Teen Titans Gender Bender Project
Would things turn out differently if our heroes were opposing genders?
Inspired by carrinth's TTGB comics on DeviantArt.
TTGB Season One: BECOMING
Episode Two: One Final Test
"The HIVE Academy for Extraordinary Young People is proud to introduce this year's top graduates," the woman says, motioning down through the Plexiglas window into the training room where a hexagon platform rises. It carries two girls and a boy.
One is a very short, blonde girl in a green jumpsuit, goggles propped on her forehead and various control panels are strapped to her waist and wrists. Behind her is a very tall, beefy woman with collar-length brown hair and small, scruffy eyebrows. Her sleeveless shirt and pants are black, and studded gold bands cross her chest and run around her shoulders. Standing in front of them both is a lean boy who's stitched-together black sleeveless is a size too big and has ripped edges, tight black pants, a violet choker and thick black boots with violet soles. His hair is a shade of lavender-pink and sticks up at the sides above his ears, his catlike eyes are the same color, and his skin is pale.
"Gadgette," the woman continues, and the little blonde girl drops from the platform first, pressing a button on wrist chest control. "The girl genius whose intellect can conquer any problem with an inventive solution."
Large metal wings sprout from her back, and she takes control of the controls at her waist. The wings respond by carrying her into the air just as lasers pop out from the wall and open fire on her. She avoids all the shots with ease and presses another button, this time unleashing a missile launcher between the wings. She unleashes a barrage that destroys all the guns with efficiency. She lands on the platform where her classmates stood before, and glides away as two large robots step in from portals that open in the walls.
The thin boy in dark clothing steps forward, and the woman in the watchtower speaks up again. "Hex—the charming and nimble sorcerer whose powerful curses mean bad luck for his enemies." The boy smirks, extending his arms at both sides and twirling 360 degrees, unleashing a wave of pinkish-purple energy that ripples away from him, causing multiple wall panels to simply fall away. Leaping high off the platform as the panels crash down on the robot's heads, two others moving in to meet the same fate. Hex snickers, back flipping away from the damage.
Meanwhile, the larger one drops from above, slamming down onto one of three large laser cannons that have emerged from recessed panels in the floor. She easily bends one of the barrels as if they were putty. "And Massiva—the genetically enhanced giant whose unstoppable strength speaks for itself."
She tears the cannon from its hinges and throws it away, causing it to skid across the floor and wreck the other two. She barely has time to enjoy her work, however, as a large robot grabs her from behind. Gadgette jumps onto its back and attaches a small unit which screws itself down, and sends up a small puff of smoke. Mere seconds after she jumps away the robot's head starts to spark, and it falls over.
As the trio works on decimating the rest of the robots, the grey-haired woman steps towards a man shrouded in shadows, smiling. "Well-organized, highly trained, and combat-equipped, these new HAEYP agents are the perfect fighting force. And for the right price, this ideal team can be yours." She pulls up the long sleeves of her black dress, crossing her arms, semi-covering the hexagonal gold, white and black patch that is the HIVE Academy's crest. "Well, Mr. Wilson?"
"Please, Adeline, call me Slade," he sounds a tad flirtatious from behind his black and copper mask, leaning a little closer to her. She wrinkles her nose, stepping away from him, clicking her tongue in a disgusted sound.
"And please, call me Ms. Kane."
He chuckles, amused, and departs from the room and steps into an elevator, her following closely, listening to him. "Impressive. Truly. However, robots and obstacle courses only prove so much. My plans demand operatives who can function in the real world. If your students are going to serve me…"
By this point the elevator doors open to reveal the three students standing in the training arena, each with mischievous smirks set in place, aware they were being shown off and proud at their talents. His next words are louder, making sure they can hear him.
"…they'll have to pass one final test. Destroy the Teen Titans, and then we'll talk."
"Teen Titans?" Gadgette snorts rather rudely, crossing her short little arms. "Pathetic."
Hex steps forward, demeanor more assertive and bold than the others, and smirks. "We'll wipe the floor with the noobs. They won't live to see the end of their first month as a team."
