The Roles we Play
Zero Hour Pt. 2
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***I make no $$ off this story. ***
"It is said that the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn." – Thomas Fuller
***TRwP***
Technically he hadn't lied to them… he just hadn't fully explained how everything worked, how his own powers worked.
He was unable to change the DNA characteristics of the 'learned' forms. Those normal or even extinct animals were already built in, created by nature for a purpose. That left him just his human form to 'evolve'.
That and the Beast.
It was a form that did not exist in nature, a creation of his mind, giving form to the primal instincts and urges that lie just below the surface.
Thus it was able to be altered, evolved just like he was. It was able to be perfected.
And it was perfected.
The Beast was the culmination of all predatory instincts, all of the anger and aggression, all of the power of nature. It was the ultimate killing machine.
Claws that could tear through the strongest of steel like paper, teeth that were able to crush concrete, muscles specifically designed for speed, power, and endurance.
Its bones were dozens of times stronger than a person's its skin was virtually bullet proof.
With the more complicated thought processes that allowed humans dominance over this world being repressed senses that were previously dimmed became a hundred times more accurate.
Vision that could pierce the darkest of nights, hearing that could pick up the heart beat of human from a mile away, a sense of smell so acute that even chemicals could not hide what lay beneath.
Truly it was perfection, at a cost.
In this form Beast Boy no longer perceived the difference between a resisting enemy and a surrendered one, he did not understand complicated strategies or plans, could not communicate with the outside world.
It was designed solely for killing, which meant that in this situation it was perfect.
Adrenaline and excitement long forgotten rushed through the boy's veins like fire, setting his body alight with anticipation.
For too long had he gone without the thrill of the hunt, too long had these instincts been shoved into the darker corners of his mind, left to grow but never acted upon.
Now it was time to let them out.
***TRwP***
"Command this is Alpha team, we are in position over."
"Command this is Bravo team, we are also ready for orders over."
"Charlie team reporting in command, area secure and ready for approval over."
"This is Delta team we have reached the first objective, awaiting further instructions over."
"Roger that, this is command. All teams are free to progress to next objective Operation 'Titan Fall' is proceeding as planned."
Slade smirked behind his mask. Had he known it would be so easy to destroy the Titans he would have done this years ago. Still he did derive some pleasure for tormenting Robin, giving him 'clues' to obsess over and trying to mold him into his perfect apprentice.
Too bad the boy was so fanatical that he hadn't been more useful in the end.
Terra had been considerably more willing to follow him, but he should have known that she would betray him, stupid teenage hormones and crushes.
He had briefly considered the other Titans but none seemed nearly as appealing.
Raven was far too strong willed to take orders from him in such a manner as he wanted.
Starfire would not have been able to understand the complexities of his plans.
Jinx was too free spirited.
Cyborg barely took orders from Robin and was constantly arguing with him.
Beast Boy…
The masked man paused in his contemplations the boy had originally showed nothing but disappointment, being the obviously weakest member of the original five. But then new information had come to light.
The boy was a killer, pure and simple. Not only that but he was slowly showing signs of intellect and tactic that would have made Robin envious.
If Slade had known this early on he would have targeted the changeling instead, used his situation to fester hatred and anger towards his so called 'teammates' and turned him against them. If that had occurred around the same time that he had turned Terra… he could have used them to keep the other in check and under his control.
Two perfect apprentices rather than just one.
Slade drooled a bit before shifting his attention back to the operation in progress.
There would always be more impressionable youth that wanted to act out.
***TRwP***
"Man this place is creepy at night seriously couldn't we have launched this attack like at noon or something?" Adonis whined to his squad of silent soldiers.
The professional killers ignored the boy's ramblings as they progressed through the dark hallways.
All power had been cut to deactivate any kind of alarms or defensive systems further in the tower, which was a blessing to them.
Now if only they could find some backup that wasn't a complete imbecile.
"PERHAPS I CAN SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE SITUATION!"
Speaking of imbeciles…
The mad doctor immediately turned on all of his illumination devices, momentarily blinding his team and lighting up the entire room to the point that it was probably visible from space.
How Alpha team managed to be stuck with the two dumbest villains in the world was beyond them. They were the 'Alphas' for crying out loud. Couldn't they at least get someone useful, or intelligent?
"Turn the damn light off! We can't see anything!" one of the soldiers hissed out.
"AH MY APOLOGIES MY GOOD MAN, BUT I CANNOT TURN OFF THE ILLUMINATION THAT I NOW SPREAD FORTH. FOR YOU SEE I HAVE CONNECTED MY SUIT TO MY VERY BRAIN, THE ONLY WAY TO DEACTIVE THESE MAGNIFICENT SOURCES OF LUMINOUS BEAUTY WOULD BE TO…"
The lights fizzled and spark as a loud thud came from behind them.
