INNER DEMONS

by The Mighty One

Chapter 44 has been completed! Blackfire struggles to claim her prize outside The Jump City Observatory. The elemental wielders of ice and earth, are evenly matched at Titans Tower; Raven formulates a strategy with Avatar and The Squadron heroes, as the contest for Cyborg, reaches an unpleasant dilemma of its own. Meanwhile, Falcon and Elizabeth make their move.

43. The Ultimate Vengeance

Disclaimer: By this means, I rightfully claim ownership to this FanFiction story and my original character within it, by my trademark signature T.M.O at the conclusion of every update. Any other characters that may appear in this work and are new, these are the rightful properties by their creators as well and cannot be reproduced, or duplicated without their individual consent. I do not own anything within the DC Universe, from Warner Brothers, or on Cartoon Network. The only original character and the name that I created for him; that I accept half ownership on is Falcon from this telling. Scififanfreak222 owns the second half of him as well, for drawing him upon a collaboration of various new designs and sketches within the year of 2010; and cannot be knowingly placed into another literary document, writing community, comic book series, and or televised broadcast without either of our written or verbal consent in front of legal consultants. TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne, Scififanfreak222, xSaffire55x, Novus Ordo Seclorum, and RavenxIsxAxBlackxRose; each of these fellow writers have helped me to press onwards with this story, every-time I have come across writers block. Without their outstanding guidance, the updates would have taken me even longer to complete.

Chapter 43 is here! With the entire world watching, the conflict has dragged the sleeping residence of Jump City, and abroad, into making a difficult choice; leaving the heroes on a precarious edge. The great deceiver is several moves ahead, fear spreads, as the pendulum of obstacles has been unleashed. Time . . . is running out. "Paintings and fightings are best seen at a distance." - Benjamin Franklin - (1706 - 1790)

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Chapter 43 - The Ultimate Vengeance

Emergency lights flashed on and off through the darkness, swirling in a crimson haunting glow, around the multitude of halls and stairwells.

Gigantic plumes of smoke, began rising into the darkness, visible for people to see far across the harbor.

A high pitched whine, of the central alarm system continued to blare loudly. It was like an air raid siren in the city of London, during The Blitz in 1940, warning civilians to immediately take shelter.

Everything was disorienting, and an increasingly worrisome mess of problems.

Grey smoke enveloped The Common Room, pouring outside in a very appalling fume. It was thick, carrying a disgusting smell that one could taste it on their tongue.

Titans Tower had been hit with multiple missiles, where incredibly . . . it was still standing.

There was a fire happening at the base level, and it was spreading. The smell of whatever was burning, began to coalesce from the flames that were scattered.

Sparks hissed and popped from frayed wires, giving the atmosphere an eerie firefly sort of vibe. Rain cascaded inside, where a gaping hole had blown the windows across the outside wide apart, leaving behind a horrific sight.

The overhead sprinklers suddenly turned on to extinguish the flames. This generated thicker smoke.

Thunder boomed, as lightning zig-zagged across the darkened sky, where a massive hole within the lounge area, was at last becoming obvious.

The blast had carved out a jagged opening, which the attackers could now infiltrate at their leisure.

What had once been the comfortable place to view the world, revealing the cityscape for anybody inside, was gone. Puddles were spreading, as light fixtures swayed back and forth as though they were branches of a rundown tree, that was falling to pieces.

The solid and prominent floor within The Common Room, was a sight all too familiar with a war zone. The destruction was likened to the aftermath of a tornado, or a hurricane, having ripped apart the outer structure of a farm or home, in the mid-west.

The rockets left many impact craters, and blackened burned blotch marks across the ground and walls.

What was once a peaceful, wholesome, and clean area, The Command Center was now in disarray. It was the main gathering place for the teenagers, to rest and to formulate their efforts. Now, only a fraction of the floor remained unscathed.

Everything else had become ruined, torn apart, crumpled and broken into unrecognizable rubble.

Amenities, which were of importance to the teenagers who lived here, everything in this room that was not instantly vaporized by the long window, had become displaced. The items that remained closer to the sofa area, had also been heavily impacted from the repeated concussive shockwaves.

Random components of everyday things, stuff that a person would decorate the walls and room with; pictures, posters, ferns in pots, even the music player and video game consoles, the chairs and tables had been destroyed.

Glass lay scattered, while the gigantic flat screen, that hung in front of the long windows, it acted as one final barrier to absorb the blast.

The iconic sofa that The Teen Titans enjoyed countless memories together on, that the teenagers wrestled across, that they ate their meals, and they battled their skills in games and reading, was demolished. The kitchen however, partially nestled within a corner, was intact.

A low groan of suffering, eventually seeped out from beneath the mess that was the computer station. A hand pushed debris out of the way, it was Beast Boy!

The green hero had been sitting in his wheelchair, overlooking the cameras when the attack hit.

In split seconds, his super-human abilities as a hummingbird and cheetah, these reflexes caught glimpses of the incoming barrage nearing the long panorama windows, from his very seat.

An average person would not react quickly enough, where the injured lad rolled himself backwards, sprawling under the table onto his stomach, to offer some layer of protection. Throwing his hands over his head, and keeping his mouth open were the only physical actions that he could muster.

Explosions erupted, followed by a blinding flash of white light! A long and haunting blackness of utter dark, consumed all sights and sounds. Ash and white powder coated everything.

Am I . . . dead?

*Beast Boy!*

The plea from Terra echoed. Her voice was somewhere still out on the beach, and it crackled through a handheld walkie-talkie, his spare.

*Terra to Beast Boy . . . do you . . . do hear me? Over?*

There was another lingering popping loop of static.

*Beast Boy. Please respond . . .*

He propped himself upright. Unable to fully stand or see, where he forced himself forwards through the gap, that was wedged as the make-shift fallout shelter.

Coughing from the inhalation of smoke, tears filled his vision.

"I . . . I am . . . ALIVE!?"

The sharp ringing in his eardrums caused momentary discomfort, yet it dissipated, while The Tower's fire alarm continued the unpleasant ruckus.

"Dang, that is loud!"

As the fires were doused out, he reached onto his belt to turn off the device, from a small compartment. All of his teammates carried one, to warn of an impending attack. It was like the panic button on the key fob to a car, small and readily available.

He blinked his eyes, as dust particles clung to his eyelashes, and his attire was coated in the very haunting white powder of soot and dust, which was everywhere. He rubbed his neck after struggling to crawl towards what was originally, the middle of the room.

Beyond this spot, the building was completely open, the circular table that was placed in front of the sofa had been shattered, a slab of roof lay on-top of it. The ceiling was covering barely a fraction of anything now.

The material that made up the walls and flooring, all along the windows facing the dockyard at the beach were bent and mangled inwards. The iron, steel brackets, and trusses, were exposed to the elements. These had also become twisted and crumpled.

Using one hand, he collected rain that cascaded like a waterfall into the room, and he brought the liquid to wash his face. Spitting out the chalky powder buried deeply within his lungs, he took an inhaling breath, to reorient himself with the situation.

"Man, that was too close!" The teenager glanced about the room, which caused him to frown. "Oh man! Cyborg is going to kill me!"

The stinging within his upper arms made him wince. Beast Boy looked around for his wheelchair, as his body became firm.

There was very little that he could do, and his injuries from The Hydroelectric Dam, had not fully healed. His heart continued to pound faster, as he clutched at his chest with one hand, trying to ease the roaring inferno that stung his biceps.

A person who was participating in a marathon, or in a competitive grudge match would relate. One's throat is scorched, seconds feel like hours in the tense struggle, and muscles all over the body sting, to the point of severe cramping such as in the hip.

*Terra calling Beast Boy! . . . Respond!*

"Where is that blasted thing? I last had it -"

The changeling's green eyes bulged wide, and he began to hyperventilate, "Oh No! - no - no - NO!"

The spot he dragged himself out from, revealed the wheelchair.

It was on laying one side, as the handles an aid would grasp, were bent and mangled. One of the wheels was missing, while the mechanism itself that could be seen, the fabric and cloth was tattered and frayed, smashed beneath a mound of debris.

The spare walkie-talkie he had been using, the main link to Terra, it was somewhere in that pile. He could dig for it, but it would take time, and he was confused by how much had already passed.

How are the others doing? This is bad, but I cannot give up. They wouldn't quit if I were in need of help!

His mind raced with ideas, he wanted to find some method that could be of use. This was the greatest challenge he was faced with, Slade was making his move, and the teenager was unable to join in the fight, when his family needed him most.

"Dang it!"

With no options left, he wiggled himself in front of the hole, searching for the communicator.

*Beast Boy!?*

His ears twitched. A new wave of energy coursed through him that he had very rarely felt. A concoction of endorphins sped through the brain, it caused his heart to beat in overdrive.

The green teenager was trying to formulate some way to achieve victory, and the aftermath around Titans Tower, his home, was making him feel defeat was already upon him. This palpable dread, was causing his hands to tremble.

He had no means of mobility left, other than to crawl. He was at this very moment, a sitting duck.

"How could we be so blind!?" His rasping voice became softer, "He kept letting us fall right into his traps, exactly as he laid them out!"

He had no cards left to play, the training droids were sent out to help his allies, who upon last observation, from their signals on the main screen, were scattered and unable to communicate.

They were, for the unfortunate reality of the present moment, on their own.

Beast Boy's only avenue left, was to stay in touch with the one person who could do anything to solve that crisis. The fact that her voice was heard, that alone sent him profound hope!

"That's right! Terra and the others are in serious trouble. I need to find it. Please! God, don't let the only thing that I can do, be lost!"

What is this? An increased heart rate? The moisture of sweat, clinging to your brow? Over exposure to danger making your arms ache?

He squirmed and tossed the layers of broken items away, ignoring the potent voice inside his head.

The hero continued digging, faster and harder with salty moister cascading down his face, while throwing the obstacles far behind him.

You are out of time.

His increased heart-rate pushed him to ignore the pain, the soreness of his arms, the burning in-between his joints.

"Maybe so, but I will find a way."

Brave of you boy, but at what point does this idiosyncrasy matter, when that is not enough?

The concern had always been about completing the mission, and the young teenager was entirely focused on that task. Still, this dark voice was one he had heard before, and the tiny hairs on his neck began to tickle him.

"Damn!" Beast Boy slammed his fist into the floor. "He hit us, with everything he had, and no matter what we do, or how we react, he is always one step ahead! Think . . . think . . . there must be something I can do!"

You refuse to answer me. You cannot hide from what we both know, to be the truth.

As he stopped to catch his breath, he went back to searching.

Do you believe, that any form that you can try . . . is going to carry this fight for you? There are none that can.

He knew exactly what this voice inside of his head was. The image of the tall cloaked figure, standing on the grassy hill flashed across his mind. The hood that covered its face, revealed a pair of glowing eyes, as the only feature to be exposed.

It rapt him with fear.

It was the chaperone that met him, when Raven put him under the trance those many days long since passed. The very entity that appeared, while he was still in the hospital.

The familiarity of this rasping tone, and the atmosphere of the storm happening now, was poetic. He did not want to give in.

"Not yet."

The view of the submarine, that had emerged along the shoreline was still there, and this made his eyes bulge wide.

You will see. Broken, trapped, beaten and alone . . . there will be nothing else that can be done, except one final thing.

*Beast Boy!*

"Here Terra! I'm here."

At last, he found it. He held the spare walkie to his lips, his hand was trembling, as his voice cracked from excitement.

*Oh, thank GOD!* There was a static pop on her end, and she continued, *What good are these things, if you yourself won't respond!?*

The green cloaked entity within Beast Boy's mind suddenly faded, but the tremble in his hands remained.

"I - I didn't mean to make you worry. My bad."

*I'm coming back to -*

"What? No! Listen to me. Terra, you need to complete the mission!"

*Are you mad?*

"We don't have time for this! The others are in trouble. Don't worry about me, or The Tower! Things can be fixed in time, the building can be repaired later. Right now, our friends need us."

*That doesn't make sense. Hang on, I'll head back up and-*

"STOP! I . . . I can't do anything further in this fight. You know this, and that's why you need to keep pressing forwards."

*I'm coming back to get you and -*

"Terra, listen to me! You are still in this."

*This is crazy!*

"Don't!" Beast Boy gasped, as he depressed the call button. A powerful silence was felt on both ends.

It had been a very unsettling window of time.

A transmission jamming device was within that submarine, and it had to be dealt with, in order for their friends to have a chance. The opportunities of success were being taken away very quickly, and things were only getting worse.

