Chapter 11: Forces of Nature
Hey everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! I want to thank my good friend, Van Golley, for helping me. I hope you guys like it. Anyway, sit back, relax, review, and enjoy!
It was a dark and stormy night in Jump City. The sky was filled with dark thunderhead clouds, and flashes of lightning illuminated their contours. A bulky silhouette stood among them, swinging a large kanabo against the clouds. Each time the weapon came down, another lightning strike and accompanying thunderclap followed. Nearby, a second silhouette appeared—this one much thinner, with spiky upswept hair. As it stood from another patch of the dark gray sky, more lightning crackled back and forth. The figure swung a pair of katanas around, causing new flare-ups with each movement, sending huge flashes of lightning across the stormy clouds.
Back at Titans Tower, Beast Boy was up to something.
"Heh, heh, this is gonna be sweet," Beast Boy muttered with a grin. He had taken the form of a green musk ox, standing in a random hallway as he strained mightily to catch a rubber band looped over his horns onto a nearby hook. Once he succeeded, he quickly ducked out of the way, returning to his human form with a mischievous smile. Pulling back his cowl, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a large water balloon filled with an unknown liquid. Beast Boy let out a wicked little chuckle, clearly pleased with his prank.
Hey, BB, what are you doing?" Jake asked curiously while appearing out of nowhere with Raven as they had gone back from the comic book store as a surprised Beastboy lets go of the balloon and completely freaks out as he tries desperately to make a safe catch, even shapeshifting his arms into octopus tentacles as he tried to catch it, but missed as it was about to fall down into the ground, but thankfully Beastboy reacted quickly and spawn in a Monkey Tail as he stretched out and caught the water balloon as the Green-Skinned Titan sighed in relief before turning to the others as he smirked at them.
"Please tell me this isn't another ridiculous prank," Raven said in an exasperated and annoyed tone. Beast Boy gave her a flat look before composing himself, then flashed a big mischievous grin.
"Okay, it's not a ridiculous prank. It's a brilliant one," Beast Boy said with a laugh, morphing his limbs back to normal and dissipating his tail. Jake raised an eyebrow curiously while Raven rolled her eyes wearily. "All right, check it out. Remember how Cyborg put red dye in my shampoo and I turned brown for two days?"
"Yeah, that was funny," Jake said with a chuckle, and even Raven cracked a grin, both remembering the event. A thought balloon appeared above their heads, showing, in 'Super Deformed' style, a hapless Beast Boy tinted brown, holding a scrub brush and wearing a shower cap, towel, and slippers. The other Teen Titans could be seen scrolling past him, laughing loudly at a heavily embarrassed and blushing Beast Boy, who glared venomously at Cyborg.
"Well, guys, it's payback time," Beast Boy said as the thought bubble disappeared. A pull string hung down from the ceiling, and he reached for it. "I give you...the Beast Boy Insta-Lube 9000!" he exclaimed, pulling down the string as he, Jake, and Raven took a couple of steps back. A giant blueprint appeared with the title reading, 'The Beast Boy Insta-Lube 9000!' The diagram showed the rubber band, which was part of a floor-mounted slingshot, held back by the hook with the balloon loaded in. A tripwire was placed in front of the rig, running through overhead pulleys and tied to a lever connected to the hook.
"You're a genius," Raven said dryly as Jake opened his comic book and started reading it.
"BB, you know I love you like a brother, but bro, this is not going to end well for you. Don't you remember the last time I tried to prank Cyborg?" Jake asked.
As Jake finished his warning to Beast Boy, he paused, lost in thought. The scene transitions into a flashback, taking the reader back to the last time Jake tried to prank Cyborg.
It was a bright afternoon at Titans Tower. Jake, with a mischievous glint in his eye, stood in the hallway, staring at the Omnitrix on his wrist. "This is going to be epic," he muttered to himself, thinking of all the ways he could use his alien transformations to pull off the perfect prank.
Jake had spent hours coming up with the plan. He'd transform into Grey Matter, the tiny and highly intelligent alien, to sneak into Cyborg's workshop undetected. Once inside, he'd rewire Cyborg's systems to make all his gadgets malfunction in ridiculous ways—like turning his blaster into a confetti cannon or making his voice sound like a chipmunk. Jake imagined the chaos and couldn't help but grin.
With a quick tap of the Omnitrix, Jake transformed into Grey Matter. He was now only a few inches tall, his skin gray and smooth, with large green eyes. He darted through the air vents, making his way to Cyborg's workshop. Once there, he quietly slipped inside, navigating through the maze of wires and gadgets.
"This is too easy," Grey Matter-Jake whispered, cracking his tiny fingers before getting to work. His small hands moved with incredible speed as he rewired circuits, swapped a few connectors, and even added a few of his own creative modifications. After a few minutes, he stepped back, admiring his handiwork.
"Just wait until Cyborg tries to fire his cannon," Jake thought, snickering as he tapped the Omnitrix again, returning to his human form. He quickly slipped out of the workshop, eagerly awaiting the results of his prank.
Later that day, the Titans were gathered in the living room, watching TV when the alarm suddenly went off. Cyborg quickly stood up, his systems going into high alert mode. But as soon as he activated his blaster arm, instead of a powerful energy blast, a shower of confetti exploded from the barrel, covering the room in colorful paper.
Everyone stared in shock, trying to process what had just happened. But it didn't stop there. As Cyborg tried to speak, his voice came out in a high-pitched squeak. "Titans, we have to—" *squeak* "What the—?" Cyborg clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide.
Beast Boy burst out laughing, nearly falling off the couch. Raven tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably, while Starfire looked confused but amused. Jake stood there, his grin slowly fading as he realized the prank was working too well.
But the real trouble began when Cyborg tried to deactivate his systems. Instead of shutting down, his body started performing random actions—his arm suddenly transformed into a vacuum cleaner, and his leg into a pogo stick, making him bounce uncontrollably around the room.
"Jake!" Cyborg's squeaky voice managed to yell out as he pogo-sticked past Jake, who was now frozen in fear.
"I, uh… I can fix this?" Jake offered weakly, but it was too late. Cyborg had enough. With a quick slam of his fist, he hit a manual override button hidden on his chest, forcing all his systems to reset. When everything calmed down, he glared at Jake, his voice back to normal. "You and me, we're gonna have a long talk about this later."
The flashback faded, returning to the present, where Jake was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah… that didn't exactly go as planned," he admitted, recalling how he spent the rest of the day trying to make it up to Cyborg.
Beast Boy was holding his sides, trying not to laugh at the memory. "Dude, I remember that! You had him hopping all over the place!"
Jake nodded, looking serious. "That's why I'm telling you, BB. Pranking Cyborg? It's risky business."
But Beast Boy just grinned wider. "That's what makes it fun!" he said as his arms stretched over to wrap around Jake and Raven, pulling them over to hide behind a corner.
"Here he comes," Beast Boy said with a mischievous chuckle.
"I do not think—" Raven began.
"Shhh!" Beast Boy shushed her, earning an annoyed glare.
"But what if—" Raven tried to continue.
"Shhh!" Beast Boy shushed her again, waving her off carelessly. A bewildered Raven turned to Jake, who shrugged at her. Raven sighed and rolled her eyes dryly, throwing up her hands in exasperation.
"Why are we hiding?" A fourth familiar voice rang out. Beast Boy shushed him—then his eyes went wide as saucers, realizing that his target was nowhere near ground zero. Beast Boy and the others whirled around to see Cyborg hunched down in front of them.
"Wait, Cyborg?! You can't be Cyborg!" Beast Boy screamed, pointing at him as Cyborg gave his green-skinned friend an odd look.
"I can't?" Cyborg asked with a raised eyebrow as Jake blinked slowly in surprise.
"Wait a minute, if you're here, then who's out there?" Jake asked, pointing down the hallway. They all peeked around the corner and were stunned to see Starfire turning into the hallway and stepping on the tripwire. The hook released the rubber band, and a panicking Beast Boy shapeshifted into a green hummingbird, darting into the hallway. He quickly shapeshifted into a green monkey, frantically trying to grab the water balloon, but he missed. The balloon propelled itself forward, flying through the air and colliding with Starfire's face, splattering her with the viscous contents and knocking her onto her back.
"Starfire!" Beast Boy yelled worriedly, running after her on all fours. Jake and the others rushed over to the duo as Starfire propped herself up on her hands, unable to see due to the oil covering her eyes.
"You okay?" Cyborg asked in a concerned tone, his voice gentle as Starfire blinked slowly.
"Is this punishment? Did I do something wrong?" Starfire asked, puzzled as she tried to wipe the oil from her face.
"You didn't. He did," Raven said, pointing at Beast Boy, who gave her a sheepish grin, accompanied by a nervous monkey squeal as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Star! It was... you weren't supposed to..." Beast Boy stammered, but Cyborg and Raven's disapproving stares stopped him. He turned to Jake for support, but Jake just shrugged awkwardly and gestured for Beast Boy to say something.
"Uh...uh...just remember to change that oil every three thousand miles," Beast Boy said with a weak laugh, but winced as Cyborg and Raven glared at him angrily. Jake tried to retreat back into his comic book.
"It's all fun and games till someone gets hurt," Cyborg said, his tone serious. Starfire blinked slowly before narrowing her eyes furiously. She stood up and leaned over Beast Boy, her eyes glowing with ultraviolet green energy.
"On my planet, we have a name for those who do such terrible things!" Starfire screamed, her rage steadily building. Beast Boy winced and shapeshifted into a green mouse, curling into a fetal position. "You are a... a... CLORBAG VARBLERNELK!" Starfire exclaimed in anger, her eyes glowing brightly. Her head grew in stages until it was many times its normal size, then morphed back to normal.
"I'm a what-bag?" a confused Beast Boy asked in a high-pitched voice as a scolding Cyborg bent down, lowering his head over him.
"You heard the lady," Cyborg said sternly, crossing his arms. Raven shook her head in disappointment.
"Come on, you guys. Can't anybody take a joke?" Beast Boy asked with an anxious whimper, looking around for support.
"Beast Boy, Starfire getting hurt by your prank is not a joke at all," Cyborg said firmly. Beast Boy pouted before perking up and turning to Jake, who was trying to ignore the situation by focusing on his comic book.