--TTGB—
"Aw, girl, come on!" Cyber angrily stomps around the recently built living room, which is already a disaster zone after merely three weeks of dealing with the five teenagers. And it's not the only thing. The kitchen has dishes piled high; the fridge has utterly disgusting fuzzy blue food inside it, and alongside the rampaging Cyber, a green bloodhound sniffs at the trash littering the ground. "It's gotta be around here someplace! Find it, or you're on dishes for losing it, girl!"
"What?!" the green girl shouts as she morphs back to human shape, looking astonished. "What makes you so sure I lost it?"
"Uh, 'cause you're you. And don't pull the three weeks card on me. I think three days of living with you was enough to notice your habits."
"Ha-ha-ha," Beast Girl's laugh is all sarcasm as she sticks her tongue out at the android. "Just because I lost that video game that first week—"
"And the toothpaste, and my makeup bag, and god forbid, my WAFFLE IRON!"
"Things disappear. How am I supposed to know where they go? You built most of this place, but it's not like it came with a map or instructions!"
"It's a house! It's not supposed to come with those!"
"Whatever, but I'm so not doing dishes," she grumbles, rummaging though a pile beside the sofa. "Have you seen them? There's totally stuff growing on there that makes me go green."
"…You're already green," Revan comments from behind his book, knuckles whiter than usual as he clutches it so very hard in an attempt to ignore their bickering. "And this is a pointless argument over a useless device. You are wasting energy and disrupting my concentration."
"Take that back, Gloomy!"
"Patronizing nicknames. Childish."
"Not as childish as the chick that lost the remote!"
"I'm telling you, I didn't lose it! You were the one watching TV last!" the green girl shrieks just as the elevator doors slide open to reveal Robyn and Blazefire in deep conversation about traveling faster than light. "So if you want to blame someone—hello, like, look in the mirror!"
"Hey!" Robyn yells, drawing everyone's attention to her. "What is up with you two?"
As two high-strung mouths open wide and begin spewing forth accusations, she holds up her gloved green hands, silencing them. "I'm sorry I asked."
"We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods, friends!" Blazefire grins, zooming over to the fridge and wrenching open the door to stare at a sea of fuzzy blue food. "Um…perhaps not."
"Maybe we should go out for pizza," Robyn sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Rest, relax, and then when we get back, make this place look like a home again. And then combat training before dinner."
A loud scoff echoes in the room, and everyone turns to see Cyber shaking her head. "Typical…," she kicks some of the garbage away from her metallic boot, glaring. "This isn't a team base; it's a group home for teenage rejects. I'm outta here."
"Cyber, wait!" Robyn calls, and she pauses at the door, eyeing the Girl Wonder over her shoulder, daring her to give her a reason. It's been like this, on and off, for the last three weeks; Cyber testing Robyn's de-facto leader hold over the team, daring her to prove that she can do it, just waiting for her to give the robot-girl a chance to take over. "Can we just go out for pizza, like a civilized group of friends, and sit down to talk about this? I'll even cancel the before dinner combat practice…and buy you your favorite Mega Meaty Meat Pizza!"
"Ew," Beast Girl grimaces silently, the horrific image of the "meatatarian" pizza looming in her mind. There is a pause, but soon Cyber nods, sighing to release her pent-up anger.
--TTGB—
"We gotta have two pizzas!" Beast Girl complains. "Robyn already promised Cy she'd buy her the super disgusto meat pizza and I can't eat that!"
"It's just pepperoni and bacon and sausage and ham slices!" Cyber retaliates. "Just don't think of pigs!"
"It's not thinking of! It's turning into!" she stresses, briefly morphing her head into that of a little piglet for a moment before turning back.
"Pick them off?" Robyn offers, and the green girl gasps as if she'd slapped her.
"EW! Do you know how much grease from the meat toppings gets melted onto the extra cheese and dough and sauce? It's like implanted there in giant pools of sticky artery-clogging muck just waiting to creep into your vital system and choke you to death from the inside out!"
Four sets of eyes blink at her calmly, wordlessly, stunned into silence by Beast Girl's vegetarian rant. It is Cyber who breaks the silence first by raising her hand to the scrawny busboy, beckoning him over. "Large Vegetarian, please."
