Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans!

To my ever so patient and loyal readers, please forgive the writer for the entire MONTH of no updates. Believe me when I tell you that I was hit with a huge case of writer's block. But that is no excuse. But I do need to say...This chapter was LONG. It took me twenty pages to write it all out!

Anyway, enough of my jabbering, on with the grand finale!

Chapter 23

Robin grinned. "Nice Work!" He turned to the door. "Let's go! It's time to gather the Titans. We're ending this."

Beast Boy sat in his room, with the lights off, on his bed. He was curled up into a ball with his arms on his knees and his head resting on his arms. Next to him, Raven sat silently.

The two sat that way, neither of them making a sound until Raven decided to speak up. "It's not your fault." She said, trying to get through to him.

"Yes it is." Beast Boy replied sadly. "If I hadn't been so easily controlled, I might have been able to do something. I could have helped. But all I did was mess up."

Raven placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You didn't mess up." She said sternly. "Even Robin fell under the spell. The only reason me and Alistor lasted so long is because we were protected by our magic."

Beast Boy was silent for a moment. Then, barely above a whisper, he said, "But he's gone."

Raven grabbed both of his shoulders and pushed him up so he was looking directly at her. "Yes, he's gone." She replied bluntly. "But we're going to get him back." Beast Boy just nodded dumbly and Raven's eyes softened as she looked at his saddened face. "Besides," she said quietly, "I still need to thank him."

Beast Boy looked at her surprised. "Why?" he asked.

Raven let go of his shoulders and entwined one of his hands in her own. "For saving you."

Beast Boy couldn't help but smile at this and a little light returned to his eyes. "Thanks Rae."

"No problem." She answered, giving a small smile of her own.

The two sat there enjoying each other's presence for a while. Until their communicators went off. Beast Boy opened his and Raven leaned in so she could see. "Beast Boy here." He answered, irritated at being interrupted.

"Yo BB! Feeling better?" Cyborg asked through the communicator, clearly shocked that Beast Boy had even answered at all.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?" The green changeling asked back.

"Robin want's everyone to go to the Common Room. We're making plans to raid the Collector's base."

"Dude!" Beast Boy yelled. "You found it?"

Cyborg smirked. "You bet. All that's left is to kick some bad guy butt! Now get yours down here grass stain. We can't start without you."

Beast Boy looked at Raven and grinned. "On it, dude!"

The smirk on Cyborg's face widened. "Aw, look at you two." He said teasingly. "All cuddled up and cozy like that." He wiped a fake tear from his eye. "They grow up so fast."

He started laughing hysterically so Beast Boy slammed his communicator shut with a growl. Perking back up, he grabbed Raven's hand. "Come on. Let's go."

Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Billy, Gizmo, and Kyd Wykkyd stood just outside the front door of a large mansion. It was night out and the only light came from the full moon hanging in the sky. It wasn't much, but it was enough to see the surrounding area by. The mansion, the lawn, and even the garage, they were all so grand and elegant, Robin couldn't help but wonder how he didn't know such a place existed just a few miles outside Jump City.

After doing some research, they learned that the place was owned by a millionaire named Erik Iverson, who had made his fortune by discovering ancient ruins and selling the artifacts inside to the highest bidders. There was no doubt about it. He was the Collector.

Robin opened his communicator. "Everyone ready?" He asked quietly.

"This is Bumblebee. We're in position." The Titans East leader confirmed.

"My team is also ready." Red Star reported.

"We're ready to go." Red X said cockily.

Robin glared at his communicator. "Remember X, I'm trusting you. Don't mess this up."

"Don't get your mask too tight." Red X replied. "I want this over just as much as you do."

Robin glared at the communicator again before saying, "Fine. Let's move." Once Beast Boy and Raven had joined the others in the Common Room, they wasted no time in formulating a plan. In Cyborg's terms, the plan was simple. They go in, kick butt, rescue the others, and then get out of there. It was short, simple, and everyone liked it.

Using his hands, Robin signaled for the others to follow him. He quickly opened the door and quietly ran in. AS he looked around, the others filed in after him. "Nothing." He told them. The room was pitch black so he couldn't see anything, which was strange. In a mansion this big, there should be some sign of life. Even at this time of night, there should at least be servants and security wandering around.

"Cyborg, give us some light." Robin said quietly. Even if there wasn't anyone around, Robin didn't want to risk making too much noise. Cyborg's shoulder light turned on, creating a beam of light so they could see.

Even if it was just the front hall, the place had the air of wealth, with paintings and sculptures lining the marble walls. Although each piece looked like it cost a fortune, each one had a thin layer of dust over it, like they hadn't been attended to in a while.

As the others looked around in awe (although for Billy, Gizmo, and Kyd it was more like they were wondering what the best way to rob the place was), Raven was the only one not taken in by the beautiful artwork. "I smell a trap." She muttered.

Her words seemed to snap Robin out of his trance. "Right. This has been too easy. Cyborg."

The cybernetic teen nodded and brought up the mansion's blue prints on his arm. "The hallway to the right will take us to the Collector's trophy room. That's where we should start looking."

Robin walked towards the hall Cyborg pointed out. "Right, let's go. And remember, once the other Titans search the rest of the building, that's where we're meeting up. Until then, keep an eye out for anything strange."

The others nodded as they quietly made their way down the hall. Finally, once they reached a circular room, they were astounded to see all the cases and paintings scattered around them. There were so many, they couldn't help but look around.

"Dude, does this guy have enough stuff?" Beast Boy whispered, reaching out to touch a strange mask hanging on the wall.

Right as he was about to touch it, Raven's hand shot out and stopped him. "Don't. Touch. Anything." She warned. "You might set off an alarm."

Beast Boy retracted his arm and laughed sheepishly. "Hehe, uh, sorry."