"Don't you get it?" The changeling deadpanned. "This is it! Our last opportunity, our one shot. You can still do what you need to, and regardless of what happens to me, and I hate putting the pressure on your shoulders -"

*Do not start with that.*

His heart-rate that had been racing this whole time, it began to thump even more intensely, and his anxiety worsened the already depressed mood.

"Terra, you are the only one that can do this. It HAS to be you!"

*I still think that you have this all backwards. I was just trying to come out here and -*

Just then, she was interrupted by dozens of humanoid shapes, rising out from sealed hatches all over the submarine.

At first they looked small, however they drew nearer as they shot upwards into the sky, aiming towards the new opening that was once the great window.

They were using rocket propelled shoes, like jetpacks that were on the heels to their feet, and as they approached the iconic landmark, their armored appearances drew one solid conclusion.

"Sladebots!"

*Beast Boy?*

"They are coming! Listen to me. You can do this. You must destroy that submarine! Take out that ship, and you destroy that jamming device inside of it!"

As the Robot Commandos approached, the teenager dragged himself to the back of the room, struggling to put as much distance between himself and the pursuers, hell bent on finishing the task.

*What? How am I supposed to do that?*

"Use that laser pointer!"

*I don't know if this will work?*

"Slade is a man of absolute focus, and he may have given us a tough struggle, but he isn't the only one with a final surprise either. Trust me."

*Okay Beast Boy. I . . . will . . . try.*

"We were so fixated, driven, committed on finding his hidden base . . . that we gave all that we could give, in that one objective. He was plotting and preparing for this opportunity to strike back." He bowed his head while smirking, "While we have no idea where he is hiding, he has only made us weaker, he has divided our forces, and he's throttling up his attacks."

As the door was within reach, the sensor allowed it to slide open.

He gulped, "This is my home. I . . . I cannot abandon my post. I won't quit!"

Then don't.

The changeling halted.

There it was. That gnawing, gut twisting fear had started up again. His bones ached, and a headache pounded within his skull, like a jackhammer.

"No."

Having two conversations at once was exhausting, as he fended back their opinions.

You know what you must do.

"If I do this . . . if I let you take control . . . what guarantee will I have?"

The chaperone's hood that concealed everything, was noticed in a shattered mirror laying upon the floor, revealing a red glow for its eyes.

*Beast Boy?*

Terra called him, forcing him to become momentarily stupefied. She had overheard something, but it was not clear as to who else he was talking with? Only his rasping voice was noticeable.

The conversation with the cloaked figure in his mind, and the blonde on the beach, was tearing him in two.

The only reassurance that I can give, is that I will help. But only if you give me, what I seek.

Through this entity's crafty words, an even worse problem had become reality. Beast Boy was without any method to fight, where shapeshifting as another creature, was still going to carry over his injuries.

At most, he could transform into a snake, or some animal without arms or legs to slither about. Even a bird would have a broken wing, and a damaged talon for its foot, from his human limbs that were still out of commission.

"This is not good. A python, rattlesnake, maybe a viper could be useful . . ."

As much as he wanted to engage in combat, he was in no condition to fight. The only option that was available, without giving in to the chaperone's demands, was to flee.

As the Robot Commandos approached, the teenager dragged himself down the corridor towards the other side of The Common Room.

He struggled to put as much distance between himself and the pursuers that he could. The door hissed closed, as he reached onto the panel along wall.

He typed on a side compartment to engage the Tower's Safety protocol, locking countless doors and windows shut in other places around his home.

These armored androids were sent on a bold task. With every attack that was unleashed, more ground was given by the heroes, and they found themselves in a worse defensive stance compared to that from before.

This is not going to work. You know this. This will only delay, what is bound to pass. They will get in. They will find you.

"Perhaps."

You. will. die.

*Please, just talk to me. How am I going to bring down that thing?* Terra's voice carried over from the handheld device.

He had dragged himself an incredible distance that he never thought he could manage. Fear was motivating him to push onwards in his journey, where he finally stopped.

He had crawled, struggled, and somehow found the strength within, to rise from the ground and limp towards his destination.

He was at last in his room. Leaning against the wall, he reached out to grasp his bed.

"You can do this Terra!" he puffed. "I have one more idea that just might work, where you don't have to worry about me."

*What are you talking about?*

His voice became garbled and inaudible from static on his end.

*Beast Boy? Beast Boy!?*

The changeling clenched his stomach while shaking his head, fighting back the sharp pain in his skull, and abdomen.

Having successfully dragged himself down the long corridor of his home, crawling towards the one place he could barricade himself within, he stumbled and crashed for a final time onto the floor.

Give in to me. And I will show you, the absolute strength that you refrain from using.

Bang!

Bang!

BANG!

The hero slowly reopened his eyes.

"What exactly are my chances?"

Currently . . . zero.

"Those are bad odds, and this is even worse."

The hooded figure's crimson eyes, flared within his mind. The teenager exhaled, and he closed his own green eyes.

"So be it."

Beast Boy let go of the communicating device, and his entire body began to convulse across the carpet.

His uniform began to rip and tear. Shredding sounds reverberated within his eardrums, as everything became blurred, disorienting beyond his ability to see. His body-mass expanded to an incredible size, thicker muscles took over his noodle-like body frame.

His biceps, ankles, and his deltoids had broken through his clothing, and the white bandages that had been placed around his many injuries. His hands and feet generated sharp claws, splitting apart his gloves and shoes.

The thin material that had acted as a splint for his left knee, while he sat in the wheelchair and kept it propped up beneath a blanket, had been shattered. The basic sling, that his right arm had been placed into, that fell away as his body morphed and expanded.

He began pulling apart the fabric and gauzes, as though it were tissue paper.

Thick dark green fur, like the majestic mane of a lion, expanded wildly about his entire body. His physique was growing. The colors of his surroundings whirled like a vortex, as the pounding of his heart quickened to the pace of a wolf, fast in pursuit of its prey out in The Canadian wilderness.

The sense of smell became heightened to that of a Kodiak Grizzly Bear, where his face and nose became long, as his fangs and pointed elf-like ears grew.

He could feel an incredible strength that had been dormant suddenly take hold, his heightened senses, and his animalistic abilities that allowed him to see through walls and rooms, like a built-in sonar system of a bat intensified.

The entity, the darkness inside that he feared, the potent rage he forced himself to ignore and to keep locked away . . . had emerged.

---

( ~ )

---

Terra's mouth hung ajar, as she looked up at Titans Tower in abysmal horror.

The iconic fortress was being infiltrated by Robot Commandos, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

Dozens of the machinations of evil, the geared-up and militarized weapons of war, were swarming into the blasted out ruins of the uppermost section. Fear kept her in place, her heart pounded against her chest, where she felt useless.

As she took one step towards the building, she stopped.

Within her right hand, the laser pointer was still in her possession, and the final words from the green hero had been very stern, in pleading for her to keep going forwards with the mission.

She watched as everything unfolded, and her stomach tightened.

Terra took a slow calming breath, holding it within her body as her blue eyes could not part from the multitude of armored automatons, having entered the building.

"Beast Boy."

Smoke billowed outwards, and everything was silenced. Static feedback was all that was heard, from Beast Boy's spare communicator.

She lowered her device, as the wind blew her golden blonde hair.

Her heartbeat was getting increasingly loud within her eardrums, and she was disjointed in where she wanted to be at this moment.

The rain splashed about her, yet it did nothing to change her mood.

She stared up at The Tower for few lingering seconds, but the concept of time, in the normal understanding was completely lost. Having put the communicator away, she let a few tears streak down her face.

"Why? Why must it come down to me?"

The scar along her chest was burning, and she placed her left hand over the still fresh wound, to soothe the pain. The irritation from the stitches was unpleasant, and a mark she was going to carry for the rest of her life.

Behind her, the monolith in the water had unleashed absolute destruction. Exhaust fumes from vents and cooling ports continued to spew out, making the ship have an evil aura, as though the craft had emerged from some Lovecraftian doorway of the deep.

She gulped, while her attention was fixated back upon the submarine.

"Beast Boy and the others have risked everything . . . I . . . I need to do this."

A staggering string of problems, interlocked with countless moments that were very unpleasant.

Nothing had gone right, the heroes had rushed into the city, with the simple goal to pick up clues. They were trying to locate the hidden fortress, to take the fight to their greatest enemy, but like all plans that can be conceived, nothing goes as desired.

The events from her story, had been of great assistance to The Teen Titans, and their allies. While being so sure of this at first, new doubts began to wiggle and squirm into her thinking, as the realization that the heroes were scattered, unable to communicate, and alone.

Perhaps it all was done, for the purpose to lure them out? To trap them in a far greater ploy?

There was no turning back. Any other person would probably have done the same thing, as the team captain had.

Terra clenched her fists while the world became deafened to her. The rain continued hitting her shoulders in thicker droplets. The smoke from Titans Tower, poured upwards into the night sky, while the waves of the ocean, sloshed against the shoreline. White bubbling foam sprayed the sand, as the tide went out.

"This is all my fault."

People can blame themselves for countless little things, occurrences and outcomes that they have no authority in controlling.

Beast Boy and Starfire had gone to her, to reassure the blonde that they still valued her. Since Terra's arrival from the hospital, barely a few days ago, it had caused something that she did not expect.

The Teen Titans were reaching out, in an effort to bridge a bond that had been destroyed. All of them in their own manners, they still cared about her, and that made her feel something genuine.

The weight of these issues was only getting more, and more heavy. Now, the very people who took her in, that gave her refuge, food, shelter, and protection, the very group that would have every reason to treat her as a threat, and discard her because of the actions of the past, they instead let her back into their lives.

When she had turned away from Slade, when she diverted from being a lowly pawn in someone else game, to finally controlling her own life, it had only been possible because somebody was willing to go after her.

That courage to do the right thing, had been ignited from Beast Boy.

A loathing within her own inabilities, clashed against her confidence. To be who The Teen Titans needed her as, whom she had walked away from becoming was difficult to ignore.

The girl's emotions were compacted into countless struggles, that she felt off balance, wishing to hide these nightmares away. To be anywhere else but back here.

She was unable to act, or to even see past the raging storm that had been building. There was no denying it, she was upset. The only thing she could hold onto as a foundation, was a raw heated anger.

The wanted retribution against a colossal monster, a master of deception, a villain of vindictiveness, and pure evil. He was a criminal who had made it his primary goal, to torture the Jump City heroes.

The abilities that allowed Terra to move the earth, to create mudslides and avalanches, devastating earthquakes, the power to levitate dirt and rocks, had all been wiped clear from her mind.

Once she awoke from the cave, and she stumbled towards the surface, blacking out from exhaustion, her memories became fragmented.

She was lost, she had nowhere to turn, there was no family or home to run towards.

Everything since her deep slumber in the cave, everything but the fractured moments of being an apprentice of evil, was pushed away as much as possible.

Shame, regret, and constant suffering had hollowed her out. It was there when she stepped foot outside of that deep cavern, having been revived from her stone hibernation.

The events of her betrayal impacted her so much, and so profoundly, that she became a new person entirely.

Eventually, she was found by an outreach program, as she wandered the city streets. They helped facilitate foster parents to raise her. Legal Guardians that were somewhere in the metropolis, which were now, in grave danger.

Slade had to be stopped.

To defeat him, it would require a Herculean effort never before experienced. To put it bluntly, the fate of so much, was resting upon Terra.

"I need to destroy that ship." Terra deadpanned.

Sibs barked in response, causing her to smirk.

"Let's get this over with, and then we will go to Beast Boy."

She began her steady approach towards the waterline, around the rocks that jetted about the area, like tombstones at a graveyard.

The boulders and shrubs camouflaged her descent, while the thunderstorm and lightning, also gave the perfect reassurances, that the enemy would not expect this.

With the Robot Commandos having made their move, the submarine would be lightly defended. With the attention diverted on the happenings within the Sport Colosseum, and the brazen attack on Titans Tower, the enemy would have no idea of the pending counter maneuver here.

Having located a decent spot, a place to make an attack of her own, Terra looked to The German Shepherd, and then back to Titans Tower that was spewing smoke.

"Here we go."

She clicked the ignition button, and a thin crimson light from the device shined upon the upper decking of the submarine hull.

The laser was held down for a few seconds, as the blonde partially ducked behind rocks.

"Why isn't anything happening? Of course . . . this is just my luck!"

Then, a strange noise began to hum in the obstacle course, just to the other side of the beach. This caused her to turn and look back.

It grew louder, and louder, and louder still, where multiple trap doors and secret compartments opened. Hundreds of cannons, firearms, and rocket launchers extended outwards of their hangers, all aiming directly at the submersible craft.

