And now I would like to present to you Chapter 9 in all its glory. It's so… beautiful…
No seriously, people, I'm very proud of this chapter, here. It's the best fight scene I've ever written in my entire life, and it's also the longest. The longest chapter, period. Without these annotations, it's just over 7000 words. Very nice. This also makes the combined battle of Ambush pts I and II more words than the first story I ever posted on Fanfiction, Apocalypse. I'll let that sink in. More words than an entire story… in one fight.
Needless to say I'm rather thrilled about this, but I'll let you decide what you think about it. Before I turn you loose, however, I need to answer reviews. I suppose I don't need to, per say, but I would very much like to.
To FelynxTiger- Thank you very much! I take great pride in my fight scenes, and I hope my skills in writing them have improved even more with this next installment!
To Guardian of Night- Thank you! The word "Epic" is always good to hear.
To wolfenstein- Thanks, I had a lot of fun writing them in, when they finally show up. Hope you don't mind Mammoth having a larger role than he normally does.
To Stella de Oro- I agree completely! And one of your favorites? Wow, I'm flattered… and honored!
To Linzerj- Thank you! I hope it gets more awesome after you read this chapter!
To YourMoosyFate- Oh, that? That's easy, it's because…um…
Well…
I dunno XD. I never noticed that. Let's just pretend it makes sense and move on with our lives. Thanks for pointing it out, though, it's good to see that people are paying that much attention to what I write.
To black thorn angel- Thank you! And don't worry, there is no chance I'm abandoning this.
To Gingerstorm101- That is a good idea, but not this time. And I'm not sure where I came up with the monster… although in my mind it looks suspiciously like Johnny Rancid's dog Rex in the episode "Can I keep Him?"… hm…
To longliveteentitans- thanks.
To Mortal Guardian- Thank you for saying so! I'm rather proud of how that turned out.
To TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne- thank you so much for reviewing! They've all been really helpful. And that is a good idea… I had to go in and make a reason why they couldn't after you mentioned it, it's that good. Kudos to you!
I would like to take this opportunity to send out a general, but heartfelt, thank you. I'm sure you all know by now that I have an unhealthy obsession with reviews, and this last chapter got more than I ever have before. You guys are awesome! Keep it up!
So without further ado, I proudly present: Ambush Part II
Enjoy…
There were noises. Quiet ones, but still noticeable: the sound of the rough soles of combat boots against rocks and the clicking of weapons. The occasional staccato burst of gunfire would cut through often, but it was muted. She couldn't see anything but darkness around her.
Suddenly, there was a roar, a scream, a tormented, evil sound. The sound waves bounced and warped within her ears, causing a strange vibrating effect, like a cell phone going off. Well, aside from the fact that the mere presence of the sound, even muted, was painful, and the insane rage behind it was blatantly obvious.
Where am I? Raven wondered. Am I having another dream?
She didn't think so. It was too featureless, save for the battlefield symphony in the background. She must be in some other form of unconsciousness.
Maybe I put myself in a trance, she realized. That's happened before.
But those were thoughts to ponder later. At the moment, what caught and held her attention was the strange noises from far away. What was making them?
It didn't take her long to come to a conclusion. My friends must be fighting again. There must be some army that caught up with us… I hope they get out alright.
"Raven?"
The name was fuzzy and hard to decipher, but to its owner it was clear enough. The speaker was also, despite the sensor, able to be recognized.
"Garfield?" she called out. Her voice faded away and then echoed back, brought down several octaves by the trip. There was no sign that anyone, or anything, had heard her.
"Garfield?" she tried again. She glanced around, squinting into the darkness, and managed to catch a glimpse of Beast Boy's face. It had appeared and disappeared so quickly that she wasn't even sure if she had really seen it, or imagined it. His face had been etched with worry, and his eyes wide with concern.
"Garfield, I'm here, I'm alright!" she called out, distressed now. She hated seeing him look so sad.
"Ti—ns! -tta-k!" called out another voice, chopped up and muffled like a scratched CD.
"Robin?" Raven asked. There was the sound of an explosion and a feminine scream, then silence.
How on earth do I wake up? Raven wondered impatiently, pacing the floor. She didn't even have to try to meditate to know she couldn't, her mind was too ill at ease. And there was the problem she had encountered last time to factor in. The strange absence of Nevermore, and the visions.
There was another painful shriek, and the sound of flying rocks and shrapnel followed.
"Sh-! F-al- - b-a—k!" came Robin's voice. "Fa-l –ac-k!"
"Shit shit shit! " Raven stomped the ground angrily with each word, anxiety building. What if they died? She ran her hands through her short violet locks and began to pace again. Hitches of irrational fear would occasionally bubble up, causing her pendant to pulse and vibrate. The almost constant glow illuminated the space, but there was nothing to see.
(…)
Cyborg ran. He wasn't ashamed to say so; he was terrified of the lethal little machine now fastened to Brother Blood's forearm. He himself had seen, and manipulated, the power behind it. And now it was being used against him.