"Right away," he nods nervously, snatching up the menus and skittering off. Beast Girl opens her mouth to say something, but is met with a metal hand, held up to silence her.
"Don't."
"But Robyn promised you—"
"Seriously. I'm not feeling the Mega Meaty Meat Pizza right now, Beast Girl," she grimaces, holding her free hand to her stomach. "Or for the next, like, month or so, maybe." The others nod in equally disgusted agreement.
They are just about to settle and have the discussion Robyn promised when a loud car alarm goes off. Such is not normally cause for alarm for the Teen Titans. However, the baby crying from the stroller rolling into the path of a bus rolling down the hill, horn blaring in alarm, is.
"Teen Titans! Go!" Robyn exclaims, and they fan out, already used to her rallying cry. At this point, they've all placed bets on her having cooked up the name from a mix of their suggestions, but the truth is, growing up in the care of a certain bachelor who liked to tell bedtime stories of his past acquaintances to a young Rebecca Grayson always stuck with her. Her favorite is one she knows like the back of her hand, of a woman who'd been close to him. A woman who'd had history with the Titans of Myth.
Blazefire is the first to reach the stroller, pushing it out of the way while Cyber and Revan plant themselves in the vehicle's path. The Robo-girl waits for the bus to reach her and presses against the fender to slow it down, feet grinding against the pavement as she skids back. Revan swiftly casts a spell, causing the gearshift lever to slide to park. Cyber manages to stop the mass of metal a foot or two before Revan, and the doors open to reveal an empty bus. "Um, don't buses normally have drivers?"
"And don't baby carriages normally have babies?" Robyn adds, and everyone turns to see her peering into the stroller. Blazefire and Beast Girl lean in, looking over her shoulder to spot the green teddy bear she's holding.
"Are you sniveling little worms normally this stupid?" a high-pitched female sneer emanates from the teddy bear, and before they realize what has happened, the eyes suddenly glow and fire laser beams, hitting all three teens and sending them flying. While distracted by their blasted teammates, Revan and Cyber fail to notice the bus being lifted from the other side until it is sent crashing down upon them.
From behind the bus comes Massiva, wiping her hands of dust as Hex and a cackling Gadgette join her. The latter smirks. "That was too easy. What a bunch of hair-brained morons. You guys wanna get pizza?"
Before the boys can respond, they hear the voice of the angry Girl Wonder and turn to see she stands at the mouth of an alley, a furious Blazefire and green tiger behind her. "This isn't over!" She yells, dusting herself off a bit.
An echoing cry is heard from behind the evil trio, and this time they watch as the bus is blasted to one side, revealing Cyber's sonic cannon protruding from a hole in the ground. "We're just getting started!" she grins, pulling herself up while Revan levitates out.
"Who are these guys?" Beast Girl brings up a most important question. "And what's hair-brained mean?"
"We are the HIVE!" the girl yells.
"Your worst nightmare!" Massiva adds, surprising them by revealing it speaks.
"And this," Hex smirks, suave and determined, "is Attack Pattern Alpha!" He and Mammoth scramble while a jet pack on Gadgette's back carries her up into the air. She fires a barrage of shots at the trio in the alley, knocking chunks of brick loose, intending to crush them. As a mouse, Beast Girl darts out, only to be met by an uncomfortable shock of bad luck that ties her shoelaces together when she morphs back to human shape, causing her to trip.
She hits the pavement face-first, trying to ignore the searing pain in her nose and lip, and finds herself looking up into a pair of cat-like eyes and a daunting smirk. "Y'know, you're kind of cute." Beast Girl notices the charge of pinkish-purple energy around one of his hands, building by the second, and gulps. "Pity I have to get rid of you!"
He stands up straight, pointing the spell-charging hand at the green girl, and is about to let loose a curse, but never gets the chance. Another spellcaster is working against him, he realizes, as black shadows curl around his arm, twist and then throws him aside.
As he pushes himself up, he notices the green girl helped to her feet by Revan, and glares. Both his hands cover in the bad luck energy and he leaps forward, attacking the cloaked teen. Spell-to-spell combat begins while nearby, Massiva and Cyber go toe-to-toe, trying to best one another's strength. Just as Cyber seems to be gaining the upper hand, Massiva smirks. "What do you call a chick with a rocket on her back?"
