It was nighttime. The radiant glow of the moon shined brightly in the sky over Jump City as the lights of concrete jungle came on. Everything seemed peaceful as the nightlife of the citizens began. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about a high-security prison a few miles outside the city. From an aerial view, one could see smoke pour in from behind the outer wall that lead to the prison courtyard and the shattered front entrance. Smoke also rose from a spot on the bridge that leads to the complex. If those clues were not enough to indicate that something very bad was going on, the blaring klaxons and sirens ringing throughout the prison would help settle that point.
Inside the entrance of the prison: three guards, armed with what looked to be laser rifles and covered in white, ballistic full-body armor, ran through to reach the entrance to find the cause of the disturbance. The only difference in appearance of the three guards were the numbers emblazoned on their shoulders, being 1, 3, and 8.
"Code red!" The guard with the 1 on his uniform shouted through the headpiece in his helmet, "Cellblock Nine! Move out!" After receiving the order, the other two guards charged in front of the supposed captain as he followed closely behind. When they entered the courtyard, they slowed down to scan for any foreign invaders, weapons at the ready. "Main yard secure."
As soon as the captain finished his statement, a large piece of concrete landed in front of the guards, catching their attention. They turned to see the large silhouette of the perpetrator bashing its way through a wall. "There he is!" The guard with the 3 emblazoned on his shoulder shouted before they advanced towards the silhouette.
"He'll free the criminals!" The guard with the 8 on his shoulder shouted. The three guards stopped advancing, leveled their weapons, and took aim at the monster. Their target finally bashed a large hole through the wall of the cellblock and began to trudge forward. As some of the smoke began to fade, the guards could see the creatures' back. They could tell it was at least ten feet tall, very blocky, and appeared to be built entirely of concrete.
"Fire!" Guard 1 commanded. The three guards let loose a flurry of lasers from their rifles that struck the edges of the hole the monster made. While a few shots connected with his back, most of the shots missed entirely.
Feeling the blasts hit him, the monster turned to face the guards to reveal an equally blocky face with small red eyes. Unfortunately for the guards, the shots had no discernible effect on him as he voiced a grating roar. Lifting its massive left foot, the thing stomped on the ground. The resulting seismic wave produced a long fissure that caused slabs of concrete and dust to rise up into the three guards' faces, spoiling their aim. The concrete monster then ran into the prison, leaving the guards in the dust. Looking around as it advanced through the cellblock, as though it were looking for a particular object, the creature was interrupted as a voice from above cut its concentration.
"You know, Cinderblock, normally the bad guys break out of jail." The voice of a young male echoed throughout the prison hall.
"And I can think of six good reasons why you don't want to break in." The now dubbed Cinderblock turned to see Robin standing on an overhead catwalk. "One!" The masked teen called as he jumped down to the ground and landed in a crouch.
"Two!" A familiar auburn haired teen said, flying by Cinderblock and dropping to the right of Robin.
"Rrrr!" A green tiger growled as it lunged in and landed next to Starfire. When it landed, the beast took human form to reveal Beast Boy, "Three!"
Raven then swooped in and landed on Robins' left side, black orbs of magic surrounding her hands, ready to attack, "Four!"
"Five!" Cyborg called out as he dropped down next to the spiky-haired teen.
Finally, a black-jacketed brunette flew up next to Beast Boy. "Six!" He called as he touched down next to the green team member, hands in his jacket pockets.
"No matter how you do the math, it all adds up to you going down." Robin stated as the team had finished assembling. "So, are you going to go quietly…"
"Or is this gonna get loud?" Cyborg asked, finishing Robins' sentence.
The concrete humanoid readied itself for a charge, "GRAAAAAAAHHH!" Cinderblock roared as he began to barrel straight towards them, a thundering clap resounding through the hall with each step.
"Titans! GO!" Robin exclaimed as he and Cyborg ran towards the monster. Beast Boy transformed into a hawk as he, Starfire, Raven, and Kylar flew above the grounded duo.
When the team was within range of the rock monster, Robin leapt into a kick that landed on the left side of Cinderblocks face, spinning the monster around. He turned back just in time to catch a double dose of starbolts in his back, courtesy of Starfire. Stunned by the force of the attack, Cyborg took this moment to rush at the thing, trying to land a right hook. Cinderblock was able to intercept the attack by grabbing it with his own hand, but the force of the impact was still enough to drive the creature back. There was a follow-up by the brunette as he flew his right knee into the enemy's concrete face. This was enough for him to take a few steps back as it stumbled from the attack. When it got its bearings, the monster then rushed towards Kylar, only to be interrupted by the green hawk as it dove in and raked its talons across the concrete body time after time, forcing Cinderblock to run to another corner. Raven put herself in his path and threw her hands up to levitate a section of the floor, tilting it up until it stood vertically. The mage floated out of the way an instant before their opponent crashed through the improvised barrier as though it were nothing. It was then that Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire rushed him.
Unfortunately for the trio, one giant backhand from the moving rock was enough to knock Robin and Cyborg away, leaving Starfire the only one still charging the monster. She chucked a couple of starbolts at the enemy, but they weren't enough for her to avoid getting grabbed by Cinderblocks two enormous hands and being pulled close enough to have a face-to-face look at him. To the monsters surprise, instead of panic, a smile came over the orange-skinned aliens face.
"I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am stronger than I look." Starfire said as her eyes began glowing her signature green color. She proved her statement true by breaking his hold and delivering a high kick that drove her captor against a wall.
