Contact

As Beast Boy and Cyborg left, the green changeling swaying slightly as he flew due to the weight of Cyborg, the three grounded Teen Titans, took flight as well, Robin grasping onto Starfire's forearms as she bore them both into the air, Raven right beside the two, the empath using her magical powers to levitate her body. Flying steadily, not too quickly or slowly, they followed the path that the fallen object had taken, approaching the impact site. Even though they did not fly high, sticking low to the ground, not wanting to be exposed in the sky, all got a good idea of the devastation that befell Jump City. At the fringes of the crater, buildings were in ruins, burning from the intense heat; these pitiful shells of buildings got even more degraded as they approached the epicenter. Robin, wanting to continue on foot, motioned to his friends to land, the trio touching down a few hundred yards away from ground zero; as Robin's gaze took in the scorched earth, he realized something did not add up.

Unlike his overlooked wound, he was able to deduce the oddity within moments; the size of this crater didn't match preconceived and observed impact sites where there was so much destruction. He was too far away from the center, so he couldn't get a good look at the actual object that crash landed on Earth; if he could get some data on the meteorite, perhaps he could make sense of all of this. Looking to both his companions, a pained expression on their faces, both thinking about the massive loss of life, as they were standing in what used to be a residential area, Robin cleared his throat, getting their attention. While the young leader felt sorrow for the deaths, he had to shove it aside; there would be time to mourn later. Speaking softly, as there was little to no sound where they stood, he told them, "Let's get a little closer, but be cautious," Robin pulled out a small machine from his belt, flipping it on and glancing at the screen, "There's little radiation here, but it could get more potent as we move closer."

The two nodded, and followed Robin as he slowly inched forward, holding his small detector out in front of him, glancing from the tiny screen to the distant object that lay smoldering in the crater's center. As expected from any celestial object entering the atmosphere, the radiation did increase slightly as they got closer, but it was much less then Robin expected; yet another thing that didn't feel right about the whole thing. Once the group had gotten close enough to observe the object, Robin knew his theory was right; the blackened object was the size of a car. If there was no object, or the object was very small, it would at least explain the crater, but a space rock of this size should have created an impact site ten times the size as the one they stood in; this raised a worrying question: if no meteorite had crashed, what had?

Robin, his head pounding and aching, called for a halt, needing time to think; his two companions only nodded at his command, their gazes still wandering to the devastation around them. There was no doubt that any poor souls that lived here were dead, instantaneously incinerated by the impact; it was little consolation that the people of this neighborhood had died quickly, however. Both felt the loss of life, the empath feeling, almost seeing, the death that hung over the land like a foul cloud, where Starfire felt a void of life, something that frightened the young woman; not wanting to remain where they were, and seeing no threat, the alien princess spoke, and even though her voice was hushed, it still sounded loud in the lifeless land, "May we go now, Robin? I do not like it here. It feels… wrong." Starfire hugged herself, a slight shiver running down her spine.

With his hearing still distorted, and his mind distracted, it took a few moments before Robin responded, "Not yet, Starfire, I need to get a better look at the space rock; something doesn't add up." He paused, turning his gaze to the worried woman, "Still… I think you're right; something does feel wrong." Although Robin had no sort of extrasensory abilities, even he could feel that something was abnormal, wrong, almost volatile, about the area, the meteorite. Noticing that his words did little to calm the distressed alien, Robin took a step closer to Starfire, gently resting a hand on her shoulder, giving her a calming smile to sooth her frayed nerves.

Starfire appreciated the gesture, but needed something else to alleviate her concern; stepping closer to her friend, she pulled his arm around her for a proper hug, burying her head into his shoulder. To an outsider this scene would probably seem odd, but it was less unusual then one would expect; Starfire hugged everyone, even the reserved Raven, who had come to accept, even appreciate, the sudden physical contact over the years. The alien princess thrived on joy, care, and love, and Starfire wholeheartedly loved all of her friends; even something as simple as a hug would restore her confidence and calm her nerves. Still, out of all her dear friends, Starfire always felt her heart beat a little faster when she felt Robin's arms around her.

