Okay… As promised, I give you the second part of the Doomed Titans chapter. Again, I would like to apologize to the sudden cut. When you are too busy with other things and writing a story takes too long, you had to split the chapter in half. Not to mention that this story is almost finished. Just a few more chapters and I'm all done. I just hope that some of the chapters won't take longer then this one. Now moving on, no reviews to speak of so far and the hit counter is on 22 on the last chapter. I think the idea of cutting the chapter must've been the cause of this slowness. I just hope this chapter we'll get more attention and if not, well there's always the next one. the Titans get closer and closer to Gamma. Unknown to them is that their guardian is encountering someone he thought was gone a long time ago. Is this person helping them, or is this another trick?
Chapter Notes
There is one scene from House of the Dead 4 game that involves an elevator shaft and spiders. I was thinking using the Vagary for the action scene along with the Ticks and Trites. You know it when I get there. As I said on the last chapter, I'm going to add a little twist to the story that will make some heads turn. Now, I'm not going to tell you what the twist is. You just have to read it for yourself.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or Doom 3
Chapter Forty-Six: Unexpected Reunion
Site 3, Pit Elevator: November 16, 2145, 11:56 A.M.
In the entrance of the caverns, it was completely dark and quiet. But then, a huge metallic door opened up and a mine cart came down the track from the outside. The cart then slowed down until it made a complete and utter stop in the middle docking area of the entrance. Once it got there and door opened and the person who stepped out of it was none other then the marine with the procession of the Soulcube. After getting the security clearance from Pierce Roger's PDA, he journeyed to the Freight Cart Control room to bring the train back to docking bay in site 3. After a couple of detours and vicious attacks on demons, he was able to get out of there and headed towards the Site 3 docking area. Now that he made it, he looked up at the elevator shaft and took a deep breath. He knew the moment he entered the cavern, he's going to face more demons from below. He knew that they were protecting the main excavation site where Hell's gateway is hidden. But he has to push forward and seal it up at once in order to prevent this madness from spreading to Earth. Looking up at the entrance to the caverns, he excelled and got ready for the fight of his life.
Main Marine: "All right, here we go."
He stepped foot into the shaft and looked at the terminal. He's glad that the terminal was working or else he would be in trouble. He clicked on the 'transfer' icon and the doors behind him begin to close. After that, the lift started to lower itself down, descending deeper and deeper to a new Hell.
Database Maintenance, Service Storage: November 16, 2145, 11:58 A.M.
Back in Database Maintenance, it was all quiet in Service Storage. It was a bit of a compact room for secret storage for tools and equipment. There was a small shelf in the right side of the room, and a service ladder on the left that can take people up to the floor above them. On the bad side, there's a skeleton on the ground that use to be a casualty of the nightmare and a demonic growth tunnel on the back wall the goes to somewhere. Minutes later a group came out of that tunnel and entered this small room. As always, this team was still Alex and the Teen Titans. The group looked around the area and could tell they were once again out of that dangerous place.
Beast Boy: "Phew… Glad we're out of there again. But where are we now?"
Cyborg: "Good question. This place looks completely compact."
Alex checked the digital map on his PDA just to see where they were. After that, he now knew the location.
Alex: "Looks like we're in some kind of service storage area. This could explain tightness of the room."
He continued to check and noticed something else, smirking at it.
Alex: "And wouldn't you know it, we're just above Data Storage. Looks like we're in the right track."
He looked around the room to find a way up. He then looked at the service ladder that was locked down with a touch monitor next to it. Looking at that, he approached the touch screen and pressed the 'Extend Ladder' icon on it. In seconds, the ladder started to rise up and reached the ceiling above it. Once it touched the ceiling a hatch opened above it and let the ladder to go through it. The ladder then made a complete stop and yellow lights started to blink on and off for a few seconds. Alex looked up and smiled to himself, then peeked at the others and told them to go up.
Alex: "Well, why are we all standing around here for? Let's head on up."
The guardian went first and climbed up the ladder, followed by Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. Ask for Starfire and Raven, they used their flying abilities to rocket pass the boys and flew right through the compartment. Once everyone was out of the small storage area from below, they made it to Data Storage. It was a huge room with rows and rows and terminals gathering all known data throughout the facility, mostly in Gamma Labs. Of course the place is in complete disrepair. Few of the terminals were malfunctioning with others toppled over and sparking about, the lighting completely messed up, and the blood on the floors and walls. Alex looked around and wondered about their next location.
Alex: "Now lets see… The executive offices aren't far from here. We need to look for a doorway that could take us there. Let's get a move on."
They continued to walk down the long row of terminals, looking for their way into the executive offices. As they were walking, they heard a grunting noise in front of them. That's when they saw a Commando Zombie coming out of the left side of the terminal section and charged to them with incredible speed and a tentacle arm ready to whip around. Alex, leading the way, took his shotgun out and pointed it at the muscled bound zombie, waiting for the right moment to shoot. The zombie immediately jumped up into the air and was ready to strike from above. The guardian quickly pointed his gun up and pulled the trigger, shooting the zombie right at the head. That shot caused its head to explode and killed it on the spot. Once it's dead, the team continued to move forward. But that was soon cut of by a roadblock, and not just any roadblock. This block involves demonic growth with razor sharp claws sticking out of the floor. But on the bright side, there is a way to get around it. They turned left and pass the different isles of data terminals. But then, another trap was about to take place. Coming out of the hiding places, two Commando Zombies holding chain guns opened fire on the group. Raven quickly formed a shield and protected her team from the barrage of bullets. Cyborg got his chain gun ready while Alex took his grenade out. The moment Raven let her shield down, the guardian quickly armed it and threw it at the two. The blast didn't kill them, only stung them long enough for Cy to deliver the ultimate blow. He let the drum spin and his own barrage of armor piercing ammunition took the two down incredibly fast. Raven then let her shield down fully and the group proceeded, with the hybrid gathering the remaining ammo belts that were left behind. As they reached the end, they turned right and entered another row of terminals, keeping their guards up from whatever's going to attack them. That's when two clouds appeared and struck down multiple lightning bolts, bringing two more Commando Zombies in the fray. And with a corridor this small, there's no escape for the team. The two then charged to the group and ready to turn them to nothing. Starfire then help the others out by charging her star bolts and shoot them at the zombie from behind. At the same time, Alex aimed his shotgun, which is loaded with two fresh shells, and took another shot at the zombie from in front. The two of them were dead before they had a chance to attack them. They continued they way to the offices until they reached the end of the row of terminals. They then turned left and entered a small corridor with monitors and servers on both ends. As they were walking down the area, they all heard a conversation on a radio frequency, all in a bizarre language. They knew what that meant and prepared for what's ahead. That's when a group of Z-Secs came out of their hiding areas and began firing. Quickly, the Titans took cover from the small compartments and waited for the right moment to fire back. Once they stopped firing, Alex came out of his hiding spot and used his machine gun to open a full load on them. But like the team, the security zombies took cover themselves and began reloading their clips. Though it might be impossible at the moment to take them out, Robin thought of a good way in getting them out. He took out an exploding disk and threw it straight to the end of the wall. The disk exploded on impact and caused the guards to fly out of their spots and took cover on the floor. This made them completely vulnerable and Alex knew it. He pointed his machine gun at the right targets and shoots each of them in the head with sheer accuracy. With them dead, the guardian approached the dead soldiers and took all of their clips and shells for his own weapons. So the group continued on and turned another left when they reached the end. Upon turning left, they saw a maintenance lift in front of them and its completely operational. Above the lift there was a digital sign that says 'Data Storage L2/Executive Offices'.
Alex: "There! We're on the right track. Everyone into the lift!"
Soon enough, everyone got into the lift and the guardian pressed on the 'Raise Lift' icon. The lift ascended upwards to the second floor of Data Storage. Once it got there, there was a sudden lightning strike and an Imp appeared right in front of them, getting the advantage it needed. Quickly, Alex got his shotgun out and fired at its waist before it gets the chance in attacking. Once its dead, the group got out of the lift and entered the second floor of Data Storage. As they were walking, they noticed shadows around the workstations and behind terminals. Their guess is that security zombies were hiding and waiting for them to get closer. Alex thought it was a good opportunity to take them down before they could attack. He took out two grenades, armed both of them, and threw them in their designated areas. Once the Z-Secs noticed the explosive objects close to their position, they immediately ran for their lives. Unfortunately, the grenades exploded and blew them up in mere seconds. With that problem out of the way, the group proceeded forward and turned right, where there's a door in front of them. As they were approaching it, the door opened up by itself and another Commando Zombie charged right to them. Cyborg shoved his friends out of the way and got his chain gun out to handle this threat. The drum then started to roll and multiple bullets came out and punctured the commando right through the chest, killing it before reaching its target. The team then went through the door and entered the security office of the facility. There were two pillars between them and a security checkpoint in front of them. The moment they entered the room, they walked into another trap. Two Z-Secs came out of the pillars with machine guns in tow and a Commando Zombie came out of the security office with a chain gun in its possession. They all then fired on the group and were going to kill them in point blank range. But seconds before the assault, Raven opened her cape and covered all of her friends and formed a black portal to sink right into the ground. The guards ceased fire and wondered what just happened and where the intruders went to this time. The Commando Zombie lowered his chain gun and searched the room, wondering where they're going to pop out. What it didn't know was that a black portal appeared on the ceiling, right above the muscle bound freak. And the worst part is that it didn't know about it until it was too late. The moment the zombie looked up, Robin came out of the portal with his R-Sword pointed down, rocketing towards the undead guard. Just like that, the sword got impaled right into its skull and brain and leaved it dead on the ground. Soon after, Starfire came down through the portal and fired two star bolts at the two remaining guards before they could turn around. The bolts power was so intense that it killed the two zombies on impact. The moment the room was cleared, the group continued to move ahead, searching for signs to their next location. They passed another set of metal doors and walked right through it. When they got passed those doors, they entered what appears to be some kind of huge and wide shaft. Judging by the rocky terrain, the group could tell that this facility was built on a mountain incline. There were two floors on this shaft, one floor they're on, and another above them. There were two ways in getting there, one are stairs on the left and the other is an access lift on the right. Alex then approached the edge of the catwalk just to see how deep is the chasm. To his surprise, it was completely deep, with the infection of Hell spreading and a lava pit at the bottom. Alex then looked up and had a good guess that the Executive Offices are above them. He looked at the Titans and told them the good news.
