Meron

Beast Boy: Dude, there's no place quite like home.

Starfire: (spreading arms wide in the accustomed Starfire manner) I agree. It is most glorious to once again be in the tower.

Robin: So do you regard this place as home?

Starfire: (at first reticent) …Yes: for now, anyway. I have heard an Earth saying; 'Home is where the heart is'. My heart is with my best friends, here on Earth.

Cyborg: Yeah, it is good to get home. Japan was pretty cool, though; it's one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.

Beast Boy: (slumps into couch in the accustomed Beast Boy manner) The only technology I need is a working TV set… maybe with cable.

(Robin and Starfire drift off together, and Raven and Cyborg walk over to Beast Boy, presumably to give him a good taunting.)

Raven: So did you enjoy watching TV in a different country?

Beast Boy: (switching on, annoyed) Hey, I didn't just watch TV while we were in Tokyo, you know. When I go to other countries, especially Japan, I take the chance to check out the culture a bit. It's exotic and different.

Cyborg: (smiling wickedly) Yeah, so instead of reading comics you read manga, you ate proper Japanese tofu rather than the American-made product, and you watched TV programs in Japanese instead of ones in English. Yeah, I can really see a big difference there...

Beast Boy: (indignantly, actually bothering to turn away from the TV) But there is a big difference! Japanese programs are so weird; I couldn't understand any of them, even the ones with subtitles!

Raven: Well, there are no surprises there. You can't understand most things.

(Beast Boy, quite predictably, gets steamed up by this; Raven, having done her job, retreats to her room, not trying all that hard to hide the smile beneath her hood.)

Cyborg: Hey, calm down BB, we're just playing with you. Are you on for a game?

Beast Boy: No dude: 'Clash of the Planets' is on.

Cyborg: I thought you said you'd watched every episode of that thing three hundred times.

Beast Boy: (looks at Cyborg sceptically) And… your point is?

(Starfire sees the TV screen as Beast Boy flicks to 'Clash of the Planets'.)

Starfire: That is another thing I cannot understand about humans. They know that aliens do exist, yet I have seen no programs documenting any, not even Tamaranians. They seem more content to create fictional alien worlds than research any real ones.

Robin: (moving to stand by the window and look up at the sky; Starfire follows) I'm not really sure I can answer that, Star. Maybe it's because they're afraid; it's easier to make it up than actually go out there and see what's real.

Starfire: (confused) Why should they be afraid? We Tamaranians bear no grudge against humans.

Robin: I know, but you need to understand something very fundamental about humans; they are instinctively afraid of what they do not know. Very often we make fun of things when we don't understand them to make them seem less scary; sometimes even insult and degrade them, I'm afraid. It can't really be helped: it's an instinctive trait. Besides, Tamaranians aren't the only aliens. There are lots of species out there that would like to hurt us; you should know. We've had to fight a few of them.

(Starfire looks as though she is about to speak, when she notices something outside; she draws Robin's attention to it.)

Starfire: And I think there are still a few more.

(Starfire is referring to a gunmetal grey star-ship that is, as she speaks, flying towards the city, guns blazing and distributing red lasers about the place.)

(Opening sequence.)

Cyborg: I'll tell you this for nothing; that force field is insanely powerful. The amount of energy being channelled into it is enormous; I don't know if it can be broken.

Beast Boy: Dude, leave it to me. If there's anyone around here who can break it, I can. I was born to break stuff.

(He transforms into an ox that then charges full speed at the force field, head down. It seems for a moment like he might do it; the force field bulges inwards. However, it snaps back out again like a rubber band. Beast Boy tries again as an elephant and just gets a headache. For the finale, he flies very high up and then drops straight down on the force field as a ridiculously huge whale. The force field repels him straight back up like a trampoline; he transforms back into his human form as he falls. Raven sees him coming, and steps one pace the right; instead he lands in a blob of dark energy that deposits him unceremoniously on the tarmac.)

Raven: You sure were; you nearly broke every bone in your body just then.

Beast Boy: Hey, I was going to turn into a bird when you intervened with your creepy dark powers.

(Inside the force field, the Locrix are rounding up the people and dragging them back to the star-ship. The Titans can't see this, since the force field is opaque, but they can hear the screams.)

Robin: We need to get rid of that force field now! If we can't break it, what can we do?

Cyborg: It's being generated from a device they have mounted on top of the ship. If you destroy that, the force field goes.

Robin: Raven, we need you to phase through the force field and destroy that generator.

Cyborg: It's a huge dish at the top; you can't miss it.

(Raven nods and turns into the black raven form. She travels up over the field and, at its peak, plunges through. There she finds the generator; a quick slash of dark energy destroys it. The force field dissipates, and the Locrix are revealed.)

Starfire: What? We defeated the Locrix. How can they be back?

Robin: Maybe Val-Yor was even worse than we thought he was. We'll just have to finish the job. Titans, go!

