CH. 1

The world… is dead. The only thing that interrupts the silence and peace of the quiet world is a breeze. Buildings all across the globe lay in ruin; molting their windows and bits of wood like a parrot. Rusted cars lay parked where their owners left them. Not a skeleton remains, not a body is left behind. Only the cities and towns show that life once lived on Earth. And yet, despite appearance of death, decay, and rust; humans have the annoying little habit of survival. In California, the Titans Tower lay dormant and drooped, as if saddened that its owners could not forestall the judgment that raked this world. Yes… its owners still live. But they live separate. The Great War that raged the earth left them leading armies on different parts of the globe… apart from each other. Starfire led the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indians, and the Russians.

Robin led the Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians. Cyborg led the Europeans, Germans, French, Polls, Swedish, Finish, Irish, Scottish, Arabic, Turkish, and all the rest of Europe. Raven led the South Americans. Beast Boy led all of Africa. And despite their many new friends that died, despite all their new loves that died, when fire rained from the heavens, people fell from the onslaught of the enemy from a distant planet, the Titans lived on. They were all that was left in the world, apart, unable to find or contact one another. All hope of restoring humanity to its once former glory extinguished. All hope of one another being alive gone. They believed one another to be dead, rotting, or already dust in the wind. Beast Boy, his green skin sweat drenched in the desert looked at the clear blue sky. His eyes squinted against the sun. His pants were up above his knees and frayed at the edges.

His muscular chest held no shirt, but a belt slanting across it with pouches. A water bottle hung at his side empty and an Arabic looking sword at the other end of his waist; a silver revolver handle was sticking out of the back of his pants. He wondered if Raven was still alive. If Cyborg still had enough power or if he was as rusted as the city he had left behind. He was the last of his once great army. They had clashed against the aliens for so long, losing millions in each great battle. He had lost good friends, and countless loves to this disgusting war. And yet he remembered his first love and how when they parted, how he regretted not kissing her goodbye and telling her he loved her. He stopped looking at the sky and trudged on through the scorching desert. His feet were covered by shoes that had so many holes in them that they could have been sandals. He felt the sand enter his shoes and burn his feet.

Walking through Africa was always wonderful, but after losing the Great War, he no longer saw its beauty. He had killed countless aliens by gun, sword, and animal form. He had looked death in the face countless times and pulled through. The desert was no stranger to him. She welcomed him with open arms and kissed his feet with each step he took. He was hard core more than he used to be. Now he'd slash a throat and not think twice. He passed over a sand dune and saw another small town. He sighed as he walked on yet again. God how he wanted out of Africa, just to see if his friends were alive. He walked by a military humvee and stopped to stare. It was on its side and was black from an explosion. Rust covered most of it now.

He recognized it. This is where he was driving right behind it when they attacked. This humvee was the first to blow up. Five poor souls snuffed in a second of pure hatred and laser fire. They had come out of the black sky firing away without warning. That was the day Jim had died. A good man, soldier, and friend if there ever was one. He had been hit by the concussion of a blast and lost his left arm. Beast Boy had held him up and begged him to pull through. Saying that he needed him at his back at all times. Jim just smiled and laughed his deep African American laugh.

"No one needs to watch your back B," he had said while clasping his sweaty hand on Beast Boy's scarred and bloody shoulder, "You're the best there is." With that, his grip had gone slack, eyes unfocused and staring just over BB left shoulder. Beast Boy had wailed to the sky and ended up destroying the laser firing bastards with a heat seeking rocket launcher.

"Fry in hell!" he had spat in anger and threw the weapon to the ground hard enough to snap it in two. Beast Boy came back to reality with tears in his eyes. So many lives… just gone. A pointless war fought over Humanities survival. He made it to the small quaint town and listened to the wind blow through the alley ways and heard the crunch of the sand beneath his feet. By day, he traveled, by night… that was a different story. At night, you had to be in a town, buried deep under ground. The aliens knew that there were still survivors. They just didn't know where or how many. At night, they raided every town under their surveillance. Every night, Beast Boy sat in a deep dark tunnel under a town, gun held so tightly with fear that his knuckles were lime green. Listening to the monster's wails of frustration and hoping to God or whoever was up there that they didn't find him.

Every night so far, he had fallen asleep to those noises. Fallen asleep praying that he would live one day more to find his sweet Raven and tell her how he felt. He looked at the sky. The sun was setting fast. He refilled his tank of water and made his way to a basement. Every basement had one of these. He opened a large, thick, heavy stone door and walked into the tunnel, shutting it behind him and sealing it off. These tunnels lead nowhere. They were a complete circle. One of the reasons he was scared stiff every night, and slept terrible whenever there was noise outside. He sat down with a sigh and kicked off his shoes. It was still slightly damp in the cold dungeon like tomb. He rubbed his aching feet and took out his gun and sword. He laid the sword next to him, held the gun tight and lie down on his belt rolled up into a pillow. It took a few minutes, but he finally fell asleep, gun lying on his chest.