Robin didn't shy away from the contact, although this wasn't the best place or time for a comforting embrace; the young hero knew that this was Starfire's coping mechanism though, so he indulged the woman, tying to ignore the faint cooing sounds Starfire was making. Only a few moments passed before Robin withdrew, Starfire's emotions calmed, turning to his other companion with a question about the area, but the words died on his lips; Raven, not making a sound since they landed, was staring at the smoldering space rock, her eyes wide with fear, sweat trickling down her face, looking like she was in a trance. Instinctively knowing something was wrong, Robin sprinted to the immobile empath, Starfire a hair behind him, calling, "Raven? Raven!"

The young woman didn't respond to Robin's call, not hearing him, for, the moment she had laid eyes upon the foreign object, she had been incapacitated by a staggering amount of violence, hatred, and pain emanating from the blackened rock. Her body, acting upon survival instinct, had diverted all energy to her mental barriers, valiantly attempting to protect the empath's assaulted will; never before had Raven encountered such overwhelming emotional force, not even from her father. She had been woefully unprepared to face such a powerful, primal, mental force, and she was just holding onto her consciousness, her sanity, by a thread. Her mind was overwhelmed with foreign images, all dark, violent, and chaotic, and Raven unable to calm or even navigate through this mental storm.

Robin and Starfire, acting impulsively, concerned for their friend, grasped her, Starfire going as far to embrace her, providing a link between friends, giving Raven a speck of light within her mind, guiding her out of her storm. Finally able to feel her friends, and find her body, Raven was able to break her mental paralysis; gasping loudly, her legs failing, Raven was caught by her two friends, who supported her as she regained her balance and composure. The first thing she saw as Robin's face, who was staring at her with concern, his masked eyes arched with worry, asking, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Raving, having to wet her lips before answering, her eyes still unfocused, muttered in reply, "Yes… yes, I'm okay; tired… 'm tired… need to regain strength…"

For the next few moments all Raven did was cling to her two friends, trusting them to give her the support she needed, as she rebuilt her fragile mystical powers; Robin and Starfire said nothing, glancing at one another, both worried and frightened of how battered Raven was. Raven, normally prideful, didn't care that the two saw her at her weakest; she was too busy tying to piece together the chaotic pictures she had gathered from her mental battle. She didn't know much, but what she did know, the foul emotions she felt, were enough to inadvertently agree with Starfire's request; Raven did not want to be here.

Forcing away her fatigue, she grasped onto Robin, pulling him closer to her, her amethyst eyes urgent with fear, whispering harshly, "We have to get out of here!"

There was no time for Robin to reply; as soon as the words left the empath's lips, a violent crashing sound came from the crater's center, the space object shuddering suddenly. There was a screeching sound of torn metal and earth, and with a sudden jolt, half of the meteorite sailed through the air, as if burst from its other half; thankfully for the three heroes, the projectile didn't even approach their general area, landing far to their side. Robin, his eyes drawn to the thrown space rock, mentally corrected himself as he watched the object crash; it was no rock, but some sort of capsule. The three saw flashes of sparks and heard vents hiss from the destroyed vessel, an obvious indication that this object was created by some sort of intelligent creature; and there is only one purpose of a container. Things were slowly falling into place for the young detective, but even with all of his countless theories of what was contained in this object, he was still staggeringly shocked by what emerged.

Out of its cell it arose, a massive, jagged creature shrugging off its tight confines; the monster had to be over seven feet tall, closer to eight, and its girth was near equal to its height. Grey skin was stretched taunt over massive sinew and muscle, the creature's arms grotesquely large, with legs the size of tree trunks; ripping out of the monster's skin like cruel stalagmites were sharp, crystalline, barbed growths, creating a hard, rough carapace around its back, shoulders, forearms, fists, pelvis, and shins. The mere sight of this creature was intimidating, but the truly horrifying aspect was the monster's face; its head was broad, without much of a neck, with crystalline teeth jutting unnaturally from its jaw, razor sharp fangs faintly visible within its slightly open, wide mouth. Its eyes were dark, black portals, devoid of humanity, full of rage and hate; wisps of white hair spotted its skull, giving the feeling that it once had a full head of hair, but over the years, as it dwelt in loathing and rancor, the hair died from an emotional cancer, the lack of anything resembling kindness rotting within its body.

