Tales of the Teen Titans: Shadows of the Empire, chapter 13: Death

Omega saw Kitten tense up. "Are you sure?"

Killer Moth looked at his daughter. "Kitten. I am a scientist, after all. Yes, I'm sure." Then, to Omega, "This needs to be shared with the group."

"Indeed. And…..I have something I need to share with the group as well. Two things, actually." Kitten looked at him oddly. There had been a peculiar hint of something in his voice that, to her sensitive ears, knowing him as she did, seemed to indicate something of considerable importance.

Once again in the conference room, Killer Moth shared his findings with the others. Of them all, only Robin really seemed to know what the significance of the findings meant, at least, by the way he turned pale at the words "Ebola Zaire." "You're sure?"

"Positive. I think this raises the stakes somewhat, don't you?"

"It certainly does. I'm placing a conference call to the Watchtower." While he established the link, the others questioned Killer Moth. What was it about Ebola Zaire that seemed so scary?

"Let me see if I can put it into perspective for you," Killer Moth began, "Yellow fever? Heard of that? A plague that swept across the globe many years ago. Its mortality ratio—that is, the number of people who caught who died—estimated at about twenty percent. In other words, about one in five. And untold tens of thousands died. The Black Plague, that killed millions on the European continent several centuries ago—about fifty percent. Everybody with me so far?" Heads nodded all around the table. "Ebola Zaire: anywhere from eighty-three to ninety percent mortality ratio. And that's with modern medical care. Virologists have a term for a bug like that: they call it a 'slate wiper.' If Ebola Zaire got out into the civilized world today, you'd be looking at a death toll easily in the billions. It could even mean the end of human life on Earth. The viral equivalent of a nuclear war. And there'd be no stopping it, that is, short of sterilizing the infected area—and maybe a firewall area around it-with a limited thermonuclear strike. We're talking Andromeda strain here, only for real.

"The only thing that's saved humanity so far is, Ebola isn't, or rather, I should say, doesn't appear to be, an airborne virus like, say, tuberculosis. It can't survive in empty air, drift on air currents until it finds a host. But what can happen, and what apparently does happen, is…." Here he drew back, seeking the right words. "Say you're in the room with someone infected with Ebola Zaire. And they sneeze. Well, microscopic water droplets, laden with the virus, can drift across the room on air currents, you breathe them in without realizing it, and presto. You're infected. Or, in some poor countries, without adequate medical facilities, less than complete sterilization of used medical supplies such as needles, etc. You get the idea.

"The virus is incredibly prolific. Someone once said that Ebola could accomplish in a few days what it takes full-blown AIDS anywhere from two to ten years to do.

"Now mind you, what Kitten was infected with was not, repeat, not Ebola Zaire. It's not harmful to humans, as Ebola is. And, what was given to her was especially tailored to her own specific genetic structure. So it's not dangerous to her, anymore, either. It's done its job, so to speak. But it was mutated from that virus, and, given Ebola's infective properties, and speed at which it can act, I would wager that whoever created it is preparing for a world-wide biological revolution.

"I think Kitten was a test, to see how well the retrovirus worked, and how fast."

The large flatscreen monitor descended from its slot in the ceiling. It came to life, with Hawkgirl's face showing first, then splitting up into many sub-screens, as the available members of the Justice League came online from their various locations.

Batman's image appeared, against a backdrop of a cavern wall. Probably the Batcave, thought Robin. He noticed Killer Moth sitting alongside the Titans. He nodded to the moth man. "Dr. Van Cleer."

"Batman. Been a while."

"Not long enough. For either of us."

"I couldn't agree more. But this is of the utmost importance, else I wouldn't be here."

Kitten turned to her father. "You know Batman?" She whispered incredulously.

"Our paths crossed, when I lived in Gotham." Addressing the images of the assembled heroes on the screen, he swiftly summarized what had happened to his daughter, his suspicions as to who might be behind it, and his suppositions of the possible intent of the individual(s) behind her transformation. "Mind you, I don't know Dr. DeVille is the one you seek. But I'd say, in light of his philosophy, the comments and his ability, he probably should be at the top of the list. He's about the only man I can think of who could play around with something as potentially dangerous as Ebola Zaire and not wreck havoc on a scale that would make the Biblical flood of Noah look like a soft summer rain."

