Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Coil ❯ Come the Apocalypse ( Chapter 7 )

 

“Coil”

Chapter 7: “Come the Apocalypse”

Disclaimer: Must I tell you again? Teen Titans belongs to DC Comics and Warner Brothers, not me. The same goes for the Justice League and any other DC Comics characters I choose to appropriate for this story.

Author's note: I'm expanding the scope of this story a bit, as in I'm bringing in more characters. The ones I intend to bring in are mostly the magic users and magic-empowered heroes of the DCU. So you'll be seeing people like Etrigan, the Spectre, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Captain Marvel, and such. Hell, I might even convince Constantine to make another appearance.

Shall we continue?

“Slade . . .” Robin dragged out his name hatefully. “You have ten seconds to begin explaining yourself . . . or I start cutting answers out of you.”

“Robin, I had no idea you had it in you to use such methods of interrogation,” Slade remarked. “You truly have progressed since your time as my apprentice.”

“That was ten seconds wasted,” Robin said as he pulled out three Wingblades, the vaguely birdlike shuriken. “Now I'll have to cut the answers out of you.” He threw the Wingblades at Slade, who simply caught them in the air.

“Your reflexes have improved, as has your aim,” Slade complimented. “A pity I am still far superior to you, even with your new abilities.”

The Titans simply stared at Robin with worried expressions. The unspoken thought on all their minds was this: He's becoming just as bad as Slade.

“Who was that woman?” Cyborg asked. “Were you working with her, Slade? Is she the demon that gave you your power?”

“Her name is Dark Angel,” Slade replied. “As for the other two questions, no. She simply allowed me to acquire the gems so that she could take them for herself and avoid fighting you. I do not like being used.”

“If she wants the gems to destroy the world, then what did you want them for?” Raven asked.

Slade chuckled. “All in good time, Raven. All in good time.”

Raven grabbed Slade with a shadowy claw and shoved him into the wall. “Not good enough. You tell us right now . . . or I can promise that the next ten minutes are going to be the worst minutes of your pathetic life.”

Slade chuckled. “I see you're quite . . . frustrated.”

“Quit playing games, Slade,” Raven spat.

“But games are what I do best,” Slade replied. “Life itself is a game, a contest to see who is superior.”

“And you think you're superior,” Raven stated icily.

“Yes,” Slade answered in a tone that gave everyone hearing it the impression that he was smirking.

“What the hell are you waiting for, Raven?” Robin asked coldly. “Make him talk.”

“Excuse me, but didn't you say that you weren't the leader anymore, so you had no right to give orders?” Cyborg asked.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Robin replied. “Right now, Slade knows the most about what's going on. He was the one who started looking for those gems and he's always been ten steps ahead of us. I say we turn the tables and make him answer our questions.”

“What are you saying, that we oughtta torture him?” Cyborg presumed.

“If we have to,” Robin replied.

“Try it,” Slade challenged. “I've been tortured by the best and if they couldn't break me, how does a callow brat like you expect to fare any better?”

Robin turned to Raven. “Get inside.”

Raven didn't have to ask what he meant by that. Her eyes glowed white and her claw became an astral form of herself that entered Slade's body. Slade's eye twitched and his body shook as though he was having a seizure.

“What's happening to him?” Aqualad asked.

“He's fighting the mind-meld,” Robin replied. He looked at Raven's shuddering form, realizing that the meld was taking a toll on her as well.

Finally, a black aura projected itself from Slade's body and into Raven's body, shocking her into full consciousness.

“Raven!” Robin uttered as he jogged over to her. “Are you all right?”

“He . . . his mind was too strong, too resistant,” Raven replied. “I couldn't complete the meld, but I saw . . . I saw . . .” She couldn't say any more due to the fact that she had just passed out.

“What can I say?” Slade commented in a morbidly flippant tone. “My mind's not such a nice place to be.”

With an enraged yell, Robin tackled Slade and held a Wingblade to his throat. “You start talking . . . or I start cutting.”