(The normal Locrix charge to the ship with the citizens; Raven locks the doors back in place and pierces their midsections with darkness, like in 'Troq', freeing their prisoners. Meanwhile, Robin leads the charge into the main body of the Locrix; he throws a few birdarangs before taking out the quarterstaff and whacking a few of them. Cyborg blasts a couple with the sonic cannon and goes to work with his fists with Beast Boy at his side, who is dispatching Locrix with consummate ease, his old trick of becoming a hummingbird to fly between their needle-like missiles proving as ever effective. Starfire provides air cover, blasting the Locrix where appropriate. Since they seem to be doing well enough, Raven takes it upon herself to ferry the citizens to safety.)

Robin: Don't let them get to the citizens; we can't allow any hostages!

(Robin slashes at a white Locrix which is trying to contravene his wishes with his quarterstaff but, unlike his many fallen comrades, this one resists; its red circuitry glows and the white material it is made of latches onto the staff and quickly consumes Robin's arms too. The Locrix spins about and pitches Robin into the distance, throwing him like a hammer. Cyborg throws a punch at a white Locrix and is surprised to find that a hole opens up before his hand touches it; his hand goes through and is engulfed by the white material, the red glowing as before.)

Cyborg: Okay… I guess you Locrix have been upgrading while you were away.

(Cyborg struggles to get out, and only just manages to dodge the Locrix coming from behind him by blasting his hand out by use of sonic energy; the other one is easily taken by surprise. Beast Boy finishes off a group of them except one, which also happens to be a white one. Beast Boy charges it as a tiger and leaps straight for its eye; the white Locrix immediately seems to melt and becomes a white puddle on the floor. Beast Boy changes back.)

Beast Boy: Oh. Well, that was easy.

(The puddle zooms back upward, and the newly reconstituted white Locrix bats Beast Boy away with ease; he falls next to Robin and Cyborg as they regroup to charge again.)

Beast Boy: Dude! What is with those white ones? It just turned into a puddle and back and then whacked me!

Cyborg: Another white one almost ate my hand.

Robin: And my staff got caught inside another; it threw me. These things seem to have the ability to shape-shift. Be very careful with the white Locrix.

Starfire: Friends; move!

(Almost as soon as Starfire has finished this sentence, a red laser-beam scythes through the air towards Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy; they each dodge in their respective fashions. We see that one of the turrets on the star ship shot this beam, and several more are powering up.)

Robin: Starfire and Raven; try and destroy those laser turrets if you can. We'll handle these Locrix.

(Starfire and Raven gesture the affirmative and fly off to the ship, dispensing destruction amongst the turrets as they can without getting hit. They are drawing most of the laser-fire, but Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy's progress is impeded by it; the white Locrix are pushing them back, slowly but surely. Raven finishes off another turret, and temporarily shields herself from another one. Through the darkness she sees a very familiar space ship; it is identical to the one Val-Yor first used. The guns on this space ship fire down at the Locrix star ship. Raven, realising that Starfire is in imminent danger, sweeps off to save her as the black raven; she only just makes it in time as the space ship's lasers narrowly miss them, Starfire having been moved away by the dark energy. The laser turrets wing the space ship; it destabilizes and swoops off sideways. Meanwhile, the boys are in a sticky situation; the white Locrix have them surrounded on all sides. The space ship is heading towards them as it fires off two missiles into the Locrix on the other side of them; this side is destroyed when the space ship crashes. Instantly oversized green laser beams rip through the Locrix, and they retreat to the star ship, revealing the two missiles to actually have been ejected escape pods. Val-Yor is one of the two; the other is a female of his species named Kir-Lat.)

Kir-Lat: Humans; retreat! We cannot win here.

Beast Boy: What do you mean? You just blasted the Locrix into next week!

(The white material strewn about the floor; the remnants of the white Locrix weren't totally blasted, starts to move together and form new Locrix.)

Cyborg: I think they got blasted slightly closer than just next week.

(They all high-tail it out of there. The white Locrix return to their star ship and a new force field generator is set up. Things have calmed down slightly, so Robin, Cyborg and Beast By go over to the two aliens.)

Cyborg: Well, well: look who's back.

Beast Boy: Val-Yor! I thought we told you that you weren't welcome here.

Val-Yor: Do you think I wanted to come? I have better things to do than waste my time with a load of Troq-sympathizers.

(Kir-Lat backs away from Val-Yor and points behind him. He turns and finds himself staring at a wrathful Raven.)

Raven: I have had just about enough of you and your contempt for Tamaranians. You nearly killed Starfire back there with your deadeye shooting skills!

(Val-Yor is about to return the favour when Kir-Lat moves between Raven and him.)

Kir-Lat: That is quite enough. We are not here to bicker over racial differences; the Locrix are more our concern right now.

(Val-Yor holds Raven's glare for a few seconds before glancing over her at Starfire. Starfire decides that Val-Yor is a lost cause and turns to Kir-Lat instead.)

Starfire: Please, what is your name?

Kir-Lat: I am Kir-Lat.

Robin: Why are the Locrix back?

Beast Boy: And why were they all white? They can fight way better than they used to be able to!

Kir-Lat: Please! I do not know why or how the Locrix are back. That is part of the reason I came here.

Val-Yor: I'm telling you: it's just a waste of time.

