Fan Fiction ❯ Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You ❯ The Mysterious Miss Mary ( Chapter 37 )

 

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Seventeen Years In The Future

 

A large steel battlecruiser flies over the remains of Jump City. The ship itself is “T” shaped in a way, with large wings in the back that place home to the gigantic engines that power the ship. On the sides are plasma laser cannons and several missile launchers. The entire ship is roughly the size of two football stadiums lined up next to one another. Inside are hundreds of the servants of the Dark Ones.

 

Humans have never seen the Dark Ones, but everyone alive knows of them. They are the seven masters of the alien race that destroyed humanity in the future. The Dark Ones sent their battlecruisers and android armies to invade the earth. Military nations fell like flies and the world turned to their superheroes to save them. The Justice League, in cooperation with other superhero teams from around the world, led an assault on the Dark Ones.

 

They failed.

 

In the very first battle against the Dark One's battlecruiser fleet, Superman, the legendary man of steel, was killed. Apparently, the Dark Ones had been studying earth for years and had watched not only its military, but also its superheroes. When Superman approached the ship, a weapon that fed off the energy of Kryptonite was fired at him and it killed him instantly. Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern were also slain in the same battle. A few weeks later, Batman, The Flash, Aquaman and several other members of the Justice League were found killed.

 

With their heroes dying, the United States and China decided to work together for a tactical nuclear assault against the alien invaders. However, the Dark Ones had counted on this. They used their advanced technologies to disrupt the nuclear launch codes, and rather than hit their rightful targets, the nuclear missiles went off course and destroyed the world's major cities. New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Beijing, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Chicago were wiped out in one day.

Then the aliens began their real assault. For every one man in the Earth's military, there were a hundred androids in the alien arsenal. The world was beaten. The world was defeated.

 

Superheroes had all but died. Those who did survive were scattered throughout the world, and any unity there had once been was gone. That was the case for all of them.

All of them, except, for the Teen Titans.

 

Though no longer teens, the Titans had stayed united. They continued to fight against the aliens, and they continued to help humanity in every way they could. Many of the original, founding members of the titans were dead now; but many new Titans had been recruited. Their tower was gone, but now, finally, they had a possible key to victory.

 

In the Titan's base, located in the wreckage of Jump City, three members of the team were gathered in a dark room. The floors and walls were all black, but strange symbols had been made on the floor using white sand. A tall woman with pale skin and lavender hair was finishing the rune designs. Not far away from where she worked the other two stood. The first was a man with green skin and matching hair; and the second was a much younger woman who wore a skin-tight black jumpsuit and had her long, dark hair pulled back behind her head.

 

“There.” Raven said as she finished the pattern on the floor. She consulted a large, leather bound book that she had in her hand. “This should do it.”

“You sure Rae?” The grown Beast Boy asked, looking at the portal.

 

“Have I ever not been?” Raven replied hastily. “The real question is are you sure, Mary? Are you sure you're up for this?”

The woman in black - Mary - nodded her head. “I am. This is our best chance, right?”

 

“Yes.” Raven replied. “You have to go back. You remember what we learned, don't you? If you can stop Luthor, then the Dark Ones will never be able to rise to power.”

 

Mary nodded her head. “Relax, this'll be a cake walk. I've read the history books. Luthor's technology is nothing next to the Dark Ones. If I can handle them, I can handle him.”

“Mar, there's a lot more than just Luthor involved here.” Beast Boy said. “I mean, you're going to be around the original teen titans back in our prime; you do realize what that means?”

 

A wily grin spread over Mary's face. “It means I'll get to see you as a kid.”

 

“Well, yeah, come to think of it you will.” Beast Boy snickered. “Dude, you'll be older than me. No fair.”

 

“Can we get back to saving humanity?” Raven asked. The sense of fun in Beast Boy and Mary's voices was not shared in her own. “Mary I want you to listen to me.”

 

Raven approached Mary and put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. She turned Mary around so that her dark eyes met Mary's large emerald ones. “You cannot, under any circumstances, encounter our past selves. If it is absolutely necessary for you to interact with them, you cannot reveal to them who you really are.”

 

“Why not?” Mary asked, she suddenly sounded outraged. “I want to talk to -”

“I know who you want to talk to.” Raven cut her off. “And it's out of the question. You could jeopardize the future by revealing too much about it. If you reveal anything - especially those details - it could modify your entire existence.”

 

“Fine.” Mary sighed. Then she realized something. “So what do I do if I do run into them, and they ask me who I am?”

“Tell `em you're a superhero from, err, England.” Beast Boy said, hoping to help. “And do an Mad Mod accent, like this laddie.”

 

“First of all, that's Scottish, not British.” Raven snapped. “Second of all, don't pretend to be either one. Don't use your powers in front of them Mary, it'll be a dead giveaway.”

“What!?” Mary nearly shouted. “No powers? Then how do I fight?”

 

“Gadgets.” Raven replied, poking a finger at the silver belt Mary wore. “And I guess you can fly, that won't be a giveaway, but none of your others powers. And you can't tell them your superhero name, either.”

Mary pouted and crossed her arms. “Why can't I -”

“You know perfectly well why you can't.” Raven cut her off, again, becoming irritated. “Mary, I know it must be tempting. I know you want to talk to them; I know you have always missed them. That doesn't change your responsibility, though. You cannot, under any circumstances, reveal your true identity to them. If they see you, if you must interact with them, you are Mary. That's it. No last name. No superhero alias.”

Mary sighed and let her head drop. Her round green eyes blinked as she tried not to let her sadness show through to the woman who had raised her.

