titan girls and gave them an order.

Alex: "Star, Rae, you two will be our air support. Get up there and keep an eye out for any hostiles."

Both Starfire and Raven looked at their guardian and nodded in agreement. The two then flew up into the air and looked for anything that could kill the others. Once they were in the middle of the room, Alex looked at the boys and told them to go.

Alex: "All right, everything's set. Let's cross the moat."

The boys nodded to Alex's response and the team proceeded to start crossing the lava by jumping on the huge boulders. As they were crossing, they notice it was a little harder to navigate then expected. Most of the rocks were farther then others and it would take a long jump to pull something like that. So being careful, they jump on the rocks that were of shorter distance. As they were jumping, the girls were in the air searching for any enemy that would approach them. Still no sign of any yet. Raven then looked at Star and asked her if she had seen anything.

Raven: "Well Starfire, got any sightings?"

Star searched her side and shook her head.

Starfire: "Negative… This is so strange. There would've been an attack on our friends by now. What would be taking them too long?"

Raven thought about this for a moment wondered the same thing too. That's when she looked down and noticed the group of boys crossing the lava moat and was reaching the middle of the area. Noticing that, she looks back at the Tamaranean and realized what that means.

Raven: "They are just waiting for the others to get to a trap!"

Star looked down and didn't notice anything suspicious.

Starfire: "I don't see anything that would be a trap."

Just as she said that, the entire room began to shake the moment the boys got on one huge slab in the middle. Suddenly, the other boulders around them began to sink and disappear into the hot lava. Seeing this, Raven turned her head to her friend and told her so.

Raven: "You were saying?"

At the same time, the Titan boys looked around and notice that rocks they were crossing sinking and couldn't believe what they were seeing. Even Beast Boy didn't understand what transpired there.

Beast Boy: "Whoa! Dudes, did you see that?"

Cyborg: "Yes BB we all see that! What the Hell just happened?"

Alex turned his head left to right, wondering if this has something to do with Betruger luring them into another trap of some kind. He then lifted his head up and spotted bricked stands above their heads with red clouds slowly appearing. Looking at all of it, he turned to the others and told them the situation.

Alex: "By the way this looks, I'm afraid that we've walked right into another trap."

After that, lightning bolts appeared and four Mancubuses appeared on top of the platforms and roared at the group below them. Starfire and Raven saw that and then look down at the rest of their friends still trapped on that slab.

Raven: "This isn't good…"

Starfire gasped at the sight and warned Raven in her confused English language.

Starfire: "They will be ducks of sitting! We have to do something!"

Raven, not understanding the alien's wisp, knew she meant they were in trouble and came up with a plan.

Raven: "I'm going to get down there and protect the others. You keep those things distracted!"

She flew down to help the others while Star headed up to where the huge creatures were resting. The Mancubuses themselves looked down at the group stuck in the middle of the lava pit and aimed their arm-mounted cannons at them, firing hot plasma blasts at them. The group noticed that and could tell they're in for it.

Beast Boy: "This won't end well…"

Robin: "Hit the deck!"

The group got down and hope they won't get hit. Before the blasts killed them, Raven came down in the middle of the group and waved her hands around to form a dome around them, protecting them from the assault. The moment the blasts were deflected, Robin looked up at her and smiled.

Robin: "Nice work Raven."

Alex: "Yeah, but the problem is how long she's going to last before the shield breaks apart?"

Raven heard that and knew the boys didn't know her plan until she says it.

Raven: "Don't worry Alex, I already got someone taking care of the threat above."

Meanwhile, the Mancubuses continued to fire, waiting for the shield to break down and destroy the team. They didn't even know that someone was coming up there and handle the other part of the job. Suddenly, one of the demons was barraged by a large number of star bolts, getting killed in seconds. The other three noticed that and looked up to see the Tamaranean with eyes glowing bright green and hands glowing much greener.

Starfire: "You shall not kill my friends!"

They then pointed their weapons at the alien and started to fire at her. Star quickly flew around in many directions avoiding the incoming barrages and waiting for the right moment to attack. As she was busy, the others looked at her distracting the three demons. Alex saw that too and smiled at what he's witnessing.

Alex: "All right, I guess that works. But you think she should take care of them herself?"

Raven look down at the guardian and answered.

Raven: "She can take care of herself. Right now, I need to get you guys to the other side safely."

Beast Boy: "And how are we going to get to the other side? I don't know if you notice this, but our path has sunken into the lava and we're trapped here."

Raven nodded and decided to give them a path.

Raven: "Not going to be a problem. Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"

Suddenly, a black bridge magically appeared and connected between the slab they were on and the other entrance they need to take. The group saw that and was amazed.

Cyborg: "Whoa… That's impressive."

Robin: "Excellent work Raven! Come on team!"

Raven removed her shield as the boys ran on the magical made bridge she made. Just as they were fleeing, Starfire was keeping the Mancubuses busy. She was flying up, down, left, right, and diagonally just to avoid the plasma blasts being fired. All she needs to do is to find an opening and fire back. Problem is they've been firing a lot she couldn't find the right opening. With three creatures around her, she has to come up with something quick before she's toast. When she looked at the two on the left, she knew what she needs to do. Star quickly flew between the two and started to taunt them.

Starfire: "Do you call that precise shots? I have seen a Tonkaz warrior have much more accurate aim then you!"

The two demons looked at her and were completely furious at what she said. They quickly pointed their mounted cannons at the girl and opened fire. The Tamaranean saw that and smiled to herself at her plan. Once the blasts approached her, she quickly flew up and was able to dodge the projectiles by a few inches. The Mancubuses saw this happen and had little time to defend or avoid this predicament. The fiery projectiles hit the two and after a couple of shots killed them, dissolving them in the air. The last Mancubus saw this and knew it had to destroy the girl once and for all. It looks up and saw the alien floating high in the air ready to finish this battle. The creature pointed its weapons at the girl and fired more projectiles at her. Starfire swirled around dodging all of the blasts and getting closer to her last demon. As she got to the right position, both her eyes and hands glowed much brighter then before. The Mancubus looked at her and prepared to fire its cannons at a shorter distance. However, before the huge monster could finish her off, Star used both her star bolts and eye beams to destroy the platform it was standing on. The platform then began to crumble away and the humongous demons plummeted downward into the pool of lava, roaring in defeat. Once the beast melted into the hot pool, Star smiled in glee and celebrated.