Blood cackled as Cyborg leapt behind a boulder and readied his cannon. "Scared, boy?" he sneered, stroking the black metal of the Ion Amplifier with his free hand. "That's wise."
Cyborg swallowed, then leapt out from his hiding place, firing multiple sonic blasts at Blood. The villain merely yawned and deflected the shots with his hand, sending them into the dusty ground.
"You'll have to do better than that, Cyborg!" he laughed, thoroughly enjoying himself. "Here's an example!"
At the end of these words he leveled his palm at Cyborg and flexed his fingers. An enormous burst of red energy exploded into being and rushed at the metal man, who only barely managed to jump out of the way. It soared past, warping the very air, and crashed into the cliff face, sending large chunks of rock falling to the ground. The percussive feedback was amazing, and left both men temporarily deaf.
"Hahaha!" Blood laughed, eyes bugging out of his head. "This is power! This is more power than you will ever have! The power that will end your meddlesome life!"
More energy bursts snapped into existence and rushed across the landscape, sending Cyborg rolling and jumping in some sort of bizarre dance. Blood began to perform kicks and punches in place, the Amplifier projecting the movements outwards as huge swaths of fire and light. The massive shock waves from each impact would send Cyborg face first into the stone and scrambling to his feet before he was hit again. He didn't even have a window to strike back.
"Run, Cyborg, run! Run from your superior!" Blood screamed, veins popping out of his neck. "This is the end of you!"
(…)
Robin grit his teeth as he took the brunt of another of the monster's powerful shrieks. His ears were ringing almost constantly now, and his arms, legs, and chest were covered in bruises. Starfire and Bumblebee were also heavily damaged, Flash was still stuck going at the speed of sound, and Jinx was beginning to feel faint from overuse of her powers. Beast Boy was still hunched protectively over Raven's prone form.
"Jenny!" Robin shouted as the blur of the Flash knocked back yet another row of soldiers. Jinx stumbled back and looked over, trying hard to keep her balance.
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any idea who's coming, and when?"
Jinx shook her head, then tripped. A vibrating shape of a man flickered by long enough to nudge her back on her feet, then disappeared.
"You'd better take it easy, Jen, you're gonna pass out any second now," Robin advised her. She laughed.
"It's a battlefield, Richard, there is no 'taking it easy'."
Robin was about to reply when Bumblebee crashed to the ground between them, blood running from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away with an arm covered in burns, and flew back into battle. Robin couldn't help but notice that there was a chunk missing out of one of her wings. A burst of heat and a scream sent Starfire tumbling through the air above them, clothing ripped and eyes glowing a livid green.
"Gokrarn Malchoi Dren Ralkordamix!" she screamed, reverting to some Tamaranean battle cry, and flew back at the flaming beast, starbolt at hand. She managed to get in a few powerful hits before a well-aimed scream sent her out of the sky again.
Suddenly Cyborg flew overhead and crashed into the cliff, sliding to the ground in a sparking heap.
"Hey, Rob, how's it goin'?" he asked.
"Oh, y'know… getting our butts kicked by a flaming mutant monster. You?"
"Fighting off a psychopath while dodging shots from one of the world's most powerful weapons."
"Hm… that sounds like fun," Robin said, nodding.
"It is," Cyborg agreed. "Is Rae awake?"
"No," Beast Boy reported sadly. Cyborg looked like he was about to say more when Brother Blood walked up, picked him up by his chin, and threw him back to their area of the battlefield.
"Stop talking while the teacher is giving a demonstration!" he shouted, then ran after his opponent.
(…)
"Victor?" Raven called out into the darkness. She could have sworn she had heard his voice…
Giving up, she sat down on the dark ground and sighed heavily. She was going to be stuck here forever! The only promising change was that the background had changed from pitch black to dark gray, and the noises had gotten sharper and louder. At the rate things were improving, though, she doubted she would awake in time to be of any help. She might even be killed beforehand. Shuddering, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her aching head upon them.
"This is hopeless," she muttered, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. "We're never going to get out of this, and me and all my friends are going to die for a pointless cause." A single tear slid down her nose. "Emily is never going to see the light of day."
At the mention of the name "Emily" the world exploded. Rushing colors rippled across a now white sky while multiple pictures and audio clips flickered from one to the other so quickly they blended into each other. Rushing cyclone winds blasted across the space, their immense power slowly lifting Raven right off the ground.
"What's going on?" she yelled into the chaos. Her voice, instead of fading away, grew stronger and added to the cacophony of whispered messages around her. There was a bright flash, and she saw the familiar aura of Emily. It was floating in a dark space in the spinning environment, blinding white, with a soft green outline. But then, to more flashes, the outline and the white began to separate, now green and white, not together. Separate, but not. It flickered back together, then split again. Two ovals, two different colors, but similar…
"What is this?" Raven gasped, feeling the air being drawn from her lungs. "What's happening?"