The old training area that was rundown, it still had a few surprises left!

Within a few seconds, an unfathomable amount of intense firepower was unleashed! Guns rattled, rockets were launched, explosive disks, and a barrage of lasers all blasted into this one direction, directed towards the ship!

A firestorm of destruction was pumped into the hulking metal shell, peppering the decking, the cunning tower, and the waterline itself.

Explosions rang out, making it feel like The Fourth Of July.

Terra hunkered low, allowing the laser pointer to keep on the target with one hand, enabling the weapon systems to unload everything in the arsenal at this one location.

Robot Commandos that were alongside the dock were instantly destroyed, as many of their copies poured out from The Tower, to shoot back at the training course.

Some had managed to hit their marks, others were blasted to bits in retaliation. Metal fragments splashed around the beach, while a colorful display of fireworks lit up the night sky.

The tracking devices of the ground cannons, began to engage with the invaders that were everywhere, shooting them out of the sky, and they remained in auto-pilot mode.

Black smoke billowed out from the submarine, as the intense barrage had done enough damage to cause the craft to list to the side. Water began flooding into the holes, as the ship was targeted and hit multiple times.

The craft started to lean heavily onto the port side, which in turn caused a chain of events, as the lower sections of the starboard, began to rise up out and of the waterline.

The Cunning Tower was battered so heavily from repeated shots, it was blown wide apart! Black smudge marks and holes, were noticed across the rest of the hull, where the long antenna upon the top of the structure, had disappeared from the attack.

A beeping noise . . . sounded from her belt.

The Titans Communicator on her hip, crackled to life! The jamming device was dismantled, as the submarine that carried it, had at last been dealt with.

"YES!" Terra exclaimed loudly.

Her efforts had succeeded, the mission was not a waste, as the heroes could finally communicate once more.

"You think you have won?" A sneering voice called out. "How pathetic!"

Terra gulped.

The firefight between The Training Course weapons, and The Robot Commandos that had flown out from the ship, the two forces hammered away at each other savagely, while thunder boomed overhead.

"You may have managed to make this fight interesting . . . but the end result will be the same." The seductive feminine voice cooed.

She was goading the blonde to raise her head up, to reveal herself.

This was indeed a strange moment. Terra had accomplished her mission, yet she understood the battle for the island was only just beginning.

As she exhaled, a puff of her breath in front of her face, and the cool chill of a winter night gripped her.

"Show yourself, coward!" The angry tone from the unknown interloper called. "You may think you are going to win this . . . but, I won't have an upstart like you, spoil my victory!"

Terra stayed low, leaning around the corner of a boulder as the sound of the vessel sinking, cried out like it was the death of a leviathan.

The shadow of a slender female figure grew taller behind the blonde. She smiled a devious grin, as the rain that came down around the beach, suddenly transforming into a fury of snow.

"What the heck?" Terra gawked, as she held out her right hand, and snowflakes gathered.

"There you are!"

Sharp icicles formed into spears and daggers in the palms of her hands, and she targeted the blonde skinny girl, weaving and hiding behind large rocks.

Terra turned, as a long and serrated icicle was fired into her bicep, piercing her skin and causing the girl to scream out in agony!

"Pity." The silver haired attractive woman deadpanned. "I was hoping for more of a fight, but I can always change the story around."

The smirk of evil, and a gleam in the attacker's eyes revealed, that this was not a good person. She was dangerous, and while seductive in her appearance and voice, she was twice as cruel.

Blood began to trickle down from Terra's wrist, as she yanked the projectile out, and she let it shatter on the ground. The pain was deep, but the rage within was even stronger, and the blonde clenched her fists.

"Oh well." The elemental villainess shrugged her shoulders. "Time to do what I came her for, and to claim my prize."

Just as the criminal was about to blast another wave of deadly icicle spears into the blonde, Sibs leapt forwards, catching all combatants by shock!

He dismantled three of the Sladebots that were her bodyguards, gnawing and scratching them, forcing them to engage in this skirmish. They were no match, as they were defeated easily, and he focused on The Cryromancer, bitting her on the ankle, and forcing her to fall backwards!

"OUCH!" The villain screamed, "Stupid dog!"

This distraction allowed Terra a small window, an opportunity to regain her composure, to stand back on her feet, and run.

Fleeing the beach was all she could consider. She had no abilities or powers that could counter this woman. Her mission was to destroy the jamming device within the submarine, and it had been accomplished.

As she hurried up the path, she wiped the tears that streamed down her face, as the noise of a bitter scuffle, of barking, snarling, a growl and a terrifying loud howl rang out. This battle had forced the proud defender of his family and home, to go on the offense.

Sibs was not going to let his family be hurt.

This lunging attack from the fully grown hound quickly changed, into a sudden high pitched whimper!

The German Shepherd, had backed the commander of the attacking army away from Terra, yet he had been impaled as she leaned on the ground, where The Cryromancer's patient counter-attack had generated a spear.

This forced the Ex-Titan to stop in her escape, to turn back and watch with absolute horror, to watch the sacrifice this dog was making.

"NO!" Terra cried while reaching out with her left hand.

The canine acted upon its instincts alone. He noticed members of his pack were in danger, and he put his own safety out of his mind, as he charged directly into the enemy's commander.

He now lay strewn across the flat rocks, with a shaft of ice, having been run through his belly. Sibs lay motionless, as a pool of blood began to form.

Terra briefly glanced back up the path towards Titans Tower, where she could not move any further. Her attention was now, totally concentrated upon the dog.

She did not have anywhere left to run to, she had nobody left that could fight in her place. Terra was tired beyond words. This was going to be her final stand, as all of the others had been willing to do, now it was her turn.

Terra did not take a single step more.

"Whoever you are, you just made the biggest mistake of your life." Terra rasped in a crestfallen pitch, her fists tightened and she glared with a furious anger at the aggressor.

"The feeling is mutual." The Ice Elemental Warrior hissed as she stood up. "Come on then girly, show me what you can do!"

A vortex of snow began to spiral around the attractive female, acting as a difficult barrier from any projectiles that were going to be thrown at her.

The ground below Terra's feet began to give way, causing the villainess across her path to wobble, and clutch at a tree for stability.

Another tremor was felt, where Terra still did not move.

Something was happening, as multiple cracks appeared along the rocks, as the sand upon the beach started to vibrate. Before either could say another word, and as Sibs whimpering became softer . . . a terrifying howl, of some prehistoric Dire Wolf rang out.

It was from deep inside of Titans Tower.

---

( ~ )

---

She glanced across the room to observe his reaction, where he was facing the window, looking at the world outside.

There was a deep expression of sorrow, noticed in his one remaining eye. A palpable anguish, frustration that a beaten and broken man would carry, after having lost all that he could hold onto for strength.

Something was still there, faint, but a force she could not describe. It was untapped, so profound that it kept urging him forwards.

What is this? Elizabeth pondered.

It was an aura that she felt even now, far from his bed as she sat across from him. It caused her to turn towards the mirror, as though someone was watching her, but only their own reflections remained.

She had sensed this 'thing' when she first found him. She admired him because of his journey, and his repeated attempts to rise, after having fallen and nearly died.

Tiny bumps formed along her skin, from a shivering of that darkness. It apparently clung to him as his scarlet cloak had, when she dragged him out of the ruins.

His family had been taken, he had been placed in a facility of nightmares meant to be forgotten. Years of anguishing, he managed to escape, and now, the only people who offered the means for a new future, the venture of some opportunity, were in peril.

The very group to have opened their home and hearts, to a wayward stranger that he was, had been The Teen Titans.

The trauma endured from his childhood had not been resolved. The wound was deep, it festered like an open sore, causing a rot inside of him, and this suffering turned him away from wanting to embrace others.

His explanation to her, had made this unfortunate revelation, all the more painful.

He was strong to hold it all in, but the cracks had formed. A stoic emptiness was his only expression, yet the grief was finally visible as a tear was spotted.

Falcon said nothing, only a quiet exhale through his parted lips was heard.

While she squirmed and adjusting herself in the chair, clearly becoming unsettled by these events, he did not move an inch.

The message had been effective, and it was replayed across hundreds of channels, all over the country. The amplification across social media, was even more worrisome, as any person with a smartphone began to post sightings and places, areas that the heroes had last been spotted.

Slade threatened to unleash a deadly poison, a toxic gas from the subway. The attack would commence, unless the local citizenry acted in a massive mob of protest, to apprehend The Teen Titans, and their allies.

It had to be done, before five o'clock in the morning. The time on the wall was showing two fifteen, and with every second that ticked away, with the dawn steadily approaching, the opportunities to act, were vanishing.

The situation had only become even more tense, as the stakes were raised. It was similar to playing cards at a casino. With fewer chips to be put up as the ante, while the final cards were being dealt . . . the contest was nearing its end.

Elizabeth believed, that a newfound bond had been built between them, within a very short window of time. Having pulled him out of the rubble, and the subsequent series of events that followed, she wanted to make things right between them now.

The scuffle in her classroom had been an incredible string of good fortune.

The punishment that gave her a suspension from school, may have afforded her and her father, the ability to avoid the now looming danger. They were safe, but that calmness was all but lost.

They were just a few hours drive south of Jump City, waiting in Saint Mary's hospital in Los Angeles. The unpleasant fear, was the very high probability that agents of evil, which were unleashing war in Jump City, they could easily make their way here.

With Falcon having admitted to being a member of their team, that put those that had come across his path, people like Gretchen, and any medical staff member, even strangers in this city who were visiting loved ones that happened to spot him, everybody was at serious risk, including herself.

The wounded drifter was not even at forty percent of his typical self, where he was barely able to limp across a room. The seventeen-year-old could unleash his powers, as he had revealed to her moments ago, yet this was only going to exhaust him further . . . or worse.

Elizabeth was trying to speak, but with the slightest motion in this direction, she became flummoxed.

It was unraveling her steadiness, and although he said nothing and kept glancing at anything but her, he was aware.

He looked into her memories which had provoked her.

With his claim that her brother was still alive, and with such pinpoint precision towards the tiniest of details, it was making her feel a new wave of urgency, to learn as much as she could.

To believe that everybody had died from her own childhood, where years later learning that another had survived, it made everything all the more curious.

This implied, that she could not afford Falcon to be harmed, or captured. This young man was the link, the crucial linchpin, to finding her thought to be deceased brother.

A great storm of swirling emotions was raging, as the nigh sky was cloudy. Elizabeth was going over the facts a second time, plotting and debating what could be done, and what action would protect lives, not endanger more.

Anybody who had noticed Falcon's image on the screen, who had been with him during his stay at the hospital, anybody could easily put the pieces together . . . that there was one person, one superhero they could turn into the authorities, as a bargaining chip.

While The Criminal Mastermind had slithered back into the shadows, like the snake that boldly tempted Eve in the garden, he was avoiding the confrontation so many longed for.

He had allowed his words, to be his deadliest weapon in his vast arsenal.

Slade did not even lift a finger, and chaos was working towards his ultimate goal. The ending of The Teen Titans.

The heroes of Jump City, would be forced into allowing themselves to be captured, if they wanted to save the very people, which they fought so hard for. This was a job, which grew increasingly more taxing with every passing day, and the demands piled on-top of the countless other problems.

The Criminal Mastermind understood, some were stubborn enough to reject his offer. That would only enrage the citizenry to a higher pitched fury, to turn against their group even faster. For any person without a single superpower, gadget, or ability on these teenager's level, they would have a very difficult time, to even approach one on one.

However, an entire city with millions on the same page, with the might of the police, and National Guard as further muscle, and the media with their cameras as the blood hounds, all chasing and holding nothing back . . . this was a threat not to be ignored.

Slade had everything planned to the upmost of perfection.

Every piece was meticulously calculated, the losses of his own forces were plotted, measured and then examined to all possible outcomes. All avenues of action were taken into consideration, and dissected, to then be re-crafted with great care.

Naturally, there would be a large portion of the general public, who would attempt to flee the city. It was going to cause congestion, clogging up the tunnels, bridges, and numerous roads.

There was still another large swath however, that would take up the call, and hunt down the heroes. Average people would be caught in the crossfire, and panic would confuse the increasingly more desperate.

It was not much of a choice, and that is why his broadcast had been so impactful.

To make matters worse, there was nowhere to hide. Any place that had access to the internet, that could be observed through the lens of a camera, from an electronic device such as a smartphone, these gadgets had broadcast his threat.

What was stopping him, from using a backdoor to these very tools?

