Titans: Elemental

by B.E.A.T.N

When there's trouble, you know who to call... A retelling of my favorite superhero cartoon, TEEN TITANS, with my own spin on various moments. This story is set in the same universe as the DCAU, an OC added to the team with more later on, certain characters have different fates, and other changes you'll all have to wait to see...

92. Chapter 92

Titans: Elemental

Chapter 92: Episode 257-494 Don't Touch that Dial, Part 1

We see a screenful of crackling static, which winks out after a moment. It is replaced by a badly distorted, black-and-white reflection of a face. Even though it is nearly impossible to make out fine detail of its features, the broad, fat cheeked and sunken, beady eyes give it away as Control Freak, the crazed movie fan who assaulted the Titans once before.

Another second or two, and this reflection is replaced by the single dot that sometimes glows on a television screen after the set is turned off. More static, then the dot again.

Control Freak, "nothing is wrong with your television. Do not attempt to change the channel. Your regularly scheduled program will not be seen because I am controlling the broadcast."

Now the dot is the only thing on the screen again.

Control Freak, "I control the horizontal", it stretches into a horizontal line, "I control the vertical."

The line rotates 90 degrees, after which his pudgy fingers force themselves in from beyond the blackness and push the two halves apart. His face is in full color and clearly seen, and static crackles behind him.

Control Freak, "and those buttons on your remote that don't seem to do anything? I know what they're for! From this moment on, your television belongs to me, Control Freak!"

He backs up a bit, laughing madly all the while, and we see this entire spectacle on the window/screen in the living room of Titans Tower. It is daytime, and Changeling is on the couch, his plans to watch the idiot box blown out the window.

Changeling, "uh, guys?"

….

We see a wall panel. Yellow-and-black hazard stripes mark the sides, and at the center is a large red button imprinted with the Titans' insignia. Labeling: "ALARM-PRESS ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES"; taped to the bottom edge is a sheet bearing the words; "THIS MEANS YOU CHANGELING", and Dick's personal mark.

One gray-gloved hand whips into view and slaps the button to set off the alarm and red lights.

….

In the gym, Dick and Rose break off their heavy-bag workout.

…..

In the garage, Bryan and Vic slide out from underneath the T-Car, then tip it out of the way to give themselves room to get to their feet and run off.

….

Raven has lit candles all over her room and is seated on the bed, making out with Jack as romantic music plays.

But they soon clear out and the flames are extinguished by Raven's waving cloak.

….

Starfire, meanwhile, has just returned from walking Silkie; he is on a leash, and she carries a picnic basket and wears the green floppy hat she used to disguise her body changes. As soon as she takes notice of the alarm, she ditches the pet and accessories and is on the move.

….

Kom' has just changed into a black tube top and short shorts before the alarm made her run off.

….

The Titans enter the living room.

Changeling, "in here! Hurry! Now!"

The others rush in.

Dick, "Changeling! What's the problem?"

Changeling, "the Mijo & Tito Show was a rerun, so I flipped over to watch Danger Team Five. But it wasn't on, 'cause there was this little blue dot and this BEEEEP. And his voice was all like, 'I control the vertical.' Then the dot got real big, and Control Freak has taken over our TV!"

Vic, "um…."

We see the window/screen, which now shows a fellow doing a little fishing on a lake.

Fisherman, "welcome back to Bass Nabbers. Today, we gonna catch us some fish!"

Kom', "everyone, Changeling's brain has left the building…."

Changeling grabs the remote control, "dude! Where did he go? He was right there with the big face and-"

Dick, "uh, Changeling? Maybe you've just been watching a little too much television."

Raven, "TV rots your brains."

Bryan, "that's a bogus rumor."

Vic, "still. When was the last time you turned off the tube?"

Changeling, "um…. I think I went out to the movies three weeks ago."

Starfire, "uh, I wish to remind you that you did not actually go to the movies, but merely observed a television program about a person who went to the movies."

Changeling, "oh, yeah. That was cool."

Behind Dick, a science fiction program is showing a space battle; a large robot stomps along.

Dick, "riiiight. Look, Changeling, Control Freak can't be on TV. He's locked up in jail where he belongs, remember?"