Robin:

Robin put the stick down again, breathing heavily and hoisting himself up. He had been climbing for hours. He was somewhere in the Rocky Mountains and could not find a sewer like area like Beast Boy had. He dug holes, slept in ditches, behind waterfalls, in caves, under roots, and under leaves. He wore ripped camouflage pants, tattered brown shirt, army boots full of holes, and no mask. His mask had long since been destroyed. But it made no matter. Every single troop in his once grand army was dead. His secret was still safe. Not that it made much sense to continue trying to keep one. He was the last man on earth. His friends had to be dead by now. He reached for his AK-47 strapped on his back to make sure it was still intact. He had fallen quite a bit. He was lucky to still have his gun.

His ammo supply was dangerously low and would soon have to resort to traps to protect himself. The aliens knew where he was. He had to move every single time. He had had a run in with one not three hours ago and barely slipped by without notice. Now, the high altitude was killing him more than the aliens. He took a moment to wipe his sweaty brow with the back of his hand. His throat was dry and his thirst clawed at him like an angry beast. He needed to find an untainted stream quick. He exhaled through his lips and began a decent toward the trees. Not hearing from Starfire about literally killed him. It was bad enough parting from her, but thinking her dead moved him to so much tears of absolute loss that he just wanted to shoot himself in the head and join her.

But he knew that was not what she would have wanted. This was the only thought that kept him going. The justice league was shot down before the earth was attacked. Every superhero but the Titans were rounded up. I his army he had had many of the fellow natural Titans. They were all deceased now. Beast Boy had insisted that he go alone. Raven and Starfire also went alone, but Cyborg took just Bumble Bee. He stumbled down the last rock on the small little jut in the mountain. There was a small creek merrily running its way down the mountain. The white foam, as it washed by, flew up and coated the white rocks of the mountain, making it shine. Robin scrambled for it and dropped his walking stick with a clatter. He landed at the edge, threw his hands in and brought them to his mouth, slurping greedily. Then he stuck his head below the surface, keeping a tight hold on the rocks.

The force of the cold water hit him full blast, but he didn't care. He drank his fill and came back up, blowing water off his lips and wiping his face. He grabbed his walking stick and froze at the sound of hissing. He looked at the sun. It couldn't be near dark yet. It had to be three in the afternoon. Never the less, he got up and quietly made his way downhill. The hissing grew louder as he descended. He began to pick up the pace until the sound of trees snapping could be heard. He stopped, dropped the stick, grabbed his gun and pointed it at the offending enemy. Standing at eight feet tall, it had a scaly human body the color of forest green. Covered in black battle armor that looked like it belonged to a knight from King Arthur's Court. Its head was not human however. Its head was what made up for two feet of its length. It was a cobra head. The armor went up the back of the head and neck and lowered past the eyes and rested on the top half. It held a fierce looking weapon. In both hands, it held a sleek, shiny gun that had an aiming laser on the top.

The gun barrel was long and thick and inside it was a pulsing blue electrical current that zapped up and down. The reptilian eyes glared at him as the alien raised the weapon and aimed. Robin pulled the trigger, firing one shot. The bullet sped through the laser on top of the weapon and into the reptile's eye. The monster opened its mouth, tongue flying out, and screeched loudly in pain. It fell backwards with a thump, the gun skidding a few feet down the hill before stopping. Purplish black blood pooled from the wound as Robin walked up closer to it. He kept the gun pointed at it. It was an alien and he couldn't be too careful. He nudged it with his toe and watched its limp form move away and back into place. He smirked and let go of the gun. It hung on its strap at his waist as he moved to grab his walking stick. It was at that moment, as he reached for the walking stick, that a rock just next to it began to jump repeatedly as if trying to dance. He rolled his eyes.

"Ohhhhhh fuck," he muttered. He grabbed his walking stick and ran for his life. Seconds after he made it into the trees, a large, flat, water drop shaped spacecraft flew over the area, sweeping for life forms. When it came across the dead comrade, five of the beasts dropped down and looked around, guns drawn and ready.

"This is so not my day," he moaned and ran off as fast as his legs could go.

