Episode 3: Titanic Bounty
"Opening files General Grievous…" droned the voice of a servant Droid.
The mysterious and still shadowed General Grievous sat in his throne, the only visible aspect of him aside from his outline were his yellow reptilian eyes. Before him came every available piece of intelligence the Probe Droids had picked up on Earth.
"This planet is rich in resources sir and could benefit our war efforts. All algorithms suggest we should prepare an invasion force" explained the General's servant droid.
"Not yet…not while the Jedi and their new allies are prepared…" said Grievous as he now looked at a screen with footage of the Titans and Jedi in combat "If we are to destroy them, we need the element of surprise…we must keep them DISTRACTED while we make the necessary preparations for a planetary wide invasion."
"Should I prepare another attack force?" Asked the droid
"Not yet. We will send our BX commando droids to hire and assist mercenaries, locals from this planet and star system. IF they and the Jedi are constantly being attacked from the left and right, they will have NO time to worry about ME…prepare a bounty to be put on the HEADS OF Skywalker and his little Padawan, as well as all of these 'TEEN TITANS….they won't even know WHO will be the architect of their destruction…"
The shot now focused on Grievous as he sat in his throne from the side, the droid visible in the light now bowing as the lights now shut off, leaving the scene in complete darkness.
*Teen Titans Theme Song Plays*
We now zoom back into Earth where we now see our heroes chilling out in the living room of Titans Tower. Various junk food and soda cans and bottles around.
Beast Boy as well as Cyborg, and CT-1776 were playing Call of Duty Black Ops II on the tv as Ahsoka, Anakin, Robin and Starfire watched. Rex was cleaning his blasters while R2 was conducting maintenance on himself. Raven sat off by herself, reading a book.
CT-1776 was currently WIPING the floor with Beast Boy and Cyborg.
"OH COME ON MAN! This is worse than those little JERKS WHO PLAY ONLINE AND CAMP!" Beast Boy said standing up with an extremely angry anime face, a little anger icon on his head as well "HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD!?" He demanded from the Clone Trooper.
"Just like the simulations" responded the Trooper.
Everyone gave a chuckle as Beast Boy began to rage even more and more.
Ahsoka couldn't help but notice Raven off by herself while her friends were all together. She now stood up and walked over to Raven, the latter giving a somewhat annoyed look at the Tortugan Jedi standing before her.
"Hey Raven, I know you more or less have accepted us, but are still getting to trust us…and trust me I can sense your still not used to us yet…and well …what book are you reading?" Asked Ahsoka as she sat down in front of her sitting crisscross, a smile on her face as she was trying to become friendlier with Raven as the Tortugan found Raven fascinating and similar to herself with her meditations and overall mindfulness.
"Oh…" began Raven, taken aback slightly due to the fact no one was usually ever interested in whatever book she was reading "it's called The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe."
"Oh, is it about you?" Asked Ahsoka out of general curiosity and seeing the similarity in names
Raven sighed, knowing Ahsoka was able to sense thoughts like her and was not backing down "Uhh. No. it was written a long time ago before I was even born." Explain Raven, "It's about a man who is haunted by the memory of his lost love, and he slowly goes mad as he's haunted by a talking raven, who may or may not be some kind of demon."
"Interesting…spooky to say the least" Ahsoka said, shuddering a bit. "I'm curious though, know I'm not judging you, but you know a lot and seem to be clever with remarks…but you hide yourself in your books and almost willingly exclude yourself from your friends…why is this? As I thought it was maybe mine and Anakin's arrival that initiated you acting like this, but it seems to be common for you."
"It's just…I'm more of an introvert than they are." Raven explained "It's not that I don't care…its just…I'm different."
Ahsoka sensed the tad bit of insecurity of the Azrathean, and Raven knew it and went to look back into her book.
"You know…I'm different to. Us Jedi aren't the most normal, with the gifts we have and the rules we have to follow…which I'm sure you noticed" Ahsoka smirked, looking over to Beast Boy and using the force to push his drink onto him,
"Whuh?! Hey! Who did that?!" Beast Boy began to look around wildly "Awwww man!"