On the end of this, the broadcast is cut off for a NEWS ALERT title card.

Anchor, "we interrupt this program for breaking news. Authorities have just discovered that the dangerous criminal known as Control Freak has escaped from prison."

Changeling, "what did I say?"

….

We see Dick on his N-Cycle as he steers it away and is soon joined by the T-Car, Starfire and Kom', in her usual outfit, in flight, Changeling in pterodactyl form, and Jack on a slab of Earth. It is now nighttime.

Dick, "reports are coming in from all over the city. Control Freak has been spotted on more than a dozen TV screens in the last half hour. We need to find out where he's broadcasting from and pull the plug."

A small satellite dish pops up from the roof of the T-Car and begins to swivel back and forth, trying to pinpoint any telltale signals. Inside, Vic eyes the readouts on the dashboard screen and Raven, riding shotgun, pulls out her communicator. Rose and Bryan sit in the back.

Raven, "we've got a lock."

….

We see the exterior of Cook's Electronics, where both vehicles are now parked. Inside, the place is dark and quiet and all nine Titans move in for a look around; Changeling is back in human form.

We see several banks of television sets on display, each one showing the same image: a man and woman named Joaquim and Rebecca, on a soap opera. He wears an eyepatch.

Dick and Changeling, approach one side of a big-screen unit. They step behind it, the shape-shifter becoming a wolf. On the TV screen is a scene from a black-and-white 1950s sitcom, in which a mother stirs a bowl in her kitchen.

Sitcom mom, "welcome home, dear. Dinner's on the table. Shall I fetch your newspaper and slippers?"

Changeling emerges on the other side; more screens here, and the father appears.

Sitcom dad, "golly, hon, that'd be swell."

Now Starfire edges past a set whose screen displays an alien cowboy on a distant moon, shooting down a few craft, and Raven and Rose approach the soap opera sets.

Joaquim, "but, Rebecca, I'm still in love with your reincarnated evil half-sister."

Rebecca, "oh, Joaquim!"

She breaks down crying.

Rose, "jeez, soap opera's will think of anything to keep going…."

Bryan, Dick and Changeling move to a group of televisions showing the Eiffel Tower.

On the balcony, laser blasts flash down from above and a tuxedo-clad man leaps in, bearing some resemblance to James Bond as played by Sean Connery. The secret-agent type presses a button on his watch, sending beams here and there to return fire, and leaps over the railing. As more shots blaze from the as-yet-unseen enemy, a hang glider pops out from beneath the tuxedo jacket and he glides away easily.

Bryan, "not bad…. If we weren't on the clock."

"I must find my pet hippo."

They whirl to face the source of the voice; an animated program, styled after Dr. Seuss' books, in which a pelican walks across a blue/green-striped landscape. The voice belongs to it.

Pelican, "please tell me where he went. Is he skipping through a meadow, or camping in a tent?"

Jack walks over and says, "at least it's better than most kids shows nowadays."

Kom' finds herself watching a really crappy reboot of a beloved cartoon, and cringes while nodding in agreement.

As the pelican peers out from the cliff it has just reached, the growling, lupine Changeling stalks past the television display. He reaches yet another corner, in which a sci-fi program is playing. A young man is knocked across the deck of a spaceship and menaced by a dark figure holding what looks like a pair of parallel lightsabers issuing from a common base. The Titan sits down to watch, tail wagging and tongue hanging out eagerly, and the others come up behind as he returns to human form. Drool still drips from his lolling tongue.

Changeling, "dude! Clash of the Planets! This is a classic!"

Jack, "aw, sweet! I haven't seen this film in a long while. Not after the sequels came out. Y'know, those 3 new films get a lot of hate, but I actually like them."

On screen, the youth gets to his feet.

COTP Boy, "I don't care how powerful you are, Baron Ryang", he creates a long light staff in his hands, "I won't let you win!"

Baron Ryang is now seen in full detail: black armor, steel under-reinforcements, spiked helmet and mask.

Baron Ryang, "foolish human! Have you forgotten that I control this star system? Have you forgotten that soon, I shall control the entire universe?"

