Titans: Elemental

Chapter 33: Fractured

We see the rooftops of Jump City at night, under a fierce rain. The sound of a motorcycle engine is heard through the air as a laser blast blows out a streetlight; the shooter streaks down the block on his chopper, which is red and black. He has gray skin, long black hair under a steel helmet, and jagged stripe tattoos of the same color on muscular arms that extend from his sleeveless black T-shirt. This is Johnny Rancid.

He laughs and shoots out more lights as exhaust fumes drift over the pavement.

Rancid scrapes his blaster's barrel on the street as he yells, "boom! Yeah! Whoo-hoo!"

He keeps laughing as he brings up a weapon in each hand, and fires at will.

Rancid yelled, "yeah!"

A young man and woman approach their car, parked at the curb, only to see it blown away by Rancid's barrage. The girl screams and both run for cover as the phone booth near them gets hit, and Rancid zooms past.

Rancid yelled, "that's right! Run and hide! The streets belong to Johnny Rancid!"

A second engine revs closer, and he looks ahead. That sound came from Dick's motorcycle, plunging to the street with him on it. Rancid's eyes pop at the sight, and he guns the engine to pull ahead and avoid having all that weight come down on his head. Dick hits the street at a distance; both riders put their wheels into a tearing skid and stop facing each other.

Dick growled, "end of the road, Johnny."

Rancid laughed, "Nightwing, a little birdie name for a little birdie boy. You can't stop me", he revs up and pops a wheelie, "you can't even catch me!"

Laughing, Rancid peels out past Nightwing, and he flips onto his own rear wheel and starts the chase. Lightning tears the stormy sky as Rancid hunches over his handlebars and starts shooting at Dick. The hero swerves to avoid the blasts, fishes out a couple of discs, and hurls them ahead. Two well-placed shots blow them to dust.

Rancid laughed, "awww. Did big bad Johnny break the birdie's favorite toys?"

He speeds ahead as Dick tries to catch up. Off they go around a corner, with Dick pulling almost even with Rancid. The armed hooligan levels a blaster and fires off a new volley; one shot ricochets off the Cycle's windshield, while Dick steers expertly to dodge the others. He comes up on the other side and Rancid draws a new bead, but Dick strikes the gun from his hand and rams his chassis against the red-and-black one.

Rancid has been forced almost to the sidewalk. He nearly collides with a stack of crates, then kicks one loose from the next group he passes. It breaks open, releasing a great many oranges to go tumbling toward Dick; a few smash on his helmet and windshield, and he looks up through the pulp to find Rancid at close-quarters. The thug steers against the Cycle, causing it to overbalance. Both it and Dick slide across the pavement as Rancid stops for a moment.

Rancid laughed, "looks like you still need training wheels!"

He is off again, leaving the Titan to pound the pavement with a frustrated groan. A flash of lightning fills the area and clears to show a patch of dark sky.

….

We then see the bridge that spans Jump City Bay. Another strike of lightning, and we are in the street again; Rancid drives around a corner as Dick gets after him once more. They are heading for the bridge.

Rancid said, "you can't fight, you can't ride, and you can't win!"

Now on the bridge, he pops a wheelie and runs his bike straight up the rear end of a nearby car. The elevation boost allows him to slide onto one of the suspension cables. Dick widens his eyes at this feat of handling, then proceeds to match it. Up the incline they go, headlights blazing in the torrential storm. A lightning strike puts us back on the cable.

Rancid laughed, "face it, Bird-Boy. You're just a moron!"

He races ahead. This insult hits Dick exactly the wrong way, judging from his gritted teeth. Rancid pops a wheelie as he reaches the column to which the cable is attached and launches himself high over its top. Just as before, Dick stares wide-eyed and matches the move. The two riders ride in midair as Dick starts to descend from his impossible jump, then to a head-on view of Rancid. He brings his wheels down neatly on the high end of a different cable and rides down. In midair, the Cycle is dropping fast, but when Dick's face comes into view, his eyes are bugging out with fear. He is about to have a head-on collision with one of the columns.

An explosion at the pinnacle of the bridge marks the crash and is accompanied by Rancid's derisive laughter.

….

We return to Titans Tower the following morning. In the living room, Raven raises one glowing hand and holds it palm first to Dick on the couch. She touches his right arm, which is in a cast, and applies her healing energy.

Raven explained, "I've reduced the injury to a minor fracture, but you're still gonna need that cast for a few weeks."

She removes her hand; Dick groans disgustedly and flails the broken limb forward.

Dick groaned, "I don't believe this! How could I make such a stupid mistake?"

Starfire comes in and says, "please. No more Dick yelling at Dick."

Bryan has to cover Rose's mouth as she nearly bursts out laughing from the unintentional dirty joke.

Vic said, "yeah, man, stop kicking yourself. Accidents happen."

Dick said, "not to me, they don't."

BB exclaimed, "dude, I know just how to cheer you up!"

He vaults over the back of the couch and pulls out a marker.

BB said, "we all have to sign your…."

Dick gives a thoroughly fed-up glance.

BB muttered, "or not?"

He slithers off the couch.

Dick stands up and says, "look, guys. Thanks for the concern, but-",

Jack, Rose, BB, Blackfire, Bryan, Vic, Raven and Starfire all yell, "NO!"

They pile on and bear him back to the couch. Even Percy hops on top of them!