Batman was already checking his data files. "Hm. Nothing on a Herbert Quincy DeVille. That, in itself, is somewhat suspicious. You say he taught at the Sorbonne? They've no record of him. But I'm finding some mention made of him on blogs by former students. Looks like someone went to a lot of trouble to erase him from any official record. That's not good. We'll take the matter under advisement. Now. Robin? You said you had some other things that needed out attention?"

"Yes, sir." With that, he turned the floor over to Omega.

Omega stood. "Two things, and, I have to say, I had to ponder upon both these matters before bringing them to your attention, for reasons I think you'll understand shortly. One, as some of you who have empathic abilities may've detected, I not long ago had….a bit of an outburst. During that outburst, my mind touched upon two other intelligent species here upon the Earth. One was the Thinkers, of course. But the other was not. It was a Lord. An Osiran Lord, loose here, upon your world. I believe it to be a lesser Lord, else there would already be a Domain barrier set up, but still, it is a great and terrible threat to your planet's peace and stability.

"The other is this: shortly after my outburst," and here he paused, a bit shamefacedly, "I was contacted by an entity. While it's true that I, er, attended to Kalibak and the Gordanian ship myself, the ship from Apokolips was dealt with by…..something else. Something that, frankly, scares me."

"Your point?" Batman was impatient.

Omega turned and addressed Kitten. "Kitten, do you remember, so long ago, I told you that my people had detected an extrauniversal threat, a creature that consumes universes?"

"Yeah, you said you an' Athena had worked on a—*" She stopped, and her eyes widened, as she saw where this was going. "You—you think you were contacted by—"

"Yes, I do. Mind you, I said, at the time, that it consumes universes, and it does. But it doesn't have to do so all at once, like, like a human sitting down to a meal. It can, and for some reason seems to frequently, consume said universe piecemeal, a bit at a time. Perhaps….perhaps it is here. If so, we may have a problem that makes Ebola Zaire pale in comparison."

Batman spoke. "We'll take the matter under consideration. Now, about this Lord…do you have any clue as to its whereabouts?"

"I do."

"Where is it?"

Omega was silent.

"Omega? I said-*"

"I heard you."

"Then…?"

Omega sighed. "Batman. I have deferred to you and others in your group thus far. After all, this is your world. But this is a matter that only I can handle." He addressed them all. "You do not seem to understand the power of the Lords. If any one of you were to come within communication range of this creature, you would immediately fall under its thrall. Your wills would no longer be your own. I believe this scenario accounts for Gorilla Grodd's conspicuous absence. He very probably managed to locate a pod, and, believing it to contain either Warriors or Thinkers, attempted to open it. What's left of his self-hood probably regrets that mightily."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "So you're refusing to divulge the location of this entity?"

"I am. I mean no disrespect to any of you, but, of all present here, only I know what we are really dealing with. Only I have any experience in this matter. Only I can do what must be done."

"And that is?"

"I will find the creature. And I will kill it. There is no further discussion to be had regarding the matter."

The others were silent for a moment. Then Batman spoke up again. "Correct me if I'm wrong….but didn't these selfsame Lords once control you?"

"They did. But I broke free of that control."

"Something you curiously failed to mention earlier."

"True. And, if my observations of you are accurate, you are now wondering if I am not still controlled by the Lords. To that I can only say: were I still in thrall to the Lords, I would cheerfully lead each and every one of you to his throne room. Where you could join me as his slaves." He sat back, arms folded across his chest, and looked at Batman's image on the screen. "The fact that I refuse to do so should reassure you, but somehow I doubt you'll take it that way."

"Hm. An….interesting chain of logic."

"And that brings me to another point: Raven?" The sorceress started when she heard her name called. "Are you able to verify that I am the same individual whom you knew before you left to go on your—I'm sorry—aborted vacation?"

Raven thought. "Your alien nature makes it difficult, but I would say that you are, as far as I can determine."

"What about Kitten? And Killer Moth?"

"No question. They're the same, in essence. Why do you ask?"