“Robin!” Cyborg yelled. “Get off him!”

“Why should I?” Robin asked. “This bastard has done nothing but make people suffer! And now . . . now the world's going to end because of that Dark Angel woman and he helped her do it! He deserves this.”

“Robin, stop,” Starfire pleaded. “If you kill Slade, he will win because his death at your hands will have made you just as devoid of conscience or morality as he is.”

“What's morality?” Blackfire asked.

“I doubt you would know what morality is, sister,” Starfire replied coldly, “but Robin does and I will not allow him to stain his hands with blood, even the blood of someone as vile as Slade.”

Robin sighed and removed the Wingblade from Slade's throat. “You're lucky she's here,” he spat before getting off the older man.

“We've gotta go,” Bumblebee said. “No telling what kind of damage Dark Angel and her Four Horsemen are causing.”

Robin went to the Hand of Amon and picked up the Apocalyptic Gems, placing them in the pouches of his utility belt. Then he, Red X, Blackfire, Slade, and the Titans left the temple . . .

. . . and emerged to a hellish sight.

People were sprawled on the sidewalk and cars had crashed into each other.

“Crap, the Four Horsemen really went to town,” Speedy remarked.

Robin examined one of the fallen people, seeing that the person's skin was pallid and black blotches had formed on it. “Pestilence,” he whispered.

“Not all of these people look like this one,” Cyborg replied. “I did a scan . . . and some of these people just dropped dead. Literally.”

“Death and Pestilence,” Slade mused. “With the way things are going, everyone's going to be dead soon.”

“I bet you'd like that,” Robin sneered.

“Not really,” he admitted. “It's bad for my plans if the human population is entirely eliminated.”

“Then why did you acquire the Apocalyptic Gems?” Robin asked.

“I have my reasons,” Slade replied. “Unfortunately, it is a moot point now. The Four Horsemen have been released and they are under the direction of Dark Angel.”

“We're gonna need help,” Mas spoke in Spanish.

“Sí,” Menos agreed.

“We should get back to the Tower first,” Bumblebee said, looking at Cyborg, who was carrying the still-unconscious Raven in his arms.

“Sure,” Cyborg agreed, “but what are going to do about Blackfire, Red X, and Slade?”

“I'll pursue a way of stopping Dark Angel and her Horsemen on my end,” Slade replied. “You'd all slow me down anyway.” With that said he opened a fiery warp and disappeared through it.

“That takes care of Slade, but what about X and Blackfire?” Beast Boy replied. “I don't like the idea of either of them inside a Titans Tower.”

“You do realize I can bust into the Tower if I felt like it, right?” Red X stated. “That's how I got this suit.”

“Same here,” Blackfire added.

“Fine,” Bumblebee conceded. “You two can enter the Tower. But I'll fry you both if you try anything.”

“I'll be a good boy,” Red X said. “But if you like, I can be a bad boy.”

“If hearing that from Speedy doesn't work on me, what makes you think your luck will be any better?” Bumblebee asked.

The Titans and their allies regrouped inside the East Titans Tower. As soon as they were inside, Cyborg took Raven to the infirmary while Bumblebee went to the computer and began typing rapidly, her long, slender fingers flying over the keys. Finally, she tapped into the satellite news feed.

“A strange plague has swept the United States, leaving many people clinging to life by a thread,” a reporter named Linda Park stated. “Interestingly enough, this plague not only makes people extremely ill; in some instances, those touched by the plague have simply fallen dead. Doctors have so far been unable to find a cure or a treatment for this plague and they have no explanation for why some people simply fall ill and others just die.

“In world news, the conflicts between North Kasnia and South Kasnia and Israel and Palestine and in Somalia have exploded into complete war and the death toll is rising extremely rapidly. Nations in the Third World are suffering from extreme famine and the citizens of those nations are dying of starvation. So far, no one has been able to explain the connection between all of these catastrophic events or even why they are happening. However, Colonel Hughes had this to say.”