With a grunt, Cinderblock picked himself up after regaining his balance. A screech from a hawk caught his attention as he saw the bird swoop in again; in an instant, he noticed the hawk transform into a tyrannosaurus rex and land on the ground before stomping towards him. The concrete villain stood pat before Beast Boys' thundering charge, but before the green T-rex could flatten the villain, Cinderblock delivered a devastating left hook that sent the charger flying.
"Azarath Metrion-" Raven cut off her incantation with a sharp, shocked gasp as she discovered Beast Boy's shadow falling over her. She looked up to see him dropping from above as he changed back into his human form, accompanied by a panicked yell from the changeling. Before the mage could get out of the way, he fell on her like a ton of bricks and was the first to stand after the impact. Raven stood up a moment later and gritted her teeth in anger before recomposing herself as a lock of hair fell over her face.
"Heh… watch out for falling dinosaurs?" The green teen chuckled sheepishly with a toothy grin. Ravens' only response was shooting him a hard glare as she blew the hair out of her face. "I'm gonna leave you alone now." He said before slinking away from the angered Goth.
After Beast Boy left, Raven looked back over to see Kylar engaging the concrete humanoid, who was on the receiving end of a flurry of purplish-black powered punches and kicks. "C'mon, Blocky, where's the effort?" The brunette asked as he continued delivering blow after blow to the monster. As he jumped to deliver a kick, Cinderblock countered by grabbing the teens' leg, smiling as he held the brunette up, "That's more like it." Kylar gave a malicious smile. The next thing the monster saw was Kylar leaping towards his face with his other leg, using the villain as a base. With a charged ball of energy in hand, the brunette connected with Cinderblocks face, a small explosion resulting from the collision.
The explosion caused Cinderblock to lose his grip and stumble back as Kylar was sent into a wall. As the rock giant regained its senses, he turned to leave the area but was taken by surprise when Robin suddenly jumped onto his neck and tried to put him in a headlock, only to realize that the creature didn't have a neck. Stumbling around at random, the creature tried everything it could to shake the Boy Wonder loose.
"Thrashing only makes me hold tighter!" Robin taunted as the stone behemoth tore a girder loose from the wall, a chunk of concrete from the floor was still connected to the bottom if it. Cinderblock then raised the girder for a swing back over his shoulder to hit Robin. But jumping away at the last second, the Boy Wonder was able to escape certain injury. As a result, Cinderblock clocked himself in the head, the girder bending around his cement skull.
"Now there's an idea." Cyborg said as he looked at another girder. The metallic teen rushed to pull the girder out from the wall and charged the villain; Cinderblock readied himself with his own makeshift club. When they were close enough, the two of them began swinging at each other, flashes of blue sparked through the air every time their weapons collided. Cyborg was steadily gaining ground on the enemy, but Cinderblock wasn't going to take this beating lying down. He quickly pushed Cyborg back with a kick and brought his girder down in a mighty swing. The attack connected, sending the robotic Titan and his girder skidding across the floor.
He approached the fallen hero with his club raised, ready to give the teen another thrashing, but a blast from the back of his head caught his attention. The stone creature turned around to see the brunette with both arms engulfed in his aura, "I'm not out of this yet!" He stated through heavy breaths as he readied another orb of energy in his hand. Cinderblock was about to swing at the brunette, but a quick flash of a starbolt caused the steel to heat and soften in his hands. The behemoth grunted in surprise as he looked over to see Starfire giggling at his misfortune, "Think fast!" Kylar called out as he threw the orb, before taking a knee.
The rock villain turned just in time to see the purplish-black orb collide with his face, sending him skidding across the ground. With a snarl, the monster stood up and ran off down the corridor, heading deeper into the prison. Cyborg, still flat on his back, got up with a helping hand from Robin and dusted himself off.
"Want to give this guy the Sonic Boom?" Robin asked with a determined smirk.
"I got the Sonic if you got the Boom." Cyborg replied with a grin as he converted his right arm to sonic cannon mode. With a nod, the Boy Wonder and the metal teen charged off to follow the stone humanoid. The other four teammates regrouped before following in the same direction. "Yo Rockhead!" the cybernetic teen cried out to the villain as the duo approached him.
Cinderblock stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to find Robin and Cyborg running towards him. They peeled off to opposite sides and ran up the walls, then jumped towards each other as the Cyborgs' cannon warmed up. However, whatever they were planning to do went wrong, badly, as their feet intertwined mid-flight, leaving them spinning out of control in the air. When they finally parted, Cyborg crashed into a wall, causing his sonic cannon to go off and produce a blast of sound that engulfed Beast Boy and Starfire. Robin slammed against another wall; the disc in his hand sliding away and detonating at Raven and Kylar's feet, encasing the both of them in ice up to their waists.
Cinderblock was left completely unscathed by the fireworks and clumped away from the embarrassing sight the Titans were left in, smashing straight through one wall after another in his path. Prisoners began stepping out to look after the lumbering colossus passed by, then started sprinting out the same way he crashed through.
"Hey, hey, look at this!"
"It's freedom!"
"Let's do it! Let's get outta here!"
"Yeah!"
Various prisoners shouted out in excitement at their, possible, one chance to freedom. After the failed attack, Robin got back on his feet and rubbed his head; the commotion reached his ears from around the corner, and soon he noticed a throng of escaping prisoners charging straight towards him. With a sigh, he whipped out his fighting staff and extended it to full length. Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Kylar had recovered from the damage of the failed combo as well and took a stand next to their leader. The five of them then charged the group of inmates as Beast Boy resumed his T-rex form to scare the ever-living crap out of the convicts.