Starfire: "Victory is mine!"

After her proud battle, she looks down to see if the others have made it out of there in time. To her surprise, her friends made it to the end where they were running on a dark magical bridge Raven created. Glad that her friends were safe, she flew down to where they are now and regrouped with them. Once everyone was safe and Raven removed the bridge she made over the lava, Robin approached the Tamaranian and gave her a deep hug.

Robin: "Starfire! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Star could tell that Robin was worried so she took a deep breath and calmed him down.

Starfire: "I am fine Robin. Nothing is damaged in me."

Robin: "Oh, thank god. Just don't do anything like this again. I just don't want to loose you."

Star knew that Robin felt pain inside his heart and understood what would happen if she gets herself killed. So after hearing his plea, Star comforted him and told him nicely."

Starfire: "I promise Robin, I won't get myself into any danger only if its necessary."

The two tightened into a hug and had each other's embrace for quite a while. What they didn't know is that the rest of the team looked at that and though Beast Boy and Cyborg were a little awestruck, Raven were getting disgusted by this. Alex just simply watch on and he was getting a little uncomfortable by this intimate moment and tried to get the two back in the game.

Alex: "Hey lovebirds!"

Both Star and Rob turned their heads and saw Alex tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for them to stop.

Alex: "If you two are done with your little romance, we got a mission to do."

The two then looked at each other and realize that they are getting too comfortable with the predicament they're in. They immediately let go of their hug with their faces blushing a crimson red. When that was over, Alex and the team entered the long archway that would lead them to another room. The moment they entered the room, they started to look around at their surroundings. By the looks of it, the room appears to be a huge area with no doors or any exit what so ever. But in the middle of the room was a pentagram just like any other they pass. However, this one was completely different. Instead of a reddish color, this pentagram was green and was surrounded by litted candles. Four pillars were placed around the pentagram and were raised high up into the ceiling. And on all four of the walls medium size demon skulls looking down on the floor. The team looked around and wasn't sure what to say.

Cyborg: "Wow… What is this place?"

Alex: "Don't know Cy, but it looks like some kind of place for worship or something. I mean check out the pentagram on the floor. I never had seen anything like that."

Raven approached the pentagram and scanned the color of it. Robin approached her and asked her if she knows something about it.

Robin: "Well Raven, what do you think?"

The telepath traced the lining of the symbol with her finger and was a tad curious about the pentagram. After examining it, she got up and turned to Robin to answer him.

Raven: "It's a little complicated. The pentagrams we've encountered before were red and could only teleport demons from Hell to hear. But this one… This one is completely different. Almost like it can not only teleport demons from one place to the next, but people as well."

Alex thought this out for a bit and remembered the teleporter chambers back in Delta.

Alex: "Like those experimental portals in Delta Labs."

Rae turned to Alex and nodded from his response.

Raven: "Indeed…"

Beast Boy then approached the new pentagram and wondered if it's operational.

Beast Boy: "So… Does this work?"

Rae turned to BB and explained to him the situation.

Raven: "Don't know. The pentagram looks dormant and it doesn't look like it's in full power yet. And even if this work, we won't know where it will take us."

Alex rubbed his chin and wondered about something else. During this time, this journey in UAC's hell was just one path and in each room, they encounter one hoard of demons after another. It feels strange. Robin turned to look at Alex and could tell that he was in thinking mode. Concerned by this he approached him and asked if he's okay.

Robin: "Hey Alex, are you okay? You seem a little spaced out as of late."

Al blinked a few times and looked at the Titan leader, who was still worried.

Alex: "Oh, sorry Rob. I was just thinking."

Robin: "Thinking? About what?"

The guardian sighed to himself and explained what he was thinking about.

Alex: "Do you find it all strange that the moment we've entered this place, we've been going through one thin path the whole time?"

Robin: "Yeah…"

Alex: "And when we enter another room, we always get attacked by monsters?"

Robin: "Yeah… Where are you getting with that?"

Alex: "Think about it. Someone is trying to test us. Could be Betruger, could be Trigon, could be someone else. But whoever it was, they are trying to make us vulnerable. The more monsters we've face, the harder it is for us to fight them."

Robin: "And that means…"

Al groaned to himself and made the long story short.

Alex: "I mean that this room we're in, whatever it is, has to be another-"

Suddenly, they all heard a loud maniacal laughter echoing all over the place. The group looked around and realized that they have stumbled into another trap. Orange lightning bolts appeared around them and once they disappear, a large group of Imps surround them, ready to strike fast. The team looked at all of them and could tell it wasn't a good sign.

Alex: "Yep… Saw this one coming. Shoot them down team!"

Everyone started to fight back with powers and remaining ammo they have. Some of the Imps just got killed on the first go, but the others avoided the attack and charged up their fireballs to fight back. Once they throw the projectiles at the group, Raven countered it by forming a bubble shield to deflect the attack. Quickly, the telepath let go of her shield and the rest started to mop up the remaining demons. Once all of them were dead, the Titans thought they would have a breather. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Just as they took care of that problem, the green pentagram exploded in the light of pure green energy and something came out of it. What they saw was a Hell Knight emerging from the pentagram and roaring at the team for a fight. Beast Boy saw this as the rest of the team and was now scared as ever.

Beast Boy: "And just as it couldn't get any worse…"

Alex ignored the changeling and went back to the task in front of them.

Alex: "Let's get this freak off our backs! Shoot them with what we have!"

