Part 53: Trouble in Tokyo…Again
When Shadow arrived back in Tokyo, it was already night time. He was going to look for the Titans since he had a bad feeling that something terrible was going to happen involving this whole Brushogun thing. He had on his civilian clothes, which consisted of a black trench coat, a purple turtleneck, black pants, shoes and gloves. He left his hair black and had on a pair of glasses. One of the large screens located upon a building displayed the face of the mayor of Tokyo. He was a good man and a good politician.
His eyes gazed upon the screen and widened considerably at the news. Robin was wanted for murder and the mayor demanded all the Titans to turn themselves in or leave Tokyo immediately.
Back in her mansion, Emiko Narukawa Hasuma gasped at the news in shock. "Robin would never do such a thing! This simply cannot be true. The Titans are heroes."
Sonomi, her mother, then said, "But, be that as it may, Robin is now a fugitive and along with the other Titans. I don't think our lawyers can help with this debacle and even if they could our own family's reputation would be at stake."
Emiko nodded in agreement. Kokoro Hasuma was in the room as well. Robin was honorable and followed a strict moral code. While hosting the Titans, he had spared with the Boy Wonder and taught him a few tricks of his own. Robin would never kill, but then…how did this happen?
Someone wanted the Titans out of the way and they had to figure out how.
'I need to find Raven,' Ichijyo thought as his communicator began to beep. He listened in to hear Starfire's voice. She was telling everyone else of what was happening. Ichijyo's eyes then narrowed as he heard Starfire gasp in fright. He looked up to see a streak of violet being followed by a streak of blue. 'But first, Starfire needs my help.' Looking left and right, he entered an alley and vanished into the darkness.
Starfire was flying through the air as she blasted at Mecha-Boi. The naughty parody of Astro-Boy was blasting her back with blue energy beams fired from his hands. She dodged out of the way and blasted back. She had no time for this! She needed to find Robin and the others, quickly!
Suddenly, Mecha-Boi charged, grinning widely.
"SAYONARA!" he exclaimed before Mecha-Boi opened his mouth wide and sent a missile flying at the hapless Tamaranean.
The missile didn't make impact as it was absorbed into a portal of dark energy.
"Raven?" Starfire questioned but then she had a huge smile on her face as she saw the familiar visage of the Knight of Invisibility. He was in his armor and riding upon Stingdiver, standing tall with his arms crossed. "Shadow!"
"I'm here, Starfire," Zodiac Knight Shadowcobra assured her before he turned his attention towards Mecha-Boi. His eyes narrowed in distaste at the blue android as he drew a card from his deck and slid it into his staff. "Final Vent!"
Mecha-Boi watched as Shadowcobra came flying at him, riding upon Stingdiver. He sent was ready to blast Shadowcobra with his arm cannons but then his cannons were destroyed by starbolts fired by Starfire. She shook her finger and said, "Uh, uh, uh..."
Smirking, Shadowcobra continued on with his attack. "STINGRAY SURF!" Stingdiver's sharp fins sliced the blue robot in half before it exploded. He then spun back around and said to Starfire, "Find Robin and hurry. I'm going to go find the others."
"Be careful," Starfire pleaded. Shadowcobra nodded and then went to find his beloved.
"Let me go!" Raven struggled in the grip of the black creature she was fighting. Its distorted and frightening face contorted into a wide grin as to continued to constrict and engulf her body. She struggled and was ready to chant her mantra but then a burst of light sent the creature flying and screeching in pain. Raven took in a deep breath of fresh air as she turned to see who'd saved her. Her eyes widened and she smiled.
There was Shadowcobra in his armor as he calmly walked over towards Raven. "Together?" he suggested.
"Together," she nodded and then both turned to stare down their opponent who was going on the attack again.
"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" A black burst of energy in the shape of her soul self went at the creature.
"Shadow Spell!" Shadowcobra shouted as he slammed his scepter upon the ground of the cemetery and letting loose chains that ensnared their enemy. The blast of energy engulfed it and then there was no more. The Titans didn't usually kill, but Raven hadn't sensed a life force from the black creature.
