FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination 
mobile edition|
Author of 3 Stories |
Chapter 05: Adustum luminarium.
"There's something wrong here."
Savior gazed at the main computer as Cyborg finished ending communications with a great number of superhero teams. The JSA, The Outsiders, even the Justice League among them.
Not five minutes have passed since Robin had given the order when they had called. All warning about Doctor Light. All offering help.
There was something very wrong here, alright.
"You think?" Cyborg asked. They had declined the offering, pointing out that if anyone outside the Titans was seen, Green Arrow would die.
"I was under the impression Flash never changed his mind about these things." Starfire commented. Wally West had been one of the ones calling in. He had very cryptically warned to be careful against light before disappearing.
"Then why's he doing a one-eighty?" Gauntlet asked, scratching his head. He didn't really saw what the big deal was, and neither did most of the other Titans.
And one was especially eager to leave.
"Well?"
They all turned to Speedy, whom still looked somewhat shy, but a lot more driven.
"What are we waiting for? We have to go! We have to help Ollie!"
Robin, like Savior, seemed to be wrestling with himself on this.
"What are we waiting for?" She repeated.
"We?" Savior asked.
Speedy turned to him.
"You are not going." Savior said simply.
"…What?" The archer asked.
"You are too green, you should stay back."
Speedy stared at him for a few seconds. She got angry. "TOO GREEN? This is my mentor we are talking about! It's HIS life on the line! I don't know what kind of problem you may have with me, but I AM NOT STAYING HERE! I'M HELPING!"
"No. You aren't." Savior glared at her, he was somewhat impressed when she didn't back down like most, but not enough. "Believe or not, I'm actually looking out for you."
"Savior." Beastboy interrupted, looking like he was trying to suppress a smile. "This is DOCTOR LIGHT we are talking about, not the Lord. She can handle it."
Savior cast a wry look at him.
"Clearly you weren't paying attention. Computer, play back last video footage."
Titans computer complied to the order and the image of Arthur Light once again appeared before them, calling them.
"Where's the bluster? The cockiness? The veneer over the inferiority complex?" The white titans asked, looking at his teammates, searching for approval. "Nowhere. Just calmed. Clipped. PRECISE. I don't know what happen, but that's not our Doctor Light."
Gauntlet frowned. "Are you saying we have a clone running around? N-Savior, that's way too cliché."
Savior abstained from slapping him.
"He did seem different." Cyborg nodded, having seriously listened to Noel.
"But he's Doctor Light!" Terra exclaimed, a little annoyed at how much the most paranoid member of the team was looking into this. "We beat him up twice a week, give me a break!"
Savior also seemed frustrated at how he didn't seem to be getting through most of his teammates. "Didn't ANY of you read my variant files? I spent three months on them!"
Truth was no one but Robin had. And even he had tried really hard not to fall sleep halfway through.
But that was not relevant right now.
"Oh, and did you notice that it was broad daylight out and yet most of the view was as murky as Victorian London?" He continued, not waiting for an answer. "Almost as if someone had sucked the light out of the room? Does that sound like something our old idiot friend Arthur would do?" Savior looked at his leader for support. "Tim, help me out here, surely you have your own observations."
Robin stared at him through his blank slits. True, he had noticed all this and more. And he had heard things. Things that didn't seem right to him, but that this development seem to prove.
"Something happened to Doctor Light." Raven said, when Robin failed to aid her boyfriend.
Robin remained quiet for a few more seconds. "There've been rumors throughout the super-villain community."
"The what?" They hang out too?" Gauntlet blinked. Images of slumber parties between the Joker and Lex Luthor already on his mind.
Good God, he is twisted.
"They do." Scalpel said, remembering something about a… Bar? Or a Café, maybe…?
"They talk about Doctor Light." Robin continued. "They say that he wasn't always a pathetic loser always getting kicked around by kids in Halloween costumes…" This earned him small glares. "Their words, not mine. According to them, Doctor Light was a psychopath, a real threat. And then he got… Fixed."
Speedy blinked. "Fixed? What does that mean?"
"He lost whatever made him 'efficient'." Robin simplified.
There was a short silence at the words.
"Does that mean…" Beastboy started, then switched gears. "Do you think the rumors are true?"
Robin didn't answer at first. "Batman didn't know anything about it."
"He said he didn't." Savior corrected, narrowing his eyes.
Colors danced in his view, but at least he could see. Somewhat.
Adam moved from his hiding place, his ears alert seeing how his eyes weren't completely reliable.
Temperature above average… Left arm… Stings a bit…
There had been a lot of quiet since Light had given his order, but the blinking lights from the outside told him the police was still there.
He wasn't sure what to do aside from wait, and he just couldn't stay in one place for so long.
Especially after the small energy boost his body had managed to absorb from Light's attack.
Still it was very small boost, and it wasn't worth the pain he had had (and still did) to endure to absorb it. It had mostly made him hyperactive rather than filling up his reserves.
Scratch that… Every part of my body stings… More than a bit…
His eyes cleared up enough for him to see that he had many first and second degree burns all over his back, which had taken most of the heat.