Alex: "At least we're heading in the right direction. The Executive Offices are one floor above us. We just need to head up."
Cyborg looked to his right and thought the elevator is a quick way in getting up. But when he look at it, he notice the lift was malfunctioning and sparks were flying out of the monitor. Seeing that, he shook his head and sighed.
Cyborg: "Too bad we can't use the lift. The damn thing's busted."
Beast Boy groaned to himself and thought this wasn't getting them anywhere. But then he turned to the right and noticed the stairs were still intact. Having that energetic grin on his fact, he told his friends about the other option.
Beast Boy: "At least the steps are still in one piece. C'mon guys! Last one up is a rotten egg!"
Beast Boy went ahead of the group and was about to head up. But then, the shaft began to shake a little bit, making the team unsteady. They look up and noticed piles of boulders raining down on them. Quickly Rae got her shield ready and covered everyone from being flattened. But most of the catwalk was destroyed along with the stairs that would take them up to the offices. The small avalanche lasted a few seconds until it all immediately stopped. The telepath removed the shield as the team saw the damage that happened. Even the steps were long gone too and there's a huge gap from one floor to the next. Looking at that Beast Boy chuckled very scared and wasn't expecting that.
Beast Boy: "Then again…"
Cyborg approached the edge of the broken stairway and knew that both ways up are long gone.
Cyborg: "Well, there goes our two options. What now?"
Robin thought about this then came up with another way in getting up.
Robin: "We take option number three."
He then looked at Raven and told her a favor.
Robin: "Raven."
Raven turned to Robin and nodded, knowing what he wanted. She then approached the edge of the broken stairs and closed her eyes to concentrate. The moment her eyes snapped open with white light, she waved her hands and black magical steps appeared where the old steps used to have been. Everyone watched on and was amazed by this sudden trick. Even Alex was impressed by this as he approached Raven, put his hand on her shoulder, and compliment her on her spell.
Alex: "Nice work Raven."
He then turned to the others and told them to move.
Alex: "All right, its time to head on up!"
Alex turned his head up to the second floor and was about to leave. But then he notices someone at the entrance to the offices. In fact, this person is the same person he encountered back in the underground Hell. His late best friend, Jim. Alex was still confused about this as Jim drew another vicious smile and walked away into the offices. He was completely curious about this, but didn't know the others were waiting for him to go on ahead.
Robin: "Uh… Alex? Are you okay? It looked like you spaced out for a moment there."
Alex shook his head and snapped out of it. He then looked at Robin and the others and decided to lie once more.
Alex: "Sorry about that Rob. I was just in deep thought is all. Now lets head up. We don't want to keep the Ark waiting for us."
He then went up the black stairs while the team looked on in complete confusion. But Robin told them to move a head anyways.
Robin: "You heard him team. Let's go!"
The team then followed their guardian and headed up the magical stairway. But when they went midway up, a cackle echoed the entire shaft. Knowing it was Betruger; they hurried up to reach the second floor. But then, they all felt a little toasty, as the shaft got a little hotter. Alex looked down and wondered why the access way was getting hot until he notice flames spewing upwards, heading straight to the team in incredible speed. Realizing this, he looked at the others and told them to move faster.
Alex: "Everybody head up!"
Quickly, everyone ran up to the entrance to the Executive Offices ran into it. Officially, everyone went into it except Beast Boy who jumped right into the entrance seconds before the flames reached him. The moment everyone got in, the fire appeared through the doorway and was completely hot. Looking at the flames, Alex sighed in relief and glad that no one was burnt.
Alex: "Phew… That was too close for comfort."
Everyone then turned to the other direction, away from the flames, and walked down a narrow path that goes through a couple of turns. They then approached a door that will take them into the offices. Once the door opened, they went into the administration section of the offices. On the left side were terminals for computers and such and on the right was security checkpoint for clearance and records. The place was a mess just like the rest of the facility with terminals sparking, loose floor tiles and a busted door that would lead to the restroom. As they were walking straight to the other side to reach the steps, two Z-Sec guards came out of the other doorway and pointed their weapons at them. The group saw this and took cover the instant shots were fired. Cyborg got out of his hiding place and used his sonic cannon to take them down in two blows. Once they were dead, the group moved straight into the waiting area of administration and was about to turn to the right. That's when they notice a dead body on one of the chairs, yet another casualty in this nightmare. But as they were walking past it, they notice the dead body coming back to life and getting off the chair, meaning it was a zombie faking it was dead. Alex quickly got his double barrel shotgun out and load two cases of shells at it before it could attack. Just as he did that, they all heard grunting from behind and turned around to see more zombies coming through the terminals. Robin then took out a freeze disk and threw it at the hoard. The disk exploded and in an instant the undead was frozen in place, all encased in a huge ice cube. Once they were out of the way, the group hurried to the door on the other end and entered the cafeteria. There was a small kitchen area on the left and a conference room on the right, but on both sides where Z-Sec soldiers and Commando Zombies, some with shields while others were holding chain guns machine guns, and shot guns. They all fired at the same time, wanting to kill them all before they could escape. Raven was able to put up a black wall to deflect the variety of projectiles but there's no telling how long she would hold them up. Alex looked at this and knew this was extremely bad.
Alex: "Well this is just dandy. We are surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned. Not to mention our only way to the main lift is blocked at the moment. How are we going to get out of this mess?"
Starfire looked at this and had something that could work.
Starfire: "Um… I think I have the idea that would destroy them."
Alex looked at the Tamaranean and raised an eyebrow.
Alex: "You have?"
Star nodded with a confident smile on her face. Alex rubbed his chin and thought maybe this idea Star has would work.
Alex: "Okay. If you think your plan would work, then do it. I don't have any other ideas to stop this at the moment."
Star smiled and approached the middle of the shielded wall with confidence on her face. She then started to focus as a green outline glows around her body. Knowing what Star is trying to do, the guardian looked at Raven and gave her another order.
Alex: "Raven, lower the shield on my mark."
Rae just looked at Alex and nodded, understanding what's bound to happen. So she concentrated hard to keep her shield up waited for her friend's signal. While she was waiting, Starfire was still charging up her powers, reaching to its potential. In all her years in experience, her star bolts came from within her body. Sometimes, if she can concentrate hard enough, her powers will reach ten fold. Enough to even kill half an army. All she needs to do is combine her righteous fury long enough for the impactful blow. At the same time, the guards and commandos continued their onslaught at the team with half of them firing and half reloading. At the same time, Raven held on to the shield as hard as she could. But she could tell that her black wall has cracks coming through it. She then used her magic to repair the cracks, but she's already up to her limit.
Raven: "Alex?"
The guardian lifted his hand up and told her to remain calm.
Alex: "Hang on…"
Alex continued to wait for the right moment to give the telepath the signal. He knows that he needed Star to follow her plan, whatever it was. The last thing he wants is for Rae to lower the shield and let the entire group to get mutilated by incoming firepower. As for Starfire, she was almost charged up and ready to finish them off. Once she reached the peak of her powers, she lifted her head up and opened her eyes, glowing incredibly bright.
Starfire: "I'm ready!"
Alex looked at Star and smiled, wondering what she's going to do. He then looked at Raven and told her to stand down.
Alex: "A'ight Rae, get rid of the shield."
The telepath looked at him and don't know if he's serious or not.
Raven: "What?"
Alex: "Just do it!"
Raven rolled her eyes around and decided to let go of her shield. When the guards saw the shield went down, they thought they were successful in destroying it and pointed their weapons just to finish them off. At the same time, the Tamaranean tightened her fists and her star bolts glowed intensely. The moment the black wall was completely down, the Z-Secs and Commando Zombies pointed their weapons at the team. But what they didn't know was that Starfire was charged up and ready for the ultimate blast. Once she placed her hands in front of her view, the huge energy exploded, engulfing the entire room, and leaving the guards no time to escape. In fact, the bolt energy was so bright that the Titans had little choice but to cover their eyes before they get completely blinded. Once the light faded, all that's left of the zombies was nothing but a bunch of smoking boots and around the room was sheered burns. Everyone got their eyes opened and couldn't believe what they saw. Even Alex was amazed by it and whistled very impressively.
Alex: "Damn girl… That's pretty amazing Star."
Star turned to see her friend and had a warm pleasant smile.
Starfire: "It is nothing. I just charged up my powers to the point they could kill someone. I never tried it before though."
Alex: "Heh… Well, it's not too late to try out new things as the old saying goes. C'mon, we're almost out of here."
Alex got his shotgun ready since they will be entering close corridors within the offices. Then the group walked past the cafeteria and entered the door with a sign above that says 'Office Corridor B'. From there they followed the signs that could take them to the main lift to the main database center. The office section has long linear hallways with walk in offices for two people to work in. Above the ceilings, the group noticed signs of demonic growth spreading slowly with the ceilings slowly melting away. Cautious, the group slowly walked down the hallway, checking each office before proceeding forward. So far all they saw was regular zombies and Imps coming out of them. But the team was able to get out of there with the occasional shotgun blasts, star bolts, sonic cannons, and the R-Sword. As they were walking down the hall, they notice the their path was blocked by demonic growth coming from the ceiling to the floor. Beast Boy just sighed and knew this was a dead end.
Beast Boy: "So much for going that way. Now what?"
Alex thought about this until he heard a voice coming from not far from him.
'Alex…'
He quickly turned his head to the right and heard it coming from the restroom next to them. Curious, he told his friends where to go next.
Alex: "We'll go through there. There might be an alternative route through the bathroom."
The team looked at the entrance to the bathroom and wondered if there is one. They of course put that aside as they all entered the bathroom. They looked around noticed nothing that resembles an entrance, just dimly litted lights and a stench of blood and decaying bodies. Raven just looked at this and wondered if Alex is loosing it.
Raven: "Okay… There's appears to be no other way through. Guess that means we're trapped."