 

“Yes ma'am.” Mary sighed sadly.

“Dude, look at it this way Mar.” Beast Boy wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to cheer her up. “If you do stop Luthor, then the past'll change, and the future will change, and they won't be dead and you can see them here.”

 

“I guess . . .” Mary replied, her head still hanging.

 

Raven let out a soft sigh. Once again she felt like she was being too hard on Mary, but what choice did she have? That girl was their one chance to rewrite the past and save the future. “Mary. I want you to go over things one more time; just so we're clear.”

 

“Relax Raven, I've got it.” Mary replied, anger filling her normally soft voice.

“Mary.” Raven said simply, in an authority-filled tone.

 

“Fine.” Mary responded, she then began to recite something as if she'd memorized it. “When Lex Luthor tried to destroy the Teen Titans, he created a machine called the Cortex X-1000. During the final showdown with Luthor, the Cortex X-1000 was fired, and while the Titans stopped the device from destroying them, it's laser was fired deep into outer space where it was picked up by the Dark Ones spaceship. The Spaceship turned from its present course and instead came to Earth. It studied the planet for years, and then it attacked and destroyed humanity. If I want to change history, I have to stop the Cortex X-1000 from being activated, so that the Dark Ones never come to Earth. See, I told you I remembered it all.”

 

“Good.” Raven flashed a tired smile. Her face was prematurely aged and tired lines of worry rippled over her once flawless visage. She reached out and hugged Mary tightly. “I'm sorry. I just worry. I promised your mother I'd look after you.”

 

“I know. I'm sorry too.” Mary replied.

 

Suddenly a loud banging filled the room. Raven, Beast Boy and Mary all turned to see the steel door that separated them from the outside world shaking. A second banging sound was heard. The doorframe was rattling; someone was trying to break in.

“Uh girls, you might want to save the heartwarming moments for AFTER we save the world.” Beast Boy called.

 

“They found us.” Raven breathed. She quickly turned and opened her spellbook. “Mary, you have to go; now!”

 

“But what about you? You can't fight them alone!” Mary insisted. Raven laughed and pushed Mary into the middle of the circle she'd drawn on the ground.

“Mary, we're both as good as dead. Our only chance now is for you to go back and stop Luthor. Do you understand?” Raven said seriously.

 

“. . . Yes.” Mary sighed at length.

 

The door rattled again. The banging echoes became loud. The android servants of the Dark Ones were trying to get in now, and it seemed like they would. Beast Boy transformed into a great green grizzly bear and ran forward to hold the door in place. Raven turned back to Mary.

 

“Remember everything I told you.” Raven instructed. “Good luck. Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos!”

Raven's hands were shrouded in a black aura, and then a light blue beam of light burst through the floor underneath of Mary and the strange symbols that Raven had drawn. Mary vanished through the beam of light, and reappeared in the past just as the Titans were leaving their hideout - Cyborg and Bumblebee on their way to Jump City to find Jinx, Robin and the rest heading to Metropolis to find Luthor.

 

“This should be interesting.” Mary said to herself before sliding down the hill to follow the Titans.

 

In the future, Raven and Beast Boy watched Mary disappear through the portal. The banging on the door grew louder, and more frequent.

 

“Well Rae, we're screwed.” Beast Boy stated bluntly.

 

“No . . . we're saved.” She replied. “Mary's going to stop him. This entire future is going to change. Everything will be different.”

 

Beast Boy nodded. “Yeah, yeah, it will, won't it? The others will all be alive, Earth won't be ruled by freaky dark dudes . . . Sparrow'll be here.”

 

Raven winced when Beast Boy mentioned the name `Sparrow'. She shut her eyes and let a tear leak down from one of them. Beast Boy wrapped a comforting arm around her.

“Hey, don't get all emotional on me now Rae.” He whispered. “Everything's going to work out okay. You'll see.”

 

“I . . . know. It's just difficult. I realize how Arella must have felt, now.” Raven replied, her voice even softer than his. It was always painful when Raven thought about the daughter she had lost.

 

Beast Boy opened his mouth to speak, but he never got a chance. The door was finally broken open, and several metal soldiers poured into the room. Each of them was tall, as tall as building. Their skin made of a thick adamantium alloy. Their arms had large metal spikes coming out of the wrist that came all the way up past the fists, and their heads had similar spikes coming out at the top. Leading the android soldiers was an all too familiar face.

Though the futuristic version looked very different, there was no mistaking him. He wore a suit made of the bluish-silver adamantium, and his right arm was also made completely of the same substance. His mask, however, remained the same black-and-orange combination it had always been with one slight alteration; where his missing eye had once been, there was now a red robotic replacement.

 

“It's been a long time.” Slade Wilson, commander of the Dark One's armies, said as he stepped forward. “I haven't seen you since Nightwing was killed.”

 

“Do the words `screw you' ring any bells?” Beast Boy growled.

 

“Hahaha, my old friends, don't you realize how futile your rebellion is? Ever since that day all those years ago when I helped the Dark Ones take control of this planet, your fate has been sealed.”

 

“You sold out your entire species, Slade.” Raven snapped.

“Oh look whose talking. If I recall, you're the one who betrayed your birthright and murdered your own father.” Slade responded with a sinister smirk behind his mask. “Although I must say, I'm kind of glad Trigon and I's plans on Tamaran failed. Had they succeeded, Trigon would have betrayed me and I'd just be dead now. Instead, I'm an immortal half-man, half-machine and in command of the entire fleet of the Dark One's armies. And I owe it all to you, Raven.”