The video cut to a shot of a man in army fatigues with slicked black hair and glasses shielding his eyes.

“I saw what happened over in North Kasnia and South Kasnia and while I've never been particularly religious or spiritual, the men fighting were not fighting like men,” Colonel Hughes said. “They were fighting like an evil force was driving them to kill each other.”

The video cut again, this time to the President of the United States.

“Bee, turn that crap off,” Red X snarled, the voice distorter amplifying the snarl to frightening levels.

“And why the hell should I do anything you say?” Bumblebee asked.

“I think our not-so-illustrious thief is a Democrat,” Speedy remarked.

“What the hell's wrong with that?” Red X asked in a challenging tone.

“Nothing,” Speedy replied. “I happen to be one, too, and so's my mentor.”

“Yeah, I keep hearing all the stories from Batman about what a fire-breathing liberal Green Arrow is,” Robin remarked. “Personally, I think both parties suck and we oughtta have a multiparty system so that we can have more choices.”

“Are any of you even old enough to vote?” Green Arrow asked sardonically from the computer screen.

The Titans stared at the screen in dumb surprise. Finally, Speedy spoke.

“Green Arrow. How did you do that?”

“Uh, access your communication channel?” Green Arrow filled in. “Let's just say I was worried sick about you and I happen to know a thing or two about accessing channels.” He looked at all the Titans and their allies, raising a corner of his mask when he saw Red X. “Didn't know you were letting thieves become Titans.”

“I'm only with them until this Four Horsemen crap is resolved and then I go back to my life of vice,” Red X stated.

“Speaking of the Four Horsemen, I take it you saw the news,” Green Arrow said.

“Yeah,” Robin replied. “War, famine, pestilence, and death. And this Dark Angel woman directing them all.”

“Don't be surprised if War and Famine start working together,” Green Arrow advised. “After all, when people are starving, they're likely to go at each other's throats if they think somebody's hoarding food for themselves.”

“Or War and Death,” Bumblebee added. “After all, War keeps Death in business.”

“Are you going to aid us, Green Arrow?” Starfire asked.

“I doubt I'd be that useful,” Green Arrow answered. “However, there are plenty of magic-affiliated people in the League who will be able to help.”

“What's going on right now?” Robin asked.

“Superman and Flash are transporting food to the regions affected by Famine as fast as they can,” Green Arrow replied. “Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are doing their best to stop the conflicts in the regions affected by War, although that scumbag Ares probably doesn't want his fun interrupted.” He paused and looked at something before turning his attention back to the Titans. “And it looks like your pal Red Star is helping out, too.”

“On the Dark Angel end of things?” Aqualad questioned.

“Dr. Fate's trying to track her,” Green Arrow answered. “He can't sense her, though; told us it was almost as if she didn't exist at all.”

“How can that be?” Starfire inquired.

“Zatanna's got a theory that there's so much negative mystical energy out there thanks to the Four Horsemen that it's hard to pick out any particular source,” Green Arrow replied. “Someone like Dark Angel could easily slip Fate's senses.”

“So what do we do?” Mas asked.

“We find a way to stop the Four Horsemen,” Robin replied.

“Shayera might be able to help you out there,” Green Arrow suggested. “Her mace is made out of nth metal, a metal designed to resist magic. Something like that. She might have other nth metal weapons.”

“Sounds good,” Cyborg said.

“Wait,” Green Arrow said. “Batman wants to talk to you, specifically Robin.” He moved aside, making way for the Dark Knight to appear before the Titans.

“I'd like to talk to you, Robin,” Batman stated. He turned a steely stare on the Titans, Red X, and Blackfire. “In private.”

“Whatever you have to say to Robin, you may say in front of us,” Starfire challenged.

“Ditto,” Blackfire added with a note of distaste at agreeing with Starfire in her voice.

“This happens to be a family matter,” Batman stated. “It doesn't concern any of you.”

