Tales of the Teen Titans: Unstoppable, Part 1: Shadows of the Empire, chapter 11:

Humanity

I don't own the copyrighted versions of the Teen Titans.

In his room at the tower, Omega continued kissing Kitten. That bed of his was beginning to look awfully inviting to her, when suddenly, she felt him tense up against her. "What?" she asked, "What is it?"

"I just heard a boom tube open."

"What's a boom tube?"

"Like a Star Trek transporter, only tube-shaped. Instantaneous transport. Thing is, it's usually Apokolips technology. That means they're here." He held her back by the shoulders. "Look. Get back to your house and take every precaution you can. If possible, get out of town. This is going to get ugly, I'm afraid. Very ugly."

"The hell I will! This is my city, not to mention my world, too, you know, and I'm not letting you rush into battle against God knows what without some backup!"

"Kitten, you don't understand what you're talking about." He glanced in the general direction he'd heard the tube open from. "I'm seeing at least seven parademons. They're tough, vicious, and utterly without mercy. There may also be others of Darkseid's elite troops, too, like the Female Furies, or, or, anybody. And, for all I know, Darkseid himself may be leading them. I may need to call in the League. But first I have to make sure. But this city could very easily turn into ground zero of World War III. I mean that. So, please. Do this for me, would you? Go home. Take care of your father. He's still not up to par, even yet. He needs you there, to protect him, if nothing else." And his eyes softened as he looked at her. "And…and, I couldn't stand it if something happened to you. I—I just couldn't. So, please."

She looked down. "Okay. Since you put it that way."

He kissed her forehead. "I'll make this as fast as I can." And off he went.

She went back up to the roof where she'd left her flying platform and waited a few minutes. Then she checked her instrument panel. Excellent. The tracking device she'd planted on him was working perfectly.

It wasn't difficult for Omega to locate the parademons. He already had a good idea where they would be, and his senses confirmed that. He landed just outside of Tara Zharkov's vacant house, just as they were about to force the door. "Ahem. Looking for something in particular, or are we just browsing?"

Meanwhile, Kalibak had broken into the local library and accessed the humans' internet. He could do that from the orbiting ship, but this way he covered his tracks better from the humans, especially the one known as Batman. He'd already scrambled the library's primitive security system. His father had told him to remain with the parademons the entire time, but surely they couldn't do too much damage in just a few minutes. He knew the identity, the name of the weapon; all he had to do was find some clue as to where she could have gone. The parademons were intelligent enough—barely—to be trusted to find whatever clues might be in the house, but this was something beyond their extremely limited intelligence.

So. Tara Zharkov. Formerly a resident of Jump City, but now affiliated with Teen Titans' East, in Steel City. He couldn't get an exact address, but he really didn't need to. "Steel City" would be sufficient for now. Now he'd best go check on the parademons' progress. They could get out of hand altogether too easily without someone to control them.

Omega was actually having fun. The parademons were absolutely no match for him; three he blasted into vapor with his heat vision, four more fell to his disintegrator beams. Then he closed with the remainder, slamming them into each other and punching his fist completely through one. He heard one trying to sneak up behind him, and started to slam his elbow into the creature's gut, when a crackling filled the air. He turned; the parademon had frozen in place into a solid ice statue.

"Told you you might need some backup," said Kitten, triumphantly, lowering her weapon. She never saw Kalibak coming up behind her.

"Kitten! Watch out!" Too late; Kalibak simply swept her aside with a savage blow. She flew across the street, slamming into a brick building, fell and did not move.

"Ah," said Kalibak, "Finally. A foe worthy of my—* He got no further. Something slammed into him with the force of a runaway freight train, smashing him completely through a deserted building and into the bay area beyond.

Omega went over to check on Kitten. She was conscious, barely. "D-didn't see that coming," she said, weakly.