(Kir-Lat rolls her eyes.)

Kir-Lat: Please excuse Val-Yor; he can be amazingly obnoxious in the presence of aliens.

(Val-Yor is about to speak when he is again interrupted; the ship disengages its force field and blasts off. Cyborg and Starfire ready missiles, but Kir-Lat urges them to stay their hands.)

Kir-Lat: That will be of no use now. The ship is too heavily armoured. The Locrix shall doubtless return, but until then we should remain within your base of operations.

Robin: Fine, but I want a question answered first. Why are you here?

Val-Yor: I would have thought that was obvious. We are here to protect those too weak to do it themselves.

(Kir-Lat shoots Val-Yor a dirty look and flies off to the tower; Raven provides a platform for the Titans and ferries them across the water. Val-Yor follows on behind, whilst Kir-Lat joins the Titans on Raven's platform.)

Kir-Lat: To put it simply, we are here because the Sol system is the last between the Locrix Empire and our own system. If Earth falls, then they can use it as a strong position from which to launch an attack on our home world; we cannot allow that to happen.

Cyborg: So if things have become so desperate, why are there only two of you here?

(Kir-Lat sighs heavily.)

Kir-Lat: That is because most of my race, sadly, considers humans to be… inferior. We are a species that has defined itself by war; many races have tried to defeat us. Thankfully, none have succeeded yet, but it has instilled within most of our kind a great contempt for those not warlike, or those who spend too much time concentrating on the more light-hearted features of life. That mostly explains the innate racism we hold for Tamaranians. Therefore, we have been sent to try and rescue what is viewed essentially as a lost cause in any case; me because I hold little regard for the arts of war, and Val-Yor because he is… how should I put this…

Val-Yor: Capable? Superior?

Kir-Lat: We have been through this before, Val-Yor. I do not wish to repeat it again.

Starfire: Why must you always be so insensitive and mean?

(Val-Yor looks at Starfire coldly and lands in front of her on the platform.)

Val-Yor: In case you, in your stunning capacity for naivety, have failed to notice, we are in the middle of a war. People who are sensitive and kind do not last very long in wars, especially Troqs like you!

(There is a sound of metal as Robin draws several birdarangs.)

Robin: You will not say that again if you know what's good for you.

(Again, Kir-Lat must be the mediator.)

Kir-Lat: (to Robin) You put away your weapons, (to Val-Yor) and you shut up.

Val-Yor: But he drew-

Kir-Lat: I am the superior officer here, and you follow my orders, understood? And I don't care if he did draw weapons on you; it was provoked and fully justified in my opinion.

(Val-Yor backs off with as much dignity as he can salvage.)

Val-Yor: (to Robin) Why do you care so much for her? She's not even one of your kind.

(Robin ignores him, so Raven speaks instead.)

Raven: You're not just physically blind; you're emotionally blind as well.

Val-Yor: (puzzled and angered) What's that supposed to mean?

Beast Boy: Figure it out, genius.

(Val-Yor draws a blank.)

(Fade to black.)

Kir-Lat: To be honest, we don't have much of an idea how it is exactly the Locrix have returned. We only knew about the one power station; with that destroyed their whole system should have shut down. However, it turned out that they had a reserve power source hidden away somewhere, but they were not foolish enough to attack us straight away. For quite a time they went into hiding, and we were sure that the Locrix threat was finally gone, so our race began to mine the Locrix home planet for the metals that the machines had originally used for their own purposes. The Locrix returned with a vengeance; they obliterated our base on their planet by means of a massive sneak attack. They knew Centian so well that there were really no holes in their plan; the Locrix had taken back the planet within a day. Apparently they had taken great pains in making a whole new army, and a whole new kind of soldier.

Cyborg: Those white shape-shifting ones?

Kir-Lat: Yes. They are almost impossible to destroy; nothing but oversized laser beam weapons like the ones Val-Yor and I are equipped with or similarly destructive explosives will terminate the white Locrix. If you cut them, they stick back together; if you remove a part of them, they regenerate. Only by completely decimating the white Locrix can you ensure that they do not stand again.

Raven: Don't they have any other weakness? Surely you've observed them for one?

Kir-Lat: Well, we did manage to obtain a piece of the material they are made from. Upon observation it turned out to be a highly flexible alloy; unlike any metal we've ever seen. When the circuits within it are subjected to the right charges of electricity, it can change to almost any shape, and even grow. It seems to have almost biological properties- yes, Beast Boy?

(He has put up his hand in the manner of a student, but his question and expression are entirely serious.)

Beast Boy: Can you eat it?

Raven: Earth to Beast Boy; just because it's white that doesn't mean it's tofu.

Kir-Lat: Well, I suppose it's possible that you could; there are no toxins of any kind in the metal.

Cyborg: So you can eat it. What are you planning to do, Beast Boy; eat the entire Locrix army?

Beast Boy: Dude, I'm serious… this time. Kir-Lat, Have you ever heard of new-fu?

Kir-Lat: No. Why?

Robin: Are you seriously proposing that this metal could be made out of new-fu?