Ahsoka casually gave a whistle and looked in a different direction as if nothing happened as Raven chuckled a bit.
"Hehe…not bad…" she admitted "though its not as funny as the time we changed his shampoo, and he turned red for a week…"
"Oh, I WISH I could've seen that!" Said Ahsoka chuckling a bit, Raven even letting out a smallish laugh.
Watching from the couch was Anakin, who was glad to see Ahsoka being Ahsoka and being friendly to Raven.
The two girls kept chuckling until suddenly…
BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEP!
The Titans crime alert system had gone off.
"Trouble!" Said Robin as everyone gathered around the monitor to see what was going on "Hive Five attacking the mall…"
"A mall?" Asked CT-1776 a bit confused.
"Oh friend CT-1776 it is a WONDEROUS place" began Starfire "the mall of shopping is a bazar of many goods and services!" She said grabbing the Clone trooper towards her with some sparkle in her eye as she then began to go on about the stores at an American shopping mall and so on…
"Why attack this place? Does it hold any strategic value for these Hive terrorists?" Asked Anakin now in somewhat full general mode, pictures of Jinx, Mammoth, Gizmo, and the other members of the Hive Five onscreen.
"I wouldn't exactly call them terrorists per-say…" admitted Cyborg
"More juvenile delinquents that have a knack for causing mayhem…" explained Robin "they still are very dangerous and are not to be underestimated…we need to get going…TITANS GO!"
The Titans and Jedi were now off once again, the two clone troopers not far behind.
Explosions rang at the Jump City Mall as the Hive were doing their usual. Jinx the sorceresses of bad luck, Gizmo a kid genius, Mammoth the bulk and muscle of the team, See-More whose eye powers give Sauron a run for his money. Teenage delienquets the little gang was doing their usual…but were this time joined by a new group of allies.
"And you are confident the Titans will be here?" Asked a B-X Commando Droid, the Squad leader of its small taskforce assisting the Hive.
"Knowing those SNOT-BRAINS…oh yeah they will be HERE." Said Gizmo floating around with a bunch of stolen tech.
"Roger Roger…you will initiate contact and we will assist from a support by fire position and outflank the Jedi."
"Yeah yeah sounds good…as long as WE get PAID in the end" replied the boy genius.
The Commando Droid squadron now moved off as the Hive kept wrecking everything within the Jump City Mall.
As smoke and rubble was thrown about. Captain Rex and CT-1776 once again arrived by speeder bikes.
"Why is it always us getting thrown into this sir?" Asked the lower ranking trooper.
"Orders are orders…it's the life of a trooper…rather be us than some civilians…" replied the Captain as he energized his blaster.
"Well, well, well lookie what we got here." Said Gizmo hovering in the air, "Looks like someone's trying to play dress up. What a snot running loser."
"That's them! Blast THEM!" Said Rex as the two troopers began to blast away as the other Titans and the two Jedi showed up. Ahsoka being first.
The Tortugan jumped into the mall and was suddenly rammed into the side by a massive, long haired, yellow gold brasses and black outfit that knocked her and Rex into a lamp post. "Heh, lesson number one. Don't talk so much spacemen." He grinned and laughed.
Ahsoka grinned as she hopped back up.
"Heh..lesson two, don't mess with a Jedi!" using the force she lifted Mammoth and tossed him into a nearby building.
"Guhhh, owww.. What in the?" Mammoth held his head in pain, "How'd she do that?"
The Titans immediately jumped into the fray as well following. "Show's over Hivers!" Robin declared.
"Hrrmm. Great, the Titans AND some newcomers." Gizmo grinded his teeth, "Well we'll see just who comes out on top."
"Hm hm hm hm. I have a feeling luck may not be on their side." Jinx chuckled to herself.
"They will drown in the shadows." Kid Wykidd braced himself for battle.
"I got plenty of eyes that'll show these nuncies up for GOOD." See-More declared flipping between his different visors.