"Jakey, come on, you gotta back me up here. You know I intended the prank for Cyborg. What happened to Starfire was an accident," Beast Boy pleaded. Jake quickly put his comic book down.
"Well, it was meant for Cyborg, but I told you this was a bad idea from the start. Like, come on, don't drag me into this. I'm only 10, and last time I got in trouble, I got grounded," Jake said as a flash of lightning lit up the room. A scared Beast Boy yelped in fright and shapeshifted into a cat, leaping onto Cyborg's face, causing him to yelp in pain as Robin suddenly appeared in front of them, illuminated by the flashes of lightning.
"Titans! Trouble!" Robin called out.
We find ourselves at the Jump City Bay Bridge, where flashes of lightning could be seen emitting from storm clouds. One bolt finally struck down on the roadway, causing the driver of a truck to yelp in surprise. He sharply turned the wheel to the right, braking just in time to stop the truck inches from the smoking, flaming strike point. Other cars slammed on their brakes to avoid a collision, creating an instant traffic jam. As the smoke began to clear, two supernatural spirits emerged, smirking mischievously. Their bodies sparkled with yellow electricity and blue shockwave energy.
One of the beings stood at 6'2" with a 5,000-year history. He was a male supernatural being with black eyes, long black hair pulled into a knot with black sideburns, a black unibrow, a big stumpy nose, a sharp chin, pale blue skin, and a tall muscular build. His outfit consisted of a blue samurai-style helmet, black samurai-like armor with blue straps and accents, and a blue thundercloud symbol on the chest. He wore black wrist and shin guards with blue accents, a blue belt wrapped around his waist, and black sandals. He also carried a large black-and-blue kanabo. His name was Rai, also known as Thunder, a supernatural elemental sorcerer of thunder.
The second being stood at 5'10", also with a 5,000-year history. He was a male supernatural being with black eyes, spiky yellow hair resembling thunder, pointy ears, a big pointy nose, a sharp chin, light yellow skin, and a thin, lanky build. His outfit included a red-and-yellow metal headband with guard plates that stretched down to cover his cheeks, red samurai-like armor with yellow straps and accents, and a yellow lightning bolt symbol on the chest. He wore orange wrist and shin guards with yellow accents, a yellow belt around his waist, and golden sandals. He also carried a pair of red-and-yellow katanas. His name was Jin, also known as Lightning, a supernatural elemental sorcerer of lightning.
"May we have fun here, brother?" Thunder asked with a smirk, to which Jin nodded, covering his katanas with yellow electricity.
"Of course! We are Thunder and Lightning. We may do whatever we please!" Lightning shouted as he began swiping his katanas rapidly, sending out numerous bolts of yellow electricity into the air. Jin struck across all the suspension cables connected to the Jump City Bay Bridge, covering them with yellow electricity. Massive amounts of lightning sparks rang out. "Look, brother! I command the sparks to dance!" Lightning said with a laugh. He stopped firing his lightning, but the flickering remained, falling around in a shower of lightning sparkles.
"Amusing! Now listen as I make music!" Thunder shouted while lifting his glowing blue kanabo. He then slammed it down into the ground, cracking it violently and creating an intense blue shockwave that traveled across the whole bridge, causing many of the bridge cables to whip back and forth.
"Yes!" Lightning cheered, lazily raising his hand and using his powers to blast a small lightning bolt at the side of the truck, leaving behind a smoking lightning bolt symbol as the supernatural elemental sorcerer struck a pose. "Let all who pass this way know Lightning was here!"
"And Thunder, too!" Thunder exclaimed, slamming his kanabo against his fist, creating an earthquake that set the stopped cars and their drivers trembling, setting off all the alarm systems in the process. The supernatural sorcerer brothers laughed joyfully as Rai patted Jin's shoulder affectionately.
"Most amusing," Lightning said with a laugh, before yelping in surprise as a shock of yellow electricity hit his face, sending him flying into his brother. As he slowly got up, he and an angry Thunder whirled around to see the Teen Titans standing on top of the truck, striking heroic poses, with Jake now transformed into his new alien, Shocksquatch.
Shocksquatch stepped forward, electricity crackling around his fur. He glanced at Thunder and Lightning, who were still recovering from the surprise attack, then looked at the rest of the Titans with a smirk.
"Looks like someone's feeling a bit... shocked by our entrance," Jake quipped, his deep, gravelly voice carrying a hint of amusement as Lightning glared at him with a thick vein pulsing on his forehead, realizing that Jake was the one at fault.
"Hey, sorry to break up your brotherly bond, but you guys are wrecking the bridge and the city, so we've got to stop you. This ends now," Jake said as lightning crackled around him.
"No one gives orders to Thunder and Lightning!" Lightning screamed angrily, yellow electricity covering his body. "Now taste my power!" he roared while raising his katanas, generating a massive yellow lightning ball between them. He then swiped forward harshly, sending the electrical attack toward the Teen Titans, who scrambled in six different directions to avoid it.
Jake quickly tapped the Omnitrix on his chest, transforming with a green flash of light into Spider Monkey and jumping out of harm's way. Robin leaped into the air, while Cyborg clicked his feet together, summoning his rocket boots and taking off with Starfire and Raven flying after him. Beast Boy shapeshifted into a green bloodhound and dropped down from the truck just as the lightning ball collided with it, leaving a gaping hole in the side and sending the truck flying back. Fortunately, the driver had long since left the scene.
Swooping down at high speeds, a glowing green-eyed Starfire began throwing numerous Starbolts at Lightning. He quickly crouched to avoid the ultraviolet energy onslaught before taking off into the air, his lower half transforming into a lightning bolt. Jin swiped at the air rapidly, firing multiple bolts of yellow lightning at Starfire, who dodged the attacks as they continued their aerial battle.
Meanwhile, Thunder was mixing it up with Cyborg, both blocking and dodging each other's punches before they started to grapple. Growling, Thunder pulled back his left fist, readying a powerful shockwave strike. Cyborg morphed his right arm into his Sonic Cannon, and the powerful juggernauts threw punches at each other. The moment their fists connected, a massive blue shockwave rang out, sending them flying down the bridge in opposite directions. Cyborg landed on his back, while Rai managed to compose himself, backflipping and summoning a small cloud to ride on as he floated upward.
Spotting Robin standing nearby, Thunder grinned slyly as he flew over, jumped off his cloud, and raised his glowing blue kanabo into the air. Rai let out a loud battle cry and tried to slam his weapon down on the Boy Wonder, but Robin narrowly avoided the attack by backflipping onto a guardrail. He was then forced to cartwheel to avoid a second blast as Thunder slammed his kanabo down, bending the guardrail tremendously and cracking the ground. A small shockwave rippled across the bridge.
As Rai prepared to swing his kanabo at Robin again, two web lines shot out, sticking to Thunder's kanabo. His arms were forcibly yanked to the left, causing him to miss Robin by a mile. Rai screamed in surprise when another green flash of light and a blue-and-black blur sped past him, snatching his kanabo. It was Jake, now transformed into XLR8, holding the kanabo in his hands.
Though shocked, Thunder quickly regained his composure. Thanks to his brother Lightning's influence, he blasted a wave of electricity at Jake, forcing him to drop the kanabo. Thunder seized the opportunity, grabbing the alien speedster and pulling him in for a hug, electrifying him and making Jake shout in pain.
Slowly letting Jake go to get his bearings, Thunder attempted to punch him, but Jake quickly moved out of the way. He tapped the Omnitrix again, and with a green flash of light, transformed back into Spider-Monkey. Using his tail, he fired a webline, followed by another, covering Thunder's face with webbing. This distracted Thunder long enough for Spider-Monkey to front-flip over and kick him in the face, causing Thunder to stumble backward.
Spider-Monkey then twirled around and lowered his tail , firing another webline that splattered against Rai's kanabo. Letting out a battle cry, Jake yanked the kanabo into the air, flipped over, and slammed it down onto Thunder's head. Thunder screamed in pain, clutching his head. Spider-Monkey quickly tapped the Omnitrix again, transforming into Diamondhead. He then turned to glance at Robin, lowering his right arm to the ground and forming a giant diamond hand beneath the cement of the bridge, which grabbed Robin's body and yanked him forward.
Growling angrily, Thunder reached up to grab the webbing and used his super strength to rip it off his face. He whirled around, only to grunt in pain as a roaring Robin pulled out his staff and slammed it across Rai's face, causing him to crash to the ground. Robin then landed and gave a thumbs-up to Jake, who nodded back with a smirk while using his diamond powers to create a platform on a support beam.
"Man, I really need to slow down with the transformations," Jake said before tapping the Omnitrix one last time, reverting to his human form.
Back in the air, Lightning glared, trying in vain to shoot down Starfire, but she proved too fast for him. Frustrated, he perked up as an idea popped into his head and chuckled mischievously. Jin briefly put away his katanas, held out his arms, and generated a lightning ball. A huge flash of white light blinded a surprised Starfire, giving Jin the chance to pull out his swords and swipe his arms downward harshly. He fired yellow lightning bolts that struck her, sending her flying to the ground as a worried Robin and a recovered Cyborg ran over to check on her.
Smirking widely, Lightning then turned to see Jake conversing with Raven, who had floated over to talk to him. The Supernatural Elemental Sorcerer raised his katanas and fired multiple volts of yellow lightning at the kid and the sorceress. Fortunately, Beast Boy, in the form of a green falcon, flew up to them. He then shapeshifted into a green electric eel, absorbing the electrical attack into his body, and morphed into a green thunderbird. With a mean glare on his face, Beast Boy flew straight downward.
Flinching in surprise, Lightning glared angrily and raised his swords, firing more yellow lightning blasts at Beast Boy, who continued absorbing the attacks as he tried to slam into Jin. But Lightning backflipped into the air, avoiding the attack, and hurled one of his swords at Beast Boy, who dodged it. Lightning's katana stabbed into the ground, causing Beast Boy to grin slyly... until he flinched in fear as the katana began glowing bright yellow. A big explosion of yellow electricity erupted, creating a small smoking crater. Lightning telekinetically retrieved his katana with his electrical powers, grinning cockily—until he frowned upon seeing Beast Boy, now in the form of a green Armodrillo, rolling out of the crater. Uncurling himself, Beast Boy waved at him playfully.