 

“You're right, you do owe me.” Raven replied, her hands turning black. “And you can pay me back with blood - Azarath, Metreon, Zinth—”

 

Slade jumped forward too fast for her. A blade of adamantium shot out of his right hand's knuckles, and he drove it into Raven's stomach. The blade went in one side and out the other, exploding a cloud of blood into the air in the form of a rich red mist. Raven gasped and her eyes returned to normal. A trickle of blood rolled out of the corner of her mouth, and she died instantly.

 

Beast Boy didn't even have time to transform. He screamed, jumped at Slade, but was shot down dead before he ever reached him. Several of Slade's androids had raised their hands and fired lasers from the tips of their adamantium spikes. The lasers sliced Beast Boy up like Swiss cheese and his body fell on the ground next to Raven.

 

Slade withdrew his blade from Raven's chest and looked down at the two dead titans of the future. Then he looked over at the rune symbols on the floor.

 

“So . . . the other one escaped, did she?” Slade pondered to himself. He walked over to the symbol and then began to laugh in a hallow voice. “Oh this is ironic. Raven must have sent her back in time. Well, two can play at that game.”

 

Slade, who had studied all about demon spells and runes during the days when he had been a messenger for Trigon the Terrible, bent down, and began to change the symbols and the shapes on the floor. Then he stood back up and walked into the center of the runes. He would have to find Lex Luthor. Slade decided it would be better if Luthor didn't see him, so he turned on his cloaking device and became completely invisible. Then he raised his hands.

 

“Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos!” Slade chanted. He let a drop of Raven's blood fall from the end of his blade, and when it touched the demon symbols Slade vanished in a puff of blue light. He would reappear in Lex Luthor's office, with a plan to stop the Teen Titans once and for all.

 

Beast Boy, his body broken and blood seeping from beneath his suit used the last of his strength to crawl towards Raven's crumpled form. The green-skinned man laid his head down on Raven's chest and sighed.

 

“Guess a goodnight kiss is out of the question?” He mumbled, and then he died.

 

----

 

The Present

 

“She is never goin' to help us, you know that right?” Cyborg attempted to say as the T-Car pulled up outside of Jump City's prison. It had been a long ride, and the T-Car was still badly damaged from the skirmish with Luthor's boys. Bumblebee had ignored him the entire time, choosing to listen to the radio instead of his constant complaints about this idea.

 

“She'll help you Sparky.” Bee replied coolly.

 

“What are you talking about?” Cyborg questioned, already a little afraid of where this conversation was heading.

 

“Oh please, I saw you two at the HIVE dance. That little sorceress has a thing for you, Sparky.”

 

Cyborg looked annoyed. “Number one, no she doesn't. Number two, why would it matter even if she did?”

 

Bee chuckled. “We can use that to our advantage. Just let me do all the talking Sparky.”

Cyborg decided not to reply to this. Not because he did not want to reply, but because he couldn't think of anything he could say that would get him out of this truly horrible situation he'd somehow worked himself into. Shrugging his metallic shoulders, he followed Bee out of the car and up the steps that led into the police station. As soon as they were in the room, dozens of heads turned and many police officers looked either angry or relieved to see the two of them here. Finally, the sergeant in charge came over.

“Boy; am I glad to see you.” The Sergeant said. “What the hell's goin' on in this town? What happened out at that tower of yours?”

“Long story.” Cyborg replied simply. “Listen, you still have the HIVE kids in custody?”

 

“Yessir.” The Sergeant responded. “We sure do.”

“We need to talk to them, right away.” Bee butted her way into the conversation. “Mind if we go back to the holding cells?”

 

“No, go right ahead. But what for? This have something to do with all the crazy stuff that's been goin' on?”

“We'll explain later.” Bee blew him off, grabbed Cyborg by his arm, and started towards the holding cell area in the back of the station where the HIVE children were incarcerated. Normally, they would have been arraigned and sent to the actual prison by now, but with all of the freaky stuff, happening in the city lately no one from the DA's office had gotten around to it yet.

“Remember Sparky, we need Jinx's help, so try to be cool.” Bumblebee warned him.

 

Bumblebee and Cyborg arrived at the back of the station and found a small holding cell in the back. Inside, Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth were sharing the cell, all of them looking downright depressed by their predicament. When Cyborg and Bee approached, Gizmo groaned.

 

“What do you snot munchers want?” He inquired, rudely.

 

“Shut your short little mouth before I smack you upside your bald head.” Bumblebee replied antagonistically.

“What happened to `try to be cool'?” Cyborg muttered. Bee just ignored him and approached the bars that separated them from Jinx and the HIVE.

 

“You're wasting your time.” Mammoth bellowed out in his deep voice. “Whatever you two want, we don't care. Right?”

“Right.” Jinx and Gizmo echoed back.

 

“Yo, here's the deal. Jinx, we need one of your spellbooks. You get it for us, we'll let you out of jail.” Cyborg said.

“Oh please.” Gizmo yawned and closed his eyes, waving a hand dismissingly. “You must have snot for brains if you think Jinx'll ever agree to tha—”

“Deal.” Jinx spoke up. Gizmo spit and Mammoth looked stunned.

“What are you saying Jinx?” Mammoth demanded.

The pink-haired vixen shrugged at her fellow inmates. “Hey, what can I say, I hate prison.”

“But Jinx! You know the others will be by to break us out!” Gizmo pleaded. “C'mon, don't sell us short!”