"Sh. Let me examine you." She was pretty badly hurt; several major bones had been broken, including her back, and she was bleeding internally. Without medical attention, her life span would be measured in minutes. "I've got to get you back to the Tower. Hang on, Kitten. Just hang on."

Once back at the Tower, he immediately placed her in a time stasis field. No harm would come to her while she was in there. She wouldn't heal, but she also wouldn't get worse. Then he turned, focusing his senses on the bay where Kalibak was even now emerging from. Something white-hot was beginning to seethe within him, something he'd never ever felt before. "It seems I have some unfinished business."

Kalibak was just walking out of the surf when he saw the white-skinned being who'd knocked him there standing on the shoreline. "Fool! You dare challenge me, Kalibak the Mighty?" Then he paused. There was something about the expression on the creature's face that gave even Kalibak just a twinge of fear.

Omega didn't say a word, but simply smashed the monstrous Kalibak into the ground, not once, but several times. Every move of Kalibak's was countered with an insane fury and inhuman skill unlike anything seen on Earth. Omega crushed Kalibak's fist, the very one he'd struck Kitten with, into a mangled mass of flesh and powdered bone, and blinded him with his heat vision.

"You hurt my friend." And then, in the space of seven minutes, he proceeded to systematically and quite savagely break every bone in Kalibak's body, some of them several times over.

On board Steppenwulf's ship, Steppenwulf was monitoring the battle. "We have to get him out of there," he said, over his shoulder, to the cloaked figure that had come up behind him. "Lord Darkseid will have all our heads if he dies."

"That won't be possible, Captain. For you, at least," said a thin, precise voice behind him. And it was not DeSaad's.

Steppenwulf whirled around, simultaneously reaching for his weapon and the security emergency call button. He never made it to either one.

At the Hive of the Kindred: {{Alpha! Be aware!}} And the Kindred monitoring the news feeds fed him the images he was seeing, of Kalibak being smashed through buildings and slammed against the unyielding ground by a black and silver blur. {{What is going on?}}

{{It's the Prime. He's gone completely rogue, as we feared. Bring Maria back here immediately; override her teleport circuits if you have to. We may have to initiate an emergency evacuation of this planet.}}

Omega's rage knew no finite bounds. He continued to pound Kalibak mercilessly, inflicting as much pain as he possibly could, becoming the very monster the Kindred feared. He finally stopped only when Kalibak collapsed in a bloody, mangled heap. Kalibak had once held his own against Superman, but Superman had been holding back, fearful of doing serious damage to his foe. Omega hadn't held back one bit. It had been no contest whatsoever. "Get up." But Kalibak could only groan in reply. He couldn't get up; both his arms and legs were broken in several places. "Can't make it?" taunted Omega. "Here. Let me help you." And he picked Kalibak up by his neck and held him at arm's length. "It's really a shame I blinded you earlier. I want you to see death coming." And his eyes began to glow with the fury of a hundred suns…

Omega, no! Don't kill him! It was Kitten's voice, but it was inside his head. "Kitten? What…where are you? How are you talking to me, like this?"

It's the Orb. He's allowing my future self to talk to you. Please don't kill Kalibak. If you do, you'll be starting down a path that will lead to you becoming something you don't want to be. Your rage is driving you now—it's controlling you. Remember how you told me you don't have much experience in controlling your own emotions? This is how you do it: you have to be the one calling the shots, using your intellect to determine what you should do, not what you want to do. But you have to control this rage. You have to master your emotions, else you'll become one of the most feared and hated beings in seven galaxies. And it won't stop there, either. I've seen that future, and please believe me: you don't want it. None of us here do. So please. For me. Spare his life. Please?"

"He hurt you, Kitten. Nobody hurts the one I lo—, I mean, care about."

I know, and he will pay for his actions. But not this day. Nor by your hand. So again. Please, spare him. If you love me, do this for me. For us. Believe me, you'll be doing him no favors.