Narrowing his eyes, Lightning prepared to blast him again, but to his shock, multiple globs of goo splattered across his body, forming a large goop cocoon that pinned his arms to his sides, causing him to drop his katanas. A stunned Jin looked up and spotted Jake, now the alien Goop, flying through the air on a black energy disc created by Raven. Raven then leaped into the air, letting out a loud battle cry as she spun around and delivered a series of powerful kicks to Lightning's body, bruising and injuring him. Angrily, Jin's body glowed with yellow electricity as he let out a loud battle cry, sending out a shockwave of electricity that vaporized the goop cocoon restraining him and knocked back a yelping Raven.
Stunned by this, Raven wasn't fast enough to react as a grinning Lightning fired an electrical blast at her. Thankfully, Jake was able to save her. He landed on the ground after the black energy disk dissipated, stretched out his arms to Raven's back, and pulled her to safety as she landed in his arms. However, Raven didn't have time to recover as Jin began firing multiple yellow lightning blasts at them. A glaring Jake used his goop body to shape-shift his feet into wheels, using his speed and agility to dodge all the attacks while unintentionally causing Raven to yelp as she danced around in his arms. He then pulled her close to avoid a lightning bolt that nearly struck her. Jake used his gooey body to protect Raven, absorbing the attack and exploding into gooey bits.
"Jake, are you okay?" Raven asked worriedly as a disc on top of Jake's head started spinning, collecting all the gooey bits and reforming his body.
"Never better," Jake said.
Jake quickly grabbed her and tossed her backward, firing dual strands of goo behind him that collided with two support beams, creating a web that Raven safely stuck to. Just as a roaring Jin fired a large combined beam of lightning at Jake, he realized he wouldn't be able to dodge with Raven. He quickly tapped the Omnitrix one last time, transforming into a new alien with a green flash of light. The figure had a black body with one green eye in the middle of his head, two antennae, a tail with round plugs on its tips, four-fingered hands, and feet with only two front toes. This was Feedback. He held out his arms and reflexively used his blue Electric Blast to absorb Lightning's electrical attack into his body.
Surprised by this new ability, Jake grinned cheekily as his body sparkled with blue electricity. He then fired a big blue electric lightning bolt at the Supernatural Elemental Sorcerer, who merely absorbed the attack into his body and fired it back at him. They repeated this exchange for a few seconds until an impatient Thunder suddenly leaped onto the scene with a mighty roar, slamming his glowing blue kanabo down on the ground just as Jake's Sense rang out. A big blue shockwave appeared and collided with Jake, sending him flying towards Lightning. With a sly grin, Lightning stepped to the side, causing a screaming Jake to collide with Beastboy, who was in the form of a green Bigfoot and was planning to slam his mighty fists down at Lightning. The plan went awry as the alien hero crashed into him, and they both fell to the ground with pained groans.
"Sorry, BB," Jake groaned in pain.
"That's okay, Jakey. Cool new alien," Beastboy replied, also in pain.
"Ha, ha! Your powers are strong, but my brother and I's powers are stronger!" Lightning screamed, covering himself with yellow electricity as he prepared to blast the downed and injured Jake and Beastboy. But then he flinched in surprise as he felt his electricity being sucked out of his body. Glancing over, he saw Jake absorbing Lightning's electrical power into his plug hands and firing it back at him. Lightning narrowly avoided the attack as a roaring Cyborg charged towards him, morphing both his arms into his Sonic Arm Cannons. Narrowing his eyes, Lightning crouched into a sprinting position, telekinetically latching onto his katanas as they flew into his hands. Jin then zoomed forward with lightning-like speed, appearing behind Cyborg. Cyborg, confused by what had just happened, yelped in surprise when his head was suddenly slashed off his body, with a stream of oil shooting out of his neck stump as Cyborg's head crashed to the ground.
"HOLY FUCK! No, no, no, no!" Jake screamed in horror and shock while he and Beast Boy clung to each other in fear and sorrow. They began panicking and crawled away from Cyborg's decapitated body, his head rolling towards them. A calm and still-alive Cyborg rolled his eyes in annoyance and glared at them.
"Hey! I'm still alive, numbskulls! Can one of you idiots help me reattach my head to my body?" Cyborg asked, but Jake and Beast Boy, pale-faced and wide-eyed, continued screaming in shock and hugging each other. They watched as Cyborg's decapitated body started wandering around aimlessly, its Sonic Arm Cannons still activated, randomly firing sonic blasts into the air. The blasts struck a few cables and support beams, causing Cyborg to glare at his own body.
"Watch out for that! Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark! Come on, man, stop! We have to pay for that! Look, just calm down and follow the sound of my voice! Cold...warm...err...cold again...colder...warmer..." Cyborg said as his body moved closer, then further away, repeatedly for a few seconds until Cyborg made a startling discovery and deadpanned.
"Oh, wait, my ears are over here, so you can't actually hear my voice...great," Cyborg said dryly, with a big sweatdrop on his head. He then yelped in pain and surprise as he was accidentally shot off by his own decapitated body, sending him flying away. His body flinched in surprise and struggled to find his head as a worried Robin spotted the chaos and rushed over to help. Meanwhile, a smirking Rai walked over to Jake and Beast Boy.
"Your power to shapeshift into any alien you want is impressive," Thunder complimented Jake before turning to Beast Boy. "And you are a very powerful changeling, Green One."
"Why are you doing this?" Jake asked with a glare as he and Beast Boy got up from the ground.
"Because it is not sporting to attack an unready opponent," Thunder said with a cocky grin. Beast Boy shook his head, shapeshifting back into his human form, while Jake tapped his Omnitrix, and a green flash of light reverted him back to human form as well.
"No, my friend means, why are you wrecking everything?" Beast Boy asked, and Rai gave him a puzzled look.
"Uh...because it is amusing," Thunder replied with a raised eyebrow as jake gave him a stern look and placed his hands on his hips.
"Because you think it's funny? It isn't funny! You're wrecking everything, people are dying, you're scaring people, and you think this is all a joke? Haven't you heard that with great power comes great responsibility?!" Jake said angrily.
"Isn't this a bad time to be quoting your comic book, Jake?" Beast Boy asked, but this attack of conscience made Thunder relax his power. Jake was about to say something else when his Sense suddenly kicked in. He quickly pressed the Omnitrix button, spun the dial, and slammed it, transforming into Spider Monkey with a green flash of light. He reached over to grab Beast Boy and jumped them away just as a yellow lightning blast nearly hit them. An excited Jin flew over to land next to his brother.
"Ah, the thrill of victory," Lightning said, placing his arm around Rai's shoulders with a grin. "Come, Thunder. We shall seek more amusement," Jin said as Thunder smiled awkwardly and nodded. With that, Jin morphed his lower half into lightning, summoned a cloud, and they took off into the air.
"Well, that was a shock," Beast Boy said jokingly, causing Jake to chuckle just as Starfire appeared, flying past them with her nose turned up as she floated on.
"So...I'm guessing she's still mad?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah, she is, BB. Yes, she is," Jake replied as the other Titans appeared.
"Okay, Titans, we have to find those guys before they do any more damage. Cyborg, search the west side. Raven, the east. I'll take downtown. Jake, you, Beast Boy, and Star will work together to search north and south," Robin instructed. Jake just sighed, knowing this wasn't going to go well, while Beast Boy looked uneasily at the partner who had just been assigned to him. Starfire turned her back on him and crossed her arms with a huff.
At the Jump City Museum, various citizens were walking across the courtyard when a row of vertical concrete slabs placed on either side of the central open area suddenly trembled. A large metal globe was mounted at the end nearest the building when a mighty blast of lightning rang out, striking the ground as the Supernatural Elemental Sorcerers appeared, scaring the startled civilians as they turned to run away.
"Magnificent! We can make much mischief here!" A grinning Lightning yelled as he tossed one of his katanas. It flew through the air, covered in yellow electricity, striking the globe's base and slashing it off, causing the globe to fall and roll towards one of the rows of slabs. It banged into the end one, causing it to topple over into the next, and so on like a row of falling dominoes. Thunder looked amused, but his expression changed to one of trepidation as he noticed the fleeing civilians.
"Ha, ha, ha! Brother! Did you see what I...something troubles you?" Jin asked after noticing his brother's troubled look. Rai turned to him.
"Our foes from earlier, two of them said that our fun is...wrong. The alien kid even told me a phrase he got off a comic book that left me thinking. 'With great power comes great responsibility.'"
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! With great power comes great responsibility?! What nonsense! It's our responsibility to use our powers however we want! Besides, how could such amusement be wrong?! The fun is only beginning!" Lightning screamed, reaching over to grab Thunder's arm as he led him away.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Starfire flies through the air with Beast Boy, who is in the form of a green eagle, alongside her. Jake uses his Omnitrix to transform into Stinkfly, allowing him to soar through the air with his wings. The gang spots the damaged courtyard of the museum and descends towards it. Starfire lands on the ground, and Jake taps his Omnitrix, a flash of green light transforming him back into a human as he lands beside her. Beast Boy shapeshifts into a green parrot and perches on Starfire's left shoulder.
"Well, either they were just here, or this is the ugliest modern art I've ever seen," Beast Boy jokes, as Jake places his hands on his hips, pretending to hum in thought.
"Hmmm, hey now, no piece of art is ugly... but since this isn't a piece of art, I can safely say it's ugly as sin," Jake says playfully, and he and Beast Boy laugh, while Starfire does not look amused and pushes Beast Boy off her shoulder.
"You are not funny. You are a clorbag varblernelk," Starfire says coldly, turning around to inspect the smashed slabs. Beast Boy composes himself and catches himself mid-air as he flies after her.
"Come on, Star, you can't stay mad forever," Beast Boy says, flying around Starfire, who merely closes her eyes and holds her head up high as Beast Boy pouts. "What? Do I have to do the face? You know you can't resist the face."