Across the room, Cyborg was busy using his scanner to analyze some painting on the wall. "Man." He said in awe. "Each one of these is worth a fortune. Where does a guy get enough cash to buy them all?"

In the center of the room, Robin and Starfire stood in front of a case that contained a large, elaborate crown. It looked like it was made of gold and had rubies and emeralds decorating it. Despite the layer of dust on the case, it was clearly the Collector's most prized pieces.

"This is known as a 'crown' yes?" Starfire asked innocently. "On my planet, such things are only worn by royalty. Tell me, is the Collector some sort of ruler?"

Robin couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe in his head, Star." He answered.

In the very back of the room, Billy, Gizmo, and Kyd were looking around a section of raised podiums that each held an artifact. There weren't any cases around the items, so each one had a layer of dust on it…except for one.

"Hey fellas." Billy called. "Ya'll might wanna come see this."

Everyone stopped what they were doing to wander over to the podium Billy was looking at…and stood wide eyed at what they saw. A Titans communicator.

They all stood in stunned silence until Beast Boy finally asked what they were all wondering. "Who's is it?"

"I don't know." Cyborg growled. "But I'm gonna find out." Before the others could stop him, he reached out to grab the communicator. But the moment he came into contact with it, it slid into the podium, sort of like a button. There was a low rumbling and everyone watched in amazement as a portion of the wall lifted, revealing a set of stairs leading down into darkness.

"Uh, am I the only one that thinks this is suspicious?" Beat Boy asked, trying to lift the mood. They just stared at him.

Ignoring his green friend, Robin started for the stairs. "Come on Titans, we're checking this out. Cyborg, let the others know what we found."

"On it." Cyborg answered, opening his communicator.

While Cyborg called the others, everyone started down the stairs. There weren't any lights, so they had to rely on Cyborg's shoulder light so they wouldn't trip and fall the rest of the way down. They seemed to go down for an eternity until the stairs finally stopped and leveled out into another hallway.

"It's about stinking time." Gizmo grumbled as they walked down the hall. "I was getting tired of walking down those-oof!" He was cut off as he walked into something that rattled as he hit it. "Hey!" He yelled, rubbing his head. "What's the big stinking-Ahh!" Looking up, he saw what he ran into. He stumbled backwards before falling to the ground as the others stared, open-mouthed. Pinned up against a large metal door was the Puppet King. He was tangled up in strings, which were nailed into the door. He didn't seem to be conscious.

"W-w-what the crud!" Gizmo exclaimed shakily.

Robin narrowed his eyes. This could be a trap, but the Puppet King definitely looked unconscious. Making up his mind he said, "Billy, Beast Boy. Get him down from there."

The two meta-humans looked at him confusedly, but under Robin's unquestioning stare, they shrugged and pulled the puppet man out of the knot he was tangled in.

As they lowered him to the floor, Robin walked over and knelt next to him. "The Collector must have turned on him after he failed to take over Jump City." He said to himself.

Suddenly, the Puppet King groaned and opened his eyes. "You really are fools." He groaned blearily. Robin jumped back, away from the puppet, and took a battle stance, the others following suit. The Puppet King stood up and dusted himself off. "No need to be alarmed. I'm no longer your enemy."

"So the Collector did betray you." Robin confirmed, still not lowering his guard.

The Puppet King glared at him. "Didn't you hear me? You're wrong in that regard. I did not betray the Puppet King. The Puppet King betrayed me."

Robin's eyes widened in realization. "Wait. So that means you-."

"That's right Robin." The puppet man cut in. "I am the Collector." The others gave out gasps of surprise, but the Collector went on. "That wretched puppet switched bodies with me." He glanced at Starfire and Raven. "I believe the two of you have suffered a similar situation."

Starfire's hands shot up to cover her mouth. "That is right. When I was friend Raven and friend Raven was me."

The Collector nodded. Meeting eyes with Robin, he became serious. "This may sound strange, but I believe we should set aside our differences for now."

Robin visible stiffened and growled. "You're the cause of all this! Why should we trust you?"

The Collector glared at him, clearly losing his patience. "Believe me Robin, you have more things to worry about other than me collecting you. With my body, the Puppet King has access to my position, my power, my wealth. He plans to use them all to turn every person on Earth into his puppets!" At this, everyone stared at him in shock. Even Billy, Gizmo, and Kyd looked troubled. "Face it Robin, you need me. If you want to stop him, you'll need to switch our bodies back to normal and you can't do that if I'm out of the picture."

For a moment, all eyes were on Robin as they waited for him to make a decision. Finally, he made his choice. "Fine. You're coming with us. But one wrong move and you'll regret it." He said seriously.

The Collector smiled. "Excellent." He turned to look at the door he had been pinned to. "I feel I should warn you that the wretched puppet is waiting beyond these doors. So," he looked at the group of heroes and villains with a spark of excitement in his eyes, "are you ready?"

For his answer, Robin pulled out his communicator. "Attention all Titans. We've found the base. My team will be moving in. Report to this location immediately." Closing the communicator, he took a step forward. "Let's go."

AS if waiting for those very words, the door suddenly opened, revealing a pitch black room inside. The room must have been massive, because even with Cyborg's light, they couldn't see any walls.

Everyone filed in and, as if on que, a spotlight turned on, revealing the Collector's body sitting in a large chair, on a raised platform. "Welcome Titans." He said calmly. "How do you like my new lair?"

Robin took a step forward. "I'm only saying this once, Puppet King. Release the others and surrender quietly." It was useless but he had to at least try.