Starfire exclaimed, "you are in no condition to continue pursuing the Johnny Rancid!"

Blackfire exclaimed, "you need to rest!"

Dick clarified, "I know. I was just reaching for the remote."

Jack asked, "wait, what!?"

BB started to say, "you mean…."

Vic continued, "... You're not gonna be all crazy determined…."

Rose continued, "... And try to go out on your own…."

Starfire continued, "... And insist that you are fine when you clearly are not…."

Blackfire continued, "... Like you always do…."

They let him up as Dick walks to the windows.

Raven asked, "... And yell at us for trying to make you stay home?"

Jack asked, "as Blackfire said, like you always do?"

Dick holds up the remote and says, "you guys can handle Rancid without me. With this on my arm, I'd probably just mess up again. Go. Take him down", he turns to the windows, "I'll be just fine by my-"

His body seizes up and a choked little cry issues from his throat. The remote clatters to the floor by his feet.

Starfire gasped as BB exclaimed, "dude!"

Vic yelled, "Dick!"

Raven asked, "what's wrong?"

Bryan exclaimed, "did you eat something that didn't agree with you?!"

Dick is wracked by convulsions that cause his head to swell far out of proportion. Cries of pain are accompanied by a large lump growing in the center of his forehead; it soon ejects itself from his skin and he falls to the floor. The flesh-colored blob hits the carpet, bounces into the air, and forms itself into a small impish version of Dick, with a goofier looking blue bird on his chest, and a name tag that read, "the hero formerly known as Robin."

They exclaimed, "yaaaay! I made it! Nightwing! Hi!"

BB, Rose and Vic stare open mouthed, Starfire and Bryan have their hands over their eyes, Blackfire rubs her eyes to make sure she's seeing things right, Jack pinches himself to make sure he's not dreaming and Raven is her usual unflappable self.

Raven noted, "didn't see that coming."

Starfire and Bryan uncover their eyes as Dick stands up.

Dick asked, "who the heck are you?"

The Imp explained, "I'm, uh…. I'm you!"

This seems to fit into Dick's mind like a marshmallow in a coin slot.

….

We then see a computer graphic of two DNA strands side by side; one has Dick's face and fingerprint next to it, the other shows the Imp's, and they slide together to overlap. The images perfectly cover each other. The word "MATCH" flashes on both sides.

Vic explained, "DNA's identical. Little dude was right. He really is you."

The Imp starts bouncing across the room as he cheers, "we're DNA buddies! Yaaaay!"

Whooping and laughing, he runs back and forth as Dick groans, "you've got to be kidding!"

Bryan muttered, "and I thought me and Jack were weird siblings."

Jack lightly thwacked his brother over the head with a mock frown.

The Imp starts messing up the kitchen as he mutters, "Doodle-oot-doo-doo-doo…. Wow, look in here…. Cool", he plays with the door, "open, close. Open, close. Open, close. Open, close. Oh, this is fun. Haha!"

BB exclaimed, "hey! You're making a mess!"

With an ecstatic yell, the Imp reaches the couch in a single bound and takes a large bite out of the back cushions. He spits a mouthful out to one side, laughs, and zips away. Raven steps over to inspect the damage, only to be interrupted when the Imp sails past on one of her books.

Raven growled, "the Book of Azar is not a toy!"

The others all look on.

Dick groaned, "well, if someone was trying to clone me, they didn't do a very good job."

The Imp floats to him and showers Dick with spit as he says, "no, not a clone. I'm you, another you, from another universe."

His index finger lights up yellow, and a panel appears behind him.

The Imp said, "look!"

The panel shows a line segment marked 1D, then a square marked 2D, a cube marked 3D, a Picasso-esque drawing of Dick, and a planet, sun, and moon that show the Imp's face, the latter are labeled 4 9/8.

He said, "all the way from Dimension Four and Nine-Eighths…."

We also see a picture of Soto's head labeled 5, then pictures of the imp and the former Boy Wonder, then a picture of the two leaning against a DNA strand, and finally a set of bleachers filled with copies of himself. Several of them have removed their armor and painted letters on their chests to spell out Dick's name, and others hold up a banner.

The Imp exclaimed, "... Nightwing's double, DNA buddy, and number-one fan…. Nosyarg Kcid!"

The two words appear above his head as the clones of him start clapping. It then all suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. Dick is desperately trying to sort all this out, and Vic is doing little better for himself as the others stare on.

Jack said, "oh, I get it, it's Dick Grayson backwards!"

Starfire moves to Nosyarg, bear-hugging him as she says, "welcome to our universe, small amusing doppelganger!"

He moans happily and literally melts in her hands. He is now a babbling puddle of goo, with hearts floating up and his face still in one piece.

BB steps up and says, "yeah, nice to meet you, Nosey…. Nuzzy…. Uh…. Heh…. Uh, maybe we should just call you Ricky?"

Nosyarg reconstitutes himself in a heartbeat and floats in midair.

Nosyarg (Ricky) exclaimed, "my name is Ricky now! Yaaaay!"

He touches his finger to his armor and adds a name tag that reads; Ricky. Gabbling ecstatically and leaving a couple of bobby pins hanging in midair, he starts to zip all over the room and repeat his name time after time. He uses a megaphone emblazoned with his name, rowing a canoe over the Titans' heads, appearing on the window/screen, appearing as the original comic-book Nightwing while calling himself Mr. Ricky, running along a ledge behind BB.