Except for a glance out of the corner of her eye, she doesn't look his way throughout all of this. In no time, he transforms into a small kitten with huge, shining eyes, meowing as endearingly as he can. She looks down at him for a long moment.
"Hmph!" Starfire says, turning her nose up at him before walking away. He returns to human form with a surprised meow.
"She resisted the face!" Beast Boy says, disappointed, as Jake walks over and pats him on the back.
"It's okay, BB. I'll try to talk to her," Jake says as he walks away to talk to Starfire.
"Hey, Star, can we talk for a bit?" Jake asks, approaching Starfire, who has now reached the point where the globe was anchored, with smoke rising from the stump. Starfire turns to smile at Jake.
"Sure, friend Jake. What do you want to talk about?" Starfire asks.
"About the prank," Jake says, as Starfire's smile drops and she looks away stoically, crossing her arms.
"What about it?" Starfire asks.
"Look, uh, no offense, but don't you think that you're kind of overreacting?" Jake asks.
"Are you really siding with Beast Boy on this?" Starfire asks sharply, glaring at Jake as he shakes his head.
"No, I'm not. I do agree that BB messed up and should apologize, but it's been nearly two hours, and you're still mad. Not that you aren't allowed to be, but it could jeopardize our mission if you stay mad at Beast Boy the whole time," Jake said as Starfire remained silent, looking away as the wind blew through her hair.
"Look, I get it. Getting pranked sucks, and no one likes being humiliated in front of their friends. How do you think I felt when Cyborg dyed all my clothes neon green two weeks ago? I was known as the 'Green Lantern Reject' for days. Sure, I was mad and humiliated, but I composed myself and got some payback on Cyborg by turning into Diamondhead and accidentally breaking one of his prized gadgets."
Starfire snorted, amused by the memory, but then frowned somberly and turned to Jake with saddened eyes.
"Look, Friend Jake, how I process things is different from how humans do."
"What do you mean?" Jake asked, concerned, as Kori sighed heavily.
"I'm not like the other Tamaraneans. I was experimented on by our planet's scientists to become the most powerful queen I could be. Everything about me was heightened—not only my strength, powers, and abilities but also my sensitivity. My powers are tied to my emotions. Humans' emotions usually start at 0% and can slowly rise to 100% at a steady pace. My emotions, however, always go from 0% to 100%. There are no in-betweens. Each new emotion is like a bomb exploding inside of me. Happiness, fear, pain, and especially rage. While the prank was mild to you, it was intense for me."
Jake blinked in shock. "Oh, Star, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine living like that."
Starfire's features softened as she smiled at him somberly. "Thanks, Jake. I've learned to live with it, but sometimes, it can be overwhelming, you know?"
"I can see that," Jake said, patting her back. Starfire nodded before turning her head to see a saddened Beast Boy sitting on a piece of debris. He pouted sadly, and Starfire's eyebrows furrowed guiltily as she looked away.
"But maybe you're right about one thing. Maybe I did... overreact a bit," Starfire said.
"With understandable reasons. But if you want, you can try to talk to him. Maybe he'll apologize first," Jake suggested. Starfire nodded, about to respond, when Jake suddenly flinched as his Omnitrix began to glow, signaling danger. He quickly turned around as he and the others gasped in shock, seeing Thunder laughing as he floated into view, riding on his cloud. He was joined by an equally jubilant Lightning, and the duo swung their mystical weapons, sending a massive energy beam and multiple bolts of yellow lightning toward the group.
Reacting swiftly, Jake activated his Omnitrix and transformed into Diamondhead. He raised his newly formed crystal arms and slammed them into the ground, causing the earth to crack. He then used his crystalline powers to create a makeshift shield from the broken concrete, raising it into the air just in time to protect the gang from the elemental attacks. The powerful blasts collided with the shield, causing a massive explosion that shattered the concrete and sent the team flying back.
Composing herself, Starfire flew backward and landed on the ground as a laughing Jin flew over and landed with lightning-like speed, rushing towards her. He began swinging his katanas at Kori, who easily kept up with his speed, using her silver gauntlets to block his attacks. Starfire then dashed ahead at superhuman speed, with Lightning chasing after her, firing numerous lightning bolts. She skillfully avoided or blocked the attacks before raising her arm to fire multiple ultraviolet green energy blasts at him.
Letting out a loud battle cry, Thunder twirled his glowing blue kanabo around as he flew over to the boys and jumped off his cloud, trying to swing his weapon down on them. Beast Boy reacted quickly, transforming into a green pterodactyl. He grabbed Jake, who had transformed into Diamondhead, and flew them to safety just as Thunder's kanabo slammed into the ground, sending out a powerful blue shockwave. Thanks to Beast Boy's quick thinking, they avoided the attack by being airborne. As Thunder readied another strike, Beast Boy spun around and hurled Jake towards him.
Jake, in his Diamondhead form, landed with a thud, his crystalline body glinting under the flashes of lightning. He slammed his fists into the ground, creating a crystal barrier that deflected the next wave of attacks. "We need to take them down before they cause more damage!" Jake called out as he raised a massive crystal arm to block another strike from Thunder.
Meanwhile, Starfire was dealing with an annoyed Jin, who rushed towards her at high speed, ramming through a concrete slab. Unfazed, Starfire raised her glowing green hands, creating dual ultraviolet energy swords to block and parry his attacks. Jin, now enraged, covered his katanas with electricity, transforming them into dual lightning whips. He swung them at Starfire, who closed her eyes and gracefully dodged the attacks with elegant backflips and twirls. Landing behind Lightning, she fired a powerful ultraviolet green energy blast that sent him flying backward with a startled yelp.
Thunder, narrowing his eyes angrily, hurled his glowing blue kanabo at Jake and Beast Boy. Jake quickly raised another crystal shield, deflecting the weapon. As it ricocheted back, Jake extended a crystal spike from his arm, catching the kanabo mid-air and slamming it across Thunder's face. Thunder grunted in pain but managed to telekinetically retrieve his weapon.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Jin transformed his lower half into lightning and took to the air, unleashing a flurry of moon-crest-shaped electrical blasts at Starfire. She dissipated her energy constructs and soared into the sky, creating a massive ultraviolet green energy blast that crashed into Jin, sending him plummeting to the ground with enough force to crack the earth.
Thunder, furious, tried to fire numerous blue shockwave blasts at Beast Boy, who was now in the form of a green hedgehog, curling into a ball and rolling underneath Rai's feet. Beast Boy then morphed into a six-foot-tall skunk, aiming his yellowish-green spray at Thunder's face. The unexpected move blinded and disgusted Thunder, who stumbled back, only to be met with Jake's powerful crystal fist. Jake followed up with a series of punches, driving Thunder back further.
Starfire, noticing Lightning trying to regain his composure, grinned as she flew down towards him with her feet outstretched. Just before impact, Lightning dissolved into yellow electricity, reforming himself mid-air. He generated a massive lightning ball, preparing to unleash it. Starfire, recognizing the danger, braced herself as a huge flash of white light erupted.
Recovering quickly, Jake and Beast Boy regrouped. Beast Boy, now in the form of a green triceratops, charged at Thunder, ramming him with immense force. Thunder was sent flying into the courtyard wall, groaning in pain as the impact left him dazed. Jake approached, his crystal fists glowing menacingly.
"Please, no more! I give up! Please! This isn't fun anymore!" Thunder pleaded, his bravado shattered.
"It was never fun to begin with," Jake said with a stern glare, standing alongside Starfire and Beast Boy as they cornered Thunder. "Keep this up, and innocent people will get hurt."
Thunder, defeated, looked down in shame. "Pain does not amuse us," he admitted.
Unknown to them, three mysterious figures stood at the far entrance of the Jump City Museum, watching the battle unfold. One of them, disguised as an old man named Sureido, held a wooden box on a tripod, much like an old-style movie camera. He was accompanied by two others, one holding a detonator, all silently observing the chaos.
One of the Mysterious Figures is really Slade wearing a disguise, with no mask and his face exposed. He wore a long white wig that reaches down to his back, a fake white thin mustache/beard, and a broad cream-colored flat-crowned hat. His attire consisted of long-sleeved baggy red traveling robes, a sleeveless black robe underneath, a white obi wrapped around his waist, and a pair of yellow sandals. His fake name is Sureido, a Supernatural Elemental Sorcerer.
The second of the Mysterious Figures is really Ravager, also in disguise. She had her long white hair tied up into a low-hanging ponytail with dual strands of white hair framing her face. She wore a purple/pink samurai-like mask of a woman, a long-sleeved purple robe with a sleeveless pink bodysuit underneath, a pink obi tied around her waist, and a pair of pink sandals. Her fake name is Ravueja, a Supernatural Elemental Sorceress.
The third Mysterious Figure is Vilgax, the powerful alien warlord and enemy of Ben 10, in disguise. He wore a long white shaggy wig that reached down to his back, a fake large white beard, and had a tall, muscular, yet slim build with his usual dark green skin. His outfit consisted of a dark green/black demonic mask that covered his head entirely, a long-sleeved hooded white robe with black accents, a black obi wrapped around his waist, and a pair of black sandals. His fake name is Gurubin, a Supernatural Elemental Sorcerer.
"Do it." A stern Sureido commands his daughter and comrade as Gurubin grinned maliciously and pressed the button on the detonator while laughing evilly. Ravueja then began to turn the crank, and the front cover fell away to expose a camera lens, which glowed red and then white as the ground began trembling.
"Whoa! Wicked sense of danger!" A worried Diamondhead exclaimed as he and the others turned their heads, stunned to see a huge red/white broad energy beam shooting towards them. Lightning frantically transformed himself into yellow electricity to avoid the attack, while a wide-eyed and stunned Starfire got hit directly, sending her flying back. She flew past the boys, who were saved by Thunder as he spawned a cloud underneath them and swiftly moved them to the side. Starfire, however, collided against the Jump City Museum, just as Gurubin's bombs went off, causing the building to blow up and giant pieces of rubble to crash down on top of her, burying her.
"STARFIRE!" The boys screamed in concern, jumping off the cloud to rush over and try to help their friend. Lightning formed himself beside Thunder as the Supernatural Elemental Sorcerers backed up in fear and awe at what these newcomers had just brought about.