Alex blinked a couple of times and thought there was a passage coming from the rest room.
Alex: "That's impossible! I had a hunch that there was another way to the main lift. That had to be."
Beast Boy: "Well, it looks like there's no way out. Should we back track now and find another way?"
Just as the team was about to find another way to Gamma, a metal bathroom wall in front of them burst open and the group positioned themselves ready for a battle. But there was no monsters coming out of it. Just an empty compartment with a ladder heading up. The team just looked at the alcove and was a little confused as to why it opened up. But then they heard a silent but childish voice tell them to follow it.
'Over here…'
The Titans just heard this voice and wondered who that voice belongs to. But Alex, who he knows that's Jim's voice, decided to follow it.
Alex: "Well, it looks like we do have a way through. Let's go up."
Alex walked ahead and approached the ladder heading up while the others wondered if Alex's hunch had some help. But being they have little choice, they decided on following Alex and hope that where they're going could be to Gamma. Once they went up the ladder, they enter a maintenance area above the offices. They journeyed through the tight path and went through twists and turns that would take them somewhere. As they are midway through this path, they all heard cries and sounds of 'mama' between them. They all looked around just to see if there are any monsters coming towards them. Just then, small vents started to burst open and a large number of Cherubs came out of the vents and flew towards the Titans with their lobster claws ready to cut them down. Alex in the front got his machine gun ready while Robin in the back got his R-Sword out and positioned it ready to fight back. Quickly, the two of them picked the baby monsters off with bullets and slices. Unfortunately, more Cherubs came out of the woodworks and completely outnumbered the team. Starfire saw this and decided on helping the two out, since she was the one who encountered the little cretins when the invasion started. She flew up to the ceiling with her eyes glowing and fired her beams to the left, taking out the Cherubs all the way in the back. She then turned her head to the right and mopped up the rest of them. Within moments, the Tamaranean killed all of them and the path was cleared. Alex puts away his weapon and the team proceeded in reaching the lift. But then, they stopped as they encounter junctions with three different paths. The group wasn't sure what to do now that they enter this part of the maintenance area. Surely they want to get to the Ark and get back home, but the last thing they want is to take the wrong path and get mauled by demons at the end. Alex thought about which path to take until he heard a voice coming from his dead friend on the left.
'This way…'
Al turned his head to that direction and thought it was a sure shot idea. So the told the team to move in that directions.
Alex: "Let's take this path."
Quickly, the team went left and walking down the linear hall the late Jim was taking them. As they were walking, the team felt a bit of a tremor beneath their feet. At first, they thought that is was nothing and continued to walk. But then, that tremor got stronger then the last one. That's when they realized that the flooring they were on was completely unstable. They were just about the get out of the flooring until it quickly gave way and the group fell to the floor below it. Well, the boys fell while the girls managed to float the moment the floor collapsed. When that mess is over, the girls looked down and saw the others in the cubical offices, completely piled up.
Starifre: "Friends! Are you all in the piece of one?"
Robin, who was on top of that pile, slowly stirred and looked up at his friend, answering her question.
Robin: "We're fine Star. We weren't unaware of that collapse. Where's Alex?"
The moment he said that, they all heard a loud murmur coming from underneath them.
Alex: "I'm under you!"
The boys blinked a couple of time and looked down, only to realize that Alex was underneath Cyborg, completely buried. Not knowing what to do, the guardian told them and a loud demanding voice.
Alex: "GET OFF OF ME NOW!"
Quickly, the boys got off of him and gave him a little more room to breath. Alex quickly got up in an Indian position and took deep breaths, getting all the air into his lungs. Robin didn't know he and the others were above him and tried to be apologetic on his friend.
Robin: "Sorry about that Al. Didn't expect you were underneath us."
The guardian looked at him and responded back.
Alex: "Yeah? Well, I just didn't know that was going to happen. What happened anyways?"
Robin looked up and notices the hole they went through with the girls still flying. Observing the damage, he explained to Alex what happened.
Robin: "Looks like the floor from the maintenance shaft must've gave way. Bad construction I guess. Whatever the case we can't go up there."
Alex sighed to himself, knowing that it was just shitty support and the like.
Alex: "Well ain't that a kick in the ass."
Beast Boy: "So, where are we anyways?"
Al checked the area out and notice nothing but cubicles offices, half of them were damaged severely and blood was smeared all over the floor. Upon this observation, Alex knew where they are.
Alex: "Looks like the temp offices. This must be where recruiters and record storers be to handle the minor stuff."
He got his PDA out and used his touch pen to see where they need to be next. But moment he looked into is, he smirked and knew where to go now.
Alex: "Luckily, we're much closer to the main lift. We just have to go one floor up and take the second level. Then we have to pass the security checkpoint. It might be locked when we get there, so we have to gain access to the security terminal to override the lockdown. Once we head up the lift, we're going to be in the main Database and much closer to Gamma."
Alex just got up and turned to the boys, telling them to do the same.
Alex: "Everybody up! It's time we get to the lab and take you all home. Hurry before-"
Just then, he heard cocking and loadings behind him. He slowly turned around and saw multiple Z-Secs holding their shotguns and machine guns at him. Noticing this, he begins to realize that the sound of the crash has gotten their attention and went in to investigate. He should of known this from the start but was too busy tell the other to get off him to realize. One of the guards yelled to him, but it was a language he didn't understand at all. So he cocked an eyebrow and asked him in a polite way.
Alex: "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you. Can you explain it in English por favor?"
The guard yelled again in that language and the others responds by pulling their triggers. Alex eyes were bugged wide and immediately ducked down behind one of the cubicles seconds before shots fired. The rest of the team saw everything and took cover themselves as bullets and shells flew about and hitting the metal bulletproof walls. The guards continued their onslaught, not realizing the girls were hiding up in the maintenance shaft where the roof broke away. They were watching this and realized they have to do something fast before they could kill their friends. Raven came up with an idea and tightened one of her fists and it was glowing black. She then said her magic words.
Raven: "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"
Immediately, the cubical walls in front of the guards were covered in black energy and started to wobble. The guards looked at that and wonder what it was. That's when they look up and saw the girls with Rae's eyes glowing white. Noticing all of this, all of them pointed their weapons at her and were prepared to fire. Unfortunate for them, Starfire was able to shoot their weapons out of their hands with her eye beams, making them completely unarmed. Once they were weaponless, the telepath waved her hands and sent the cubicle walls flying straight to them, crushing them between the walls behind them. All of them killed on the impact as the walls dropped after Rae released her magic and the guards just plummeted on the floor. The boys sighed in relief and got up from their hiding spots, looking up at the girls as Alex raised his hand up to them.
Alex: "Nice work girls! Now lets reach the lift."
The girls nodded and flew down to the others while the guardian gathered up the ammo scattered around from the dead zombies. Once all the ammos been added and the groups is together, the team continued their journey to the elevator that would take them to the main database center. They all walked to the door that would take them up to the second floor. They passed through that door and saw a set of steps that go a few stories higher then they thought. Probable guess is that the maintenance area they were in was much bigger, so its possible that the second floor was a little higher then they expected. The group looked at the guardian and had questionable looks on their faces. The guardian just looked at them and shrugged his shoulders.
Alex: "What? You expect it to be one flight of stairs? Head on up!"
Thinking of nothing else, the group decided to follow him and went up the first flight of stairs. However, the moment they were midway, a vent burst open and an Imp came down blocking their path. It shrieked at them and was about to slash Alex. The guardian quickly took his shotgun out and used it to block the demon's attack. He then shoved it away from him and positioned it ready to fire a load of shells on it. The moment it got killed, the team then turned around and went up the second flight of steps. Just then, an alcove opened up and a fat zombie appeared out of it, lumbering towards the group. Alex was able to reload before heading up and used his weapon to blast the undead individual through the chest, letting blood and guts to spill all over the floor. With another one down, the group then went up to the third flight and was halfway to the next room. Another vent burst open and another Imp appeared out of it. Alex was going to use his shotgun again and dispose the next target, but he heard whisperings from behind. He and the others turned around and saw another Imp being summoned out of the red cloud and orange lightning. Now they realize this was a trap set up by Betruger. Alex also knew that the Imp was in front of them and the one behind was a distraction. He quickly turned around and saw the monster using its claws to slash the guardian to bits. Alex used his prosthetic robotic arm and protects himself from the assault. The Imp in the back took the opportunity to charge a fireball and throw it at the group. Cyborg, who was in the back of the group, turned a certain way and was able to deflect it with his metal armor. He had his arm a little seared, but it was still functional. He quickly tightened his fist and used the arm he was using as a bat to swing it to the demons. He got it right in the chin and sends the creature flying to the wall, smashing it on impact. It lowered to the ground but it didn't die, as it slowly came up and was about to counter attack. So Cy took his chain gun out and ripped the Imp to shreds, killing it and leaving it with blood splattered on the wall. As the first one was dead, the guardian was busy with the other Imp in front of him. He was blocking and dodging every attack the demon used. There were scratches on his armor and minor cuts on his arm, but he's still surviving the assault. The creature then did a high slash to rip the guardian's face. Alex quickly ducked down from the slash and had the opening he was looking for. He positioned his shotgun up and used the butt of his weapon to hit the demon on the chin. He succeeded as it stumbled back and away from the human, giving Al the perfect time to finish the Imp. He fixed his rifle the right way and pulled the trigger to end its life. With both Imps gone, the team went up the final flight and saw the doorway that would take them to the second floor offices. Just as they were about to reach it, a cloud appeared at the entrance and a Relevant arrived blocking their way through. It quickly fired its shoulder-mounted rockets at the group and was about to end it all. Beast Boy quickly got his Grabber out and pointed at both rockets, firing the green thin light at the two of them. The moment he got them, he quickly let them go in order to avoid getting dragged around by them and let them miss the team in the other direction. Alex then got his plasma rifle out and used a full load of plasma projectiles at the skeleton soldier, killing it within seconds. Now that every monster is long gone, the Titans entered through the door and into the second floor of the executive offices. But unlike the first office branch, this branch is a big mess. In the middle of the room, was a summoning area with a pentagram, multiple candles and five dead bodies around the borders, huge demonic growth all over the ceiling with a hole in the middle, and a message written in blood in front of them saying 'This is the end.' Everyone looked around and could tell this wasn't a good thing.