Ricky zips up and begins shaking BB's hand furiously as he says, "hey, Ricky. Hi. How you doing, Ricky? Ricky!"

He turns away towards Starfire. Now he dresses as a Frenchman, complete with L-marked beret and takes her hand. Saying his name in the appropriate accent, he kisses the back of it and zips off; she blushes and giggles as hearts float in his wake.

Ricky pops up from Raven's shoulder and cloak and says, "Ricky! Hey, Ricky! Hi, how are you doing, Ricky?"

He disappears and suddenly pops out of Rose's vacant socket yelling, "see ya Ricky!"

Rose tries to run at the imp to strangle him, but Bryan and Blackfire are barely able to hold her back.

Ricky starts chewing Jack's staff, and he flings him off growling, "this is a mystical item, not a toothpick!"

Still repeating his own name, the runt pokes his head out of one shoulder panel on Vic then the top of his head, then looks out of the chest panel. When the bionic hero eases this last hatch shut, Ricky freewheels happily past him in midair.

Vic asked, "yeah. Um…. How the Hell do you do all that stuff you did?"

We see Ricky's upraised, glowing finger; he brings it down and stares gleefully into its light.

Ricky said, "magic finger. Bends the rules of reality."

He extinguishes it and briefly flicks out one item after another as if his fist were a Swiss Army Knife: a small saw, then a screwdriver, then a crayon. This last tool is what he wants; he quickly pulls out some paper and draws for a moment. When he finishes, he holds it up with a laugh. He has put together a comic book, Adventure Comics, with Dick on the cover.

"Featuring Nightwing! The, (former), Boy Wonder!"

The issue opens to the first page, putting the top left panels in frame. A stretch of the cosmos is pictured; Ricky stands in front of them.

Ricky said, "see, Dick's universe is here…. And Ricky's is here."

He turns the page to show a picture of himself who holds a card marked "RULES" next to smaller panels that frame everyone but Dick.

Ricky said, "and I bend the rules so I can watch my hero beat the bad guys all the time."

Ricky bends the card and the onlookers react with surprise in the pictures; BB has become a guinea pig. Ricky turns the page to show Dick pummeling Mad Mod, Slade, Doctor Light, and Cinderblock. A panel under this drawing shows Ricky watching and eating popcorn; he turns around and holds up his finger happily in the third panel. He once again turns the page to show panels that show the bridge across the bay, a helmeted Dick, and an X-ray of his shattered arm.

Ricky said, "but when he got hurt…. I knew Ricky could help."

Comic Ricky jumps to the panel's right edge, which is a door. He opens it and steps over the border into blackness; only his eyes can be seen.

Ricky said, "so I decided to pop over."

Lights flick on, a flashlight in his hand, a lamp set in a miner's helmet he now wears, and he looks around confusedly.

Ricky said, "but I goofed…."

We see an X-ray of Dick's head. Ricky's lights are shining in the hero's brain. We then see a row of three panels that show the convulsing Titan and the growing protuberance on his forehead.

Ricky said, "... and popped over inside your noggin."

Ricky closes the comic and puts it in his pocket.

Ricky said, "oops."

Dick, Bryan and Vic are skeptical as all get out.

Dick said, "yeah. Oops."

BB asked, "alternate dimensions? Bending realities? Ugggggh! All this science is hurting my brain!"

Ricky zips over, flips open the top of the green cranium, and slaps a Band-Aid on the mass of gray matter. He quickly claps the skull back together.

BB asks, "huh? Uh….", he smiles euphorically", …. Ohhh."

Jack muttered, "and I thought Mad Mod and Mumbo made me confused."

Rose said, "then you better hold off on meeting my brother…."

Bryan asked, "why, what're his powers?"

Rose said, "ya don't wanna know..."

Ricky asked, "see? Ricky's here to help."

He flies to Dick and arrives upside down.

Ricky said, "now watch me fix up that arm."

He zaps his magic finger at the hand emerging from Dick's cast, and both are flabbergasted when it turns into a hockey stick.

Ricky said, "oops."

A vein pops out on Dick's forehead, but an alarm and red flashing light stop both in their tracks. The screen shows a map of Jump City, a picture of Rancid, and a dot to mark his location.

Vic exclaimed, "Johnny Rancid! Downtown!"

Dick looks bemused at the piece of sports equipment that used to be his hand.

Dick said, "just go."

….

We later see the tower in the evening.

Dick is flipping channels on the TV.

First a chef in his kitchen. Then a horror movie depicting a young woman fleeing through a graveyard on a misty, moonlit night. She runs flat into a very tall figure and backs up. The obstacle is one of several half-decayed zombies shambling towards her. Just as they are about to get her, a black title card slides down into view, showing the title "Dead Will Walk" in big red letters. The channel then changes to a wrestling ring. One brawler stands atop a corner post and throws himself onto a prone opponent while his tag-team partner watches. As the jumper gets his target in a headlock, we see Dick and Ricky are on the couch in the living room. Percy is sitting nearby, snuggled up into a blanket.

Ricky has his magic finger fired up and stretched out. As Dick flips channels and a yell comes from the speakers, the plaster-covered right arm changes from a hockey stick to the following: an accordion, a candy cane, an elephant's trunk, a fish, a chainsaw, and a large lobster claw. Each mistake is accompanied by a cry of, "Oops", from the imp. He finally puts the broken limb back as Raven had left it.