"Your gifts are your own. Who are they to tell you how to use them?"
"They are mere Mortals after all. Not Gods like you."
"Yeah, exactly. Don't be afraid to hold back your power—unleash it." Sureido, Ravueja, and Gurubin's voices echoed across the courtyard of the destroyed Jump City Museum as Lightning and Thunder looked around suspiciously and warily.
"And who are you that commands such power similar to our mother?! Show yourself!" Lightning screamed while waving his katanas around.
"As you wish." Sureido's voice rang out as the dust from the destruction of the Jump City Museum began to clear, revealing him, Ravueja, and Gurubin standing ominously in front of them. They had discarded their camera weapon and detonator far from view.
"Who are you three?" Thunder asked curiously as Sureido smirked sinisterly.
"I am but a humble old sorcerer whose power is drawn from nature, like your own. I'm Sureido. This is my daughter, Ravueja, and this is my brother, Gurubin. Like me, they also possess their own elemental powers."
"Indeed," Ravueja said stoically, waving her arm around as she projected a large stream of fire, which amazed the Supernatural Elemental Sorcerers. They were clueless that Ravager had small flamethrowers strapped to her arms.
"Now, come with us, and sow as much destruction as you please," Gurubin said with a maniacal grin while he and the others turned around to walk away. A grinning and excited Lightning turned to his brother.
"Yes! More fun! Come, brother!"
"Wait!" Thunder screamed, restraining Lightning by placing a hand on his shoulder as he gave the newcomers a serious glare. "Will we harm anyone?"
"What? That shape-shifter, Diamondhead, and dark sorcerer have poisoned your mind, brother," Lightning said with a glare, but Thunder ignored him, continuing to stare at the trio with narrowed eyes.
"This destruction—will we harm the innocent?"
"Would it matter if you did?" Sureido asked with a raised eyebrow as Ravueja glared coldly at Thunder.
"You are unique. Gifted. Better. Why should anything interfere with your enjoyment? We are gods; everyone else are mere mortals. They have no right to command us, for they are weak and we are strong." Ravueja said, and Gurubin nodded.
"Yeah, so if you stop acting weak, you can follow us if you wish," Gurubin added as he and the others began to walk off.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I am going. Come, brother, and leave your foolish thoughts behind." Lightning said, walking away. Thunder took a few steps after them but stopped, looking back at the destroyed rubble of what used to be the Jump City Museum. He spotted the boys frantically searching around for their teammate and gave them a remorseful look before turning to follow Lightning and the others.
"Come on, Star, where are you?" Jake asked nervously, using his super strength to pick up large pieces of rocks and toss them away. Beast Boy, in the form of a green T-Rex, bit into several giant pieces of concrete walls and threw them aside. The two boys finally found Starfire lying on the ground with her eyes closed, her hair and clothes ruffled.
Jake placing his hand over his mouth in shock as Beast Boy gasped in horror and morphed back into his human form.
"Starfire! Please, wake up!" Beast Boy yelled, rushing over to grab Starfire's shoulders and shake her around. "Come on, give me a sign here! You have to be all right, okay?!" A panicking and nervous Beast Boy pleaded, reaching up to grab his cowl and taking it off to reveal tears of guilt in his eyes. "Because I—it was just a joke, you know? Back at the tower, and...I'm sorry. I never said it, but I'm really, really sorry. It was supposed to be funny, and you could've been hurt, and...I'm a total clorbag." A somber Beast Boy said, lowering his ears sadly. As Jake gave him sympathetic looks before lowering his head solemnly, about to start mourning for their friend, but then—
"Apology accepted," Starfire said with a warm, forgiving smile, opening her eyes as she sat up, surprising the boys as Beast Boy beamed happily with tears of relief in his eyes.
"Starfire!" Beast Boy exclaimed loudly. Taking kitten form again, he jumped into her outstretched hands, and she cuddled him to her chest. From his perspective, he looked up at her and meowed happily.
"I am glad you all are unharmed as well," Starfire said, cooing at Beast Boy's cuteness as she rubbed his head.
"Star!" Jake called, rushing over to hug Starfire, who hugged him back.
"Yeah, but how did you survive?" a confused Jake asked as Starfire gave him a sly grin.
"I'm stronger than I look. A mere building crashing on top of me won't even give me a bruise," Starfire semi-bragged, and the boys nodded, with Beast Boy morphing back into his normal form as Garfield knelt before Starfire with a remorseful look on his face.
"I am so sorry, Starfire. You gotta forgive me," Beast Boy pleaded.
"Don't worry, I will, if you forgive me as well. I might have overreacted a bit, admittedly, but that's because my powers are tied to my emotions, so I'm more sensitive than normal humans," Starfire said apologetically, and Beast Boy nodded.
"I understand, Star. How about we both agree that we messed up and let bygones be bygones?" Beast Boy suggested.
"I like that," Starfire said as she and Beast Boy shared a quick hug, with Jake watching with a big, happy, relieved smile on his face. He then tapped the Omnitrix on his chest, reverting to his human form in a green flash of light. "But now those evil brothers must be made to apologize."
"I don't think they are evil, Starfire. I think they're just like me," Beast Boy said as Jake nodded, while Starfire gave the boys a surprised look.
"What is this madness?!" Lightning screamed contemptuously with a glare as we fast forward in time and cue over to a clearing in the mountains outside of Jump City. A few scarecrow-like dummies, consisting of two crossed tree limbs with blankets wrapped around them with some Japanese characters painted on the cloth, could be seen set up as Jin, Rai, Sureido, Ravueja, and Goburin stood nearby.
"Sticks and leaves?! Is this a joke?! There is no fun in blasting such frail targets!" Lightning exclaimed.
"Are you certain, young master?" Sureido asked with a raised eyebrow, and Goburin nodded with a smirk.
"Yes, how do you know that something is bad without trying it?"
"Indeed, go ahead and blast one of them. You may like what you see," Ravueja added, pointing at one of the scarecrow-like dummies.
Jin groaned and boredly threw a lightning bolt at one of the dummies, causing it to instantly catch on fire, making him rethink his opinion of the exercise. Lightning grinned excitedly. "Dancing lights! Pleasing!"
"Let Thunder try his hand!" Thunder exclaimed as he swung his glowing kanabo forward, sending out a stream of blue shockwave energy that collided against another scarecrow-like dummy, causing a small explosion and a great clap of sound to ring out. Rai laughed wholeheartedly. "Wondrous noise!"
"See, brother? There is no harm in our fun," Lightning said with a smirk as Sureido nodded.
"And there is so much fun to be had," Sureido said while gesturing at all the scarecrow-like dummies around them. The Two Thrill-Seekers grinned at each other cockily. A few minutes later, Jin was flying across the skies, swinging his katanas around, slicking through various scarecrow-like dummies, and setting them all on fire. A grunting Thunder leaped high into the air and slammed his glowing kanabo down on the ground, creating a huge beam of blue shockwave energy that traveled across the ground and collided against multiple scarecrow-like dummies. They spent the next half hour working in tandem, turning one target after another into blazing torches. Finally, Rai and Jin stopped their assault and backed up towards a disguised Deathstroke, Ravager, and Vilgax.
"More targets, weird ones!/Yes, please, give us more!" the Supernatural Elemental Sorcerers pleaded in unison as Ravueja shook her head.
"No need."
"Wait, what?" A bewildered Lightning asked as Goburin chuckled slyly.
"Yes, sorry, boys, but playtime is over. You've done quite enough."
"Indeed, now, it's time for the real fun to begin," Sureido said while stepping forward. He produced a metal disc from underneath his robes, bearing a Japanese character that resembled a stylized letter 'S.' Slade then scaled the object over the clearing, with a totally baffled Thunder and Lightning watching on as the metal disc stopped high in the sky and spun around in place with electricity crackling around it. It picked up speed, culminating in a mighty orange flash as rays of light shot down to strike every last one of the burning scarecrow-like dummies. Beams of orange light played between them, tracing out a large rough humanoid shape on the ground. A final wide beam from above touched the heart area, and when the light show stopped, the outline started to burn intensely. Sureido, Ravueja, and Goburin held up their staffs, topped with the same character as on the earlier disc.
"RISE! ULTIMATE FIRE DEMON! RISE!" Sureido ordered. The apparition, now named Ultimate Fire Demon, did so with an unearthly screeching noise. It had the character engraved on its forehead and stood about 50 feet tall.
"YOU ARE UNDER OUR COMMAND AND OUR COMMAND ALONE!" Ravueja screamed with an intense glare. Goburin held out his arms with a maniacal grin on his face.
"BURN, ULTIMATE FIRE DEMON! BURN IT ALL!" Goburin ordered. The Ultimate Fire Demon nodded and started moving down the mountainside toward the city. However, it stopped upon finding the Teen Titans standing some distance away, striking heroic poses.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you? Play with fire, you're going to get burned," Robin said while doing the infamous Batman Scowl. The Ultimate Fire Demon narrowed its eyes angrily and swung its flaming forearm at the Teen Titans, forcing them to scatter.
Jake, transformed into Diamondhead, looked up from their duck-and-cover position to see the Ultimate Fire Demon pushing trees aside and making its way toward Jump City with smoke and flames billowing in its wake. The Three Non-Magical Villains waved the fumes aside with their staffs.
"Good. Very good," Sureido said with an evil smirk while Ravueja remained stoic. Goburin laughed sinisterly. A silent Thunder and Lightning could not believe what they had just had a hand in unleashing.
"Brother...what have we done?" Thunder asked.
"Mother is sooooooooooooooooooooo going to kill us for this," Lightning said with a nervous gulp.
"TITANS, GO!" Robin ordered. The team immediately sprung into action, chasing after the Ultimate Fire Demon. Cyborg activated his rocket boots and flew up in the sky with Starfire and Raven, while Robin jumped up to mount Beastboy's back just as he shapeshifted into a Green Horse and ran. A grunting Jake, in his Diamondhead form, fired crystal shards at the monster, but the Ultimate Fire Demon shrugged off the attack.
"Flames can't spread if there's nothing to burn!" Raven screamed.
Raven chanted 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos!' under her breath. As she used her black magic to latch onto several trees and yanked them out of the ground. Robin beamed at this.