“If it concerns Robin, then it concerns us,” Beast Boy stated defiantly. “We're his friends.”

A full thirty seconds passed before someone finally spoke. That someone was Cyborg.

“Come on,” he said. “We'd better leave them alone.”

“Why?” Starfire queried.

“Because father-son chats aren't meant to have audiences,” Cyborg replied.

Reluctantly, the Titans, Blackfire, and Red X walked out of the room, leaving Batman and Robin alone.

“What brings you here?” Robin asked.

“We need to talk,” Batman answered curtly.

“About?” Robin prompted.

“You're losing control,” Batman stated.

“How do you figure that?” Robin inquired.

“I've been keeping tabs on you,” Batman admitted. “And your behavior as of late has had me worried. You left the Titans. You changed your costume. You've started using extreme force on criminals . . . and you're in a relationship with a thief and a killer.”

“You mean Blackfire,” Robin remarked. “Honestly, it's not that different from what you get up to with Catwoman when Wonder Woman's not looking.”

“I am not two-timing Wonder Woman,” Batman spoke through gritted teeth.

“Right,” Robin agreed. “To even consider two-timing, you'd have to be in an actual relationship with either of them.”

“My personal life is none of your business,” Batman declared in an extremely calm and measured voice. At least, that was how it would sound to an outside observer. Robin knew Batman well enough to know that underneath the calm demeanor was a powerful frustration.

“And you think it's your business to run my life?” Robin asked.

“You're still my partner,” Batman replied. “Therefore, what you do is my business.”

“Didn't we dissolve that when you decided that I couldn't handle myself out there?” Robin asked. “That you shouldn't have involved me in your crusade?”

“I recall that night very well,” Batman answered. “The next morning, you'd packed your things and traveled all the way across the country. Then you formed your Titans.”

“Yeah, those were some good times,” Robin commented with a smile.

Surprisingly, Batman smiled as well. “I miss seeing you smile. It reminds me . . . of what it's like to be human.”

“I haven't felt so human in a long time,” Robin admitted. “Ever since Slade came into our lives, I've felt like it was my sole mission in life to stop him and nothing else mattered.”

“Not even the safety of your friends?” Batman prompted.

“Not even that,” Robin admitted. He remembered Raven, lying on an infirmary cot because he'd made her try to mind-meld with Slade so that he could find out what Slade had been plotting. “Oh, God . . . what have I done? What have I allowed myself to become?”

He stared at the mark of the darkness dragon on his right arm, the mark that had caused him so much grief in such a short time.

“It's tempting, isn't it?” Batman mused sadly. “To give in to your anger, your hate, and just act no better than your enemies. You remember what the Joker did to Batgirl?”

“Yeah,” Robin muttered sadly.

“I wanted to kill him,” Batman admitted. “I was perfectly ready to kill him. I was willing to throw away everything I believed in, everything I tried to instill in you, just so I could make him pay. Commissioner Gordon made me stop, and he had more reason than I did to see Joker dead. He shot at me twice and warned me that if I didn't stop beating him to death, his third shot would put a bullet in my head.”

“Why did he make you stop?” Robin asked.

“Because he knew that if I killed Joker, I would be turning my back on everything I believed in, everything he and I worked together to accomplish in Gotham,” Batman answered. “And I'm here to help you the same way he helped me. You haven't crossed the line yet and if I believed that there was a god out there that gave a damn about what happened to us, I would thank him or her for that. As long as you continue to nourish your hatred for Slade, it becomes increasingly likely that you will, though. I know what he did to you and your friends and what he made you do and I know that you have reason to hate him. I am warning you right now that if you continue to fight the way you have, letting your rage instead of your reason guide you, then you will find yourself on the path that he wants you to take, the path to becoming just like him . . . and I know you don't want that.”

“Whoa,” Robin uttered. “That's the most I've heard you say in one breath in a while.”

“Don't make me do it again,” Batman stated. “Actions are a better judge of character than words.”