0-0
Deeper inside the high-security correctional facility, a flashing red light was the only source of lighting in the darkened corridor. Loud footsteps could be heard rumbling towards a door with a sign that read 'Prisoner 385901-Absolute Silence!' Cinderblock's shadow appeared over the sign before opening to reveal an extremely spacious cell; the only thing inside was a cylindrical glass tank of liquid that was suspended from the ceiling. Inside said tank was the figure of a man, floating erect and clad only in a pair of underwear. The man appeared to be very thin with a shaved head and asleep and snoring soundly. Without a second thought, Cinderblock ripped the entire tank away from the ceiling-mounted apparatus that held it: broken hoses spewing liquid and gases about the cell. The behemoth then punched a hole in the floor and jumped through it to make his escape, pulling the tank down after him. Even though the container got stuck briefly and then yanked forcibly through the hole, the man inside the tank did not so much as make a stir in his sleep.
0-0
Just outside the entrance of the cellblock the Titans were fighting in to prevent a massive jailbreak, two prisoners were running out in a bid for freedom.
"Let's go! Let's go!" One prisoner yelled as they approached the exit.
"I think we're going to make it!" The other exclaimed.
"Yeah!"
The two convicts approached the smashed gate in the outer wall-which was then promptly closed when the pieces, covered in silhouetted black magic, flew back into the frame. The prisoners stopped in their tracks as they saw a swirling vortex form in front of the gate.
The vortex then receded to nothing as Raven floated in front of the barrier-repaired by her telekinesis. "Think again." She stated coldly. The two prisoners nervously backing away from the teen as she approached them.
0-0
Back inside the corridor, near the holes Cinderblock smashed through, guards kept watch as the prisoners returned to their cells, their arms shackled behind their backs.
"Jailbreak?" Beast Boy asked jokingly as he reunited with the rest of his team, "I don't see any jailbreak."
"None of us would've seen one if Cyborg hadn't messed up!" Robin pouted with crossed arms as he looked away from the group.
"Me?" The Cyborg asked angrily, a sight gag showing his head grow as he spoke, "I messed up nothing! You got in my way!" He yelled with enough force to blow Robin's cape back. After he spoke, his head returned to normal size and he turned away from Robin, pouting in the same manner.
Robin turned back around, "You were too far forward," Robin yelled as his head grew larger, "and Cinderblock got away because if it!" An angry little spark popped up on his temple as he yelled, then disappeared when his head deflated.
Cyborg turned back around to face the masked teen, "You saying this is my fault?"
"Want me to say it again?" The two of them walked closer to each other, sparks flying between both pairs of eyes before Starfire popped up between them.
"Stop! No more mean talking!" She pleaded, always wanting to make the best peace between everyone on the team. Without another word, the two teens turned their backs to her and each other.
"Yeah, if you two are gonna fight, we need time to sell tickets." Beast Boy joked. Angry glares from the two arguing teens made him quickly back off as Raven then stepped up.
"Cinderblock escaped." The mage began, "No amount of yelling will change that. So stop acting like idiots, and let's go home." She finished with a sigh as she put her hood back up.
"Seriously guys, it's not the end of the world." Kylar added, trying to ease the already tense atmosphere, "We'll catch him next time."
Cyborg and Robin threw each other a disdainful glance at each other from over their shoulders. "Hmph!" Both teens grunted in unison; there respective exhalations were visible in the air.
As they began to stride away, they both made a scathing comment behind each other's backs.
"Loser."
"Jerk."
They both whirled around and faced each other, apparently having heard the remarks, "What did you say?!" They both demanded in unison as they marched towards one another, stopping when they come face-to-face again.
"Do you have a problem, Tin Man?" Robin asked in an angry tone.
"Yeah! It's four feet tall and smells like cheap hair gel!" Cyborg replied.
That last comment hit the Boy Wonder the wrong way as the two of them began arguing again. A sight gag showed the other four members becoming infants, with the pair's shadows thrown across them.
"Well, you're an oversized klutz and your feet smell like motor oil!" Robin yelled. Baby Beast Boy began to cry as Baby Kylar crawled over to him and patted his back, trying to comfort him.
"You're bossy, you're rude, and you got no taste in music!" Cyborg counted off on his fingers. The infants now returned to their proper ages as they watch the pair continue to argue.
"I don't even know why you're on this team!" Robin growled as he turned away from the metal teen.
"That makes two of us. I QUIT!" The armored teen shouted. Those last two words left the rest of the group staring wide-eyed in total shock as Cyborg's hulking frame stalked away from them.
Robin hung his head while the other teens were left completely speechless as the complete shock of what just transpired loomed over the group.
0-0
Darkness. This could be the only word to describe the area where a shadowy figure was seated on a chair atop a raised platform. The sound of heavy machinery and gears turning were all the only things that echoed throughout the chamber. No features could be seen on this figure except the glint of full-body armor and one eye, the left eye. An overhead fixture poured light down on the seat. In the harsh glare, the right side of the head and shoulder showed a gray tint, while red-orange appeared on the other side.
The massive moving rock, known as Cinderblock, stomped into the light and placed the tank containing Prisoner 385901 on the floor. "Cinderblock. I see your mission was a success. Good." The figure spoke in a chilling, even, and measured tone, "We will proceed with Phase Two. Wake him." The figure ordered.
The behemoth strained to twist the metal cap on the top end of the tank before he managed to unscrew it, releasing a thick cloud of vapor. When the vapor cleared, the occupant began to stir from his slumber.
"I'm… awake?" The prisoner asked in a startled tone as he placed a hand against the glass, "I should never be awake! I'm only human when I'm sleeping!" The man in the glass began to panic.
"But for what I have in mind, your human form is useless." The figure stated as it leaned forward, "I need Plasmus."