Omega thought and thought hard. The rage was still burning within him, a white-hot fire like an exploding star he could literally feel, like heat on the surface of his skin, but he knew she was right: he had to master it somehow. If he didn't, he'd rage across the planet, destroying everything in sight. It was the hardest struggle he'd ever fought. Mere physical battles had been cakewalks by comparison, because now he was fighting himself, and he'd never had to do that before. Always, before, the Lords controlled his emotions for him. But finally, his shoulders slumped. This was what she wanted. Aloud he said, "You know I can refuse you nothing, Kitten. Very well." And he let what was left of Kalibak drop unceremoniously onto the ground.

Thank you, my love. We'll meet again, soon. He felt something like a ghostly kiss on his cheek, and sensed the connection fading.

But Omega was still burning with rage; he was actually physically trembling. Finally, he did the only thing he could think of to do. Standing there on the shoreline, with Kalibak's unconscious body in front of him, he threw back his head to the sky and roared , at the uncaring stars overhead, those stars of a universe not his own. "GRRAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The very ground itself shook and windows shattered for blocks around.

Nearly a thousand miles away, on board the SS Pacific Queen, Raven suddenly stiffened, turning even paler than usual, her eyes dilating to pinpoints. Then, to the dismay of her teammates, she collapsed to the ground without a word.

Thousands of miles away, in the continent of Africa, Grodd screamed in agony as the psychic backlash washed over his Master. The Osiran Lord himself was not affected, but his servant had no defenses against such an onslaught. Finally, in order to save his servant's mind, he had to render him unconscious.

Back in Jump City: a boom tube opened not thirty yards from where Omega was standing. Three parademons emerged. Omega smiled a wolfish smile. He'd promised not to kill Kalibak, but nobody had said anything about parademons.

And yet….and yet, there was something different about these particular parademons. Omega stared, curiosity overcoming some of his rage. Parademons normally slouched, ape-like. These walked upright, like men. And there was something else different about them, too. Their faces, their expressions seemed somehow more intelligent than the ones he'd faced earlier. And they were unarmed.

The lead one spoke to the others, gesturing at Kalibak's mangled form. "Take this fool back to the ship. I'll deal with him there." Its diction and grammar were both flawless; normally, parademons could barely grunt.

The other two said not a word, but simply picked Kalibak's limp form up and carried him into the still-open boom tube.

The remaining parademon turned to look at Omega. "My, my. Look at you." It looked Omega up and down, and Omega got the uncomfortable notion that the creature was seeing more than just the exterior. "You're everything the old legends say and more, besides. I'm impressed. And believe me, it takes a lot to impress me."

"You're no parademon. Who are you? What are you?"

The being smiled as best as it could around a mouthful of tusks. "Those answers would take longer that you have to explain to your satisfaction. Suffice it to say that, at least for now, I'm a friend. To you, and yours. I'm a warrior, like you, but my battlefield is….very different from anything in your experience. A much….larger battleground, if you will." It cocked its head to one side, appraisingly, "Perhaps someday you'll join me, voluntarily, in my high crusade. I'd like that. In any case, you needn't worry about the ship from Apokolips any longer. I've a…..very special use for it, and it no longer poses you any danger."

Omega chose to ignore that. "Why are you here? And who are you?" A growing suspicion in the back of his mind began to take root, and he was beginning to be afraid. Very afraid.

The thing that looked like a parademon spread its hands. "I've had many names thoughout time, space, and eternity. None of them really have any meaning to you. I've been called the Taker, the Giver, the Destroyer, the Creator, God, Satan, pure good and purest evil, friend and foe. Plus many more you couldn't even pronounce. What would you like to call me? It's really all the same to me."

Omega looked at the creature suspiciously. "That depends. In what capacity are you here, now?"