Beast Boy: "Guess this office had seen better days."
Alex: "This looks like another summoning area. This is bad. If any demon gets through there, we're in trouble. We have get out of here quick before its too late."
The group quickly walked up a wall to the left and passed the summoning pentagram. They then turned a corner and approached the two metal doors that would take them to the security checkpoint.
Alex: "All right, this is where the security checkpoint is at. Once we find a way to unlock it, we'll take the lift up to the Main Database center."
Alex slowly approached the door and was about to enter. But then Raven sensed something coming from the other side of the door and it wasn't anything that's pleasant. She immediately put her hand out to him and encased him in a black dome, covering him completely from head to toe. She then waved her hand back and he flew back as far as possible. At the same time, the doors opened up and monstrous growth was blocking the way. Not only that, but a wormlike creature came out of it and roared with its razor sharp teeth showing, wanting to eat some live flesh. It sank back into the hole and the doors closed, locking completely. Alex got up from the push back after the small dome around him faded away completely. Starring at the door that was about to eat him, he was a little shaky by it.
Alex: "Okay, didn't see that one coming…"
As they thought that was over with, they all heard a satanic language echoing throughout the offices. That's when an orange cloud appeared over the pentagram and an orange lightning bolt came on down. Everyone turned around and got themselves ready to fight what's going to appear. What they saw was an Archvile appearing from the center and raised its arms up in the air, shrieking out loud. At the same time, multiple Commando Zombies surround the group and all had chain guns in their possession. Alex looked at all of it and knew about this.
Alex: "Now that I saw coming."
All of them pull the trigger and began firing while the humanoid demon launched a wave of fire at the team. Raven quickly formed a bubble shield and protected the entire team from the onslaught. Waves upon waves of bullets and fire kept hitting the shield and smoke surrounded the object. Once all the clips were empty, and the fire was gone, the zombies waited to see if it was all over. The moment the smoke cleared, they notice no bodies, let alone a shield. All they saw was an empty space with no one to be found. All the commandos looked at the empty spot and wondered what happened to their targets. What they didn't know was that black portals appeared from the ceilings and exploding disks came down from them. All the commandos looked down at the disks and realized what they are. But before they could get out, the disks detonated and killed them all in one blast. The Archvile looked around and noticed all the Commandos dead and dissolving away. It tried to figure out how that happened until six portals appeared on the floor. Suddenly, the Titans came out of their holes and fired everything they got at the monster, giving it little time to attack or defend. So it died in seconds and disappeared out of existence. With all of them dead, Cy deactivated his sonic cannon and wiped his hands in success.
Cyborg: "Well, that was easy."
Robin: "Yeah, but still… Our way out is blocked off entirely. How are we going to get out of here?"
The second he said that, they all heard a loud clank from not too far from them. Alex, on instinct, turned and pointed his weapon at the sound and saw an alcove opened up next to the blocked door. There were no monsters coming out of it, but he did see a human shadow on the floor walking away. Alex starred at it and believed that the late Jim was showing the way. As he was looking at it, he heard Robin's voice breaking his train of thought.
Robin: "Alex, what is it?"
The guardian turned around and saw his friends with their weapons and powers at the ready wanting to know what he found. Al lowered his weapons and smiled at his discovery.
Alex: "Well Robin, I think we found your answer. Everyone head into the alcove!"
The group raised an eyebrow and was a little skeptic about their friend's decision. Alex then sighed to himself and told them it was safe.
Alex: "What? You guys are looking at me like I got something in my teeth. Get into that passage or we stay here and wait for more demons to appear. Your choice."
Everyone just looked at each other and wondered what's gotten into their guardian. But they decided to trust him and followed Alex right into the alcove that burst opened. It was completely narrow and completely red, but it was leading them one way and there was no other direction they could take. They went straight all the time until they saw the end of the path not far from them. Once they exit the maintenance path, they were in a hallway they have no idea where they were. But when Alex checked the area, he saw a room next to them with a huge airlock door that appears to be locked. He then looked at the sign above the airlock door and it reads 'Main Database Center'. The others looked up at the sign and all of them knew where they were now.
Robin: "Well at least we're at the right direction."
Alex: "Looks that way. But it appears to be locked up tight. Let's head to the security checkpoint and override the door."
The guardian and the others entered the security checkpoint and check to see if there was a terminal that could unlock the airlock that's blocking their way through. The security checkpoint was a big room with multiple consoles, a Health Station, and another locker cabinet that would hold whatever's in there. As they were searching, Alex noticed a PDA sitting on one of the terminals. He picked it up and observed what it was. What he saw was an audio log on a prototype weapon. He pressed play on it and listened to what this person was saying.
'This is the audio log of John Meltzer, October 10th 2145. The prototype of the new BFG 10000 arrived a few weeks ago and I got to say, it looks amazing! I mean the BFG 9000 was cool and all, but the new model is completely different. It has a nice firm grip on the trigger handle and was lightweight unlike the last model with the big and bulky handle. And the firepower? Wow! I thought the 9000 version was powerful, but this one was completely different. Instead of energy building, it has of combination of plasma and high dense energy to kill anything and anyone that comes into contact. Was able to do a target test on it and it passed with amazing colors. I bet this bad boy would ultimately change the face of any war in the near future. Possibly bring universal peace. But I digress… This is an extremely powerful weapon and if fallen into the wrong hands it could lead to very dangerous consequences. I tooken the liberty in storing the BFG 10000 in the Munitions Lot up at Gamma's security station. As if the boys up there has enough hardware as it is. Security clearance was given to me and all the others in the security staff for taking stock on weapons and ammo. But if you're in the mood in trying the prototype out, it's in a locked storage room with the code 852 to enter. End of log.'
As the log stopped, Alex thought about what it said. A prototype that's much better then the 9000 model? That could be pretty interesting trying something like that and do a lot of damage. As he was thinking about it, he heard Beast Boy's calling.
Beast Boy: "Alex! I think I found it!"
Alex turned around and saw BB pointing at the terminal he found. Thinking about the munitions lot the guy was talking about, he decided to take his PDA out and connect it to the other for downloading. Once he did that, he approached the changeling and checked out the terminal with the others joining him. He looked at the screen and it said on the title, 'Airlock Lockdown' with a button icon under it saying 'Override'. Smiling at this, he clicked on the button and the red screen turned green, followed by an announcement over the speakers.
'Attention: Override sequence initiated. Airlock access to Main Database Center now accessible.'
With that said, Alex smiled more and turned to the team for the good news.
Alex: "Well, we're getting closer to Gamma. Let's all head to the airlock. There's a huge lift when we enter."
The Titans nodded and were leaving the security office. As Alex was following them, he noticed another screen that had a journal log on it. It stated that new ammo had been added into storage locker with the code 619 to gain access. Looking at the log, he turned to see the security locker and figured that he could use more ammo to help him fight through the Database Center until getting to the Gamma for more ammo. So he approached the locker and typed in the code. As the door opened upwards, he saw two cases of plasma cartridges, a box of shells, and a stack of clips. Seeing the ammo, Alex smirked and collected everything he needed. After that, he approached his PDA and removed it from the other when it was finished downloading. He joined in the group and left the security checkpoint.
Alex: "Time to go guys. Let's get into the airlock and get out of this death trap."
They were about to leave until they all heard a loud roar coming from behind them. The team turned around and saw a wall burst open, where a Pinky came out of it and charged right towards them. Cy was able to get everyone out of the way and used his chain gun to rip the huge bull like beast to shreds. After its death, Alex pressed the 'Open' icon and the airlock rose slowly. As the team got in, the guardian pressed the 'Transfer' icon and the airlock started its sequence. When the doors closer, air came through the nozzles, and the other door opened, they saw a construction lift that ascended upwards to the Database Center. But that's not the only thing they saw. Welcoming them to the lift were a large group of Imps, Maggots, Vulgars, and Z-Secs carrying weapons. The Titans just looked at that and knew it was too good to be true.
Robin: "Looks like Betruger rolled out the red carpet for us."
Starfire: "And they are blocking our way of passage."
Alex just looked on with glaring eyes and came up with an idea that could get them out of there.
Alex: "Then it looks like we have to make a passage. Beast Boy, clear the way!"
The changeling knew what the guardian was talking about, so he turned into a Triceratops and charged to the evil bunch in a stampeding speed. All of them saw that and was about to fire everything at the green dinosaur. But it was too little too late for the group in the middle as BB rammed right into them and sent them flying all over the place. The others watched on as the Triceratops made it into lift and turn back to his normal self. The army saw this and charged off fireballs and pointed their weapons at him, ready to kill in mere moments. But they completely forgot about the others that were behind them. That's when the Titans killed the remaining group with disks, lasers, bolts, blasts, and projectiles. After all of them were completely killed, everyone quickly got on the lift.
Alex: "Go, go, go! Into the lift!"
Once everyone got into the elevator, Al turned around and saw red clouds appearing where they got in. He knew what's bound to happen and hurried to the panel on the back end of the lift to press the 'raise lift' icon. Soon as he pressed that, the doors closed behind them the same time a group of Commando Zombies and Imps appeared on the other side. They all saw the elevator beginning to ascend up and had to stop them at once. One of the Commandos decided to rush to the lift door and tried to pry it open, but it was sealed so tight that it was impossible to get through. As the elevator was getting higher, the Imps decided to charge their fireballs and threw them at it. But there were too many girdles in the way that it was impossible to reach their desire target. When the lift disappeared from view the zombies and demons screeched and groaned out loud, knew they have failed miserably. The Titans heard all of that from the elevator and sighed in complete relief now that the danger was over with. Even Alex rolled his eyes around and couldn't help but to take a very deep breath.
Alex: "Finally! That mess is over. It's going to be smooth sailing from here on out guys. Lets get some rest. When we get to Gamma, they'll be waiting for us up there."