"Surrender? Oh, I don't think so. After all, I have you outmatched." He snapped his fingers and suddenly the entire room was bathed in light, revealing an army of the Collector's men. But that's not what caught everyone's attention. The moment the lights were turned on, their eyes were focused on the leading figures of that army. They were all lined up on either side of the Puppet King. On one side were Control Freak, Dr. Light, Fang, Adonis, Wildebeest, and Speedy. On the other side were See-More, Mammoth, Bushido, Gnarrk, Killowat, and Alistor. All of their eyes were glowing blue.

Starfire gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Friends." She said sadly. The others just looked, their eyes filled with a mixture of anger and determination.

"Where are they?" Robin growled.

"Oh, don't worry they're right here." He made a gesture with his hand and from behind his chair, one of the Collector's men pushed out a long glass case. Inside it was a tiny, wooden puppet of each of the kidnapped villains and Titans. "And soon you will be joining them." He said with a grin. "Because with so few numbers, you don't stand a chance against my army."

"And who said they were alone?" A female voice said. Turning around, Robin and the others were shocked to see Bumblebee fly though the still open door they had come from and stare defiantly up at the Puppet King with her arms crossed.

The villain let out a laugh. "One more Titan won't do any good. I'm still going to turn you all into my puppets."

Bumblebee raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm the only one here?" She turned to the door. "Come on in guys!" Then, like a tidal wave, the rest of Bumblebee's team burst in, followed by Red Star's, then Red X's until every single Titan and villain had gathered into one spot. It may have not even been a portion of the size of the Puppet King's army, but now they stood a chance.

"Hoowee!" Billy crowed, slapping his knee. "Now we got ourselves a fight!"

The Puppet King didn't seem perturbed by the swarm of heroes. He simply smiled and said, "It doesn't matter how many of you there are, your bodies will soon become my puppets." He raised a hand and pointed at the group. "Go!" Without a second's hesitation, the army behind the Puppet King charged at the Titans.

Robin took out his bo staff as everyone got into a battle stance. "Get ready everyone. Here they come!"

And with that, the wave of men hit them full force. Titans and villains fought for their lives everywhere. Starfire, Bumblebee, and Angel immediately took to the air and started battering at the enemy from above.

Mas y Menos grabbed hands and gave their battle cry. "Mas y Menos, si podemos!" They sped through the crowd, pushing down everyone they passed.

Kid Flash quickly sped around a small group of men. He spun them around until they teetered and fell to the ground. When he was done, he grinned and said, "Sorry guys, but you're way too slow to keep up with me." Unfortunately, while he was gloating he didn't see a ring of soldiers cage him in. As they continued to creep in on him, he finally noticed his situation. "Uh-oh." He quickly ran around the circle, looking for a way out. But the men pressed themselves shoulder to shoulder, offering him no exit.

Suddenly, a black portal opened in front of him. When he ran through, he found himself on the outskirts of the battle and next to Kyd Wykkyd, who had a cocky grin on his face as he looked at the speedster. Kid Flash scratched the back of his head irritably. "Fine, I guess I owe you one."

Kyd Wykkyd have a silent laugh before giving him a look that said, 'Ready?'

Kid Flash blinked and then smiled, getting the message. "Oh yeah." Without another word, the two charged back into the battle.

In the middle of the crowd, Raven was having trouble keeping up with the swarm of enemies. Every time she defeated someone, another would take their place. "This is getting me nowhere." She growled after taking down another couple of enemies, only to be replaced by a couple more. A few more men charged at her, but before she could react, a wave of pink energy shot out of nowhere, causing them to trip over themselves and tumble to the floor. From an opening in the crowd, Jinx suddenly jumped into view. She sprang over to Raven so that they were back to back. "Need a little help?" She asked cheekily.

Raven smirked at the sorceress. "Sure, why not?" The two raised their hands just as another wave of men came at them. With their full force, the two girls combined their powers to create a blast of pink and black energy. The surrounding men were flung into the air as the two heroines stood in a new clearing with confident smirks on their faces.

Beast Boy, Kid Flash, and Kyd Wykkyd, who were fighting next to each other, looked at the two girls with awe struck faces. "Uh, that's gonna hurt in the morning." Beast Boy said. The two beside him only had enough time to dumbly nod their heads in agreement before the enemy descended on them again.

From his spot on the platform, the Puppet King watched as the Titans seemed to get the upper hand as the battle raged below him. "The Titans seem to think they can take control of my puppet show." He raised his hands, each one holding a different control. "Go, my puppets. Bring them to me so that I can take their bodies as well." At his command, the motionless bodies of the kidnapped heroes and villains sprang into action and charged into the battle.

Speedy was the first one to act. Raising his bow, he started firing at Bumblebee, Starfire, and Angel, who were still airborne. He fired his first volley, which they narrowly dodged, and prepared to fire another. But before he could, Cheshire came out of nowhere and slashed at him with her claws. Before she could hit him though, Speedy jumped back and quickly took aim at her.

"Sorry Speedy." Cheshire giggled. "But I'm not going to go easy on you." Before Speedy could react, she dashed forward and cut his bow into pieces. As the pieces fell to the ground, Cheshire giggled again and kicked him square in the chest, sending him staggering backwards.

From his spot in the glass case, puppet Speedy groaned. "Not…another one." he said, lamenting the loss of another bow to the green clad assassin.

Next to him, Adonis started laughing. "Look how…easily…she just…beat you…wimp."

If Speedy could have glared, he would have. Instead he said, "It's not like…your body…is doing much better."

"What?" Adonis said in disbelief. He scanned the battle until he found his body. And Speedy was right. His body was currently grappling with Pantha…and losing.

Pantha growled as she started to push the soulless Adonis back. "I defeated you once…"She growled and with a grunt, she managed to heft the mechanical villain into the air and slammed him into the ground. "And I will do so again." Adonis seemed unconscious, so Pantha reached down, fully intending to rip the villain out of his suit. But before she could, Adonis' eyes snapped open and he upper cut he straight in the jaw, sending her flying backwards.