The battle quickly unfolded as Raven used her magic to take on Kid Wykidd, Cyborg and the Clones brawling it out with Mammoth.
Anakin now took on Jinx. He swung his lightsaber at her as she easily and gracefully dodged, doing a cartwheel away to give spacing between the two.
After evading another of Anakin's missed strikes she had quite the grin on her face
"Careful, pretty boy. I'm bad luck." Her eyes glowed a distinctive bright pink as suddenly the GROUND STARTED TO BREAK UP and move towards Anakin, structures falling down towards him.
Skywalker looked up and dodged the sudden collapse around him. He used his lightsaber to cut up other debris falling towards him. Anakin then began to launch his offensive against Jinx. Swinging his lightsaber at the enchantress of bad luck, Jinx only dodged and then began to kick at Anakin.
Easily dodging he then used a force push to send Jinx FLYING back towards a mail box.
CRASH!
Jinx now looked up at Gizmo who was floating above her, launching laser bolts.
"Say where are those robot pals of yours?" She demanded. And if on cue, the B-X commando droids now emerged from their concealed positions in a formed firing line.
"OPEN FIRE!" Ordered the droid squad leader as the droids began to blast everywhere and at both heroes and villians.
"Say! WATCH where your shooting demanded!" See-More as he took cover.
"CLANKERS! TAKE COVER!" Said Rex as he did so, Anakin and Ahsoka using their lightsabers to deflect the red blaster bolts as Raven used her magic to make a shield to cover the other Titans.
"Say WHATS THE BIG IDEA!" demanded Gizmo as he floated behind the Droid Squad leader "I thought we had an agreement?"
"You promised you would be able to terminate the Titans…you failed to complete your programming and are now irrelevant" coldly replied the Droid as he dodged blaster bolts.
"Right…HIVE FIVE LETS SCRAMM!" He said as the Hive Five retreated, leaving the Titans and co. to deal with the Battle Droids.
Beast Boy dodged the droid blaster bolts in the form of a bird and jumped to cover behind Rex who was blasting away at the commando droids.
"So I have a TOTALLY GOOD IDEA that can get us out of this…" began the Changeling as he morphed back into his human form.
"What is it?" Asked the Clone captain as he was now fully behind cover.
"Well…" he now comically leaned over and whisphered into Rex's ear and the Clone backed off…
"No…that WILL NEVER HAPPEN!"
"Oh COME ON…me turning into a T-Rex and you riding my back and shooting at these junk piles would be SO EPIC!" Pleased Beast Boy to which the Clone trooper just shook his head as he went back to firing and hit another droid.
Anakin slashed away at one of the commando droids before throwing another with a force push.
The last droid remained, and its head was BLASTED OFF by Starfire and her star bolts as she floated above it.
"Great shot!" Said Anakin as he disengaged and holstered his lightsaber.
"Why thank you Friend Anakin! You were most courageous today as well." She said as she now touched the ground.
Anakin smirked "oh it was nothing…nowhere near as impressive as your skills. You know the Tamereanean warriors are famous throughout our republic…"
Anakin now spoke with Starfire as Robin watched from a distance…a tad bit annoyed but keeping his composure as Ahsoka walked up to him now holding one of the Commando Droid heads.
"This whole thing was far too organized to be just a robbery by these Hive villians, I think…something else is at play…almost as if we were meant to respond to this" said Ahsoka
"No doubt your Separatist friends at work…but why work with the Hive Five? And not outright attack us again?" said Robin as other Titans and the two Clone Troopers began to regroup with the others…the camera now began to pan out and up towards space…
Back on the Invisible Hand several monitors showed all the same results…the Hive and the Droid taskforce all defeated.
"The mercenaries alongside our units have been…outwitted General Grievous" said the Tactical Droid as Grievous still sat there, his reptilian eyes the only visible portion of him aside from his shadowed silhouette as he proceeded to now stand up and walk forward still looking at the screens.
"As expected for these PRIMITIVE earthlings…" said the General as he now clenched his fist "the fools were defeated too quickly…they may have one today, but WE WILL ATTACK AGAIN!"