Probably why there had only been one death.
Not that Adam knew or cared as he gazed at the painful little bubbles.
Goddamnit… What do I do now?
Sighing, Adam sat back down, trying to come up with a proper plan.
"We've already established that you are not going, miss." Savior responded. Robin was about to say that nothing had been established when Savior continued. "And if you haven't noticed, you've now revealed Green Arrow's real name not once, but TWICE to us."
Speedy instantly fell silent. Yeah, she hadn't noticed that.
"Consider yourself lucky we already knew it." Savior continued. "Thanks to… Odd circumstances beyond our control." Odd meaning Robert had figured it out and blabbed to the team at the first chance he got.
Mia growled angrily. This guy was not just a simple asshole, he was the freaking Fred Fredburger with TWO hammers.
More evidence came when she attempted to speak again.
"You are not going." Savior interrupted.
Speedy exploded. "LIKE HELL I'M NOT! HE'S LIKE A FATHER TO ME! I AM NOT GOING TO WAIT HERE WHILE YOU GO OFF TO SAVE HIM! I AM MAKING SURE HE GETS BACK FINE AND HEALTHY AND IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT THEN KINDLY SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!"
Savior blinked at the outburst while the rest of the Titans seemed taken aback at the kind of language Mia had used.
Starfire wanted to ask Robin how could a psychological problem like Savior's could be put inside his rectum, but Tim had his mind on other things.
Like the fact that when someone snapped at Savior, he snapped back.
Tenfold.
"THIS ISN'T SOME THUG ROBBING A 7/11!" Savior roared, and all the kids jumped back. "THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF THREAT YOU SHOULD BE DEALING WITH! YOU ARE NOT READY! THIS WHOLE DEBATE OVER THAT FACT PROVES THAT YOU AREN'T! YOU. ARE. A. CHILD! AND I AM NOT HAVING YOU DIE ON MY WATCH!"
Silence.
"My watch, Savior." Robin finally said, now annoyed.
"You know what I mean!"
Speedy wasn't convinced. "But…!"
"This isn't a vote, miss Dearden." Savior cut her off.
Robin took a step forward.
"Actually, now it is."
Both Savior and Speedy turned to him.
"…Tim, you can't be serious." Noel inquired.
"I am." Robin said. "Both of you have fair points as far as it goes. And we ARE wasting time. We'll decide this and then go to Philadelphia."
"Tim, she's still a rookie! We can't take that chance!" Savior growled.
Speedy glared at Savior. "You leave me here and I'll empty half my explosive arsenal on your personal belongings. Then I move to your weapons' vault."
"Like and immature child throwing a temper tantrum." Savior spat back. Then turned to Robin. "Point proven."
Swish!
Savior blinked as saw the arrow that was now on the ground. It had evaded a very sensitive part of him on purpose. Something told him that it hadn't missed by accident.
You could have heard a pin drop to the ground as Savior looked up at Speedy, his expression now very dangerous.
The girl didn't back down as she took another arrow and cocked it back.
The rest of the Titans all fell silent, not sure what to do.
Savior picked up the arrow encased in the ground and stared at it. "…DON'T do that again."
Then Speedy, perhaps proving Savior right in his opinion on her, fired again.
And then, in a blur of movements, Savior knocked both the bow and the arrow aside with two Shimmer strands. Speedy tried to recuperate from the assault but one of the strands wrapped around her waist and yanked her towards Savior, who was waiting for her with a Shimmer blade on his arm.
She was stopped suddenly, and the blade poked her jugular carefully, not actually cutting through.
"I'd loathe to fight one of my fellow heroes." Savior hissed. "But know that I can do it. Very, VERY well."
Speedy tried to free herself, but the grip was absolute, and she couldn't risk much movement with that knife on her neck, so what could…
"SAVIOR."
Noel turned to Robin, who had recovered from that surprise and was now very mad. "Stand down or consider yourself expelled from the Teen Titans."
Savior stared, and for a minute Speedy thought he couldn't care less about it, but then the grip loosened and she fell to the ground.
"That was uncalled for, Noel."
The voice echoed on his mind, not heard by anyone but him. He nodded at his girlfriend, acknowledging her words, but not completely.
"We are having a vote. NOW." Robin said.
Savior sighed. "I abstain in protest."
"…Very well." Robin nodded. Sometimes, Savior was more of a handful than Robert or Garfield.
"I know the result already anyway." Savior said. He turned to Speedy, not with anger, but with worried pity. "I hope I'm wrong, I TRULY do." Then he directed to the rest. "I wash my hands of it. It's on your heads."
And then he walked off the room.
"Asshole." Speedy commented, this time half-heartedly.
Robin sighed and turned to his team. "Let's vote guys. And…" He lowered his voice so Speedy wouldn't hear. "Take what Savior said into consideration when making your decision."
All nodded.
"I still say this is too much trouble just for Doc Light." Beastboy commented with a small smile. Most of his teammates nodded.