"You're here," Raven said as she looked up at Shadow who removed his helmet.
"I sensed something amiss and decided to come and lend a hand," he said, smiling at her, "Also, I could never stay away from you, my sweet little blackbird."
Raven blushed and smiled coyly before leaning up and kissing him on the lips. She pulled away as he licked his lips.
"You've been chewing gum," he said to her.
"Don't ask," Raven said. "Now what?"
"We find Robin, but first we need to find Terra, Beast Boy and Cyborg."
"Get your paws off my man!" Terra exclaimed angrily as she sent a piece of the road flying at the catgirl, Nya-Nya, who had just kissed Beast Boy on the lips. The agile feline flipped over it before dashing towards Terra. She slashed at the geomancer who leant back and swung a fist at the catgirl who jumped up and slapped Terra across the face with her tail. Growling, Terra grabbed the offending appendage and slammed Nya-Nya, face first, upon the pavement. The catgirl got up, snarling, and lunged at Terra only to slam face first into a wall of stone as Terra stalked over to Beast Boy. Beast Boy was still dazed from the full lip-lock he'd received from Nya-Nya. Terra shook her head in disgust. First those Japanese fangirls wanted to molest Beast Boy at that Karaoke place and now this? What, did Beast Boy suddenly develop sex appeal and become a babe magnet with his horrible singing? Terra sighed and helped Beast Boy up. She wiped the lipstick off his lips and then shook him a bit to get him to wake up again.
Nya-Nya had recovered and then lunged at Terra when she had her back turn but then a small green blur slashed her across the cheek, drawing blood. There was a clicking sound as a robotic ant crawled over to Terra. Terra rolled up her sleeve to reveal the Cutter Glove and then turned to smirk at Nya-Nya who just began to circle Terra.
"Time to fix this cat," Terra smirked before the Cutter Inzecter leapt onto her Cutter Glove. "Henshin!" she called.
"HENSHIN!" the Inzecter echoed and now Nya-Nya was staring at a green armored Terra and gulped at seeing the guns on her shoulders. Terra took aim and fired her Vulcans at Nya-Nya, who just ran off, screeching in fear. Terra then took a look at Cyborg who looked like he was going to get eaten by that round yellow mechanoid. Taking careful aim, Terra fired and the robot, Timoko, had to open its mouth to scream in pain before Cyborg aimed and fired his sonic cannon. Timoko got up to attack but then…
"CAST OFF!" Pieces of Terra's Strong Mode armor smashed into it and sent it staggering back. "CHANGE LEAFCUTTER ANT!"
"Come on, let's go!" Terra shouted as she grabbed Beast Boy. Cyborg took hold of her hand before she exclaimed, "Clock Up!"
"CLOCK UP!"
The three Titans vanished in a blur before Nya-Nya and Timoko could give chase.
After saving Robin from Commander Daizo and the Tokyo Troopers, Starfire had taken him to the temple. She had brought him a spare uniform.
"Are you alright, Robin?" Starfire asked tentatively.
"No, I'm not," Robin grumbled. "I'm a fugitive now after I killed Saico-Tek and now all of you…" Starfire placed a finger on his lips to shush him.
"Please, do not blame yourself. It was just circumstances you could not control, just like all of us being pursued. We barely escaped."
Robin then remembered how cold he'd treated Starfire on this little adventure. She was his girlfriend and he'd ruined a tender moment earlier with his serious attitude. He still had troubled loosening up as it is.
"Starfire, I…" Robin began, "Oh, to hell with it!" He then leaned over and pressed his lips against hers. She gasped in shock and then moaned in delight as she closed her eyes to enjoy this tender moment with Robin, her Robin. They were locked in an embrace but then Beast Boy slid open the door suddenly, causing both Titans to jump in shock and let each other go. Behind Beast Boy were Cyborg, Raven, Shadow (out of his armor) and Terra (also out of her armor).