"It's something I should've gotten out of the way earlier. The entity I spoke with has the capability to assimilate individuals, as I believe it assimilated the parademons I spoke with. I wanted to reassure you that I am who I say I am. That, plus the fact that I have been alone with both Kitten and Killer Moth since your return, so they, too, could've conceivably been…compromised."

"Dude," said Beast Boy, "And you're just now bringing that up?"

"Yes. I believe the Earth phrase is, 'things have been happening.'"

Batman addressed Omega. "So…what are you saying, exactly?"

"I needed to inform you of the extrauniversal entity and its possible threat to you. But the Lord is my concern, my problem, as it were. I will locate it and kill it. Please, for all of your sakes', do not endeavor to interfere. Should you attempt—"

"We would fall victim to this Lord. Yes, I believe I understand."

"I suppose what I am saying is, don't send help. If I am unsuccessful in this endeavor, it would be most prudent to form an alliance with the Thinkers, if possible. I will leave information on how to do that, and possible contingency battle plans, or at least suggestions…."

Kitten spoke up. "Omega? You….you sound like you don't really expect to survive this, this mission."

He smiled at her. "Kitten. While there are no guarantees in any of this, I believe I stand a better chance of survival than anyone else. And this is a thing which must be done." And here he leaned closer to her, his next words for her only: "For everyone's sake. Including our children, Kitten." Kitten blushed even more than her new coloration. "Well, you better make it back here, Omega. I've got big plans for you. Most of them," she whispered, "involve you, me, and a single bed. Without a stitch on. Ya get me?"

A sad smile. Her ears caught a faint whisper: "Would that it were possible." He turned and addressed the rest of them. "And since my next actions could easily lead to unpleasant diplomatic repercussions for everyone involved…" He paused, in an unconsciously dramatic gesture.

"I hereby tender my resignation from any and all groups I am currently affiliated with, including the Teen Titans."

And with that, he phased through the floor and literally dropped out of sight.

…..

For a brief moment, the others sat in stunned silence. Then, Kitten shot to her feet. "Nobody move," she commanded. "This one's mine." Even Batman nodded acquiescence.

Downstairs: Kitten burst through the door of Omega's room. "'Mega? You in here?" No response. Then she noticed the large manila envelope on the desk. With a small box beside it. With considerable trepidation, she approached; the envelope was labeled to the Teen Titans. Although Kitten wasn't a member, she nonetheless tore into it. Inside were plans, diagrams for various devices, as well as a formal letter of resignation and a note absolving the Titans of all responsibility for Omega's actions. Her eyes were blurring over—damn allergies!—but she scanned the diagrams for the devices he'd left. Probably some of the doomsday weapons he'd told her about, but right then, she couldn't focus on them, for some reason. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the jewelry box. There was a single note attached to it: For Kitten.

Those two words mesmerized her. She heard the others coming in behind her, but curiously didn't care.

Killer Moth came up behind his daughter. "Honey?"

She found her voice. "He—he left plans for some stuff, probably weapons. Uh, and, and his formal resignation. And. And this." She couldn't take her eyes off the small jewelry box.

"We'd best put those plans up somewhere safe," said Robin. "Kitten? Are—are you alright?"

"I, I don't know yet." Her hands were shaking so, she couldn't open the box. Dammit, what was wrong with her? She was supposed to be colder than this. It was just a box. Probably had some kind of jewelry in it. Probably some really nice piece of jewelry. But it was bigger than a ring box would be.

"Friend Kitten?" Starfire asked, from behind her. Something in the back of Kitten's mind vaguely registered that this was the first time Starfire had ever called her friend. "Do…do you wish help in the opening of this box? Or would you rather wait until another time? You do not have to open it now, you know."

"No, Star, that's where you're wrong." Tears were running down her face freely by this point. "I, I appreciate your concern. But, but I have to open this now. If I don't, I'll never open it." Thus saying, she steadied herself and opened the box.

Inside was a simple gold locket, valentine-heart shaped, hinged on one side, and bound shut by a solid gold band. Kitten looked at it, examining it carefully: there was no trick way to open it. The only way to open it was to cut the gold band around it.

She held it up for the others to see. "He—he's not coming back."

…..