AS she groaned and rubbed her aching jaw, Adonis walked up to her and raised a fist, preparing to finish her off and take her to the Puppet King. But before he could, there was a yell and Private Hive came charging over. He rammed into Adonis, sending him staggering back and knocking down several of the Collector's men in the process.

While Adonis was still gone, Private Hive extended a hand to the fallen Pantha. "Ma'am."

The wrester looked at the hand and smiled, using it to pull herself up. "Nice moves." She said while shaking his hand properly. "It would be an honor to wrestle you sometime."

Private Hive let out a laugh as he returned the handshake. "That sounds like a challenge, ma'am." He turned as he saw Adonis rise out of the pile of knocked down me. "But it looks like we'll have to finish this match first."

Pantha popped her knuckles as Adonis charged at them again.

While Pantha and Private Hive continued to tussle with Adonis, they didn't notice Killowat fly into the air above them and prepare to fire a shot of electricity at them. But just as he fired, Thunder and Lightning shot into the air and intercepted in with blasts of their own.

"Careful brother." Thunder said from on top of his cloud. "His powers are much like your own."

"Yes brother." Lightning agreed. "But we are Thunder and Lightning. He cannot possibly defeat us." The two brothers smiled before attacking Killowat with a mixture of booming thunder and flashing lightning.

From inside the case, puppet Killowat cheered the two brothers on. "Come on guys…kick my…butt!"

"Do you…have any idea…how wrong that sounds?" See-More said in amusement next to him.

"Shut up." Killowat growled.

"Why don't you…make me?" See-More shot back.

While they continued to banter back and forth, Herald and Jericho were busy fighting off a group of the Collector's men. Jericho nimbly dodged another attack and found himself back to back with the trumpeter.

"How you holding up Jericho?" Herald asked, turning to look at the blonde musician. Jericho smiled and gave him a thumbs-up in reply. But as he turned to look at his friend, he noticed See-More's body standing behind him, preparing to fire his eye laser. Jericho quickly met eyes with Herald and took over his body. Without waiting a second, he jumped Herald's body to the right, dodging See-More's blast just as it hit the spot he'd been standing on.

Jericho phased out of Herald's body and the teleporter shook his head, not used to the feeling of being possessed. "Thanks." He said as he shook off the feeling. Then he glared at See-More before raising his trumpet. "You ready?"

Jericho nodded and raised his fists in an attempt to look intimidating.

Not far from them, Hotspot and Argent were taking men out left and right.

"Smashing job, love." Argent commented as Hotspot blasted another couple of men.

The fiery hero smirked confidently as he watched Argent smash a few more men aside by turning her energy into a hammer. "You're not doing too bad yourself. If we keep this up, we'll finish this in no time."

Before Argent could answer, Mammoth's body jumped through the air and smashed into them, knocking them backwards.

Hotspot shot fire from his head in irritation. "I guess we'll have to take care of him first." He said as Argent took a battle stance. Suddenly, there was an explosion behind them and they turned to see Jericho sliding towards them through the crowd of men on his back.

He stopped sliding just at their heels and Argent bent down to examine him. "You okay, love?"

Jericho winced before pushing himself up and rubbing his head. He nodded to tell them he was fine when they heard a trumpet sound. A portal opened and Herald walked out to stand next to them.

"Get ready, here he comes." He said as the crowd of enemies parted and See-More walked into view.

The four heroes stood back to back as See-More and Mammoth prepared to attack them on either side. "What were you saying about finishing up?" Argent said to Hotspot. He didn't have time to answer before the two villains charged at them.

On the other side of the room, Johnny stood face to face with Control Freak. And he was thanking anyone he could. "Oh man, how did I get this lucky?" He said with a grin while popping his knuckles. "I've wanted to pound you since I first laid eyes on you." As he spoke, Control Freak took out his light saber and took a swing at him. But Johnny just dodged to the right and elbowed him into the ground. "This was so worth teaming up with bird boy for." He said with a pleased look on his face.

Inside the case, puppet Control Freak watched the battle in awe. "This is…SO awesome."

Next to him, puppet Fang growled. "If I…have to hear…you say…something nerdy again…I'm going…to strangle you." He said threateningly.

"But can't you see?" Control Freak asked incredulously. "It's like…the final battle…against the ultimate evil. Where the…heroes and villains…band together…against a common foe. It's just…SO cool."

"That's it!" Fang growled. "You're dead." As he struggled to move so he could bring an end to the annoying villain next to him, his body was attacking someone of its own. Kitten.

The blonde was trying to fend off her spider-headed, but every time she attacked him with her ship, he would just jump out of the way. Then, finally, with a yell of frustration, she cracked her whip and struck him right in the chest. "Ha!" She yelled triumphantly. "That'll teach you to be a bad boyfriend!" She cracked her whip at him again with a malicious grin. But this time, instead of hitting him, he caught it in midair with one of his legs and with a pull; he yanked the weapon out of her hand.

Kitten squeaked out a yell of surprise as Fang tossed the whip aside and crouched, preparing to jump at her. But just as he sprang into the air, something caught two of his back legs and slammed him onto the ground. Kitten's eyes widened as she saw two Billy clones holding onto two of Fang's legs.

"Now hold on there, partner." The original Billy said while walking up to Kitten. "You can't just go jumpin' at girls like that. It'll scare em off." Billy grinned and help up the whip Fang had tossed aside. "This yours?"

Kitten snatched the whip and looked at Billy suspiciously. "Thanks." She mumbled. "But why are you helping me?"

Billy laughed. "Well what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't help out a pretty little lady?" he said while giving a mock bow.

Kitten rolled her eyes. "Tch. You're no gentleman."