“Heh, thanks,” Robin said.

“You're welcome,” Batman answered. “Just remember that I'm here if you need me . . . and the League will be on call for you as long as Dark Angel and her Horsemen are on the loose.”

“All right,” Robin said.

“Good luck . . . Richard,” Batman said before ending the communication.

In a zone of darkness separate and yet adjacent to this dimension, Dark Angel watched the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse wreak devastation on Earth. She smiled as she watched humans all over the world dying from war, starvation, and sickness. Despite all of this, there was one thing that irked her.

“They're not working fast enough,” she muttered. “There are still too many living humans . . . and the Teen Titans and the Justice League are most likely doing everything they can to stop my Horsemen. Not like they actually can . . . but there are a few among them that could be a serious problem.”

She waved a hand and the image before her changed to the face of a black-haired girl with star-shaped earrings.

“This will all be worth it,” she whispered. “Just to see you dead.”

Back on Earth, in the infirmary of the East Titans Tower, Raven awakened.

“Raven!” Starfire exclaimed. “You are all right!”

“Yeah,” Raven said, “but I've got a massive migraine.”

“I shall fetch your herbal tea!” Starfire declared and zoomed out of the room to make some herbal tea for Raven.

“Go after her,” Raven told Cyborg. “Make sure she doesn't wreck my tea.”

“Sure,” Cyborg said and started to walk out of the infirmary. He stopped in his tracks and turned to the Titans East when he realized something. “Wait. Do you guys even have herbal tea?”

“No,” Bumblebee replied.

“Oh,” Cyborg uttered. “I'd better tell Star before she wrecks your kitchen trying to find it.” He walked out of the infirmary.

“Where's Robin?” Raven asked.

“Having a private conversation with Batman,” Red X replied. “Wonder what those two talk about.”

“Probably the proper method of throwing a boomerang shaped like a flying animal or a shuriken,” Beast Boy replied. “Either that, or how to drive a high-powered car through traffic while pursuing the Joker.”

Blackfire snickered. “Funny, but I don't see why Pointy Ears had to kick us out.”

“Ever think that maybe what he had to say to Robin was something he didn't want to say in front of you?” Raven asked. “And if it was top-secret information, I doubt he'd want to share it with a criminal in the room.”

Blackfire glared at Raven.

At that moment, Robin walked into the infirmary with his black cape wrapped around his body like a cloak. “Hi, Raven. How are you?”

“I'm awake, but I have a headache,” Raven replied.

Robin removed his hands from his cape, revealing a cold compress wrapped in a white cloth. “This should help,” he said as he placed it on her forehead.

“Thanks,” Raven said.

Robin smiled. “You're welcome.”

Unbeknownst to the two, Blackfire was gazing at them jealously. Starfire, who had just returned from the kitchen with Cyborg, saw Robin and Raven together and jealousy boiled in her heart as well.

Robin looked at Raven as though he wanted to say something but couldn't.

“I know what you want to ask me,” Raven said. “You want to ask if I managed to see anything inside Slade's twisted head that would have given us a clue to what Slade wanted to do with those Apocalyptic Gems.”

“I couldn't ask that of you,” Robin said remorsefully. “Not after you were hurt because of me.”

“I didn't have to listen to you,” Raven stated. “I only did what you said because I trusted you.”

“I can't even trust myself now,” Robin admitted. “The darkness dragon has started influencing some of my actions and because of that I'm losing control of myself, losing sight of what it is I'm supposed to be fighting for. I made you mind-meld with Slade because I wanted so badly to rip the information out of Slade. After you passed out, I was ready to torture him if that was what it took to make him talk. I'm sorry, Raven.”

“So am I,” Raven answered. “If I'd been able to help you more, get the others to see that you were still you regardless of the darkness dragon inside you, then you wouldn't have left us.”

“I guess we all have something to be sorry for,” Beast Boy admitted, in an unusually (for him) serious tone.