Ricky said, "yaaaay! 'Kay. This time I'll fix it up just right."

Dick said, "let's just let it heal on its own."

Ricky backed off and asked, "hey, want to check in with the team on your communicator?"

He waves the finger, and the device appears in midair and flips open, sounding its ringtone.

Dick said, "they're fine."

Ricky is briefly disgruntled, but brightens again.

Ricky makes the computer system appear by Dick, "ooh! I bet you want to monitor the mission by computer!"

Dick says, "not really."

Ricky pops up behind him, holding a wrench, "oh. Then don't you want to patch up your motorcycle?"

Dick said, "no thanks."

Ricky pulled out a dumbbell and asked, "want to work out?"

Dick said, "no."

Ricky holds up a belt and asks, "clean your utility belt?"

A vein throbs on Dick's temple as he groans, "no."

Ricky backs up a bit. A mass of matter next to him shapes itself into a file cabinet.

Ricky asked, "alphabetize your crime files?"

The unit has started to tip forward, and one by one the drawers slide open, dumping their contents. A thoroughly ticked off Dick sits amid the shower of folders.

Ricky asked, "polish your wingdings?"

Several fall on him.

Ricky asked, "iron your old capes?"

A spare one flutters down onto the spiky head. Finally, he pulls it away, blows his cool, and stands up from the mess.

Dick yelled, "no, no, NO!"

Ricky lights up his finger.

Dick struggles to push him away.

Ricky said, "just let me fix your arm. Please? You'll feel all-"

Dick groaned, "no!"

The Titan and his number-one fan scuffle, rolling off the couch and around it toward the kitchen. The following words, interspersed with grunts and cries, are spoken together.

Dick groaned, "cut it out…. Get that thing away from…. Ricky…. Leave me alone!"

Ricky groaned, "come on... I can help... Let me help, let me help!"

Ricky goes flying straight up toward the ceiling and crashes to the floor near the kitchen. Glowing cracks spread around the point of impact, and they propagate further as he sits up and shakes his head to clear it. Holding up his magic finger, he is quite surprised to find it bent out of shape, with sparks spitting from its tip. Dick stands at a distance, and Ricky gasps as the cracks grow in all directions.

Dick said, "oops."

The damage reaches both sides of the kitchen, then the couch and walls. Dick fixes a bewildered stare on them as Ricky flies over.

Ricky said, "BIG oops."

….

We see the tower from the bayshore opposite Jump City. Flashes of light pop here and there on the top floor; these are followed by a wide, pulsating beam that shoots skyward from the roof. We see the radiation is pouring into the tempestuous clouds, which soon set off of their own free will and drift toward the urban city. Shimmering shafts pour down through rents in the lower surfaces.

...

We see Rancid's motorcycle as he is racing through the city, but a few starbolts from overhead force him into a bit of a course change. Starfire, Blackfire, Jack flying on a large rock with Rose and Bryan, Raven, and BB as a pterodactyl ridden by Vic, are flying after him; he simply guns the engine and roars ahead, and they do likewise. After Rancid has rounded a corner, Vic leads the charge and stops BB near the street.

Vic exclaimed, "Titans! Wha-?"

The clouds and beams are bearing down right on him, making the entire view waver in the brilliance.

The Titan's all get a close look at this!

Raven stated, "that can't be good."

Blackfire yelled, "no it cannot!"

They are enveloped in the beams and dumped to the ground, one after another.

After all have slid to the ground, tumbled on the pavement, they soon open their eyes with groans and raise their heads.

Their blurry views focus. The city has become the sort of brightly colored crayon drawing that might be done by a kid in preschool.

They all look in another direction, and we see another group of buildings in this style. A bird flies along, chirping happily, and a smiling flower stands near a fire hydrant. Starfire looks around the new architecture with complete befuddlement; a butterfly flits past, and Vic stands up.

Vic asked, "uh, why does the entire world look like it belongs on my grandma's fridge?"

Bryan looks at himself and sees that his arm looks like it's made of the area around them!

Bryan groaned, "great, just when I had gotten used to this!"

A line of flowers marches past Raven.

Raven said, "this is bad."

BB rushes back and forth, letting off a string of muffled cries and yells. The cause is revealed when he stops next to Raven: his mouth is missing.

Raven said, "okay, so it's not all bad."

He glares angrily at her. With one swift yank, he pulls her mouth from her face and slaps it into his own.

BB asked with Raven's voice, "will somebody please tell me what's going on?"

Jack said, "don't ask me. I'm still trying to figure this out. And I do NOT like hearing my girlfriend's voice comin' outta ya."

Raven mutely taps him on the shoulder and points upward as the sound of something falling toward them is heard. BB follows her gesture. Dick and Ricky scream and drop straight towards BB and Raven. She takes an impossibly long step off to one side, but he is a bit slow on the draw. Finally, he yells, still with Raven's voice, and tries to run, but Dick and Ricky crash down on top of him. Once the dust clears, Dick sits up and rubs his head; he and BB both groan, and Ricky pops up.

Ricky exclaimed, "we're still alive! Yaaaay!"

A glob of spit shoots from his mouth and splashes into Dick's face, making that temple vein throb anew as he wipes himself clean.