"Thank you" the irritated man growled out, thinking that someone had bashed the morons face in and knocked him out.
"Hey somebody grab a flashlight or something off the idiot, at least he can be of some use."
"Uh guys…" Adonis muttered out in shock.
The others turned around, only to gasp as well.
Dr. Light had been silenced, by the removal of his entire head.
"Spread out! Clear the room!" the solider in charge ordered, forcing his men to form into a circle and slowly expand outward, checking the various nooks and crannies of what had now been identified as the common room of the base.
A few moments later another gasp was heard.
Spinning around the squad leader saw two more of his soldiers dead, apparently killed silently as this time no thud had been heard.
"Wh-what the fuck man!" Adonis cried out in fear.
"Must be one of the brats, or something, probably the witch. Alright everyone form up and no one breaks rank, we exist then blow the damn room apart." The commander ordered.
Just as the soldiers formed up into a defensive circle something fell from the ceiling in the middle.
Claws flashed.
Blood was spilled.
Screams echoed in the night.
Adonis tried to smash the creature into pulp, but whatever it was moved faster than he could react. Slicing through his armor like it was cardboard and removing his limb in the process.
Seconds later powerful fangs tore into the villain's throat, ending his life with a sick gurgling sound.
***TRwP***
"Alpha team report… I repeat Alpha team report! Damnit, Bravo team proceed to Alpha's last known location and see what the hell is going on over there."
"Copy command, Bravo team moving out."
***TRwP***
As the group of soldiers quickly made their way through the halls towards the other team's last known location Johnny Rancid, one of the two super villains assigned to them, glanced backwards.
"Uh hey guys are we missing a few of you?" the dimwitted man inquired, trying to count the remaining eight soldiers.
The squad leader glanced backwards and swore silently.
"Where the hell are numbers nine and ten?"
"They were right behind us sir."
"I swear if they went for a piss break I'm gonna strangle them when they get back."
Unknowingly to them the forward two men disappeared moments after the attention had been turned to the rear.
"Uh…. now were missing the two front guys…" Fang wisely pointed out, forcing the remaining soldiers to take up defensive positions.
"Someone is picking us off, alright everybody eyes open, we move slowly and everyone stay in groups of three, no wandering off. Number 4 report our position to…"
"Sir he's gone…"
At this point both Rancid and Fang began freaking out a bit they had went from twelve heavily armed and trained soldiers to four remaining in the span of one hallway.
"W-we're gonna die! IM TOO YOUNG AND PRETTY TO DIE!" the biker shouted in fear as he immediately took off down the hallway, screaming the entire way.
"Damnit don't run off by yourself you idiot!" the leader roared out.
Suddenly the screaming stopped, and silence filled the corridor.
"Uh… Rancid? Buddy?" the mutated boy hesitantly called down the hallway, "Hehe this isn't time for joking man, right soldier dude?"
Turning around to the others the remaining villain found himself utterly alone in the hallway.
"Bravo Team come in!" the voice on a dropped communicator sounded out a few seconds later.
By then there was no one left to answer.
***TRwP***
"This is a bad idea… I have a really bad feeling about this…" Killer Moth continued mumbling as he nervously squeezed his hands together, jumping at every perceived sound as his team continued clearing the empty hallways.
"I agree it is far too quiet. We should have run into some kind of resistance by now…" Katarou agreed.
"Listen, the less of these freak show superheroes we have to deal with the better. I will just be glad once we get the hell out of this place. It gives me the creeps. How far are we from the evidence room Lieutenant?" The leader muttered out.
"Looks like three hallways away sir."
"Right, okay let's just get there and take what we were ordered to. Then we can call for an evac and let command carpet bomb this place to ruins."
The squad, along with two super villains, agreed and continued their journey, until a shout from behind them alerted to one of their teammates being grabbed by two clawed arms and ripped through the ceiling.
"WHAT THE HELL!? OPEN FIRE!" the leader shouted out.
Immediately the soldiers formed two ranks, and tore the ceiling apart with gunshots.
Apparently they had missed though as nothing fell through and no blood followed.
"We need to keep moving, there is no way we can defend ourselves in a freaking hallway."
The others nodded before running down toward their destination.
Before they could reach the first turn another man was snatched up, screaming the entire time in agony.
"Sir!"
"Keep going!" The squadron leader replied as the remaining soldier broke into a sprint.