"Beast Boy, Starfire! Help them out! Cyborg, deliver the finishing blow!" Robin ordered. Everyone nodded, and Beastboy put on an extra burst of speed as he morphed into a Green 30-foot-tall Woolly Mammoth, colliding against a row of trees, knocking them all down. Starfire flew high into the air, holding out her arms as she fired a huge continuous beam of ultraviolet green energy, vaporizing a row of trees. After summoning both his Sonic Arm Cannons, a roaring Cyborg leaped towards the Ultimate Fire Demon, slamming his fists into the ground. He unleashed a terrifically giant sonic wave of blue energy that skimmed the ground, throwing up a wall of dirt in the beast's face—a large-scale equivalent of dumping sand on a campfire to put it out.
It took some time for the smoke cloud to clear, and when it did, the Ultimate Fire Demon was nowhere in sight.
"Is he out?" Beastboy asked while still in the form of a Giant Green Woolly Mammoth. Jake, now back in his human form, cautiously approached, watching for any sign of the demon.
"You had to ask," Raven said dryly as the Ultimate Fire Demon roared, reigniting itself. The flames melted through Robin's ice and the crystallized shards left by Diamondhead. It was now roaring mad.
Before anyone could react, the ground shook as a massive figure burst through the trees. It was Vilgax, towering over them with his menacing, armored form. He glared directly at Jake.
"You... you have the Omnitrix!" Vilgax growled, his voice deep and filled with fury.
Jake, taken aback, activated the Omnitrix, transforming into Diamondhead once more. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice tense.
"You dare to wield Tennyson's weapon?!" Vilgax roared.
"Tennyson? Who's that?" Jake asked, genuinely confused.
"How did you get the Omnitrix?!" Vilgax demanded, charging at Jake.
Jake braced himself, crystal shards forming around his arms. "I don't know! But you're not getting it!"
Vilgax charged at Jake, only for Jake to form a crystalline shield from his hand that pushed Vilgax back into the trees.
Sureido commanded, "Go, young masters! Fire is your creation! They have no right to destroy your fun!"
Jin perked up at the order, while Rai looked conflicted.
Yes! We must fight!" Jin declared.
"But, brother—" Rai began, but was cut off.
"Do not annoy me with your foolish concerns! Come!" Lightning ordered. Thunder hesitated for a moment, thinking it over, before nodding. Both of them disappeared in a flash of light as Sureido and Ravager stood back-to-back, pausing briefly. The two men grinned slyly.
Suddenly, Slade darted to the side to avoid a flying kick from a glaring Robin. He reached out, grabbed Robin's cape, and threw him into the air. As Robin fell back down, Ravager crouched and leaped high into the air, slamming her staff into a grunting Robin, sending him crashing to the ground. She landed beside her father.
Ah, Robin. The Boy Wonder and former sidekick to the great Batman. It's great to see you again," Sureido said with a sly grin.
Who are you?" Robin asked with a glare, charging at Sureido at full speed. The Boy Wonder quickly got into a fighting stance, rushing to attack his foe as well.
Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven chanted while flying through the air, supported by a black energy disk. She raised her arms and fired a huge stream of black energy that collided with the Ultimate Fire Demon, stopping it in its tracks and snuffing out its flames.*
Raven watched as the demon's body turned black and smoking, cracks appearing all over its surface. But then, with a flare of fiery energy, the demonic creature slammed its fists together, creating a pyrotechnic shockwave that blasted away all the trees within several dozen yards. Raven was thrown back by the overpressure.
We got you!" Cyborg shouted as he and Starfire flew over to catch Raven, only to be struck by a massive yellow lightning bolt that knocked them all to the ground. Grinning, Lightning appeared on the scene and flew down to confront them, while Thunder faced off against Beast Boy, who had transformed into a 20-foot-tall Eastern Water Dragon and glared down at him.
Stand aside, Changeling!" Thunder ordered, holding up his glowing blue kanabo. Beast Boy said nothing at first, but then roared loudly, flying forward with great speed to confront Thunder. Beast Boy stretched out his whiskers, connecting them with Rai's forehead, causing Rai's eyes to glow green.
A bright green flash occurred, and they were transported into a telepathic magical realm, where Thunder sat in the middle of a bank of green clouds, his body largely covered in shadow and drawn in a somewhat different style. Beast Boy was seen in a similar manner, as the realm shimmered and wavered.
"I do not wish to harm you," Thunder thought to himself, his voice echoing telepathically.
"But you want to destroy homes and innocent lives?" Beast Boy replied.
"No."
"Then what are you fighting for?"
"My brother and I… they say we are unique, gifted, better.
Gifts don't make you better, just different. It's how you use them that counts. Just like my friend says, 'With great power comes great responsibility,'" Beast Boy said. He then disconnected his whiskers from Thunder's forehead, warping them back into the real world. Rai gasped in shock, looking around before noticing Beast Boy floating above him stoically, waiting to see what his next choice would be. Thunder thought carefully, frowned grimly, and nodded to himself in determination.
"It seems your power has its limits," Lightning said with a grin as he approached the downed Teen Titans. He raised his katanas, now covered in yellow electricity. "But mine has none."
As he was about to strike the Titans, a familiar glowing blue kanabo flew over and collided with Lightning's back, causing him to scream in pain. Lightning was sent flying into a tree. As he recovered from the attack, Lightning was dumbstruck to see the kanabo telekinetically flying back into Thunder's hand as he stepped forward to confront his brother.
"Brother?! How could you turn against me?!" Lightning asked, betrayed and saddened, as Thunder held out his arm with a sorrowful frown on his face.
"We have done wrong, my brother. Our fun must stop."
"Grrr, no one commands Lightning! Not even Thunder!" Lightning screamed in rage as he reluctantly zoomed forward, slashing at Thunder and creating dual 'X' electrical bolts that collided with Thunder's body, sending him flying back.
Back in the forest, Vilgax collided with a bunch of trees, but he slowly got up, only to be met with a punch. However, he caught it and uppercut Jake, sending him flying into some rocks.
Give me the Omnitrix, boy! It's just a child playing with a toy. You don't know its true power," Vilgax said, preparing to punch Jake.
But just before the punch landed, a flash of green light appeared, and Jake transformed into Goop. Vilgax's punch went right through his gooey body.
"Sorry, Squidward, but I've got to help my friends, so see ya!" Jake said as he stretched his arms to some tree branches, slingshotting himself into the air. He tapped the Omnitrix again, and with another flash of green light, he transformed into Stinkfly, flying away.
As Jake, now in his Stinkfly form, tried to fly away, he glanced back to make sure the coast was clear.
Whew, that was close," Jake muttered to himself. I just need to find the others and—"
Before he could finish his thought, Vilgax suddenly leaped into the air with astonishing speed. In an instant, he tackled Jake mid-flight, slamming him to the ground with a thunderous crash.
You can't escape me that easily, boy,"Vilgax growled, pinning Jake to the ground. "The Omnitrix will be mine!"
Jake struggled under Vilgax's immense weight, his wings pinned to the ground. He tried to push Vilgax off, but the alien warlord was too strong.
You don't get it, do you?"Vilgax sneered, tightening his grip around Jake's neck. "The Omnitrix isn't just a toy for a child. It's a weapon, a key to unlimited power. You're nothing but a fool if you think you can wield it."
Jake gritted his teeth, glaring up at Vilgax.I may not know everything about the Omnitrix, but I know enough to keep it out of the hands of monsters like you!"
Vilgax's eyes narrowed as he raised his fist, ready to deliver a crushing blow. But Jake quickly tapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, a flash of green light enveloping him. In an instant, he transformed into Diamondhead, his crystalline body gleaming in the dim light.
Let's see how you handle this!" Jake shouted, thrusting his arm upward and creating a massive crystal spike that launched Vilgax off him. The spike sent Vilgax tumbling back, but he quickly recovered, landing on his feet with a snarl.
"Impressive," Vilgax said, dusting himself off. But you're still out of your league, boy.
Jake didn't back down. He raised his crystal fists, ready for the next round."We'll see about that."
The two clashed once more, exchanging powerful blows as the ground shook beneath them. Jake switched between different alien forms, each transformation marked by a green flash of light. He tried everything—speed, strength, agility—but Vilgax countered each attack with brutal precision.
As the fight wore on, Jake began to tire. His breathing grew heavy, and the green light of the Omnitrix flickered uncertainly."Come on, hold it together," Jake muttered, trying to keep up the fight. But Vilgax was relentless, each strike pushing Jake closer to defeat.
Finally, in a moment of desperation, Jake attempted to transform into another alien. But the Omnitrix sparked and fizzled, refusing to change."No, not now!" Jake gasped, but it was too late.
Vilgax took advantage of the momentary lapse, grabbing Jake by the throat and lifting him off the ground."Your time is up," Vilgax said coldly. The Omnitrix belongs to me."
Jake struggled, but he was exhausted, his energy nearly spent. Vilgax's grip tightened as he reached for the Omnitrix, his eyes gleaming with victory.
Meanwhile, Robin and the others continued their melee with their foes while the mountain burned all around them. Slowly but steadily, the young Titan retreated downhill as their attackers swung at them. Soon, though, Robin managed to hold his ground, blocking strike after strike with his arms.
Robin's sense of danger kicked in, and he quickly moved aside to avoid Ravueja's lunge. A large knife emerged from her staff, which she accidentally stabbed into a tree. Sureido grimaced down at a stunned Robin just as Gorubin pulled out a detonator. He pressed it, and suddenly, a series of explosions rang out around them. Gorubin let out high-pitched, evil cackles, forcing a screaming Robin to run off to avoid getting blown up. Sureido and Ravueja stood ominously as Gorubin laughed evilly.
Uh, guys? Major fire danger." A worried Raven said as she riding around on a black energy disk as Starfire and Beastboy flew beside them as Cyborg can be seen riding his Changeling Friend. "We need to stop that thing before it burns down all of Jump City!"
How?" beast boy asked as Cyborg narrowed his eyes in determination.