(Beast Boy stands up and starts speaking in increasingly emotional tones.)

Beast Boy: Why not? Think about it; (he pulls down a screen which displays SD Titans beating the Locrix and new-fu) both the new-fu and the Locrix got their butts handed to them on a silver platter by nobody but us, the Teen Titans, (the screen changes to the Locrix and new-fu shaking hands or similar) so maybe they got together, created a new kind of strange bionic metal that would in the end become the very building blocks of an indestructible soldier to destroy the Earth and us!

(The last panel of the screen, a picture of an SD white Locrix raising a sledgehammer over a football sized Earth, is picked up by Raven it turns out to be card-sized, torn to shreds and throw lackadaisically over her shoulder.)

Raven: Beast Boy, don't open your mouth. Whenever you do weird and useless if not actively harmful ideas come out of it.

Cyborg: Yeah, this is even weirder than the Hamster Underground.

(Show three second montage of the Hamster Underground as seen in 'Revolution'. The middle hamster is green, and turns into the human Beast Boy; the remaining two hamsters run away screaming since they are now tiny in comparison to him.)

Beast Boy: But what's so unbelievable about this idea? It is actually possible this time!

(The two hamsters from before return; this time they have the rest of the Teen Titans along with them, minus Starfire. They are all hamster sized. Robin and Cyborg trip him up and Raven ties him down with darkness. Return to the main room; Beast Boy is making a pleading gesture to Starfire, since she seems to be the only person not sceptical to his idea.)

Starfire: I must agree with the others, Beast Boy. It is highly illogical and not something the Locrix would seem to be inclined towards doing. They are machines that have set out to dominate all organic life to prove that they are superior to it; I cannot envision them and the irrefutably biological new-fu becoming allies.

Beast Boy: What about you, Kir-Lat? You're the expert here!

(She remains silent for a second or two, thinking about it.)

Kir-Lat: …It is highly improbable, but definitely not impossible. Nothing is impossible. However, what exactly are the new-fu? Why do you think they would do this? Please; explain to me about them.

Beast Boy: Well, it all began when we found out that cows were disappearing from all the farms…

(Fade to black.)

Val-Yor: Those Locrix are so predictable.

Kir-Lat: So are you. You need to stop underestimating your enemy.

Starfire: And your potential allies.

(Val-Yor ignores Starfire and speaks to Kir-Lat, even then in grating tones.)

Val-Yor: So are we going in or what? All this waiting around is seriously annoying me.

Robin: (tiresomely, not turning from the binoculars) Have you ever heard of something called 'patience'?

Kir-Lat: I'm afraid our impetuous friend has yet to experience such a virtue.

Cyborg: You know the plan, Val-Yor. We wait for Beast Boy.

Val-Yor: I fail to see what that diminutive green jester has to contribute.

Raven: The very fact that he is a jester is what we're counting on.

(Cut to the mass of white Locrix, viewed from a distance and from ground level. A shoed foot steps into view.)

Beast Boy: Hey you! Yeah, the walking meat substitutes!

(The Locrix turn to face Beast Boy; we see that he is aiming a gun at them.)

Beast Boy: When you're staring down the barrel of a high-powered rifle, there's just one question you need to ask yourself; 'Am I feeling lucky today?'

(The Locrix charge forwards, and Beast Boy shoots; a surprising amount of water is sprayed over the white Locrix. However, they do not stop, or even slow down. Beast Boy stares at the water gun forlornly.)

Beast Boy: The answer in my case is a definite 'no'. I wonder why it didn't work… ah well.

(He tosses away the gun and batters off the opposition by use of the T-Rex form. He holds his own for a while, but is soon overcome by the sheer magnitude of white Locrix weighing him down.)

Beast Boy: Okay, dude, I give up! Take me to your leader, or whatever it is you aliens say. Or maybe the leader could come out here?

(The Locrix start to carry him back to the ship.)

Beast Boy: What, is your leader too much of a chicken or what?

(Beast Boy turns into one, escapes and starts clucking uproariously, running around in circles; the Locrix can't catch him. Finally, the door opens, and out comes the Source, this time installed inside a massive Locrix robot body that has a face of its own; this is Locrix Prime. Briefly cut to the Titans.)

Source: I am no chicken!

Prime: All biological beings are inferior to the might of the Locrix.

Beast Boy: Oh yeah? So why'd you saddle yourself with the new-fu? Were you afraid that the Titans would kick your butts again if you-?

Prime: Silence!

(Source/Prime moves through the crowd of white Locrix, parting them like water before Moses.)

Source: Us new-fu are no longer biological. Now that we have completed the grand union of the new-fu and the Locrix, we are bionic!

Prime: An acceptable compromise, given the circumstances.

Beast Boy: What circumstances are those? The ones where us 'biological beings' take you aliens to the cleaners?

(Prime/Source reaches Beast Boy and stands towering above him.)

Prime: I accept that there was a defeat, yes, but it was only temporary. The Locrix have risen again and, now in partnership with the new-fu, we will dominate all biological life in the universe!

Beast Boy: Wow. I couldn't find anything that exceeded your ego until just now; your ignorance is astoundingly developed. It makes me feel intelligent just being in your presence.