Inside the glass, the man's form began to swell and distort, causing the glass to bulge and finally shatter. What came out of the glass prison was a mass of purplish slime that overwhelmed the nearby Cinderblock, accompanied by more fumes from the liquid inside. When the fumes dissipated, the overhead light had gone out and the ooze had formed itself into a very large, roughly shaped humanoid with an extremely wide mouth and two tiny yellowish eyes. This is the form taken by Prisoner 385901 whenever he is not asleep, now making the silence warning on his cell door abundantly clear.
The shadowy figure began laughing maniacally as Plasmus let off a screeching roar.
0-0
The next morning inside Titans Tower, ringing could be heard over a telephone line, followed by the click of the call being answered.
"This is Cyborg," A voice said over an answering machine, "I'm either in the gym, playing GameStation, or kicking bad-guy butt. Leave a message." The answering machine finished as a –beep- was heard over the line.
Inside the operations center, Starfire was in at the kitchen counter, Kylar was sitting at a desk with a bank of monitors, Raven was standing next to the wall pressing buttons on a wall screen, and Beast Boy was pacing with a cell phone in his hand, showing that he was the one who made the call. Robin was standing at the window, overlooking the bay.
"Hello? Cy? Pick up!" Beast Boy paused for a brief moment after talking into the phone, "Come on, Cy, pick up!" He yelled as he paced behind Raven, "I know you're there. The phone's built in your arm!" With a sigh, the green teen hung up as he sat down at the kitchen counter. He looked over to see that Starfire was mixing something in a bowl.
After she finished mixing, Starfire lifted a spoonful of glop from the bowl and held it in front of Beast Boy. "Taste." Without warning, the alien shoved the spoon into the poor boys mouth. The green-skinned teen was sent into convulsions, which ended with him on all fours and trying to keep from vomiting.
When he finally spit out the mess, he scrubbed frantically at his tongue with his gloved hand to remove the last fragments. "What is that? Cream of toenails?" Beast Boy asked with tears in the corners of his eyes as he rubbed his throat.
"Pudding of Sadness." Starfire replied as she took a spoonful, her usual happy tone was completely missing from her voice due to the loss of her friend, "It is what the people of my planet eat when bad things happen." She finished as she ate her spoonful. This didn't seem to bode too well as the girl was suddenly on the verge of blowing her own chow. After a monster effort, however, she was able to down the concoction, but not without being sent into convulsions similar to Beast Boys'.
She then took the bowl and floated over to Kylar, who was typing incessantly on the keyboard as he watched the monitors, "AaaaaAAAAAHHH!" Kylar cried in a distraught tone as he rustled his hands through his hair, "He even turned off his tracking device." The brunette said before he slammed his head onto the desk.
"Friend Kylar," Starfire held out the bowl to the saddened brunette, "Have some. I know Cyborg's absence is affecting you very much."
Kylar sat up in his seat and grabbed the spoon, "Thanks, Star." He said as he lifted a glob of pudding into his mouth. He swished it a few times before chewing it and then swallowed it, "Lumpy and sticky. Odd combination, but it's all right. Thanks." He gave the girl a smile as he placed the spoon back in the bowl before he continued typing on the keyboard.
Raven continued to check the wall monitors as Starfire brought her the bowl next. "Try. The displeasing taste will ease your troubled mind."
The mage turned to the auburn-haired teen, "My mind is never troubled. People come, people go. It's pointless to be upset about Cyborg." She stated flatly. Unbeknownst to the violet haired girl, her hair began flying wildly behind her head and the wall monitors began to crack.
One of the monitors at the desk Kylar was at suddenly blew out, sending smoke into his face, "Whoa." He coughed, "It's all right, I got it." He said as he ducked underneath the desk, disconnecting the wires.
Starfire stared with a wide-eyed expression at the mage. "What?" She asked evenly, unaware of the damage that just occurred.
Robin was still standing by the window, looking morosely out over Jump City Bay as Starfire flew to him with her horrid concoction. "Here, Robin." She held out the bowl to him, "You must need this most of all since… well…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"I'm fine." He replied as he turned away from the girl, "Who knows? Maybe we're better off without him." He added as he walked further away from the concerned alien until he exited the Ops Center.
0-0
Inside the gym, Robin was punching a heavy bag with great vigor. He delivered one final roundhouse kick and slumped over, breathing heavily from the workout. Looking up, he saw his and Cyborg's weight benches-the latter equipped with the sort of giant barbells only that Titan could lift.
0-0
In the kitchen, Beast Boy hoisted a stack of dirty plates onto the counter by the sink, adding to an already large pile that was inside said sink. "Yo! Whose turn to do dishes?" He called out.
"Cyborg." The masked teen responded. His answer caused the green Titan to cry out briefly in surprise like a monkey. Robin then went to the sink and started washing a plate when the monkey left the room.
0-0
Inside the Ops Center, Robin was sitting on the couch playing on the GameStation system, blasting enemy aircraft out of the sky on the screen that was projected onto the window as he played.
"Come on, come on… I'm not scared to take… no! Yeah! Got it! Just one more and… Yes!" He commented as he blasted the final enemy on screen. The screen flashed red and blue before showing the message 'Cyborg-1,000,000,' "New high score!" Robin cheered as he replaced the name on the screen with his own, the score changing to 5,000,000. However, the Titan who set the new score was no longer elated at his achievement after he turned off the console.
0-0
The sun began setting over the horizon as inside Titans Tower, Robin was walking through the corridor as he headed towards his room. However, he stopped when he was in front of Cyborg's. After a brief moment, he opened the door and walked in. He looked around the room and saw a bookcase with pictures and a baseball on top, a computer desk with a football by the monitor, a trophy case in one rear corner, and areas for self-repair and diagnostics. A large inclined table with a footstep at its lower end was in the other rear corner-what the missing Titan used for a bed.