"That Savior guy is the biggest drama-queen ever." Speedy commented, not as nastily as it could have been.
"Comes with the Stu package." Gauntlet replied jokingly.
"…Yes."
"Well? What are we going to do? You don't plan on just sitting back and see how it goes, do ya?"
"No. But we need a plan. We can't barge in."
"I know… I'm worried about Mia. And I know you are worried about Tim."
"Heh… We are definitely going in, then?"
"Obviously. What's the plan?"
"…Call Garth."
It was barely three in the afternoon, yet the entire atmosphere around the Franklin Institute was dark as if it were night. And aside from the dim sirens from the police cars, it was disturbingly quiet as well. Though that was because Cyborg had had the authorities evacuate everyone within two blocks of the place.
The Titans looked around cautiously as they entered the museum. Savior would have worried that his bright costume would give away their position, but it was likely that Light had seen the T-Jet coming anyway.
"Stay close, guys." Robin ordered, taking the lead. The rest complied and huddled together, ready to unleash an assault if necessary.
Savior still didn't like the way this was developing… If only the team would at least take Light as the threat he seemed to be…
"Hey… If I get hurt, just let me take care of myself, okay?" The voice said behind him.
The man rolled his eyes and turned to Speedy. "No. You don't have to prove anything, you know. You are here, if you make it out alive, that should be enough."
He kept on walking. His assumptions had been right: The rest had allowed her to come. Let's hope it wasn't a mistake.
Beastboy's ear twitched as he heard the batting of mechanical wings, looking up to see numerous helicopters, but they weren't police choppers.
"Hey, what's with the news copters?" He asked.
Raven looked up at them. "He did say he wanted his reputation back."
"Pfft. Rep? He never had one." Gauntlet scoffed.
"…Yeah, Light's just trying to get attention." Beastboy agreed.
"Just keep your eyes open, Gar." Robin muttered, as they entered a particularly dark room.
"Welcome, Titans."
The teenagers froze, all readying themselves for attack. It didn't come.
"Light?" Cyborg asked, using his infrared scanners to try to find him.
"We are here. Show yourself." Starfire said, lighting a starbolt to help her see the man.
No avail. It was just too dark.
"What are you, a coward?" Terra mocked, even as the ground beneath of her began to loosen.
"Not anymore, Terra." Light responded, moving around the group unnoticed. "That was a long time ago. When my self-confidence and ego were transformed into that of a teenage girl."
Silence.
"HEY!" All the girls in the group complained.
Beastboy turned to them, grinning a bit.
And saw Arthur Light standing behind them. Glowing.
"The Justice League stole my dignity."
The boy tried to shout out a warning…
And then the gigantic wave of light and heat struck them all.
And as Raven crashed through glass and into a monument, she could feel no fear in Doctor Light.
Only joy.
Corrupted excitement.
HATE.
"So I'll steal yours." Light said.
Light was over there, he reasoned. And he was fighting.
The Titans? Had the Titans gotten here already? How long had they been here?
After finally accepting he wasn't getting out until this all died down, Adam had hidden the money back in its hole, then he had wandered around, in case he could find some way to get out of this soon-to-be hellhole.
"It's definitely not that way." Adam muttered, turning around and walking the other way.
Sirens still flared outside, he saw. Maybe there no point in even looking for an escape route: Even if he found one, it would have cops all around it.
He did not want to explain what he was doing here.
Before long, he found himself before a big, wooden door. The main entrance.
"Excellent strategy, Matthews." Adam growled. "Oh, sure, let's go out the front door! Surely I won't find myself in front of a ridiculous amount of armed men who'll barrage me with bullets. BLOODY BRILLIANT."
His eyes widened as he heard the groan behind him.
He swirled, arms ready in case self-defense was needed… And found himself staring at the tired body of Green Arrow.
"Who… Who's there?" The man asked weakly, his eyes opening. He was still trapped in the Benjamin Franklin statue, like he had been when Light had left him to face the children.
Adam blinked a couple of times, his muscles relaxing. He had heard that Green Arrow was as good as they come in human standards, but as weak as he looked, he didn't seem threatening. Especially if Arthur Light of all people had done this to him.
In the end, he still took some caution when he approached. "Green… Er… Mister Arrow?"
Oliver Queen's eyes tried to focus on the teen before him, and as blurry as the image was, he knew this one was a stranger to him.
"Are you… A Titan?"
Adam was taken aback by this. "Uh… No… I was… Er… Forced to stay inside when… This happened. Mister Arrow, are you ok?"
He reached out to one of the hero's restraints as he spoke.
"No… Wait…"
Stopping, the teen looked up to see the man staring at him intently.
"…Find the kids…" Green Arrow growled. "Warn them… Tell them not to fight Light…"
Adam thought he seemed delirious as he started bending one of the metal wires holding him captive. "Look, don't worry, I'll get you to safety. The Titans are already here, they'll take care of Light. After me, that joke shouldn't be much…"
"No…" Oliver whispered, fighting to remain conscious. "…He is not an easy opponent… He… He remembers… What happened…"
Adam paused, his eyes confused. "Remember? What does he remember?"
