Part 19: Conflict.
Team A: (Lead by Pluto): Pluto, Blackfire, Beast Boy, Terra and DT (Double Trouble).
Team B: (Lead by Cyborg): Cyborg, Draco, Jinx, Mortuary and Blackbird.
The Titans were split into two teams to track down whoever (or whatever) had been attacking the city. They knew it was Deathtrons (the symbol was a dead giveaway), but they didn't know which Deathtrons. However, with DT's help, they were going to get a clear answer.
Blackbird volunteered to come along. Not only because she was a Sabretron and it was her duty to fight Deathtrons, but also because she couldn't stand idly by and watch innocent people get hurt by these (seemingly) random attacks.
T.I.T.A.N. activated the defense grid as the Titans began to leave. Draco and Pluto were already in their individual armors and ready to go. They needed to move fast so they were going to use vehicles. Those who could fly, and fly fast, didn't need vehicles really, but there were those who wanted to.
That was why Pluto was on the ZX-Motor Majin, Draco on the ZX-Jet Slinger, Beast Boy on his moped (the B-Ped II), Cyborg in the T-Car, Jinx on Draco's Crimson Dragracer and Mortuary on Draco's ZX-Dragchaser. Blackfire, DT, Blackbird and Terra opted to fly with their own means.
"Titans! Go!" Cyborg shouted as he revved the engine. The bridge that connected the Tower with the mainland rose up from the water. The vehicles raced towards the city as the fliers flew straight on, splitting up soon after when they reached the mainland.
(With Team A)
Team A was investigating the 2nd last point of the attack, which was the business district. There were broken windows, crumbling buildings and the street…well, there was a huge crater. Paramedics were treating the victims while ambulances took some to the hospital. With this many injured in this area, the local hospitals were going to be packed.
'I sure wished Shadow and Raven were here,' Pluto thought as he rode upon the Motor Majin, checking his radar and scanners. There was residual energy from plasma based weaponry as well as photon based weapons. An odd mix, but very destructive in the wrong hands. He stopped and so did the others. Beast Boy and Pluto dismounted from their vehicles and Terra, Blackfire and DT landed (DT was in his Deathtron Bat Armor).
"What a mess," Blackfire said, looking at all the destruction.
"You're telling me," Terra agreed. "It looks like a tornado hit this place."
"You could say that again, Terra," Beast Boy sniffed. "Man, what a mess!"
"In more ways than one, Beast Boy," DT said, scanning the area. He hated this for a lot of reasons. One was about the Deathtrons. How could Deathtrons attack people without remorse, and the second reason was why they couldn't stop this earlier?
Pluto asked one of the police officers questioned, "Did you get any witness statements?"
The police officer, knowing Pluto was a Titan, answered, "All they said was that a giant metal bird suddenly came flying down and attacked. It was going on pretty fast. No one was killed, fortunately."
Pluto nodded, "Thank you." He scanned the area again. If his calculations were correct (if he was serious, they often were) he could predict where the Deathtrons would attack next…Hopefully.
DT then remembered something. "Wait a minute," he said. "Did that police officer say 'giant metal bird'?" he asked. Pluto nodded. DT said, realizing the answer, "Of course! I remember something!"
"What?" Blackfire asked.
"Back when Slade tried to lure Renia by kidnapping the Titans (See Part 50, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 of Volume 2), there was this green Knight trying to capture me," DT was talking about ARMS, whom the Titans had the displeasure of meeting a few times (he tried to blow up Draco, Pluto and Shadowcobra. See Part 34 of Volume 1). DT continued, "There were these two Deathtrons, who called themselves the H.A.W.K.S., called Dreadwind and Blackwing."
"You think it's them?" Pluto asked.
DT nodded, "I do. The description fits. Besides, the last time I saw them, there were being blasted to who knows where (See Part 78 of Volume 2)."
Blackfire rubbed her chin, "I think I do remember Raven and Jinx blasting some guys in bird armor."
"So, why this then?" Beast Boy asked, referring to the random destruction.
"They were sending us a message," Terra concluded, "They want revenge. I mean, wouldn't you be pissed after being blasted to Nowheresville?"
"If I was them, I'd be REALLY pissed off," Beast Boy nodded.
"I'm calling Cy," Pluto said as he turned on his DOG-Phone and called Cyborg, "Cyborg, I think we know who the perps are."
(With Team B)
Cyborg and his team were investigating the last attack point, which was Jump City Bridge. There were holes in the bridge and support cables were weakened from the last strike. There were overturned cars and a lot of injured civilians. Draco's eyes saddened under his green eyepieces as he saw paramedics treating a 5 year old child who had a broken arm and was crying, her parents being treated close by. He thanked Kami that no one was killed. He repaired the cables by welding them together. He also helped out with the injured since he was trained in basic first aid. He didn't have healing abilities, but he could ease the pain of some of the victims with his ice powers.