The team just agreed with their guardian and decided to take some rest after the nightmare they have suffered. But as they were resting up, they didn't notice a few huge insects were crawling along, watching them heading up to the Database Center. They then started to scurry up too to warn their kind on who's coming.
Caverns – Area 1, Main Transfer Lift Shaft, November 16, 2145, 12:17 P.M.
While the Titans were heading up, someone else was heading down. Deep in the caverns, the marine that has the Soulcube in his possession was heading to the Main Excavation Site to find the Hellhole the demons were coming out of. So far, his trip through the caverns was pretty hectic. The moment he entered the caverns, many demons continued to attack him with anything they have. But with his weapon and the Soulcube, he was able to survive the whole ordeal. It also means that he was getting closer to his destination. Now he's on the lift that's taking him deeper into the caves. As he was waiting, he took his PDA out and checked the log of Counselor Swan, wondering what he said on his log.
'This is the audio log of Counselor Elliot Swann, dated November 16th, 2145. Campbell and I were unable to reach the main portal in the Delta Complex, but that portal may be inconsequential to a more disturbing discovery. We have uncovered reference to another portal, created by the demons themselves. A passageway between Hell and Mars. We suspect it resides within the cavern somewhere near the archeological dig. The fleet is on its way. Campbell and I will attempt to move there and somehow either shut it down or destroy it. That, ... that hellhole must be closed before the fleet arrives.'
Once the log stopped, the marine knew that this was the only opportunity he needed to end all of it. All he has to do is make his way through the caverns and reach the main excavation sight. As he was waiting for the lift to get him to the second station, he heard Betruger's laugh echoing within the caverns. The moment he saw the station at a further distance, he noticed huge boulders raining down and destroying the track bridge that connects the lift to the entrance. Immediately, the lift made an abrupt stop as the marine checked the panel that says 'Lift Malfunction' when he knew what really happened. Looking down at the damaged bridge, he now knew where to take an alternate route, through the ground floor that has lava cracks. Taking a deep breath, he jumped off the lift and landed on the ground, trying to navigate through the hot molten river. But after a few steps, he heard the sound of lightning from above. He looked up and saw an Archvile on the balcony summoning Cacodemons from above. Realizing this, he took his BFG out and pulled the trigger to charge. Once its fully charged, he started to say something quick and witty.
Main Marine: "All right freaks, have a taste of this!"
He then let go of the trigger and a huge blast of green energy came towards them.
Database Center, Main Access Lift: November 16, 2145, 12:21 P.M.
All the while, the Titans and Alex were still in the lift, heading on up to the main Database Center where an elevator would take them to Gamma Labs. Starfire and Beast Boy were sleeping peacefully while Cyborg, Robin, and Raven just sat there on the cold floor waiting until they reach the floor. Rob, with Star's head resting on his shoulder, checked his utility belt if he had plenty of disks and birdarangs left in his arsenal. So far, he had plenty of things needed, but it was a little low. So he has to ration on the throws and maybe use most of his combat on his R-Sword. Cy checked his systems to see what his status was. After that huge charge on the transportable power generator back in the Warehousing District, he was filled with enough power to last all day, not to mention that little recharge back in Cray's secret laboratory. According to his internal systems he's at over fifty percent full capacity, enough to last for a few hours before his reserve power system boots up. He just hopes he doesn't waist it all and souly concentrates on using his chain gun to help him through this mess. Raven was sitting in her lotus style, meditating and getting her powers in both emotional and mental state. She had been using most of her energy on creating multiple shields and blasts that it was straining her brain to the point of exhaustion. So she meditates long and hard just to get her powers in check. But as she was meditating, she sensed something coming from one of her friends. She opened one of her purple eyes and checked to see who it was. To her surprise, it was Alexander Kelly. He was just standing with a lean on the metal girder of the lift and his head turned away, as if he was in deep thought. Raven was a little suspicious about this since he's been acting strange as of late. So she got up and decided to intervene. As for Alex, he was in total deep thought. Ever since he spotted his friend Jim, who was dead since the tragic accident, a lot of questions been swirling in his head. How could he be alive all this time and why is he still the same age as he died? It didn't make any sense at all. Still, if he was able to see him again, he has to ask him what happened. Just as he was thinking about it he saw another shadow of his friend on the walls of the electric databanks. Alex shook his head and thought if he was being paranoid. As he was thinking about it, he heard the telepath's voice.
Raven: "Anything wrong?"
He turned his head and saw Raven with a worried expression on her face, even if it's emotionless. Sighing to himself, he answered her very calmly.
Alex: "No. Everything's fine. Why did you ask?"
Raven: "Because you don't look fine. You've been acting a little strange recently and taking dangerous risks that nearly ended us. What's gotten into you?"
Alex: "It's nothing really. Don't worry about me."
He then walked away and hides what he was thinking about. But Raven didn't buy it, for she knew something is bugging the guardian. At first she thought it was his father that betrayed him, but she could tell that he's over it pretty quick. So she believed it was something else. Then, she remembered the story Alex told her team about loosing a dear friend of his. So she asked him if that's what he's worried about.
Raven: "Is it Jim?"
Alex immediately stopped in his tracks and remained frozen completely. His eyes wide in surprise while his jaw dropped, leaving him speechless for the moment. Finally, he mustered up all the strength and turned to her slowly, wondering how she figured that out.
Alex: "How did you know?"
Raven: "Your story. When you talked about your friend a long time ago, you had that same expression. Plus, I sensed some guilt in you that have some connection to it."
Alex couldn't believe that his friend would come up with all of that. But since she's a telepath and she could read people's minds and thoughts, it was completely understandable. He was silent for a moment until he decided to fess up and tell her why he's acting like he's acting now.
Alex: "I saw Jim just recently…"
Raven looked at him with a confusing look, wondering what he meant. He continued with his explanation.
Alex: "At least I think I saw him. For some strange reason, I saw him in a vision, through shadows and hearing voices. Sometimes I see him fully. What I find surprising is that he was guiding us to the Main Database to begin with. It was almost like he's leading the way."
Raven listened in and knew she was right for once. But it didn't make much sense being that his friend was dead a long time ago.
Raven: "But that's impossible. You said before that your friend died in that tragic accident back in Delta. Correct?"
Alex's only response was a simple nod.
Raven: "Then it could be possible that its another trick put together by Betruger. Since he knows you lost him, he would be using this to expose your weakness."
Alex: "Maybe… But I don't think that's the case."
Raven: "Why do you think that?"
With that said, Alex turned his head to the telepath and explain his thoughts.
Alex: "Because if this was another trick from Betruger, we would've been dead by now. I think this was really Jim."
Raven's blank expression said it all. She doesn't believe in what Alex said. So she told him and worse case scenario.
Raven: "Even if what you said is true, then there's a chance that he's a part of Hell too. He might even be a demon for all we know."
Alex remained silent on what she said and didn't find that highly unlikely. But he kept her words and came to a decision.
Alex: "Even so, I think I need to be sure. If I meet up with him, I'm going to ask him a few questions."
Raven rolled her eyes around and sighed to herself, not liking his idea.
Raven: "I just hope you know what you're doing."
She was about to head back to her spot and continue meditating. But she immediately stopped and looks at the outside of the lift. Alex looked at her very strangely and wondered what wrong with her. Deciding to help her, he walks to her and asked.
Alex: "What wrong?"
Raven, who still was looking at the outside, told him what she was looking at.
Raven: "I don't know. But I sensed something within this place. Something not right."
Alex: "And what does that mean?"
Raven the turned her head to see her guardian and explained further.
Raven: "I'm trying to say is that we're not alone here."
Alex raised in eyebrow and could tell she means serious business. Just as he was going to tell her something, there was a sudden jolt with the lift and it started to shake like crazy. The rest of the team felt that and immediately got up, wondering what just happened.
Beast Boy: "Whoa! What was that?"
Cyborg: "Don't know BB. But whatever it was, it ain't good."
The lift continued to move after that aftershock, but they still heard screeching and veering sounds around them. They all looked around just to see where the sounds were coming from. But as they were looking, they notice something they never expect. All around them, they saw spider webs and spiked eggs littered on the girders and catwalks. Starfire saw all of it and realized what this means.
Starfire: "Friends… I think we're in the deepest of trouble."
Alex nodded and could tell they didn't like this a bit. They all got their weapons and powers armed and were ready for anything to come at them. As they were waiting, they all heard a vicious screech coming from nearby. Alex raised his plasma rifle up and skimmed around for anything threatening. As he look straight, he notices multiple eyes starring at him. That's when he knew who was coming out, or to be more precise what. In an instant, the creature came out of the darkness and jumped right at the lifts door, grabbing a hold of it and shaking it violently. This give Alex and chance to get a look at what's attacking them. To his surprise, the creature was in fact a Vagary wanting to tear them to bits. Luckily for them, the gate walls were protecting them from the spider woman's claws. Immediately, Alex warned the team what he saw.
Alex: "We got a Vagary inbound! Take it down!"
Cyborg turned to see the creature and armed his sonic cannon with a full charge. He pointed his weapon at the demon and opened fire, sending a laser through the gate wall and right into the chest. Though it didn't die from the hit, it let go of the wall and plummeted to the ground. When it disappeared from view, Cy lowered his cannon and smiled to himself.
Cyborg: "Well, that was easy."
Robin: "Yeah, almost too easy…"
Alex agrees with the Titan leader and told them it's not over yet.
Alex: "Don't rest up guys. Whenever there's a mommy spider, its young isn't far behind."
The moment he said that, they all heard a lot of hissing and scampering all over the place. That is when they saw hoards of Ticks and Trites surrounding them. Alex got his machine gun out and told the Titans to pick them off.
Alex: "All right team, let's do a little bit of extermination!"
Quickly, Alex pulled the trigger and shot out bullets at the spider monsters. Cyborg joined in too and used his chain gun to mow more of them. So does Starfire, who used her star bolts to take down the ones that were high above. All three of them kept on with their assaults, making sure all of them were dead. As they were busy, the remaining spiders were scurried up to the hole Cyborg made after attacking the main spider demon. Robin noticed that and took out a freeze disk to throw them at the gaping hole. Once it exploded, ice is formed, covering the hole completely and buried a few spiders in the ice as well. With their way in gone, all the Ticks and Trites quickly vacate the area and waited for another time to get an opening. The moment they disappeared, everyone relaxed and lowered their arms.