Robin walked over to the dresser and grabbed a picture that was placed on top. As he looked at it, he saw that it was a picture of the pair smiling with Cyborgs' hand on the spiky-haired teens' head, while he held up a peace sign. Robin closed his eyes, "I'm sorry." He apologized softly. However, he was soon snapped from his moping when the tower alarm shattered the silence. Running into the operations center, he saw Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Kylar looking at a map of Jump City, which was currently being projected on the window screen, with a large flashing dot that slowly moved along.
"Cinderblock strikes again?" The Boy Wonder asked as he entered the room. The other teens shook their heads in response to his question.
"You wish." Beast Boy answered as he continued watching the flashing dot on the screen.
Kylar was hard at work trying to connect to the security feeds for the location the dot was on the map. "This is something… different. Something worse." He said in a cautious tone.
0-0
Inside a chemical factory, the sounds of loud hisses, grunts, and whines of heavy machinery echoed throughout the building. Inside, jets of colored solutions shot down from overhead nozzles that mixed together in pipelines that snaked across the factory floor. The mixture emerged from the other end into an awaiting barrel, next to three other already full barrels. From out of the shadows, a large, hulking mass of purple goo, referred to previously as Plasmus, trudged forward to reach the barrels. Once it was standing next to the toxic containers, the sludge monster picked up one after another and guzzled them in a few large gulps, growing a few feet with each barrel finished.
It then lifted another barrel, ready to down it just as it did the previous containers, but was interrupted when a glowing green orb struck the end of the barrel, spilling the remaining contents onto the ground. Plasmus peered through the barrel like a telescope and scanned the room to see who interrupted its meal. After a few seconds the humanoids eyes landed on the sight of five Titans standing on the other side of a hole in the wall the monster made earlier to enter the factory.
"That stuff can't be good for you." Robin commented as he and the rest of the team stepped through the wall.
The monster threw the barrel aside before unleashing a monstrous belch.
"Nice one!" Beast Boy laughed. Kylar and Raven shook their heads disapprovingly at the immaturity of the green Titan.
"GRAAAAAAAAH!" Plasmus released a deep roar before shooting gobbets of sludge from its body towards the heroes.
To avoid being covered by the oncoming muck, the teens scattered around the room. Robin was performing a multitude of jumps and flips, just barely staying ahead of the barrage. At the end of his last flip, the masked teen landed in a crouch on a crate near a mixing tank. "Star!" he called out, "Let him have it!"
With a nod, Starfire obliged with launching a starbolt at the villain. When the attack connected, it blew a hole clear through the creature's chest. "*Gasp* Did I let him have too much?" She asked in a worried tone. Her question was answered when Plasmus sucked in a huge breath and the hole filled in, removing any damage taken.
"I'm thinking not enough." Beast Boy said as the monster balled its left hand into a fist. It then extended the gooey fist towards Starfire, who shrieked before Raven used her magic to pull the orange-skinned girl out of the way.
Robin reached for his belt and pulled a blue-colored disk, "Maybe he just needs to chill." He remarked before throwing his projectile, impacting the thing's arm, encasing everything up to the creature's shoulder in ice. Growling, Plasmus could only let loose a gross combination of gurgles as it smashed its frozen appendage against a pipe, the loose shards of ice scattering towards the masked teen.
As Robin jumped for cover, Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and took to the air. Starfire and Kylar unleashed a barrage of green and purplish-black orbs of energy at the monster, driving it back a bit; smoke covering its line of sight. When the smoke cleared, Plasmus saw the pterodactyl executing several punching strikes with its talons, however, to the monsters credit, it was able to block the punches and retaliate by lashing out with many thick tentacles from the stump of its missing arm.
The three Titans stopped their attacks and dodged the streams of goo; Starfire and Kylar throwing energy orbs to fend off the sludge as Beast Boy did evasive maneuvers to avoid the mess.
As the three teens were busy with their swarms of plasma, Raven rose into the air, black orbs of magic surrounding her hands, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She chanted as several barrels levitated into the air. The mage then pointed and launched the barrels towards the monster, the projectiles flying through the air like lead slugs The creature turned just in time for them to impact its chest cavity.
With a snarl, Plasmus regrew its missing limb and gathered its strength. With a forceful push, the creature sent the barrels right back at the blue-clad mage, but before they could hit her, Kylar flew across and pulled the mage safely from the path of the barrels.
With a flying leap, Robin attacked the monster with a high-jump kick, leading with his left leg, only to get stuck in the monsters' mire of a chest cavity. Not learning from the mistake, Robin followed up with another kick, and then a punch, only for both attacks to be just as ineffective as the first. "Come on! Let me go, you giant zit!" The spiky-haired teen commanded as he struggled to get free.
Plasmus stared down at the teens continued attempts to escape. However, his eyes went wide as he felt something behind him, "Robin, I apologize in advance." A voice came out from behind the monster. It turned its head to see the brunette behind him smiling evilly with his right fist stuck in its back.
Robin recognized the voice to be Kylar's, "What are you doing?" He called out as he continued to struggle against the muck.
Instead of an answer, Kylar encased his arm with his aura, "Hrrraaaaaaaaah!" The aura manipulator growled as the aura flowed into the creature. The next thing anyone knew, Plasmus started bubbling before it exploded, releasing a cascade of burgundy muck in every direction, sending the Boy Wonder and the brunette in opposite directions. The purple tide also struck Beast Boy, who had transformed back into his human form, and knocked him against the wall next to Kylar.