"What's up?" Beast Boy asked, clueless of what had transpired. The flushed looks on Robin and Starfire's faces did not go unnoticed by Shadow who was wearing an amused look on his face.
"So, what do you have?" Robin asked, acting all serious again. If it wasn't for the voice, none of the Titans would've recognized their disguised leader.
"We searched the crime scene and well and then used my computer's molecular analyzer." Cyborg had a knowing grin on his face, "That wasn't blood on you at all. It was ink."
"Ink?" Robin quirked an eyebrow.
"So were those stains on my armor, the streaks on Raven's cloak, and that lipstick when BB got kissed by that girl that kicked his butt." Cyborg was chuckling at the mention of Beast Boy's ink sample while Terra's left eye twitched in annoyance.
"She was a catgirl!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"I also didn't sense a life force from whatever attacked Starfire and Raven," Shadow nodded. Robin just noticed this.
"You're here," Robin said to his third-in-command.
"I felt like I was needed," the shadow manipulator shrugged.
"I also got this," Raven said as she opened up the book she'd discovered. It was about Brushogun. She began to tell the tale.
The tale of the man who fell in love with his own drawing and used the dark arts to attempt to bring her to life made Shadow frown. Humans would often misuse dark magic to make their desires come true without thinking of the consequences. His folly had turned a young artist into the villain known as Brushogun. Apparently, Brushogun had the ability to make his drawings come to life, explaining the ink samples Cyborg had analyzed.
Robin, regaining his confidence, pulled on his uniform and stood in a confident pose. Starfire smiled as she gazed at their leader while Shadow merely smiled.
"Okay, here's our mission. We're dealing with a criminal who can create other criminals. We're going to find him and bring him to justice!" Robin spoke confidently, and inspiring to say the least.
"Um…" Beast Boy raised his arm. "Just ONE thing: Everyone in Tokyo is out to get us!"
And as soon as he yelled that, all the doors slid open to reveal chefs, Japanese fangirls, Brushogun's creations, and Daizo's Tokyo Troopers.
"Titans! Go!" Robin shouted as he unleashed a smoke bomb before the 7 Titans went on the escape, running away from their would-be captors.
Okay, if you've watched "Trouble in Tokyo", you pretty much know how this chase scene goes so I won't bore you with details. It's basically a chase scene with the Titans being chased all over the city until they followed the lead towards a familiar looking building.
"The comic book place?" Raven questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
"See?" Beast Boy pointed, "I told you we should've search that place first!"
"Beast Boy," Terra reminded, "You wanted to take a tour to see it."
"Oh, I forgot."
"Well, law of averages say that Beast Boy could be right about this one," Shadow said.
"Let's go," Robin said to them as they followed. They'd lost their pursuers.
They entered the building discreetly thanks to Shadow's ability to phase into solid matter. They soon found themselves in the printing room. Of course, there were also various monitors displaying parts of Tokyo. Talk about suspicious.
They then found their target, only to find the frail form of what was once Brushogun.
"You've found me…" Brushogun said with a weak smile. He was attached to a large printing press with cables attached to his back. Starfire and Terra gasped in shock.
Could this be Brushogun?
"Brushogun?" Robin asked. The man nodded. "Were you the one that…"
"Sent Saico-Tek to your city? Yes, but it was only a message…"
"To bring us all here," Raven deduced. "To find you…"
"And rescue me…" Brushogun said weakly.
"Rescue you from what?" Terra asked.
"Someone put you here, and forced you to create these criminals, right?" Shadow asked and Brushogun nodded. "You're not the one behind this, you're just…"
"A slave…I knew that if I sent Saico-Tek, it would bring the Teen Titans to Tokyo and to me. However, Saico-Tek was printed twice. I sent the first one to your city, while the second one was sent to frame Robin."
"So, you're just the brush with someone else telling you what to paint," Shadow nodded.
"So, who framed Robin?" Beast Boy asked, "And sent those things after us?"