Starfire exclaimed, "Richard!"

The others rush over.

Vic asked, "what happened?"

Dick groaned, "yeah. What happened? Ricky…. "

A small strawberry floats past the inter-dimensional visitor. BB stands up with another woozy groan.

Ricky said, "'member how I can bend reality? Well, when you pushed me, we kind of broke it."

Dick asked, "you broke reality?"

Ricky said, "we did, together", Dick grabs him, "oops", he is yanked in close.

Dick yelled, "fix it! Now!"

Ricky holds up his sparking finger and says, "can't. Heh. Magic finger's broke, too."

He gives a placating smile, but it does no good. Dick carries him over to the others.

Dick said, "Raven! Fix his finger!"

She has no immediate response, since her mouth has been commandeered. A quick look around shows Vic to be the closest Titan who still has one, so she tears it loose and installs it.

Raven said with Vic's voice, "not a good idea. Mixing my powers with his could destroy the dimensional boundaries and nullify all existence."

Jack said, "and don't even ask me to use my magic. I doubt a fire ball can fix this."

BB said with Raven's voice, "who cares? I just want my mouth back!"

Ricky pops up and says, "no problem, no problem! If anybody can fix reality, it's my hero Nightwing!"

Ricky jumps over and gives Dick a big hug.

Dick asked, "what makes you think I can fix it? I don't even understand how we broke it!"

Vic swipes Starfire's mouth.

Vic said with Starfire's voice, "well, somebody's gotta clean up this mess. Come on, y'all!"

The three borrowed mouths are quickly returned to their proper owners.

Vic sajd, "we're heading for Titans Tower!"

He sets off down the street, followed by Raven, Jack, Rose, Bryan, (who was still staring at his drawn-on arm), and the mumbling BB. Dick stops to stare after them and is joined by Starfire and Blackfire.

Starfire asked, "Richard. You are feeling okay?"

Dick, "the universe is falling apart because I made another stupid mistake. How would you feel?"

Blackfire said, "pretty crappy…."

Ricky floats over, his finger heavily bandaged.

Ricky said, "hey, DNA buddy, look", he taps Dick's cast, "now we're cast buddies too!"

Dick says sarcastically, "yay."

….

We see a street in Jump City. The clouds and light float over a street, turning it to a simple, garish version of itself. Screams are heard, and soon, several panicked residents, their normal selves, are seen fleeing before a tank that rolls towards them. It rolls past, after which a fellow, dressed as the title character from Gilligan's Island, runs across the street and is chased by two angry dogs. More panic-stricken people run past Ricky and the Titans. Their pursuer: an eight-foot tall guinea pig, standing on its hind legs and growling like a mad dog.

After the creature has run by, BB looks off in a certain direction and starts to flail his arms with a muffled scream. At a point down the street; the unaffected Tower stands in the distance, that shaft of white light still issuing from its roof as others lance down from the clouds.

Ricky said, "yaaaay! Oh, and I betcha Dick's already got a super, smart plan for what to do when we get there."

Dick groaned, "I'm just hoping we get there before we all go completely insane."

Raven, whose hair now resembles that of the Bride of Frankenstein: standing straight up in an electro-shock bouffant, with lightning streaks up the side.

Raven said, "ditto."

Jack slides up next to her, his eyes sparking blue as he said, "if we weren't in this situation, I'd say that look was kinda cute on you."

Raven smirked and said, "maybe I can dress like this for Halloween?"

This made Jack blush and grin.

Starfire walks up and says, "do not despair", wings sprout from her head, "our goal is in sight", it pops loose and flies up, "the journey cannot last much longer."

Her body jumps up and down, trying to catch the fluttering head. BB grunts and points down the street; we see several people in full retreat before a huge reptilian creature that comes out from behind a building, breathing fire and roaring as it stomps along. Planes fly past, and the group stares dumbfoundead; Starfire has seized her cranium.

Vic said, "actually, this could take a while."

Rose said, "a LOOOOONG while."

The entire block starts to rotate as if on the surface of a turning sphere, and a paper cutout of the sextet moves past, attached to the end of a stick. The green beast comes after them in like manner, after which the view shifts to a different area and individual cutouts flee in six different directions. Now seen as their three-dimensional selves, they rush down another street; BB ducks behind a lamppost to stay out of the monster's view. He is seen sweating profusely as a large drop slides down his temple, and he wipes his forehead and lets off a silent sigh.

Suddenly, the sound of chomping is heard from below. BB lets off a loud grunt as his eyes bug out; he steps aside from the post. Near its base, with a shred of his outfit caught in its teeth from the bite it just took, is his missing mouth. The entire pole gets up and runs back and forth, with the inarticulate Titan hot on its heels, and here come Ricky and the rest of the Titans chased by the green monster.

The monster clumps along, the team are going flat out, and the view slides away to the left to be replaced by a close-up of their panicked faces. We then see them at the entrance to a tunnel, and pull back to show it at the top of a flight of stairs leading down to a subway station. They remain motionless and silent as the behemoth passes nearby on the street. Back to them.

Ricky yelled, "yaaaaaaaay!"

That yell brings the vein up on Dick's forehead. Five cats suddenly appear in front of the dumbstruck Titans. The grinning lamppost runs past, chased by BB, and the monster reaches down to rip the tunnel arch away, scaring the cats away and exposing the fugitives. The beast roars down at them!