Source: You are the fool here! You are the one who has allowed himself to be captured, and I don't think I can see any signs of your precious friends coming to rescue you.

Beast Boy: If you can't see what's there, it might not necessarily mean that it isn't there; it might just mean you're blind.

Prime: Idiot human. Unlike you organics I do not have to rely on a mere five senses; especially not the poor eyesight that you humans seem to have such faith in. My sensors are perfect. Nothing can get by them without me knowing.

Beast Boy: Can you eat?

Source: (confused) No.

Beast Boy: Ah… I guess your words will have to go to waste then.

Robin: (off in the distance) Titans, go!

(Kir-Lat and Val-Yor's laser weapons decapitate two of the star ship's laser turrets; Cyborg's sonic cannon blasts off another, Starfire's nova energy streams through a turret and Raven's darkness wrenches one out of its socket and throws it into the crowd of white Locrix. However, that is not what Source/Prime is concerned about; four small but highly potent rockets have just barrelled into the Locrix, disintegrating quite a lot of them. Kir-Lat and Val-Yor move their fire to the white Locrix; again Starfire and Raven are on turret duty, and Cyborg and Robin are in the thick of the fight. Source/Prime looks down again, but Beast Boy isn't there.)

Source: His disappearance is of no consequence. We cannot lose this battle; we have them seriously outnumbered.

Prime: As ever, you are being overly incautious. Though we may outnumber them by a large factor, they have a noticeably superior ability for destruction.

(Robin throws an ice disc at a white Locrix, followed by a hefty kick; it shatters into millions of tiny pieces. Cyborg is dealing destruction with his twin sonic cannons. Raven and Starfire have finished with the turrets, and are now helping out down there; nova energy and darkness are wreaking havoc amongst the Locrix ranks. And, as ever, the outsized green beams are ripping the Locrix to shreds. Again, there is no Beast Boy.)

Source: Granted, they are very powerful. However, I don't think even they can defeat our star ship.

Prime: Very well. Pull back as many as can be spared; we need to leave a few troops to keep the organics busy.

(Source/Prime retreat to the star ship with most of the Locrix. It takes off, and the Titans finish off the few that were left.)

Cyborg: Booyah! Look at them running!

Kir-Lat: Um, Cyborg? Look closer.

(A host of rockets is, even now, streaming towards the Titans. Source/Prime appears on a screen on the side of the star ship.)

Prime: (over a loudspeaker) Don't bother running; those rockets are guided and have a blast radius capable of wiping out an ocean liner. Unless any of you are able to withstand several megatons of explosives, I'm afraid it's goodbye, organics.

Val-Yor: Not if I have anything to do with it.

(He readies the laser cannon in his hands.)

Kir-Lat: Are you deaf? Even if you shot them now, the explosion would still kill us! Stand down, Val-Yor!

Val-Yor: I don't see anyone else here with a bright plan to save us.

Robin: That's where you're wrong. If you would be so good as to do the honours, Raven?

Raven: Azarath Metrion Zinthos…

(Raven ensnares them with darkness and forces them back at the star ship. Source/Prime realizes what is happening and activates the force field; the rockets explode only managing to buffet the star ship. Otherwise, there is no damage. The force field drops.)

Source: Very well, Titans. You may have won this bout, but we can go anywhere around the world, and you cannot possibly know where we will strike next. Heed my words, Titans; your world is doomed to destruction!

(The star ship zooms off into the night sky. Val-Yor turns on Robin.)

Val-Yor: So now what, oh great leader?

Kir-Lat: What are you so disgruntled about?

Val-Yor: In case you failed to notice, Kir-Lat, it was right! There's no way we can stop them from attacking anywhere in the world; we're stuck here!

(Kir-Lat looks at Robin. He nods.)

Kir-Lat: We don't have to follow them. We've already got someone aboard.

Val-Yor: What? Who-?

(He looks around and realizes who is missing.)

Val-Yor: Beast Boy? You sent him to infiltrate the Locrix? He is not trained for espionage of such a high order-

Robin: He doesn't have to be. He can shape-shift, remember? A little bit of white paint, and he can look exactly like one of the Locrix.

Val-Yor: Why wasn't I told of this?

Raven: Because you really are predictable. We knew that you would disagree and just bicker pointlessly about it, insisting that you be sent instead. That would have just wasted time, so we decided to take the easy path and just not tell you.

Val-Yor: What exactly are you hoping he'll do to them, though? Make them so annoyed that they'll blow up or what? I demand to know your plans! I have a right to know; I am your ally!

(The Titans walk off with Kir-Lat. Cyborg, however, stops behind for a minute.)

Cyborg: Do you hear that?

Val-Yor: Do I hear what?

(There is complete silence.)

Cyborg: I think that's the sound of no-one caring.

(Cyborg walks away. Val-Yor gives him a contemptuous look before flying to Kir-Lat.)

Val-Yor: Since you are the superior officer, I find it my duty to inform you that the Titans are treating me with contempt and disdain.