"As I said, I'm a friend, at least for now. You've given me a great gift today; I feel it appropriate to give you one in return. There's a Gordanian battle cruiser stealthed in orbit around your adopted world. They seek the same thing Kalibak and his crew did: the location of the Terra clones. So far, they've done nothing but follow the troops of Apokolips, in an effort to hijack the prize. There's a contingent of them watching us even now." And it gestured with its head towards a dark alleyway. "But they are hardly a problem. Lord Trogaar is on board their ship, and would like to recapture the one you call Starfire. Perhaps…" and here the entity paused, significantly, "Perhaps you might want to do something about that? Hm?" It paused and bowed slightly; a gesture of respect, only partially mocking. "In the meantime, I've things to do. I shall leave that matter in your very capable hands." It smiled maliciously. "But I'm sure it would be fun to watch. Oh, and one other thing: I've sent you a gift. It should be delivered any day now. But you may not thank me for it. At least, not immediately." And with that enigmatic comment, it turned and walked back into the boom tube and vanished.

On board the Gordanian ship, the helmsman signaled for Lord Trogaar's attention. "Lord Trogaar? Something just left the planet's surface, and is currently on an intercept course with us. Closing rapidly, too."

"What is it?"

"Uh, we…don't know, sir. It's too small to be a ship. Maybe a missile, but, if so, it's coming in way too fast for any ordinary missile."

"Can you identify it?"

"No, sir. It doesn't match any known profiles in our computers."

Trogaar emerged onto the bridge. "On screen." The view did nothing to reassure him. It showed a white-skinned dark-garbed humanoid, apparently flying under his own power, and closing rapidly with their position. Trogaar was no expert on humanoid facial expressions, but….."Helm, plot us a course out of here, to the jump point. Maximum speed. And what do the sensors show?"

"Active sensors show nothing useable. It's as if they're being reflected back onto us, somehow. Passive sensors….off the scale, sir. I've never seen anything like it. It's like a miniature warship, in human form. Uh, sir? What of our troops on the ground?"

Trogaar sighed. "I'm afraid they're on their own. Whatever that thing is, it's entirely too eager to meet us for my comfort. How fast is it traveling?

"Accelerating at a factor of three hundred twenty plus. And accelerating still. Sir," he turned to his superior officer, "at this rate, we won't make it."

"Target and fire aft meson disruptor cannons." A second later, the ship was rocked by powerful blow; crewmembers fought to stay upright. "What happened? Weapons? What did it hit us with?"

"Uh, apparently our own beam, sir. The target seems to have the capability of reflecting our own energy beams back upon us. Shields are down by fifteen percent."

Trogaar muttered the vilest curse he knew. "Target and fire aft torpedoes." They could feel the ka-thump from the missiles being launched. "Weapons?"

"Direct hit, sir. But no discernible damage to the target whatsoever."

What IS that thing? wondered Trogaar. It was like nothing he'd ever heard of. It had already closed the distance between them by half in just a short span of time. That was faster than any missile he'd ever heard of could manage. "Weapons. Fire all torpedoes. Empty the ship. But don't aim for the, the thing, being, whatever it is. Target the planet Earth, random spread." It's our only chance. And even that may not work.

Omega saw the torpedoes being released, and this time not at him. He'd guessed something like this might happen, and took out several with his own energy beams, But there were too many for him to get all at once…

He thought. He could still feel the white-hot fire burning within him. He wanted to go after those who'd hurt his friends, wanted to hurt them, to kill them, but if he did, the missiles would strike Earth, causing untold damage and loss of life. And he would be responsible for that. He couldn't allow that, and so—very regretfully—he broke off pursuit to chase down the missiles that had managed to get past him. But before he did, he glanced back at the Gordanian ship. Took a good long look at it, and its energy signature. One day, he thought, one day there will be an accounting.

Osirans have very good, very long memories.

Moving at atomic speed, he first targeted those closest to Earth, those about to strike the continent of South America. That left seven more; three aimed at the Euro-Russian continent and four headed directly for the United States.

He was able to throw one missile into another, while detonating the third with his disintegrator beams. Now for the USA….