With the group surrounding the huge beast, they start to hit it with everything they got. Raven and Starfire flew up into the air and shoot it with star bolts and aurora blasts while the boys stayed on the ground and used their weapons, cannons and disks. But what they throw at the beast it won't go down. The Hell Knight shrieked and started to raise its foot to flatten the ground troops. Robin saw this a warned the team to get away.

Robin: "Everyone get out of the way!"

The boys looked up to noticed the demons about to stomp on them and immediately flee the area. With one stomp, the Hell Knight destroyed part of the floor, but missed the team by meters. The girls saw this and retaliated back by firing eyebeams and throwing levitated boulders. The monster felt that and turned to the girls who were in the middle of their onslaught, ready to knock them out. It swung its arms at them in an attempt to knock them down. Both Star and Rae noticed the attack and flew away quick before it could connect. Once they were out of harms way, Alex took out both his machine gun and plasma gun filled with fresh clips and opened fire on the huge beast with no hesitation. It turned around after feeling the attack and look down at the guardian with evil eyes. It then charged up a green fireball and threw it at him, wanting to burn him to a crisp. But before that could happen, Beast Boy got in front of his friend and pointed his Grabber at the fireball, pulling the trigger and grabbing hold of the projectile. He immediately let go of the trigger and lunched the green ball of flames back at the Hell Knight. The demons stumbled back and screamed out in pain when it was hit. But it still won't die. So the changeling put his Grabber away and turned himself into a green yeti, pounding his chest feverishly for a fight. He then charged at the Hell Knight and speared it right into a wall. The monster retaliated with a straight uppercut to the chin, sending him flying to the air and landing on the floor. BB quickly landed on his feet and roared at the demon for a second attack. Soon enough, the two fought it out using fists, kicks, claws, and whatnot, trying to get each other down in what way possible. While they were fighting, the others were strategizing on a plan on taking the Hell Knight down. Cyborg looked at Alex and asked him about how to defeat the Hell Knight.

Cyborg: "Okay… Now what can we do?"

Al looked at the hybrid and didn't know what to say.

Alex: "You're asking me? I don't know on how to take something that big down. I'm low on ammo and it's not enough to take it out!"

Robin: "Perhaps I could use a freeze disk and slow the Hell Knight down while we finish it off. That should give us a fighting chance."

Alex then looked at Robin and said that's a bad idea too.

Alex: "And have it break through the ice and moment you get it stuck? I don't think so!"

Then Star came up with one.

Starfire: "Why not use the sonic of boom again? It worked before."

He then turned to her and told her that won't work as well.

Alex: "Yeah… Except there's one problem with that. The sonic boom we did before needed a whole lot of explosives to make it work. And looking around here, there's no flammable barrels or propane tanks here. So unless you have any explosives under your skirt, then we can't-"

He then stopped and realized he has something that might work.

Alex: "Wait a sec… That's it!"

He quickly checked his belt buckle and see if he had something that could be of some use to them. Robin looked at him and was curious and what he was talking about.

Robin: "That's what? What are you talking about?"

Alex: "I'm talking about this!"

He then took out a grenade and showed it to the team, explaining what he's going to do.

Alex: "This is my last grenade. If we can't kill it on the outside, then we have to kill it on the inside. What I need to do is to go over the demon's mouth and when it's opened, I'm going to arm this grenade to toss it into the mouth. The explosion will blow it up on the inside. Not going to be pretty, but it will work."

Everyone looked at each other and thought he was crazy into doing something like that. But they could tell they have no other choice in the matter. Robin then nodded and followed with the guardian's plan.

Robin: "You heard him team, we have to get this over with quick if we are able to get out of here."

He turned to Starfire and gave her an order.

Robin: "Starfire, I want you to take Alex up in the air and over the Hell Knight. Get as close to it as you can. Once the mouth opens, Alex will do the rest."

Star nodded as the Titan leader looked at the others.

Robin: "The rest of us will keep the Hell Knight busy and distracted. We can't let it know we are planning something."

The others nodded until Cyborg asked him something else.

Cyborg: "What about Beast Boy? He's still busy with the Hell Knight."

As if on cue, the changeling, who was still in his yeti form, flew over them and crashed right into a wall. The group ducked their heads from the sound of the crash and turned to see him in a wreck as he changed back into his human self. It's fortunate he's still alive, but he's out like a light. The team turned to see their downed friend and turned their heads to see what happened. What they saw was the Hell Knight itself, beaten and battered but still moving. It approached the group and roared out loud to kill them. Alex then looked at Cy after seeing this and told him jokingly.

Alex: "You mean, was busy with the Hell Knight."

Quickly, everyone got to their stances and were ready for a fight. But Robin looks back at a downed BB and knew he needed help. He turned to Raven and told her to help him.

Robin: "Raven, go to Beast boy and aid him immediately! We'll take care of things from here."

Raven nodded her head and flew to Beast Boy, checking on his injuries. As she was aiding the changeling, Rob looked at Star and told her to follow the plan.

Robin: "Starfire, you have your orders! Take Alex and wait for the right moment fly over the demon!"

Star nodded and flew to the guardian just to pick him up by the waist.

Starfire: "Come friend Alex, let us proceed upwards."

Alex: "Fine by me. Just whatever you do, don't let go!"

The two then lifted up on the floor and went high up into the air, away from the creature. The Hell Knight looked up at them and thought they were fleeing the scene. So he turned his attention to the two remaining boys of the group and licked its chops. The two just stared at the creature and wondered what to do now.

Cyborg: "So it's just the two of us now. What should we do?"

Robin slowly took out his grappling hook and responded back to the hybrid.

Robin: "We fight…"

He pointed his hook up and pulled the trigger, sending the line up to the ceiling and attaching itself on one of the pillars. Once it got connect, he pulled a button and retracted it, sending him flying up in the air. This leaves Cyborg alone with the Hell Knight. He armed his sonic cannon and positioned himself ready for a fight.

Cyborg: "All right big guy, let's dance!"

