Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've gotten back into the swing of writing stories more frequently, but with summer vacation here, I've got all the time in the world. Now, "Titan's Loyalty" was an idea I thought up a while back, considering how the Teen Titans would fare without their friend in Ben Tennyson from "Stay The Same". Of course, I wouldn't have even considered trying to do it without the motivational words from my reviewers and fans.

And now for a few quick facts, including a new thing I'm going to be doing at the end of each chapter of each story I produce from now on:

1. This takes place after the Galactic Monsters Arc in Ben 10: Omniverse. It also takes place after "Change", so yes, Rainbow Dash from Equestria Girls will be present in this story.

2. Some chapters are likely to end up looking pretty short, kind of like how "Stay The Same" turned out. But in retrospect, this is good because like "Stay The Same", I'll be able to post chapters more frequently.

3. This is going to be a nine-chapter story, with an epilogue. I'm arranging it so that it feels like a three-part special, with commercial breaks. So the end of this chapter of this first chapter will feel like the first third of the first episode of the special. Hopefully that's not too much to wrap your head around…

4. At the end of each chapter from now on, I'll be leaving a quote said by a member of the Omni Force, including scenarios by SpiritReaper42 on occasions. These quotes are going to be from episodes or movies of certain series that are said by certain Omni Force members, or those who relate to them. They're usually going to be a little random sometimes, but I'll try to make things work.

That's all for now folks. So, let's get into the big story I promised for this month! This is "Titan's Loyalty"!

EPISODE I: PART I

The night sky gleamed over the busy streets of Jump City, as beyond the shorelines, the Titans Tower stood upon its island, shining in the moonlight. Inside, all of the Teen Titans were asleep in their rooms, with Beast Boy, Robin, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire resting peacefully in their beds. Suddenly though, the shine from the moon disappeared as a shadow loomed over the building. The Tamaranean's pet larva, Silkie awoke with a start as his owner's room had become even darker while he lay in his bedding. He crawled over to the window, with his eyes widening in fright upon what he saw: a large spacecraft hovering right beside the tower. Immediately horrified by the ship's presence, he raced over to his owner's bed, crying out in fear as he desperately tried to awaken her.

"Uh…" she groaned as her eyelids slowly opened. While her pet kept crying for her, the vessel outside suddenly began camouflage, appearing to fade into the night air. "Silkie…?" Starfire muttered as she was still tired, yawning loudly while she managed to sit up in her bed, "What is wrong, my little Bumgorf?" she asked sweetly, having heard his distressed cries for attention. He crawled back over to the window, just as his owner turned to climb out of her bed, getting on her feet before she walked over. "Was there… a bird you saw?" she asked her pet as she placed her left hand on the window, not seeing a thing outside except the lovely night sky.

Silkie couldn't believe that spacecraft appeared to have vanished, especially since it was so ginormous. He squeaked and squealed to his owner, but she couldn't understand what exactly was troubling him. Suddenly, her stomach began to rumble loudly, drawing her attention away from her pet.

"Perhaps we both need a late night snack…" she suggested for the both of them, making the young larva whine in frustration before she picked him up off the floor. Elsewhere atop the tower, two figures stood upon the roof, one being humanoid-like while wearing a high tech, metal mask and a brown cloak, and the other being dog-like, standing on four legs. The masked man walked over to the door of the roof, pulling out a cylindrical shaped device from his cloak as he reached the control panel next to the access. He pressed a few buttons on the panel, and then switched the device in his right hand on, which formed a hologram of an eyeball. He moved aside, letting the panel scan it.

"RETINAL SCAN CONFIRMED," a robotic voice from the panel stated, "TENNYSON, BENJAMIN," it continued, "ACCESS GRANTED," it finished, just as the doors to the roof slid open, with both the man and the dog-like creature going inside, as the latter of the two growled in anticipation.

