Part 67: A Shrinking Feeling

Pluto was in the Tower Lab, alone. He was clad in his usual blue lab coat with the black goggles and black latex gloves. Before him was a strange device. He rubbed his hands together and whispered out, "Excellent…" before he laughed like a mad scientist.

God help us all…

It was early in the morning and Shadowcobra and Draco were on the Tower roof. Shadowcobra was doing his morning gardening and Draco was doing his usual Tai-Chi exercises. The week had been stressful since the incident at the fashion show, added with the fact that Robin scolded them for allowing Mrs. Hasuma to figure out their secret identities. Of course, the Titans did receive a few new uniforms.

Shadowcobra was cutting off the uneven leaves from his rosebushes when he accidentally cut off a white rose. The snow colored flower fell to the floor and Shadowcobra's brow furrowed as he frowned. He turned to Draco and said, "Do you have the strangest feeling that something bad is going to happen?"

Draco was in the middle of his exercise and answered, "What's wrong?"

Shadowocbra bent down and picked up the flower and twirled it between his fingers. "This is a bad omen…a sign that something bad is going to happen."

Suddenly, both Knights' T-Coms beeped. They reached into their pockets and pulled out the circular communication devices. They opened them up and Pluto's face was on the screens. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey guys!" Pluto greeted, "Meet me in the lab! I've got a BIG surprise!" he laughed before his face disappeared.

The snake and dragon Knights stared at each other and sighed. Draco asked, "Was this the feeling of foreboding doom you had?"

Shadowcobra stared at the flower in his hand and answered, "It comes pretty damn close, my friend, pretty damn close."

The Titans were all already in the Tower lab when Draco and Shadowcobra entered. Pluto was standing next to something that was covered by a white shroud. Pluto grinned as he rubbed his hands together.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Shadowcobra.

Raven looked at Shadowcobra, "Do you know what's going on?"

"Not the foggiest. I've been trying to figure the mutt out for years and I still can't understand why he does the things he does," he replied.

Pluto cleared his throat and smiled. "Greetings everybody! Today I'm going to show you my latest invention!"

"Oh boy…" Draco gulped. He muttered, "Everyone should take ten steps back."

Pluto continued, "As you all know, the Tower has a lot of junk that takes up a lot of space. This junk is always stored in all the spare rooms."

Beast Boy and Cyborg's eyes wandered as they whistled. Terra raised an eyebrow at this.

Pluto added, "That was why I decided to build this!" he pulled off the shroud to reveal an elaborate laser gun. He finished, announcing, "PRESENTING, THE PLUTO SHRINK RAY: MARK 21!"

"A shrink ray?" Robin questioned.

"21?" Draco continued, "What happened to Mark 1 through 20?"

Pluto scratched his head, "There were…problems," he said a little hesitantly.

Shadowcobra whispered to Raven, "Probably failed attempts."

Raven whispered back, "Obviously."

Pluto's left eye twitched as he glared at the Snake and Blackbird. He coughed. "Anyway, this baby will help make our lives easier!"

"How?" asked Starfire. She was the only one excited about the shrink ray.

"Starfire, it's a shrink ray, what do you think it does?" Jinx said to the alien.

"And why do we need a shrink ray anyway?" Robin asked.

"To shrink stuff, duh!" Pluto rolled his eyes.

"I know that!" Robin retorted.

"Isn't that dangerous to have?" Shadowcobra asked.

"It's perfectly safe!" Pluto answered.

"Coming from you, that isn't really reassuring," Draco said.

"Come on guys!" Terra said, trying to put a pleasant spin on the situation, "This thing might be a good thing for us! It might be useful."

"Terra," Shadowcobra began, "You're forgetting who built this thing."

Jinx asked Cyborg, "Did you help him with it?"

"Kinda," Cyborg answered.

"I helped too!" Beast Boy said

"What were you, the guinea pig?" Shadowcobra joked.

Beast Boy's eyes went wide. "Uh…"

"I just hit the nail on the head, didn't I?"

Beast Boy nodded.

"I need an aspirin. What did you do to him?" Shadowcobra asked Pluto.

"Like you said, he was the test subject," Pluto answered.

"Beast Boy," Terra went to her boyfriend, "Did he hurt you?"

Beast Boy's eyes darted and he answered, "Not exactly…"

"Well, we know he didn't blow you up," Draco quipped.

Jinx added, "And since this is a shrink ray…"

"So that was why it was quiet all week," Raven concluded.

Cyborg said, "It was sort of an experimental thing. We wanted to shrink a block of tofu, but BB got in the way and was shrunk instead."

"And this ray needs a week to recharge after the battery goes dead," Pluto added.

"When did you start with this project, exactly?" Robin asked with arms crossed.

"About two months ago," Pluto answered.

"And it didn't occur to you to tell me or report this?" Robin demanded.

"Please, Robin," Starfire pleaded, "Do not be angry at friend Pluto for keeping this a surprise."

Robin sighed, "Alright Star."

"You're whipped, you know that?" Draco quipped. Robin glared at the dragon Knight.

"So, who wants to try this baby out first?" Pluto asked.

Terra, Beast Boy, Jinx and Starfire raised their arms.

"Why aren't I surprised?" Shadowcobra asked sarcastically.

"After all this, you're still surprised?" Raven asked.

Shadowcobra shook his head.

"Alright!" Pluto went to the shrink ray and pointed it to a random target, which just so happened to be the work bench. "Who wants to go first?"

"I do!" Starfire glided towards the shrink ray.

"Put this on," Pluto handed her a pair of goggles. "You guys too," he threw several goggles at the Titans.

"Does anyone else have the feeling of foreboding doom here?" Shadowcobra muttered, putting on the goggles.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Jinx asked.

"Famous last words, Jinxy, famous last words," Draco muttered shaking his head.

Pluto instructed Starfire, "Now Star, just aim and press the red button."

"Okay!" she did as told but nothing happened. "It did not work," she said sadly.

"Stupid piece of junk!" Pluto kicked it angrily.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Draco asked, worried.

"Trust me! Nothing wrong will happen!" Pluto answered, still kicking it. Suddenly, it started sparking and twitching erratically. "Oops!"

"Oops is right!" Cyborg shouted.

"Dudes! Take cover!" Beast Boy shouted.

The Titans were not able to escape in time as the shrink ray exploded with a blinding light.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

To Be Continued…