"Any way we can! Titans Go!" Cyborg ordered while mushing an annoyed Beastboy as they all then flew off. Back with the Supernatural Elemental Sorcerers, we see a furious Jin throwing a big yellow lightning bolt at Rai, whose face suddenly goes slack-realizing he is the target as the electricity washes over him and hurls him back against a wall of rock as Thunder slides down to a sitting position and groans wearily as Lightning flew over to him and raised his katanas into the air, ready to unload a king-size shock at his Brother at point-blank range as his limbs shook, and tears ran down his face as Rai saw this and gave Jin a sympathetic look.
Tell me, brother, are we still having fun?"
"...No." A tearful Lightning says quietly, not wanting to hurt nor kill his Brother as he dropped his katanas and powers down as Jin falls down to his knees.
Observe." Thunder says stoically while pointing ahead as he and Lightning spotted Ultimate Fire Demon descending down from the mountains and arriving at Jump City, scaring away various citizens as Beastboy flew towards him with Cyborg still on his back as he did some quick upgrades on his Sonic Cannon Arms and, after getting the ammo from a nearby fire extinguisher, was able to convert his arms into a pair of Water Cannons as he fired dual streams of high-pressurized water at Ultimate Fire Demon with Beastboy opening up his arm and fired a massive stream of water at him as Raven cast a spell to hold back the flames as Starfire can be seen flying around and evacuating all of the civilians around her with her impressive speed and strength.
"They also have great power, but they use them for great responsibility like saving innocent civilians." Thunder says while getting up from the floor. "If we are so special, Brother, why do we waste our gifts on dangerous fun? Mother wouldn't have wanted this. We must help stop the disaster that we caused."
"But how? Our gifts can only destroy." Lightning says sadly as Thunder nodded.
"True, but together we have another gift." Thunder says as Lightning perked up and nodded as they then teleported away in a flash of light and ascended into the cloud cover as, when they vanished from sight, a blast of lightning is seen from within.
The Fourr Teen Titans find themselves staring at a mountain in flames and a walking inferno that has not let up one bit despite their best efforts as the Ultimate Fire Demon towers over them and roared savagely as, up in the skies, we see Rai striking at the clouds with his kanabo while Lightning swung his katanas here, and there, both of them producing the same effects as they did at the beginning of the chapter and the dark gray clouds sparkled with electricity as, due to Thunder and Lightning's combined magical efforts, it began raining heavily and the Ultimate Fire Demon looks up in alarm and fear at the downpour as he then screams in agony and his flames go out in a thick wall of brown smoke as, when it clears, there was nothing left but a few piles of ashes as the Teen Titans, minus Raven, all cheered loudly.
"Come on, Robin, is that the best you can do?" Sureido asked with a disappointed and scolding tone while holding up Robin by his neck and slammed him against the tree
"Ravueja? If you please?" Sureido says as Ravueja nodded and pulled out two daggers as she was about to toss them over to stab themselves against Robin's head but then stopped as a tremendous flash of lightning appeared out of nowhere and caused the two Villains to jump backwards but they lost their hat and masks as Robin drops down into a crouch and clutched his breath as he gasped then droop to the floor as he turned over to the others and spotted Slade putting on his original mask while Ravager slowly glanced up to glare at him stoically as Rose pulled out a smokebomb and threw it down, causing black smoke to appear as, once it died down, we see that she and the others had disappeared from sight, but they left behind three mysterious objects on the ground as Robin walked over to grab them.
Deathstroke...and Ravager..." Robin said thoughtfully while holding a metal disk with Deathstroke's name written in Japanese, a small rose with a small letter that reads 'Ravager' as he narrowed his eyes stoically with a flash of lightning ranging behind him .
"Ah, yeah!" Beastboy cheered while transformed back into his Human Form as we cue twenty minutes later, and we see the Teen Titans still celebrating their victory with Robin descending down from the mountains as beast boyu sticks out his tongue to catch the raindrops, but then he, turn away from the street to see Rai and Jin teleporting themselves down from the heavens with a flash of lightning with Thunder smiling at the group warmly while Lightning looks away, showing very clearly that he would rather be doing anything else right now.
"I am sorry for the trouble we have made." Thunder says while bowing to the Group as he then stands up and nudges Lightning, who faces forward as he sighed heavily and bows to them as well.
"I am...also sorry."
" beast boy and that alien child ? You have taught us much. Thank you." Thunder says as the Gang smiled at them and nodded.
"And we thank you for helping to defeat the Ultimate Fire Demon,"
cyborg says as Lightning looked away sheepishly.
"Yeah, well, we might have had some help from someone else."
"Who?" Beast Boy asked curiously, just as heavy purple smoke filled the area. Thunder and Lightning flinched in surprise and immediately bowed down to the ground. To the Teen Titans' shock, a huge, beautiful woman emerged from the clouds, smoking from her pipe.
Standing before them was a 50-foot-tall, 50,000-year-old supernatural goddess with dark purple eyes and long, puffy light purple smoke that resembled hair, reaching down to her waist. She had thin, smoky light purple eyebrows, a small dainty nose, a sharp chin, M-cup breasts, dark purple skin, a huge hourglass figure, a big thick backside, and her outfit consisted of a pink flower in her hair, a long-sleeved, incredibly baggy black/purple kimono that left little to the imagination, a pink obi wrapped around her waist, and a pair of pink sandals. Her name was Izanami, the Goddess of Creation and Destruction, and the mother of Rai and Jin.
"Hello, Teen Titans, I'm Izanami, the Goddess of Creation and Destruction. Anyway, I'm sorry for the trouble that my children have caused," Izanami said while taking another puff from her pipe. She then blew a circle of purple smoke down at the Teen Titans, who all shivered in pleasure as they stared up at the gorgeous goddess in awe, their faces flushing with big blushes.
"Mother, please, we didn't mean to—Ow!" Lightning began to say, but both he and Thunder yelped in pain as an angry Izanami manipulated the clouds around her to spawn two cloud arms that latched onto Rai and Jin's ears. Their mother glared down at them sternly.
"Seriously, I can't leave you two alone for a thousand years without you causing trouble. Just wait until we get back home—you two are in so much trouble," Izanami scolded. The purple clouds around them swirled rapidly, and the trio was teleported back up into the heavens, leaving an awkward silence behind.
"Wait a minute, guys...where's Jake?" Beast Boy asked, just realizing his absence.
Meanwhile, with Jake, the situation had grown dire. Vilgax had him pinned against a tree, his massive hands wrapped tightly around Jake's throat. Blood trickled down Jake's face from a cut above his eyebrow, and his clothes were torn and bloodied from the relentless battle. Jake struggled to breathe, his vision blurring as he desperately tried to pry Vilgax's iron grip off his neck.
Vilgax sneered, his crimson eyes glowing with malevolent triumph. "Any last words before I take what is mine?" His voice was a deep growl, dripping with cruel anticipation as his gaze locked onto the Omnitrix on Jake's wrist.
Jake coughed, gasping for air. He managed a weak smile, his voice raspy but defiant. "Yeah... just one thing…" His trembling hand hovered over the Omnitrix. His mind raced as he clung to a sliver of hope.
"You're finished, boy," Vilgax snarled, tightening his grip.
Jake's voice cracked as he whispered, "Omnitrix, code 35-9…" He knew the self-destruct sequence could end it all. Goodbye, Titans. Thank you for being my friends and family.
Before Jake could complete the command, Vilgax's eyes widened in realization. With a roar of rage, he slammed Jake to the ground with bone-crushing force, cutting off the command. The impact left Jake battered, bloodied, and barely conscious, the Omnitrix now out of reach.
Vilgax loomed over him, sneering. "You've lost. Now, the Omnitrix is mine."
As Jake struggled to move, his vision swam. He caught a glimpse of something approaching fast—a blur of color and fury. The Titans had arrived.
The sight of Jake lying motionless, bloodied and broken, sent a jolt through the team. Their faces hardened with anger and grief as they processed the scene before them. The vibrant, determined boy they cared for now lay beaten at the hands of a monstrous foe.
Robin stepped forward, his voice trembling with fury. "You're going to pay for this." His staff extended with a sharp snap, and he gripped it tightly.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," Raven chanted, her eyes glowing with dark energy as tendrils of shadow coiled around her. "You will regret harming him."
Cyborg's cannon hummed, charging with lethal energy. "Nobody hurts our team and gets away with it," he growled.
Beast Boy transformed into a massive green tiger, his usual playful demeanor replaced by a feral snarl. He growled low and dangerous, pacing in front of the others like a predator ready to strike.
Starfire hovered above the ground, her hands blazing with green light. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but her voice was steady and resolute. "You will not harm our friend any longer."
Vilgax's lips curled into a smirk. "So, the cavalry arrives. How quaint. You'll fall just as easily as he did."
Robin pointed his staff at Vilgax, his voice ringing out like a battle cry. "Titans, GO
Robin sprinted forward, leading the charge. His staff spun in a blur as he launched a series of rapid strikes at Vilgax's legs and torso. "You're not taking the Omnitrix, !" he shouted.
Vilgax deflected the blows with his massive forearms, the impacts reverberating through the air. With a single powerful swipe, he snatched Robin's staff mid-swing. "Foolish child," Vilgax growled, snapping the weapon in half and tossing the pieces aside. He followed with a sweeping backhand that sent Robin skidding across the battlefield.
Cyborg stepped in, firing a massive blast from his sonic cannon. "Hands off our leader, tin-can breath!" he roared. The beam struck Vilgax in the chest, pushing him back a few steps. But Vilgax dug his heels in, enduring the onslaught.
With a bellow, Vilgax surged forward, closing the gap in an instant. His fist crashed into Cyborg's cannon, sending sparks flying. Cyborg staggered as Vilgax grabbed him by the arm and hurled him into a nearby boulder, the rock shattering on impact. Cyborg groaned, struggling to stand as his systems flickered with warning lights.
Raven descended from above, her hands crackling with dark energy. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she intoned, unleashing a barrage of shadowy projectiles. The dark energy slammed into Vilgax, forcing him back a step. She followed up by summoning massive tendrils to bind him. "You will not win this fight," she said, her voice calm but cold.
Vilgax roared, tearing through the tendrils with brute strength. "Your tricks are meaningless!" he snarled, leaping into the air and swinging a powerful fist at Raven. She phased out just in time, reappearing behind him and countering with a shadowy fist that collided with his back. Vilgax stumbled but quickly recovered.