Dripping with the goo, Robin groaned as he stood up. "Robin!" Starfire called out as she rushed over to aid the team leader.
"I'm okay…" He said as he spit some of the ooze from his mouth with distaste, "sort of."
Across the room, Kylar was brushing the substance off his jacket as Beast Boy stood up, spitting some plasma out of his mouth before scrubbing his tongue with his gloved hand as tears flowed out of his eyes, "And I thought Star's pudding tasted bad!" The green changeling cried.
"Well…" Kylar started as he removed the last of the slime from his body, "It definitely smells worse."
The other teens glanced back to where Plasmus was before it exploded, streaks of slime spread everywhere across the ground, "Think we beat him?" Beast Boy asked.
Suddenly, the ooze began to move and merge back together in the center of the room. In a matter of seconds, the burgundy beast stood again, releasing a gurgled roar that echoed throughout the factory.
"I'm going to say, no." Raven answered in a dull tone.
0-0
Inside a darkened room, lit only by the light of a huge monitor, two silhouettes were watching the battle via security feed. One of the silhouettes was armored, muscular, and larger than the second, shorter one.
"Interesting," the larger, shadowy figure said coolly as a taller, blockier silhouette approached the two, "even with one Titan missing, this is proving to be quite entertaining." The armored shadow turned to face the two accompanying persons, "But playtime is over. Cinderblock." An overhead light shined down on the two other silhouettes, revealing the shorter shadow to be an elderly fellow, bald on top, and wearing a white suit and tie with a black shirt, and the taller to be the familiar looking stone behemoth. "Begin Phase Three." The armored figure ordered evenly.
With an answered grunt, Cinderblock stomped away, loud claps echoing throughout the room with each step.
0-0
Back inside the factory, a gush of Plasmus' muck was splattered against the ground. After a few seconds, Starfire stood up from within it.
"I feel like the underside of a Zornian muck beetle." The orange-skinned teen groaned disgustedly as she flicked some slime off her body.
Raven stood up from the pile of slime next to the alien, "Tell me about it." The mage grumbled as she began swatting the slime off her cloak.
Kylar and Beast Boy were fleeing from the burgundy slime creature as it was trying to swallow them with its' purple ooze. "Dude! I am not on the menu! WAAAAH" The green Titan cried as it dodged a stream of the plasma shot at him.
Kylar quickly turned around, forming purplish-black aura in his left hand. In one swift motion, he swung his arm in an arc in front of him, releasing a curved blade of aura at the oncoming villain. When the attack connected, the blade sliced cleanly through the monster, cutting the monster in half causing it to collapse to the ground in two piles.
"Whoo!" Kylar cheered as he rubbed the hand he shot the energy from, "That…" The two separated parts formed back together a moment later; Plasmus showing no signs of damage, "didn't work?!" He cried before he rolled to the left to dodge another stream of purple slime.
Suddenly, one of Robins' birdarangs sailed around one of the monsters legs, a long line trailing behind the projectile. Robin then ran around the beast a few more times to fully tie up the monster. "Maybe the best way to take you down…" He grunted as he pulled mightily, the wire containing the beasts' movements, "is to tie you up!"
Thinking quickly, Beast Boy transformed into a rhinoceros and charged towards the restrained villain. Landing a direct hit, Plasmus was sent toppling backwards to fall among a group of support columns. Starfire and Raven then used their respective powers to bend other columns to pin the monster down. Kylar destroyed some overhead scaffolding for extra insurance.
As the monster struggled against its bonds, the other five teens inspected their handiwork.
"We did it!" Starfire cheered happily.
"Nice work, team." Robin congratulated with a smile as he folded his arms.
"Yeah." Beast Boy started, "Didn't think we'd pull it off without-" he cut himself off when he let out a surprised sheep-like bleat: the result of getting jabbed in the side by the team mage. He glanced over to see Kylar and Raven shaking their heads at him. "Eh heh, oops. Sorry." He chuckled nervously as a large sweat drop fell from the back of his head.
A beeping noise from Robin's communicator caught the teams' attention. Robin quickly checked the device, "We finished just in time. Cinderblock's been spotted downtown." He explained before tucking the device back in his belt, "Come on!" He beckoned to the rest of the team as he ran for the factory exit.
As the other members ran to catch up, a loud gurgling noise from the bound villain stopped Beast Boy, who looked back to inspect the sound. "Huh?" He noticed the monster began to ooze a bit under the girders that held it.
Its entire body then collapsed in on itself and slinked through the restraints, freeing itself in the process. Once the monster was free, from its ooze, it divided into five constructs; one was of it formed a head with spider-like legs as support, the second was a four legged beetle-looking form with a crab claw jutting out of its front, the third was in the form of an octopus-like creature with no face, the fourth was a crocodile-like jaw supported by six legs, and finally the fifth resembled that of a featureless snake.
"Uh…" Beast Boy groaned nervously, getting the other four Titans attention, "heads up." He said pointing to the group of five creatures.
The divided entities then scuttled towards the teens, all releasing gurgled clicking noises with each step of their feet clattering against the ground. Quickly bolting into the next room, the group slammed the double doors shut just in time, leaning against them with their entire weight, Robin and Kylar holding the left door closed, while Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy held the right door. Plasmus' snarling and pounding could be heard through the metal as it tried to break through.
"Five against five. Even odds." Beast Boy chuckled worriedly as he continued pushing against the door.
"Forget the odds. We need a plan!" Robin grunted as he too was using all his strength to keep the monster from breaking down the door.