“Too late.” Jinx teased, waving a hand over Gizmo's short head. Gizmo turned red and began to shake with anger, but Jinx, who was undoubtedly the toughest of the HIVE with her magic, merely ignored him.

 

Cyborg gave a huge sigh of relief, but Bee seemed disappointed and suspicious. She leaned against the bars and looked at Jinx with one eyebrow raised. “What's your game? That was too easy.”

 

Jinx grinned slyly. “No game. No trick. No gimmick. You get me out, I'll help you guys.”

 

“Mmmhmm. Like I'd believe that.” Bee responded. “Seriously girl, what's up your sleeve?”

 

“Okay, you want the truth? Then here's the deal I'll make. I want immunity from prosecution.” Jinx explained. “For all of my crimes.”

 

“Fine.” Cyborg replied, anxious to get this deal over with. Bumblebee was still far from being satisfied.

 

“Uh huh, hold up Sparky.” Bee replied, putting a hand in front of Cyborg, who had been reaching to unlock the jail cell. “We already said we'd get you out of jail. There's something fishy going on; now spill it Jinx!”

 

Jinx smiled with a dangerous smile, and Cyborg sighed when he realized Bee had been right. Jinx did have something up her sleeve, and he knew he wasn't going to like it one bit. “Like I said Bee, I want immunity for all my crimes. Including the ones I haven't committed yet.” The pale-skinned girl smirked widely.

 

“Forget it!” Bee snapped.

“Then you can forget having my help.” Jinx responded, crossing her arms and putting her chin up.

 

“Dammit, we don't have time for this.” Bee cursed, crossing her own arms and turning to Cyborg. “You got any ideas Sparky?”

 

Cyborg was reminded of when he and Beast Boy would argue over something; and how Raven would always settle it by forcing them to compromise. He scratched his chin, and then turned to Jinx. “You can forget that deal Jinx, we can't pardon you for crimes you haven't done yet. But we will wipe your record clean. I mean we'll destroy all the records on you. Not just pardon you, but totally wipe the slate. Then, any future crimes you commit would technically be only a first offense; so you won't be in as much trouble.”

 

Jinx thought about this. Cyborg knew the wheels inside her head were clicking and turning. She could be out of jail, and completely absolved of all her past bad deeds. That would make it a lot easier to commit crimes in the future, and besides - she knew this was going to be fun.

 

“Yeah, okay, I'll do it.” Jinx agreed at last. Gizmo and Mammoth were too flabbergasted to speak a word, so they just stood there, dumb stricken. Cyborg opened the jail door and Jinx stepped out with a grin on her face. Then Cyborg closed it behind her, leaving the other two HIVE children to stare.

 

“Okay, so what can I do for you two?” Jinx asked, crossing her arms and leaning against a wall.

“You have the Book of Azar, right?” Bee asked, raising an eyebrow. “I know you checked it out from the HIVE library.”

 

Jinx bit down on her bottom lip. “I read it, yeah. So?”

 

“So we need you to use a spell from that book to destroy a magical glove that's containing all of Raven's powers in it.” Cyborg explained.

 

Jinx raised an eyebrow. Obviously she was curious about the longer story attached, but she decided not to ask. “I don't have the book anymore.”

“I told you this would be a waste of time.” Cyborg sighed. “Alright Jinx, back to jail then -”

“Hold it!” Jinx cried out quickly. “I don't have it, but I know where you can find a copy.”

 

Cyborg and Bumblebee, who had been ready to lock Jinx back up, stopped and looked at one another. Each of them raised an eyebrow, then they looked back towards Jinx.

“Talk.” Bee commanded.

“There's an old cave out near the beach.” Jinx explained. “Brother Blood kept back up copies of every book in the school library there, but he sealed the doors with a password only us HIVE graduates know. I'll get you in, but you have to get me out.”

 

Cyborg looked at Bee. “What do you think?”

“Raven needs that book Sparky. I don't think we have much of a choice.”

 

“Alright Jinx.” Cyborg finally agreed, turning back to the pale girl. “We've got a deal.”

 

Jinx smirked. Cyborg sweatdropped. That smirk on her face was dangerous. He had a bad feeling that this would not turn out well.

 

----

 

Robin had decided that the best way into Luthor's headquarters was by stealth. Normally, they could have had Raven teleport them inside his factory, but since she was powerless, they would have to use a different approach. The team decided that they would dig an underground tunnel directly beneath Luthor's factory, and use it to gain entrance without being detected. Terra took charge and split the earth open. Terra walked ahead of the group, shifting rock and dirt in front of them to form a path as the group walked. Terra led the way, creating their path as they traveled. Robin stood behind her, using his Titans communicator as a map so they could figure out when they'd have to dig up into Luthor's factory. Starfire was at Robin's side, not speaking. She had a look on her face like she was deep in thought, but she did not bring up whatever it was she was talking about.

Beast Boy and Raven brought up the rear. Raven was walking slowly, looking down at her right hand - which was currently covered by the gauntlet. Arella's gauntlet she had given to Robin. The glove still contained all of Raven's powers, as well as Trigon's. Since Raven was powerless, she'd decided to wear the glove and use it as her weapon. Beast Boy couldn't help but notice the way she continually flexed her hand beneath the glove.

“You okay Rae?”

 

“Don't ask stupid questions.”

 

“Rae, I know you're upset, but it'll work out okay. You'll see.” The ever-optimistic green one insisted.

 

“It's not that.” Raven shook her head. “I'm not worried about Luthor. I just feel . . . different.”

 

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

 

“I don't have my powers, for one.” Raven replied.