It was easily within the hacking abilities of a petty criminal like Control Freak, to crack a few firewalls and safety blockers, on any number of cellphones, which were everywhere.

To have a closer look on the street level, the things everybody used for convenience, had now become a weapon used against them.

This tactic had stripped away two elements that The Teen Titans had relied so heavily upon, without any thought or concern. Anonymity, and the trust of the people.

To turn the heroes on themselves, where the infighting alone was a brilliant strategy he had employed, when he first crossed their paths years ago. To force the citizens to chase them, out of fear for their own preservation, that was an even more creative tactic.

The heroes were going to be left with fewer and fewer allies, as an entire metropolis, and the world at large, would be hunting them. Any person who affiliated with them, at any point, was also in the crosshairs of a baying mob.

While the news stations and reporters were quick to record, expand the broadcast, people were noticed on the television, pouring out across Jump City.

The public was gathering outside of their apartment complexes, office buildings, and homes. Young and old, people of all ages were converging about the streets.

The television continued to play, where the volume was muted, as each station and news anchor were going over a heightened madness. It was spreading rapidly, and their coverage did not extinguish the flames, instead it added more fuel to fire.

Close ups and still images that revealed the faces of the heroes, were left on the television in tiny boxes. They were put out as mug-shots, to give people as much description as possible.

"This is bad!" The aspiring medical nurse exclaimed, as she leapt out of her chair. While pacing back and forth, her heart started to beat more rapidly. "This is really, really bad!"

Falcon said nothing.

"We need to do something. We've only got a few hours!"

Falcon's frown deepened, as he clenched his fists against the bedsheets. He wanted to get back, but he was uncertain, of just how far he would manage?

His face was partially shown in the montage, beneath the sharp red hood of his cowl. The countless news stations continued to play the clips, blasting out everything with no restraint.

While Falcon did not make much of an impression in the media, for his short stint with them, The Teen Titans had welcomed him in as one of their own.

That was enough to make those in this hospital that came across him, for any person that had relatives, or friends living in Jump City, for any person who wanted to capture him, that put this whole hospital in grave danger.

"Alex!"

"Your brother is alive." Falcon cut her off.

"Did you hear what was said? Jump City is going to be destroyed, unless people turn in members of The Teen Titans!"

There was a lull between them, and the one-eyed teenager, refocused his attention onto her, before asking a question of his own.

"Did you hear me?"

"Of course I did!"

Falcon turned to face her now, and he said, "You have a chance to be reunited with him again. Don't you want that?"

"We can cross that bridge later." Elizabeth clenched her fists, and she continued looking at him, "right now, this is more critical! I don't see how this is not making you feel the slightest bit of concern?"

"Of course it does, but getting anxious isn't going to resolve anything." he rasped. "This is not your fight."

She approached him, clearly agitated by his surprisingly cold demeanor. "Jump City is my home too! That makes this my fight, as much as your own!"

". . ."

"We can't let him go through with this."

"We?"

"We must do something . . . we are running out of time!" she ignored his question, and the two patiently waited for the other to respond.

Falcon stroked his chin before saying, "There is one thing I can think of . . . but you won't like it."

"I'm not turning you in, if that's what you mean." she scoffed back, "When the French stormed the Bastille, there was an army of violent Parisians that held no quarter, or restraint for the unfortunate few that were in their crosshairs."

"I'm flattered."

"Well, I can't have anything happen to you, or I won't get my brother back, will I?"

"You have courage, I don't doubt it for a second." Falcon's pitch became softer, "But this is entirely beyond your ability to fight."

"You . . . you who have been through so much, to have lost everything from that monster, to claim you are the only one with a stake in this . . . this . . ."

"There is a giant risk, and you have already sacrificed so much. Just for me to even be here. However, this is not your fight."

"That's not fair! You have no right to tell me that!"

"Look at me! I went in to fight him. Each time I have, I failed and something was taken. He grew stronger, and more powerful. I managed to fight alongside The Teen Titans, to face him, and just look at what my own actions have wrought!"

She shot a serious death-glare at him, "Just . . . let me think."

He cleared his throat, as a sly grin spread across his face.

Elizabeth noticed his remark, and she responded in a scintillating pitch, "What are you so smug about?"

"You don't have to like what I am proposing, and believe me, I sure as heck don't think it's any better either, but you said it yourself that we don't have the luxury of waiting around." Falcon took a slow and deep breath, to steady himself. Then he continued, "Regardless of what you think of Slade's offer, or what you truly think of me . . . he is going to release that poison."

A palpable hush remained, as the gravity of the entire debacle uncovered what the issue was, at its core.

"What are our options then? We can't stay here . . . it will put too many lives at risk."

"While the others are bogged down in their fighting, as the chaos unravels, while everybody is running all over the place . . . this will open a place for me to do something."

"Something?"

"Yes. The train will be set loose, unless somebody stops it from leaving the station. Correct?"

"It sounds to me, like you have already made up your decision then." she was now standing directly across from his bed, and she locked her eyes onto his. "Well then, I can't disagree with your plan but . . ."

He looked to the ground, as his body was already moving, inching towards the wheelchair and he was preparing to limp off the bed but he stopped.

"How can you do anything in your state?" she questioned, "You can barely limp across the room as it is with your busted leg. On top of everything, and against even my own better judgment. Where are we even going start this search? It's not like he just let us all know where -"

Falcon pointed to the blinking dots on the map. The destination of where each subway car was going to decouple, and then detonate on its path.

"I don't like this."

"Somebody has to do it, before that train departs the station. That is a chance I must take. Even if I have to crawl to get there!"

The steadfastness in his eye returned, as a potent and intoxicating energy had become awakened within his defeated spirit.

"Are you nuts!? What am I saying, of course the guy, who went in to stop the destruction last time, he is hell bent on some insane ego trip to fix this problem. Please, don't tell me that, THAT is what this is about?"

"Partially, yeah. I guess you could say there is truth in that."

She rolled her eyes in clear aggravation, "This is already off to such a wonderful start."

Raising his right hand he kept her at bay, he finally moved towards the chair that was along the bed, and he plopped himself into the seat.

" . . ."

"Elizabeth . . . I have nothing. I have no-one. No family is left, no home to return to, nothing but the stinging pains of failure that have left me in your care. I was fortunate enough to be found by others. Good people, people who would do anything to protect the innocent, and to save lives, like yourself. Even if that meant giving up their own."

"Falcon . . ."

"I am not a hero, not like them." he nodded towards the screen, gesturing towards the mugshots.

"But you joined them. You fought alongside them!"

"I have been humbled enough to have fought alongside them. Yes. But know that if my actions now, can atone for the problems I have caused, of what I could not fulfill when I was last with them, then it will be a worthy cause to make this right."

"You are still blaming yourself."

"Maybe, but this is all meant to have happened for a reason." he took a deep exhaling breath, as a strategy began to form in his brain. "You do not have to keep feeling guilty for my blunders, if there is any lesson to be learned, take what I have told you, and forge your own path. Not one carved out of regret, or fear, or hatred . . . but something deeper. Something of larger meaning. Of a higher purpose."

"Falcon . . ."

"I have been running. Running for so long." his voice dropped to a calmer tone, as he continued to reminisce, "Trying to get to the bottom of this, to unleash my own vengeance with every waking hour, every step of my journey and it has been set against this monster. A demon I believed for so long, was the sole reason for my continued existence . . . but look at what that path has led me to?"

The look of concern on her face was causing him to struggle in finding the proper words, but the smiling faces of so many people he had met, ever since his arrival, their lives mattered.

"Life isn't fair." The Necromancer continued, "I had many opportunities to choose a different path, and each time I always focused on that rage. The hatred of my own blind vengeance . . . that it would inevitably, create a worse problem."

"How does the old saying go? The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall."

"Ralph Waldo Emerson." An authoritative, and masculine voice broke into the conversation.

"Mark?!" Elizabeth gasped, as she spun around in disbelief.

While the two teenagers were looking to each other, enjoying this reprieve, a tall and handsome man entered. He was wearing a white lab coat, with a stethoscope draped around his neck.

The name badge of 'Dr. Jackson Spears' was glistening on his upper left breast pocket. He held an important role in the hospital, and his responsibilities kept him occupied, well into the early morning hours.

Behind his glasses, below his dark brown eyes, the wrinkles and wavy rings of exhaustion were very apparent. Something that an artist, or writer would find, staring back in the mirror, after being up all night to craft their Magnum Opus.

"Don't oh me!" The forty year-old man scolded, his tone was filled with frustration. "What are you doing here?"

"You see . . . it's a funny story that is. A long one, and its something I know you will enjoy it when-"

Mr. Spears interlocked his arms, where his expression revealed that he was not at all amused.

He strived to be the father she needed him as, where his absences due to work, his own overdrive with administrative duties, these things had clearly rubbed off onto her.

Elizabeth's overtly stubborn nature, the rebellious fight within her spirit, the striving for perfection was a trait that he always clashed with.

She exhaled an exhausting sigh, to emphasize her own remorse. She then started to rub her left elbow, while turning to look away.

"Well now." he deadpanned as he reached out. "You know as well as I do, that you were given strict rules to follow. Mine. You broke those rules, again . . . where you leave me with no choice."

Elizabeth felt dejected, and had fallen silent.

"Forgive my intrusion into your affairs, but if it is alright with you both, may I?" Falcon asked.

The girl looked at her step-father, and the older man turned to face the injured teenager in his wheelchair.

"I'm sorry for causing this inconvenience to the both of you." Falcon rasped as he bowed his head. "She meant no harm by coming here, in fact, I am grateful to her company."

Upon hearing him say this, she blushed.

"What?" Elizabeth sputtered.

Falcon smirked at her. "This is all a strange place, and I don't have anybody to visit me. So, please, I don't mind."

"Don't mistake my kindness here, as an avenue to escape from having to explain yourself." The Doctor interjected.

Falcon chuckled, "I explained things to her, where I feel I owe you an explanation too. If you will permit me to, sir?"

"You have already done enough as it is." Mark Spears pointed at the television. "Where your having been brought here, this happened because my daughter found you. When you would have been left for dead, and she risked everything to find you."

Falcon waited in silence.

"You were in The Jump City Railway that collapsed, which is suspicious enough, and it was only by the great risk of my own daughter, that you were saved, kept alive and brought here. Affording the professionals enough time, to save your life."

". . ."

"Mark." Elizabeth cut-in, but she was quickly moved aside.

"You are on the news. There is too much that has happened, and there is only more than enough reason to turn you over to the authorities. You have brought a great deal of unnecessary attention, to be leveled upon this entire facility."

Falcon hung his head low, again in shame. He was unable to refute those claims.

"Well?" Mr. Spears continued, as his tone never faltered or changed. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Dad!" interrupted Elizabeth, causing him to pause. "You have everything laid out in front of you, the tiniest bits of details and facts, the obvious issue as it is . . . but you don't see the entire picture by being so close!"

Mark Jackson Spears stepped back, as Elizabeth placed her right hand against his chest.

"You demanded that he explains himself, yet you are not willing to listen?" The girl backed away, and she pointed at the television, "People are going to be hurt, unless we do something!"

A lingering silence remained, and these three allowed the tension in the room to settle. Elizabeth had found her confidence, and she was standing up to the overprotective nature of her guardian.

"It is from what you taught me, to always do the right thing . . . even if that meant choosing the harder path. I have held onto that integrity, that code all my life, which has caused problems. But also greater opportunities I never dreamed possible." she replied.

"It's okay." said Falcon. "What you said is true, there is a lot that happened and I don't want to put you, him, or anybody else in jeopardy here."

Doctor Spears grasped his daughter's hands, and he looked back at the injured drifter.

"What exactly are you proposing?" The older man asked.

Falcon maneuvered himself towards the door. Stopping near them, he looked up and smirked, "Staying here is going to cause problems, that is something we can all agree upon. As you are already aware, the subway train is going to unleash the gas, unless members of The Teen Titans are handed in."

"Wait -" Elizabeth sputtered.

"You have every reason to turn me over."

"That wasn't what we agreed!"

The girl raced over and blocked the door, turning to confront Falcon. She clutched at his shirt, careful not to make contact against his skin.

"You promised me, that you would tell me about my brother!"

Another lingering hush remained.

Mark revealed a perplexed look at his adoptive daughter, as he was caught by surprise upon learning of this.

The seventeen-year-old deadpanned, "I am going back to Jump City, to end this."

"No." Elizabeth was getting angry.

"This is the only way."