(Kir-Lat sighs and waves the others on. She stops to talk with Val-Yor; Starfire listens in from the shadows.)

Kir-Lat: That's interesting. I've never known you to adhere so strictly to duty before.

Val-Yor: But-!

Kir-Lat: No. I will not hear any of this. The reason they treat you with contempt and disdain is because you did so to them first. Respect is a two-way street, lest you forget, and you should treat others as you wish them to treat you. Perhaps if you learned that you would be able to understand why it is that everyone who knows you for who you truly are hates you.

Val-Yor: (shocked) You… hate me?

Kir-Lat: I'm sorry; did I stutter? Yes, I do. You may not have noticed it, but I am not the only one, and I am not referring to the other species.

(Kir-Lat flies off to the Titans, leaving Val-Yor to contemplate his position. Starfire looks as though she may speak, but decides that Val-Yor needs time to think; instead she gives a hopeful smile and goes to the others.)

(Fade to black.)

Beast Boy: I hope I can get off this ship soon. Being covered in paint is seriously no fun, even if it is non-toxic. Where am I, anyway?

(Beast Boy presses a button next to the door that he presumes to be the light switch. The room suddenly floods with light, revealing a room stuffed to bursting with computer equipment and, in the middle, is a single terminal, which Beast Boy walks up to, after a brief freak-out episode upon seeing the sheer volume of computing apparatus.)

Beast Boy: Wow… it's a good thing Cyborg's not with me right now or he'd be spouting reams of techno-gibberish. So, what can this thing do…?

(Beast Boy activates the computer. The screen fills with binary code that he can't make either head nor tail of.)

Beast Boy: Actually, bringing Cyborg may not have been such a bad idea after all… where's the keyboard or mouse on this thing? Wait; you're not thinking. Locrix wouldn't use manual input devices; they would use more direct ways… is that it?

(Beast Boy finds a device that, once he has turned into a Locrix, fits quite neatly about his middle, where the central processor should be; it has several wires leading to the terminal before him. Since he does not have a central processor, however, he just changes back to human. It can be strapped about his head instead, but…)

Beast Boy: …Usually when I use electronic stuff I end up breaking it. Well, that's the point here, but… um…

(Screen pulls in that shows an SD Beast Boy at the computer. The screen displays this: 'Self-destruct mode activated: T-minus '10' seconds to completion.' The number continues to decrease as the SD Beast Boy freaks out and runs about the place screaming. The screen then displays: 'Self-destruction sequence completed. Have a nice day.' As if the irony needs any more reinforcing, there is also a large smiley face. The entire screen blows up, and the real white Beast Boy is there again, staring at the input device.)

Beast Boy: I hope I know what I'm doing…

(He ties the device about his head in the fashion of a Kamikaze pilot and cracks his knuckles determinedly.)

Beast Boy: Let's do this.

(Beast Boy presses a button above where the wires enter the terminal. He is instantly whisked away to a dark abyss.)

Beast Boy: So… where am I this time?

(Beast Boy no longer white looks down and realizes that he is standing on top of large green '1'. It is moving along at quite a pace with lots of other 1s and 0s. They all seem to be heading towards a city of green buildings, where binary code is zipping about the place in large quantities.)

Beast Boy: Um… do you guys happen to know where the ship's self-destruct function is?

(The 0 in front of Beast Boy swivels around and stares at him with suddenly existent eyes; he gives a short scream.)

0: (sternly) Do you have authorization?

Beast Boy: Authorization? Oh, sure, I got that.

0: Show me.

Beast Boy: (half-heartedly patting his suit) Oh, gee, I guess I must have left my authorization at home. Look: this is really important, so could you just tell me?

0: Sorry. No authorisation, no directions.

(They have arrived in the green city; the 0 starts to roll away.)

Beast Boy: (getting a brainwave) Oh, wait, I just remembered; I do have authorization. It's right here.

(The 0 turns to see it. Beast Boy is holding a rectangular section of air.)

0: I see no authorization.

Beast Boy: Sure you don't; that's because it's encrypted to be invisible. This is a very important authorization; if any viruses were to see and destroy it the consequences could be catastrophic.

0: (knowingly) Oh sure, I knew that. Yeah, the self-destruct function is just down that street there.

Beast Boy: Thanks!

(He walks off down the road, dodging hopping 1s and rolling 0s.)

Beast Boy: So I'm down that street. Where is-

(He turns to see a door, with a huge sign above it saying 'Self-Destruct'.)

Beast Boy: (tiresomely) Why do they always make it so obvious? If it's not a huge sign it's a big red button…

(Beast Boy walks through the door, and finds a big green button prominently displayed on a pedestal. He sighs, and presses it. Instantly Beast Boy is back in the Locrix ship and white again. The screen is showing his worst nightmare; the prediction from before was sadly correct. After another short scream he gets rid of the headband and runs for it. The Locrix in the corridor outside are surprised to find a white elephant barrel through the wall next to them and out through the other. Cut to Source/Prime; they have hopped into a ship and jettisoned.)

Source: What is happening?