The two combatants go at it, but are immediately lost in a mass of static against which Control Freak leans into view, waving.

Control Freak, "hello!"

Changeling screams and keels over.

Control Freak, "enjoying the show, Titans? Might as well just sit back and watch, 'cause you're never gonna catch me!"

All the screens in this area flick to show his face, then change their views so that together they form one giant image of him. All the other screens have gone to static.

Dick, "we will find out where you're hiding! It's only a matter of time!"

Control Freak, "who's hiding?"

He hops away and comes up on a nearby big screen to stand in front of a refrigerator.

Control Freak, "I'm right here!"

He laughs and runs out of the picture, which flicks to static, and Changeling scuttles backward across the floor toward Vic. Behind them, the fat geek races past the Eiffel Tower screens.

Control Freak, "or am I here?"

Static; now he moves to a group of soap opera sets, popping back and forth, and each flickers off after he leaves it.

Control Freak, "or here! Or over here!"

To two sets with the space cowboy show, and then the reboot before quickly running over to the original show that involved some super heroes.

Control Freak, "or maybe here!"

Static; then he moves to a lone set on the floor and immediately jumps out of frame, leaving more of the same behind.

Starfire, "the Control Freak is a dork, yes?"

Kom', "totally."

Dick, "he's in the building. Find him."

Vic is checking his forearm panel, "he's not inside the building…. He's inside the TVs!"

Bryan, "how the heck is that even possible?"

….

We see another static-filled screen, on which he appears in black and white. Cameras are trained on him from all angles, and he is assembling a gigantic version of the souped-up remote he used against the Titans in their first fight. This massive unit is wired to the dozens of televisions that are piled up everywhere. Laughing a bit, he closes the cover and circles to the front end, where one of the buttons has begun to pulsate.

Control Freak, "we have the technology."

A press of that button envelopes him in a sphere of blinding white light that suddenly grows to fill the cathode ray tube and contracts just as quickly. When it subsides, he is gone, but not for long, as his face pops up in all the screens around the unit.

Control Freak, "yes! Control Freak is on the air!"

Crazed cackling!

….

We see the Titans watching this screen, the only one in the entire display that shows a picture. It, too, winks out after a moment.

Raven, "well, that's one way to break into television."

Rose, "how the heck did he do that?"

Vic, "he turned himself into a broadcast waveform, and now he's flipping around from channel to channel."

Dick, "Control Freak hasn't just escaped from jail. He's escaped from reality!"

Changeling, "huh?"

He moves off and winds up at a doorway that leads into the store's back room.

Changeling, "uh, guys?"

He hustles in, as do the others. Sure enough, here is Control Freak's colossal remote, sitting among the racked inventory boxes.

Changeling, "cool!"

Jack, Bryan, Dick and Vic move to the rear end; the big man whistles reverently and works his forearm controls a bit. As he speaks, the three Titans near the head.

Vic, "got enough high-end equipment here to break half the laws of physics."

Dick, "can you reverse the process, pull him back out?"

Vic, "think so. I just need a little time to-"

During this last, Changeling reaches for the still-pulsing button.

Bryan, "Changeling! No!"

Vic trails off into a panicked yell. The fingers hit the control, and instantly the whole area is lost in another blinding blast as nine screams ring out from within it. When the radiance clears, not hide nor hair of any Titan can be seen in the room, they have disappeared into the television world as he did.

….

We see a different place, which matches one of the shows Changeling flipped past at the start of this act. It is a game show: two podiums equipped with buzzers, with a host's lectern between them. The team materializes here in a blue-white flash to the sound of wild applause, and in front of them an upbeat fellow, the host, leans into view and waves.

Game show host, "well, hey there, everybody. Hope you're as excited as I am, because you're the next contestants on…. Quiz Monkey!"

Changeling, "uh, my bad."

Kom' thwacks Changeling in the back of his head.

Rose, "I ain't playing this game show. I've seen it; it stinks."

Dick, "okay. We need to find Control Freak and get back out of-"

He is abruptly shoved away by the host, who puts an arm around Starfire's shoulders.