The sounds only grew louder.
(…)
Beast Boy stared at Raven, concern obvious on his face. Her eyes were dancing beneath her lids, and she was breathing quick and shallow. She would occasionally jump and twitch, and he could smell the fear in her. Whatever she was seeing inside her mind, she certainly didn't like it.
"Wake up, Raven!" he whispered to her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her lightly. She merely tensed up and began to shudder violently, eyes rolling. Beast Boy choked a sob down at the back of his throat and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back and trying to keep the tears out of his eyes. He was failing.
Robin skidded across the ground beside him, and Beast Boy called out to him.
"What?" Robin asked, keeping his attention on the monster that was still delivering more damage than it was receiving. He winced as Starfire was hit with one of the sonic screams and fell to the dirt.
"It's Raven… there's something wrong with her!" Beast Boy said, trying desperately to keep the panic out of his voice.
"Is she still not waking up?" Robin asked, trying to be patient. He understood Beast Boy's position, but of course something was wrong with Raven! She was out cold!
"No, something's really wrong, Richard!" Beast Boy snapped, realizing Robin's train of thought. "She's having some kind of seizure!"
"What?" Robin asked, turning his head. "She's having a… oh my god!"
"See?" Beast Boy asked, grasping his wife's shoulders as Robin ran over and knelt down beside her. Biting his split lip, he checked her pulse, her breathing rate, and her temperature using a small circular device that he pulled from his belt. He then whipped a miniature flashlight out of nowhere and shined it into her eyes, which dilated like normal.
"I have no idea what this is, Garfield," he admitted, sitting back. "Whatever's happening is something beyond a condition."
"Meaning?"
"This is something to do with her powers, not any earthly afflictions. There's no cure for… this."
Beast Boy swallowed. He wasn't sure if that was promising news or not.
Robin laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Keep her safe, Garfield. This will all be over soon."
With that, he stood up, drew his bow staff from his belt, and ran back into the fray.
(…)
VISUAL FEED REESTABLISHED
SYSTEM USAGE: 83%
DAMAGE TAKEN: 67%
POWER CELL CONDITION: FAIR
REBOOT…
…
Cyborg opened his eyes to find himself being held off the ground by one of Brother Blood's fingers, which was stabbed into his chest.
"EXTERIOR OBJECT IDENTIFIED," a little voice buzzed in his ear, and he rolled his eyes.
"Oh, good, I'd thought you had died," Blood said. "That would have been too easy!"
With a twisting, spinning motion the villain threw Cyborg into the air, a position from which he tumbled helplessly back down, where he was kicked aside. Before he could even hit the ground again Blood was somehow in front of him, kicking him back. And then again. And again. Like an enormous, bionic soccer ball.
"Dude! –ow- cut it –ow- out! –shit, that hurt- let me –damn- at least –ow- fight!" Cyborg tried to say as he was being kicked. Blood apparently understood the garbled message, and laughed.
"You want me to give you some breathing room?" he asked incredulously, not even slowing up in his furious onslaught. "Fine! This should be funny! I'll give you 30 seconds."
Blood suddenly was standing a ways off, arms folded behind his back in a very relaxed sort of way. Cyborg looked up from his position on the ground and raised an eyebrow.
"In 25 more seconds I'll start attacking again," Blood reminded him, smiling hugely.
Cyborg leapt to his feet and charged up both of his cannons. With a savage battle cry he let loose a devastating barrage of sonic blasts, causing Blood to completely disappear in a cloud of dust and flames. Through the sonic onslaught Cyborg could still hear the madman's voice, counting down.
"Twenty… nineteen… eighteen… seventeen… sixteen…"
The sarcastic edge to the man's voice drove Cyborg into a blind rage, sending his cannons shooting faster and faster and rockets soaring out of his shoulders. They all arced together and detonated in a fiery mass, pluming up into the darkening sky, brushing the cliffs and setting the sparse vegetation that was present alight.
"Eight… seven… six… five…"
A small display popped up in the corner of Cyborg's vision, saying ROCKETS DEPLETED. He paid it little mind, and kept firing.
"Three… two…"
POWER CELL OVERSTRAINED; LIMITING POWER TO DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS.
Cyborg's firepower lessened, and despite many desperate gesticulations, his sonic blasts were reduced to something better described as a large flashlight beam. The carnage around Blood began to thin.
"One… my turn again!"
The smoke explosively blew to the sides to make way for a flying figure rushing across the ground, barely touching the sand at all, headed straight for Cyborg. The metal man barely had time to shout before a flat palm was forced into his chest, sending him straight backwards through a boulder and tumbling across the rocks leading up to the ocean. Blood paused to savor his opponent's screams, then took up pursuit.
(…)
Jinx knew she was being hit by another scream, but she couldn't hear it. Not anymore.