Cyborg:

Cyborg was not dead. Cyborg was not out of power. Cyborg was still going long and strong. Nothing stood in his way. After the tragic death of Bumble Bee being beheaded in front of him, he was more headstrong and became a great risk taker. He longed for fights. Relished in killing the very ones who took away his beloved Bumble Bee. He was so mad with grief, that he accidentally killed one of his squad in the process of killing the alien snakes. And just like the others, his once great army was knocked down to one: him. He was located in Finland in the snow. He crunched through the cold dead night, bundled up as tight as possible in clothes that he amazingly kept in one piece. Cyborg had run his cell dry years ago. The war had started a year after Raven's father had left Jump City California. Now five years later, he had no power in him. What kept him going was determination to survive.

His will power alone kept his engines running. Cyborg looked through the quiet dead night and saw the northern lights. His army was wiped out last month in a great battle that lasted just three days. They never stood a chance in the snow. Amazingly, these space reptiles were not affected by the snow like the ordinary snakes of earth were. They did not go sluggish or tired, but their pace definitely quickened. He managed to run when the last man fell. It would have been suicide to take on thousands of those monsters and their guns alone. He wasn't that headstrong. He knew he had a squad of the lethal monsters on his trail at this moment. At least six. They had guns, venom in their teeth, and strength to boot. He wouldn't stand a chance alone against six. Three maybe, but not six. Even with his sonic canon.

His thoughts turned to Raven… and his best bud BB. Starfire with her cheerfulness and sweet naiveness. To Robin, the over protective leader with an ego to match. A tear traced down his dark skin and froze before it could fall off. He trudged on, hoping he could find shelter somewhere before he was shot down. A cry in the night split the air like an ax on wood. Cyborg whirled around, snow flying. There were the six aliens on their way, running with speed he didn't know they had.

"Damn," he cursed and turned to run. He heard the laser fire and felt the heat as they flew by him. He jumped forward, rolling until he was on one knee and one foot with his canon out.

"Chew on this," he muttered and fired. Most of the aliens were smart enough to move. One got a nice sized hole in his stomach. Blood and guts flew backwards from his body to land in the snow. The five stopped and looked at their dead friend. They looked at one another, making hissing noises and looked back at Cyborg. Without warning, he fired again, vaporizing another's head. The aliens aimed and fired. Cyborg fell back to dodge the laser beams. He got to his feet and hauled ass as fast as he could, letting snow fly behind him. A laser shot grazed his shoulder, slicing through the shirt and leaving his armor grazed. He ignored the sparks that played on his shoulder as he continued to run. He hoped to God there was some way out of this predicament. He suddenly skidded to a stop and looked over a fifty foot ledge that led to the ocean below. Water touching the ice was partially frozen. He turned around to find the four left over aliens aiming their guns at his chest and hissing in triumph.

Starfire:

Starfire was flying over the cities of Russia. She no longer wore her slightly skimpy outfit. She had on a tight fitting hunter green shirt with a pushup bra underneath. Her pants were kaki colored complete with kaki military boots with steel caps on the outside toe area. Her head was protected by a green military camo hat. Her eyes roamed the area. The rubble was horrible to witness. This was where their last stand had failed them and she got away by her coaxing military. She reluctantly ran as the last of her resistance was defeated. The sky was cloudy as she floated down to land. She looked left and right, her flaming red hair wiping this way and that with her movements. The city that had once been paved, shiny, and whole was nothing but a ghost town. Buildings were half what their height used to be. The streets could hardly be seen by all the paper, rubble, concrete, metal, and random bits of broken and rusted technology that covered it.

A humvee was lying on its side, front window shattered and large dark brown stains covering the paint. Rust was red, this much she knew. The stains were old blood. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of her precious Robin. She had no doubt in her mind he was dead. If she could not have held her own against these monsters, how could he? She hugged herself and began to walk, not caring where her feet carried her. Her boots made loud, echoing clomp noises on the gravel. In the quiet abandoned streets, it sounded like an army in itself. She heard a noise… a slight humming. It was a "sweeper" as her army had put it. A ship that looked for survivors and incinerated them without a moment's hesitation.

She darted through the air into a building, going through the open doorway and into the dark room. She huddled behind a wall between the open door and window. She was pressed flat against the wall as a search light swept through the window and door. It stopped when it fell on the door and Starfire heard the hiss of a door opening. Each ship held four aliens; enough to take either Titan down without much trouble. She knew that three were being deported while the other was left to keep the ship under surveillance. She heard growls and hisses as the aliens clutched their weapons and peered through the city. Her breathing was short and quick and sweat covered her entire body. Starfire was scared senseless. Her eyes wide and her mind hoping against hope that they left. Sure, she had killed and would have made her people proud… but she still didn't like killing.