Another hallway claimed four more men, dropping the number of soldiers by half.
"We are being hunted! Even if we make it to the room there will not be anyone left!" The martial artist called out in a panicked voice.
"Oh man this isn't good, it's like a predator stalking us…" the moth creature whispered, while continuing his run.
"I see the door!" one of the remaining soldiers cried out in joy.
As the eight men reached the location they found the door to be locked down, forcing them to begin trying to pry it open manually due to the security systems being without power.
"Damnit what I would have given to have Atlas or Adonis here instead of a freaking ninja." Moth grunted out, as he and his fellow villain attempted to force the barrier open.
"Likewise, how are you even considered a villain!" the other man replied.
"Shut the hell up and get th- AHHHH"
Upon glancing back the two realized that they were the only remaining members of their unit.
"Forget this! Stand back!"
The bald man quickly pulled out a series of small explosives and blew small hole in the armored door, large enough for the two to squeeze through.
Moth was first, and froze when he managed to power up his flashlight and take a look at the room.
Over a dozen bodies littered the floor, some impaled on the walls themselves.
Blood covered the room.
It was the creatures den.
"K-Kata…" the man whispered out, before turning around to see a frozen horrified expression on his 'friend's' face, his body stuck halfway through the hole the in the door.
Running to his aid the mutant attempted to pull the man into the room, he gave a swift tug, only to have only half of the villain fall onto him, the other half of his body being torn off.
"Oh God…"
Glancing up Killer Moth beheld a monstrous form of the creature standing before him, covered in blood.
***TRwP***
"Report, what is the status of our units?"
"Sir! We have lost contact with all four teams. Delta team was the last to report in, something about coming up from the floor, then it went silent."
"I see how do you wish to proceed Slade?"
The masked man glanced around the command room, taking in the situation before coming to a fitting conclusion.
"Call in an artillery strike, level the tower."
"B-but sir, we still have men on the roof, and there could still be survivors in…"
"There are no survivors. The Titans did not just take the communicators from them and knock them unconscious. Your men have been slaughtered and we have no time for further evacuations. Now level the tower."
The communication officer glanced to her superior officer, looking for confirmation. The man nodded in agreement.
"Yes sir. FSB this is command come in FSB over."
A moment later the radio hissed in acknowledgement.
"FSB here, awaiting orders command over"
"Calling in a fire for effect on target, I repeat calling in a fire for effect mission on target, over"
"Command, are you sure about that? Reports are that friendlys are still in the area over."
"Orders are confirmed, make it happen."
"Roger."
***TRwP***
The five Titans finally reached the opposing shoreline of the tower, using escape tunnels that Cyborg had installed for just such an emergency.
"What is the plan now Robin?" Cyborg inquired, gently setting himself down to try and further repair his damaged systems.
"Simple, we wait for Beast Boy and once he's back we head for an emergency bunker where we figure out our next move and recuperate. There's no sense in rushing in when all of our moves have been predicted so far. Raven were you ever able to contact the League?"
"I had a brief conversation with Batman apparently they have been the target of a political investigation and thus were warned not to enter U.S. airspace until the situation has been handled."
"That's pretty inconvenient timing." Jinx muttered, sitting down next to her boyfriend to finally catch her breath.
"There is no way it was coincidence, my guess is that this happened to isolate us even more. Or maybe whoever is targeting us is already planning on going after them next."
"I would not wish to be them for such a task, I have heard the rumors of The League of Justice and they would not fall as easily as we have." The Tamaranean spoke out in a monotone.
"They are also far more concentrated in strength and number. If all the Titans had been together when this had occurred we would have prevailed as well. Right now though we need to get our team together then find out where the others are…"
Robin was interrupted, however, by what sounded like thunder, as the five teenagers watched on in horror as their home was bombarded by artillery shells.
"Beast Boy…" Raven whispered out in horror, watching as the tower collapsed, leaving nothing but ruins.
"I-I'm sure he's fine… th-this is B-Beast Boy we are t-talking about Raven." Cyborg stuttered out, trying desperately to shake the image of his friend's body in the morgue from his mind.
Robin stared on in shock for a moment before snapping himself together.
"Cyborg is right Beast Boy will be fine. If I have learned anything over the past few months it is that he is by far the most resilient and adaptable of us. He is fine, but if they still have forces then they could be searching the shoreline for bodies or survivors. We need to move." Robin commanded, before turning toward the darkened city before them.
"But what about…" Jinx started, hoping that no one was suggesting abandoning their teammate.