"Damn," she muttered, picking herself up again. Her arms were covered in burns and bruises, and head injuries were forcing one of her eyes closed. She had used her powers more in the past hour than she ever had in her entire life, and she was certainly paying for it. She could barely keep her balance, and she felt like she was going to pass out right on the battlefield any second.
Which, under these circumstances, would be fatal.
"Where are they?" she wondered aloud, staring past the towering form of the monster at the sun, which was just kissing the horizon. "They should be here by now…"
The flaming creature turned around and stood over her, mouth slowly opening to reveal the glowing lights within. A blurred form came out of nowhere and tried to knock the beast away, but the strength in its enormous, half-metal neck and shoulders was too much. Jinx could find no energy in her body, and sunk to her knees, staring into the glowing maw of the disturbing creation the United States government had sent after them.
This is it… she realized. This is when it all ends… I'm so sorry, Wally. I'm sorry Raven… Garfield…
She looked to the sun again, for probably the last time. There was a spot in the middle, getting bigger, blotting out the light as it soared closer, getting more defined. She could identify arms, legs, long, flowing hair…
Jinx could only stare in disbelief as Mammoth fell from the sky and slammed into the beast above her, driving it completely off its feet and into the rocky beach.
"Snot brain… you could've gotten killed," came a familiar voice from behind her. She was being lifted up in metal claws and carried away from the battle, floating over the ground as the edges of her vision faded from black to white in a pulsing pattern. She was laid to rest beside Raven and Beast Boy on a bed of sand, and she managed to roll over to see her savior.
"Thank you, Gizmo."
The tall, lanky man shrugged and snorted through his small nose. "No biggie. Would've been crappy if you'd kicked the can. Stupid."
"You're more stupid," Jinx retorted, smiling softly.
Gizmo shrugged again and laughed, which was the same nasally, annoying sound it always was. "Yeah, I'm standing here talking to you. Take it easy, booger-brain, and leave everything to us."
Jinx laughed, a tiny, weak sound, then finally passed out.
(…)
Cyborg rose to his hands and knees coughing, trying to rid his lungs of the saltwater that was swirling around him. A wave crept up behind him and crashed into his back, forcing him down again. Water swirled in the chinks in his armor and leaked out in little streams, dribbling onto the stony sand.
There was an echoing snap in the distance, and a white hot stab of pain sent the metal man rolling further backwards into the surf. More snaps followed, sending him sideways and up and under all in rapid succession. Still trying to orient himself, Cyborg could only hear, but not see, Blood saying,
"Enough toying around now! Time to finish you!"
"Shit," Cyborg managed to mutter before a powerful blast of energy sent him flying through the sky out to open sea. He hit the water hard, sending up a huge splash, and sunk like a rock.
BUOYANCY COMPROMISED: MULTIPLE EXTERIOR LEAKS. Cyborg's sensors told him. By studying the bubbles streaming out of him he managed to figure out where up was, and began kicking in that direction. Murky green gave way to sunset orange, and he breathed in deeply.
Hearing footsteps he turned, and saw Blood walking calmly across the surface of the ocean towards him. He tried to swim away, but his now waterlogged synthetic muscles were slow to react, and left him only treading water. Blood stood over him, grinning evilly, then raised both fists above his head and brought them down onto Cyborg's skull, sending him shooting downwards under the surface and an enormous plume of water flying into the sky. Blood couldn't contain his happiness and laughed out loud, screaming his joy to the setting sun as seawater sprinkled down onto his face. Knowing the government's monster's stamina, and the amount of soldiers he had brought, the Titans would soon be finished, and Cyborg would be quick to follow.
He would make certain of that.
(…)
Beast Boy shifted his position to shield Jinx from any attacks as well as Raven and stared up at Gizmo in awe.
"You… you're… tall now…" he said, scarcely believing it. It was true, though, the man before him was reasonably over 6', even though his equipment, outfit, and expression matched the small boy they had fought way back when. Gizmo snorted and folded his arms.
"Well, yeah, stupid, did you think I would've stayed a shorty forever?"
"Sort of, but that's not the point. How many are you?"
"Only me and Mammoth, unfortunately," Gizmo reported. "Everyone else is either still frozen or waaaaay too far away. Or dead."
"Hm… you think you can beat this thing?" Beast Boy asked, raising an eyebrow and jerking a thumb at the raging monster that Mammoth had managed to get into a headlock of sorts, despite the fire.
"Yeah, stupid, I'll just need to run a quick diagnostic," the genius replied, deploying a small computer screen from the machine strapped to his back and flexing his fingers. "Details?"
"Um… it's really strong… half robot, half animal…" Beast Boy said, counting off on his fingers. "It has these sonic screams it uses that cause a lot of damage, and that fire is a defense mechanism."
Gizmo nodded as he typed in the information. "Mm-hm… alright, I think I got it. Thanks, stupid," he said as rockets extended from out of nowhere and sent him shooting into the sky.