The crunch of the gravel underfoot of the aliens filled the air as it slowly made its way toward the building. The alien could feel excitement course through its veins. It could taste the survivor just beyond the wall. It looked forward to sinking its poisonous teeth into the survivor and tasting the blood in its mouth. Starfire knew that it wasn't stopping. She lifted her arms, getting ready for action. She knew where one was, the other shot would have to be quick and precise. She jumped out, eyes green with rage and yelled in her native tongue curses that no human or other alien species had ever heard. She fired at the same time with each fist. The first was caught off guard as it was sizzled beyond recognition. The other incinerated another monster's arm. She kept going as their guns were fired. The shots barely missed her as she jumped behind the wall for safety, just under another broken window.

The creature that had its left arm incinerated was screeching and spitting in pain and rage. The spacecraft was leveled to the ground as the owner came running out to help. Starfire was on her back, one slightly glowing fist pointed at the window above her and the other at the door. There was the sound of a laser gun being fired and something heavy thumping to the ground. The screeching had stopped. Starfire slowly crawled for the stairs and didn't hear the two creatures creeping up to the doorway with caution. As soon as she was at the entryway to the stairs, she sprang to her feet and flew up the stairs. Laser fire barely missed her. She kept going until she came to a sudden halt on the third floor. Five of the monsters were aiming guns at her. They had tricked her. She could only close her eyes and as the first alien slowly squeezed the trigger; she could think only one thing before being shot.

'At least I shall be with Robin.' then all went black.

Raven:

Raven was hunched inside a dumpster, covered in trash and garbage that was old enough to be considered fossils. She no longer had her army. She had lost so many young men and women. Then she had to endure weeks of defenseless children screaming in fear and agony as they were killed without mercy. She cried at the thought that she never got to tell Beast Boy, her first ever love, how she felt. She waited in the night, to afraid to sleep, as she heard the click-clicks of the monsters walking. Luckily, they never seemed to find her. By day, they never looked. They were always somewhere else. Her mind flew to Cyborg and wondered if he was as alive and well as her. To Robin, her fearless leader and older brother. To her sister and dear friend Starfire. She sighed lightly in sadness. She was somewhere in Chile, this much she knew. There was a slight crack from the lid to the dumpster not being closed properly. Behind it, the first bit of sun winked at her.

Another sleepless night. She pushed slowly and peeked out, checking if the coast was clear. She knew she wasn't making to much noise, but each step, each whine of rusted metal, each rock being kicked sounded like a bomb going off along with sirens blaring. When she had closed the lid, she set off, her muscles groaning in protest from lack of sleep. Her eyes felt heavy, but she couldn't sleep now. She had to get to America. Even with her contact she had with Robin… there was no way she could feel him. This was her third day without sleep. She trudged on, feet dragging slightly. She had on dark green camo pants, and what used to be a buttoned up dark green camo jacket, but minus the sleeves, bra, or shirt. Her boots had their soles gaping open here and there from all the running she had to endure. And like every single one of the titans, she was dirty and stank to high heaven.

Her head was covered by a green bandana with her hair pulled back and tied in a tight bun. Stuffed down the front of her tight pants was a .45 revolver. Ammo resided in her left pocket and hanging on her right waist was a razor sharp machete. She kicked a rock and watched it roll and jump across the pavement. The air reeked of burned metal and decay. The streets were lined with charred black cars with shattered windows. The sidewalk and a bit of the road were covered by melted glass. She walked on the yellow lines in the middle of the road. No skeletons would ever be found. Finally, she found a car that was still intact. The trunk was open wide and the inside, though moth ridden and musty was still soft enough to be considered a nice bed. She crawled in and used her powers to shut and latch herself inside. As her mind drifted to sleep, she hoped to God that she wasn't attacked while sleeping.

She was awakened as abruptly as if someone had screamed in her ear. Her eyes searched with rapt attention. Then she heard it. The faint clicking noise not three feet from the car she was lying in. Then a hissing noise. There was one talking to another. Its voice was deep and hard to understand. English must not be their best language.

"We have to find the ssssurvivorsss," it hissed. Her body began to shake violently. Then she stopped; breath caught in her throat and heart racing like Jeff Gordon down the race track. Survivors? As in more than one?! She didn't move a muscle, listening with all her might.

"When we find them we can finally get off thisss retched planet," another agreed.

"I ssstill find it amazing that these humansss could very posssssibly kill usss in the distant future. They were sssuch pushoversss," the first one chuckled. Raven felt anger pulse through her. Pushovers? She'd show them "pushover". But she couldn't; their voices were disappearing and growing fainter. And for the first time since the war had started, she was happy. Her friends had survived! Or at least a few. But it didn't matter. She was no longer the last one on earth! After waiting for a good five minutes, she used her powers to open the trunk and climb out. It was pitch dark outside. Now all she had to do was find the others.