“Uh-huh,” Cyborg agreed. “We were stupid, Robin. Really stupid. And we're sorry.”

“Thanks,” Robin said.

“You're welcome,” Cyborg responded and the two banged fists in the gesture of friendship.

“So if we're done with this Hallmark card moment, can we get back to the fact that we've got the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse running around wiping out all life on the planet?” Bumblebee asked.

Just then, Cyborg's communicator went off and he answered it. “Hotspot?”

“I'm in trouble,” the fire manipulator spoke. “I'm trying to stop a conflict in Somalia, but nothing I do will convince them to stop or slow down! I burned a giant hole between them, but they just went into the hole to try to get at each other! I can't even get a ceasefire out of them!”

“That's War,” Cyborg stated.

“War?” Hotspot repeated. “I know what war is!”

“I meant that you're dealing with the Horseman of War,” Cyborg clarified. “As in the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This woman named Dark Angel released them to destroy the world. People are killing each other in Africa, in Eastern Europe, and in the Middle East. All over the world, people are dying from starvation and disease . . . or just dropping dead.”

“Damn” was all Hotspot could say.

“That's about right,” Cyborg said.

“I got in touch with Kid Flash and Wonder Girl,” Hotspot mentioned. “Kid Flash is doing the high-speed courier thing with the Flash and Superman and Wonder Girl is helping Wonder Woman.”

“I just got word that there are thunderstorms in the areas affected by Famine,” Aqualad said. “Must be Thunder and Lightning's handiwork.”

“Yeah, it sounds like them,” Beast Boy remarked.

“We cannot stay here any longer while this monstrous woman uses the Four Horsemen to systematically erase all life on this planet!” Starfire declared.

“I hate to say it, I really hate to say it, but Starfire's right,” Blackfire agreed. “Let's smash open a barrel of whoop-ass on this bitch!”

“Except we can't find her,” Speedy cut in. “Green Arrow told us Dr. Fate couldn't find her with his mystical senses and that Zatanna believes that there's so much negative energy out there thanks to the Horsemen that it would be easy for her to hide from him.”

“Maybe the reason she can conceal herself is that she's in a different plane of existence,” Raven surmised.

“A different plane of existence?” Robin asked.

“Yes,” Raven answered. “That must be how Dark Angel is concealing herself from Dr. Fate.”

At that moment, the alarm blared.

“Raven, you stay here and recover; the rest of us will handle it,” Cyborg ordered before going into the main room with the other Titans, Red X, and Blackfire. Once inside the main room, Cyborg accessed the computer. “There's a disturbance in West Heights.”

“Isn't that one of those gated communities?” Speedy asked.

“Yeah,” Bumblebee replied. “The disturbance is being attributed to `gangs of hoodlums.'”

“Class conflict at its worst,” Cyborg remarked. “Titans Together!”

The Titans ran out of the room and Red X and Blackfire followed them.

“Robin?” Starfire asked as she turned back to him. “Why are you not coming with us?”

“I'll be right there, Star,” Robin replied. “I just need to take care of some things first.”

Starfire looked at him once before joining the other Titans, her wayward sister, and Red X.

End Notes: So what are these things Robin needs to take care of? How will the Titans beat back Dark Angel and her Four Horsemen? Who is this girl Dark Angel seems so bent on killing? The answers to those questions will emerge in the next chapter . . . well, not all of them, but enough so that you'll be satisfied.

Now I understand that this whole chapter was pretty much exposition, but it was necessary to advance the plot. Don't worry, you'll get the action you crave in the next chapter and you'll get to see some of those magic users and magic-empowered heroes I keep talking about.

By the way, I seriously deviated from type. In most of my TT stories, I have Tim Drake as Robin. In this chapter, due to his conversation with Batman, I've made it very bloody obvious that this Robin is Richard Grayson.

Finally, I have yielded to the demands of a few of my reviewers and will have a confrontation between Starfire, Raven, and Blackfire concerning Robin in a future chapter.

See you next chapter.