Mortuary, on the other hand, had a look of total rage on his face. Such destruction reminded him of the many atrocities committed by the Orphenochs that he had slain for the past few months. He couldn't wait to jam his Death-Buster right between there…
Blackbird was the most sympathetic. Her job was to stop Deathtrons and she even failed at that. Okay, she was one Sabretron, but she could've done something. Oh well. No use feeling guilty now for there was work to be done.
Cyborg was doing a scan and found traces of both plasma and photon energy; very deadly stuff in the wrong hands. Who could've done this? Jinx walked up to him.
"Found anything?" Jinx asked.
Cyborg shook his head, "Aside from residual energy signatures, nuthin'." Jinx placed a hand on his arm and smiled.
"You'll figure it out. You always will," she smiled at him softly. Cyborg couldn't help but flush. He did have a crush on Jinx, a long time ago when he had been going undercover at the HIVE. Were those feelings resurfacing? He shook his head. 'No! No! No! Naughty brain! Think of Sarah! You love Sarah!' he did this to, not only to clear his mind, but also to remind himself of his love Sarah. Also, looking up, he saw Draco staring at them. Cyborg gulped, almost swearing that he saw Draco's green eyepieces turn red for a second. He still remembered the thrashing he got from the Dragon Knight when said Knight found out that Cyborg was the one who broke Jinx's heart (See Part 18 of Volume 1). He reminded himself, 'And you don't want to piss Draco off AGAIN! Remember that he can now give you frostbite!' Not to mention that Draco was also an Orphenoch and could reduce him to ashes at any second.
Draco, despite having his helmet and faceplate on to hide his face, was being scrutinized by Mortuary. He went over to the Dragon Knight and noticed him staring at Cyborg and Jinx. He got the gist of it as he walked over. "Jealous?" he asked, totally out of the blue. Draco nearly jumped.
"Geez, Mort! Don't do that!" Draco exclaimed, taking in a deep breath. He then registered what Mortuary had said earlier, "And what do you mean 'jealous'?"
Mortuary cocked his head towards Jinx and Cyborg, "I mean those two. It looks to me like they're pretty close."
"Too close…" Draco's eyes narrowed, a small growl escaping his throat. He said to Mortuary, "It's just, well, they sorta…almost had a relationship a long while back, before I arrived."
"I see…" Mortuary nodded. "Are you okay with it? Old feelings do tend to resurface."
'Not if I have anything to say about it!' Draco thought, surprising himself for such a thought. "I don't think so," Draco shook his head. 'I hope not!' he thought. He then tried to refocus to the mission, helping out with the injured the best he could. Blackbird was doing the same. She had been trained as a medic and studied the physiology of many races so she knew what she was doing.
Cyborg got a call. He activated his communicator and saw Pluto's face. "Whasup?" he asked.
"We know who the perps are!" Pluto said. Cyborg eyes went wide. This was a huge lead!
"Who?" Cyborg asked.
"Some Deathtron punks that you guys tangled with. They call themselves the H.A.W.K.S. or something."
Cyborg nodded, "Okay, I'll tell the others." He called, "Hey guys! Pluto told me who did it!"
"Who?" Blackbird questioned as she landed next to him. Draco and Mortuary ran over. Jinx sidled up next to her boyfriend.
"Pluto, according to DT, said that it was the Deathtron H.A.W.K.S." Realization suddenly came to Blackbird's face. She stepped back a bit, startled by the revelation. Pluto gave them a description of the H.A.W.K.S. based on DT's account. Blackbird was speechless.
"I think I remember them. Not the name, but I think I remember blasting a couple bird-based Deathtrons with my hexes," Jinx reminisced while tapping her chin.
Mortuary noticed Blackbird's shocked expression. He asked, "Something wrong, Blackbird?"
Blackbird calmed down and shook her head, "No…nothing's wrong," she lied.
"Okay," Mortuary shrugged, letting the matter drop, but he knew that Blackbird was hiding something. Even though she was an alien, he could still tell if a person was lying just by looking at them. It was something he picked up on his travels, especially with the Red Wolves and Templars and before that.
Cyborg and Pluto finished their conversation and Cyborg signed out. He said to his teammates, "Okay, from what Pluto said, these guys want revenge. So, if you wanted to get back at people who humiliated you, where would you go?"
"I would hit a little closer to home," Mortuary said. That was when it hit them.
"THE TOWER!" They (except for Blackbird who was surprised) shouted. Cyborg called Pluto.
"Plutes! We gotta go back to the Tower! NOW!" Cyborg shouted into his communicator.