GSH, "alright, young lady. Fifteen seconds on the clock. Each correct answer wins a fabulous prize. Zero answers…. Puts you in the cage with the Quiz Monkey."

We see a lovely young model standing by a cylindrical something covered with a curtain. It is promptly revealed as a cage that holds a large, rabid, screeching baboon, and the audience cheers wildly at the sight, while the unwilling contestant's eyes go as wide as softballs.

Rose, "told ya."

Bryan quickly starts frantically searching for an exit as Jack says, "I'm pretty sure putting someone in a cage with a rabid baboon is ILLEGAL."

GSH, "what's the capital of Liechtenstein?"

Starfire, "uh…."

Buzzer.

GSH, "when did Hannibal cross the Alps?"

Starfire, "uh…."

Buzzer.

GSH, "what was Spiro Agnew's middle name?"

Starfire, "hmmm….

Buzzer.

GSH, "how many atoms in one kilogram of oxygen?"

She voices a surprised, happy gasp; she knows this one cold.

Starfire, "three-point-seven-six-two-five times ten to the twenty-fifth!"

GSH scrutinizes his card, "that is correct!"

Note: She has indeed gotten it right. The other answers: Vaduz, 218 BC, Theodore.

A huge grin and giggling from the very lucky winner.

GSH, "you've just won…. A new car!"

Up goes a curtain, revealing a convertible being shown off by another model.

Bryan, "we don't need a new car. We've already got one!"

Control Freak, "all righty, then, Titans", he pops up in the driver's seat, "you followed me in, now let's see if you can keep up!"

He peels out.

Dick, "Titans! Go!"

The host suddenly finds himself without anyone to pit against the Quiz Monkey.

….

We see a screen in which the anchor from the earlier news brief is doing a report.

Anchor, "in other news….", Control Freak speeds past, "hey!"

The heroes barrel through the studio, Changeling winging it as an eagle, and Dick gives the camera a very funny look as he passes last.

….

We see another screen, which shows a man holding a soda can.

The man, "Boo-Yah Energy Drink!"

He holds the can forth: this is a commercial for the product, but immediately has to run for cover when the sports car races through and all titans except Dick give chase.

….

We see a third screen, on which the Bass Nabbers fishing program is running. The fisherman hosting it has left his boat and is near the lakeshore, but Control Freak sloshes past, tearing the rod out of his hands and leaving him spluttering.

The Fisherman yells as the Titans charge past, "you're scaring the fish!"

As in the news broadcast, Dick is the last one through, and he again throws a puzzled look at the camera.

….

We see the Titans chasing after Control Freak through what looked like a land made of clouds as a bunch of brightly colored bears ran around in a panic.

….

We see a country road; the red convertible speeds through, knocking over a mailbox, and Starfire and Kom' pull ahead with Vic and Bryan in tow. They carry them up and double back to face the crazed driver; the next move brings the four Titans down until they are barely clearing the ground, and they hurl Bryan and Vic at Control Freak with a pair of savage yells. We see the doughy face, he gasps and the descending shadow falls over him. Six hundred pounds of flesh, bone, and bionics slam down on the hood, instantly T-boning it.

Vic, "end of the road!"

Control Freak gets his head out of the air bag that has deployed.

Control Freak, "tell that to them Hooten boys!"

Bryan, "whatchu talkin' 'bout, Freakazoid?"

Control Freak bails out as Vic and Bryan look worriedly over their shoulders. In the distance, a car sails up off the end of a ramp that is hidden behind some bushes The aforementioned Hootens, two of them, are inside.

Hootens, "wahoo!"

The shadow covers the two cyborgs.

….

We see a big fat guy in a light blue pig suit; he backs up, exposing the set of a children's show behind him.

Kids' show host, "I am great, you are great, y-"

Control Freak elbows him aside; an instant later, Dick, Rose and Raven are behind the interloper.

Raven, "don't move."

Control Freak sarcastically, shifting the host's limbs about, "uh-oh. I'm still moving."

He goes into an ungainly ballet routine, and the three Titans exchange a slightly bemused look.

Rose, "you seriously need a date, dude. You are the lamest beeping guy here. Hey! What the beep! Ugh…. Stupid censorship."