Beast Boy: "Well at least they're out of our hairs."
Alex: "Don't be to sure about that Beast Boy. They might be waiting for another opening so they could return."
Robin: "Let's hope that doesn't happen."
The moment he said that, they heard shrieking coming from down below them. They all knew it was the Vagary, who was still alive and kicking, trying to get up to them. But Alex wasn't scared by that and told them it was all right.
Alex: "Relax… That thing is too far below to threaten us. It's all smooth sailing from here."
But then, Raven felt something that is completely wrong. She quickly turned to the others and told them to get out of the way.
Raven: "Watch out!"
The team listened and got out of the middle of the lift. Seconds later, a huge crate broke through the middle of the floor and right out through the ceiling. Everyone looked back and noticed a huge gaping hole in the middle of the floor.
Beast Boy: "Okay, that was unexpected."
Alex quickly ran to the hole and look down to see what happened. That's when he saw the Vagary crawling up the shaft and heading to straight to the Titans. He took his plasma rifle out and pointed it at the creature.
Alex: "Looks like the Vagary isn't giving up!"
Once he started to fire the projectiles at it, the Vagary jumped from one section of girders to the other, avoiding the shots. Though it got hit a couple of times, it was still jumping up the walls, getting closer and closer to its objective. Alex cussed to himself and didn't like where this was going.
Alex: "Shit! It's getting closer!"
Cyborg approached him and took his chain gun out.
Cyborg: "Let me handle this."
He pointed his weapon down and let the barrel roll. As rounds and armor piercing bullets came out, the Vagary didn't have time to avoid that. The speeding projectiles were too fast for it to duck as the spider mother lost its grip and fell through the pit. Cy smirked at that and blew on his chain gun, proud of his accomplishment.
Cyborg: "See, what I told ya?"
Alex looked at the hybrid and sighed to himself, thinking it was just plain luck. But he knew they're not out of the woods yet. As he thought of that, he heard more scampering all around them. Which means that the little spiders have returned and are on their way to turn them into lunch. He got his machine gun ready and warned them of what's to come next.
Alex: "It's not over yet. Here they come!"
The group surrounds the hole and waited for more trouble to come. Soon after that, they saw groups of Ticks and Trites coming out of the hole and headed to the team. Immediately the team attacked the spiders with what they have. Robin used his R-Sword and sliced off legs and heads of the spiders. Starfire threw star bolts at the ones coming in. Cy used his chain gun and made a mess with the others. Raven used her powers to cover the spiders in small domes and crushed them on the inside. Beast Boy used his grabber and picked them off one by one by pulling the trigger on them and letting go to kill them. And Alex finished the rest with his machine gun. For a few minutes, the entire team continued their assault against the mutant spiders until all of them were dead. When that was done, Cyborg ran to the hole that was created and used his strength to seal it up. He then opened up one of his fingertips to reveal a small wielding end and used it to shut it tight for good. The moment the floor is closed, he looked up at the others and gave them the relief they needed.
Cyborg: "Okay… Got this floor sealed up tight. Ain't no way these little insects would get through there."
Robin smiled a little and nodded in approval.
Robin: "Good work Cyborg. Let's just hope they don't find another way to get in here. Let alone the Vagary."
Beast Boy: "Speaking of which. What happened to it anyways?"
Alex: "Don't know. Perhaps Cy was able to destroy that thing while it was climbing up. We might be in the clear."
But then, they all heard that loud shriek and knew what that meant. So Alex rubbed the temples of his head and was to shameful for what he said.
Alex: "Though I could be wrong."
Just as he said that, a huge shadow sped up past them and was over the lift. They all looked up and saw the Vagary climbing up, way high up. Everyone just watched on and wondered what the creature was up to.
Raven: "This is rather odd… It would of attacked us by now. Why would it flee from us?"
Starfire: "Maybe it tires of us and decided to give up."
Alex: "Don't count on that Star. After what we've been through, I bet this one has something deviant in mind."
They all waited to see what the spider mother was going to do. That's when they saw high above the creature was using its legs to destroy the girder tracks that operates the elevator. The lift began to shake and the lights around it flickered on and off. The team started to hang on as their bodies thrashed about from hitting the walls and floors. As all of this was happening, an announcement boomed in the speakers.
"Warning: Lift malfunctioning. Shut down eminent."
Alex looked up to see the Vagary finishing with its work. The moment the lift stopped moving, the mother spider jumped down and landed right on top of the roof of the lift with incredible falling speed. With one huge thud, the lift shook madly and rattled the team's brains a bit. The Vagary then used its clawed hands to rip apart the ceiling of the lift. Alex got up from the lift's shaking and took his plasma rifle out, waiting for the creature to come down. In seconds, the spider monster opened the ceiling fully and jumped down into the elevator. Alex was ready and was going to pull the trigger. But just as it landed, the lift went down due to the huge weight and was plummeting down to the ground. The team thought it was going to be all over. As luck would have it, the main lift comes complete with emergency brakes incase the elevator itself fails to stop. So the breaks rubber stoppers connected to the tracks and made a huge screeching sound with sparks flying out of it. The lift slowed down until it came to a complete stop. Everyone felt the stop as they jumped up by force and landed back down with a loud thud. Even the Vagary didn't see this one coming as it jumped up and down in seconds. Everyone was slowly getting up and shook off the shock from the plummeting elevator. Even though they were recovering, they all knew that the Vagary is still with them in the middle of the room, trying to get back on track. Alex, with the plasma rifle still in his hands, pointed at the creature and fired multiple plasma projectiles at it. The team joined in and attacked the spider mother with what they have. Unfortunate for them, with the width of the shaft, it was impossible to maneuver and get out of the creature's way. They have to hurry up and kill the beast before it got up. But the Vagary was aware of the situation and went straight into the offensive. It used its legs and hit them all right up front. All team members got knocked down as they hit the back of the walls and were almost out like a light. Everyone was knocked down except for Alex who was still shooting away, trying to weaken it. The Vagary turned around and screamed at the guardian. It then used one of its legs to push him right to the metal wall. Doing that just shook the lift a little while the emergency brakes skidded bit by bit. Al tried to get out of the grip but the monster's leg was so strong, that it was impossible for him to escape. The Vagary lowered its humanoid body down and observed the person trying to get out desperately. It then shrieked and was prepared to finish him off as it raised its body and readied its claws. Just as it screams, both Robin and Beast Boy began to stir and lifted their heads up to see their friend held on tight by the Vagary's leg. When it raised one of its hands to slice Alex apart, the two took immediate action. Robin took his R-Sword out while the changeling turned himself into a green tiger with sharpened claws. Immediately, the two charged in and started going for the only weakness the spider mother had, its legs. Rob made the first cut in the rear leg, letting the spider demon scream out in pain. It then turned around while keeping the guardian pinned to the wall to see what struck it. When it saw Robin cutting its leg down, it screeched and decided to attack the Titan leader before it could cut the others. It used its claws to cut his head off but he rolled away quick and avoided the attack. Doing that, he noticed the second to last leg and found a good opening. He rushed to it and jumped high, cutting the leg right down to the source. Again, it screamed and couldn't take the pain any more. It looked up at the loose steel bits that was ripped from the ceiling and came up with another wicked idea. It lifted its hand up and focused on the loose bits. The small bits of steel started to shake and detached itself from the broken ceiling levitating in the air. They all then flew downwards at alarming speed and headed straight towards the Boy Wonder. Quickly, Robin used his agility to dodge all the incoming objects. The scrap metal hit all over the floor and walls while one metal piece hit one of the emergency breaks, causing it to explode in a rain of sparks. With one of the breaks disabled, the lift jutted loose and fell bit by bit. But the remaining three brakes still kept the elevator in tact and prevent it from falling deeper into the bottom. The fight continued on though as Robin tried to cut the other legs of the spider monster. But the Vagary defended itself by using its claws to slash away at the Titan leader. Robin ducked and avoids the attack for most of the time while using his sword to deflect the claws. As the two were fighting, Beast Boy was still in his tiger mode waiting to free Alex from the spider's hold. When he saw Robin keeping it busy, this gave him a chance he needed. He charged right in, leaped high in the air, and took a huge bite on the leg that got the guardian in a tight predicament. The demon felt that and screamed out loud in complete pain. It turned around to see what bit it. What it saw was the changeling continuing to grasp onto the leg until it let go of Alex. The Vagary wanted to push the leg away from the green animal, but wouldn't risk the danger of the human breaking free and finish the job. So it decided to extend its claws and attack him at a safe distance. Unfortunately, it completely forgot about the other person it was fighting. Robin took this opening and used his sword to cut another leg just to keep it off balance. It scream after feeling from the cut and was about to fall from the missing legs. Leaving with no other choice, the Vagary used the leg that was keeping the guardian in tact and tried to regain balance. With Alex freed, Beast Boy let go of the leg and regained his human form just to see if he's fine. As he was checking, the Vagary turned to the Boy Wonder and had it with his shenanigans. It started to gurgitate something from its mouth as Robin prepared for what's going to come. Just then, webbing came out of its mouth and flew straight to him and his sword. The webbing then wrapped around his hands and sword and sealed it up nice and tight. Robin tried to get out, but the webbing was hard like steel. The Vagary used its hands to grab hold of the webbing and reeled the Titan in like a fisherman reeling fish. Robin realized what it was doing and tried to get out even more, but to no avail. As that was going on, Cyborg slowly stirred from the impact of the fight and got up. As he did that, he saw his leader all tied up in webs and was about to be eaten alive by the Vagary. Knowing there was little time left, he turned his arm into a chainsaw and revved its engines. He then got up and charged in to save his friend. In one swift move, he went between Rob and the monster and used his chainsaw to cut the webbing up in half, splitting between the two. The Titan leader just plummeted to the ground while the spider mother scamper backwards for a bit. When Robin was free from the beast's hold, Cy headed to him and carefully cut the web that's wrapped around his wrists and the base of his R-Sword. The moment he was freed, he looked up at Cyborg and thanked him for the escape.