….

We see Jack, Dick, Bryan, Vic, Rose, Raven, Blackfire and Starfire, all very scared, float slowly across the area from different angles; in front of these, the Titans and Ricky run through and are chased by the beast. After all have gone, BB pops up and looks around. The post with his mouth steps into view at a distance and soon zips away again; he starts off after it.

As BB chases the post, the other's mad dash across the area behind him. The fleeing eight pass in front, at which point the green goofball and city fixture both stop in their tracks and gape. Down comes one scaly green foot in front of them; when it steps off, the post is gone. BB looks down, clapping hands to head in surprise. His mouth is now floating on a rivulet of water toward the sewer, and as it disappears beneath the street, he reaches vainly toward it. A moment later, the dejected Titan is yanked away by his buddies and Ricky as they pass, keeping just ahead of that gigantic foot.

….

We see a boat at the water's edge. Everyone piles in and pushes off, leaving the monster ranting on land; a bottle containing a message floats past, followed by shark fin. Without any warning, the boat springs a leak and sinks very quickly.

A few moments later, underwater; one after another, they descend within large air bubbles, Starfire's head and body contained separately. A large whale swims past and swallows the entire group whole.

In its gut, Vic is first to put his head up, turning on his shoulder-mounted flashlight, and Bryan does the same with his glowing eye, and Dick, Jack, Rose, Blackfire, BB, Raven, and Starfire's body surface. Ricky is carried up on the Tamaranean's winged head, which is still in a bubble.

….

Outside, near the floor of Jump City Bay. The whale swims contentedly by, but is brought up short when its hide starts to bulge due to a ruckus inside. It finally lets off a great belch, allowing everyone to escape: they have fought their way out, and the view dissolves to the exterior of the Tower, seen from water level. The structure and its island are still normal, and the shafts of light are still playing here and there from the clouds above.

Bryan and Vic climb onto dry land, followed by Raven and then Dick, and walk toward their home. Ricky joins them after a second with Jack, Blackfire and Rose.

Ricky yelled, "yaaaay! We made it! Now Dick can save the universe!"

Rose whispered, "that sound dirty to anyone else?"

Bryan and Jack nodded while Blackfire was holding in a laugh.

Ricky zips ahead as BB steps up, clapping water from his ears as he approaches. He looks down and his eyes pop. His mouth has washed up on a rock. Carefully, he gets hold of it, looks it up and down, and sticks it back on his face, but the protruding lower tooth, which should be on the left side of his mouth, is on the right instead. He has put it on the wrong way. Behind him, Starfire walks past, gripping her head firmly.

Starfire exclaimed, "Beast Boy, wonderful! You have recaptured your mouth!"

She puts herself back together and the wings above her ears disappear. The others have continued toward the Tower; a fish is now stuck in Raven's hair.

Raven said, "yeah, but I think he put it on backwards."

His next words prove her right.

BB said in reverse, "pelh! I t'nac dnatsrednu tahw m'I gniyas!"

They all step up to the door. A small hatch opens to reveal a panel beneath; Vic places a palm on it to be scanned, and the security system beeps a bit. This is followed by a large tongue protruding from the door to blow a loud raspberry at them.

Vic said, "I knew something like that was gonna happen."

Bryan said, "me too."

Rose said, "same here."

BB, as a falcon, flies up toward the roof and is followed by everyone else in the merry band. Raven carries Dick, while Starfire is toting Vic, Blackfire hoists up Rose as Bryan rides on a floating chunk of Earth with Jack.

They get to roof level: BB comes in for a landing and reverts to human form, staring at the wide swath of radiance emerging from the concrete.

The others all walk forward.

Raven fiddles with her hair. It first turns into a turkey, then the Leaning Tower of Pisa and finally back to its normal style.

Jack said, "glad to see that little number again."

Raven smirks at him.

During Raven's fiddling, BB says, "edud, I dluoc erats ta taht rof sruoh."

Vic, "so how do we close it?"

Bryan, "good question, since I want my normal arm back!"

"You don't!"

Everyone looks to see Rancid is there, climbing onto an equipment housing.

Rancid growled, "whatever this thing is, it controls the city. And now the city belongs to Johnny Rancid!"

He jumps off the edge of the housing and launches himself directly at the blinding vortex, his form fading partially away as he plunges.

Dick rushes in and yells, "no!"

The fuzzy black outline straightens up and lets off a hearty roar as the surrounding light goes blood-red. The tower expands into a pillar of flame. On the roof, Ricky and the Titans shield their eyes and then behold the motorcycle punk beginning to emerge from within the scarlet interior. His voice is now a couple of tones lower and significantly more menacing.

Rancid laughed, "Bird-Boy!"

His shirt and tattoos are gone, the eyes have become fierce red points, and he has grown considerably in both height and musculature.

Rancid growled, "ready for me to clip your other wing?"

He gives a menacing smirk as the city is hit by the wave that spreads to turn it into a dim, twisted, blighted nightmare metropolis under a blackly clouded sky. The fiery column is still raging on the roof.

Raven said, "cool…. Uh, I mean, oops."

Jack said, "BIG oops."

Bryan said, "MAJOR OOPS."

Rancid strides toward them; his tattoos have reappeared and turned red, and a streak of this color has appeared in his hair.

Rancid exclaimed, "your city is mine! Your reality is mine!"