"And most of all, who would benefit from creating criminals?" Cyborg asked, scratching his head.
"The hero that captures them," Robin said logically before spinning around, "Isn't that right, Commander Daizo?"
Spinning in his chair to face the Titans, the leader of the Tokyo Troopers clapped his hands in applaud as he walked out of the shadows, "Very good, my young friend."
"Brushogun was the only super criminal you ever caught, but that wasn't enough, was it?"
"Of course, but now that you are in my grasp, I will be hailed a hero while you…vigilantes will be considered criminals! You've lost!" Daizo gloated.
"Not quite," Shadow fished his SNK-Phone out of his pocket, "You see, I had my phone transmit this entire conversation to EVERY radio in the city." Daizo sputtered in shock and hen he glared at the grinning Snake Knight, "Looks like the tables have turned, haven't they?"
"I will not lose!" He snapped his fingers and then the Tokyo Trooper surrounded the Titans. "Take them, dead or alive!" Daizo commanded, pointing at the Titans.
"Titans! Go!" Robin got out his Bo-staff and went on the attack, along with the rest of the Titans.
Beast Boy, as a stegosaurus, knocked a few troopers away as Terra tripped them off their feet with a minor quake. Starfire used her fists to knock them round as Raven sent them flying with her powers. Shadow was slippery, as always, as he dodged from his opponents and went into a whirlwind kick that knocked their helmets away. One of the Troopers got up to reveal half his head missing.
"They're not real!" Shadow said to the others, "They're just living ink drawings!"
"That means we don't have to hold back!" Grinning, Cyborg let loose a sonic cannon blast.
Timoko, Nya-Nya, No Face (the black creature at the cemetery), a new Saico-Tek and a new Mecha-Boi had also shown up to join the battle. The Titans fought them harder than before, knowing they weren't fighting real people.
Robin had chased Daizo upon a catwalk above the fighting below and said, quoting Daizo earlier when he'd been in jail, "Looks like they don't make heroes like they used to."
Daizo glared at Robin, enraged, "You and your little friends have ruined everything!"
"You're going down, Daizo," Robin said as he came closer. "And not as a hero, but as a fake."
"Nowhere to run, Commander," Shadow said as he walked over from the other end of the walkway. Daizo was trapped. He could not get past Robin or Shadow but then looked over the side of the walkway and grinned.
"Looks like I'm going down like you say," Daizo said before he leapt off the railing.
"NO!" Robin shouted as he ran over to see Daizo plunge into the ink reservoir under them. At the same time, Brushogun's eyes began to glow brightly as he let out a terrible wail of pain.
"I can safely say that this isn't good," Shadow spoke as he watched the ink as it began to bubble. Brushogun's creations all began to melt into ink, much to the Titans' disgust and confusion.
"We gotta get out of here!" Robin shouted, "TITANS! MOVE!"
The ground began to shake before it exploded. There was storm outside as a large black figure made of ink began to rise up. It has ink pipes on its body and red eyes with the interior of its mouth being red. It then let out a roar, "THE POWER IS MINE!" Lightning flashed and thunder crashed behind him.
The Titans had all gotten out in time to see this creature that was once Daizo going on a rampage and headed for the city. They couldn't let him.
"That is a whole lotta ink!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"And it stinks too," Shadow said as he covered the lower half of his face with his collar.
"That is going to be one big stain to clean up when this is over," Cyborg assessed.
"And I don't know how long he can control Brushogun's magic either," Raven said.
Daizo continued to leave a trail as he headed towards the city. Rising up were mismatched versions of his creations in various colors. There were dozens of them as he created them in his wake.
"What should we do?" Starfire asked as she gazed up at the black creature.
"Erase him," Robin said firmly.
Daizo looked down to see the Titans and sneered before throwing down a large black palm on them. They barely escaped being flattened before he sent tentacles flying at all of them. They dodged from being ensnared but their attention was also on the army that Daizo was continuously creating.