Billy laughed again. "Yeah, but I get points for tryin' don't I?" His attention was taken off Kitten as Fang flung his two clones off. "Uh-oh. Let's finish this conversation later. First we need to teach this fella whose boss."

Kitten smiled and readied her whip. "At least you got that much right."

Near the entrance, Melvin, Timmy, and Teether were cheering on their friends. "Yay Raven!" The cheered as the dark empath took out another batch of the Collector's men. As they kept cheering, there was a part in the crowd and they saw Wildebeest advance towards them.

Timmy and Teether nervously hid behind Melvin as Wildebeest got closer. Melvin put on a determined look and pointed at the hulking hero. "Bobby, get him!"

Bobby materialized right in front of Wildebeest and with a frown, took a swing at him. But without even batting an eye, Wildebeest grabbed Bobby's arm and swung him around, releasing him so that he flew into the wall.

Melvin took a fearful step back as Wildebeest continued to advance on her. Then just as he reached down to grab her, she closed her eyes and let out a scream.

"Get out of here you pit sniffing farm animal!" Suddenly, a net propelled by jets flew over and caught Wildebeest. The jets kept going until they pinned Wildebeest to the wall.

Melvin opened her eyes to see a small kid walking on mechanical spider legs standing in front of her. "Gizmo?" She asked in awe. "You saved me?"

Gizmo turned to look at the bewildered little girl, blushing slightly. "Yeah, well don't get used to it blondie." He turned to see Wildebeest rip the net off and stalk towards them again. "Now stay behind me. I can take this guy on my own."

Melvin looked at him before putting a determined look on her face. "Nu-uh. I'm helping too."

Gizmo growled and was about to tell her no when he heard the thud of heavy footfalls behind him. He turned to see Bobby looking down at him with a smile. "Fine." He grumbled after a minute. "But stay out of my way." Melvin nodded happily as they prepared for Wildebeest to charge at them.

Near the platform, Cyborg and Kole were trying to fight their way towards the Puppet King. "Aw yeah!" Cyborg yelled while he fired his sonic cannon. "Come and get a piece of Cyborg!"

In response to his challenge, the crowd parted, revealing Gnarrk and Dr. Light.

Kole gasped. "Gnarrk." While she stared at her friend, she didn't notice Dr. Light raise his hand and fire a blast of light at her.

"Watch out!" Cyborg yelled, pushing her out of the way. The two landed on the ground with a thud as the blast hit right where Kole had been standing. "Girl, I know what you're going through." Cyborg said as he helped Kole to her feet. "I'd be the same way if that was BB. But we can't get distracted."

Kole glanced at Gnarrk while took in Cyborg's words. "Thanks Cyborg. Gnarrk would get upset if I gave up here." She took one last look at Gnarrk before turning back to Cyborg. "You ready?"

"Aren't I always?" Cyborg answered cockily. Kole giggled. Jumping into the air, she kept herself straight and pointed her arms above her head before crystallizing herself. Cyborg caught her in one hand wielded her like a sword. "Time to open a can of butt whoop!" Then with a yell, he charged at the two in front of him.

That was when Alistor entered the battlefield. He descended into one of the few clearings in the battle and searched for his first targets. And unfortunately for them, Aqualad and Tramm were the first he saw. The two heroes were quick to notice his presence and with a nod at each other, they ran at him, intending to take him down before he hurt anyone. But they never got a chance to raise even a finger against him. As they got close, Alistor raised his staff and shot a streak of blue energy at the two, sending them flying backwards.

Alistor made a move to follow them, but he found himself blocked by a certain green changeling.

"I can't let you hurt them, Al." Beast Boy said in a serious tone. The mage just stared at him with his glowing blue eyes and raised his staff for another attack. "It's my fault you're like this." He said sadly. "So it's my job to stop you." He couldn't say another word as he quickly changed into a hawk so he could dodge a blast from Alistor. But it didn't end there. As he flew through the air, he dodged blast after blast of Alistor's magic.

After one particularly close call, Beast Boy shot towards the ground, changing into a cat as he landed. With a yowl, he jumped out of the way of another blast from Alistor and nimbly ran towards his brainwashed friend, shifting between animals as he dodged his attacks. First a quick chipmunk, then a flying eagle, then a speedy cheetah. Then, when Beast Boy got close enough, Alistor pointed his staff at him and shot a blast of magic at point blank range. But Beast Boy quickly changed into a giant anaconda and curved himself around the blast. And while Alistor was open, he coiled himself around him and squeezed, restricting his movements.

'Sorry Al.' Beast Boy thought. 'But this is the only way I can stop you.'

While Beast Boy continued to restrain Alistor, Robin was fighting off the soldiers in an attempt to reach to Puppet King. Next to him, the Collector was having trouble keeping up with his small body.

"Don't fall behind." Robin told him after dispatching another soldier.

The Collector glared at him. "Easy for you to say. You don't have to get used to a new body."

Suddenly, Robin felt a presence behind him. He quickly pulled out his bo staff and with a "Hiya!" he whirled around to clash blades with none other than Bushido. The two stayed like that for a moment, their weapons scraping against each other as they tried to push the other away. Robin bared his teeth as Bushido kept putting more force into his sword.

Then just as Robin thought he was going to lose, Red Star flew in from the right and tackled the samurai away, followed closely by Punk Rocket.

"Don't worry, mate. We'll take care of him." The villain said to Robin. "You just worry about taking care of that bloody turncoat." Turning around, he pulled out his guitar and let out a sonic blast that cleared away a path to the Puppet King. "Now get going!"

Robin smirked at the villain. "Thanks." He said. Then, along with the Collector, he ran towards the Puppet King.

"Don't get used to it." Punk Rocket scoffed before going to help Red Star fight Bushido.