Rose exclaimed, "the one time we need the Justice League!"

Lightning strikes as Rancid laughs insanely. Reaching into his belt, he brings up a pair of jagged, curved blades and fires red bolts from their tips: a frighteningly potent alteration of the blasters he carried earlier.

Dick is the target, but Vic plows him away an instant before the shots hit the spot. An explosion goes up from the edge of the roof, and at its surface the two Titans slide across as a little debris bounces past.

Vic yelled, "Titans! Go!"

Rancid has his hands outstretched, palms down, and energy streams from them to form a jumbo-size version of his original chopper, its headlight blazing. A quick hop puts him in the seat; he revs the engine, brings the craft around with a screech of tires, and charges straight at Raven, Bryan and Starfire. They scatter and he lifts off the roof, leaving a trail of flames in his wake.

Rancid exclaimed, "come on, Bird-Boy! Let's see if you can fly!"

Vic runs up and raises his left fist. It launches off the arm, still connected to the wrist by a long cable, and the hand wraps all five fingers around the rear fender as a makeshift grappling hook. The line pulls tight and yanks Vic off the roof with a yell; he is dragged higher and higher, and Rancid levels one of his new weapons at the stowaway and fires. The blast snaps the connection and drops him screaming into the bay.

Blackfire and Starfire pitch a couple of high-energy sliders at the monstrous hoodlum, who is now riding fairly low above the water. He dodges their shots, grins maliciously back up at them, and sweeps the bike so low that his tires cleave the liquid. More swerving puts him in the clear from their next blasts, but they streak down after him and almost end up in the drink themselves. Rancid hocks up a wad of phlegm and spits it at the pterodactyl BB; it tumbles through the air, curves improbably, and splatters right into the beaked face. He plummets into the bay, very nearly crashing with the charging Starfire and Blackfire, and pokes his head up after she has passed. Back in human form, he spits out a mouthful of water.

BB said in reverse, "kcuy! dicnar eigool!"

Having gained some altitude, Rancid dodges more starbolts and fires into the high clouds. The blast tears them open to send down a curtain of red lightning bolts;

The sisters very quickly find themselves wrapped up in the glowing tendrils and reeled up into the thunderheads. The rent seals itself, almost like a zipper being secured, and puts them out of sight. Rancid pulls into view just above the water, smiling wickedly back at the sight, but his face soon registers shock; ahead of him, Raven drops into view. With Jack right next to her on a chunk of Earth.

Raven growled, "you want dark? I'll give you dark! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Michael shoots a bolt of lightning at Rancid as Raven hurls a spell straight toward the foe, who grins and fires a sustained burst right back at them. The energies meet at a point between them and cancel out; Rancid's starts to overpower Raven's and Jack's, but the situation soon reverses itself.

Rancid powers the cycle and his beam ahead, forcing the couple to start backing up in order to keep from stopping both with their faces. As Rancid drives, his energy overwhelms the others and a huge explosion momentarily obscures all three. When it clears, he rides laughing toward the urban center and Raven and Jack splash down into Jump City Bay.

Putting their heads up, they try to fly away, but they are surprised at being unable to do so. The "water" has become some viscous, gluey liquid that resists their attempts to pull loose. In the city, a colossal fireball roars up among the buildings.

Dick and Ricky are watching from the roof of the Tower. More explosions go off during the following lines.

Ricky yelled, "Titans go! Titans go! Nightwing has to beat the bad guy!"

Dick groaned, "I can't."

Ricky asked, "but why can't you? You're Nightwing!"

Dick yelled, "don't you get it?! Look at me! I'll just mess it up again!"

Ricky asked, "so? I mess up all the time, but I still try. That's how come you're my hero, Dick. Because no matter what, you always try."

These words set Dick thinking for a few seconds; he comes out of the reverie with a broad smile that Ricky cheerfully returns.

….

We see Rancid in flight through the city; he unleashes bursts on the buildings and laughs at the destruction.

Rancid laughed, "bam! Yeah! Gotcha! Yeah, take that!"

More laughter, which is suddenly cut off by something blue flashing past. We see Dick's motorcycle, now also in midair. It is in proper working order, with Dick at the throttle and Ricky riding the little scooter seen in the opening sequence. This is attached to Dick's bike.

Ricky cheered, "Ricky fixed the bike!"

Rancid's jaw hangs slack for a second, a bit of drool oozing over it; a quick shake of the head brings him back to himself, and his face goes bright red with rage. His next line is delivered with enough force to shake the phone the writer is using to write this story with!

Rancid, "yeah! And it's the stupidest thing I've ever seen!"

Dick, "have you looked in a mirror lately?"

Rancid's response is to bring the chopper around in a shrieking arc, ready to come right at them. Dick just yawns in a bored fashion and Ricky leans back. This prompts an enraged growl from the gray sociopath, which is followed by Ricky's giddy laughter. Now Rancid's growls intensify as his bloodshot eyes water and drool streams back through his teeth; he aims the front wheel straight at the pair, who simply float straight up and avoid a collision. The red-and-black bike comes around to a stop, leaving Rancid to watch Dick and Ricky descend back to his level.

In a flash, the little imp is jumping out of his seat. He changes his outfit into that of a bullfighter, gold-trimmed red jacket, green hat and pants, and waves a small red cape. Thoroughly incensed by this provocation, Rancid snorts steam from his nose, snarls, and guns the engine. Just as he is about to mow the pair down, they rise away.