Robin looked up to see Brushogun protruding from Daizo's massive monstrous form and got an idea. "Starfire, I need you to get me up there." Starfire, nodding, grabbed Robin under his arms and took flight.
Shadowcobra had summoned his ZX-Shadow Basher (they have backups at Smart Brain) and entered the code to change it into its bipedal Battle Mode. The vehicle transformed into an AI assisted battle mech and began firing missiles at the army of ink creatures. Shadow looked up to see Starfire and Robin flying towards Brushogun and then seeing the tentacles headed for them.
His eyes narrowed as he sent shadow discs flying, slicing the tentacles apart. Robin nodded before he sent a grappling hook that embedded itself into Daizo's inky body. Starfire let go, allowing Robin to pull himself over to Brushogun.
"Remove me…from this machine…" Brushogun begged Robin. "Without me, his…my power will be gone."
"But what will happen to you?" Robin asked.
"I will finally have…redemption," Brushogun said with a small smile. Nodding, Robin grabbed onto the frail looking man and began to pull him out. He then felt an extra pair of hands helping him.
"Starfire?" Robin asked
"Let us release him from this pain," Starfire said firmly as she tugged with him. They were then able to pull him completely out of the ink mass and then they all flew down to safety just as Daizo was beginning to convulse. The ink creatures also started to melt as Daizo's massive inky body began to bubble. Shadow's eyes widened in alarm and he wasn't the only one.
"HE'S GONNA BLOW!!!" Cyborg yelled out as they all ran away.
Daizo exploded in a black mass of ink that covered the entire area, including the Titans.
"Ugh, it's in my hair!" Terra groaned as the ink covered her blonde locks, "I knew I should've kept my armor on."
Daizo was covered by ink as he groaned. Shadow just looked at the man who lay in the black mess with disgust. How low could people go just for a medal and being named a hero? Daizo was no true hero. Shadow knew that too well. He then walked over to Starfire and Robin who were laying down Brushogun.
Brushogun said only two words, "Thank…You…" before he vanished. Starfire gasped in shock.
"The magic that kept him alive is gone now," Shadow said, "He is now free of his curse. He can now rest in peace." It was still raining, "Come on, let's get out of the rain." But, his request fell on deaf ears as Starfire and Robin began to kiss each other. Amused, he chuckled before walking over to the other Titans.
The very next day, a ceremony was being held. Now only did the Titans save Tokyo, but also revealed the real criminal, Daizo. Daizo had been stripped of his status and put into prison for his crimes.
The Titans all stood before the citizens of Tokyo, waving. Beast Boy just puffed up his chest and spread out his arms. It appeared he'd summoned his adoring fans. Terra glared at him and pushed the girls away from her man.
The chef from earlier had also presented Cyborg with an ALL YOU CAN EAT buffet. With a loud, "BOOYAH!" the mechanical Titans jumped in and dug in.
Starfire and Robin were holding hands, along with Shadow and Raven who were also grasping hands. Shadow chuckled with amusement as he saw the commercial onscreen with Raven being the spoke's person for chewing gum.
The mayor then placed the medals around their necks, congratulating them. He said, "For uncovering the truth and pursuing justice as well as protecting Tokyo from a treacherous evil, I present these medals to Tokyo's newest heroes…the Teen Titans!"
Everyone cheered and applauded as the Titans took a bow. Their pictures were being taken as well.
"So, I guess the vacation is over, huh?" Beast Boy asked. Everyone was looking at Robin expectantly for an answer.
"You know, Beast Boy, maybe a vacation isn't going to be all that bad," Robin said. "God knows we've earned it."
"Finally learning how to loosen up, Robin?" Shadow teased.
"Almost lost something precious before I learnt that lesson, Shadow." Robin then gave Starfire a peck on the cheek. The cameras flashed to catch the moment.
"So, next, we're going to Mexico!" Beast Boy said eagerly, only to be smacked by Raven in annoyance.
To Be Continued…
OK, 53rd chap and I'm on a roll. Whaddya think? Pls, review, k?