"Huh?" the girl frowns, and Gadgette lands on her back, sticking something between her shoulder blades.
"Doomed," the little blonde girl hisses, zooming off with her partner and activating the rocket before Cyber can even hope to remove it. The rocket activates and sends her soaring high into the air and over the buildings. Her screams of panic reach her teammates, and they gasp. Blazefire kicks off, headed to help their friend.
"You fight like a girl," Hex sneers, blocking Revan's backhanded swipe. A shadow covers them, and they look up to see Gadgette looming over them, four large spider-like sprouting from her backpack.
"And you're gonna croak like a frog!" She fires off a blast that hurls Revan down the street and knocks him into a charging Robyn. Beast Girl rushes past them, morphing into an elephant and heads straight for the snickering genius. She stops halfway, unable to move, confused, and turns to see Massiva has grabbed her tail. She is lifted clean off her feet, everyone watching.
"Massiva's gonna make you extinct!"
"Beast Girl! Hang on!" Robyn yells in vain as the green elephant is thrown into the air, then slammed sideways towards the other Titans. She has enough sense to morph back into human form before crashing into Revan and Robyn, becoming an entangled mess.
"Is it just me, or are we getting our butts kicked?" she groans.
"It's just you," the other two respond, and she glares.
"Listen up, team. I have a plan," Robyn states, but she gets no further as two of Gadgette's rockets come hurling towards them, sending Revan and Beast Girl flying almost a block away.
"Sure hope your fancy plan includes getting fried, Girl Blunder!" The mini rocket launder on her shoulder levels out, locking onto Robyn, who narrows her eyes.
"You'll just have to find out the hard way." She holds up a hand and beckons them forth, telling them to bring it on, and the HIVE kids do just that. Gadgette's rockets rip into the asphalt, blowing open a hole as Hex leaps forward, slamming his hands together and letting loose a spell that breaks the fissure wider. Finally, Massiva yells wildly, bringing down all her weight on the fault line. The chasm they create is huge and continues to open, ripping down the road towards Robyn. She is unable to escape it as the ground opens up beneath her and swallows her whole, the Teen Titans leader falling into the darkness beneath Jump City with a scream.
Beast Girl and Revan run to the huge fracture zone, faces aghast, but with no hope. In the murky tide that flows beneath the streets, their leader is nowhere to be found. "No…"
--TTGB—
"Please tell me that—ow—didn't just happen," Beast Girl pleads, limping into the Tower as Revan gets the main entrance open. She holds onto one of her sides, whimpering somewhat. "Tell me—ow—it didn't just happen."
"You're hurt," Revan comments, watching her limp over to a chair and collapse into it, rubbing her leg.
"And Robyn's gone!" Beast Girl exclaims. "My injury's a scratch compared to what she must have suffered. We gotta go look for her!"
She goes to stand but pain jolts up her leg, forcing a cry to escape her lips and causing her to fall back into the chair. "You are hurt. And it did happen. We cannot change the truth, no matter how much we dislike it," Revan says, walking over to her and kneeling down. "You can't go looking for Robyn injured like this. You'll become a liability."
The frown creased into the green girl's brow lets him know she doesn't understand. He sighs, outstretching his hands to her leg. "Burden."
"Oh…" Her head drops, a sad sigh escaping her lips. But it doesn't last long, as a soothing light surrounds Revan's hands and soon, all the pain in her leg is gone. Her moping look is replaced by a sweet smile. "Who knew we had a doctor in the house? Thanks, Rev."
He looks mildly taken aback by the nickname for a moment, before nodding. "No problem." The sound of the doors sliding open causes them to turn and watch as Cyber and Blazefire march back in, smiles wiping from ear to ear. The defeated Titans exchange worried glances.
"Maybe y'all should call me Cyber Flyer from now on, yeah? I was halfway to Gotham City before Blazefire zapped that thing off my back." Cyber laughs. "So, what'd we miss?" Neither Revan nor Beast Girl can meet her eyes. "Tell me how we kicked their butts. Come on, I gotta have the play-by-play."