“But you have the glove.” Beast Boy pointed out.

 

“That isn't the same.” Raven responded. The goth shook her head and looked down at her feet. “It's not something I can explain Beast Boy. It's something you just have to experience for yourself.”

 

“Well, just try to cheer up Rae.” Beast Boy said. He was unsure of how he could cheer her up, but he was also willing to try. “We've been through worse, right? So we'll get through this too.”

 

“Yeah, I suppose you're right.” Raven sighed. Her head was still hanging low, and her eyes were filled with an uncertainty that worried Beast Boy. He decided to take matters into his own hands. He wrapped one of the said hands around her shoulder, and forced the pale girl to lean against his own shoulder for a moment.

“C'mon Rae, be optimistic for a change.”

 

“Hey you two; we're here.” Robin interrupted the pair before Raven had a chance to respond in any way. She shrugged Beast Boy's arm away and quickly ran forward to catch up to Terra, Robin and Starfire. The blonde was looking up at the ceiling above them. Their dirt path, dug into the crust of the earth, had taken them at last to their destination. They were directly beneath Luthor's laboratory.

 

“Alright Team, listen up.” Robin's voice took on that leader tone he reserved for planning times and battles. “We know Luthor is mass-producing those TK androids. We have to get in there and shut down his operation; for good.” Robin pounded one gloved fist into the other.

 

“But we'll have to be careful. Who knows how many more of those things Luthor has in the lab.” Terra pointed out.

 

“Indeed. We may be outnumbered.” Starfire agreed, a slight concerned look forming on her face.

 

“Hey. If we're outnumbered, we'll just try our best. We've been up against worse. Besides - Luthor isn't expecting us, is he?” Robin grinned. “Terra, can you open a door for us?”

 

“Gladly.” Terra replied with a smile. She lifted her hands above her head and the dirt that separated them from the floor of Luthor's laboratory began to sift away. Finally, the only thing above their heads was the cold steel of Luthor's Lab. Robin turned to Starfire now and nodded his head. She knew what to do. The Tamaranian girl's eyes became completely green and began to glow, and she fired lasers from them. The beams cut a hold in the steel floor, creating an entrance for the Titans.

 

“Titans Go!” Robin gave his usual command and he leapt into the new entrance. Starfire flew up behind him, and then Terra climbed up. Beast Boy waited on Raven, who had to take her time and climb manually, but once she was up, he turned into a bird and flew up the hole. Then he transformed back into himself when they were all inside.

 

The room they were in was gigantic. A hanger, of some sort, used to store things. It was also pitch black. There were no windows and no lights were on. The team was sitting in total darkness inside the laboratory, which did not sit well with Robin. Robin reached down to his belt and removed a small flashlight. He clicked it on and began to shine it around the room; but before he saw anything, a cold, familiar voice spoke.

 

“You see Luthor, I told you they would come.”

 

Robin's heart skipped a beat when he heard the voice speak. A moment later a bright light blazed on from the ceiling, illuminating the room. The Titans all gasped when they saw their situation.

Around the edge of the room was a catwalk, high above the floor-level where the Titans had come in. Standing on that Catwalk was Lex Luthor, and beside him was Slade. Though not the Slade the Titans knew. This Slade wore a cold, blue adamantium suit identical to his old one in style, but different in color and substance. His mask was also blue-and-black, rather than orange-and-black, and made from the same pale aquatic colored metal. Still, despite the changes, they recognized Slade by both voice and appearance. His right arm, from the elbow down, was not just a suit. It looked like a skeleton arm, but it was also made from the pale blue adamantium.

More sinister than Slade's appearance, however, was the rest of what was in the room. On all sides of the Titans were more of the TK-series Androids. Dozens upon dozens of them lined the room. Apparently, Luthor had a whole warehouse full of the deadly droids.

 

“No freakin' way!” Beast Boy's jaw dropped. “Dude, how many lives does this guy have!?”

 

Slade looked down at Beast Boy and he smirked. He remembered killing Beast Boy and Raven in the future just before he came here. Now he'd have the pleasure of destroying their past selves as well. How delightful.

 

“It's been a long while, Titans.” Slade hissed, leaning forward on the railing of the catwalk. “I would so love to chat about the good ole days, but I don't have the time. I have to go head off your friends, Cyborg and Bumblebee, and stop them from obtaining the book of Azar.”

 

Raven's eyes widened in horror when Slade said these words; Slade just laughed at her reaction. “Yes Raven dear, I know all about your friend's and their plan. And I assure you, I am going to stop them. Lex, you remember our agreement - destroy the Titans.”

 

“Kill them.” Luthor breathed. The TK-series androids all kicked online and began moving towards the Titans. The five teen heroes stood back to back. Robin was facing the north, Starfire and Terra on either side of him, with Beast Boy and Raven with their backs to the three of them in a star shape. The TK-series androids started to walk towards them.

 

“Ah, I've made a few minor adjustments to these.” Luthor announced dramatically.

The TK-series androids lifted their hands, and large knife-like blades shot from their fingertips. The androids hands then began to spin around at incredible speeds, creating whirling hands of death.

“Team, let's do this.” Robin hissed. Then he threw an explosive disc at a pair of nearby androids. It exploded, and the androids were both sent tumbling to the ground in a blast of flames and smoke. However, despite their injuries the androids both quick rose again without as much as a scratch.

 

Starfire let out a battle cry and lobbed a cluster of starbolts at some of the approaching androids. The starbolts smashed into their chests, arms and heads and caused a couple of them to fall over; but they got back up again. These androids were much stronger than those that had attacked them back in Steel City.