"Mammoth!" he shouted as he flew overhead. "Execute plan Omega, alterations as needed!"
"Got it," Mammoth shouted, nodding his enormous head, then went back to punching the beast. Gizmo was about to join him when he noticed a familiar figure standing on the surface of the ocean a ways away. Another familiar figure was struggling to swim away from the first, but failing.
Mischievous grin twisting its way onto his lips, Gizmo steered himself into a nose dive.
(…)
Cyborg broke the surface with a gasp, but found himself quickly sinking again. He could hear water sloshing around inside of his body, sending random sparks shooting out of him and crackling across the surface of the water. Blood reared back and kicked him in the chin, the Amplifier creating a swath of red thunder that forced him even farther, bouncing along like a skipping stone. With another huge splash he hit the surface and was seemingly sucked right under. He came up coughing once again to see Blood running at him, footsteps sending little waves sloshing out around him.
Cyborg grit his teeth in preparation for another kick, but then he caught sight of the horizon, and slowly his lips twisted into a grim smile. Blood noticed, and with a suspicious look on his face he twisted as he ran to stare in the same direction. He was halfway around when he saw. Blood screamed. Cyborg laughed. Gizmo shot out of nowhere and tackled the mind reader around the waist, sending both of them straight into the ocean with the force of cannon.
"You fartlicker… why am I helping you?" Gizmo wondered out loud, flipping off Blood's back and stabilizing himself above the waves with his rockets while his victim, apparently stunned, fell in.
"Because you love my fabulous personality," Cyborg joked, still treading water. "Lemme guess… Jinx called you over?"
"Well, whattaya know? The tin man has a brain," Gizmo snorted. Blood was floundering in the surf, bearings lost, and Gizmo kicked him in the head a few times.
"So you here to help me beat this guy?" Cyborg asked, voice becoming slightly more serious.
"I would love to, but I gotta screw that thing over there first," Gizmo explained, pointing over his shoulder at the monster. "I can, however, give you some gear."
"Gear?"
"Yeah… here's some basic antigravs so you won't keep sinking…" Gizmo muttered, digging around in his backpack and tossing some small devices at Cyborg, who managed to catch them. "Those go on your feet. And here's…" he reached extra-deep, tongue sticking out, "a system recharger."
He tossed a small cube over, and Cyborg snatched it up before it sank.
"Thanks, Giz… I appreciate it."
"Snot brain… don't mention it. Please… I still don't like you."
He was smiling as he said this.
"Throw in a punch for me!" Cyborg called as Gizmo flew back to the battlefield. He then preoccupied himself with strapping the antigravs to his feet before Blood remembered how to swim.
(…)
Beast Boy's ears twitched, and he turned to see Robin sliding in beside him like he was heading for home plate, face and hair drenched in sweat and clothes torn. A long, thin cut ran along his cheekbone, and little beads of blood were leaking out of it and running down his chin.
"What's up, Dick?" the changeling asked, shifting his position slightly to keep his legs from freezing up.
"Garfield, has anyone made a move at Raven yet?"
"…No, actually…" Beast Boy realized. All of the soldiers and the monster itself had been so caught up in the Titan's efforts that his isolated corner of the battlefield, sheltered under a large out-jutting slab of rock, was relatively untouched.
"Listen… as soon as you see an opening, I want you to take it," Robin ordered him, eyes stern.
"An opening? What do you mean?"
"Even with Mammoth and Gizmo's help, this battle is going to be close, and costly. You need to take Raven, and Jinx if you can, and get out of here. We'll stay behind to cover you."
"Robin, I'm not leaving without you," Beast Boy said firmly. "There's no way that I'll ever do that, and I know that you know for a fact that Raven wouldn't want to, either."
"I'm sorry, Garfield, but that's not really an option. I appreciate the gesture, but we're running out of time!"
"Robin…"
"Beast Boy, that's an order!" Robin snapped, fist clenching. He stopped, took a deep breath, and continued, calmer now. "Please… just do this."
Beast Boy hung his head in resignation. Robin sighed.
"I'm sorry, but this is the way it goes. Look for a gap in their defenses, and then bust through. Don't wait up for us. If we make it out of this, we'll find you."
"Don't say 'if', dude. We'll pull through."
"Just go when you can," Robin reminded him, and stood up to get back to the fight. As the former Boy Wonder extended his bow staff and jogged away, Beast Boy noticed that the man had never agreed to the last thing he had said.
Robin wasn't expecting to get out of this.
(…)
"GIZMO!" Mammoth yelled as he held the flaming monster back with his fists.
"What?" the hack whined loudly, soaring up beside him on his small rocket pack. "What do you want?"