Prime: The self-destruct protocol has somehow been activated, and part of the ship has been breached. And I think I know who did it…

(A video screen in the ship displays the white elephant crashing out of the outside of the ship; it instantly changes to a pterodactyl which then soars to Earth.)

Source: It's him… you have irked me for the last time, green human!

Prime: He is white.

Source: Shut up!

Prime: You will not tell me to shut up.

(Their bickering continues as they fly away from the ship; it explodes magnificently, breaking in two like an airborne Titanic and kicking up two massive plumes of sand as it lands in the desert below. Meanwhile, Beast Boy is making his way to the ground so he can get a bearing of some kind on his situation, when a red laser blast comes close to removing his head. He swoops off to the side just in time, and hides behind a rock promontory as his human self still white, of course.)

Beast Boy: What is wrong with these guys? They just don't give up! Well… why should they? They've got me on my own in the middle of the desert, them with a ship and me without, and I don't even know if my tracker will work from this distance. (he sighs deeply) It's times like this that make me wonder why I bother getting up in the morning.

(The red laser blasts come again; he ducks and flies away just as the rock teeters over and collapses on the spot where he just was. He hears a snatch of their argument.)

Prime: I don't even know why I made an alliance with a useless organic like you in the first place.

(Beast Boy latches on to the idea and lands, smiling wickedly; as the ship swoops by again he shouts.)

Beast Boy: Come on, Source! Are you going to take that from a rusty bucket of bolts?

Source: I most definitely am not! I conclude this alliance as of now!

Prime: Oh, and what are you going to do? You are a useless organic without me!

Beast Boy: (shouting from outside the ship) Kick his butt! You can take that cranky old has-been any day of the week!

(The Source comes free of Prime and becomes an amorphous white blob that attacks Prime. Beast Boy looks on, satisfied, as the ship veers wildly off into the sand.)

Beast Boy: Well, that's them sorted… uh-oh.

(Prime and the white blob that is the Source are advancing towards him across the sand from the wreckage of their ship.)

Beast Boy: Oh, hey there guys. Aren't you angry at each other?

Prime: You are the one that made us crash.

Source: Therefore, we shall temporarily put aside our differences to crush you.

(Multiple rocket launchers appear from Prime's back.)

Prime: You have been a virus in my system long enough. Execute.

(The rockets fire straight at Beast Boy; he flies away as quickly as possible. He loops around and leads the rockets straight towards the Source; unfortunately he dodges easily. Beast Boy becomes too tired to keep flying that quickly and falls to the sand.)

Beast Boy: Dude, this can't be the end! I still have so many things left to do!

(As Beast Boy stares at the missiles, darkness spreads across his vision; the black raven swallows up the rockets and fires them back out at Prime and the Source; they dodge and, instead, the rockets hit the rock cliff behind them, burying each under a hundredweight of rubble. Raven looks back over her shoulder at Beast Boy.)

Raven: Are you okay?

Beast Boy: Well, yeah, now I am.

(The T-Ship lands, and from it emerge the rest of the Titans; Kir-Lat and Val-Yor have been riding on the wings, seeing as how they can fly.)

Beast Boy: Dude, it's about time! Those guys almost toasted me!

Raven: (supremely annoyed) It's nice to see you being so grateful.

(Raven punctuates this with a frown and goes off to fight Prime and the Source, leaving Beast Boy somewhat bewildered.)

Beast Boy: (feeling wronged) What did I say?

(The stones are moving aside as Prime forces his way out; the Source simply oozes out between the cracks. Kir-Lat and Val-Yor draw a bead on either one.)

Kir-Lat: Do not move. If you surrender now, we guarantee you survival.

Source: In a detention cell, yes?

Val-Yor: What do you think?

Prime: The day I surrender to an organic is the day my logic centres are short-circuited.

(With that, his chest opens up, revealing a laser cannon; his fingers become laser-gun barrels. Prime lets loose at the 'organics'.)

Robin: Titans, go!

(Robin hurls an explosive disc through the hail of fire as he acrobatically dodges the lasers; Prime staggers back, but is otherwise unharmed. Kir-Lat takes the opportunity to let loose a shot at Prime, and follows it up by smashing Prime into the rock face with the gun; he rebounds off it surprisingly athletically and charges Kir-Lat, guns blazing. The shots miss, but he head-butts her away, returning the favour. Raven intervenes, sprouting up behind Prime and slashing diagonally both ways. Prime does not rely on eyesight, so he sees Raven coming, but nevertheless cannot dodge quickly enough; one of his arms drops to the floor. He tries to regenerate, but the Source is no longer within him; he can't do it. Meanwhile, Val-Yor takes a shot at the Source but misses as the white blob once again easily dodges. Cyborg leaps in and smashes both fists into the Source. Quite predictably, his arms get stuck, and the Source smiles devilishly.)

Cyborg: (enthusiastic) Turn it up!