To that end, the demons roared out loud and raised its foot stomp Cy into a pancake. The hybrid saw this and used his hydraulic legs to jump backwards and fly in the air, making the Hell Knight miss him for about a few seconds. He quickly aimed his cannon at the brute and fired a blue energy beam while in the air. But the blast didn't have any effect on the demon. So once he landed on the ground, he opened his shoulder blades and fired multiple mini rockets right at it. All of them made a direct hit, but the demon is still standing. The Hell Knight quickly charged up a couple of green fireballs and threw them at him, Cy started to duck and roll in every direction, making sure that nothing would hit him. At the same time, he continued to fire his cannon and keep the beast busy until something else happens. And that something is Robin hanging onto the top of the pillar, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The Hell Knight kept on shooting the metallic Titan with the flames but he avoids them and fires his one weapon at the monster. As they were doing that, the demon turned around to follow the hybrid, showing its back at the Titan leader. This gave Robin the opening he needs. He took out his R-Sword and jumped off the pillar to torpedo down on it. The moment he landed on the back, he raised his sword up in the air like he was going to stab a vampire and pierced the Hell Knight in the upper back. The demon felt that and roared out loud in pain. It move around so violently, trying to get whatever behind it off of it while the thrashing caused Robin to fly around like crazy, trying to hang on to the sword. Knowing this is now too dangerous for him, he let go of the blunt of the sword and falls to the ground. But he was able to get his grappling hook again and fired it at the nearest pillar just to swing out of the way. It lashed onto the closest one and Robin was able to get out of the way before splattering on the floor. The moment he got out of the way, he screamed out loud to Starfire to make her move.

Robin: "Now Starfire!"

Then from out of nowhere, Starfire came down holding onto Alex who has the grenade with him. With the demon trashing about, trying to get the R-Sword off of it, it continues to roar out loud in absolute pain with its mouth wide open. Alex saw this and knew this was a great opportunity for him to finish the fight. He slowly turned the knob of the grenade just to arm it and waited for the right moment to toss it into the mouth and of beast. Once it opened its mouth for another agonizing scream, the guardian threw the grenade and it went into the mouth with great accuracy. The demon felt that as the grenade slid down its throat and right into its stomach. The Hell Knight could hear the ticking in its stomach and didn't know what to do in this predicament. But the moment is roared in total defeat, the lower part of its body exploded and blood, fluid and chunks of seared skin went flying everywhere. Within seconds, the Hell Knight was killed and was dissolved to just plain ash. Star then let go of Alex once they were on the ground while Robin and Cyborg joined them.

Robin: "Nice shot Alex!"

Alex: "Ah, I just got lucky… Where's Raven?"

Raven: "Present…"

They all turned their heads to the sound of her voice and saw her heading towards them with Beast Boy on her shoulders. They also notice that the changeling had his eyes opened the whole time and was aware of his surroundings. That gave them a sigh of relief. When they were all together, Alex wanted to know if BB's okay.

Alex: "How's Beast Boy holding up?"

Raven: "He's doing fine. He's just a little beat up after that fight and has a mild concussion. Just had to heal him up externally, but he needs more medical attention."

Alex nodded and approached a wounded changeling to see if he's going to live.

Alex: "Well Beast Boy, can you make it?"

BB looked at Alex and smiled about it.

Beast Boy: "I'll be all right. Just need to walk it off is all."

The guardian chuckled about this and told him that wasn't going to happen.

Alex: "I don't think you're in no condition in walking. We have to find a Health Station or a med kit to patch you up."

Starfire: "But there is a problem friend Alex. We are in a middle of an unknown place and we don't know where the nearest health area is."

Alex sighed to himself and knew it won't be that easy. That's when he noticed the green pentagram that was still shining bright. Looking at this he has a curious suspicion about it. Robin looked at the middle of the room too and could tell what Alex was thinking.

Robin: "Let me guess… We're going into the green portal."

Alex shrugged his shoulders and thought it was the only way out of there.

Alex: "Well it beats staying here until another hoard shows up. Not to mention it's our only exit out of this place."

But Starfire wasn't sure of this and worried that something bad might be waiting for them through the portal.

Starfire: "But we do not know what's on the other side."

Alex: "Only one way to find out."

Alex was the first to step into the portal and faded through the green light. The team watched on and was a little nervous as to what happened to their guardian. But Robin got the courage to look at the team and told them to move in.

Robin: "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's see what awaits us."

Robin then started to step into the portal and vanished as well. The team was a little skeptic, but decided to head in anyways just to get it over with. One by one, the group decided to enter the portal until the room was completely quiet.

---

R.R.T.S. Headquarters, Docking Bay, Brazil South America: November 16, 2145, 11:42 A.M.

"All R.R.T.S. units must report to the docking bay for immediate departure."

Back on Earth, the R.R.T.S. troops were prepared and ready to reach the U.A.C. Mars facility and rescue the people on it and kill the hostiles that are attacking it. Of course there was a bit of a delay in the departure due to a thunderstorm in the tropics. But now that it's clear, they can now proceed with the operation. The troops rushed into their designated ships that would take them to the facility. Each of them then grabbed a weapon that had verification IDs once their fingers are on the triggers. The Sarge then entered the ship and picked up his rifle, which was a semi-automatic M4 assault rifle. Once he got a hold of it, the rifle scans his ID and passes.

"R.R.T.S. Verification ID confirmed. Handle ID, Sarge."

Once he got his gun, he looked at his team and was proud of what he had. There was Reaper, his second in command and comrade in arms, Duke, a rugged individual with a soft side of him, Destroyer, heavy weapons specialist, Goat, the senior member who is very religious, Portman, a corporal and a womanizer, Mac, the squad's technician expert, and The Kid, a rookie who just got his start in the squad. Once he got a good look at his men, he nodded and gives the team his briefing.

Sarge: "All right men, listen up. We're about to leave for the Union Aerospace Corporation's Mars facility. Our mission is simple: rescue any survivors that are in the facility, gather any data that is vital, and attacked any hostiles that come to us. It's important that this mission is a success so I don't want to see any fuck ups. The future of the UAC rests in our hands now. Any questions?"