"ENOUGH!" Mark Jackson Spears erupted, where he sighed very heavily after his outburst, "You are barely able to walk, and yet you expect me to believe that you . . . some kid, who my daughter found, will manage to go up against all odds, to do the impossible, and stop that train?"

"I know how it looks," Falcon answered, "where if I were in your shoes I might be feeling justified in saying the exact same thing. Listen, there are still things that I can do. You can't keep me here against my will."

"No." The Doctor agreed.

"And you don't want to just turn me over to the authorities, as it will bring even more problems down on-top of your head."

"Alex . . ." Elizabeth spoke up.

The eye-patch wearing teenager grinned in his wheelchair. "You don't have to worry, your brother is alive. You don't even need me, to take you to him."

"Wha - what game is this?"

Just then, Falcon nodded towards the television, then he pointed at one of the heroes. Elizabeth followed this gesture with her blue eyes, gradually walking closer so she could touch the image herself.

The faces of The Teen Titans were still being shown, and the image of Beast Boy drew her in.

The supers were of little importance to her, for years, and only now with everything that had happened, did she pay them any attention.

The names were all she recalled, but the features were something she had plainly ignored. Elizabeth never cared to watch the television, or look at footage about the local superheroes, as she had many other things to keep her going.

Very slowly, the pointy ears and green skin, his fang tooth smile, his short spiked hair and body . . . all began to merge into her sibling.

In her memory, everything began to trickle back, where she last remembered him holding her in his arms, in the field outside of their home in Africa.

"It . . . it cannot be!" she gasped. "Garfield?"

"Beast Boy is your brother." Falcon deadpanned, "You have lived in Jump City all this time, and never once did it cross your mind, that everything you had hoped for, was right in front of you."

". . ."

"You don't need me Elizabeth, not anymore. Where if anything good is to come out of this mess, is that while you saved me from that pit . . . in return, I have been able to lead you back to him."

Mark Jackson Spears, the girl's adoptive father remained totally silenced in the background. For the anguish in her, that he noticed days ago, the topic was still raw and a powerful punch in his own gut.

"If you do this . . . " she paused, as a fire was lit in her eyes, "then . . . no, there has to be some other path that we can -"

"There is no time." Mr. Spears booming voice interrupted at last. "If what the news is reporting, and if what was shown is of any concern, there is no reason for you to go back."

"I am injured, and there are plenty of liabilities to concern you with." Falcon's expression was serious, "if you already know that I was with The Titans, then that is proof enough that I am not going to abandon them, or the people of Jump City in this fight."

Upon hearing the confidence in his voice, Elizabeth was brought back into the conversation. Her brother was alive, and the last thing she wanted to happen, was to lose him.

Mr. Spears shook his head, where the ethics and codes that were about to be violated, they were too numerous. It was putting his job on the line.

"This is not a good idea." Mark rasped.

"No, but neither of you want to just turn me in. I can't stay here, now can I?"

"If you are indeed determined in this course of action, as you say that you are-"

"I am."

"Confidence, and eagerness have caused many problems, for far too many young people." The Doctor exhaled, he was standing in front of the teenagers once more, "Perhaps you think you can stop that train, and it is possible that you can make this right, but the risks are too great."

Falcon cleared his throat, "I have dealt with risks far greater, and it has cost me everything. If I don't try now, then what good would it do me, to sit back and watch when I can still do something?"

"Hmmmm, that isn't very reassuring."

"No." Falcon nodded, "But by not taking this chance, then that is going to lead to a far worse crisis."

"I don't like this. It has far too many things that can go wrong, and I know that this is all dangerous . . ." Mr. Spears clenched his fists, and he continued speaking, "I don't know what you hope to achieve, but I can arrange for your transport."

Falcon bowed his head, this time in graceful appreciation.

Elizabeth felt her heart pounding quicker against her ribcage, as her focus was drawn back to the images on the screen.

Without his Communicator to formulate a plan with the others, with his physical abilities being back, but barely at half strength, the element of surprise was still very much in his favor.

The trio in the hospital room were filled with heightened energy, as the events were culminating to a massive battle, of good versus evil within the metropolis a few hours north.

These three did not say it, but they each felt it. They were going to make an effort, an attempt at doing what they felt compelled beyond words to do.

They were going to return to Jump City.

---

( ~ )

---

A chilling and all encompassing darkness, had been lifted. The attractive seventeen-year-old female blinked her eyelashes, while the rainwater splashed about her body.

The Empath found herself laying sprawled out on the ground. Turning onto her hip to exhale, the sensation was of absolute pain.

Raven's throat was dry, and her head was spinning wildly, from the disorienting effects of the gas she had inhaled. The irritating tickle deep from within her lungs, forced the poor girl to unleash a coughing fit, as her body was jolted up, like she had been struck by lightning.

Oh no. The Others!

As she awakened, the pounding of her heart grew steadily louder.

The claw marks of some monstrous hand, were noticed against her hip. She barely managed to escape from the clutches of Killer Croc, and she frantically looked around to see if he of all people, was nearby.

Thankfully, he was nowhere to be seen. She was alone.

Her body was stiff on the outside, where the inside was like a red hot fire poker, having been placed into an intense flame. She was sore, and the migraine that pounded away from earlier came back.

Raven monetarily groaned, as the incident was replayed.

The entanglement with the hideous monster, Killer Croc, he hoisted her up by the throat with one arm. Thunder boomed overhead during the terrible nightmare, as it did just now, while his cold grip left discolored bruises around her neck.

A part of her elegant blue cloak and black leotard, had been torn and dirtied. It would take time to clean, and she brushed her hands along her clothing, to clear away some of the dust.

She breathed in a few slow breaths, to regain her stamina.

The memory of Killer Croc grasping her by the throat, squeezing tighter and tighter, this caused her to rub her neck. The image of him, hoisting her up with glee, and about to preform a coup-de-gras had been interrupted.

The Tower's training droids and spheres, had arrived in the final moments the Gotham City criminal was about to end her. These practicing robots, had preformed their function, to offer the perfect distraction against an enemy that had her cornered.

What had happened to her opponent, it was unclear. She did not wish to linger in the open for long, as her powers were severely drained, and there was nobody else to offer assistance.

"By the looks of things . . . I have just enough energy for one final attack." Raven deadpanned while looking to her right hand, clenching her fingers into a tight fist. "I cannot afford to waste it."

To be caught in the open now, it would be a disaster. She had gotten back onto her feet, and started to walk.

The enemy had a knack at locating his prey, and his sense of smell was incredibly useful. Once he picked up the traces of a person, from a perfume, cologne, hair products, the wisp of incense candles or deodorant, it was stored inside of his memory.

There was nothing that could conceal it, or make him forget.

The sorceress had plummeted down many layers from within the stands, and she clutched at her forehead with her left hand.

Titan's Tower was besieged, her friends were separated, her powers were drained beyond anything further that she could do here, as it was remarkable that she had awakened at all.

"Hang on Beast Boy."

She looked about her surroundings as everything was reoriented. The distant noise of battle, of gunfire and explosions echoed from within the super structure.

"Press, I hope you know what you are doing." Raven stepped around puddles, while partially hunched over, she smirked as her reflection bounced back. "I hope that I know, what I am doing."

The look of his posture that he gave, of his firm stance even after having been hit, with the blood traveling down his leg, it reminded her of Kimiko's samurai code, when the enemy surrounded them.

The rain was coming down much faster, soaking her. She wrapped her blue cloak tightly around herself, and she pulled the iconic hood over her head. The scent was reminding her of a wet dog.

"I have a chance . . . I made it. This battle is not over yet." The Empath exhaled a deep and staggering breath, while the internal conflict was overflowing. "Press . . . Kimiko . . . thank you both. I will push forwards, as you have given me the strength to do so."

The breeze caused her to clutch at the fabric. A soothing cup of herbal tea, and one of her many books to read, this brought comfort in her mind.

Sleep was something she longed for, however, as everybody else was fighting beyond their limits, she could not sit on the sidelines. She required no pep-talk, as a desire to stick it out, to continue forwards in her objective was possessing her.

"I need to keep moving."

Her path was unimpeded. There was nothing blocking her from going in any direction across the city. There was only one place that mattered, and the explosions that took place in the bay, caused her heart to race at an alarming rhythm.

Please . . . just give me one more chance. Just let me see him, if only once more.

The training bots were engaged with the enemy. She was thankful to that play, as it allowed her to get closer to the green skinned hero, reaching him was the critical issue now.

One foot stepped ahead of the other, and the rain did not even bother her.

Her walking pace went for an unknown amount of time, where she was focused entirely on getting home. Like a person would feel, having worked fourteen hours straight, then driving a terribly long distance back, everything else around her had blended into the background.

She had not eaten and was hungry, where she was about to collapse, yet she reached out and leaned against a street poll, staring towards the waterfront. The magnificent 'T' structure was visible, even at this far away distance in the city.

It appeared to rise out from the ocean, and the golden glow from the lights made it appear like a beacon, to all that looked at it.

Thick black smoke rose upwards from the island, and this plight made her all the more determined to stop procrastinating. Her smile was gone, and she continued down the road.

An old raggedy seagull flew nearby, it was directing her towards the edge of the city. It swooped low and perched itself upon a telephone wire that dripped with rainwater, to prune its feathers.

She did not know why, but it was the only thing she could focus on. While she staggered along the sidewalk, the glow of a bus-stop captivated her gaze. The heroine continued walking, and she was no longer in the vicinity of the colosseum.

The long blue cloak swirled and weaved about her, as the energy she had was practically empty, but she kept moving.

There was some palpable drive that had been increasingly more prominent over these past days. Nothing else was on her radar, nothing else mattered.

Raven was sleep deprived, but she kept walking. The rain was irritating at first, but the fire in her heart kept her warm.

She had arrived at the bus-stop booth, leaning against the wall that had advertisements covered in bright graffiti plastered about. Coughing momentarily, as the dryness of her throat was irritating once more, she finally sat down on the bench.

Uh . . . this is not good. I have no way of contacting the others, my powers are spent, I have a splitting headache, and there is a massive army that has been unleashed. Beast Boy . . . I am coming. Wait for me.

Their last conversation they had before parting, began to spin through her thinking.

All of the places and times it could arise, and the aggravated unpleasantness at him, for keeping something from her had returned. He and Terra had embraced each other, the two had kissed, and this caused Raven to shiver.

That discomfort finally wormed its way through her heart, like a dagger.

"It was an accident." she clutched at the blue fabric, watching the droplets pool around her boots, her mood became more gloomy. "I must get to him."

While she thought this, the sensation of gratitude at escaping, that feeling was lost to the increasing concern, of the plight that she and her friends were under.

Just across the street and high upon an electronic billboard, Channel Five with a young male news anchor was shown. The man was seated at his desk, and his image caught her eyes.

The cloaked girl looked up. The chyron below was explaining everything.

Within the upper right section window, a recorded message was played on a loop, from the one eyed Criminal Mastermind. Of the montage of events that took place, and of the deadly poison that was going to be unleashed in a matter of hours, unless his demand was fulfilled.

"So, that's his game." The Grey Sorceress squeezed her fists once more, while everything began to connect in her head. "I can't stay here."

As The Empath walked out of the booth, many electronic billboards were revealing most wanted types of posters, listing each of The Teen Titans. The heroes of Jump City had become the primary suspects to apprehend, and all over the gigantic screens, their faces and side profiles were shown.

The main image that was heavily advertised, was of The Teen Titans at their award ceremony in Tokyo, as they were given medals upon the podium. The caption above them read: 'WANTED!' Plastered in bold red lettering.

Raven gasped, "What the -"

A nearby pedestrian, bumped into Raven while she slowly backed up.

"Excuse me . . . uh . . . Oh no!" The pedestrian turned and ran away, in complete fright.

"Wait! Hang on!" Raven called out to her, while the girl she had bumped into, ran away screaming. "Perfect."

"Over there!" A distant male voice shouted, as a figure pointed at her from the other side of the street.

"It's her!"

Raven gulped. "That, doesn't sound good."

"Hurry!" came another voice far behind him. "Tell the others!"

"We found one!" A desperate voice echoed just behind these two.

"Don't let her get away!"

Having sensed such an unpleasant, and angry intimidation that was bubbling within these people, the gathering mob was quickly converging towards her.

After noticing the latest news, Raven was befuddled, but only for a moment.

The instinct to leave immediately for the shoreline, to race for The Tower and to be back with Beast Boy, it was overpowering everything else.

She had to make it back to him, and the threat of the gas being unleashed from the subway, that was a bridge to be crossed later. She would need support, and if all else, she could coordinate a new strategy back at home base.