Finally freed from its cell, the creature took a few steps away from its vessel before it staggered, dropping to its knees, shaking its head as if it was confused, trying to orient itself. For the moment, it completely ignored the three heroes, giving them time to shake off their stupor from the sudden emergence of this monster. They all felt its violent power, and all felt fear as they gazed upon it; where Starfire and Raven's fear was from the unknown, not recognizing the monster before them, although they felt as if they should, Robin's fear was from the known. They young leader knew the creature that knelt before them, and words of despair left his mouth before he could stop them.

"God help us…"

Starfire and Raven turned to their leader in surprise, their eyes wide, having never heard such fear, hopelessness, and sorrow in Robin's voice before; the boy wonder ignored them, his mind working fast, trying to think of any way he can save his doomed city. Never had he ever thought that the information he had read about this monster would ever be useful; as the protégé of Batman, Robin had a few extra perks then his teammates, the most valuable being access to the extensive and immense database created and secured by Batman himself. The digital library nestled within the Batcave was second to none, envied by every world government, agency, and organization; even the powerful Justice League's computer system paled in comparison, the Teen Titan's network within the Tower being half the League's size.

There were two core principles when being taught by Batman; first, knowledge is power. Robin's education was more complete then most of his fellow heroes, having the equivalent of a college education at the age when most would be just starting. However, this first proverb was useless without Batman's second: always be prepared; with these two aphorisms drilled into his head, Robin would often, during his down time, access Batman's database, using it to research cases, investigate criminals, and to further his knowledge about potential villainous threats. Still, this encounter before him was never expected, and Robin had pulled up its case file out of habit more then anything else; the mere fact that He was here raised more questions and concerns. After all, last he knew, they had banished Him to the Phantom Zone; how had He escaped a supposedly inescapable realm?

These questions would only raise more, so Robin dismissed them, for they didn't matter; the simple fact was that He was here, and unless He was stopped, Jump City, and the Teen Titans, would be destroyed. With a desperate need to prevent this catastrophe, Robin's mind buzzed with thoughts, trying to form a plan for the city's survival. The danger that threatened the city was two fold; part of Jump in ruins, and the destruction spreading, Robin needed his friends out in the field, saving lives. However, if He is allowed to run rampart, all rescue effort would be in vain; this dilemma weighed heavily on the young leader. Still, within a heartbeat Robin had a plan, or the beginnings of a plan, one that could allow for the survival of Jump City, and all who dwelt within. Robin had an ace up his sleeve, but, unfortunately, his ace wasn't actually in his sleeve; it rested within the Tower, and someone would have to leave to activate it.

But Robin needed time, time he would soon not have, as the monster, under effects of sedatives that were administered to Him before being locked away, started to shake off the drugs' effects. The minutes of safety were ticking away, and Robin had a choice to make; he greatly wanted the team together, to face this challenge like they had faced all others, as one unit, but this was an impossibility. Cyborg and Beast Boy were already facing challenges of their own, and Robin would not allow them to abandon their responsibilities to face a foe that would, in all likelihood, kill them. It was a cruel fact, but true all the same; Robin knew of this creature's capabilities, and knew how his friends fought and moved. Neither had the experience or ability to face this foe for more then a few seconds.

This left the two dear friends he had next to him; Raven he dismissed immediately, though. The medicated monster was impervious to all magical attacks and abilities, Robin recalled, so anything Raven could do against Him would be futile; this, plus the fact that Raven was still exhausted from her mental confrontation with Him, forced Robin to make a difficult choice.

Out of all the young superheroes, Starfire would, logically, be the most likely to survive the longest against this monster; she was both physically stronger and more durable then any of the other Teen Titans, after all. The sudden image of a beaten and bloody Starfire flashed before his eyes, preventing the young man from choosing this option, as the thought of Starfire, or anyone, getting severely hurt was too painful; instead he forced his thoughts to turn away from the short term issue to the long term one, being the people of the city. It was then that a cold realization washed over the young hero; there was a way for all the problems at hand to be dealt with.

Although he had thought through a dozen ideas and strategies, only a few seconds had passed since He had emerged, and Robin knew he had little time left; turning sharply, surprising his two friends, as he was motionless while he pondered, Robin grasped Starfire, his hands clutching into her arms, his face dead serious and tone grave, "Listen carefully, Starfire, there isn't much time before He shakes of the sedatives and realizes where He is."