 

“I have to go now and beat the other Titans to the book.” Slade informed Luthor. “Be sure you destroy them.” With that, Slade clicked his feet together and lifted off into the air. Rockets fired from his boots and he flew out of the door, down the hall, and out of an exit in one of the other rooms. The Titans didn't have time to worry about Slade's abrupt exit, though, since they had other problems.

 

The battle was still raging, and not going well. Terra had cracked open the floor, causing several of the androids to fall inside, and then she resealed the ground crushing them flat. Unfortunately, just as she was preparing to repeat the process a second time, one of the androids fired its arm off at the elbow like a rocket. Terra squeaked and jumped away from the rocket-arm, whose fingers were still spinning like blades and as sharp as razors, but as she jumped away, a second androids used the chance to deliver a roundhouse kick to the back of her head. Terra flew forward, slamming into the ground and was knocked completely unconscious.

 

Beast Boy, meanwhile, had transformed into a great green gorilla. He grabbed one of the nearby androids at the elbows and twisted his arms off to the side at angles. Then he used that android to ram into another one nearby; turning the subdued android's claws into a weapon strong enough to pierce the adamantium carapace of the others. Beast Boy was able to use the subdued androids to destroy five other droids before the one in his arms became aware of what he was being use for, and activated self-destruction. Unfortunately for the green teen, he had no clue the android had begun to self-destruct until it was too late. The android in his arms exploded and Beast Boy was sent flying backwards. He landed on his back, transformed back into a human, and clutched his side in pain. A shard of metal had cut his stomach across and he was bleeding profusely.

 

Starfire gasped and turned to help her friends, but at that moment, one of the androids picked up the remains of one of his fellow droids and threw it at the redhead. Starfire turned in time to blast the remains with her starbolts and destroy them; but the shrapnel from the blast flew at hit her. Metal cut across her forehead and her left leg, and Starfire screamed and fell on the ground.

“Star!” Robin, who had just finished destroying an android with a combination of a freezing disc and his bo-staff, turned in horror. Three of the five titans were down, and they were still far-outnumbered.

 

It was Raven's turn now. She closed her eyes and began to focus on the demon gauntlet on her hand. She knew the glove had incredible power; since it had absorbed her own strength, plus that of Trigon, Azarock, Sadira and Magus. She lifted her gloved hand and the jewel on top became a red ruby. Flames sprouted from each of her fingers and engulfed the entire fist of the glove. Then, the flames worked themselves into a long whip. Raven swung the flaming whip and it sailed right through the chest of one of the nearby androids, melting right through the adamantium and causing the robot to explode.

 

Raven whirled around and whipped another android's head, cutting through it like a hot knife through warm butter. That android promptly exploded as well. Raven, it seemed, had found a way to win. She slashed again and again at every close-by android, and again and again they were destroyed easily.

 

“Damn you!” Luthor pounded his fists on the railing as he realized the tides of battle had turned, and victory was no longer in his favor.

“It's over Lex, give it up!” Robin called up to the infamous supervillian.

 

“Not yet, boy.” Luthor pulled a small remote control from his pocket and held it tightly in his hand. “I still have a trick up my sleeve.”

 

Luthor hit a button on the remote control, and the entire laboratory began to shake. A floor panel opened and a large, circular device began to slowly rise from the floor. The device was black and smooth; and opened just at the top where a white gem could be seen. It was the Cortex X-1000, Luthor's newest, and deadliest, toy.

“Prepare for hell, Teen Titans!” Luthor screamed. The white gem extended out of the top of the Cortex X-1000 and it began to glow with white light. The circular device twisted on its side, like a globe, and aimed directly at the unconscious bodies of Beast Boy, Terra and Starfire.

 

“Raven! You have to deflect that beam with your whip!” Robin yelled.

 

Raven stepped forward, the device readied to fire -

 

And that's when Mary jumped up from the floor. She had followed the Titans the entire way, and she had watched the battle, remembering what future Raven had taught her and warned her. She remembered that in her future, Raven did deflect the beam. The beam flew into outer space and hit a ship containing the Dark Ones - which is what attracted them to Earth and caused the end of the world.

Mary knew what she had to do. Screaming, Mary's eyes began to glow red. She fired a bright beam of red light from each eye, and the lasers smashed into the glowing white gem at the top of the cortex x-1000. The gem exploded into pieces, and the cortex shut down.

 

“No! NO! Another one!? Who the hell are you!?” Luthor shouted. Raven took a step backwards.

 

“Good question.” She muttered.

 

Mary flew up into the air, so that she was at eye level to Luthor. She didn't say a word to him. Instead she flew forward and punched the bald billionaire in his stomach. Luthor spit, he was hit so hard, and he fell to his knees, clutching himself in pain. Then Luthor fell over on his side and passed out. Mary reached down and picked up the controller, and she hit a button that powered-down all of the remaining TK-series androids.

 

Raven, who was bent over Beast Boy's unconscious form, was staring at the unknown girl in surprise. Robin was kneeling between Terra and Starfire, watching Mary from behind his mask. After she knocked Luthor out, Mary turned and looked down at them with a nervous look on her face.

She could hardly believe that she was actually here, actually looking at them. She slowly flew down and landed in front of them, an awkward blush filled her cheeks.

 

“ . . . I'm on your side.” She said lamely.

 

“Wow, I never would have guessed.” Raven replied in sarcastic fashion. She turned away from Mary and closed her eyes. The gem on the glove turned into a white diamond - the healing gem - and she held her hand up over the three unconscious titans. Slowly, the wounds on Beast Boy, Terra and Starfire melted away and their flesh was healed from the damage.