Unfortunately, the door began to tremble even more violently under the constant abuse it was receiving from the slime entities. With one final bash, the doors were forced open partway, just enough to push a tendril out. Starfire screamed as the opening grew wider, giving more and more room for the head of the plasma villain to fit through.
"Titans! Separate!" Robin ordered. Immediately as the other members obeyed, the doors flew from their hinges. Robin, Kylar, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy all scattered in different directions among the machinery as the latter transformed into a cheetah to gain distance.
Plasmus' snake, having separated from the rest of the body, chased Starfire throughout the room. In a panic, the auburn-haired girl turned in midair and bombarded her opponent with a barrage of starbolts. However, this method of attack proved to be ineffective as the snake construct lunged at the girl and successfully wrapped itself around her, plucking her from the air.
Beast Boy, still as a cheetah, was sprinting along the floor of the factory as the section that resembled a beetle with a crab claw chased him. It seemed to the green changeling that he would've been able to take the creature on since he had the advantage of speed, but was taken by surprise when the crab claw opened and a long tongue lashed out, snaring him. He was able to break loose of the tongues hold by turning into a gorilla, but was then knocked off his feet by a flying tackle that came from the rest of the beetle's body.
Kylar was currently dealing with the spider head, weaving through pipes as the spider-like creature leaped from pipe to pipe in an effort to catch up to the brunette. He glanced back to see that the head was still in hot pursuit. "Don't you ever give up?" The black-jacketed aura manipulator asked in an annoyed tone as he came to a dead end. Looking around quickly, he noticed a large boiler next to him. With a wicked smile, he turned around to see the head of the monster land in front of him. "You seem tense." He said as the monster approached him. Without another word, Kylar formed aura around his right arm and swung down at a pipe next to him, breaking it and unleashing a highly pressurized stream of boiling hot water that hit the monster. "Why don't you cool off?" He said in an icy tone. The monster released a blood-curling screech as it began to melt, forming a puddle on the floor. As the puddle began slinking away, Kylar ran after it, now chasing it in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, Raven was flying along as the octopus was on the ground chasing her. Focusing her powers over all the machinery around her, she was able to cause the bolts and screws that held the machines together to fall out, causing the loosened vessels to topple into the aisle, one after another. Trying its best to avoid getting hit, the octopus monster swerved and slid through the falling debris, but finally succumbed to the attack when one piece of a conveyor fell and hit the monster broadside. Raven glanced back smugly at her work, only to be caught by surprise when she found that her opponent had recovered and placed itself directly in front of her. The mage only had time to release a shocked gasp before the octopus reared an attack.
The only one left to deal with a section was Robin, who kept going full steam among the other process equipment; the crocodile jaw creature was scuttling quickly behind him, determined to not let the masked hero get away. He noticed a set of double doors in his path and, without thinking, hurled himself through when he reached them. As he stood up, Robin found himself in a darkened room, with only a lurid green glow that rose from below as the only source of light. Before he could determine what the glow was, he lost his footing as the ground beneath him started to move. He looked down to see that what was moving was a conveyor belt, and the glowing green light came from several large vats of chemicals.
The crocodile jaw landed behind him and readied itself for a strike. Robin quickly did a back handspring to avoid the attack. Once he landed, he snapped his bo-staff out and delivered several blows that merely splattered through the purple goo. Not being fazed by the apparent onslaught, the jaw monster blocked the next attack, and lunged forward, knocking Robin off his feet, separating the hero from his weapon as it flew down into one of the vats below. Getting back up and taking a stance in a classic kung fu pose, Robin took a few steps back before lunging towards his opponent for a high kick.
0-0
Back with the rest of the team, Starfire was still struggling to escape from the bind that was Plasmus' snake portion. As she struggled, the snake wrapped a coil around her head and squeezed itself together into a large ball. Luckily, the alien was able to burst out of its grasp after a moment, spreading the snake all around her. She looked up to see Beast Boy, back in human form, and Raven bound by their respective captors body parts. Looking down, the Tamaranean teenager saw the snake reform at her feet and lunge at her, only for it to explode and spread all around the room. What followed were the explosions of the beetle and octopus monsters. Confused, Starfire turned around to see Kylar land behind her with a determined smile. With a nod, they both rushed over to help Beast Boy and Raven off the ground.
Kylar ran over and offered a hand to the green teen, "Thanks for the save," Beast Boy said as he took the brunettes hand and stood up, "You think it's over now?"
The splattered ooze began to form back into the original being as Starfire and Raven reunited with the male teens, "Beast Boy," Kylar said as Plasmus regained its original form and released a gurgled shriek, "Please stop talking."
0-0
It all seemed hopeless for the Boy Wonder. He was currently backing away from his advancing opponent, but found himself without anywhere else to go. Before he knew it, the jaw monster lunged towards him and landed on top of him, effectively pinning the teen to the belt's surface. As he struggled to get free, he noticed the end of the conveyor belt was approaching quickly. As the two fell partway over, Robin smiled wickedly before flipping the jaw monster off the precipice; however, he miscalculated the timing and had to grab the corner of the conveyor belt to keep from following his opponents' example. As he was about to pull himself up, he was surprised by a sudden forceful pull from underneath. He looked down to see that the monster had seized hold of his left boot and was pulling down, trying to take the Boy Wonder with it into the vat. Robin strained as best he could with his one-handed grip, but the power of the slime proved to be too much for the teen to handle as his fingers slid away from the belt, leaving him plummeting toward the last bath he would ever take.