(The blue of Cyborg's arms glows increasingly more and more white, and the Source realizes too late what's happening; twin sonic blasts knock holes in the Source. However, it fights back, knocking Cyborg off his feet. Starfire watches this, and gets an idea; she soars towards the Source and grabs the white material, charging it full of nova energy. The Source gives a shout of pain and leaps away; part of the whiteness suddenly scythes out and sends Starfire flying. Beast Boy now takes his turn; a green leopard runs up the Source and takes a swipe. The hit is dodged, and the Source tries to capture Beast Boy. A little green hummingbird easily escapes the incoming white material, and suddenly a hippo comes down upon the Source. It gets squashed outwards and reforms, smashing him off into the sands.)

Source: You cannot possibly hope to defeat me, changeling! I can transform far more efficiently than you shall ever be able to!

Val-Yor: Talk is cheap.

(The Source is taken from behind, and Val-Yor slams him into the cliff-face again. He runs up and follows it with several more punches, and then steps back with the laser gun.)

Val-Yor: Prepare to be terminated, new-fu scum.

(Starfire has returned, flying above the proceedings below. She notices that the rock is cracking higher up.)

Starfire: Val-Yor, do not-!

(She is too late; Val-Yor has fired, eradicating the Source. However, the rock is crumbling, so Starfire takes the initiative; she flies in and knocks Val-Yor out of the way. She does not have enough time to get out, and a blow to the head efficaciously knocks her cold. There is so much of it that even a Tamaranian would have severe difficulty getting out, and there is one last massive boulder perched precariously on the rapidly crumbling edge. Cyborg and Beast Boy are still AWOL, and everyone else is still fighting Prime, who has them pinned under a hailstorm of laser-fire. Val-Yor has a brief fight with his conscience, but a groan of moving stone from above spurs him to action. He clears away the worst of the rocks with the laser cannon, and lifts the last few himself, not wanting to hurt Starfire. The boulder above finally decides to fall, and Val-Yor finds Starfire's hand amongst the rubble; he pulls and flies from the stone before the boulder falls, very narrowly escaping getting crushed. Meantime, Raven teleports Kir-Lat behind Prime, and she fires a massive laser blast that just misses him. However, not that he is sailing through the air, Prime cannot direct his course, and it is a simple matter for Robin to hit him with an electronic disc. When Prime stands again, it is obvious that his circuits are very badly disrupted.)

Raven: It seems the organics have you outmatched.

Prime: (his voice is scrambled) This is not over.

Kir-Lat: Are there other Locrix?

Prime: (for once he actually seems to be happy) Ha… wouldn't you like to know?

(With that, he disappears in a rose of flame; Raven shields Kir-Lat and Robin. Prime has been reduced to spare parts.)

Robin: Well, at least the threat has been removed… for now. I just wish we could have got the answer first.

Kir-Lat: Don't blame yourself; you did what you-

Val-Yor: Kir-Lat!

(Kir-Lat's eyes open wide; she cannot believe what she is seeing. Robin is first to speak though; he runs up to Val-Yor.)

Robin: Starfire! Is she alright?

Val-Yor: I don't know… but we need to get her back as soon as possible. I just hope the conditions weren't too hostile...

(Val-Yor studies Starfire's blank face, her eyes still firmly shut.)

(Fade to black.)

Starfire: Val-Yor, I wish to thank you saving me.

Val-Yor: It was my fault you got into that mess in the first place. I'm amazed you turned out as well as you did; there was no way I would have survived that rock fall.

Starfire: My people are used to hostile conditions, as you said. Just because I am not warlike as you are, it does not mean I cannot be strong.

Val-Yor: (laughs bitterly) Yeah… well.

(He turns to leave.)

Starfire: Why did you save me? I thought you said I was a Troq.

Val-Yor: A guy can change his mind, can't he? I suppose I just realized that… well, maybe you are worth something. Even if you're not a hardened warrior like I am, you do have compassion; kindness enough to try and rescue someone you hate. I'm not saying I like you or anything like that, but… well, I now realise what it is your Earthling friends see in you.

Starfire: What is that?

(Val-Yor pauses.)

Val-Yor: You truly are a friendly person; something that I hope I will be. Kir-Lat will tell you that I am too proud and arrogant and do not value others for their true worth, and I guess that is true. I need to learn to be more of a people person rather than a soldier. I respect you for having to fight yet being able to retain such virtues of innocence such as you have.

Starfire: And I respect you for being able to change.

Val-Yor: Don't count on it just yet. This may be just a temporary thing; to make it stick will take effort.

Kir-Lat: And I'll help you do that.

(Kir-Lat and Cyborg have come back; Kir-Lat is smiling widely.)

Cyborg: I guess it's goodbye.

Kir-Lat: I guess so. Perhaps we shall meet again some day?

Starfire: Perhaps. Farewell, friend Kir-Lat; friend Val-Yor.

Val-Yor: 'Friend Val-Yor', huh? Well, farewell to you as well, Meron Starfire.

(This surprises Starfire, but she still waves with Cyborg as Kir-Lat and Val-Yor leave.)

Cyborg: I hope that 'Meron' thing wasn't another bad name.

Starfire: No, quite the opposite.

Cyborg: Really? What does it mean?

(Starfire watches as the ship takes off into the picturesquely fluffy clouds, the sun shining bright. A typical Starfire ending.)

Starfire: 'Friend'.