"What in the world is happening?" Raven questioned as her legs began to carry her, and she hurried down the middle of the open road, trying desperately to flee far from the throngs of people that only increased in number. "Slade has turned the entire city against us!"

"Stop that girl!" shouted a woman that was noticed bursting out of an apartment door, clasping her cellphone tightly.

She was recording what she herself was seeing, and posting the footage to social media.

Various people held their own smartphones, lighting up the darkness like they were wielding torches. Raven could relate to the terror from the peasants, chasing down the creature that Doctor Frankenstein had created.

The crowd continued to increase in number, as tiny dots from far away, steadily drew in.

Angry faces were noticed just ahead of her, where the citizens began to flood onto the street, shouting and calling to each other. They began to holler at The Teen Titan, inaudible threats, but what could be distinguished were rude, and filled with venom.

Drivers on the road even pulled up, they got out of their vehicles to join in with the chase. Some even began blocking side-streets, and alleyways, in an attempt to keep her on this one long road.

The throng of people were relentless, bitter, and openly hostile. Some had even begun to pelt rocks towards her, making the girl weave away, and to increase her running speed.

This is bad! I can't go back to the arena, and I can't fight them! It will only encourage others to join in Slade's scheme.

A mad foot race to reach anywhere but here had developed. She was still in the heart of the metropolis, far away from the shoreline.

Raven needed time to concentrate, that in order to fly, she had to circulate what chakra energy she had left in a peaceful location. Luckily for her, a momentary break did arrive where she found a side street, unoccupied, and she hurried into the darkness.

She was breathing heavily, and she collapsed against the wall.

To reach the island from here; that was going to drain her completely, and she could not focus with the insanity that pursued her.

Lights scanned the area, while distant voices became louder over the raging storm. Sirens whined, as the flashing red and blue glows of numerous squad-cars, were lighting up the streets.

"Give it up!" cried a male voice from the mob, "Don't make this hard on yourself!"

The Grey Empath glanced over her shoulder, she had snuck behind the brick wall of a clothing store. The number of people that began the pursuit was only a handful, which by now had swelled into the hundreds!

The chase in Tokyo, of being hunted by the citizens then, was an appropriate similarity.

What can I do? Raven thought to herself. Even if I can't do much, the police can assist me in containing the crowd, to at least bide me time to make my escape.

The cloaked teenager had sprinted a great distance, over a bridge and beyond a grocery store. One of the police cruisers was parked just on the other side of the building she hid behind, acting as a road-block, to halt any people going beyond this point.

Raven took a deep breath, she let a few shadows move by, careful not to be spotted, or heard, and she jogged over.

She began to wave her arms frantically, like a swimmer caught in a riptide, begging for assistance from a lifeguard. It was a most desperate attempt to draw them in, to offer their support.

Upon observing her heading towards their position, two officers opened their doors to greet the local heroine.

"Thank Azar that you boys are here!" Raven rasped while clutching her knees, panting heavily from the excitement. "My friends . . . they . . . they are in need of reinforcements! Slade is attacking the city, call dispatch, and let them know what is happening."

Both officers decked out in their iconic Jump City body armor, and helmets, raised their blaster rifles. They were aiming their weapons towards The Grey Empath.

"Freeze!" one of the officer's shouted.

NO! Not them too!

Raven raised her hands in a defense posture, as her heart thudded rapidly against her ribcage. Droplets of sweat began to form, while a chilling breeze picked up.

The situation had hit rock bottom. Even the local police, the last refuge she could look to, had turned against her, and her allies.

"Stay right where you are!" The second patrolman ordered in a deep voice, partially masked by the synthesizer of his helmet. While he walked around the front of the vehicle, he continued speaking to his comrade, "Inform dispatch, that we have acquired The Teen Titan known as Raven . . . and relay our current position to them."

"Yes-sir!"

The sudden commotion had alerted a few people. Soon the hoard that chased her towards the alley, people everywhere were converging in all directions, and getting closer.

From every street and avenue, across multiple store fronts, apartment building stoops, and local coffee shops; more and more people hurried outside. They were heading towards this make-shift barricade, and growing louder.

They were all coming after The Teen Titan, and quickly closing the gap.

As the first police officer reached into his vehicle, to radio in their coordinates, Raven took a deep exhaling breath, to calm herself back down.

Now what am I going to do?

Pebbles were thrown towards the cruiser, which transitioned into larger rocks. Soon, a heavy brick smashed the front windshield!

"What the -" The first officer uttered while cowering a little, as a bottle crashed against his shoulder, and the liquid dripped against his armor.

"Um . . . sir -" The second officer sputtered back, while pointing at the crowd. "What do we do?"

"We need S.W.A.T. and air support. NOW!"

The rage that was felt, had erupted like a volcano. It had overpowered a basic ability in conversing with the agitators, citizens that wanted nothing to do with this, where everybody was drawn into the chaos.

Many were thinking of violence, of a twisted style of retribution to unleash. Slade's words, had been terribly effective.

An encirclement had begun to encompass around these three that stood in the middle of the road.

Many more objects were being hurled, with the upmost vitriol, disdain, and open disgust. The two members of the law enforcement community, a prideful force that was trying to maintain some semblance of order, they were targeted out of spite.

Perhaps some thought, that the police were trying to assist their wanted target of escape?

Raven lowered her hands, while the crowd roared and snarled like hungry wolves, hissing remarks at the two cops. The people were eagerly salivating, as they were about to pounce upon their prey.

Slade never once mentioned, that the public had to take any of The Teen Titan members alive, a body would do.

"Listen to me." Raven deadpanned, trying to persuade the two officers. "Do you think that by handing me over to them, that Slade is truly going to uphold his end?"

"Stop!" called out the first officer, as he raised his hand to a citizen that came too close for comfort.

"GET HER!" somebody in the crowd barked.

It happened all too quickly. A wooden plank slammed against the first officer. He had not even noticed, as an agitator had snuck alongside their vehicle.

The second officer hurried over to pull him off, as three more people leapt after them.

This is not how I wanted to use my last bit of Chakra . . . but if I don't act now . . . Raising her arms in a defensive blocking gesture, Raven whispered out loud this time, "Forgive me."

Her eyes changed to the solid white color, as she preformed the incantation within her mind, to cease the menacing threat. She understood that there were limits she could withstand, that this was going to deplete the rest of her powers, but she could not do nothing.

She had sworn an oath to protect the innocent, and right now, these two police officers were about to be slain. Something had to be done.

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"

The great shadow bird screeched its iconic call, as the majestic creature expanded from the pavement of her shadow, and it shattered glass!

People cowered low, some even dove for shelter, as the shards of the broken fragments sprinkled down like snow. Every light post and traffic signal on this street had exploded, car alarms began to chime in. A terrifying fear gripped the hearts, of even the stoutest of the protestors.

While her powers were unleashed to distract the mass of people, Raven motioned her left arm, and her sorcery caused the talons to grab hold of the two men, while their vehicle was turned upside-down in the blast.

Raven hoisted them above a building, to protect them from the mob, which for now had suddenly dispersed from the display of her abilities. They were safe.

In the cover of complete darkness, she limped down a side street. She reached out, clutching at the bricks in the wall after pulling her hood back, glancing behind herself as the crowd had scattered like frightened children.

I can't stop. she thought, as a quick respite had afforded her very small comfort.

As fortune would have it, the place she had limped towards was much closer to the banks of the bay, that led out to the waterfront. The smell of salt water hung in the air, and the call of the birds revealed she was not far from her destination.

A tightness of a cramp burned against her kidneys, as a person who is dehydrated will feel. It forced her to slow her pace down, and to continue down the dirty alley, that had trash cans placed about.

The smell was absolutely foul, dissolving waste lined the corners, as a black cat leapt towards a different hiding place.

"Just a little further . . . I can make it!" Raven spoke to herself, as the opening revealed the back half of the street.

A car was at a parking meter just ahead, and the glow of street lights revealed a most welcomed site, from the darkness in the alley.

The flipping of a coin quickly cut through the darkness, and Raven's eyes bulged wide from terror.

She could not move any further, where all she could say was, "No!"

A towering figure, dressed in a very expensive suit, split down the middle of a white and black color approached. Half of his head was disfigured, burned from old wounds, as his stance revealed the menacing villain that he was.

The man spoke in a gruff rasping tone, "Going somewhere kid?"

With the means of escaping this route now obstructed, Raven slowly backed away. Her heart beat faster and louder, while the man began to approach her.

The Grey Sorceress could no longer use her powers, she could not fly, or create a portal to escape. The onslaught was still coming, and everything seemed lost.

All she could do, was turn back into the darkness and run.

---

( ~ )

---

Cyborg carried out a tenacious fight, however, his power supply was drained.

What had worn down to a rough eighteen percent, since his hurried pace from the air traffic control tower, it was now revealing itself at a mere thirteen percent on his left wrist.

The confrontation against Scarface and Black Mask, with the subsequent explosions that were launched from the cat burglar on the opposite side of the wide ravine, this had dropped by five percentage points.

Without a sufficient power supply, he would be unable to utilize many of his abilities. If it dropped to dangerously low levels in the single digits, he would collapse into a void of darkness, totally unresponsive.

This is what happened when he and his team was chasing Mumbo, into Tito's Junkyard. He had neglected something so vital once before, and it haunted him to this very day.

"Thirteen . . . it just had to be thirteen! What rotten luck." Cyborg grumbled to himself.

Bullets ricocheted against the rocks he squatted behind, where he flinched.

"Blasted bolts! What a fine mess this is!"

The number thirteen is a bad omen to some, where this superstition was keeping the muscular teenager stuck in place. He was very tenacious, intimidating of his own merits, but he also had an intellect that was on par with many college students.

This element of constantly trying to prove himself, it fueled a burning desire that few could match. He was more capable from what others gave him credit for.

Because he was half machine, and his previous life had been as an athlete at the top of his high-school sporting profession, this caused many people, not to think there was more than what they saw on the surface only. He was more than just a gym junkie, and he understood how to apply his mind to various problems, to overcome challenges.

He had passions, hobbies, a life that was going somewhere. All of that was lost, the instant he rushed into the sealed room within S.T.A.R. L.A.B.S.

People only see what they want to. Cyborg spoke in his head, while glancing to his mechanical right hand. They never care to understand, what is beyond their eyes only.

His knees were stiff, the servo motors creaked a little. He puffed as his breath was seen in the cool air. His left crimson eye continued to offer read-outs and data about his surroundings.

He crouched behind his only means of protection. The injuries that he sustained, were slowing him down. His reflexes were sluggish from the overdrawn conflict, at worst, he would rather not ponder the bleak outlook of what could happen.

"Still . . . something is better than nothing." Cyborg nodded, when a bullet zipped over his left shoulder, leaving a trail of smoke.

He gradually stood up, and he fired back with his arm that transformed into the sonic cannon. The humming beam was a long bright blast, where it distracted his opponent to tuck and roll out of the way!

The distant noises of combat raged in the forest, just across the far side of the cliff.

His thoughts for his own well being began to slip, as concerns for The Squadron heroine, were gnawing away at him. He slid back down into cover, as the return fire intensified.

If Delphi can keep this up . . . then what am I doing hiding here for?

The whole reason he raced to Steel City, for abruptly leaving everyone else behind in the manner he had, had been to rescue The Titans East members.

With the collapsed structure of The Titan's East Tower, being nothing but a pile of smoldering ruins, and with no clear sign of survivors yet, Cyborg was becoming increasingly pessimistic.

Even if I manage to make it over to their base, what clues will be left for me to even find?

Across the ground, The Ventriloquist Arnold with his puppet Scarface, had been defeated. They were anything but intimidating, where their unconscious bodies revealed that they were not returning into this brawl.

"Well, at least that is one less enemy to deal with." Cyborg whispered as the incoming bullets, intensified from another vantage point.

Just on the other side of the large field, protected behind the remnants of tree trunks, and concealed within a bombed-out crater, Black Mask continued to shoot.

The devastation from the rockets, having slammed across such a massive area, it made the landscape appear like a black and white photograph of No-Man's-Land. A horrific reality, for the soldiers during World War One.

Brass shell casings lay scattered around his feet, while the smell of sulfur, from the gunpowder residue hung in the air. Having emptied another magazine, he reloaded the weapon, to keep blasting wildly in the direction at The Titan's Second-In-Command.

Cyborg partially leaned around the uneven rocks, and he thought, I don't have enough power to keep shooting. I need to do something else.