As Robin and the Collector ran, they dodged small groups of enemies until they finally reached the platform. "Puppet King!" Robin shouted.

In his new body, the Puppet King smiled and rose out of his chair. "I was wondering when you'd get here, Robin." He walked around the glass case with his arms behind his back so that nothing was separating them. "And you even brought my old body with you." He said, looking down at the Collector. "So tell me, are you ready to become my puppets?"

"Never going to happen." Robin growled back. He took a threatening step forward, his bo-staff raised.

"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you." The Puppet King said calmly. "One more step and I can't guarantee the safety of your friend." From behind his back, he pulled out a small, blue clad puppet.

"Robin." It called out weakly.

Robin's eyes widened. "Alistor!" He glared at the Puppet King. "Let him go." He demanded.

"I don't think so." The Puppet King answered. "You can't tell me what to do. I make the orders now. And I order you to throw away your weapons."

Robin hesitated and the Puppet King noticed. He started squeezing Alistor, making him groan in pain. "I'd hurry. If I break his body, he'll be gone forever."

Robin growled. He didn't have a choice. He threw down his staff and unbuckled his utility belt, throwing it aside as well. The Puppet King smiled victoriously. "Good." With the hand that wasn't holding Alistor, he pulled out a control. "Now become my puppets."

"Robin…run." Alistor pleaded.

But Robin ignored him. If he even took a step, the Puppet King would crush him. So he just gritted his teeth and prepared himself for what was coming.

Or at least that was what he was planning. As the Puppet King approached them, he felt the Collector elbow his leg. "Throw me." He heard him whisper.

Robin looked at him incredulously. "What?" He whispered back.

"This body is light weight so you should be able to throw me easily. Do that and I'll knock the boy out of his grip. Then you come in and finish him off."

Robin smiled at the plan. "Right." As quickly as he could, he picked up the Collector and threw him straight at the Puppet King.

The villain didn't have enough time to give more than an "oomph" as the Collector slammed into him. As the Puppet King fell backwards, not only were both Alistor and his control knocked out of his hands and into the air, but the force of the Collector slamming into him made him crash into the case behind him, scattering splinters of broken glass everywhere.

Robin jumped as the control spun through the air. "Got it!" He yelled as he caught it. He smiled victoriously until he realized his mistake. He spun around as he heard the Alistor puppet scream as he flew past him towards the battle. "Alistor!" He quickly reached for a bird-a-rang to catch the flying puppet with, only to remember he'd tossed his utility belt aside. His eyes widened in fear. If Alistor fell into the battle, he'd be crushed.

Robin started to run towards the airborne puppet. But he knew he wouldn't make it in time.

Alistor wanted to close his eyes as he started to lose velocity and fall, but he couldn't with his wooden body. "This…won't end well." He said to himself.

But just as he was about to give up hope, a black shape shot out of the crowd and caught him. "I got you." A strangely mechanical voice said.

Alistor would have done a double take if he could. "Red X…you saved me?"

Red X landed on the ground and attached the small puppet to his belt as he dodged an attacking soldier. "We're even now." He told him.

"I believe…that you're…quite right." Alistor replied with a mixture of amusement and relief.

Back on the platform, Robin sighed in relief as Red X rescued Alistor. Turning around, he saw the Puppet King and the Collector wrestling over the Puppet King's remaining control.

"How about lending a hand over here, Robin." The Collector growled as he continued to struggle.

Robin smirked. "How about two?" He gripped the control he'd caught with both hands and easily snapped it in half.

The Puppet King's eyes widened and he whipped his head towards Robin. "Noooo!"

The dots on the broken control began to glow, all different colors. Everyone in the room noticed the glowing and stopped their battle to watch. Even the bodies of Speedy and the others stopped fighting, probably due to the control being destroyed.

They all watched as the puppets of See-More, Mammoth, Gnarrk, Bushido, and Killowat began to shake in the broken glass case. From Red X's belt, the Alistor puppet began to shake as well. Then in a flash of light, their souls erupted from their wooden prisons and flew into the air. Dark green for See-More, reddish-orange for Mammoth, brown for Gnarrk, white for Bushido, neon blue for Killowat, and dark blue for Alistor. Their souls circled the room, as if happy to be free, before shooting down back into their bodies.

And before anyone could react, the Collector and the Puppet King also began to glow. Light seeped out of their eyes and mouth as their own souls were forced out, grey for the Collector and light blue for the Puppet King. The two crossed each other in the air before returning to their original bodies.

Now back to normal, the two villains broke away from each other, the control they had been fighting over clattering to the ground between them.

The Collector groaned and tried to stagger to his feet, not used to his own body yet.

The Puppet King took this chance. While everyone was distracted, he quickly scooped up the fallen control and ran to the far corner of the room, where there was a large machine. As soon as he reached it, he started pressing buttons on a control panel. The machine sprang to life and a glowing portal opened next to the Puppet King. The wooden villain took a step towards the portal and glanced down at the control in his hand.

"As long as I still have my control, I can still-." He was cut off as four razor sharp claws appeared at his throat. Looking up, he found himself face to make with Cheshire.

"You have something of mine." The assassin hissed. Taking the control out of his hand, she quickly cut it into pieces before kicking the puppet man away from the portal.

Everyone watched as the rest of the kidnapped heroes and villain's souls burst from their puppets. Pale yellow for Dr. Light, orange for Control Freak, red for Adonis, blue-green for Wildebeest, black for Fang, and bright yellow for Speedy. Each one returning to his body in a flash of light.

"No!" The Puppet King moaned, light leaking from his eyes and mouth. "I don't want to go back to being a-." He couldn't finish as he fell to the ground, a normal, motionless puppet.

Everyone watched in stunned silence. That is until Alistor finally spoke out. "Beast Boy, you can let go now. It's getting rather hard to breathe."