Green Arrow didn't respond at first. "I didn't want her to do it… I tried to convince the others it wasn't necessary… But… I consented it in the end."
The other wasn't really paying attention, he was still working of getting through the metallic wires: There were many more than he had originally thought.
"But now… He remembers…" Arrow muttered. "…Tell those kids to get out… Doctor light… He…"
Adam looked up and was alarmed to see the man's eyes closing. "Hey! Stay with me! Are you ok? Can you hear me?"
"…He isn't a joke anymore…" Green Arrow mumbled, and then closed his eyes.
"HEY!" Adam cried, slapping him softly a couple of times. He sighed in relief when he saw he was still breathing: He was simply unconscious.
"…Don't scare me like that…" Adam growled. He stared as Green Arrow's face for a couple of seconds.
All that stuff he had been saying about Light… Had he been delirious? Or…?
He stood there, thinking. Not sure whether to follow the man's orders or not.
"…It's not my problem." He finally said, though his conscience screamed at him because of it.
He ignored it. Besides, there's not much of a threat in the skinny old guy who can make stuff look brighter.
"Green Arrow's delirious." Adam said firmly.
Not knowing what to do, and afraid that moving his unconscious body might cause complications, Adam sat down next to him. Nothing left to do but wait.
"…He has to be."
Being the Batman's apprentice, he had handled the attack better: The lenses on his mask had caught most of the flare, he could still see. Somewhat.
The rests of the teens had not been so lucky. Most were temporally blind.
"My children. Let me tell you a secret."
Though incapable of actually seeing him, the Titans all had heard the voice and turned towards the source. Starfire lighted up a starbolt, trying to make out which one of the silhouettes was the enemy.
Light was soon surrounded.
"You are better than the Justice League." He continued. He didn't seem to notice the children's slow approach.
With his cape warped around his body like it was, Robin saw a distinct resemblance between him and his mentor.
Savior had been right.
This was not the same Doctor Light.
"I'm not talking about powers or abilities. I'm talking about morals. You look up to false hero… Hnn!"
Light's declaration was cut short as an arrow pierced his forearm.
"Nice shot." Scalpel complimented as he rubbing his eyes. His eyes were more sensitive to light than human's, so the flare had been especially hard on him.
"Not really, I was aiming lower." Speedy hissed, reloading. "Still seeing spots."
"Huh. I don't hear any crying over the booboo. Are you sure this is Doc?" Beastboy asked mockingly, getting out from the rubble.
Gauntlet laughed a bit. "Now, Beastboy. Be nice. Lil' old Arthur is trying to be a big boy!"
Savior glared at the two for a second as the shimmer formed lenses similar to Robin's around his eyes. This was not the time. He turned back to Light, trying to thinking of a plan.
He wasn't there.
"Keep talking."
He was in front of Gauntlet.
"Let me get close enough." Light continued, looking into the teen's eyes.
And then the ground beneath Gauntlet exploded, a gigantic geyser of light erupting from it, consuming the hero. He didn't even have the time to scream.
Seconds later, Gauntlet crashed back into the ground, his clothes ruined and his body burned.
He didn't move.
The Titans stared at the scene in horror for a few moments. Then back at Light.
The man scoffed. "Surely you don't think I can't create masterful illusions, do you? Say, like a convincing looking copy of myself, babbling on and on while the real me sneaked upon my victims?"
"But… But I shot you!" Speedy suddenly cried.
"Did you see blood come out?"
Silence. It suddenly became possible to the Titans that Light could solidify his illusions.
Light stretched out his hand, almost as if calling them. "Well, my children?"
Robin whipped out his staff. "Titans, GO!"
The 'children' all charged, fueled by the anger of seeing a teammate fall.
"Why didn't his shield protect him?" Terra demanded as she rushed in on a rock, glancing at the unconscious (she hoped) boy.
"The artifact was not activated." Starfire hissed in fury.
"Why that hell not?"
And then Savior jumped over them, covering the distance between himself and light before the others.
"He didn't think he'd need it." He replied grimly. Shimmer strands exploded from each of his arms, forming gigantic bludgeons.
He brought them down on the man with as much strength as possible.
…The mallets phased right through Light.
The Titans stopped dead.
"Have you learned nothing?" The illusion asked.
They all felt the warmth behind them.
"SCATTER!" Robin cried.
The team complied just as another light blast avoided them.
This last attack had been powerful; it pierced right through the wall and kept going with ease. It had been designed to kill them.
"ARGH! My systems are going crazy, I can't pinpoint him!" Cyborg informed. He armed his sonic canon even as he frantically searched.
A hand pressed against his back.
"How much energy can you take before you overload?"
FSST!
"ARGGGGGGHHH!" Cyborg screamed, vast amounts of energy forcing themselves into his systems, burning them out.
He shut down within three seconds.
"CYBORG!" Scalpel cried as he finally managed to get a good look at their attacker.
"Just that?" Light asked, watching the metallic hybrid fall. "Pfft. Lightweight."