The group remained silent during the talk and knew what they were ready for. The Sarge looked at all of them and was pleased with their determination.

Sarge: "Good… Now get comfy, this is going to be a long trip."

Once everyone was in their ships, they left the docking bay and flew high up in the air. Normally this trip would take two hours to reach Mars, this gives them enough time to plan on what to do. But what they didn't know is that what's on Mars is far worse then they think.

---

Database Maintenance, Storage 12: November 16, 2145, 11:44 A.M.

Back on Mars, the entire place was completely quiet and there was no sign of anything living in it. In one of the storage rooms, a huge green pentagram was on the floor, completely quiet. But then, the symbol started to glow, low at first, but incredibly high seconds later. Suddenly, a burst of energy exploded, forming a green pillar of light that goes up to the ceiling. When that happened, a group of people exit through it and entered the room they were in now. At first, these portals were for sending demons from one location to another. But the people that got out of that portal weren't demons at all. Instead, they were the Teen Titans. Alex was the first to exit the portal, followed by Robin and then the rest. Once everyone left the portal, it closed in on itself and was sealed off for good. Once they entered this room, they looked around and could tell they're not in that crazy place.

Cyborg: "Well at least we're not in that Hell."

Robin: "That's a sigh of relief. But where are we now?"

They continued to look around just wondering about their surroundings. They could tell at first glace that they're in a storage room of some kind. It was a wide room with shelves of boxes and supplies needed, a mop and bucket used for clean, three locked storage cabinets, an elevator, and a door leading to another room. Of course, you could see signs of Hell infecting this area too. Besides the Pentagram they got out of, the door leading to someplace place is busted and demonic growth was seeping out of it, that same growth was on the ceiling, and there was a dead maintenance worker in the corner with a number code written in his own blood. Alex checked this place out and wondered where they were too. He took his PDA out and checked the map to see where they are.

Alex: "Let me check…"

He used his touch pen and checked to see their location. After a quick search he made a shocking discovery and had his eyes wide in saucers.

Alex: "No way…"

He rechecked again to see if everything is accurate. Once he did that, he has a wide smile on his face and was very pleased with what his PDA said.

Alex: "Yes, yes! That's perfect!"

Everyone looked at him quizzically and wondered what he was talking about. That's when Robin approached him and asked what's the deal.

Robin: "Well, what is it? What did you find?"

Alex looked at the Titan leader and explained to him what he found.

Alex: "Apparently that portal took us closer to Gamma Labs. According to my PDA we're in a storage room for Database Maintenance. This is where all known data and information had been sent from Gamma for archiving and such. If we can follow the databanks to Gamma itself, we might reach the place and take you guys to the Ark pretty soon as possible."

He looked down at the dead body and inspected the code on the floor that said, '843'. He then turned to the storage lockers and thought he needed some additional ammo for his weapons and maybe a med kit for Beast Boy's wounds. So he approached the lockers and started imputing the code into the touch pads.

Alex: "Right now, we need to be ready."

Once he put up the codes, the locker doors opened up and reveal stacks of clips, plasma cartridges, grenade cases, multiple armor shards, an ammo belt, and a health kit. Looking at all of it, Alex smiled when he hit the motherload.

Alex: "Jackpot!"

He took the med kit and tossed it to Raven, who grabbed it soon after.

Alex: "Here… Patch Beast Boy up with this. He might walk it out soon after."

As he gathered all the ammo, Robin asked him something else.

Robin: "Well at least we know where we are. But how are we going to get to Gamma?"

The guardian answered that question while collecting shards to repair his breast plating.

Alex: "I checked the map and figured out where to go. If we can take this elevator, we walk down the hallway and enter data storage. From there we'll take the executive offices and into the maintenance shaft where there's a lift. Once we head up to the top floor, we'll enter the main database center. There's another elevator at the top that we'll take us to Gamma. That's where we're need to be."

Cyborg: "And if there are demons in the way, what should we do?"

Alex grabbed the last piece of the artillery, an ammo belt for a chain gun, and approached the hybrid to answer his question.

Alex: "The same thing we always do Cy. We kill them all."

He then handed the ammo belt to Cy and finished his saying. Cyborg looked down at the belt and back up to the guardian realizing it's the only way through. He then took the belt and inserted it into his chain gun. Once all the ammo's been handed out and Beast Boy's been healed, the group was ready to go to Gamma. Alex approached the elevator and pressed the 'call' icon. Seconds later, the doors opened up and the group got in it. He then touched the icon on the directory screen that says 'Data Storage'. Soon as the elevator went up, the group waited to it to reach the floor they want. As they were waiting, Starfire turned her head and saw an observation window at the backside of the elevator. All she saw was nothing but two pipes, but as the lift ascended upwards, she saw something she didn't expect. Quickly, she alerted the others of what she witnessed.

Starfire: "Friends, observe!"

Everyone listened and turned around to see what Star's looking at. To there surprise, they saw what appears to be a large cavern with fire and lava. Even the pipes that were supposed to go straight were through the cavern and were bended and twisted in many directions. Everyone looked at all of it and knew it got worse.

Beast Boy: "Okay, now if that's wrong, I don't know what is."

Alex: "Beast Boy's got a point. Looks like this Hell is spreading faster then anticipated. We should hurry to Gamma fast before our way is permanently blocked."

The elevator continued its journey upwards until it made a complete stop. With the elevator doors opened, the Titans left the lift and went through a door that would take them to the hallway. The moment they entered, they could tell that the hall was much longer then expected. But down the way, they saw the door that would take them to data storage. So they walk down there and hope there was no ambush of any kind. Unfortunately they did walk into a trap. The moment they walk, the hall started to shake as the lights on the ceiling started to flicker on and off. At first they thought it was another earthquake but then they noticed something that was completely wrong. When the lights were completely off multiple demonic symbols appeared on the walls and floor and started to separate away from the hall. Even the ceiling started to bend and detach itself upwards during the whole process. Within seconds, part of the hallway was completely gone and all that's left was a big space that's another one of Hell's caverns. The team saw this and couldn't believe what they saw.