(With Team A)
"Plutes! We gotta go back to the Tower! NOW!" Cyborg shouted through Plutos DOG-Phone.
Pluto was shocked at seeing Cyborg's distressed expression, "The Tower? Why?"
"Those Deathtrons are going to get even with us BY ATTACKING THE TOWER!"
"Got it!" Pluto nodded in agreement, knowing there was no time to waste. He called to the other Titans, "To the Tower, ASAP!" he mounted his bike. The other Titans obeyed, hearing what Cyborg had said. They flew/raced back towards Titans Tower, hoping that the defense grid would hold up.
(With Team B)
Team B was already on its way back to the Tower, racing/flying as fast as they could. Blackbird was not in the calmest of moods. She thought to herself, dreading, 'Why THEM? Why NOW? Oh Primus, this isn't going to be easy!'
(Titans Tower)
As predicted, the Tower was under heavy attack by the two, now repaired, Deathtron H.AW.K.S. known as Blackwing and Dreadwind. Thankfully, the security grid was working as the Tower had gone under immediate automatic lockdown upon the H.A.W.K.S.' first strike. T.I.T.A.N., programmed to defend the Tower at all cost, had covered all the windows and doors leading into the Tower with Soul Metal panels that were locked in place as well as a laser grid that erected itself around the structure. There was no way in Hell that these Deathtrons were getting in! Also, the defensive weapons went online. Laser rifles placed on each corner of the roof were firing at the H.A.W.K.S. and the cannons on the island floor were firing upon the intruders.
Blackwing yawned, dodging a laser shot with ease. He sneered arrogantly, "These pathetic apes think they can stop us with these primitive weapons? How sad!"
"Agreed, brother," Dreadwind agreed as he avoided a deadly shot from the island's cannons. "What do they think we are?" Dreadwind said arrogantly.
"Well then," Blackwing began as he flew to the side, avoiding another shot, "Let's teach the Terran apes a lesson!"
"Agreed," Dreadwind said as he focused his weapons on the rifles, bypassing the grid and destroying them with precision shots. Blackwing threw spinning blades at the cannons on the island and sliced them to pieces.
"Too easy!" Blackwing laughed.
"Then what about THIS!" screamed a female voice as a purple energy blast hit Blackwing in the back. Dreadwind turned his head, just in time to get hit by a boulder.
Blackwing groaned, thanking his armor that he was uninjured. "Who dares?" he demanded.
"WE DO!" The Titans shouted in unison as they stood close by or floated over the Tower, their home.
"Oh, you again…" Blackwing drawled.
"That's right!" Cyborg aimed his cannon. "So if you don't want to get blasted…"
"…Stay the hell away from our home!" Pluto finished, standing next to Cyborg with his sword drawn and electricity crackling around him. He was still very pissed at these two for hurting Fixit.
"I'm shocked, you know," DT said, flying in the air with the rest of the Titans who were flying (mainly Terra, Blackfire and Blackwing). "I thought you two learnt your lesson from last time."
"The prototype," Blackwing growled.
"I have a name and it's Double-Trouble," DT answered, "Which is the amount of trouble you two are in at this moment."
Blackbird hoped that Blackwing and Dreadwind didn't recognize her for she was in her crow Beast Mode. She looked like a giant bird, but with the Sabretron symbol on her head. She hoped her disguise could hide her identity from the H.A.W.K.S.
She prayed to Primus, 'Please don't let them recognize me!'
Dreadwind's eyes looked over to Blackbird. 'There's something eerily familiar about that bird. I know it's a Sabretron…but I can't shake the feeling of familiarity off.' Being the slightly calmer (and smarter) of the two H.A.W.K.S., Dreadwind would often analyze the situation thoroughly before he acted. And right now, he was analyzing how they were going to fight 10 people who were dead set on taking them down.
The odds were 10 against 2, 5 to 1, how ever you count it the two Deathtron intruders were outnumbered.
However, numbers never exactly counted to the amount of skill both sides had, and the Deathtrons were ready to exploit whatever edge they had. DT knew Deathtrons well and knew how far they would go in defeating their foes.
Cyborg shouted, "TITANS! GO!" This was the Titans' battle cry and signal into battle. This was also the signal for both Blackwing and Dreadwind to act.
How? Easy. The two Deathtrons vanished!
"Huh?" Blackfire was confused, and she wasn't the only one. "Where'd they go?"
Terra was equal confused, pulling up her goggles, "This is weird."
"We must've shown them, huh?" Beast Boy said boastfully.
You couldn't be anymore wrong, Beast Boy.
Blackfire was suddenly struck in the back by an invisible force as the boulder Terra had been riding on crumbled, shocking the two teenage girls. Blackfire was sent falling to the ground, as was Terra.