Scalpel cursed in blacktranian as he jumped at Light, glaive at hand.
Bad idea: His opponent raised a finger and fired a line of heavily concentrated light. It tore through Nigel's heart.
It was a good thing he had two.
Nevertheless, he fell with a grunt. It took him a while before he starting coughing up the blood.
"You are alive." Light said, somewhat surprised. He didn't know blacktranian anatomy. "…But you are certainly not looking healthy, Scalpel."
"Nngg… Neither will you!" The exiled warrior roared and lashed out at Light.
More bad ideas.
"ARGH!" Scalpel cried, as he was thrown back by a considerably larger light beam, though thankfully not as heavily concentrated. His old wound reopened and he spat alarming amounts of blood.
Light soon noticed the hissing and he glanced at the ground. His eyes widened slightly at the sight: The blood was eating away the ground.
Blacktranian facts 101: Blacktranian blood has the same properties as Napalm.
"You are an interesting one." Light commented, watching Scalpel try to fight off the pain. "But I've seen wor… Agh…"
One of the teens had finally managed to get her hands on Light. Ironically, it was the less experienced one.
Speedy reloaded as the man who held her mentor captive force the arrow sticking on his shoulder off.
"Speedy." Light glared.
"Where's Green Arrow?" Speedy demanded, aiming for the heart. "If you hurt him I s…!"
WRONG choice of words.
The girl's words were cut short as dangerous amounts of light exploded from the villain's hands.
"If I hurt him, Speedy?" Light asked, the calm he had maintained throughout the fight now gone. "IF I HURT HIM!"
He fired the most powerful attack of the day.
Speedy yelped and fired her arrow. It melted four inches before it even reached the blast. And wasting her time firing, she couldn't dodge.
"MOVE, KID!"
Savior jumped out of nowhere and pushed her off the way.
New problem: Now SAVIOR was the one about to be burned to ashes.
But the white-haired Titan was more experienced as he instantly formed a shield, reinforced it, and reinforced the reinforce.
He was still forced back at impact.
The lenses on his eyes disappeared, becoming padding for the shield. He could almost hear the hissing sounds coming from the shimmer.
And then… It finally stopped.
Savior fell to his knees, blood rushing from his nose, and retracted the shield.
And revealed Light's extended hand right behind it.
FLASH.
"AHHHH!" Noel cried, clawing at his eyes and the completely burned retina in them. "Ahh…"
"I expected better from the tactical one." Light said, aiming at Savior again.
"LET HIM GO!"
Light turned at the voice and found himself engulfed and thrown back by what seemed to be a living shadow.
"Savior?" Raven asked, appearing from the shadows, letting that fragment of her soul-self deal with Light. The chaotic emotions from her teammates had rattled her and stopped her from fighting for a while. It had gone from amusement to true fear and shock and disbelief in matter of seconds.
And Light's hate. Such strong hate…
And then she had felt pain from someone very close to her, a lot closer than any of the others. And reacted accordingly.
"Raven…?" Savior asked, his head moving towards the sound.
Raven gasped as she saw the milky white that reigned her boyfriend's eyes.
He was blind.
"Oh god… Savior… Oh Noel…" Raven lamented, taking him into her grasp in sadness.
And then she screamed as burning light pierced through her soul-self, vaporizing it.
She fell next to Noel. The teen felt through the ground until he found her face.
"Raven? RAVEN?"
"I never did like the dark." Light commented.
Savior turned around, ready to rip his head off, blind or not.
And then he was sent into oblivion as Doctor Light's boot collided with Noel's face.
It was a rare sight to see Arthur Light use physical force instead of his technology. But he used it with the ones he truly disliked.
Light stared at his wreckage with some amusement.
That is, before the large rock crashed against his stomach, lifting him off the ground painfully.
He was swung for a while before dropped before the last six survivors. Robin, Starfire, Speedy, Terra, Beastboy and a seriously rattled Scalpel glared at the man as he struggled to his feet.
"You bastard." Robin whipped out his staff and attacked.
Light managed to evade, but the back kick that came after the swing got him in the neck.
"Same freaking goatee." Alligator-Beastboy growled jumping into action and sinking its teeth into Light chest. "You should have gotten a make over to go along with the new attitude."
Light screamed under the pressure but was soon thrown into the air.
Where he collapsed against a recently made floating wall. A wall Starfire crashed through and then dived to the ground.
"You should have not harmed our friends."
"ARGH!" Light cried out this time, finally feeling some pain out of this fight.
The Titans took pride in that.
But it didn't last.
A starbolt, rock bludgeon and exploding disk were fired.
And then Light fired his own wave of light.
Both sides collided and the only harmful effect had was the shockwave.
"ENOUGH."
And then the Titans were blind.
"Wha?" Robin asked, seeing only black.
It hadn't been like Noel, no flash had destroyed their sight. It had just… gone away.
"Amazing what can be done by simply sucking away the light on your eyes, isn't it?"
Robin growled. "Star. Stay close."