Control Freak, "isn't there some word the good guys are supposed to yell to make me stop?"

Dick, "FREEZE!"

Bells and sirens go off, balloons and streamers rain down, and the unseen audience erupts in cheering as the host gets up on the start of the next line.

KSH, "Freeze? That's today's Sloppy Mess Word! And you know what that means, kids?"

Audience and KSH, "OATMEAL!"

Dick has time for one sharp gasp before a torrent of that particular breakfast food thunders down on him, Rose and Raven, much to the spectators' delight.

Rose, "this is beeeeeeeeep!"

….

We see a blur of something racing along a desert highway; now the backdrop looks like a Road Runner cartoon.

A freeze frame reveals Control Freak in full detail, and his name appears below, along with "Couchus Potaticus" in parentheses. After a second or two, he gradually accelerates back to full speed.

We look back the way he came to show a green blur in hot pursuit. A second freeze frame exposes it as Changeling, who has assumed the form of Wile E. Coyote. His name appears with the parenthetical notation "Animalus Switcheroonium," and after a couple of seconds he, too, speeds back up.

As the chase proceeds, we look ahead a short distance to show the road ending at a cliff, with a safety barricade set up to block the way. Control Freak crashes through it and stops short right at the edge of the precipice. Behind him, Changeling skids to a half and advances slowly, licking his chops.

Control Freak, "I wouldn't stand there if I were you."

A convenient anvil plunges into view between them, snapping off the bit of rock on which he stands. Then, in true Looney Tunes fashion, the entire cliff collapses to leave Changeling floating without any support. He holds up a sign printed with a single word, "YIKES!", and drops out of sight, his body elongating comically as gravity does its thing.

He plummets into view, and his impact is seen as a tiny dust cloud far below. Control Freak, still on his little ledge, does the Roadrunner's "beep-beep" sound effect and takes off running.

….

We see the Eiffel Tower as seen earlier on some of the televisions

The dapper James Bond type leaps in and addresses his watch; a built-in communicator.

Agent, "Agent Two-Fifty-Seven to base. I have the Renaldi Device."

As soon as he straightens up, Control Freak appears out of nowhere, shoves him against the railing, and relieves him of his tuxedo with one swift jerk. The hapless agent, left wearing only his undershirt, shorts, and socks, tumbles over the edge, His scream cuts itself off sharply.

Control Freak, "huh?"

Moving to the edge, he finds the defrocked fellow hanging onto the railing. A placating grin is thrown up to the overweight twerp, who responds by taking the watch. As he puts it on, the sound of a launch is heard and Dick's grappling hook wraps around the ironwork; up comes Dick, while Raven rises up through the deck plates and Rose jumps down from the top.

Dick, "take him down!"

Control Freak immediately fires a salvo from the stolen laser watch, forcing all three to duck away.

Control Freak, "face it, Titans! In the real world, I may be just another geek."

He has put the tux on over his usual clothes. Needless to say, it fits very badly.

Control Freak, "but in here, I'm the coolest!"

Rose, "that's debatable."

Laughing madly, he vaults over the railing, a shade too late for Dick, Rose and Raven to stop him. They watch him fall and deploy the hidden hang glider, he soars away as gracefully as he can.

We look back to the trio, behind whom the background goes static and resolves into a black-and-white, foggy, foreboding forest. They have just been dumped into a horror picture.

Dick, "where did he go?"

Rose, "the beep if I know."

The other Titans all show up.

Starfire, "perhaps he has flown away to some place less creepy and bad-smelling."

Kom', "not likely."

Vic, "yeah. What kinda nasty old show is this, anyhow?"

Changeling's eyes pop as he utters a soft gasp.

We see a crudely lettered sign, identifying the place as Jones Lake.

Changeling, "It Came From Jones Lake. Dudes, I've seen this before. We're not in a TV show, we're in a monster movie!"

Rose, "oh beeping great…. I'm getting sick of this beep."

Bryan, "uh, the rubber monster kind, or the CGI kind?"