"BLACKFIRE!" Pluto howled. His cape spread out into wings as he prepared to rescue his girlfriend.
"TERRA!" Beast Boy hollered, ready to change into whatever form to fly up and catch her.
Lucky for Blackfire DT caught her.
But what of Terra?
Terra was plummeting towards the ground as Blackbird dived down to catch her. Knowing, fearfully, that she wasn't fast enough in Beast Mode, transformed, "Blackbird Maximize!" she transformed into her humanoid mode and sped down to catch the geokinetic in her arms. Blackwing and Dreadwind reappeared, shocked and amazed.
"Black…" Blackwing began.
"…Bird?" Dreadwind finished.
"You okay?" Blackbird asked Terra as she set her down.
"I think so," Terra said, finding her breath again. The moment of shock caused her to lose control of her powers again.
DT set Blackfire back on her feet as Pluto rushed over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You okay?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. Just a little sore," Blackfire rubbed her back. "What happened?"
"They were moving fast; REALLY fast," DT answered. Pluto nodded in agreement. He had only seen this kind of speed once before…when the Knights used their Axel/Dash/Clock Up systems.
Both Blackwing and Dreadwind landed on the island. The Titans went into their battle stances as the duo…laughed? Yes, they were laughing. Why? Blackbird dreaded the answer. The H.A.W.K.S. red eyes were transfixed on Blackbird.
"Okay, what's so funny?" Mortuary asked. His trigger-finger was itchy as he readied his Death-Buster gun, aiming it at them. His body was also glowing with necroplasmic energy.
"I don't like this," Draco said, looking at the Deathtrons suspiciously.
"Oh, by the Pit! This is so hilarious!" Blackwing laughed.
"Agreed!" Dreadwind laughed as well, holding his sides. "This is just too much! I always knew that family reunions were festive, but I never knew the feeling up until now!"
Family Reunion? Just what were these crazy Deathtrons laughing about? The Titans were wondering this and Blackbird was looking for a way to escape.
"You apes don't get it, do you?" Blackwing smirked, pointing a claw towards Blackbird. "Notice the family resemblance?"
DT turned to ask Blackbird, "What is he talking about?" Blackbird couldn't answer him.
'Oh, Primus! Could this be any worse?' Blackbird thought in fear.
"It's good to see you again…" Dreadwind began sinisterly, "…Sister dear."
"SISTER?" The Titans shouted, shocked by the revelation.
"We always knew you'd defected, but when we couldn't find you…" Blackwing let it trail off. "Anyway, this is a welcome surprise! Together again; isn't it nice, sis?"
Blackbird stepped back, not wanting to look into the piercing red eyes of Blackwing.
"And when you're reprogrammed, the three of us will be the most dangerous force in the galaxy. The H.A.W.K.S., together again after all this time!" Blackwing laughed out. Blackbird fell to her knees, hands on her ears to drown out the menacing laughter. She was visibly shaking at this. Now how were her friends going to react to her now? She looked up and, to her surprise, did not see the look of contempt on their faces. It was determination and no one was showing more determination than Draco and Pluto.
"There's no way you're taking her!" Pluto said defiantly, sword drawn out.
"That's right! A friend, even a new friend, of mine isn't going to go to scum to you!" Draco added. The other Titans nodded in agreement.
Dreadwind was taken by surprise by this display of loyalty and friendship, but not Blackwing. He mocked, "How touching. Well now, we'll just have to beat you apes up. He grinned, "Just like the old man." Pluto's blood boiled. They were talking about Fixit!
"That won't happen!" Pluto said as he drew a card from his deck. The card depicted the golden Right Wing of the Phoenix and it was glowing a bright blue. Wind whipped around him, blowing sand and dirt every where.
"And that goes double for me!" Draco added and drew a card as well. The card depicted a glowing Left Wing of the Phoenix and it was glowing a bright red. Fire whipped around him, in a circle. The Titans close by backed away. The Titans who knew of these cards were grinning, and does who didn't, however, looked on in awe.
"Nice show…NOT!" Blackwing shouted as he flew straight at Pluto. Dreadwind was flying towards Draco. They were moving at blinding speeds. The other Titans shouted for the Knights to hurry up.
Draco's Dragauntlet and Pluto's sword morphed into a gun and a scabbard, respectively, before they slid the cards into their upgraded card readers.
"SURVIVE!"
To Be Continued…
A/N: I know that a lot of people HATE cliffies, but I love them. What better way to finish a chapter than with a cliffhanger. And, if you guys already figured it, Draco and Pluto are gonna go toe to toe and neck to neck with the H.A.W.K.S. Also, is anyone wondering what's going on with Shadow and the other Titans in Amity Park? Well, stay tune for the next chapter. Part 20: Conclusions.