Alex: "Shit! You got to be kidding me?"

Robin looked at the damage and didn't like what he saw.

Robin: "Looks like Betruger doesn't want us to get to Gamma Labs. This is just great…"

The guardian started to rub the temple of his forehead and was completely frustrated by this.

Alex: "And this is the only way out of here. How are we suppose to reach the Ark now?"

Beast Boy looked down and noticed something else strange.

Beast Boy: "Um… Why not down there?"

Alex quickly looked down and noticed it too. For some strange reason, the metal floor tiles that were a part of the once hallway descended downwards and float one section at a time turning into a set of levitating steps. And from the looks of it, these steps would take them to a rocky bridge path below the hallway. Alex just stared blankly and was a little speechless by this.

Alex: "Oh…"

The moment the team saw this, they decided to follow this path and walk down the floating steps. Though they have no idea where this path would take them, they had to do it, for it was the only way to get to where they wanted to go. As they were walking on the path and not getting too close to the edge where the pool of lava is, Alex looked around the area and told the team to pay close attention.

Alex: "All right guys, we're back in Hell's world. Just keep your eyes peeled. No telling who or what will pop up."

Suddenly, everyone heard scampering on both ends of the bridge between the group. They look down and saw a large group of Maggots coming up to the bridge and surrounding them in both the front and the back. Raven looked at this and remembered that the same thing happened back in the monorail station a while back.

Raven: "Dae ja vu…"

Alex then got his plasma rifle out and was ready for an assault.

Alex: "Cy, get your chain gun ready! We're going to do the same strategy we did before."

Cy, who was behind again, got his chain gun up and was smiling at this.

Cyborg: "Oh yeah… This is what I like."

Both individuals pulled their triggers and armor piercing bullets and plasma projectiles came out and mowed them down bit by bit. With Alex in the front, he made a nice clear path, which helps the team move forward. They continued to run while the girls fly in the air for more support. Alex ran out of plasma projectiles and had to reload quickly, giving the demons a chance to kill them all. Starfire quickly fired her star bolts and was able to mop most of them to give Alex time to finish reloading. The moment he got a fresh cartridge in, the guardian continued his shooting spree in the front. As he was shooting more and more, he then noticed something at the end of the bridge on the cliff wall. What he saw was another archway that can take them to another cave or temple. Looking at it, he knew where to go now.

Alex: "Over there! Get to the entrance!"

The team looked on and saw the entrance too. Knowing where to go, they made a B line to the place and hope that the Maggots won't get in the way. Of course, they are getting in their way, as a hoard of them was blocking their way in. Alex quickly took out an armed grenade and threw it at the monsters. The grenade exploded and caused all of them to fly right into the lava pit. Once the path is clear, the Titans made a mad dash right into the gate. Just as they got in, Alex turned to Robin and gave him a quick favor.

Alex: "Robin, I need you to seal the entrance at once! We still got Maggots right behind us!"

Robin looked back and saw all the demons scampering towards them, even with Cyborg shooting his chain gun at them. He then looked up and the top of the arch and took out a disk just at the team passed through it.

Robin: "Got it!"

He then threw the disk right at the top of the arch and quickly ran away from it. The moment the disk connected, a huge explosion followed suit, causing rocks and debris to fall and blocking the path. The team immediately stopped and turned around to see if it was successful. When the dust was cleared away, they see the path was completely sealed, meaning the Maggots won't be able to go after their meal. Alex smiled at that and was glad that was over with.

Alex: "Ha! Try getting in now you two headed freak shows!"

Once that was over with, the group continued to walk down the long narrow cave, wondering if this could take them back to the Data Storage area and hopefully Gamma Labs. After a few minutes of walking and no other surprises, the group encountered something they never seen before. Down along the path, there was a huge structure above them. That structure was a huge stone slab with an upside down cross skull. Raven observed this and detected something in her head that's not right. She warned the team about this.

Raven: "Hey guys… I sense something strange in this place. Something bad…"

Alex just looked at her and immediately stopped in his tracks with the rest of the team following his move.

Alex: "What do you mean Raven?"

Raven: "I don't know. But it almost looks like we're walking into-"

Alex: "Another trap?"

The telepath nodded on the guardian's thoughts. He then looks up at the slab that was above their path and wondered if it's connected to what Rae was thinking. Meanwhile BB heard this and couldn't take the pressure anymore. So he decided to tell them his side of the whole thing.

Beast Boy: "Oh come on! You can't be serious! You think there's another trap waiting for us? I mean look around you! There's no other trap around here. So why don't we get moving and head home?"

Robin looked down at the changeling and didn't like his attitude.

Robin: "Beast Boy, I don't think it's that easy. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, Betruger keeps on preventing us in reaching our goal. Hell, he tried to kill us on a number of occasions. We can't let our guard down no matter what."

Beast Boy: "Yeah well I don't see a trap around here. Just a linear path with rocky walls and some bizarre structure above it. There are no monsters, no traps, there's nothing here that's threatening."

Alex decided to join in and gave the green Titan a quick remark.

Alex: "Yeah, says the little green elf who took on the Hell Knight we encounter just recently, only to be beaten to a pulp and nearly died from the assault."

Beast Boy just looked at him and was fumed by his pun. That's when he had it.

Beast Boy: "You know what? I'll let you guys be cautious on what's around you. Me? I'm going down this path myself."

The changeling started to walk away from the team and was getting closer to the structure above him. Alex looked at BB then looked at the structure he was approaching, only to realize what the trap was. He quickly lifted his hand up and yelled to him.

Alex: "Beast Boy, wait! Stop!"

But Beast Boy wouldn't listen. He continued to walk without realizing the danger in front of him.