"Does it look like I'm having fun, punching a bonfire by myself?" the giant growled. "Douse 'im!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Gizmo muttered, waving a gloved hand, and whipped out a modified Xbox Controller. A few joystick toggles and button flicks later, a large nozzle extended out of his pack and locked onto the monster, following its wild movements with small twitches from its robotic neck. Gizmo slammed down on the A button with gusto, and a spray of chemical foam washed out, dusting the government's beast with a white spray that hissed when it came in contact with the fire. A few moments passed, and the flames were dead.
"Ha! Stupid monster!" Gizmo laughed. "Eat my- AAAAHH!"
He was interrupted by a sonic scream from the monster's mouth, sending both him and Mammoth diving out of the way to avoid being hit. More short screams followed, pulverizing the stone into gravel. Mammoth ducked behind a rock, and jumped when he found Bumblebee hiding in the same spot.
"Bee…" he said. "Whatcha been up to?"
"Oh, y'know…" Bumblebee said, avoiding his eyes. "Quitting Blood's operation waaaaaay before you… freezing your butt in Paris… that sort of thing."
Her stingers began to glow, and her wings stirred in agitation.
"Hey, I'm on your side, here," Mammoth said, taken aback, and he started shaking his head and raising his massive hands in surrender. "It's what I was dealt, back then. Things are different now. I'm helping now, aren't I?"
"That's only because Jinx called."
"Jinx betrayed all of us," Mammoth reminded her, raising an eyebrow. Another sonic scream slammed into the boulder they were using as cover, and they winced at the impact. "Gizmo and I were never forced to help. We really should have just ignored her distress signal."
Bumblebee was silent.
"Do you honestly think, with Blood right there," he pointed over towards the ocean at the man in question, "That I would be helping if I were still his lackey?"
The end of this statement was the immediate prelude to a screaming battle cry echoing from Mammoth's lips, and he leapt over their cover and rushed back into the fight, leaving Bumblebee shocked and confused.
Since when could Mammoth talk like that?
(…)
Blood rose from the waves, spitting sea water out of his mouth in an agitated sort of way, to find Cyborg standing up on the ocean in front of him, hands on his hips and a smug grin on his face.
"You!" Blood snarled. "How did you…"
"I met an old friend,' Cyborg said, shrugging. "Now I'm recharged and ready to go."
"Old friend… Gizmo…" Blood hissed, nostrils flaring. "But it doesn't matter. System refresh, system recharge, it's all the same, Cyborg, and none of it will help you!"
The Ion Amplifier buzzed red, and Blood brought his clenched fist back then forward, aimed right for his opponent's face. But, faster than he could track, Cyborg's arm was rising as well, cannon extending with a small puff of compressed air, and the glowing end met his own head on. As if in slow motion, the combined energies sparked, and an explosion bubbled out, pushing both of them up and back. Cyborg was sent skidding on his heels across the waves, and as Blood spiraled through the sky, plunging headfirst towards the rocks, all he could think was one thing:
What was that?
Instinct and robotic safety systems kicked in, and Blood managed to flip over and land on his feet, rather than his head. Bracing himself against the rocks with his leg, he looked up to see Cyborg sprinting towards him, feet splashing across the surf and cannon buzzing with twisting blue tendrils of light, flooding out behind him like wisps of smoke. He leapt into the air, screaming, and crashed down upon his foe, crumbling the rocks and sending a spray of foam up into the twilight sky. Blood skirted underneath the blow by mere inches and flipped backwards onto the beach, but Cyborg tailed him expertly, following with a punch that reached its maximum range so close to his thin nose that he could feel the wind it created.
What is this? Blood thought desperately. What happened? He's… better…
A sonic cannon shot interrupted his thoughts, slamming into his chest. The impact was more powerful than before, and as the air was blasted from his lungs, he could swear he could feel the casing on his armor snap. The world spun, and he was lying on his back, chest burning like he had been hit with grenade launcher at point blank. He coughed, and blood bubbled out of his throat and leaked between his lips. Cyborg appeared out of nowhere and punched him in the stomach, sending even more blood flooding up and out, choking him. Another punch went into his chin, and if it weren't for his metal components he was sure his neck would have snapped. He lashed out blindly with his Amplifier arm, and a yell and a thud revealed that he had managed to knock Cyborg back.
"What are you, Cyborg?" Blood coughed, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. "This isn't natural! I know your systems, this isn't possible for you!"
Cyborg rolled over and began to get to his feet, dusting the sand off of his knees.
"And I have the Amplifier!" Blood persisted, also getting to his feet, but wincing as he moved his chest. "You cannot keep up with me! The Amplifier makes me invincible!"
Cyborg rolled his eyes, and in the blink of an eye was right in Blood's face, elbow stabbing into his solar plexus. The red metal groaned, then ruptured, sending Cyborg's arm even deeper, causing Blood to gasp and choke.
"It's not the weapon that makes the warrior, Blood," Cyborg said, wrenching his arm out and pushing his opponent back. "You should have learned that by now! You got new henchmen and I beat you. You got my tech and I beat you. And now you have the Amplifier, and I'm still going to beat you."