Omega stepped through the boom tube he'd opened with the help of the Osiran matrix device, directly into the Lord's lair, deep in Africa's Kalahari desert, already focusing his ki. The ability to do so was what had made Prime warriors (though he did not think of himself that way; the term had been coined after his time) different from other warriors: the ancient Osirans had gifted his group with the ability to tap into a realm beyond all realms, a truly infinite place. Once focused, ki would see to it that whatever task he'd set it for would take place, even if it had to animate his lifeless body. The drawback to it was that, once focused, even he couldn't stop it. The event would take place, no matter what.

With ki burning in him, memory returned. He'd set himself a great and terrible task, back on Osira, and it wasn't complete yet. There was yet one more Lord, one surviving monster. Ki was what was behind his determination to do this, and there was no stopping it. What he wanted didn't matter anymore; only the task.

And so, with the Lord's terrible, desperate power hammering at him at point-blank range, he concentrated, and brought into being a very small speck of the Infinite here into the finite realm. It was the only way to be sure.

Goodbye, Kitten. I love you.

Pretty much every sensor known to man registered the blast, easily in the three hundred megaton range. It actually dented the crust of the Earth itself, vaporizing everything within a seventy-mile radius of the blast site. Including two Osirans and one superintelligent gorilla.

…..

Robin was at the controls of the T-jet, already dropping out of suborbital mode into Earth's atmosphere. The others were in their respective pods, with the exception of Starfire, who'd surrendered hers to Kitten, and flown on under her own power. "You're sure this is the place?" he asked Cyborg.

"Naw, I'm sure it happened somewhere else," Cyborg replied sarcastically. "Robin. Look at this place." The crater was miles wide, and still smoking, red-hot in some places. Robin made for the epicenter.

The Titans disembarked, after first checking for radiation, of which there was none. The blast had been clean; no fallout had been produced. Meteorological patterns were still unstable, and most of them had to wear breathing apparatus to keep the dust and smoke out.

Kitten immediately rushed over to one spot, the very center of the detonation, searching, hoping, for some sign of her lover. But despite her best efforts, her searches only confirmed what her heart already knew: he was gone. "Orb!" she shouted to the sky, confident that the alien entity could hear her, "Can you bring him back?"

{{No, Kitten. I cannot.}}

"But, but you brought back Terra and Beast Boy. Why can't you-?"

{{They were not truly dead at the time. But the one called Omega is….no more. I am sorry.}}

She thought, her tears not clouding her keen intellect. "But you brought him forward in time from the past. Can't you, like, go back to just before and, and, and do something like that?"

She sensed the entity's inner turmoil. {{It is not that simple. Omega initiated an explosion that was not confined to your standard three dimensions. It also reached back through time and other dimensions, or, at least, that's the best way I can explain it. I am sorry. But he is gone beyond my power to restore.}}

"I don't believe that. There's gotta be something….." A thought hit her. "You—can you, like, reintegrate his body? Devaporise him, so to speak? Reconstitute him somehow?"

She could literally sense the Orb pondering the matter. The Titans looked at each other, unsure what to do. {{I could, but to what point? The essence that made him what he was, his mind, or soul, if you will, is gone. All you would have would be a body, a soulless shell. Surely you do not want that.}}

She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Actually, yes. Yes, I do. Do just that, only keep his body in a state of suspended animation. Can you, will you do that?"

{{Yes, Kitten. I will do that.}} But she could clearly sense the entity's puzzlement.

"Kitten?" Robin's voice was soft. "I, I'm not trying to be harsh, but, well. Dead is dead. If even the Orb can't bring him back…" He left the sentence unfinished.

Kitten's eyes were dryer now, and she was more in control of herself. She sat back, hands to her side, still looking at the ground before her. "You don't understand. Call it a hunch, a belief, a hope, or just plain faith, but, but I believe he will come back to us. Come back to me. But he'll need a body. So until then…"

Starfire approached her, actually putting an arm around the girl she once detested. "Kitten?"

Kitten sniffled, regaining control of herself. She looked up; the dust had settled somewhat, and it was nighttime here. She could see the stars of the Milky Way overhead. Aldebaran gleamed in the constellation Taurus, the Pleiades to one side, with Orion's belt just below. "It's alright, Starfire." But even as she spoke, she knew it was a lie. It wasn't alright. Things weren't alright, and they would never be alright ever again.

The End.