As if through divine intervention, a familiar bionic arm shot down and grabbed the masked teens' wrist. After having been pulled back onto the conveyor, Robin was desperately trying to catch his breath, believing that his time on Earth was going to end. He glanced down at the vat of chemicals to see the sludgy apparition dissolving harmlessly after having fallen in. Turning back around, Robin saw that his savior was the very same person he had driven from the team, Cyborg.
"I still got the Sonic if you still got the Boom." The metallic teen said with a determined smile as he transformed his right hand into his sonic cannon.
Robin returned the smile with the same determination, showing that the feud between the two had finally ended.
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On the factory floor, Starfire and Raven were flying through the air, throwing anything they could at the burgundy creature, the creature showing no signs of damage as it shrugged off attack after attack. Beast Boy and Kylar were dodging more streams of slime, the latter launching orbs of energy between heavy breaths.
"Dude! We've tried everything!" Beast Boy cried as he barely dodged another oncoming attack. "We're doomed!"
Kylar glanced over his shoulder, "Maybe not everything." Beast Boy gave the brunette a confused look, "Look!" The black-jacketed teen pointed to his left.
The other three teens looked over in the direction Kylar pointed to see that not only Robin came back to fight, but Cyborg had returned as well.
"Teen Titans! GO!" The masked and cybernetic teens shouted as they charged Plasmus. Going into the same attack formation they used while attacking Cinderblock, Robin and Cyborg peeled off in opposite directions and ran up the walls. This time, however, they did not get tangled in midair, giving Robin the opportunity to hurl an explosive disc while Cyborg fired his cannon. The combined effect of the two weapons had enough force in it to blow Plasmus apart into small puddles of gunk; when the smoke cleared, the teens were greeted with the sight of a very thin looking man in nothing but his underwear dozing among the slop and snoring fitfully.
"Why didn't that work when I blew him up." Kylar thought as he tried to catch his breath. The constant use of his powers during the fight began to takes its toll.
The six Titans, finally reunited, surrounded the sleeping man and looked at him in confusion. "This is the guy who caused us so much trouble?" Beast Boy asked as he crouched next to the frail man.
0-0
After the fight, the special division of Jump City's science and police departments arrived at the chemical plant, applying a solvent to dissolve a majority of Plasmus' body from the factory's machinery and any slime that remained on the team, while collecting any remaining samples from the creature for future study. After being hauled off in a new, sound-proof glass cylinder with metal casing ends, Robin and Cyborg were standing off to the side, not really saying anything before the shorter of the two spoke up.
"Look, uh…" Robin hesitated to speak, "sorry about…"
"Yeah." Cyborg cut the spiky-haired teen off, knowing what he wanted to say.
"So… are we cool?"
Cyborg smiled before holding out a fist, "Frosty." Robin smiled as he lifted a fist and tapped his teammates.
"You made up! Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed happily, "I wish to initiate a group hug." She added as she laced her fingers together.
Kylar quickly slid away from the super powered alien girl, not wanting to have his spine shattered today. "Pass…" Raven sighed, causing the orange-skinned teen to deflate slightly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, warm fuzzies all around. But we still gotta stop Cinderblock." Beast Boy reminded the rest of the team.
"No, we don't." Cyborg returned, earning a confused look from the others. "Thought I'd bring a present, in case you were still mad," He added as he gestured behind his shoulder. The other five Titans looked over to see Cinderblock being hoisted up by a winch, bound in something that resembled that of Cyborgs laser cannon. The stone villain grumbled angrily as it struggled to break free of its restraints.
"Thanks. But there is still one thing that's bothering me," Robin said. The others shot their leader a look of confusion, all in disbelief that anything could be bothering their leader at this point. "Breaking into jail? Using Plasmus to distract us? The whole plan seems to be a little too smart for Cinderblock."
"I've been thinking the same thing." Cyborg returned, Starfire and Beast Boy sighing visibly to show their relief knowing that there was no immediate danger.
"Someone must've been pulling the strings, but who?" Robin wondered as he place his hand on his chin.
"Well whoever they are, they're no match for the Teen Titans." Cyborg said as he raised his hand.
"I hear that," Robin said bringing his hand to meet the metallic teens own.
Kylar walked up to the two teens and place an arm around both of their shoulders, "So the gangs back together again!" He said with a happy smile, "What say we celebrate this occasion with some pizza? My treat."
With smiles, and a very toothy grin from Beast Boy, the six teammates left the area to celebrate the Cyborg's return.
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Inside a darkened room, with only the occasional spotlight to illuminate the infinite darkness, the armored, muscular figure slammed a fist onto the desk in front of him, clearly angered by the disruption of his plans. A cup of tea and saucer that were already placed on the desk shattered as the force of the impact knocked them off. A pair of white-gloved hands reached down with a small broom and dustpan to sweep up the pieces. Stepping into the light, it revealed the elderly gentleman from before as he placed a replacement cup on the arm of his employer's chair.
"Next time my plans will succeed." The shadowy figure stated, despite having just lashed out, his voice retained its control, "And the Titans will pay."
One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.
-Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Author's Notes:
Hello again, my beautiful readers from the Galactic Network.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this new story that I have been writing. I know it may not seem like much now, but as the chapters keep going, it will get better and better... I hope.
For those of you who have come to read everything, even the Author's Notes, thank you so much for giving this a chance, I hope I was able to keep you entertained long enough to finish reading it. If not, I apologize. For those who don't read the Author's Notes, putting sugar on a wound or cut will greatly reduce pain and speed up the healing process.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Make sure to write a review if you want to... or don't. I don't care. PM me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear them.
Until next time, See You Space Cowboys
Disclaimer: I do not know anything from the DC Universe, nor do I own anything from Teen Titans. Also, any other references made in the chapter belong to their respective owners.