"Where is Robyn?" Blazefire notices the missing member right away, worry striking his brilliant green eyes.
"We…we're not sure."
"Not sure?" The alien looks at the green girl, astounded. "Why are you not—?"
"We searched everywhere. And all we found was this." Revan stands up, pulling the Girl Wonder's utility belt from beneath his cloak. The worry in his green eyes expands, and he shakes his head as Cyber groans and buries her head in her hands.
"I do not understand. How could you not find her? People do not just vanish! He has to be someplace, so go there and look!" They all know Blazefire's worry is cemented in the fact that after only just three weeks as a team, he and their de-facto leader have grown quite close. Beast Girl steps forward, placing a hand on the Tamaranian's arm.
"Easy. Come on. This is Robyn we're talking about. Girl Wonder. I'm sure she's fine. She'll probably turn up any second." But her words do nothing to soothe the fired up alien—until the sound of the doors sliding open greets their ears. "Awesome timing!"
"Robyn!" Blazefire grins, leaping into the air and flying towards the door. But he's blown backwards when the whole entrance explodes, dust clearing to reveal the HIVE trio walking in.
"Oh, no," Beast Girl groans.
"Oh, yes," Hex grins, cracking his knuckles.
"You guys got lucky last time, but you're in my house now!" Cyber exclaims, stepping forward and looking at her teammates over her shoulder. Unwritten rule amongst the team? When Robyn's not there, Cyber takes over. No ifs, ands, or buts.
"Yeah, it's a nice place," Gadgette giggles, advancing on her spider-legs. "We'll take it!"
They break into action immediately, with the blonde girl launching explosives at the Titans, who scatter on Cyber's call to "Split up!" Blazefire rises into the air, letting loose a series of starbolts while Revan levitates a few chairs in the HIVE's direction. Cyber fires off her cannon.
Revan and Blazefire head for the nearest staircase, Massiva following them, cackling. Blazefire flies up the stairs first, then Revan, ripping a few nearby fire extinguishers from the wall and sailing them down towards the enemy, who merely swats them away, charging. They make it to the top of the starts and dart into the nearest room—the gym.
They burst through the closed door and slam it shut behind them. They step back and streams of starbolts are unleashed, wielding the frame shut. "She has not the size of a human woman, yes?"
Revan doesn't get a chance to respond as the wall behind them is smashed apart, throwing them to the floor. Massiva steps through the hole in the wall, glaring. "Are you making fun of my weight, boys?"
--TTGB—
Down another hall, Beast Girl skids around the corner as a bobcat, running as fast as her legs will take her away from the collapsing wall panels. Hex follows not far behind, snickering. "Here, kitty, kitty. What's the matter? Afraid of a little bad luck?"
His words echo in the distance as Beast Girl speeds up, picking an even faster variety of cat. After a few more turns and corridors, she skids to a stop, morphing to human form to catch her breath. She worriedly looks over her shoulder, waits, but sees no one. "Lost him." But she speaks too soon as several spells pass just over her head, dislodging a ceiling panel. It swings loose and smashes into Beast Girl's shoulder as she tries to dodge it. She yelps, falling to the ground holding her injury.
"This just isn't your lucky day, sweetheart," Hex states, standing over her and smirking. Beast Girl rubs her eyes, glares up at the sorcerer.
"Get stuffed," she throws back, then morphs into a large Tyrannosaurus Rex, letting loose a roar that shakes the hallway. Hex backflips out of range and his eyes begin to glow as he stares down the T-Rex.
"Have a nice trip, sweetheart." A ring of pink fire flares up briefly, floating towards her head before disappearing. A loud cracking emanates from the floor, and Beast Girl realizes too late that the floor she stands on has been hexed. The T-Rex roars as she drops from sight.
--TTGB—
"Gotcha!" Cyber grins, catching one of the metal legs as they swing towards him. Gadgette merely smirks and swings another leg forward, but Cyber shifts her grip, allowing herself to grab the other one as well. She pulls as hard as she can, and sends the little blonde off balance, crashing her to the floor. Sparks fly from the unit on her back, and she is swiftly pulled from the spider-legs, held above Cyber's head.