Beast Boy, now in rhino form, charged from the side. "Think fast, ugly!" he yelled, aiming to slam into Vilgax with all his might. The ground shook as Beast Boy closed in, but Vilgax caught him mid-charge, grunting as he lifted the massive rhino and hurled him into the air. Beast Boy shifted into a falcon mid-flight, swooping back to regroup with the others.
Starfire unleashed a flurry of starbolts, each one exploding on impact. "You will pay for what you have done!" she cried, her voice filled with righteous fury. Her blasts forced Vilgax to shield his face. Taking advantage of the opening, she dove in, delivering a double-fisted punch to his jaw. Vilgax staggered but retaliated with a powerful backhand that sent her tumbling through the air.
Jake, lying on the ground, stirred weakly. His body screamed in pain, but his determination flared. "I'm not done yet," he muttered. His hand reached for the Omnitrix, now blinking faintly in the dirt beside him.
Vilgax, noticing the movement, turned back toward Jake. "Stay down, boy," he snarled, raising his foot to crush him.
But before he could strike, a blur of motion slammed into him—Robin, leaping onto Vilgax's back. "Not so fast!" Robin shouted, jamming a flash grenade into Vilgax's face. The blinding explosion forced Vilgax to stumble back, roaring in pain.
Jake, using the distraction, grabbed the Omnitrix. He coughed, his voice raspy but filled with determination. "Omnitrix… Override code Alpha 9!" The device emitted a sharp beep as its interface glowed. Jake's body lit up, his transformation sequence beginning.
The Titans regrouped around him, forming a protective circle as Jake slammed his hand onto the Omnitrix, the dial spinning wildly. With a surge of light and energy, Jake's voice echoed:
"Here goes nothing...
The transformation began. A brilliant, multicolored glow enveloped Jake, his silhouette shifting and growing. His human form was replaced by a humanoid, crystalline figure with jagged, indigo skin glistening like polished stone. Magenta shards formed along his back, chest, and the horn atop his head. The Omnitrix symbol pulsed with a radiant green on his chest, harmonizing with his singular, emerald-green eye.
As the light faded, Jake—now Chromastone—clenched his fists, energy surging through him like raw electricity. With a deep, resonating voice, he shouted,
"Chromastone!"
Vilgax sneered, his injured form barely standing but still exuding menace. "A desperate move, boy. But it won't save you!"
Jake wasted no time. He unleashed a beam of concentrated energy from his chest, striking Vilgax's sword and shattering it into pieces. The battlefield erupted in chaos as the other heroes rallied.
"Vilgax," Jake said, his voice resonating with newfound power. "This ends now."
Starfire and Cyborg launched a coordinated attack, bombarding Vilgax with Starbolts and sonic cannon blasts, while Raven used her dark magic to restrain him. Chromastone leaped into the fray, tanking a massive energy blast from Vilgax's gauntlet, the energy absorbed into his crystalline body.
"Let me show you what this form can do!" Jake growled, his body glowing brighter as he redirected the absorbed energy, firing a series of rapid bursts that slammed into Vilgax, forcing him back.
Robin and Beast Boy, in the form of a tiger, darted in and out, delivering quick strikes. Beast Boy roared, "Jake, hit him hard! We'll cover you!"
Jake nodded, summoning more energy into his horn. "This is for every planet you've terrorized!" With a powerful leap, he slammed into Vilgax, sending the alien warlord crashing into a rocky outcrop.
But Vilgax was far from finished. He activated a hidden device, unleashing a massive shockwave that knocked everyone back. Chromastone stood his ground, shielding the others.
"We're out of time," Jake muttered, glancing at the Omnitrix as it began flashing red—its self-destruct protocol triggered during the fight.
"Jake, no!" Raven shouted, realizing his plan.
Jake turned to his team, his green eye glimmering with determination. "I'll end this. Get everyone out of here!"
The countdown began as Jake flew toward Vilgax. The villain snarled, "You dare challenge me alone?"
Jake smirked, his crystalline body radiating with blinding energy. "I don't need to beat you. I just need to stop you!"
As the countdown reached zero, Jake released a final, deafening shout:
"FOR EVERYONE!"
The Omnitrix emitted an explosive burst of energy, engulfing the battlefield in a massive, fiery explosion. The ground shook violently, leaving a colossal crater in its wake. When the dust settled, Vilgax was battered and bleeding, but he managed to limp away into a nearby portal, vowing revenge.
The team rushed to the edge of the crater. Inside, they found Jake's unconscious body. His crystalline form was shattered, faint cracks glowing softly with residual energy. The Omnitrix was gone, reduced to scattered fragments glinting in the dim light.
"Jake!" Starfire cried, swooping down and gently cradling his limp form in her arms, her eyes brimming with tears.
Cyborg knelt beside her, activating his scanner. His expression was grim. "He's alive... but just barely. His vitals are weak, and I'm not picking up any trace of the Omnitrix's signal. We've got to move fast if we're going to save him."
Beast Boy dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as he reached out to touch Jake's shoulder. "No... no, no, no. This can't be happening." His voice cracked, and tears streamed down his face. "He's just a kid... my little brother..."
Raven hovered behind them, her usual stoic demeanor fractured by a rare glimpse of vulnerability. She placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "He made this choice to save all of us. He knew what he was doing."
Beast Boy shook his head, his green eyes filled with pain. "But he shouldn't have had to! He's too young for this! We were supposed to protect him!" His voice broke, and he buried his face in his hands, his shoulders trembling.
Robin, standing nearby, clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. He stared at the remnants of the Omnitrix, scattered like broken glass around the crater. "He's a hero," Robin said, his voice low but resolute. "And we're going to make sure his sacrifice wasn't for nothing. Cyborg, get us back to the Tower now."
Cyborg nodded, carefully lifting Jake's fragile body into his arms. "Hang in there, buddy. You've been through worse. You've got this."
As they retreated from the battlefield, Starfire looked back at the massive crater, her heart heavy with sorrow. "Vilgax escaped," she whispered, her voice tinged with guilt. "He will return, and we will not have Jake's power to stand against him."
Robin's jaw tightened. "Then we'll find another way. But right now, Jake needs us. That's what matters."
Beast Boy trailed behind the group, his gaze never leaving Jake's lifeless form. "You'd better wake up, little bro," he murmured, his voice barely audible. "We're not done yet. You hear me?"
As the team disappeared into the horizon, the battlefield lay silent, marked by the scars of the fight and the echoes of a young hero's sacrifice.
Meanwhile, in a dimly lit warehouse far from the battlefield, a green flash of light flickered before fading, revealing the battered and bruised form of Vilgax. His massive frame slumped as he staggered forward, his breathing labored. Deep gashes crisscrossed his leathery skin, and burns marred his arms and chest. Every step left a trail of dark green blood on the cold concrete floor, his pain manifesting in low, guttural growls.
He reached for a steel column, leaning against it to steady himself, the weight of the battle evident in his slow, deliberate movements. Yet the physical pain paled compared to the storm of rage brewing within him.
"Insignificant... children," Vilgax growled through gritted teeth, his voice echoing in the cavernous space. His crimson eyes flared with anger, his thoughts replaying the events of the battle.
This was not how it was supposed to end. He had come to Earth with a singular purpose: to claim the Omnitrix, the ultimate weapon, and bend the universe to his will. He had not anticipated encountering a group of protectors so tenacious—and certainly not a boy who would wield the Omnitrix with such recklessness and resolve.
He slammed a clawed fist into the nearest wall, leaving a jagged dent. "Why does the Omnitrix always choose a child?!" he bellowed, his voice trembling with fury. Memories of past defeats at the hands of Ben Tennyson surged to the surface, stinging him like fresh wounds. And now, Jake—another young whelp—had dared to defy him.
Vilgax limped to a makeshift control panel set up in the warehouse. He activated the console, the dim screen flickering to life with surveillance footage from the recent battle. The Titans filled the display: Robin's calculated leadership, Starfire's relentless energy blasts, Cyborg's formidable strength, Raven's mystic defenses, and Beast Boy's unpredictable transformations. They had fought with cohesion and determination, something Vilgax hadn't expected.
But it was Jake who held his gaze. The footage showed the boy's transformation into Chromastone, his crystalline form shining brightly as he launched himself into battle with an almost reckless abandon. Vilgax's fists tightened as the scene replayed Jake's final, desperate attack, culminating in a devastating explosion that left him in that crater.
"That boy…" Vilgax hissed, his voice low but seething with venom. "He thinks he can defy me? Just like Tennyson did? No… he will suffer for this insolence."
He rewound the footage, this time scrutinizing each Titan's movements, cataloging their strengths and weaknesses. Robin's strategic acumen could be countered with unpredictability. Cyborg's reliance on technology made him vulnerable to EMPs. Starfire's raw power lacked precision. Beast Boy's transformations were formidable but chaotic. And Raven…
Vilgax's lips curled into a grimace. Her darkness will be her undoing.
But Jake... Jake was different. The boy's courage and resolve reminded him too much of Ben, and that similarity only fueled his hatred.
Vilgax straightened, his battered body shaking as he moved away from the console. "They think this is over," he muttered, his voice like a low growl. "They think I am beaten. But this is only the beginning."
He limped toward a glowing green pod at the center of the warehouse, his mind already devising his next move. "I will not underestimate them again," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "The Titans… the boy… they will regret this day."
Climbing into the pod, Vilgax initiated its healing sequence. Green light enveloped him, seeping into his wounds and slowly mending his broken body. As the pain ebbed, his determination only grew stronger.
"When I return, I will crush them," he declared, his deep voice echoing in the confines of the warehouse. "The Omnitrix will be mine, and no child, no team of heroes, will stand in my way."
He closed his eyes, the glow of the pod intensifying as the healing process accelerated. The warehouse fell silent, save for the faint hum of alien technology.
Miles away, in the crater Jake had left behind, the Titans carried their injured teammate back to safety, unaware of the storm brewing in the mind of their greatest adversary.
Vilgax's lips curled into a predatory smirk as he whispered, "This is far from over."