"Don't bother. Picking you off will be easy now. You can attack if you want. But what's to say you won't hit an ally?"
There was silence after that.
Robin tried to focus his ears to detect any sounds to pinpoint Light's whereabouts.
He got what he wanted.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"One down."
"TERRA!" Beastboy cried.
FSSSST!
"I'm sorry, I meant two."
Robin cursed under his breath.
It was unknown to him, but Light was right behind him. The man reached down towards his neck.
And then the clawed hand seized him.
"I can hear you." Scalpel hissed.
Light didn't have the time to counter as he was thrown across the room.
"Get away from them!" Scalpel roared, jumping into action. Sight or not, he was still a damn good warrior.
Something Light didn't seem to care for as worry crept into his feature for the first time. He evaded Scalpel's first strike, but he saw it crush the ground effortlessly.
Cursing, he tried to get away, but Scalpel grabbed his ankle and threw him yonder.
"STOP!" Light ordered, firing a blast.
Scalpel managed to avoid it in time and kept going, even as his own blood from his wounds fell to the ground.
Light paused noticing the blood. And he smirked.
"HAH!" Nigel roared, swinging his arm.
Light ducked under it and grabbed his shoulder.
Scalpel got ready to attack…
And then he felt heat.
"Tell me, how much light-induced heat can you take before that marvelous blood of yours combusts?"
Nigel tried to scream.
And then his body caught fire.
The blacktranian swirled in his very own inferno, trying to ease his suffering. He trashed, screamed, ANYTHING he could think of.
And all the while Light charged. The Titans could see once again.
And the shock and horror of seeing their teammate in fire would not last.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH…!" Nigel cried in agony, now falling to the ground.
"…HELP HIM!" Robin cried, finally shaking himself out of shock.
"My children."
All turned to the voice. Light smirked arrogantly as he reached the peak necessary for his attack.
"SUFFER."
And then a dome like blast escaped from Light's body, consuming anything and everything around him.
It took 6 seconds for it to dissipate. And when it did, no Titan was left standing.
None of them could take a blast of that magnitude, Light knew that.
That's why he had used it to begin with.
He walked past Nigel, whose body was badly burned, but the flames had died out after impact with the last attack. He walked past all of the fallen teens.
And stopped in front of one.
"Speedy." Light said.
Then he grabbed her ankle.
"Come."
He was a very well-mannered one when it was convenient for him. Now it wasn't.
He threw Speedy's body towards the statue without much trouble, the girl still unconscious. For a moment, he glared at Green Arrow.
"I wish you were awake."
He walked towards Speedy, his hands glowing already. "I wanted you to watch her burn…"
He raised both hands towards the small frame of the girl.
"You know, I've been wondering." Light commented. "Who else did you do this to? Was it only villains? Or other heroes too?"
He knew the man did not hear him, but Light felt compelled to say it either way.
"Maybe this is how you kept your kids in check. How to make them obey." Light growled. Enough talking. "If that's the case, then I'm suppose I'm this one's liberator."
The man reached down for the kill.
And screamed as a golden energy release collided to his side, throwing him against the wall.
Adam walked out of the darkness of his hiding place. He had heard the fight end. He had heard him approach. And he had hidden.
He was going to wait until Light left to find some way to escape… But then he had seen what he was about to do.
And his plans changed.
"…I am such an idiot." Adam growled at himself, and then ran towards the unconscious Speedy.
I could have gotten away, damnit. IDIOT! DAMNIT!
He checked on the girl and saw that he hadn't been too late. That made him feel a little better. But not much. Now he needed an excuse for being here.
"Well… Might as well get you out of here. Both of you." He muttered, glancing at Green Arrow.
"Boy."
Adam's eyes widened as he turned around quickly, his arms glowing. No way, he should not be awake, it was DOCTOR LIGHT, goddamnit.
Then again, he shouldn't have been able to beat the Titans either.
"Please." Arthur Light said.
And then the energy escaped from the man's fingers, going past Adam and towards all the exits. It sealed them in no time.
"Stay a while."
The teen worried, realizing he was trapped. He started backing away uncertainly.
"Now…" Light continued, dusting himself off while approaching. "You are not a Titan. So tell me who you are."
Adam gritted his teeth as he forced himself not to back away anymore. "I'm… Ad-Metatron." He hissed, despising the name. But it was better than giving this maniac his real name. He took a step forward instead and the energy in his hands flared. "Don't get any closer or I burn your face off."
Light stopped, then smirked. "Tell me, what are those interesting golden flames of yours made of?"
He didn't stop, he sped up his pace.
Adam growled, pulling both arms back. "Here, why don't you find out?"
Both blasts flew true at Light… And then they stopped inches from his face.
Adam gapped.
"Ah." Light nodded, marveling upon the still energy blasts as if they were gold. "Light."
Both energy orbs suddenly started braking down, their essence ripped apart and split into barely visible fragments… And it all went into Light. Feeding him its energy.
And all the while Adam stared with widened eyes. So much for distanced fight.