"Let me go, and I'll take you apart and find out if there's a heart under all that outdated crap-ware!"
"Yes, 'cause I really wanna let you go now," Cyber rolls her eye, letting her drop so she can stroll over and crush the spider-leg unit to pieces. She turns, smiling, walking at a leisurely pace towards the crates Gadgette has taken refuge in. "How you gonna fight me without your tech, runt?"
She pulls a crate away, revealing the jumpsuit-glad girl and steps towards her, but stops at the sound of a crunch. "Huh?" She lifts her foot to reveal a small flashlight-like unit and looks back to see Gadgette's image grin then flicker out—merely a hologram. The real blonde is perched on a tall box behind her and leaps onto her back, pulling out a tool and causing sparks to fly. "Yo, what are you—hey, get outta my system you little runt! Nobody hacks my systems!"
Suddenly, as she tries to thrash and whirl and pull the girl away from her circuitry, her arm raises. "Ooh, ejector arm. Cool!" Hand, forearm and half the upper arm pop right off, rolling away uselessly across the floor.
"My arm! Get off! Get off me! Stop!" It takes her mere moments to hotwire Cyber's system and sends the teen flying out the nearest window. She hurtles towards the water below and splashes down, joining her teammates who have already been kicked out of their own Tower.
"So, uh…who else never wants to go surfing again?" Beast Girl groans as they unpleasantly swim to shore.
"Not now, girl," Cyber snaps.
"Hey, I was just trying to—" Revan puts a hand on her shoulder, offering her a small smile that quiets her. Meanwhile, Cyber extends a small torch from her left forefinger. The panel on her thigh opens, revealing a plethora of sparks and short circuits. Blazefire approaches from behind as she begins self-repair.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance."
"I got it."
"But you are damaged and—"
"I go it!" Cyber yells harshly, returning to her work.
"Hey," Beast Girl speaks up. "She only wanted to help! What is your problem?"
"What do you think?" Cyber hisses. "We got kicked out of our house, a pint-sized Poindexter took me for a joyride, and in case you haven't noticed, I just became left-handed!"
"Enough!" Revan exclaims. "We need to control our emotions."
"Or what, our bad vibes will keep you from meditating?"
"I wish Robyn where here…" Blazefire sighs.
"Well, she's not!" Cyber shouts. "And you know what? I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't just take off after getting our asses whooped the first time!"
"Don't say that! She would not!"
"I don't blame her if she did! Don't you guys get it? They won, we lost. It's over. We got beat by three little amateurs and it proves my theory that we're not a team, we're not the Teen Titans; we're just a bunch of superhero sidekicks trying to act like grownups."
"Then…then the Teen Titans are finished?" Beast Girl says, her voice lacking all its usual luster and energy.
"Not yet," a voice sends them all for a loop, and they turn to see Robyn standing nearby, arms crossed, confident smile set it place, cape waving in the breeze. Except for the missing belt, everything is in order. "Not if I can help it."
"Robyn!" Blazefire exclaims, leaping forward to hug the girl, who laughs softly, accepting the embrace. "You have returned! I knew the taking off was not for you!"
"Don't worry; I wouldn't leave you guys hanging. Now, what's this I hear about some amateurs in our base?" Beast Girl grins ecstatically and it even brings a smile to Revan's lips, while Cyber hangs her ahead, staring at her ruined circuits.
The Girl Wonder makes her way over, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know that Tower inside and out better than me, Cyber. How 'bout we take back what's ours? I can't do it without you." Cyber looks up, ghost of a smile on her lips.
"Those HIVE kids are gonna regret the day they took on the Teen Titans."
--TTGB—
"Slade's gonna have kittens when he hears we whipped the Titans and took their stinking Tower!" Gadgette cackles, putting the finishing touches on the mechanical arm she got from Cyber and mounting it on the wall like a prize.
"Mhm," Massiva agrees through a mouthful of food, standing by the fridge which is now empty of its former contents. The filthy piles of dishes have also been wiped clean.
"Not to mention Robyn's favorite fashion statement," Hex grins, coming down the stairs wearing Robyn's belt around his slim waist.