"Do not worry any longer, my little Bumgorf~!" Starfire cooed to her pet as she held onto him like an infant, rocking him back and forth in her arms, "I will gift you with a wonderful midnight snack!" she promised. He only squealed in response, still distressed as to what he had seen earlier. "Silkie, please," his owner pleaded as they entered through the automatic sliding doors into the lounge, "I do not understand what has you so troubled…" she told him, flying over to the refrigerator. Just as she opened it, the two shadowy figures ran in, right before the doors closed. The faint light from the appliance shined dimly as the Tamaranian reached inside, slinging her pet over her right shoulder. While she pulled out a yellow bottle of mustard, he took notice of the dog-like creature walking along the other side of the kitchen counter. He squealed in fright, squirming upon his owner's shoulder. "Silkie, what is wrong?" she asked, standing up with the condiment bottle in her left hand, "This mustard is for me," she pointed out, "I will get your snack now," she told him, reaching back into the fridge. All of a sudden, she heard a loud growl behind her, causing her to widen her eyes and turn around instantly, only to see nothing there. "H-Hello?" she stuttered, lighting up a star bolt upon her right hand as she raised it into the air in an attempt to see more clearly, but couldn't locate the source of the noise. Her pet larva squealed in fear, crying out. "Do no worry, Silkie…" she reassured, letting the star bolt on her hand go out, "Maybe it is just Beast Boy out for a-" Before she could finish her suggestion, the creature roared, leaping up into her and the young bug's view as he was about to pounce on them. "EEK!" she shrieked, jumping off to the side, dropping the mustard bottle in the process while holding onto her pet as she somersaulted across the ground, making the creature miss his target.

The Tamaranian turned around and lit up a star bolt on her right hand to see the beast that landed behind her: a mix of a sabretooth cat and a hyena, with large saber-teeth and a horn upon his dog-like nose. His stomach hair was a crimson red, while his back hair was black. The alien girl stood back up, her eyes glowing a bright green as she stepped back, still having Silkie slung over her shoulder. The creature growled as it inched closer to her, but was still kept at bay upon the threat of her utilizing her star bolts. Upon seeing it more clearly, she gasped, realizing something.

"A Panuncian?" she questioned, still keeping the beast from coming any closer to her or her pet while she backed away slowly, "But how did it-?" She stopped her next question the moment she bumped into something behind her. Before she could even react, she felt a hand on her body, pinching her just above her left shoulder, causing her to suddenly keel over and drop Silkie, falling onto the ground in a heap as she fainted. Her pet cried out for her in immediate worry as the bipedal humanoid loomed over them, wearing black suit with a red stripe in middle and grey pants under his cloak, along with grey gloves and a grey belt, as well as black boots with grey soles. Over that, yet still under his cloak were bones, worn as ornamentation. They consisted of a ribcage on his chest, a tail bone on his right shoulder and the skull of a horned animal on his left, ribs covering the back of his black suit and boots, and claws on his shoes. Upon his face, he wore a metallic gas mask, with red visors that were separated evenly.

"Target acquired," he stated slowly in a successful tone.

TITAN'S LOYALTY

Silkie continued to cry out for his owner as she lied face down upon the floor. He attacker then picked her up, slinging her over his left shoulder.

"Heh," he laughed, "You were able to recognize the Panuncian at first glance…" he noted to the unconscious girl, "Truly wise for a princess…" he added, "Come," he beckoned to the alien beast, "We should make haste before anyone else arrives," he advised. The dog-like alien growled in agreement, following his master as they both headed towards the doors, with the Tamaranian in tow. The moth larva began squealing loudly once again, catching the attentions of the intruders as the Panuncian growled back at him. "Shut it up," his owner told the beast. Without any warning, the alien dog raced over to Silkie with a mighty roar, about to gnaw on him as he squeaked in fear. An object then flew by and struck the vicious creature on the nose, causing him to tumble over before he could reach the little bug. "Hm?!" the hunter exclaimed in shock, seeing the object that struck his pet fly right by him, headed for the doorway. He turned around to see that it was a birdarang, now in the right hand of Robin, who stood in front of the entrance.

"Who are you?!" he asked angrily, then gasped as he saw his teammate slung over the intruder's shoulder, "Starfire!" he screamed. The masked kidnapper reached into his cloak, pulling out a sniper rifle with his right hand, much to the hero's surprise. He fired it, but the boy wonder leapt out of the way, letting the laser beam blast down the doors while he pulled out his staff from his belt, extending it. He swung it out, striking the intruder at his right side, making him grunt as he slid back a few feet. He then re-aimed his weapon at Robin, firing a few more blasts, but the Teen Titans leader easily deflected them by spinning his staff rapidly in front of himself, as the beams struck the roof of the lounge. The hunter then suddenly let out a hypersonic whistle, making his opponent cringe a little as he was quite close to him, raising his right eyebrow in confusion. Without any warning, the Panuncian leapt over, about to strike his prey in the spiky haired hero. "Whoa!" he yelped as the creature pinned him against the floor after knocking him down, trying to gnaw through his staff, "Ergh…!" he grunted, sweating madly as he kept the alien beast at bay while he still could.