She was promptly cut off by the empath, "No he's right. Beast Boy will be far safer by himself than with us slowing him down. He can track us for miles if need be and he knows the locations of the safe houses."
The other Titans nodded before taking one last glance towards their former home, then moving into the dark streets before them.
***TRwP***
"Alright team here we are." Robin announced as he lead the other four Titans through an abandoned building's basement.
After pushing aside an old bookcase the Titan opened up a hidden door and revealed the bunker located inside.
"Colorful…" The pinkette muttered, gazing at the stone grey walls, ceiling, and floor, the little furniture that was in the initial room consisted of a single table and several uncomfortable looking chairs.
There was also a rough looking countertop and sink with a cabinet nearby full of preserved food.
"The bedrooms are through the hallway along with the only bathroom. I know it doesn't seem very practical or… lively, but this was never meant to be a long term home. It is designed to keep us alive and safe until we can figure out a plan of attack."
"Its fine Robin, better than sleeping on the streets or in a cave. We will make do." The mechanical man replied, walking to one of the chairs to sit down and continue on his repairs.
"There are a few more tools in your room Cyborg, along with an emergency generator. We have a few monitoring systems setup so that we can keep up with the news and the situation outside but I think we should keep low profiles until we can figure out our next step."
"I believe our next step should be to find Beast Boy." Starfire droned out, earning winces from the other Titans at her lack of emotion.
"No the first thing we do is get that damn thing off of you. Cyborg do you think you can help me with it when you are fully functional?" The Boy Wonder asked, earning a nod.
"We should do it now, I'm good enough as is but we need to make sure that she can recover."
Robin nodded before leading the girl to a seat and brushing the hair from her neck, revealing the projectile attached to it.
"Looks like a neural inhibitor of some kind, probably designed to…"
"To disrupt brain activity, specifically those dealing with emotion, I know what it is unfortunately. I helped design it."
"Part of your emergency protocols?" Raven inquired a slight growl in her voice as she did so.
"Yes…" The masked boy lowered his eyes to the floor in shame.
"So we were right then, they broke into your files and figured out how to combat us. Does that mean you had information on the other Titans as well?" Cyborg asked, the animosity in his statement being obvious as he began working on removing the device from his teammate.
"Yes" This time the response was only slightly above a whisper.
"After all of this is over we are going to have a serious discussion about this, and whether or not the Titans will continue on in the same manner… with the same leadership." Raven replied bluntly.
Robin nodded in acceptance.
"Alright then, let's see if we can get our personal bubble of sunshine and laughter back." Cyborg chuckled, returning his full attention to the project at hand.
***TRwP***
"Hey Rob you need to come see this." Cyborg called out into the boy's room where he had been working on future attack plans.
The Boy Wonder nodded before entering the common room to take a seat next to the other Titans.
It had been two days and still no sign of Beast Boy, two days and still no leads on the other Titans.
The television that had been installed to monitor outside events and news bulletins was currently on, and it appeared as though the President was doing an address to the nation.
"My fellow citizens I stand before you today to address growing concerns among the leaders of the world, the concern being our so called 'guardians' who float miles above us in an orbiting space station. I am talking of course about The Justice League. For too long have they been above the law. For too long have they been immune to the rules that we as the citizens of this planet have created to protect each other and ourselves. They believe that just because they are different, because they wear masks and have super powers, that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. I am here to tell you that today this 'freedom' that they have taken advantage of ends."
President Luthor paused to receive the applause of the various members of the press and civilians gathered before him.
"They have taken advantage of the fears of this great nation, the fears of the unknown and of those that we might not be able to control. They have taken advantage of the fears of the human race but that ends today. No longer will we be at the mercy of those who dispense justice wherever they see fit, no longer will we be forced to appease them just because they are different than the common man and woman. No longer will we be forced to look up at the night sky and hope for their mercy and their approval!"
Once again the crowd burst into cheers and screams of excitement.
"Thus far we have identified dozens of crimes committed by the so called 'Justice' League, crimes ranging from espionage to blackmail and even murder. These 'heroes' as they have declared themselves are nothing more than super powered criminals. They are the next generation of terrorists and mobsters, seeking to 'give protection' in return for turning the other way and letting them do what they desire. This does not sound like a group of super heroes. This sounds like the criminal enterprises of the last century!"
Various 'boos' resounded throughout the room, earning the bald speaker a short reprieve as he allowed the hatred to die down before continuing on.
"As many of you are probably aware, a military operation was executed a few days ago on the organization known as 'The Teen Titans'. I know this decision will be viewed a bit extreme by some but trust me when I say that it was for the greater good. The various Titans were arrested and taken to a secure facility where they will be awaiting judgment on their futures. This is the next generation of the so called 'Justice League' and by taking these necessary precautions to root out any type of extremists we can secure our children's future. To further emphasize why this was necessary I would like to draw your attention to Senator Robert Smith from California."