"You stupid-" Blood began, holding the hole in his chest and wheezing, but Cyborg cut him off.
"No matter how much technology you hide behind it's always obvious who's the weaker man here," Cyborg said, following after Blood as he unconsciously backed up, tripping on the smallest of rocks. "You're weak, and you know it. You offered to make me a man." He smirked. "You're not even one yourself."
Blood's back hit the canyon wall, and he stopped, cornered. Cyborg leveled his arm at Blood's head, and his sonic cannon unfolded slowly, part by part, with little hisses of air.
Eyes looked deeply into each other. Blood's steely set was now full of fear, twitching in wild panic, and Cyborg's dark gray ones were steady and unforgiving.
It was as if time had temporarily stopped, and all of the sounds of the fight in the background had faded away into nothing. Just the two pairs of eyes, one calm, one frenzied. They were breathing almost in sync, and the only other noise was the low humming of the weapon mere inches from the one man's face. Cyborg swallowed and studied Blood's expression. There was no honor, no dignity in the prospect of defeat. Just cowardly, pathetic fear.
Cyborg fired, and Blood's unconscious, beaten form slid down the cliff and collapsed at his feet. The metal Titan stood over his foe, victorious, and saw the Ion Amplifier crack and shatter, crumbling to pieces around Blood's arm. Cyborg didn't smile, just looked to the orange sun as it sank beneath the gentle waves.
"Boo-yah."
(…)
The swirling noise had stopped, replaced by a deep humming that vibrated in Raven's very soul. The environment was black again, but she could hear perfectly well. She had managed to pick up that Gizmo and Mammoth were now present, and that Robin wanted her husband to take her and Jinx and leave. Beast Boy had been right, she didn't want to leave. But Robin was stubborn, and now Beast Boy was going to have to take her, against her will, away from where she felt she was needed most.
She looked back behind her at the one spot that hadn't returned to normal, where the two colored ovals still floated; white and green.
I still need to figure out the meaning of that, she promised herself, but not right now. Right now, I need to wake up. Can I…?
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" she breathed, slowly spinning in a circle. The blackness blinked white for a second, then was still.
"Did it work?" Raven asked the emptiness. There was a suffocating lack of response.
Then, suddenly, everything was rushing away at speeds unimaginable, and light was seeping through the maelstrom, growing brighter, and she could see a green face forming…
(…)
Beast Boy watched as Mammoth and Gizmo put blow after blow into the creature's tough skin, their teamwork perfect, down to a science. The monster could barely keep up, and the same went for Robin, Starfire, and Bumblebee, who were forced to join Flash in keeping the soldiers at bay. Even with all of this happening, the throngs of troops still filled in any holes completely. He doubted that he could make a charge or fly away without being shot at least seven times. Probably more.
He looked over at Jinx, who was still unconscious. Her eyelids would twitch occasionally, distressed frowns flickering in and out of existence in the spaces of heartbeats. As he watched she sucked in a quick breath, and her thin, pale fingers tensed.
He then turned his eyes to Raven, his wife, his lover, and soon to be partner in parenting. It pained him to see her in such a condition, with her arm twisted in a painful way underneath her, and long, ugly scrapes and cuts marring her flawless gray skin. Blood was bubbled at the corner of her mouth, and he gently wiped it away with his thumb. Now it looked as though she could be sleeping, or resting. He was rocketed back 15 years or so, back to an anonymous event where, after a tough battle with some forgotten villain, Raven had collapsed on the couch and had, perhaps unintentionally, rested her head upon his shoulder. She had looked so peaceful then… so beautiful…
There was yet another sonic scream, ringing painfully in his ears, and Beast Boy turned to see all of his friends being blasted off their feet by one well-aimed beam of sound. Soldiers attempted to move in, but a lightning-fast blur knocked them back yet again.
"Robin wants me to leave, Raven, and take you along…" Beast Boy told her, even though he knew she couldn't hear. "I don't want to leave them all behind… I can't…betray them like that, y'know?"
"I do. You're not seriously thinking about doing what he says, are you?"
Beast Boy whipped around. That had been Raven's voice… and that meant…
It was Raven. With her eyes open. Awake.
"Thank God…"
(…)
Mammoth had to admit, the monster was tough. Really tough. He doubted any other creature had taken that many punches from him before and not backed off. Or died.
But he had a plan. All he needed was one person.
"HEY FLASH!" he roared as Gizmo took over in beating the beast backwards with a multitude of rockets. "YOU AROUND?"
There was silence, then a faint reply.
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?"
"Where are you?"
As a response, Mammoth felt a tap on his right shoulder, then his left. Whirling around he managed to catch sight of a vibrating blur with red hair before it zoomed away.
"What's up with you?" the giant asked.
"I was running at the speed of sound earlier. I've managed to slow down enough to hear, but I can't stop completely."
"That makes this better. I can get you stopped and beat this monster all in one move, but I need your help. You in?"