Delphi and Catwoman, had long since carried on with their own battle, having fled towards a nearby forest. The cra-cracking of a whip was heard, as the crash of trees being felled, reached him.

"Don't worry about them tin-man!" Black Mask jeered, while he dropped another clip, the magazine was empty. He reached into a wooden crate that he specifically placed here, to reload his weapon. "This is between you, and me!"

The hero looked to his left wrist, the reader of his internal battery had changed once again, this time to a dark red. It had dropped to twelve percent.

"Is this enough? To keep this up for an hour . . . maybe?" Cyborg deadpanned to himself, "I can't stay in place, and I can't go back."

"What's the matter kid? You had some gusto that kept me on the ropes. Now, no remark, no witty comeback?" Black Mask prattled from behind his protective barrier.

The teenager scowled in defiance. His body ached, yet he was going to keep fighting. He felt this was all just a distraction of a greater scheme.

Something is off. The Titan thought to himself. Delphi went to chase her own glory, but this doesn't help.

"That girl is brave." Black Mask hissed. "You come all this way, and yet you cannot even manage to rescue your friends. Talk about pathetic!"

He's baiting me.

"Come now, you must have some idea as to what is happening."

There was a lingering silence between them, which Cyborg felt his heart increasing in a more rapid rhythm.

"Hmmmm." Black Mask stood up and he walked forwards, aiming his rifle at the rocks ahead of him. "You are an interesting challenger, and we both have our reasons for coming here."

"You should quit now!" Cyborg shouted, keeping his shoulders pressed against the rocks to support himself. "Quit, before you end up getting hurt."

"I'm not threatened by you."

Cyborg's eye became wider for a moment, as their conversation, was exposing more than his opponent was comprehending to be giving away.

If he's not threatened by me . . . then that must mean . . .

"You have a good heart." Black Mask's voice was much closer, as he kept his weapon aimed in the same direction. "Ha! What a tragedy!"

"What are you blabbering on about now?"

"You, a young man that has a body almost entirely replaced by machinery and cold metal. Come now, you must see what I do, what the whole joke is!"

Cyborg squeezed his fists, the chatter from the criminal was not what he needed to hear. It had taken him years to overcome his own suffering.

The body he had was a dark reminder, to what he had lost. His own mother that was taken, all those years ago. Someone he could not save, and that scarred him most of all.

He could do nothing to change the past. The goading, the snide remarks were deeply unpleasant, and his anger began to intensify.

"Do I have to spell it out for you kid?" asked the antagonizer. "A blind man could see it."

"Your words . . . have no power over me."

"Oh, but I think they do." The Gotham City Criminal's voice was even closer, and he continued, "C-Y-B-O-R-G."

". . ."

"HA! With a name like that, what a pathetic excuse for embracing yourself. You must live a life of constant shame."

The Titan's mechanic did not speak.

Black Mask was intrigued, and he continued to pry. "You want to know something?"

The teenager refused to acknowledge his opponent. He was waiting to let his enemy come to him, to strike now, would ruin his one chance. The hero could not afford to waste what remained of his power supply.

He did not want to shoot, only to empty what was needed for his continued mission. This was going to come down to a brawl, and in that regard, the teenager had the advantage.

Black Mask walked across the battlefield, unmolested and he continued his rant. "You see, whatever happened to you, I don't really care about any of that. Where we all must live with the unpleasant consequences of our past failures."

Not wanting to be lectured to, the hero exhaled a long and slow breath. Cyborg had to wait.

Black Mask shrugged his shoulders, and he continued his monologue, "You think that you can turn things around, that you will be able to win even now? Hmmm?"

Cyborg squeezed his fists, still not saying a word.

The helicopter blades were heard getting much louder now, as the notion of being broadcast to the world was very apparent. The local media was heading this way, while the smoke continued to rise up, out from the canyon.

The destroyed Squadron airship was laying there, a crumpled ruin that was unsalvageable.

"You don't have to say anything, I already know your story." Black Mask spoke in his gruff voice, as he was standing directly on the other side of the large rocks. "The thing about you, the thing that makes me see you, for who you truly are . . . is the rage that is within you."

Sweat was clinging to his forehead, and the antagonizer was steadily pressing in. Like a spider that had its next meal entrapped in a web, and the more the prey struggled, the further it would exhaust itself to its own demise.

The Titan's Second-In-Command prepared himself, he had to let his opponent lower his guard to strike back.

Just a bit closer.

"You don't have to say a thing." Black Mask continued, "I find your courage to be truly inspiring."

That was it. Cyborg had heard enough, where he shouted in absolute defiance, a rage that he had been carrying since he departed from Jump City.

It blinded him into a bloodlust, nothing would slow down his charge as he pummeled the villain in the gut, catching Black Mask off guard!

The hero swung and kicked at the criminal, forcing the skull-wearing opponent to stumble and collapse, as he had not expected to be counter-attacked like this.

Cyborg's shouting boomed across the hillside, while he slammed his arms downwards, forcing the gangster to tumble across the ground, eventually coming to a stop as a knee was planted into his chest.

"That's the stuff kid!" Black Mask spat, as his firearms became lost. "Let's make this interesting!"

The sound of a switchblade being opened in the criminal's hand, caused Cyborg to leap backwards, to avoid the swipes and slashes. They were coming in faster, sporadicly trying to impale him.

"Enough!" The hero snapped, while they danced around each-other. "I'm ending this fight, right here and now!"

Black Mask did not account for the minor details of the ground, before approaching. His over eagerness to deliver a direct blow under the neck had foiled everything, where the large Titan had out maneuvered him.

The Gotham City villain lunged forwards, while swiping upwards and to the right. The knife narrowly dug into the upper body of his bold challenger, but missed.

Cyborg side-stepped around him, his chest was slashed, which forced him to tuck his body back, to let gravity pull the enemy forwards with an arm outstretched. When in this very moment the teenager lurched to the side, and utilizing his shoulder as a battering ram, he knocked the middle-aged man to the ground!

Black Mask cried out in pain, as he missed his opening. He now lay sprawled onto the cold wet mud. He was without any weapons, as the blade had become loosened from his grip, having vanished from sight.

Cyborg was panting heavily, as he stood over the fallen enemy. Their roles in this contest had become switched. Now, the hero was with the clear advantage, where the villain was broken and unable to fight back.

"You are beaten!" The hero explained in a proud boisterous tone, and he stared into his eyes. "This fight is over."

Black Mask raised his hands, his expensive suit was covered in mud, and he was clearly agitated to have been bested in this contest.

He tilted his head, with a conceited expression in this gesture before responding, "Is it now?"

Cyborg revealed a burning glare of his own. Something was wrong, but he could not put a finger on what that feeling was.

It was as though something was steadily approaching, but the direction was from everywhere. It was a sensation of looming dread, like the struggle which had just ended, was only the beginning of a far worse evil.

Cyborg looked around himself, unable to spot anybody. He was deeply concerned, one trap had been sprung, and with the rather abrupt vanquishing of the pair of villains on the ground further back, there was a greater worry that began to make his heartbeat quicken.

"You will tell me everything I want to know." The Teen Titan squeezed his grip around his foe's neck. "I won't ask again!"

The skull covering he wore, was hiding any emotion. Only his eyes revealed a strong defiance within, and it was unsettling.

"You want to know the truth?" asked Black Mask. "The fact is, that this is exactly what was going to happen. You coming all this way, abandoning your friends in Jump City, to be the hero you so badly desired."

"Out with it!"

"You would put up a fight. That much was certain. What we did not expect, was for your friend over there, to do what she did."

Cyborg blinked, "You were part of something bigger, a coalition to strike The Titans East. That much I can piece together."

"It doesn't matter now." Black Mask defiantly spoke, "You won't be able to stop what is coming."

" . . . "

The defeated villain chuckled. "You have won a few minor victories, but what has it cost you?"

"Where. Are. They?!"

Black Mask's eyes revealed his smile that was hidden.

"What happened to The Titans East?" Cyborg thrashed his victim by the collar. "Answer me!"

Black Mask began to laugh uncontrollably, and it startled the hero.

"This is your last warning."

"They . . . are no longer your concern." A deep and potent voice cut-into the conversation from the back.

Cyborg lowered his defeated foe, turning around and noticing hundreds of Robot Commandos, having encircled the area.

The sight of their similar armor, of the numerous drones that were built to be the pawns for their master, this only brought the resounding truth, that the attack here had been orchestrated by Slade.

In the middle of this group, the droids parted allowing a giant of a man, to emerge before them all.

The massive muscles, his gigantic appearance, and his attire with green tubes along his backside, revealed a new nightmare. He was a warrior of absolute dedication to his cause, of brutal strength, too much for any person to confront alone. The doom of many, and the destroyer of hope.

The hero gulped, unable to say anything except to call the new challenger's name.

"Bane."

---

( ~ )

---

Slade's broadcast had been played for all the world to see, where the two heroes had pulled to the side of the road, letting everything sink in.

Behind them, the view of The Old Stadium was far away, appearing small behind the tall buildings of the city. It was blending in with the vastness of structures that lined both sides of the highway.

"Robin -" Starfire was at a loss of words, and she watched the footage play from the holographic projector from the motorbike.

The Titan's Captain said nothing, he used his foot to restart the engine, and the vehicle blasted down the fast lane.

Starfire clung to him, as the vehicle picked up greater speed. The struggle against their most hated enemy, had turned the entire city against them. They could not delay, any random pedestrian could potentially be a threat, and they were running out of time.

The red blur zoomed in-between and around the slow moving vehicles. It was like a meteor, speeding faster and faster on the open road.

Making sharp twists and turns, the crimson streak of the tail-light arched behind, leaving a trail in a mist of red. For the drivers on the road, they changed their lanes. The feeling was how people reacted to emergency personnel that would approach from behind.

There was no siren to warn anybody.

The roar of the powerful machine was supersonic, as the revving of gears, the twisting of the throttle, this reached anybody long before the vehicle came within glimpses of their mirrors.

For the two riders seated on its back, The R-Cycle was something they were well accustomed to.

They had used it for many adventures, and while an enclosed vehicle such as The T-Car offered many amenities, there was something alluring about Robin's bike. It had capabilities that could not be found elsewhere, where its speed and maneuverability were far better, than anything else.

Starfire's long red hair whipped back and forth, as her skirt and attire did little to keep the rain off her skin.

The thunderstorm continued, and she shut her green eyes to fight back tears.

Robin operated his craft with the greatest care and precision he could, so as to make use of every bit of energy that would propel him even faster. He was tired, but so were their friends.

I can sleep later. He thought, as his primordial desire for vengeance, was keeping him motivated.

The slightest miscalculation of meters on the road, of taking a turn too quickly, or slowing down too late to avoid an accident, it would transform into catastrophe.

To operate his vehicle at the top speed it was going, required a vastness of skills. High stamina, instinct, an unbroken focus on everything that was around. These could not be obtained, without having pushed all other concerns, out of the mind and embracing the fear, not letting it control oneself.

Robin was fighting beyond the normal limits as he did so often. He did not know how this battle was going to end, but so long as he could breathe, he would push on.

The pair of Teen Titans were determined to reach their destination, which was high in the hills. The facility was upon rocks and boulders, that overlooked everything from Jump City. The building was steadily getting more clear, and Robin took a sharp right turn towards the exit, to lead them over the main mountain-road.

The tires squealed a little, as the brakes were applied to avoid a fall.

The Jump City Observatory was the goal, and it was unclear as to what was going to be waiting for them, once they arrived. From what Starfire had learned, this was where Slade gathered the forces of evil, and it was a good theory to assume it was his primary base.

Robin squeezed his hands along the throttle, the vibration of the engine was intense. The bumps and scenery of this path were different, as the route had changed.

They were no longer on the freeway.

Come on, just a little further to go!

The Boy Wonder knew the ins-and-outs of every compartment and feature, as he often took the street bike apart with his Second-In-Command. To make it longer lasting, to travel further, faster, and to have better upgrades.

I know we have our differences . . . but I have always respected you. I - I'm sorry, for how things have been handled.

The memory of Cyborg smiling while the two worked side-by-side inside The Tower's Garage, on their respective vehicles brought him to grin beneath his helmet.

You are headstrong, and confident. I know you will be a great commander. You have done it before, and I know you can lead.

To the far left side of the road, Titan's Tower was spotted, just in the distance. Black smoke was billowing upwards, bringing fears of the casualties within their ranks yet to be revealed, while the crash of lighting zig-zagged overhead.

I can not let this go unanswered.

Starfire wrapped her arms about him tightly, as the bike switched to a different gear.