Beast Boy: "Sorry dude! I'm not listening to you! Good luck on your way to the Ark without me."

He continued his walk until he crossed under the slab. The moment he stepped on the huge floor above it a pentagram appeared on it and glowed incredibly bright. At the same time, the slab structure started to wobble and was beginning to loosen up. And the worst part is that BB didn't know of any of it. But the team saw this happening and realizes they have to do something quick before he gets flatten. The guardian turned to Raven and told her to save him.

Alex: "Raven, get his ass back here!"

The telepath understood that and had her eyes lit up in bright white. She quickly lifted her hand up and it was covered in a black aurora, pointing it at Beast Boy. The moment the changeling was at the center, the stone slab jutted loose and plummeted towards him. At the same time, the black energy engulfed his body and was completely covered. With one quick flick of the wrist, BB was pulled backwards by the telepath's magic the same time the slab was about to reach him. The moment that happened, Raven was able to get the changeling out of harms way seconds before the slab could literally crush him. He then flew straight back to the team and landed with an impactful thud on his butt. Feeling that impact, he looked up at the group, especially Raven since she was the one who pulled him to them, and was getting completely upset.

Beast Boy: "Hey! What's the big idea?"

At that instance, everyone pointed at the trap Beast Boy was going to step into. So he looked back and notices the slab continually flattening the ground, rising up a second or two before falling down again. He just stared at it and couldn't believe he almost fell for it. So Alex bent down on one knee and told him that was going to happen.

Alex: "Well, hate to say but I told you so BB."

The green changeling nodded and was staggering up, trying to regain his bearings. Meanwhile, Alex got up and observed the trap itself while the others just stare at it completely dumbfounded.

Cyborg: "I guess we know what awaits us. Now how are we going to avoid this?"

Raven: "Your guess is as good as mine Cyborg."

After a bit of silence Alex came up with one.

Alex: "I think I got one."

The Titans looked at their guardian and wondered what he has in mind.

Alex: "I was able to study the movement of this trap. It would appear that every time it hits the ground, it raises itself up for a short period of time. I say we have about three, maybe four seconds, before that structure starts to fall on us."

Robin: "So what are you suggesting?"

The guardian gave off a bit of silence until he came up with a really good answer.

Alex: "We run for it…"

Immediately the team's reaction was shocking, yet unexpected.

Teen Titans: "What!"

Alex looked back at the others and reassured them that everything would be fine.

Alex: "Don't get all worked up. I got this all figured out. The moment the slab comes down, it rises up, giving us a minimal amount of time to run past it before it falls again. There is no room for error, but it will work."

The group stayed quiet until Robin came and told him that it's a bad idea.

Robin: "I don't like this idea. This sounds a little suicidal to me."

Alex: "We don't have any other options on the table. This is the only path we have to take if we are able to find our way back to the data center. We need to move forward and get you guys back to the past ASAP. Now, I'll go first."

Alex stepped up to the plate and waited for the slab to come down. Holding his breath, he paid closed attention to the movements of the slab and took his time to plan it through. The moment the slab moved up, it was Alex's time as he quickly made a quick dash and ran straight to the trap. In the second second, he headed to that trap. Third second, he was over the trap. Fourth second, he was behind the trap. When the fifth second struck, the slab started to fall and hit the floor. Alex quickly stopped himself and looked back to see if he made it. To his surprise, he was able to get out of there without getting flat. Sighing in complete relief, he looked at the others, who were still surprised that their guardian made it, and told them to come through.

Alex: "See? What I tell ya? Just had to wait for the right time. Come on!"

Robin shook his head from the shock he witnessed and glad that Alex was still alive. Which means the others can go through just like him. So he looked at his teammates and told them to do it.

Robin: "You heard him team. Time to get a move on. Just remember what he said. Wait for the slab to rise up, then we'll run."

Robin then positioned himself and got ready for the slab to fall and rise up. The moment it did that, the Titan leader ran and had around five seconds before it falls again. He was able to pass through it before it did flatten him. Once he got out of there, the other Titans follow suit, running through the trap when it raises itself. Both Cy and BB ran out of there while the girls flew in mid air. All of them made it before the slab would hit them. Once everyone was out of that death trap, they all took a breather and was catching a quick break.

Raven: "Well that was tensed."

Cyborg: "At least we made it. Barely…"

Alex: "Lets not congratulate ourselves for this. We still have a long ways to go."

The team then continued their journey through the narrow rocky hall filled with ambers, growth, and edges. Soon enough, they walked out of the hall and entered another room. Again, it was a huge area with a fiery pit on the floor, big skulls decorated on the wall, and a demonic growth hole on the ceiling. What's even stranger is that there were ghostly souls flying from the pit to the growth hole. On the other side of the room was another passage that might take them to somewhere else. The team just looked at the souls and was amazed by this.

Starfire: "Now that is amazing. Yet very, who do you say that, completely freaky."

Raven: "They must be innocent souls that lost their way and now trapped within Hell for all eternity. I feel so sorry for all of them."

Beast Boy: "But we're under the UAC, right?"

Alex: "Yeah… But now that Hell's spreading, they're creating their environment in our own world. And if the fleet gets here, it's going to get much worse."

He then looked at the passage on the other side and was confident by this.

Alex: "Let's get going. There's a passage there that might take us somewhere."

They quickly headed to the passage, getting passed the pit that was next to them. But just as they were passing it, they all heard a strange hissing sound coming from inside the pit itself. They all turned their heads to the pit on the right and notice multiple creatures coming out of it. Those creatures were of course Vulgars climbing up to the surface and was shrieking out loud. Alex pointed his plasma rifle with a fresh cartridge within and open fire.

Alex: "Blow them away!"