A man in his mid fifties approached the podium, before thanking the President with a handshake and preparing to speak.
"Thank you Mr. President, my name is Robert Smith and I have information regarding the group of teenage 'heroes' that we have just addressed. You see approximately two years ago my son was killed by one of their members and although his death was briefly investigated there was no progress on the case and instead the authorities were stonewalled by The Titans themselves, refusing any interviews or to produce any evidence in their defense. What is worse is that the case was never even brought to trial for fear of retaliation by the group or that they would simply halt in their protective duties. This is an example of corruption at its highest level! For a group of citizens to blatantly ignore our laws and the consequences of their actions simply because they are different is an outrage! I have come to terms with my son's death and now I simply wish to prevent any further losses of life, thank you."
Sympathetic applause rang out through the room before President Luthor once more took the podium, "Ladies and Gentlemen…"
Another pause silenced the audience as the man took on an apparent gloomy appearance. "I regret to inform you all that during the attempted arrest of the original Teen Titans that they fought back against security forces. In the ensuing battle dozens of brave soldiers lost their lives for the peace and security of this nation and the world as a whole. Rather than risk further casualties, or even civilian lives, our new 'Chief of Metahuman Affairs' Slade was forced to call in an artillery bombardment on the tower, not wanting to give the zealots any time to retaliate against the city or military forces any more than already had been. I can confirm tonight that all six of the Titans lost their lives. Innocent victims of The Justice Leagues manipulations and mind control. But rest assured that these young lives will not have been lost in vain. I have just received the approval of Congress to form an immediate committee to discuss future actions to be taken against The League. Until then please bear with us during these terrifying times and trust me when I say that in the end justice will prevail!"
Another chorus of applause began which quickly escalated into a standing ovation for the man.
The screen faded to black as the cheering continued, with the national anthem playing in the background.
The Titans could only stare in horror at the television set, wondering what would happen next.
***TRwP***
"So what do we do now?" Jinx muttered out following a depressingly quiet dinner a few hours later.
"We must go and arrest this Glorbag! He is responsible for all of the terrible things that have happened!" Starfire demanded, her emotions have finally returned in full force.
"We can't just go and arrest The President Star, even if we could there is no way they are going to put him in prison, especially not if we are involved." Robin glumly noted.
"So now what, we stay in this underground bunker and hide for the rest of our lives?" Raven growled out.
"Of course not, but we need to think this through. Whether Luthor was lying or not his speech now gives us something that we did not have before. The world thinks we are dead which means we can move unhindered towards our next goal." The leader noted, a plan already forming in his head.
"Okay so what is our next goal Rob?" Cyborg inquired.
"We find the other Titans, whether or not we can continue being super heroes after this incident is irrelevant at this time. We are not going to abandon our friends to their fate. We find them, tear the facility that is holding them to pieces, and then figure out what exactly we should do afterwards. Meanwhile we need to find a way to discreetly contact The League."
"Are you sure Robin? It's not like they were our best friends during their little 'trial'."
"True, but now we have a common enemy. Someone who is targeting all of us." The boy answered the pinkette.
Before the conversation could continue a small chime focused the attention in the room onto the mechanical member.
"Looks like we finally got some good news yall! I have been running a program through the net to see if I can find any information on the other Titans and it finally came through. Apparently there has been some emails leaked revealing that several 'teenage metahumans' were reportedly taken to a facility in Nevada for imprisonment. By the sound of it that could be the others"
"Nice work Cyborg, alright let's see if we can get a major confirmation before we act. Remember we only have one shot at this before we are discovered as being alive again and we can't waste it on a 'maybe'. If the lead is legit we need to start organizing a plan of attack."
"What about Beast Boy?" the empath inquired, bringing the conversation and the enthusiasm to a halt.
"I'm sure he is fine Raven, he probably realizes the situation we are in right now and can't risk coming directly to us. Once the other Titans are safe we will put all efforts into locating him, I promise."
The sorceress nodded, focusing her attention once more to her meditations to try and help her teammate confirm the location of their allies.
***A/N***
And so the plot thickens… lots of crap hitting the fan as 'President Luthor' begins making life even more difficult for our favorite heroes.
I hope the actions scenes were detailed enough for everyone. I was trying to go with the idea of a horror movie rather than just raw battles and I think I did okay, if not let me know where and how I could improve.
Until next time I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!