Starfire, confused, began to speak, "Robin, what-"

The young hero cut her off, his voice sharp, "Not now, Starfire, we only have one shot at this and I need your full attention." The edge in his voice quieted the alien, her eyes widening as Robin continued his command, "Once I'm done speaking, you are to fly as fast as you possibly can to the Tower." Starfire, not liking this one bit, opened her mouth to argue, but Robin again cut her off before she could speak, "Don't interrupt, listen closely! Go to my room; on the left side of my bed is my nightstand. In the bottom drawer there is a long, silver box; the box contains a half dozen pins. Ignore all but the blue one; remove it and press the center for three seconds. Once you get a response, inform him that we have an Omega level threat, authorization code one, eight, one, one, seven, two, two. Tell him Doomsday has attacked Jump City."

A cold feeling suddenly ran down both women's backs as a name was finally given to this creature; having never seen Doomsday before, they had only heard of rumors about the near immortal creature. What they did know, however, was that the Justice League had faced this abomination a few years back; if it wasn't for Superman, there might not even be a League today. Stories were told of how over a dozen Leaguers fought the powerful monster, Doomsday defeating all of them within moments, rampaging through Metropolis; if the Man of Steel hadn't arrived, millions of lives would have been lost, and it had almost cost the Kryptonian his life subduing the monster.

Now Doomsday was in Jump City, and there were no Kryptonians to call upon.

Starfire, staring deeply into Robin's facemask, feeling a horrible sense of foreboding, tried to speak once more, "Robin, please, what are-"

Her leader rested his fingers upon her lips, quieting her once again, his words washing over her, "There's no time, the fate of Jump lies in your hands, and I have one final order for you." Starfire nodded, not liking his choice of words; Robin swallowed heavily, and spoke firmly, "Once you give the code, you will report to either Cyborg or Raven, and help with the evacuation of the city." There was a poignant pause before he spoke again, the young man staring intently at her, speaking each word carefully, "Under no circumstances are you to approach this area and engage the enemy; your only priority is to save as many lives as you can. Do I make myself clear?"

Starfire hesitated for a moment, not really understanding why Robin was telling her to leave him, or understanding what was going on; all she had was a bad feeling, a twisting in her stomach, an ache in her heart, a powerful sense of dread. It was no secret the young woman cared deeply for Robin, for all of her friends, and her instinctive reaction, her Tamaranean blood, cried out to her, telling her to deny Robin's request, to remain by his side, where she felt like she belonged, but she found herself unable to speak her rejection. Robin trusted her, had faith that she would carry out his request; Starfire could feel his confidence in her, that she would not let him down, that she would be safe. Biting her lip so hard it bled, Starfire nodded.

Robin released the breath he had held, his shoulders sagging in relief; he knew that the most difficult part of his plan was convincing Starfire to retrieve the pin, the young woman stubborn in her reluctance to leave her friends. Although her body shook, with fear, confusion, or anxiety he did not know, Robin knew that the beautiful alien would carry out his orders, and save the city's inhabitants; more importantly, he knew that she would remain away from the area, staying away from Doomsday's lethal grasp. A sudden, subdued roar from the aforementioned monster forced Robin's gaze away from Starfire; the creature had finally regained its balance, standing, although it still swayed, not fully recovered. Soon it would completely shake off its debilitating medication, and then, Robin knew, the end would begin; steeling himself, Robin turned back to Starfire, her eyes soulful, a tiny streak of blood rolling down her chin. Gritting his jaw, he gently wiped her lips, removing the bloodstain, asking her, "What is the authorization code?"

"One, eight, one, one, seven, two, two," she replied instantly, although her voice wavered as she spoke.

Robin smiled, "Good; go!"

With that, Starfire was gone, nothing but a trial of fire in her wake as she sped off, pouring all of her energy into returning home as fast as possible; her haste did not originate from Robin's words, but from her gut feelings that she must retrieve Robin's item before it was too late. Too late for what, she was unsure; the destruction of Jump? The death of its inhabitants? The death of her friends? The last thought lingered the longest in her head, and she tried to banish the dreadful images; there was no point to doubt. Starfire harnessed the worry that wracked her into determination; she would get answers from the pin's responder, and she would make the help arrive in time.