Robin: "Thanks for the save."
The hybrid smirked and responded back.
Cyborg: "Always here to help."
The two then looked at the Vagary and noticed that it was getting upset at them. It screamed at them and was positioned for an assault. The two teammates then got up to their stances and have already placed a strategy in hand.
Cyborg: "So, what's the plan? You go high, I'll go low?"
Robin: "Sounds like a plan."
The two readied their weapons as they waited for the spider mother to make its move. The Vagary screamed and raised its hands up in the air. High above it, a huge slab of the ceiling shook loose and was removed from the rest of the structure. The creature then turned the slab to the pointed part at the direction of the two teammates. Swiftly, it threw its hands down to them the same time the slab flew to their position. Cyborg expected that and readied his own chainsaw to retaliate. Robin immediately ducked from the attack while Cy used his weapon and cut the slab in half from the point up to the base down. With the slab cut and fell on the floor, Rob got up and knew that now was the time to finish the job.
Robin: "Let's end this…"
Both of them charged and began their attack. As planned, Robin will take the monster high while Cyborg goes low to remove all the legs. The Boy Wonder jumped high in the air and somersaulted above the demon's head. The Vagary saw this and was about to slice the Titan leader up with its claws. But Robin used his acrobatic ability to avoid the attempted strikes yet at the same time used his sword to cut up both its appendages right up to its shoulders. The spider demon was in complete and utter pain as its arms were completely gone and was completely defenseless. But that was the lease of its worries. Cyborg turned his other arm into another chainsaw and used both of them to cut all the remaining legs on the spider. He got out of the way the moment before the creature fell to the floor. The Vagary was on the floor in agony and without its legs and arms, it wouldn't be able to get up and defend itself. In short, the Vagary was armless and legless. As it was struggling, the girls and Alex got up and notice the spider demon without its legs and arms.
Raven: "Kay… Did we miss something?"
Alex looked at both Rob and Cy with both the sword and two chainsaws. Realizing what happened, he approached the two and was impressed.
Alex: "Nice going you two. Cutting up the limbs of a spider? Why didn't I think of it?"
He then looked down at the hybrid that has the two chainsaw on his arms and was surprised he would have that.
Alex: "And Cy, is there anything in your arsenal that you don't have?"
Cyborg shrugged his shoulders and answered him in his unique way.
Cyborg: "What more can I say? I sort of like a walking Swiss army knife."
Al chuckled at this and he knows his friend had the point. But just as they were laughing about it, the guardian almost forgot about their uninvited guest. He turned his head to see the Vagary still struggling to regain some ground. But without its legs and arms, there was nothing it could do. So the guardian took his shotgun out and was ready to give off the finishing blow.
Alex: "Excuse me for a moment."
He approached a vulnerable demon and pointed it at its head. The Vagary turned its head to see the two openings of the shotgun and knew it was going to die. Before Alex pulled the trigger he said something to the creature that will make it remember who defeated it.
Alex: "That's the end for you, freak show."
The last thing the spider mother did was to scream out loud. Alex pulled the trigger and the two shots pierced through the its head and killed it in seconds. Its body laid limp as it decayed right into dust. Once it's cleared, the team had a breathing relief and was glad that was over. But when Alex headed to the control console, he notice a message that says 'Lift Malfunction.' Groaning to himself, the guardian looked around and wondered how to get out of the shaft.
Alex: "Okay, new problem. How the Hell are we going to get up there?"
The others notice that too and began thinking on how to get up to the main database area. Just as they were putting together a plan, they all heard the sounds of scampering and hissing. The team looked around and noticed armies of Ticks and Trites all over the place, completely surrounding them. All of them had angry expressions and one of the members of the Titans knew why.
Beast Boy: "I'm no Dr. Phil here, but I think they are upset because we killed their mother."
Raven: "Gee, what do you think gave that away?"
All the demonic spiders got so angry, that most of them jumped up and onto the lift, wanting to kill them. Alex got both his machine gun and plasma gun out with fresh ammunition and told the others to do the same.
Alex: "Lock and load guys! It's time for a good old spider coral!"
Everyone quickly got themselves ready and attacked the inhuman creatures with everything they got. Though they were able to take out some, more and more kept on getting on the walls in drones and climbing up to the open hole of the ceiling. Cyborg could tell that they are heading up there and got his chainsaw out to take care of that problem. Once they got into the elevator, the hybrid let the drum roll and a barrage of bullets destroyed them in mere seconds. The assault continued to escalate and there was no stopping it. The spiders continued to grow in numbers and completely overwhelm them. But a small group of them didn't go up to the hole in the ceiling. Instead, they went to the emergency breaks and started to gnaw away on the metal and wires. Alex noticed what they were doing and told the others about it.
Alex: "Don't let them destroy those brakes!"
Starfire looked around and saw the very spiders trying to destroy the breaks. With her eyes glowing green, She used her eyebeams and pick them off one by one, careful not to destroy the brakes entirely. Once again, the fight was still going on with the Titans killing all the spiders that were trying to get in and the spiders trying to kill them for destroying their mother. The numbers continued to grow on the little demons as they kept on overpower the team with force. Though the Titans tried their best against them, they still couldn't stop them. After much battling, the second emergency brake exploded and the lift screeched further down the shaft. The Teen Titans got shaken a little bit but continued to bring everything to the table. Still, no matter how hard they try, there were too many spiders to dish out and it would be a matter of time before they become insect chow. Alex could tell that and decided to warn the others of the inevitable fate.
Alex: "We're completely outnumbered! We need to get out of here now before the lift is long gone!"
Beast Boy: "And how can we do that since we're stuck here?"
Alex: "Simple… We make our own lift!"
First he turned to Cyborg and told him to make an open roof.
Alex: "Cy, make an opening!"
The hybrid nodded and looked up at the ceiling where the Ticks and Trites are coming in. He then opened up his shoulder blades and fired his mini missiles at the roof itself, causing it to explode and killing the army of spiders along the way. Just as he made an opening, the third emergency brake exploded and the lift skidded bit by bit downwards. The moment it stopped, Alex knew that now was the time to get out fast. So he then turned to Raven and told her to create a lift of her own.
Alex: "Rae, form a platform that can take us up!"
The telepath heard that and started to summon all of her energy from within by letting her hands glow black and chanting her words.
Raven: "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"
Within seconds a black square platform appeared below their feet and it started to raise it self off the ground and out of the lift. The spiders saw this and managed to jump up and reach them. Some were able to get on the platform while others fell to their death. At the same time, the last emergency brake exploded causing the lift and plummet to the ground floor with all the spiders on it. The remaining spiders however, were able to get on the platform and would continue with their attack. Alex knew they would get on the platform used his machine gun to remove them from the black lift. Beast Boy joined in and used his Grabber to handle the rest. When all the spiders were dead, Alex breathed in success as the platform Raven made reached all the way up to the top of the shaft. Once it made it up, the team got down followed by the telepath got rid of the platform and levitated down to them.
Alex: "All right, that unexpected attack gave us a little bit of a delay. But we can't let that get in our way. We're that much closer to reaching Gamma Labs."
He turned straight to see the entrance of the main database center. But when he turned around, he saw something he wished he didn't see. All around the place, he saw carcasses of dead marines scattered all over the place with weapons and ammo all around them. Blood was splattered on the walls, floor and ceiling with writing in the center that says, 'Beware'. And instead of metal doors, in its place was a growth hole spreading throughout the place. The Titans saw this too and could tell that all of it is bad karma.
Cyborg: "Not a good sign y'all…"
The guardian approached one of the dead soldiers and checked on him. Meanwhile, the others checked the area if this was another trap set up by the demons. Luckily there were no demons present and the place was complete quiet.
Robin: "Look and this mess. I can't believe those things would do that to these men."
Alex: "I don't think this was caused by multiple assailants."
Rob turned to his friend and wondered what he meant by that.
Robin: "What are you saying?"
Alex: "Well by the way this looks, I think this was caused by a single individual. Take a look at the bodies. There are no scratches, bullet wounds, or fire burns anywhere. It looks like they've been hit by some sort of explosion. Those who avoided the blast must've gotten some severe splash damage."
Cyborg: "You think it could be a Relevant or a Mancubus that did this?"
Alex got up and rubbed his chin, piecing all of it together.
Alex: "I don't think that's possible. Though the Revenant's mini rockets and the Mancubus's cannon blasts are dangerous, they aren't that big. This however is huge, almost impactful. Judging by the dismemberment, what ever attacked them must be extremely dangerous. And I got a feeling that whatever's attacked them is waiting for us up there."
Looking at all the ammo around here, the guardian decided to play it safe and get all the ammo he needs. He got clips, plasma cartridges, and a few grenades. He then got an ammo belt for Cyborg and handed it over to him. He then looked at the others and told them to keep moving.
Alex: "Whatever's up there, that's where Gamma is. We need to get up there and reach the main elevator to the lab. If anything gets in our way, well we all know what we can do. Now let's go. Let's not keep this beast waiting for us."
Alex led the way as he passed through the growth tunnel while the others followed him. Once again, they entered the Hell version of the UAC as they walk up a set of stone steps. Between them were walls made out of inhuman ribs and ceiling had tentacle like growth with cages filled with torso lit on fire, just to give them some light. After a long walk up, they encountered a door built by Hell with a mural of the souls being tortured in the fire and the border that has a huge skull on the top. The team watched on and was getting a little nervous of what's on the other side. But Al was confident and approached the door as it opened up to reveal a huge room. When everyone entered they were in the Database Center. It was miles high and the walls were filled with servers and screens. Along the walls there a junction of catwalks, maintenance doors, multiple control rooms, and access lifts. But Hell has taken over parts of the place, as the floor was stone pavement with cracks revealing small flames, sets of steps that lead up to another doorway to some other place, and cages levitating around showcasing rancid and chard meat big and small. The Titans looked on in total amazement as the guardian could tell where they are.
Alex: "This is it! The Main Database Center. We're one step closer to Gamma Labs."
With his PDA out, he looked into the digital map to find the elevator that would take them to the lab. Looking closer, Al noticed something not right and checked one more time. Robin walked next to him and noticed the confusion from his eyes.