Beast Boy, realizing he hadn't stopped squeezing even after Alistor got his body back, quickly changed back into human. "Hehe, sorry dude."

As if that simple conversation was the trigger, all across the room the other Titans and villains sprang to life. Fang immediately started apologizing to Kitten, but she just crossed her arms and gave a "hmph" while Billy stood next to her laughing.

See-More and Mammoth patted themselves down before looking at each other and grinning. Happy to have their bodies back, they gave each other high-fives as Gizmo and Kyd Wykkyd ran up to them.

Kyd Wykkyd smiled at his two friends while Gizmo went on a tirade. "How could you crud munching nimrods get caught like that! Do you have any idea what we went through?"

Mammoth just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry Gizmo."

Across the room, Kole ran up to Gnarrk and threw her arms around his neck. "Gnarrk! You're back!"

"Gnarrk!" The caveman replied happily. Then he raised an eyebrow as Jericho walked up to them with a warm smile on his face. "Gnarrk?"

Kole released the caveman and turned to Jericho with a slight blush. Giggling, she skipped over to the mute blonde and entwined her and with his. "Gnarr, you remember Jericho?" Gnarrk nodded his head. "Well…" she glanced at Jericho hesitantly. The boy smiled at her encouragingly so Kole mustered up her courage and said, "He's…my boyfriend now."

Gnarrk's eyes shot open in surprise, but he quickly got over it. Standing up to his full height, Gnarrk looked at the two sternly and crossed his arms over his chest. "Gnarrk! Gnarrk, Gnarrk, Gnarrk?"

Kole's face turned a bright shade of rd. "No! We haven't done anything like that!" She yelled frantically.

"Uh, guys? Sorry to break this up but we still got a bit of a problem." Cyborg cut in, pulling out his sonic cannon. All around them the Collector's men were getting out of their dazes and were starting to slowly close in again.

The Titans were preparing for another fight when a voice shouted out, "Stand down, men." The Collector's men immediately lowered their guard and turned to look at the Collector, who was standing on the platform with his hands behind his back. "It appears we've lost this one, men. All we can do now is surrender quietly." He turned to Robin and stuck out his hands. "Go on and get it over with."

Robin looked at him confused. "Why the change of heart?" He asked.

The Collector shrugged. "It's quite simple really. A good portion of my forces have already been defeated, while you've bolstered yours by rescuing your friends. It would be foolish to continue when it's clear we've lost the advantage."

Robin studied him, trying to see if he was lying. Deciding that he was telling the truth he said, "All right." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his newly retrieved utility belt and slapped them on his wrists. "Then you're under arrest."

A cheer erupted from the Titans below. Even the villains looked happy. All around them, the Collector's men were following their leader's example and were raising their hands in surrender.

Robin smiled as he led the Collector down the platform. "Cyborg." He called to his cybernetic friend. "Call the police."

"You got it man." Cyborg replied, pulling out his communicator.

Robin nodded and looked up at his girlfriend, who was flying above him. "Starfire."

The Tameranian princess flew down and landed next to Robin. "Yes, boyfriend Robin?"

"Take the Collector and his men outside to wait for the police. I'll be up there in a minute." Robin answered. "Beast Boy, Raven, help her out."

As the three Titans started leading the men towards the exit, the Collector looked at Robin. "Don't think this is over Robin. When I get out, I still intend on adding you all to my collection."

"Yeah, yeah whatever, dude." Beast Boy said as he ushered the villain out.

Once all the men had been filed out of the room, Robin was approached by Billy, Johnny, Adonis, and the other villains. "So what about us?" Billy asked.

Robin looked at them all, each one wondering the same thing. Finally, he said, "Herald."

"Yeah?" The trumpeter answered.

"Take everyone back to the Tower. My team will stay here until the police arrive."

Herald nodded. "Alright." Raising his horn, he created a portal back to the Tower.

The Common Room inside Titans Tower was filled with people. It had been a couple of hours since the big battle and everyone had managed to settle down…somewhat.

Most of the crowd had dispersed throughout the Tower, but a lot of people were gathered in the Common Room.

The noisiest of the groups consisted of Billy, Kid Flash, Alistor, and Punk Rocket, who were practically on their knees because they were laughing so hard.

The reason of their laughter stood only a few feet away. Kole and Jericho sat on one end of the couch as Gnarrk stood in front of them with his arms crossed, both of them had very red faces. Apparently, the caveman was taking it upon himself to give the two 'the talk'. And since Jericho couldn't understand him, Kole was forced to translate. Leading to the extremely embarrassing situation the two were in.

On the other side of the couch, Control Freak, Thunder, Lightning, and Aqualad were playing the Game Station…and were trying very hard to keep straight faces.

Sitting at the kitchen table were Bumblebee, Kitten, Angel, and Argent. Jinx used to be among their number but the moment Kole had started translating Gnarrk, she and See-More, who had also been in the room, had been quick to grab Melvin, Timmy, Teether, and Gizmo and ran out of the room as fast as they could.

The girls were too busy going "awwww" at Kole and Jericho to hear a horn go off and a portal appear. Out of the portal came Herald, Robin, Starfire, and Raven.

The four of them surveyed the scene in front of them and sweat dropped. "Did we miss something?" Robin asked.

Kole immediately jumped up from the couch, still red faced. "Nope! All's good here!" She said frantically. Gnarrk humphed and gave her a look that clearly, 'We'll finish this later.'

From his spot on the floor, Billy stood up, still wheezing from all the laughing. "Hey Robin, what took ya'll so long?"

Robin smirked. "It took a while for the police to gather up all the Collector's men. And then we had to make a stop before coming back."

"Oh? And where did you stop?" Alistor asked as he pulled himself off using his staff.