"That isn't going to work for you…" Light advised as he finished absorbing the energy. "…Metatron, was it?"
Adam's eyes flashed and he growled angrily. "THAT'S NOT ALL I GOT!"
He charged as fast as he could go, which was pretty damn fast.
But as surprised as Light was by his speeds, he recovered quickly enough, and joined his hands.
Adam didn't notice the glow until it was too late.
And then he was blown against the wall, the gigantic range of Light's attack digging furiously into his chest.
It didn't feel any better when it stopped.
"I'm not impressed." Light said simply.
Adam moaned as he slid to his knees, clenching his chest in pain. "Nngg…" He did not want to admit how hard he was biting back the tears. That had hurt.
Light raised an eyebrow at the fallen teen. "Well, this is odd. Most heroes I've seen have more balls than that."
"SHUT. UP." Adam hissed, throwing another energy orb.
It suffered the same fate as the previous ones.
"Now, really…"
And then Adam appeared from behind the blast, swinging a fist.
CRACK!
"ACK!" Light staggered back, holding his nose. The warmth of blood was felt, and that angered him. "DIE!"
Adam yelped and rolled out of the attack's range. "Tried it, didn't stick!" He said the last word at the same time as he slashed his hand.
Which now had claws.
"RRRNN!" Light growled, his costume had a tear across the chest and had barely prevented the sharp claws from digging into the flesh. He wasn't angry anymore. He was furious.
Hence why the ground beneath Adam started melting.
"…What?"
Unlike Gauntlet, he saw it coming.
And it didn't make a damn difference.
"…!" Adam cried, as the ground exploded beneath him, making way for a tower of light that pushed him upwards and encased him into the ceiling, making his life painful all the way.
When it stopped, his body came crashing down.
Light stared at it for a few seconds before it stirred.
Adam weakly forced himself into all fours, then began coughing blood. Light approached.
"…Stay… S-stay away… From me…" Adam hissed.
"…No, I don't think I'll be doing that, Metatron." Light said, and continued his stalk.
"STAY AWAY!" Adam roared, and fired so many blasts that when he finally stopped the assault it was because he felt light-headed from the energy spent into them.
And they all still stopped before reaching Light.
Adam paled.
But Light didn't absorb it. Instead, he joined them together, forming a massive one.
"This is yours, I believe." Light motioned.
And then the gigantic energy orb flew at Adam at high speed.
He managed to avoid it in time, but the blast still reached the wall. The gigantic explosion that resulted sent him flying, before falling on his face.
"…Ahhh…" He groaned, trying to get up.
He found Light standing in front of him.
"NO!" Adam roared, punching the man.
…He phased right through him.
"…Wha?" Adam asked. Another illusion.
Then he saw Light standing in front of him.
And behind him.
And to his sides.
There were a grand total of eight Lights surrounding him.
All charging.
"…What?" Adam repeated, still confused.
But he still felt the heat coming from them.
And he instantly panicked.
Run.
They all aimed.
RUN!
Adam complied at the same time the attacks were fired.
He wasn't quick enough.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Robin shifted in the dirt, looking up to the voice. The man in black stared back at him with worried, blank eyes. "D… Di…"
"Don't worry." He said with a relieved smile. "We are here to help."
"…We?"
Now the smile became a happy one as the man stretched out a hand to help Robin up.
"Yes. We. Titans forever, right?"
Robin stared at him before smirking. "Right."
He took the hand.
Metatron, as the kid had called himself, remained on the ground, whimpering in pain. It was like watching a dog lick his wounds.
It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the sight, but… He was still alive.
It bothered him, he didn't think any human nor many metahumans could take that sort of punishment and come out alive.
Had he known Adam's body had the ability to (painfully) absorb heat and transform it into energy, hence making him somewhat more resistant to it, he might have not been so confused.
"…Ah…" Adam groaned, spitting blood as he sat up.
Light grabbed him by the mane that was his hair. "Hmm… You are not a hero, seeing as you don't cling to your pride like all the others. So what are you doing in here, child?"
"…Let me… Let me go…" Adam begged.
"Answer."
"Let go of me!"
CRACK!
"Uff!" Adam groaned, falling on his back.
Light shook his hand a bit after the hit. "That was for my nose, child."
His eyes narrowed when he saw Adam was crawling away.
"At least have some decency, kid."
And then Adam swirled around on the spot, his hands cackling. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
And then all the heat he had been able to absorb by Light's attack roared out in a stream of golden fire.
It consumed Light.
And drained Adam.
He didn't care. He got up.
He ran.
He wanted to survive.
It took about five seconds after Adam left the room for Light to come out of the wreckage left from the attack, his body glowing from the energy it absorbed. He stared at his hands for a while.
"Hmm."
He liked what he saw. A quick glance to Speedy and Green Arrow told him they wouldn't wake up for a while yet.
But Adam was awake.
Light sort of like the feeling of the hunt.
So hunt he did.
"ARGH!" Adam screamed, making his way through a wall. He dislocated his shoulder from the unnecessary effort.
Strange thing was that he didn't notice.