Robin: "What's the problem Alex? You can't find the elevator to Gamma Labs?"
Alex shook his head as he kept on starring at the screen answering his question.
Alex: "No, I did find the elevator. But this is completely wrong. I mean I know this place has a lift that could take us there but it's far away from here."
Robin: "Okay… So how far ahead is it?"
The guardian pointed his finger up and told him the honest truth.
Alex: "Not ahead Robin. It's more like up."
Everybody lifted their heads and could tell what he meant by it. The ceiling of the place was a mile high and there was Security Bridge connected in the center. Most of their reactions were blank stares while others had skeptical looks on their faces. Beast Boy's expression was completely priceless.
Beast Boy: "You got to be kidding me! That high up?"
Al sighed and answered the changeling.
Alex: "Afraid so BB. My PDA says that the elevator that goes to Gamma is all the way up to the top. We need to find a way up and take the security bridge when we get there. What makes it bad is that we don't know what would happen when we head on up. There's no telling if there are demons in our way."
Robin shook his head and looked around the place, wondering where to go. When he saw the stone steps heading up to an unknown door not far from them. Shaking his head, he thought it was the only option to take.
Robin: "Guess we don't have much of a choice. We should keep walking and fighting, no matter what the cost."
Alex just listened and could agree with him for once. Only way to reach the elevator is to get through. Just as they were about to leave, he heard the same voice again.
'Alex…'
He turned his head to the right where the voice came from and noticed something not right. And unlike the last times, the Titans finally heard that voice and turned their heads to see what the guardian was seeing. In the middle of the room, there was a pentagram much bigger then the ones they've encountered. It was glowing bright red and there was a fire border wrapped around it. As they were starring at it, there was a beam of orange light coming from the middle of the pentagram. It glew brighter and brighter until the team turned their heads away, nearly blinded by the light. But when the light faded, everyone looked back to see what appeared and had their weapons and powers ready incase there was a monster. But what they saw wasn't a monster, but it was a person, a little kid to be more precise. In fact, Alex eyes grew incredibly wide and knew who it was.
Alex: "Jim? Is that you?"
The team looked at him and was serious about what he just said.
Robin: "Jim? Isn't that-"
But Raven interrupted him as he was about to say it.
Raven: "Alex's friend that got killed during the Delta accident? Yep, that's him."
Everyone looked at Rae and wondered how she knows that.
Cyborg: "How did you…"
Raven: "Alex told me about him before the Vagary attacked us. He said that he'd been seeing him just recently and he was showing us the way out of here. It was almost like he was helping us."
Robin: "You think he is on our side?"
Raven turned to Alex who was still starring at his dead friend and begin to ponder.
Raven: "That I don't know… I mean he looks like a human to me, but something isn't right. I sense some negative energy coming from him and it almost look like his smile isn't normal. Like he's not even him to begin with."
All of them turned to Alex and believe Raven was right on a couple of occasions. Sure they never seen Alex's friend before, be that he died a long time ago, but there's something about him that was suspicious. At the same time Alex continued to stare at his friend Jim and couldn't believe his eyes. His friend, the very person that got killed in that horrendous accident in Delta, is alive and well. He wasn't sure if this was some kind of trick or not. That was when he heard Jim's very own voice.
Jim: "Hello Alex, my dear old friend. It's been a long time."
Now Alex believed that it was Jim in person.
Alex: "It really is you! I can't believe it's you! I thought you were dead."
Jim just smirked at that and chuckled for a sec.
Jim: "Oh I'm alive Al. Alive and kicking. And look at you, you have grown up quite a bit."
There was a long silence throughout the room as the two had a huge reunion they never saw coming. After this long and quiet surprise, Alex collapsed on his knees and burst out in tears. Jim looked at him very strange and wondered what he was crying about.
Jim: "What's wrong Alex? Why are you crying?"
After a long wait, Alex decided to answer him as much as he could.
Alex: "Jim… I'm terribly, terribly sorry…"
The lost kid cocked his head and was curious as to what he said.
Jim: "Sorry about what?"
Alex: "About what happened in Delta. When Betruger was testing the Soulcube. If I would've known that the place was going to blow, I wouldn't of taken you there in the first place. I would of saved you from that tragic accident. Hell, we could've stayed friends and grew up together, watched each other's backs, and protected ourselves from any danger. But now that you've died I… I…"
He immediately broke down, crying and sobbing, remembering the accident played over and over again through his head. The Titans watched on and could tell that he was expressing emotion, so much so that they had never seen this side of Alex before until now. Jim too was seeing this and couldn't help but to feel sad as well. He never knew that his friend would be that upset over this and felt sorry for him. He looked up to him and told him his side of the story.
Jim: "I could feel your pain Alex and I know deep down you missed me so much. But you can't blame yourself for what happened ten years ago. The only person you should feel sorry for is me."
Alex stopped his cries and looked up to him with tears still flowing from his eyes.
Alex: "You?"
Jim nodded and explained everything.
Jim: "You see, when we were at Delta, it was me who stood there as the Soulcube was going to explode. I was scared; frightened of what would happen once it blows up. In fact, I was so terrified that I could barely hear the people around me, even you Alex. I knew you were taking me to safety, but I wouldn't respond from your cries. I was petrified, not knowing if I should leave or stay. But you were brave enough to come to my rescue and tried to save me from that blast. And even though I didn't make I knew you would risk your life to save mine. Because deep down inside of you, you are a real hero."
Alex's expression was shocking. He didn't expect Jim blaming himself for what happened, since the guardian's the one who didn't get his friend out of there in time. But he could tell that Jim was being apologetic about the whole thing. So wiping his tears away he decided to make amends and put all of this to rest.
Alex: "Oh Jim I am so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?"
Jim's response was a warm smile and a pleasant look.
Jim: "Of course Alex, I forgive you. You're the only friend I had in the UAC who understood me and would never leave me behind like that. I just like us to be together one more time. Now come to me Al and we can be friends once more. Just like old times right?"
Jim opened his arms, waiting for his friend to come to him and give him a heart-warming hug. All Alex could do was to get up to his feet with all the strength he had and smiled at Jim warmly with tears strolling down the sides of his eyes.
Alex: "Yeah Jim. Just like old times."
He slowly walked up to him like he was on automatic or something. While all of this was going on, the Teen Titans watched on and witnessed this heart touching moment. But one of them isn't buying any of it. Raven looked at Jim very suspiciously and find it very odd that after ten years of being dead, he would return during this whole invasion. Even weirder still is that he come out of that pentagram picture on the floor like the demons and there's fire surrounding him. She couldn't quite put her finger on all of it. But that was when she noticed his eyes. They look exactly like human eyes, but they were glowing a crimson light in the corners. After starring at his eyes, hers grew wide in fear and realized what's going to happen.
Raven: "Oh no…"
She raised her hand up in the air and blocked the Guardian's path be raising a black wall from the ground. Alex stopped dead in his tracks and was surprised that a wall would be in front of him. Knowing who did that, he turned to Raven and was getting angry about it.
Alex: "Raven, what in God's name do you think you're doing? I'm reuniting with my friend I thought was dead and now you're going to ruin this moment? The hell girl!"
Raven: "Oh I'm sorry about that, since I did save you from getting killed!"
Alex raised an eyebrow on that and was confused. Raven ruined the moment he had in being with his friend because he was going to die? That didn't make any sense.
Alex: "What are you talking about?"
Raven: "Alex, listen to me. That person on that pentagram, that isn't Jim."
This time, Alex's expression was in shock and disbelief. Blinking a couple of times, he absorbs what she said.
Alex: "What?"
Raven: "Think about it Alex. Don't you find this strange that Jim appeared just now after being dead for ten years? Or how he was able to teleport just like the demons we've encountered? People don't just come back to life over a miracle or an act of God. It's something more sinister behind all of this. Just like your father betraying you or Betruger helping Trigon with the invasion. All things are connected to that one place. The Jim you knew is dead and this Jim you were talking too isn't who you think he is. Sure he might look and sounds like him, but it isn't him! If you don't believe me, why don't you ask him?"
Alex listened to all of it nice and clear, trying to gather all the information he can. If what Raven said is true, then this reunion could be nothing more then a mere trap. He slowly turned to his long lost friend and see if he has an explanation of his own.
Alex: "Is it true?"
Jim remained where he was and had a sly smile on his face.
Jim: "Why Alex, you disappoint me. All these years you wished that we would be together again. And now that we're here, you start to question my loyalty. Do you know how long I've been stuck in that dark place, wondering if I ever see you again? It almost felt like an eternity to me."
Alex listened in and realized that wasn't Jim. He never acts like that and he did state that dark place being Hell. He continued to listen to his side of the story.
Jim: "And now after ten years of waiting, I am now reborn. Now we can be the best of friends once more and play together, forever and ever and ever. This is what you want right Alex? To be with me? I know you need me."
Just as he said that, his eyes went from being a normal color to a red saintanic color. In seconds, the fire around him started to spin and consume him, forming into a huge dome. Alex was now horrifically surprised of this as he positioned himself and tried to gain some balance from the hot wind. At the same time, he looked at the shadow that was Jim and heard his voice, only this time it was darker and more sinister then ever.
Jim: "You really do need me!"
In mere moments, the shadow started to grow and expand, creating some sort of monster that was bigger then a Hell Knight. Alex was in complete fear as he watched his friend transforming into another demon. When the fire cleared out, in Jim's place was a demon he never seen before. It was thirty to forty feet tall and resembles that of a Minotaur except for a few differences. It had a mixture of flesh and mechanical parts and on its right arm is a huge rocket launcher. The demon looked down at the guardian and snorted out, then lifted its head up and roared out loud. Alex just stood there in complete fear and realized he was in deep trouble. And to think that just once, he would've listened to Raven's warnings from the start.
Alex: "Good god…"
That's right people, that's the Cyberdemon! And although he made an appearance, it's just a little taste as to what would happen on the next chapter. I know cutting it into two parts was a risky move, but at least I got this one through. I'm hoping that the next chapter would be shorter. Please Review.