As a reply, Robin stood out of the way of the portal, out of which came Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were carrying stack upon stack of pizza boxes.

"Oh Alistor." The two chimed in unison.

"We've got over thirty different kinds of pizza for you to try." Beast Boy said evilly.

"Yeah." Cyborg agreed with an equally evil smile. "And you don't get to sleep until you've tried ALL of em."

Alistor took a fearful step backwards. "Od dear." He said weakly.

Robin smiled at the three and looked at everyone else in the room. "Get the others. This isn't usually my style, but I think we've got a reason to celebrate."

Everyone cheered before running off to get the others.

After a night of severe pizza binging (Alistor was actually able to try them all), dancing (music provided by Punk Rocket), partying (except for Melvin, Timmy, Teether, and Gizmo of course), and a few near death experiences (lets' just say See-More walked in on Speedy and Cheshire and it all snowballed from there), all the Titans and villains (except Dr. Light who had mysteriously disappeared shortly after arriving at Titans Tower) were all gathered on the beach outside the Tower.

Robin stood next to an open portal, courtesy of Herald. "Alright, like I promised, you're free to go." He said to the villains. "This portal leads straight to the city. After that, you're free to go wherever you want." He smirked. "And don't think this changes anything. The next time you break the law, we'll be there to take you down."

"Yeah, whatever Bird Boy." Johnny yelled as he ran for the portal, Punk Rocket close behind. "I'll stomp you flat in a second." With that, he and the guitarist disappeared into the portal.

The next to go was Red X. "Well it's been fun." He said cockily. "But I gotta go. People to see and things to steal." Without another word, he pushed a button on his belt and phased out of sight.

The other villains left quickly after that. Kitten giggled as Fang carried her through the portal and more than one person had to resist the urge to roll their eyes. No one was surprised when the two had gotten back together the night before.

They were followed by Private Hive, Control Freak, and Adonis. After Private Hive ran through, Control Freak turned around with a superior grin on his face. "Farewell Titans! Your arch nemesis Control Freak will return to-."

He was cut off as Adonis shoved him through the portal. "Out of the way nerd!" He yelled before going through the portal himself.

Speedy watched all this with indifference until he felt a sudden weight on his back. He quickly turned to find Cheshire's arms wrapped around his waist.

"I'll be seeing you later." She purred at him seductively. Before he could respond, the assassin lifted her mask just enough to give him a quick kiss. Giggling, she broke the kiss before Speedy could react and jumped through the portal.

Speedy stood with a satisfied grin on his face until he felt an angry glare pointed in his direction. "Oh crap." He said, turning around to see and angry Bumblebee flying at him. So he made the smart decision to run from his furious leader.

"Oh no you don't!" Bumblebee yelled after him. "We still need to talk about this!"

That left only Kyd Wykkyd and Angel left. Angel looked around with a confused look on her face. "Hey Kyd. Where's See-More and the others?"

The mute villain laughed silently before signing, 'We better get out of here. Believe me, you don't want to be here when they show up.'

Angel looked confused, but giggled as realization hit her. Kyd smiled and grabbed her hand before teleporting them away.

"I guess that's everyone, dude." Beast Boy said as Kyd and Angel vanished.

Herald was about to close the portal when Robin stopped him. "Wait." He said, looking around. "Where's the rest of the Hive Five?"

He was answered as a sudden "Yeeha!" filled the air, along with the sound of a revving engine.

Cyborg's human eye widened. "Hey that sounds like my car!" He yelled. Everyone turned towards the Tower, where the sound was coming from, and were shocked to see the T-car racing straight towards them…but with a slight alteration. A black division sign had been hastily painted on the hood and behind the wheel was the human copy machine himself. Next to him, sat a laughing Gizmo and in the back seat were See-More and Mammoth, both laughing just as hard as Gizmo was.

Everyone had to quickly jump out of the way as Billy drove straight through them yelling, "So long fellas!"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Cyborg yelled in disbelief as he chased the teenage villains through the portal. "Get your butts out of my car!"

Robin smiled and shook head as some of the other Titans followed Cyborg, but he stopped as he noticed Alistor standing near a rock outcropping, gazing out at the bay.

"Hey Alistor." Robin said as he approached the blue mage.

Alistor snapped out of his daze. "Oh, hello Robin. I was just doing a bit of thinking." He explained.

Robin nodded his head in understanding and the two stood in silence for a moment. Then Robin said, "So what are you planning to do now? I know you don't have anywhere to go now that you're not an Observer. So I was wondering if you were interested in joining a team."

Alistor looked surprised at Robin's words. "Me? A part of a team?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah. We're looking to set up a team up north. Crime has sky rocketed there recently." He looked at Alistor seriously. "So are you in?"

Alistor went back to gazing at the bay as he digested what Robin was telling him. He thought about it for a moment. Him, part of a Titans team. Sure he was an Honorary Titan, but becoming part of a team was huge. He'd have a home again. But he shook his head at Robin's offer. He looked at him with a smile and said, "I'm sorry Robin. Someday I'll be more than willing to take you up on that offer. But for now, I wish to travel Earth and see it at my own pace.

Robin smiled, as if expecting that answer. "I kind of figured you'd say that." Pulling out a new communicator, he held it out to Alistor. "Just remember to keep in touch."

Alistor used his magic to levitate the communicator over to him and let out a laugh. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to send postcards."

The End

Well there you have it everyone, the final chapter. I do sincerely hope that it was all to your liking. (Bows formally) It was truly an honor to write for you all.

Now then, I believe that I said I had an announcement to make last chapter. (Clears throat) In truth, I want you opinions on something. Should this be the stopping point for our hero Alistor, or should there be another? Because I have a good idea, but I don't want to write it if you all think Alistor has over stayed his welcome.

Till next we meet, I bid you all farewell.