"That's a girl's belt, y'know?" Gadgette laughs, reaching out towards it. "Maybe I should take it off your hands, make you look less…fruity."
"Wrong," Hex swerves out of the way, keeping the belt and playing with the blue cloak draped over his arm. "On Robyn it's butch. On me it's perfect. Goes with the moody freak's cape." He swings it into place around his shoulders. "Even if it's kinda outta date for my taste."
"Tell me about it," Massiva states, motioning to the empty fridge. "Should've seen how old their food was."
Hex makes a face as he walks away from his large teammate. "And yet, you wolfed it down. Gross."
"You think that stuff's rotten?" Gadgette squeals from the operations center, holding up a CD or two. "Wait 'til you see their music!" She tosses it aside, then another. "Crud…snot…waste…"
As each of them continue their antics, the arm on the wall manages to wriggle free and crawl to the ground. It pads across the room, moving past Gadgette, then Massiva, then Hex, and finds its way to one of the main computers. It fiddles away, thin tentacles flying from the joint where the limb usually connects to Cyber's natural arm. The screen lights up with a schematic of the Tower, and piece by piece, the diagram goes red. When everything glows red, the screen winks out and alarms start to sound, red lights flashing throughout the operations center.
Hex gasps and stands up beside Massiva as all the cabinets and doors in the kitchen begin opening and closing at random. Gadgette stands back from the CD rack as without warning, disc after disc shoots past her at high speed. "Hey! What's going on?" She stumbles backwards, bumping into a computer chair that swivels to reveal Cyber's arm. She screams as it wraps around her and drags her across the floor, popping out a few small jet thrusters to carry them into the air. In seconds Gadgette disappears into the ceiling vent with the arm, leaving shocked teammates.
Hex steps forward to follow but a large shadowy hand descends from the ceiling and grabs him, stopping him in his tracks. He lets off a strangled cry before it takes him up with him. Massiva is left standing on her own until the side door opens and a volley of starbolts rockets forth, slamming into him.
--TTGB—
At roof level, a large black raven emerges from the surface and rises, dropping Hex on his knees. Behind him, Cyber's arm bursts from the vent pipe, carrying the screaming Gadgette and pitches her into Hex, sending them both rolling across the roof. The elevator door opens and Massiva falls forward, green smoke rising from her behind.
The shadowy raven drops the golden utility belt into the outstretched hand of its rightful owner and Robyn smirks, fastening it back into place. "Sorry to interrupt the victory celebration. But like I said, this isn't over."
"It's just getting started," Cyber adds, grinning as she reattaches her arm, Beast Girl, Revan and Blazefire joining them.
"Attack Pattern Alpha!" Hex yells and while the next words out of his mouth are curses and spells, Gadgette and Massiva scatter. The Titans scramble to avoid his hex and when it hits the rooftop, a panel swells and explodes.
"Hey, Robo-wench," Gadgette hisses, pulling out her tools and landing on Cyber's back. "Feeling like getting hacked?"
"Hell no. How about you, runt? Robyn, now!" The Girl Wonder pitches a small device their way and it attaches itself to the machinery on Gadgette's back. Sparks fly as she yells in pain and frustration, dropping from Cyber's back and trying to rip the thing free.
"Cut it out!" she wails. "Get it off me! Get it off me!" It triggers her jet pack and sends her flying off the roof.
Hex, meanwhile, is running as fast as he can from a bombardment of green starbolts. "Beast Girl!" Blazefire calls. "Now!"
From above the green girl drops, morphing into a monkey and hitting the fleeing boy square in the face. Unable to see, he fires spells in all directions in an attempt to get him off, unaware his curses are tearing through a framework of pipes above him. He manages to get his fingers between the green monkey and his face and yanks her away, throwing her across the roof.
Reverting to human form, Beast Girl smiles. "Your luck just ran out, sweetheart," she says, disgusted emphasis on the last word. She turns into a hawk and flies into the open sky—into safety as the pipes burst open from his hits and water and steam assault the startled teenager.