Stay ALIVE.
"Where's the exit? Where's the exit? Where's the fucking exit?" He hissed, looking around. Many things have been lost in his drive to escape.
Such as his money.
And the fact that the place was still surrounded by cops.
KEEP GOING.
Where those footsteps?
No… No, just the wind.
WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME?
"I don't wanna die…" Adam muttered crazily. He had no idea why he felt the need to say that: He was, after all, alone.
However, it had become obvious he wasn't thinking clearly.
More proof came when he tripped over his feet.
"DAMNIT!" He yelled, forcing himself up and continued his escape.
Why do I feel this way? Why am I so scared?
He looked out through a ruined window. Cops. Eveywhere.
"FUCK!" He cursed and kept going.
Why am I panicking so easily? I've never felt this scared before!
YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD DIE BEFORE.
He paused, looking over his shoulder.
That noise… It had been the wind…
Right?
THE TITANS? SURE, THEY COULD TAKE YOU. BUT THEY WOULDN'T KILL YOU. THEY WERE HEROES.
"Shut up." Adam growled at himself. The words still rung in his head. "Shutupshutupshutupshutup!"
SLADE? YOU WERE TOO ANGERED TO CARE.
Adam blew the living hell out of a statue that scared him as he turned around a corner.
AND EVERYONE ELSE? YOU JUST DIDN'T THINK THEY COULD.
…Was that true?
Did that meant Adam was nothing more than a coward?
…Yes.
He didn't care what people thought of him or what this would imply about his life. He was a coward.
I don't want to die…
Nothing more to it.
Not again…
"Not again…"
THEN RUN, BOY.
He opened a door. And the light engulfed him as he did.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Adam screamed, flying across the room.
"Talking to yourself. Clear sign of insanity." Light commented. He shortened the distance between himself and the teen rather hastily.
"…No…" Adam whispered, getting up shakily.
"You are an odd one." Light said, staring at him seriously. Adam attempted a punch, but weakened as he was, Light simply sidestepped. "You have no desire to save anyone, and were just simply overwhelmed by your conscience for a moment. You seem very worthless in my eyes, boy. And probably would on the eyes of many."
Adam didn't even glared, he was frantically searching for a way to escape.
"But…" Light continued, studying Adam intently. "There is something valuable inside you, 'Metatron'. I can see it all around you, and I can weave it like a spider weaves his web."
He approached Adam slowly. The kid tried to back away, but his back pressed against a wall.
"W-what… What are you talking…?"
"Light." The man said, forcefully grabbing Adam's wrist. He tried to fight him off with his other hand, only to have it seized as well. "Your strange golden flames, Metatron. Let me see them."
Adam seemed confused before he noticed what was left of his energy quickly rushing to his hands.
Doctor Light smiled. "Give them to me."
And then the pain finally struck him.
It was ten times worse than the blasts.
Adam's eyes dilated as he screamed in horrible pain. He trashed, screamed, squirmed, ANYTHING to free himself. But his strength had quickly left him.
It was taking away his body heat. The source of his powers.
It was FREEZING HIM.
"! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT! STOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPP!" Adam begged, burning out his throat. It was the only part of him that remained warm.
And all the while, Light simply stared.
Eventually, he did stop. And Adam fell to the ground, shivering violently.
The kid kept shaking even as he hugged himself, fear on his eyes.
He felt like he was covered in ice. He knew his skin was horribly pale. He knew what cold did to him.
He was dying.
Doctor Light marveled on the golden orb floating above his hand. It had a reasonable amount of power alright, more than he thought he would get from the broken child at his feet.
That was another thing, the boy looked… Well, dead. Or close to it anyway. The light he had taken from him, it seemed it was kept him alive. Light stared at the shivering pale-blue boy who had since the draining gone into fetal position.
He would be dead in minutes.
Light shrugged and started to leave.
Before the wall exploded behind him.
"LIGHT!"
The madman blinked a couple of times and stared at the group glaring at him.
The Teen Titans. Cyborg, Savior and Scalpel notably absent.
The Titans East. Bumblebee, Speedy, Aqualad and Mas y Menos all ready and willing.
And finally, the founders: Nightwing, Tempest and Arsenal. The only ones missing were the Flash and Troia, one because of his Justice League duties, and the other one's reasons were obvious.
Still, they were an army.
"You wanted the Titans?" Nightwing barked.
"You got 'em." Robin growled.
Some of the people attempted to glare him down felt a small sting of fear when Doctor Light didn't back down.
He smirked instead. "Well?" The heroes seemed confused as the man turned to the one who started it all. "What are you waiting for, Nightwing? You know you are dying to say it."
Nightwing gritted his teeth furiously. But he found it fitting.
"TITANS!" He called. Everyone turned to him for orders, it felt natural for them. "TOGETHER!"
He charged.
And the wave of heroes followed close behind him.
It was a whole new battle now.
And all the while, Doctor Light simply smiled.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Anyone else thinks I'm being too cruel to the Titans? I do. In any case, I hope you liked it. See ya next chapter.