Ricky cheered, "Olé!"

He and Dick descend again; now back in his seat, he restores his normal clothing. A red blast lances between them, almost taking both heads off, and Ricky screams as Dick cuts his wheel to one side and lays rubber out of there. The gun battle ranges all over the twisted buildings of Jump City; as Rancid bears down on the N-Cycle, Dick whips out a wingding and lets fly. It whizzes past the red-and-black-haired madman.

Rancid laughed, "ha! You missed!"

The projectile continues on its trajectory a bit longer, then doubles back. We sew Rancid, weapon at the ready, but a flash of the flying blades slices it apart in his hand. The severed piece tumbles toward the streets far below, sparking a fresh wave of hatred that makes him rev his engine and speed ahead. He pulls even with Dick and steers into him; knocked away, Dick and Ricky drive around a building and pull back in. This time, Ricky screams in terror as the two choppers lock fenders. Just in time, the motorcycles separate and go around a structure on opposite sides, then ram into one another again once they are clear.

Rancid lifts one red-crackling hand and shoves it into Dick's face; Ricky counters with a shout and a blast from his magic finger. This shot strikes Rancid's hair, covering it with a mass of flowers and making him yell in surprise, but he quickly shakes the blooms loose. Now Dick brings up one steel boot sole for a kick that goes squarely into the crazed biker's jaw; he and his wheels are knocked loose from the N-Cycle and pushed down.

Dick and Ricky drive on, keeping an eye or four out for Rancid. No sign of him, but then that garish chopper roars up behind, tracing a spiral of flames in the night sky.

Rancid, "you can't beat me! You're just a stupid, little, kid!"

His throttle wide open, Dick pulls out a grappling hook and fires upward. The line snags on an elevated railroad track, and as he passes underneath, he lets the N-Cycle go and swings over the structure. Rancid zooms underneath, after which the Titan comes hurtling down with a feral yell and an extended boot. The enemy has just enough time for one panicked look over his shoulder before the steel toe finds his jaw and nearly removes it. The abandoned motorcycle tumbles behind them.

Ricky, meanwhile, has gone into free fall, and his extended finger pounds into Rancid's face. There is a mighty flash, which clears to show the area of the midair battle; the thug plummets from here and has a very painful meeting with the centerline of the street. The impact sends up thick clouds of dust and smashes a deep crater in the pavement; when it clears, Rancid sits up groaning, back to his normal self, as Dick and Ricky bring the N-Cycle down to hover nearby.

Dick, "so, Johnny, what's it like having your butt kicked by a stupid little kid?"

Rancid stares incredulously up at them for a moment, then faints with a final groan.

We see several panicked residents as an enormous, pudgy, green-gloved arm with a glowing index finger rises: Ricky's injury is healed. The digit stands over the city and swivels like a lighthouse to cover the entire area; a flash of yellow, and Jump City is back to normal. Morning has come.

We later see the shore of the Tower. Its light vortex is gone, and the Titans are all together.

Vic, "ahhhh. Back to reality."

Vic has reattached his left hand.

Bryan is cradling his robotic arm as Rose pats his back.

Starfire exclaimed, "everything looks so joyous and wonderful!"

Raven said, "yeah. Any chance we could change it back?"

Blackfire said, "yeah, it looked pretty cool."

Jack said, "don't worry, there's always Halloween."

Ricky twirls into view, riding Percy with a cowboy hat!

Ricky said, "see, Dick? We fixed everything! Yaaaay!"

BB said in reverse, "olleh! Od I dnuos dexif ot uoy?"

Ricky said, "um…. That'll just wear off, sooner or later."

Bryan said, "let's hope it does."

Dick said, "thanks, Ricky. But before you head back home, how about fixing my arm?"

Ricky asked, "another chance? Really? Even though I might mess up?"

Dick said, "just give it your best shot."

Ricky exclaimed, "yeah!"

He points the magic finger straight ahead….

….

…. We see Dick with a white ground behind him. The cast on his arm glows and disappears.

Dick said, "it's perfect! Ricky, you did it! Uh…."

He stands up. There is absolutely nothing around him: no Tower, no Jump City, no fellow Titans, and certainly no Ricky.

Dick asked, "Ricky?"

The little guy's healing did not bend or break the rules of reality, it threw them out the window, and wiped reality itself off the map in the bargain.

Dick called out, "Ricky?"

Ricky said, "oops…."

Needless to say, it took the writer of this story a little while to fix THIS problem…. He didn't mind retconning a few stupid things in the DC continuity, though….

….

Reviews:

Angry9guy: I dunno….

EShrew: …. You don't have to be a jerk about it….

CNguy: thanks.

Bailey Radcliff: glad you liked the chapter. Hope you have been doing well these last few months.

Canadude2029: yeah, the betrayal hits hard.

pokemonking0924: same here.

SuperSentai199: same here. This episode really hits hard. Thank you.

….

Author Note:

A big change in this episode was changing Larry's name to Ricky, since I thought it made way more sense, since Ricky and Dick are both names you can call someone named Richard.

Sorry it's been a long time since I've updated these stories. A lot of stuff has happened in my life as of late. Moving, new job, new dogs, new stories, a death in the family, and someone close to me getting sick.

It's been a lot.

I'll try to update stories more frequently in the future….