Lastly, the combined force of the five teens knocks the might Massiva back, defeated, into a groaning pile with Hex and Gadgette. The latter, at the bottom of the pile, fishes out a transmitter. "Screw this. I'm calling Slade."
This statement brings Robyn's attention to her, and the Girl Wonder storms over, yanking Gadgette away from her teammates and to eye level. "What did you just say?"
"None of your business."
"Who's Slade? Did he send you here? What does he want with us?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, barf-brain?"
--TTGB—
"I assure you; such failures are not tolerated within the HIVE. Once the agents have been retrieved by the authorities, they will be disciplined," Ms. Kane states, her clipped tone the only instance in her attitude that shows her anger with her students. "Strictly disciplined."
"Actually, your agents served my plans quite well, Adeline," Slade says, stepping forth from the shadows to watch the video feed of Robyn shaking the life from Gadgette in a hopeless attempt to get answers. She opens her mouth to tell him what to call her for the umpteenth time, but gives up, realizing it is hopeless. "I never expected them to succeed. No, they were merely messengers. And the message has been received."
--TTGB—
"Nooooo!" Beast Girl wails, hands tangled in her hair in horror. "This is the worst thing that could ever happen! My music! It's been…alphabetized. How am I ever gonna find anything?!"
"Yes, because organization will kill you," Revan rolls his eyes, descending the stairs with the cloak Hex borrowed. "They should've invaded and cleaned up the wasteland you call a room instead. And not my room. No one should ever go into my room."
"Someone has disposed of the fuzzy blue food!" Blazefire reports happily from the fridge, while Cyber groans, lifting the couch.
"You gotta be kidding me! The game, the toothpaste, my make-up bag—although used—and even my previous waffle iron showed up!" she rants, flipping the cushions from her path. "But I still can't find the damn—"
A whistle draws her attention, and she looks up to see Robyn standing there, hand on one hip, pointing to the coffee table before here. There sits the remote in plain sight. Cyber calms down, and reaches for it, but pauses, looking up at the Girl Wonder with guilty eyes. "I…I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I was angry, and after getting kicked around so easily I…it's just hard to adjust, even after a few weeks now…I didn't mean…"
"I get it," Robyn smiles, coming forward to pick up the remote and handing it to the other girl. "Could've happened to any of us. It's not easy, being a team, trying to do something the grown ups in our sidekick lives have been doing for years. But you know what? They started out where we were. They were just kids once, trying to prove they were superhero material and could deal with life on their own. And they made it."
"So can we. I getcha," Cyber smiles, nodding. She flops down on the couch beside the Girl Wonder and turns on the TV, then pauses again as the others draw closer, gravitating towards the couch. "I guess we really oughta be training for battles, tracking down clues, and trying to figure out who Slade is, huh?"
"We will, but right now…," Robyn trails off as Blazefire joins her on the couch, while Beast Girl leans against it and Revan stands nearby. "I'm just happy to be part of the team."
--TTGB—
Author's Note: The scene at the pizza parlor with the veggie rant? Not gonna lie, real life story. The vegetarian being me, the others being my picky friends :D
Comic fan cookies in this episode? The Wonder Woman and Bats reference, the HIVE headmistress having a SPECIFIC name this time 'round. Also, as far as gender-bending goes, I couldn't bring myself to switch Slade. If you guys know carrinth's work, there's one of Slade gender-bended that will scar me for life, so it's a definite no XD
For this episode, I apologize for the lameness of the first two:
Gizmo = Gadgette
Mammoth = Massiva
Jinx = Hex
And this concludes episode two, one that showed the Titans dealing with recently becoming a team and the trials of living together and adjusting to one another's behaviors. That's really what my Season One deals with. Five kids becoming (haha, totally not clever season title…) a team and dealing with the hardships of working together. Its one thing when they're sidekicks to veterans or on their own, but when you gotta think about the teammates around you, it's a different story. And with their guardians recently out of the picture due to them leaving home, there are no adults to point them along the right path…
Anyway, rant over.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter while I work on…
Episode Three: Brotherly Love
"The drone that probed Earth did not return. That is where we will find the boy."
"Remember that thing that attacked Kor? It had friends."
"Hey, lil bro? I'm gonna kick your butt!"