The team then pulled everything in their arsenal just to clear them off. There was wave after wave of disks, birdarangs, lasers, bolts, blasts, and projectiles heading to the skeleton bug like creatures, picking them off one after another. But more Vulgars keep on coming out of the pit and completely outnumbers the group. They even threw green fireballs at them just to take them out themselves. For most of the time, Raven used her shield to protect her friends while the rest of the time, Beast Boy used his Grabber to take the green projectiles and fire them back at the demons. The battle went on for about a few more minutes until the last of the Vulgars were dead. As soon as the battle was finished, Cy deactivated his cannon and was getting annoyed by all of this.

Cyborg: "Man, this is ridiculous! How can we even get to Gamma without being attack with monsters or get close to any traps?"

Robin: "That must mean we might be getting closer to the place. If we could find our way back to the Database Center, we might reach Gamma in time."

Beast Boy: "And how are we going to get there? The hallway we need to take is gone and we have to get back to this crazy place."

While everyone was talking, Alex looked back at the passage they should take and wondered if they should be ready to fight what's in there. But while he was thinking about it, he noticed something that got him surprised. Standing in front of the passage was another visitor. But the strangest part is that it wasn't any demon or zombie. Instead, it was just a regular person. And this was no ordinary human; it was someone he use to know. The person is a six-year-old boy wearing a light blue polo shirt, Capri pants and a pair of sneakers with socks in them. Upon closer observation, he could tell by the person's face with the innocent eyes and the warm smile. Alex's reaction was with wide shocking eyes and a gaping mouth, completely speechless.

Alex: "No… It can't be… Jim?"

The person known as Jim gave off an wider smile, but the smile looked suspicious. Almost evil to be more precise. But then, Jim started to walk right into the passage the group was going to head into the first place. Curious by this, he decided to follow Jim and wondered where he was taking him. As he was following him, Robin told the others his thought without realizing what Alex is looking at.

Robin: "Well its apparent that there's only one passage here, so we have to take it. Right Alex?"

The moment he turned around, he noticed the Alex was not next to him. Instead, he saw the guardian going into the passage they were about to head into. Everyone just started for a while and was completely confused by this.

Beast Boy: "Huh… That's strange… What's his hurry?"

Robin: "Don't know, but we have to catch up quick before we loose him."

Quickly everyone ran into the passage, catching up with Alex as fast as they can. Meanwhile, Alex was running after Jim through the narrow hall, being careful not to trip on anything. He then reached his hand out and called out his name, trying to stop him.

Alex: "Jim wait! Stop! I just want to talk to you."

He continued to run to him as Jim was playing catch up. He made a sudden stop and noticed he was in a few forks in the road. There were five different entryways, all leading to different parts of the Hell UACs in. Alex wasn't sure where his friend is now and wasn't sure where he's going. Wondering about this, he heard a voice from behind.

Robin: "Alex!"

He quickly turned around and saw the Titans regrouping with him. Once they were all together, the Titan leader wanted to know what was the guardian's problem.

Robin: "Alex, what's wrong with you? You should know better then to leave without us. What were you thinking?"

Alex remained quiet and wasn't sure how he's going to explain this. He quickly took a deep breather and explained to him as much as possible.

Alex: "Sorry Rob, but I guess I was chasing ghost right now."

Robin sighed to himself and shook his head, trying to forget about it.

Robin: "Well either way, we need to get to Gamma. Though this might be a bit of a problem…"

They all looked at the five passages and were a little cautious about this.

Raven: "Great, now we got five places to go to. This gets even complicated then before."

Starfire: "So, which path should we take? They all seem promising."

Robin: "Maybe Star. But one of these passages might lead us back to the center while the others are just traps waiting for us. We have to be careful not to step into the wrong tunnel."

Beast Boy: "Why don't we all split up, so we can cover more ground and see if any of us on the right path?"

Cy looked at his friend and told him that's not going to happen.

Cyborg: "That would be a bit extreme. If any of us split up and searched for the right way, any one of us will step into the trap and probably get killed. Ain't no way I'm separating and die for nothing."

Robin: "Whatever the case, we have to get to the Ark and get back home fast before the fleet arrives. Now which path should we take?"

The team looked around and wondered this themselves. But for Alex, it was something else that got his attention. In the second passage, there was a shadow along the stonewalls. Judging by the shape of it, he noticed that the shadow obviously belonged to his only friend the UAC. But just before he came to a conclusion, the shadow immediately disappeared into the hall. Thinking about this, the guardian wondered if this is some kind of trick, or if his friend is showing him the way. So he pointed his finger at the opening and told his team where to go.

Alex: "Let's go this way."

Everyone turned their heads to Al and was a little skeptical. Even Robin approached him and wondered about his decision.

Robin: "Are you sure about this Alex? You know it could be trap or some demon waiting for us."

Alex sighed to himself and thought the Boy Wonder was right. But after seeing the shadow of Jim, he has to be curious if that's the way or not. He looked up at the passage and told him they had no other choice.

Alex: "It could be possible… But we're press for time and we have to make the difficult choices along the way. Besides, I have a hunch we could be going to right way."

He then entered this passage and tried to follow what he was seeing. The rest of the team was a little confused, not to mention perplexed at the decision.

Starfire: "Is it me, or is our guardian getting the paranoid right now."

Cyborg: "Yeah, what's wrong with this guy? He's not like he's acting like himself."

Beast Boy: "Maybe he saw a ghost. I'm mean, we saw a lot of crazy stuff as of late."

All of them were walking into the passage and followed Alex through it. But there was one Titan that didn't follow the others. That person was Raven. She was a little curious about Alex herself. She could tell that he was distracted lately and could sense another presence with them. She wondered if something from Alex's past is connected to this bizarre behavior. As she was thinking about that, she heard a voice from everybody's obnoxious green teen.

Beast Boy: "Hey Raven! Hurry up!"

Raven shook her head and realized the others have already gone. She quickly ran up into the passage and played catch up with the rest of her friends.

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This is where I'm going to stop this chapter. Again, sorry I had to cut it short but I had to save on the time and energy I needed. Rest assure, the rest of the chapter will be revealed on the next update. Including the shocking twist you will never see coming. Please Review.