Two missiles aimed in the general direction of the Eastern seaboard suddenly found their component atoms losing cohesion. They detonated thousands of miles above Earth's atmosphere. One headed for the American southwest suddenly found its surface temperature heating instantaneously into the thousands of degrees. The remaining missile had actually targeted the Justice League's Watchtower; he shattered it, too, remembering that the humans' orbital defenses were…..somewhat less than what he'd consider adequate. (Actually, the word that had crossed his mind was pathetic, but he was learning the value of tact.)

The four Gordanian troops on the ground were attempting to call for emergency extraction when he landed right in front of them. "One chance. Surrender or die. The choice is yours." One leveled his weapon at Omega, who allowed the beam to strike him full in the chest. The beam was immediately reflected back onto the Gordanian who'd fired it, incinerating him instantly. The other three saw what happened, and immediately but reluctantly threw down their weapons in surrender. He turned them over to the special SWAT teams that were just now arriving on the scene.

Once back at the Tower, he immediately went to his room, where Kitten's stasis-field encased form lay. Once he cut out the stasis field, she only had minutes to live. He connected the Osiran matrix generator to his formet, and released her from the stasis field. "How-how'd I get here?" she coughed, bringing up bright red, arterial blood.

"Kitten, it's alright. I'm going heal you now, but I don't know if it'll hurt or not. I'll try not to let it, though. Just hang on."

"W-what are you gonna—" And her eyes widened as she could feel her internal organs repairing themselves, blood vessels closing, torn ligaments and broken bones knitting back together at an unreal rate. It tingled mightily, like the feeling one gets when one's arm has "gone to sleep" and circulation begins again, but it didn't really hurt, as such. Before long, she was able to stand up, with assistance. "What is that thing? Some sort of matter manipulator?"

"Something like that." And then, without another word, he grabbed her and hugged her tight, a gesture she returned. "I was afraid I'd lost you," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled. "You're not gettin' rid of me that easily. But, yeah, I guess I did kinda screw up, didn't I? Disobeyed orders, an' all that?"

"You're alive. Right now, that's all that matters." Osirans can't cry, but his face ached with the need to.

"Did we win?"

"Yes." I think. He still didn't know what to make of the strange encounter with the parademons-who-weren't-parademons. And he filled her in on what had happened since Kalibak attacked her. Minus the strange encounter with the entity, of course. He wasn't sure what to make of that, himself. He'd have to think about that and maybe share it with the group as a whole, see if anyone knew anything. "I totally lost it, Kitten. I became a monster, something, something I'm…..not proud of." He sat there, beside her on his bed. "I…..I don't know. Maybe I should leave this world, before I hurt someone."

"If you leave this world, you will be hurting someone: me. So don't even think about it." And she pulled his head around to face hers. "And you know what I say to all the rest of that?"

"No, what?"

"Welcome to the human race." And she kissed him, a kiss that went on for a long, long time. When they finally broke apart, she breathed, "you know, I hear victory sex is about the best kind ever….." Their eyes held each other for a long moment, her hands moving down his abdomen, his moving towards her breasts….

"Omega!" Cyborg's amplified voice sounded throughout the building, "Where are you? What happened? What the hell's been going on?"

"Figures," muttered Kitten, rolling her eyes and releasing him, as they went to find the others and relate recent events.

Robin had sent Starfire carrying Cyborg and Terra back to Jump City to see what had happened. While Starfire could have easily made it back in a matter of seconds, she couldn't do so while carrying anyone. And out at sea, there were no boulders for Terra to levitate. Raven was still unconscious; Hank, Robin, and Beast Boy had stayed behind to care of her.

"I'm sorry you had to interrupt your vacation, but the matter is under control," Omega told them.

They looked around at the devastated buildings, the overturned cars in the street, the fire trucks and EMTs, the general chaos. "But what happened?"

Kitten and Omega looked at each other. "Ah, that's what you might call a kind of a 'long story.'…"

To be continued…..sort of.

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