"Another time, Boy Wonder," the intruder stated as he was about to head out, "I already have my quarry…" he added, just about to walk right through the busted doors, when all of a sudden, a bright blue beam of light began heading towards him from within the darkness of the halls. He ducked, letting it zoom by to strike the kitchen counter, creating a small explosion of dust. The hunter then looked up to see a green tiger with black stripes race right by him, tackling his pet off of Robin, making him relinquish his grip on his staff as they both tumbled across the floor away from him. "Hmph," the masked intruder grunted, realizing that the other Titans had woken up.

"All right, man," a voice began in the distance of the dark hallway, getting his attention, "… visiting hours are OVER!" he exclaimed, coming into the hunter's view as Cyborg, who was about to strike him with his right fist. He dodged the metal man's punch, and then jumped away from another by his left fist, re-aiming his rifle at the Teen Titan. "Whoa!" he yelped, somersaulting away from a few laser blasts. Before he could even attempt to shoot at him again, the masked hunter saw his weapon become completely covered in a dark aura. It was then lifted out of his hands, much to his surprise as he saw it float above him, breaking into pieces rather instantly. He turned to see Raven floating at the destroyed doors, with her right hand encased by the black aura. She relinquished her magical hold on the rifle's pieces, letting them fall before the cloaked intruder.

"Who's this guy?" she asked as Cyborg went back to trying to hit him again, while he backed away.

"No clue," Robin replied as he stood up, "But he's trying to take Star," he mentioned, pointing out the Tamaranian slung over the kidnapper's left shoulder.

"I ain't gonna let him do that!" the half-robot Teen Titan yelled, landing a punch with his right fist on the intruder's chest, knocking him back a few feet as he stumbled, still holding onto the alien girl.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven cried out, shooting a beam of her magic at the masked hunter, hitting him in the chest, causing him to strike against the window glass with a bang. He breathed heavily, yet still held onto Starfire. However, the Teen Titans' leader then leapt up, striking the kidnapper with his staff on his head, knocking him down to the floor, and making him relinquish his grip on the Tamaranian as she fell down too.

"Star, are you all right?" Robin asked, walking over to her while still having his staff ready. The intruder then got to his knees, noticing his pet still wrestling with the green tiger. He whistled at a hypersonic pitch again, causing the Titans just beside him to flinch and cover their ears.

"GAH!" Cyborg cried out in pain as his body began sparking wildly with electricity while he went down to his knees. Upon hearing the whistle, the Panuncian suddenly multiplied, having four copies of himself split from his main body, all racing after the other three Titans near their master. The tiger watched them go off in surprise, giving the alien beast the chance to throw him off, knocking him against the kitchen counter before he ran off to assist his master with the clones. The large cat morphed back into Beast Boy, who rubbed the back of his head in pain after he sat up.

"Ugh…" he groaned, then gasped as he realized the dog-like alien and his clones were after his friends, "Guys, watch out!" he cried out to the others. They looked over to see the multiple Panuncians charging towards them, much to their surprise. One leapt onto Robin, while two each tackled Cyborg and Raven, as they all fell in yelps.

"Well done," the hunter complimented to his pet as he kept the heroes at bay, allowing his master to get up. He then took hold of the still unconscious Tamaranian again, slinging her over his left shoulder as he was about to run out.

"Star!" the green skinned boy exclaimed, shape-shifting himself into a grizzly bear, roaring loudly before charging after the kidnapper. However, he whistled again, and one of the clones upon the sorceress leapt over, tackling the animal to the ground.

"That… whistling…" Robin realized as he struggled to get the alien beast off of him. The intruder then left through the busted doors, making his escape. The boy wonder gritted his teeth, using his right hand to grab a pellet from his utility belt. He opened it, making a cloud of smoke appear upon him and the Panuncian on top of his body. After a few second, he ran out of the small cloud while the dog-like predator growled in frustration. He looked to see his friends still struggling to keep the beasts at bay.

"Er, Robin!" Cyborg grunted as he noticed his team leader up and ready, "Get Star back!" he yelled, "We'll handle these guys!" he reassured.

"I can't just leave you-!"

"Go!" Raven interrupted, "We'll be fine!" she told him. The leader of the team nodded, running off after the kidnapper. Just then, the main Panuncian emerged from the smoke cloud, roaring angrily as he was about to give chase to the boy wonder.

"Oh no you don't!" Cyborg exclaimed, transforming his right arm into his signature sonic cannon. He fired a blast from it, directly striking the beast and knocking him down in pain. At the same exact moment, the clones upon the half robot began flinching in pain as well, along with the ones on Raven and Beast Boy. They each took the chance, knocking all the clones off of them respectively as they kept whining in pain.