"Absolutely. What's the plan?"
Mammoth held both of his arms out in front of him. "Grab my arms and run in a tight circle. Gizmo, you know what to do."
The hack nodded. "Get a move on, pitsniffer!"
There was a burst of dust and suddenly Mammoth was twirling around, spinning faster and faster until all one could see was a blur. The centrifuge was developing into a tornado right in the middle of the battlefield, sucking sand and rocks off the ground and pulling them into the whirlwind before slinging them back out at high velocity.
"Ready?" Mammoth asked, voice warped by the fantastic speed at which he was moving. Gizmo was still studying the monster, which was slowly rising to its feet.
Flash apparently decided to kick it into high gear, sending the cyclone swirling faster and more violently. Gizmo adjusted his rockets to counter the vacuum pull and watched the bionic creature open its enormous jaws and begin its firing sequence.
"Gizmo, it's now or never!" Robin shouted, clinging to a boulder. Starfire and Bumblebee struggled in the air while the soldiers were being knocked over like Kevlar-outfitted bowling pins. The man with the jetpack raised a hand, signaling Robin to be patient. The lights in the creature's throat grew brighter.
"Gizmo!" Starfire shouted in warning. Gizmo turned and shouted an all clear to Flash, who let go of Mammoth. The fastest man alive slid to a stop, and the giant flew through the air at an almost unimaginable speed, soaring right up to the monster's face and burying his fist in its upper jaw. Everyone watched as the creature's mouth flew closed, almost in slow motion, and the sonic scream was met by indestructible metal teeth. The raw power of the attack was forced back down its throat and into its core.
Then it exploded.
Only the Titans and former HIVE members had the reflexes necessary to be able to jump behind some cover before the waves of fire reached them. The front lines of soldiers fell like dominoes; skin burning through like paper, and the rest were thrown off their feet and into the cliffs. Some were sent skidding across the beach and through the surf. Cyborg had to jump over Blood's motionless form and shield him before the destruction reached them, the white heat darkening his broad back. Raven had been able to cast a shield around her, Beast Boy and Jinx, parting the firebomb like a knife. There was a final, deafening roar, and then all movement ceased. It was as if every living thing left was holding their breath.
Then, suddenly, everything started moving again.
The soldiers that had survived the blast immediately leapt to their feet and began firing their weapons. Robin and Starfire appeared out of the fray, closely followed by Bumblebee, and ran to Beast Boy and Raven, tugging on their arms and trying to get them up and running. Cyborg leapt over the rocks and was in front of them, gesturing towards the inland and away from the cascade of bullets.
It was chaos, they were running and dodging, Robin smacking shots out of the air and Cyborg firing behind him into the mass of soldiers while Bumblebee and Starfire made sure Raven and Beast Boy kept moving.
What's going on? Raven wondered frantically, trying desperately to make sense of the insanity around her, but failing. Do we have everyone? Where are we going?
"LET'S MOVE!" Cyborg's booming voice echoed above the gunfire, and Raven saw he was pointing up a small crevice in the rock that led deeper into the cliffs. Beast Boy pushed her ahead of himself, shoving her up the minuscule natural stairway and into a rounded out area in the rock. Bumblebee, Starfire and Robin quickly filled in behind them.
"Raven, I realize you've just woken up, but you need to teleport us out of here!" Robin shouted above the noise. The soldiers were getting closer.
"Wait, hold on a second," Raven protested, but Robin interrupted.
"NOW, RAVEN! WE CAN'T AFFORD TO WAIT!"
Raven sighed, swallowed nervously, and closed her eyes. There was a few seconds of intense concentration, then a flash of black.
When the soldiers finally caught up, they found the canyon empty.
And it only gets more exciting from here. Brace yourselves.
I would like to present you readers with a challenge before stop writing and go watch some Teen Titans. I'm currently developing my own plot for Teen Titans Season 6 that I plan on posting. It will be in episode format, but not written like a script. Each season (for I will be making more than one) will have a standard 13 episodes, with 5 episodes directly pertaining to the plot. I already have these 5 planned out, but that leaves 8 episodes that I have no idea what to do with.
So I'll leave it to you guys (and girls). What did you always want to happen in the series? What minor villain did you want to make another appearance? Any awkward situations or romantic mishaps you want to see happen? Send a review or a PM!
I will leave some restrictions, though. I want this to be as much in character as possible, so please no suggestions like "Beast Boy and Raven have hot sex" or anything like that. That's not gonna happen. I'm also, for the sake of my season plot, going to pretend that the episode "Things Change" never happened. So there will be no Terra and no Slade. And no mysterious white creature.
The main series plot also focuses mainly on Starfire and Robin, so I would appreciate more ideas pertaining to everyone else. No OCs, either, I already have one.
No, I'm not trying to stifle your creative vision, I just want ideas I can actually use. If I use your suggestion, I will credit you!
This is ComposerDragon signing off for now. Good luck!