Friends . . . Starfire thought, as she turned to look over her shoulder.

The hum of the engine was back in full throttle, where the driver leaned forwards, causing The Tamaranean Princess to copy his movements.

"I know you are concerned for them." Robin spoke up, his voice was clear as he kept his eyes on the road. "I worry about that too."

Starfire felt nauseous. The vibration of the engine, combined with the after-effects of what she went through having been captured, it was a mixed bag.

The final clash of these opposing forces was underway, as the struggle was pushing everybody beyond the brink. The loss of so much was creating greater concerns, and she wanted to reach out to their friends.

If only the communicators were operating. Starfire thought.

The sudden beep . . . beep . . . beeping of the device attached to her belt chimed in, as another violent explosion, rippled outwards from the waterfront.

"Robin!"

"I know." he deadpanned, as he felt her pressing closer against him. "The Communicators are back on-line!"

With that tone heard, they could talk with their allies, and check in with one another. It had been an unpleasant debacle, yet that unfortunate issue had become resolved.

The Tamaranean Warrior felt a sense of relief, swiftly roll through her.

Robin partially tilted his head back to continue speaking, "It seems whatever was jamming our line, has been fixed. My guess, it had something to do with that last explosion that happened outside of Titans Tower."

"Oh no!" Starfire gasped. "But what of -"

"Beast Boy and Terra? Make no mistake . . . this is bad." Robin sighed prior to continuing. "They are doing what they can, just as we all are. We have to maintain our discipline. The strength with each other, must not be questioned now."

"I . . . I understand."

"Look, do you see that building up there?"

He nodded his head towards the hillside, at the highest peek on-top of the rocky bluff. The raised structure was captivating, as the mighty spyglass used to study the distant planets and galaxies, was facing out towards the city.

Starfire spoke, "The Observatory?"

"Hold on tight!"

He revved the engine, steering the vehicle up the winding pathway that circled towards the back of the great building. Just across the edge, the water of the bay sloshed along the shore.

The outer fencing and signs were posted about the perimeter, where the memory of Professor Chang, having used this place for his mighty cannon had not been forgotten.

They pulled into the parking area, and he switched the engine off. Putting the kick-stand out, the driver felt her get off first.

"Now." Robin removed his helmet, and he took a slow breath to calm himself. "We are sure to run into any number of enemies, we must proceed with caution."

"Understood. Wait . . . if what Slade is threatening to do, is to come to pass by five-o'clock in the morning, then should we not formulate a strategy with our friends, to stop the train from departing the subway?"

He gripped the device, and he looked up into her green eyes. "Starfire, we will get through this. If Slade is in there, then we can end this right now!"

"Robin -"

He felt a wave of frustration overpower him, yet he maintained his composure. He could not brush away the concerns, even when his goal was just up this path.

The Team Captain stared out at the city skyline. The thick black smoke from their home was very heartbreaking to look at.

Starfire who had stood next to him, she clasped her hands as the emotion of grief surged through her. She took a deep calming breath, and tried once more.

"Robin . . . we must do our duty, even in the face of such darkness. I understand this, but is this action we are about to embark upon, something what Slade has already planned out?"

He kept his back to her, the anger was mixed with a sadness that he did not want her to see. He had to be strong, he had to be what the others looked to him as, a leader.

She walked over and placed a hand onto his shoulder, trying to bring support and reassurance that she so often did.

"I'm responsible Starfire." he walked away, to distance himself as the rage boiled inside. "For everything."

The wind blew her long hair, and she brushed it away behind her right ear, to focus on him.

"No." The Tamaranean Warrior answered, and she approached him again. "If blame is to be carried out, then you do a great disservice by taking this burden on entirely yourself."

"It's my job to lead, to accept the failures when everything falls to pieces."

"This is not just your fight." she held his hands within her own, and caused him to look into her Emerald colored eyes. "We all hold sway, in the actions we carry. What has happened, is not your failure Robin."

"But I have failed."

"No." she replied, "The fight is not yet over. There is still time to fight back. Let us take a moment now, that we are so close, to at least make contact with our friends."

His passion and drive in his role as commander, had always been at the forefront of how he desired to be viewed. He took his role very seriously, and she carried a burning passion of her own code, because of the lessons he instilled.

There remained a long and somber silence between them, as the rain continued to fall.

"You haven't given up on me?" Robin asked, his head bowed in sorrow.

She smiled, reaching out to touch his face. "Never."

The blissful moment was broken, as a crack of thunder boomed.

"We need to work fast. The Titans East are held captive somewhere, and if we can't defeat Slade . . ." he rasped, while his focus was locked onto the building up the hill.

"We will."

He turned and confronted her. "If this doesn't work . . ."

"Our friends are waiting, we are not done yet." Starfire implored while holding his left hand.

He looked down, where he nodded in silent agreement.

"Go." Robin encouraged her. "You go on ahead and scout the area. I won't be far behind."

Starfire pulled him close, she kissed him on the cheek before turning away.

Robin stood momentarily stunned, allowing this to be a boost to his own confidence, as he watched her take flight, and shoot upwards into the sky.

---

(~)

---

"Robin calling Titans . . . our communication has been restored."

He paused, to let the importance of his words carry a deeper meaning. Even if they could not respond, the mission was to ensure the safety of Jump City.

"A great deal has already been sacrificed. You all have given more than what has been asked to be given, and in this hour, in this contest we are currently engaged, the deciding factor resides within the actions we carry forwards from here."

A flash of lightning shot across the heavens, as the wind increased.

"This battle, is testing us beyond anything we could have possibly imagined. I don't need to tell you, but understand what is at stake. Your frustration at my failures to lead you properly through this, is warranted."

The waves crashed into the rocks, while the storm churned the sea. The white foam sprayed the shore. Robin was struggling to keep it all together, but he was speaking from the heart.

"We are separated, divided across many miles. The odds of victory are slipping from our grasp, and the enemy is pressing in from all sides. So long as we stay true to our course, we will not be defeated."

Another booming collision of thunder echoed.

"This I swear, as I have sworn since the very first day of our team forming; so long as I have the strength to fight, even if it means my own end, then I will gladly exchange it. To stand up for those who cannot, to confront evil, wherever it strikes. To protect the innocent, to bring justice down upon the unjust. To be a light, in this darkness . . . then it is an oath I swear to uphold."

He looked back at the main building, and a soothing comfort had expanded inside of him. He wanted nothing more than to protect everybody, and through his failures, he was willing to shoulder the entire burden onto himself, for the agony they were in.

As he had done with the other members of their team, no longer with them.

"You all have given so much, where I am honored, humbled to have earned the privilege to fight with you all these years. The conflict we find ourselves in, may seem hopeless . . . but do no despair. Starfire and I have uncovered where Slade's base is . . . and we are about to engage the enemy."

His cape flapped behind him in the breeze, as he pumped a fist in triumph. He remained standing on the cliff, overlooking the water.

"From his last transmission he sent out, Slade's has turned the entire city against us. The Titans East members are held captive, which they must be rescued. The ultimate concern past those things, the primary goal that is of the greatest challenge to overcome, is to find that subway car, and to stop it before five o'clock."

The cold weather was soaking him, and he took a deep breath, one last time.

Around him, numerous shadows began to steadily creep in.

"This is my last request. The final mission, the ultimate objective that you, my friends must complete. Focus on finding The Titans East members, and do whatever you must, to stop that train!"

Robot Commandos had appeared behind him, and he felt this was his last chance to build any momentum. To keep going, to overcome such insurmountable odds, they were dealing with their own battles, as their moral was at its lowest.

"That poison is going to be unleashed, unless we stop it."

He had to make this clear, and to bolster their defeated hearts with a renewed vigor, there was nothing more he could say. The shadows inched around him, preparing to unleash a new fight, where he took a deep exhaling breath prior to ending his plea.

"We do this not for ourselves, but for those who cannot fight. Titans, GO!"

---

(~)

---

The great optical instrument was sticking through the gap from the roof. A long split was in the middle of the large dome, allowing the telescope to emerge. The support beams and brackets that held it in place, could partially be noticed, when looking at it from above.

Since her departure from Robin, Starfire had already completed her objective. To scout the area, without being uncovered.

The R-Cycle would have surely warned any defender of their approach. So far, no attacks had been unleashed. Everything was quiet, as only the sound of rain continued to pitter-patter across the metal platform she was standing upon.

There was no sign of any person, only the crumpled remnants of leftover cigarets, having been put into the ashtray on the upper platform. Every door was closed, and her cautious approach was warranted.

Typically, this facility had scientists, astronomers, and university students engaged with their studies during the late hours. Finding no vehicles in the parking lot was unsettling.

Perhaps the weather caused people to stay away? Starfire thought to herself, uncertain with where those who frequented this place, had gone.

She smiled while placing the communicator back onto her belt, having watched the message her leader had broadcast.

The events within the ruins of The Old Stadium had been unfortunate, and these two had only managed to escape by the narrowest of margins. It was uncomfortable for her to turn away from a fight, to leave her allies in their battles.

By accompanying The Team Leader in this task, the code of a warrior, that was very much a part of her home world, was strongly held. The conflict that raged since their group had returned from Japan, was not finished. This gave the core values she held so prominently, an even greater meaning.

To achieve victory, they had to put a stop to Slade, once and for all. Something that they came close to accomplishing, yet were unable to truly win.

The many battles of the past, the schemes and trials he unleashed, had been overcome. Yet they never had the satisfaction, that came with any other criminal they were faced with.

"They are depending upon us." Starfire said quietly, and she flew upwards in the sky, to secure a different vantage point.

Her focus became transfixed towards the 'T' shaped structure upon the island. It continued to have smoke spewing upwards, a reminder of just how brutal the onslaught was.

None of them were safe. The chaos was taking place everywhere, where the noise of sirens, the flashing red and blue lights of police cruisers cut-through the darkness.

The reputation of the heroes had dissolved into tatters. The populous was in a rage, hunting them down. This was unlike anything they had been faced with, and their forces were scattered.

Panic had set in.

The words her beau expressed for their friends to rally behind, it was the best he could do. What victory could be achieved, if so much was lost in the process? The simple notions they could utilize as a foundation, had long since crumbled.

Something else was unnerving, they had been watched every step of their journey. The news footage had recorded them, and the unexpected quiet now, was beginning to work against her confidence.

If this was indeed the fortress they had been seeking all of these years, then surely their greatest threat would have counter measures in place. Cameras to monitor the perimeter, traps and various weapons to spring upon the interlopers.

Far down below, a loud clash of battle suddenly erupted!

A lone figure was fighting, where a swarm of enemies was pushing their attacks with tremendous aggression all around him. Some were easily defeated, but the encroaching army walked over the fallen without slowing down.

They began to force their target, back towards the cliff's edge.

"Robin!" The Tamaranean Princess cried with terror, where the emerald glow of her powers shined brightly.

The Boy Wonder was surrounded, fighting against a hoard of Robot Commandos that appeared with great haste.

Just as Starfire was about to fly down and engage with the many foot soldiers that were inching closer towards her commander, a female figure had taken flight alongside her, and was now hovering above her!

The heroine turned to confront her challenger, only to become stunned into total shock.

The long dark hair, the purple glow that emanated from her hands and eyes, revealed the heroine's very kin.

"Sister?" The Teen Titan sputtered.

The battle below, was lost to this current moment.

Blackfire revealed a smile of absolute wickedness. Without any warning, ignoring to explain anything or offering an olive branch, The Exiled Tamaranean unleashed a most devastating attack!

As Starfire waited for a response, a barrage of purple starbolts exploded into her. The intensity was fierce, and she did not even move out of the way, as she was totally dumbfounded. The older sister had been waiting for so long, that now her chance had arrived where she struck with no mercy.

Everything happened in a matter of seconds. The heroine's body fell backwards at an alarming speed. While quickly approaching the water, and noticing her sudden fall, Robin reached out trying to grab her hand.

He was too late, and his voice echoed about him while he cried her name.

"STARFIRE!"

---

{{ End Of Scene }}

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~~That is serious dedication that you have as a reader, which humbles me. I am honored by your monumental efforts. This story has taken me many arduous years, to craft everything to this point alone, where to write this chapter out, it has been another milestone I can cross off my bucket-list. In getting feedback from readers such as yourself, that makes this journey truly worth it. I strive to leave behind a story that is worthy of the community, and of your time. Hopefully, my efforts can be a light in the darkness, as other writers and readers have been for me. Thank you for the support, I sincerely hope that my story continues to bring you, and everybody who jumps into it enjoyment.~~

~~T.M.O~~