Behind the Titans, the murky water at the shore starts to bubble glutinously. As Changeling ducks behind Dick, something very large and black breaks the surface; seen head-on as it stands up, it is a huge, humanoid fish creature with a very wide mouth. It advances toward the group, opening the jaws for a guttural roar.

Starfire let's go with a piercing scream.

Dick, Jack, Rose, Changeling, and Raven are all too scared to move or react. Kom', Bryan and Starfire back up to them, but Vic does not even blink as the reptilian beast stalks up behind him.

Vic, "chill out, y'all! This is TV! The monster's not real, it's just some dude in a costume."

It is now close enough for him to touch, but when he does so, his eyes pop in sudden surprise.

Vic, "that's not a costume."

Bryan, "it ain't no CGI or rubber suit either!"

Vic is swiftly yanked off his feet and chucked across the lake, whereupon a flurry of starbolts explodes against the head and back. Starfire and Kom' throw one last shot each, which the creature blocks with raised forearms; it then spits a wide beam, which they fly up to avoid as it sweeps across the shore. Raven moves in behind it and raises one black hand; we look down slightly to the lake surface, where many submerged roots rise under her control and snare the arms and legs.

Elsewhere, Changeling has become a falcon and is descending to the shore. Within one second, he has reverted to human form, then transformed into a rhinoceros and begun a splashing charge. Just before he can connect with the monster, though, it breaks free of the roots and seizes him.

Raven gasps in shock, and then the four-ton Titan is coming right at her. There is a flash of impact, which clears to show Vic walking up as the sodden girl gets to her feet.

Raven, "that thing may be fake in the real world…."

Changeling, also soaked, gets up in human form.

Changeling, "... but it's way real in here."

The others all join them.

Dick, "then it's a good thing he's not our target. We need to find Control Freak!"

It moves in.

Jack, "split up!"

Each Titan runs off and seems to end up on a different show. Dick has fallen in water.

Back to the lake; the monster flickers and disappears.

….

We see a different place, where it rematerializes; we look across the space as other characters seen on the screens earlier wink in.

Control Freak, "the creature from Jones Lake. Seven-Gorn-Seven. And the Offworld Outlaw."

All three stand in a spotlight.

We see a desk by a window in this dark room. It is lit by a solitary lamp, and behind it is the man himself; face in shadow, arms cradling a white cat. He has gotten rid of the tuxedo he stole during his last scene.

Control Freak, "the most notorious villains in television history. I suppose you're wondering why I've brought you all here. The answer is quite simple, really. Using all of your awesome powers…. I command you to seek out the Teen Titans", he lets the cat go and leans to the light, "and annihilate them."

A click of his remote sends them away.

Control Freak, "hehehe! So cool!"

Another button press turns the office behind him to static, then to a Japanese dojo. We see another corner, in which a gray creature is standing. Its head has one large red eye at the center, with four tentacles radiating outward, and it wears a kimono. A black banner marked with a large red X hangs behind it.

Control Freak, "Master Hagadash, of the classic miniseries Invasion X", he slides into view; both assume the same pose, "I am ready to begin the training."

….

Reviews:

pokemonking0924: that was intentional. This episode was heavily based on that episode of Young Justice and included various connections to JLU. Namely with Mercy Graves now running LexCorp. I'm glad you liked Kom's nickname. And I'm glad you're so excited for more.

Canadude2029: I'm very glad you enjoyed the chapter and my return to this story.

raven2012: I'm glad you liked the chapter. And yeah, Lex being the culprit was done since I hate his guts. That's also the reason I put Mercy in charge of LexCorp, since I LOVE her character.

Bailey Radcliffe: thanks so much. I'm glad you're excited for more and for what I have planned. I'm excited your fanfiction is doing well. I think your avatar story sounds very interesting.

DaV1nc136: I'm glad you liked this chapter and the themes explored in it.

….

And thus we get one of the most entertaining episodes of the season. I love all the figs at various shows and movies in this episode, and had a blast throwing in my own.

Also, if you haven't voted on my Scooby Doo poll yet, please do so. We've got 19 people voting thus far, so I'm hoping for a few more votes before we move onto my next poll.

One regarding a certain cartoon about an alien watch….