 

“Dude, did anybody get the number of that truck?” Beast Boy asked, sitting up and rubbing his head.

 

“Robin? What happened? Were we victorious? Who is she?” Starfire was full of questions, as always, but Robin only had answered to two of the ones she asked. The boy wonder was still staring transfixed at the mysterious girl who had stopped Luthor.

 

“Yeah Star, we won. And… good question.” He replied at length.

 

Terra shook her head and looked around. Then she sighed. “I guess Slade escaped, again. I'd like to know how he came back, and where he got that blue outfit.”

Mary choked. “What? Slade is here?” She asked.

 

“Yeah.” Terra replied, giving Mary a `who-are-you' look when she turned to look at her. “Except he got a make-over. The suit was all blue, and one of his arms looked like a metal skeleton.”

 

Mary fell to her knees, her face suddenly becoming very pale. “He followed me . . . that bastard!” She yelled and slammed her fists into the floor. The entire building shook as she did, and a very frightened Beast Boy squeaked and hugged Raven close for protection.

“Okay, I think it's time for an explanation.” Raven demanded, looking over at Mary. Mary, however, quickly stood up and shook her head.

“I can't! I've already broken too many rules by letting you all see me. I'm sorry.” Mary said, and she sincerely meant it. She wanted to help, she just didn't know how. Then an idea came to her. “Oh! The glove!”

She ran to Raven and took the Goth Girl by the hand. Raven started to protest, but before she could Mary ripped the demon gauntlet off of Raven's hand and put it on over her own glove. Raven, again, opened her mouth to speak, but Mary raised the gauntlet up high and the stone turned into a green emerald - a form neither Raven nor Robin had ever seen before. There was a flash of light, and suddenly something black flew out of the stone and struck Raven in the chest.

“HEY!” Beast Boy transformed into a tiger and jumped towards Mary, but Mary floated up into the air above him.

 

“No! I helped her! Just look!”

 

Raven, who had been knocked off her feet when she was struck by the mysterious black beam of light, was slowly rising again. The others were all looking from Mary to Raven, trying to figure out what was going on. Finally Raven lifted her head.

 

“. . . You restored my powers.” She said quietly.

 

“Yeah, yeah I did.” Mary sighed happily.

 

Beast Boy reverted back into his human form and looked at Mary with awe in his eyes. “How'd you know how to do that?”

 

“Raven taught me.” Mary replied. Then she winced, realizing what she had said, and slapped her hands over her mouth. Raven raised an eyebrow.

 

“What do you mean `Raven taught you'?” Raven inquired, standing up and walking towards Mary.

 

“No! Seriously, just forget it.” Mary gulped. “Just leave me alone!”

 

Raven, however, would do no such thing. “Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you know about Slade; and how did you know how to use that glove?”

“I can't answer that. I'm sorry, gotta go, bye!” Mary said very quickly. She turned and flew, trying to make it back to the hole in the floor that Terra had created earlier. Raven, however, had her powers back, and wasn't about to let this strange girl go.

 

“Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos!”

Black light illuminated Mary's body, stopping her flight in mid air. Then she was pulled back over to the Titans. She had a sheepish grin on her face.

 

“Now, answer the questions.” Raven demanded flatly.

 

“I can't . . . ” Mary repeated. “Please, just let me go.”

 

Raven did not let her go. Instead, Raven took a Indian style sitting stance, floating in mid air, and released her soul self. The soul self flew into Mary's forehead, and vanished for a few moments. During that time none of the other Titans spoke, they just stood and watched. When Raven's soul-self left Mary's body and returned to Raven's, Raven stood up once again and stared at Mary with wide eyes.

 

“My God . . .” Raven whispered.

 

“I told you.” Mary sighed.

 

“Who is she, Raven?” Starfire asked, looking at her friend with her large green eyes full of wonder.

 

“She's a Titan, from the future.” Raven replied quietly, then even quieter, she said: “And she's your daughter.”

 

Starfire blinked.

Mary chuckled nervously.
Robin looked like he wanted to strangle somebody.

 

“Dude, this is going to be one of those days. I can already tell.” Beast Boy laughed.

 

None of them knew just how right he was.

And, in the confusion of this revelation, none of them thought to call Cyborg and Bee and tell them that their mission was no longer need - which is too bad, Because Cyborg, Bee and Jinx were about to walk into big trouble.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

A/N: Well, there you have it. Two quick things before we get to review replies.

1) If you haven't, go read my other fic Ten Years Later. XD

2) If you like Sonic the Hedgehog, or if you like to RP, or if you like FLAN, go join the Sonic Message Boards I linked up in the first author's notes. I'll dedicate the next chapter to you, if you do.

 

With that said, onto the stuff.

 

HRH-Ft-Louie: No worries my friend, you'll have lots of R/S goodness coming your way. And the ass kicking shall commence very soon, I promise. ^^ Thanks for readin!

 

The Only Way Out: Ding, ding, ding! You are correct! Slade is the disembodied voice. ^^ Haha, how'd you know? XP Congrats on guessing right, thanks for reading!

 

Lambbaby: Yep. XP I pride myself on being an evil cliffie-leaving bastard. XD I've still only seen The End Pt. I, but I'm glad the Rob/Rae stuff is more sibling than romantic. Both evil-robo-Slade (XD) and Mary are from the distant future. I'd say about seventeen years in the future. Hope you enjoyed this chapter my friend, thanks for reading!