"What happened?" the sorceress asked as her robotic teammate reformed his right arm while the grizzly bear shape-shifted back to normal.

"Dunno…" Cyborg admitted as he and Beast Boy got up with her and regrouped, away from the beasts, "Once I blasted that one goin' after Robin, all of 'em started twitching," he explained.

"And… which one was that again?" the green skinned shape-shifter asked, backing up as he and the others saw the Panuncians arise from the floor, growling angrily at them.

"Here's the deal," the half robot began to his comrades, "If you hit one, and they all start goin' down," he continued, "keep hittin' it," he advised, "We might be onto something…" he noted, forming his right arm back into the sonic cannon.

"Got it," Raven responded as her eyes glowed a bright white, while her hands became covered in the dark aura of her magic. Beast Boy morphed into a velociraptor, screeching out at the dog-like aliens before they leapt out at them, ready to attack. Meanwhile, the kidnapper was running through the dark halls, still carrying Starfire, who remained unconscious upon his left shoulder. Suddenly, a birdarang-shaped hook attached to a yellow line flew out of the darkness behind him, wrapping around his legs and making him fall to the ground, dropping the Tamaranian in the process. He pushed himself up off of the floor, turning his head to see Robin racing towards him, with a grappling hook in his left hand, and his staff in his right.

"So, we'll get to play after all…" the hunter noted, using his right hand to grab something within his cloak. He pulled out a sword, with razor-like, tiny blades upon the main one. He slashed through the line, getting up just in time to clash with the boy wonder's staff. The Teen Titans' leader gritted his teeth in frustration, spinning his weapon around as he tried to push the intruder back. However, he managed to hold off the constant strikes, rapidly swinging his sword onto Robin's staff, causing it to rupture in multiple places. Upon noticing, the young hero took one final swing with his weapon, striking the hunter's mask, knocking him back a couple steps as the metal upon it cracked as well. The boy wonder's staff then broke into pieces, surprising him,, while the kidnapper grabbed his mask with his left hand, taking it off and tossing it aside. Robin gasped as he saw his face: a skull-like appearance, turquoise in color with a large lower jaw, dark red sunken eyes, and what looked like gills under his cheeks.

"Who are you?" the Teen Titans' leader asked as he took a step back.

"Ah," the hunter realized with a grin, "He never told you about me, did he?" he questioned, making the boy wonder raise an eyebrow in confusion, "Not that knowing would help you…" he noted righteously, causing his opponent to growl at him. He pulled out two birdarangs, flinging them at the kidnapper, who deflected them with his sword. However, he was then driven back by a flurry of punches and kicks from Robin, knocking him down to his right knee. He let out another hypersonic whistle upon getting back up on his feet, catching the boy wonder's attention.

"That whistling!" he exclaimed, pulling out a disc from his belt, tossing it at the hunter's feet. It exploded upon contact, freezing his legs to the floor in ice. He gasped, and looked to see his opponent about to strike him in the face with his right fist. All of a sudden though, the Panuncian stormed in and tackled the Teen Titans' leader, pinning him against the floor with his clawed paws. "Gah…" Robin grunted as he tried to get up, but was helpless while the alien beast on top of him growled. Meanwhile, the intruder smashed at the ice with his sword, shattering it to pieces, allowing him to move again as he picked up Starfire, slinging her over his left shoulder while she remained unconscious.

"Oh, don't you worry, Boy Wonder," the hunter said in a reassuring tone, "You may yet become my quarry some day…" he told him, "But for now, my job is done," he stated, "Come," he beckoned to his pet, walking away. The Panuncian then had a clone split off from his body to keep his prey down while he followed his master.

"Get back here!" the Teen Titans' leader screamed, "STARFIRE!" he cried out while the clone growled at him. Suddenly, a blue beam of light struck the creature right off of him, sending him tumbling across the floor. The boy wonder then looked back to see his teammates coming over, with Beast Boy transformed back to normal.

"Robin!" Cyborg called out as his sonic cannon shape-shifted back into his right hand, "Are you all right?" he asked, bending over and lifting his team leader up.

"Er, I'm fine," he reassured, "Right now, we need to stop that guy from taking Star," he pointed out.

"We'll have to deal with the dogs first," Raven noted, seeing a pack of Panuncian clones heading their way, while the lone one got up, roaring loudly. They were all about to pounce upon the Titans, who got into battle ready stances, but suddenly, the beasts all disappeared in flashes of red light.