 

GizmoBunny: Well good, I'm glad you liked it. Heh. Poor drunk couple. They had baaaaaad luck. XD I'll keep writing, so you keep reading my friend. Thanks!

scathac's warrior: Mmm. FMA. Wonderful show. Gotta love them Elrics.

Yeah, last chapter was big on the fluff. Had to do some BBRae stuff. Its in my blood. I've got more planned in the future too. Well, thanks for reading my friend.

 

Pickles12: Alas, it is not possible to transfer VHS onto DVD. Well, it is, but it requires costly equipment the likes of which I do not have, nor can I afford. XD Hope you liked this chapter Pickles. It was dedicated to you buddy!

 

Samanthe2121: The reason they didn't do that was `cause . . . that would've been way too easy! XD. I like making things hard on the Titans. Hehehe.

 

DarkSin: Thank you. ^^ I'm glad you're liking both stories. I'll be sure to update them both soon. Thanks for reading awesome one.

 

we gots good gramer: Mwa hahahahaha! I'm sorry buddy, I'm just one of those evil cliffhanger guys. I'll promise to keep it down in the future….. maybe. XD Thanks for reading.

 

Mirielle: XD! LMAO! I know what you mean `bout super timing. Eh, I guess it's just one power all superheroes have. O'course Slade survived. Not only did he survive, but he goes on to become the supreme evil general for the invading alien forces in the future. XD Only Slade. Yeah, BB wants a goodnight kiss. He didn't get one, but he sure as hell wants one. XD Sorry it took so long to update. It was the holiday weekend and everything, y'know. Had stuff I had to do.

 

Goddessruling: Don't worry. BB'll get his goodnight kiss eventually. If he lives that long. XD! Only joking, only joking! I hope you liked this one mah friend. More coming soon, and I'll have more BBRae just for you dude.

 

LadyHood: I do hope I updated before you lost your internet connection. I guess I'll find out if you review again or not. Well, one way or another, I'm sure you'll read this eventually; and I hope you enjoyed it. I thank you for your compliments, and hope you'll read and enjoy the rest.

 

IllegalDayNightSnappingIguana: Alas, I'm afraid not m'dear. I've never seen the movie or read the book. Although I'll rent it sometime, since you recommend it; and I trust in your insanity. XD I'm glad you like the fluff moments. I try to throw those in whenever I get a chance too. Passing spider? MEEEEEEEEEEEH! I'm terrified of spiders. I loathe them. LOATHE THEM I SAY!!! … sorry. Read fanfictions and role play? Dude, sounds like a good idea Wintery-one. I think I'll go do that too… no, I'll work on TYL instead. ^^ Talk to you later lovely. Thanks for readin'.

 

Starbolt07: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading my friend; I'll write more for you soon.

 

SuperrachiE: Well I think you so much for your compliments. ^^ It's nice to hear you enjoyed the story so much. Yeah, I do keep dragging this on, but there IS an Ending. I have it all planned out. The story should end around chapter fifty, or so.

 

mirsan4ever: Good, I'm happy to hear there's no disappointment yet; and hopefully there won't be any at all. Thanks for readin'.

 

Mischief Hobbit: Sorry it took so long to update; I've been terribly busy lately.

 

Ziek: Hahah, awesome. Pwning is always fun. XD Ah, not to worry Ziek my friend. As soon as the Titans wrap up their current problems with Luthor, there's going to be a LOT of stuff about Robin, Starfire and their pasts. That'll all come out in the big finale, don't you worry none. Thanks for readin'.

 

Leftd: Dude, I'm loving it over there! I'm not on very much, `cause I've been so busy lately, but I'll head over there soon as I can. Yeah, they are in deep. And it's only going to get deeper m'friend. The new bad guys. Well, as you saw from this, they're the Dark Ones, and Slade. XD The Dark Ones are OC's, but Slade is still Slade. Only now he's super bad-ass robot Slade. XD I thought about including Mento, but I don't really know much about him, and therefore do not think I could do the character justice. As for BB and Rae… well, right now both of our main couples are busy saving the world, but as soon as the finale story arc begins, there's going to be a LOT of interaction between BB/Rae and Rob/Star concerning nearly everything that's happened in the entire fanfic. Sorry the update took so long, it's been a busy week. Hope you liked it dude.

 

SparkyX: ^^ Hahah, awesome to hear that. I'm glad you liked it. I'm also pleased you liked the fight scenes. I try to write good ones. In my head, I can imagine what's happening, and I always hope I'm able to convey that correctly with words. Yeah, you're right, Batman is weaker than he normally is… but that is on purpose. Usually when Batman appears in TT fanfics, he overshadows Robin, and I didn't want him to do that. There's gonna be plenty more BB/Rae in the future. I have some good stuff planned, so I hope you'll be back to read it.

 

Madmartagan: XP Yep, you got your own chapter. Heheh. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Yes, your chapter was a set-up chapter, but like you said, those are needed. Before we can have a big dramatic moment, we gotta build the drama.

Lots of people have been bringing up a few of the unresolved issues, like the Rob/Star/Batgirl thing. Well, all of that will be resolved very soon. First they have to save the world from Luthor and Robo Slade and all the rest of those freaks, but then we'll have some real fun with the big, grand finale when all things shall be resolved. No worries m'friend.

 

The Mad Shoe: I'm glad you think so. ^^ Sorry I took so long to update.

 

lilac-lily510: Sorry the update took forever. I've been soooo busy. >< But I'm back now. Thanks for reading!