"Uh… what just happened?" Beast Boy asked, blinking in confusion.

"The real dog wasn't with those ones…" the sorceress realized, "It must be with that guy," she added.

"He couldn't have gotten-" Robin's sentence was interrupted as the tower began to rumble, catching the whole team's attention.

"Dudes, what is that?!" the green shape-shifter yelled as their base continued to shake.

"Sounds like a rocket…" Cyborg pointed out, causing Robin to widen his eyes in realization.

"It's a ship!" he exclaimed, "Hurry!" he beckoned. The other Titans raced after him, heading up to the roof. Outside, the spacecraft began to hover higher over the tower, turning to its right as it was about to depart. The boy wonder ran out through the sliding doors, but ended up being too late as the ship blasted off in a burst of red light, disappearing into the vast night sky. The others followed outside, seeing their leader's cape blowing in the wind. "Star…" he said in defeat, dropping down to his knees while his teammates quickly went over to him.

Later, as the sun had come up, the team of four began observing video footage of the overnight attack in the main lounge, while also looking at still images of the intruders.

"I don't get it," Raven admitted as she had her hood removed, looking at one of the control panels, "The alarms didn't go off, but the cameras caught everything," she noted.

"You're right, they did catch everything…" Robin agreed, "The only way the alarms wouldn't have gone off is if that guy had an honorary Titan's communicator," he began, "or a retinal scan of the Titans stationed here in order to get in," he explained.

"A what?" Beast Boy asked as he sat on the couch, with Silkie lying in his lap.

"An eye scan, pretty much," Cyborg responded, "But I don't see how that's possible…" he admitted, continuing to observe the video footage with the others. He played back the part where he had blasted the main Panuncian in the lounge, which caused the others to go down in pain as well. "You see that, Rob?" he asked, pausing the screen, "When I hit the one goin' after you, they all started hurting," he pointed out.

"Interesting…" the boy wonder said, rubbing his chin with his right hand.

"Kinda reminds me of Ditto…" the green skinned shape-shifter added, getting everyone's attention.

"What did you say?" Robin asked in surprise.

"You know, Ditto," Beast Boy responded, "One of Ben's aliens that could copy itself like that thing," he explained.

"So, it's alien?" Raven guessed. Suddenly, her leader's eyes widened as he realized something.

"Check the access list and see who's come by recently," he told the half robot.

"On it," he replied, pressing a few buttons on the system control panel before reaching the list of those who had accessed Titans Tower. He scrolled up to the most recent date, being today, and gasped upon seeing Ben Tennyson's name next to it.

"Ben?!" the green skinned shape-shifter exclaimed in shock, standing up as Silkie fell off his lap and onto the floor.

"So he wasn't lying…" Robin realized.

"What?" Raven said in confusion upon hearing.

"The guy we fought last night said that someone on the team knew him," the boy wonder explained in reply, "None of us knew who he was," he pointed out.

"Maybe Star did…" Cyborg suggested.

"Or maybe he did…" Robin added, making all of the Titans' eyes widen in realization, "This guy we fought was completely prepared to take Star, and make sure that we wouldn't get in his way when we stepped in," he explained, "If I just decided not to take the night off for once…!" he muttered in frustration, slamming his right fist against the control panel.

"Robin, calm down," Raven advised, going over to him and placing her right hand on his left shoulder, "We'll find a way to get Starfire back," she promised in a comforting tone, making him feel a little more at ease while he removed his fist from the panel.

"Okay, so this guy that took Star had a rifle, a gas mask, a sword, and a pet that he could whistle commands to," the half robot listed off, "Not to mention, he had a ship for his escape," he added.

"Right…" the boy wonder noted, "He's an alien criminal…" he pointed out, "And someone who knows Ben," he mentioned, "If he was able to get his retinal scan, then I'm sure Ben's met him before," he told the group, walking off towards the busted sliding doors, "And if he knew Ben, then he'd have to know us," he finished.

"So, what do we do now?" Beast Boy asked as his team leader was about to depart.

"Cyborg, ready the T-Car," he told the half robot, "We're heading out to Bellwood," he said to the whole group, "We need Ben's help," he stated.

END

All right! Remember, chapters will be coming out a bit more frequently as it has been with "Stay The Same" and "A New Evolution". Be on the lookout for the second chapter by this coming weekend!

QUOTE:

Star, I understand how you feel. But it doesn't change the fact that we need to stop him…

~Ben Tennyson,

from Apprentice PART II