Teen Titans

Previously: The Teen Titans, in their secret identities, attended a beach bonfire, unaware that Solomon Grundy was near. Grundy picked a fight with a teenage merman named Seren, and soon Impulse, Damage, Omni and Wonder Girl got involved, until Felix Faust arrived and captured three of the Titans.

Now Impulse must find Superboy and Robin to rescue their teammates, unaware that the merman is watching everything that happens...

SONOVA BEACH

"You have got to be kidding me," Bart Allen said as he looked down and saw his longtime friend, Tim Drake, wasted on alcohol. "I told you to cut loose, not get trashed to the point where you're about to have sex with a surfboard."

"It's alright, surfboards can't get pregnant," Tim laughed as Bart pulled him out and helped him to his feet.

"Cassie, Cam and Grant are in trouble," Bart said as he wrapped his arm around Tim's shoulder. "We have to get to them before-"

Bart saw Connor passed out on the sand with every girl on the beach having taken off her bikini tops. "Oh, man, we'll never get Connor out of here. Unless..."

Bart leaned Tim against the wall and zipped off, returning to cover every girl on the beach with long sleeved shirt. Connor immediately woke up.

"Party's over, let's go," Connor said as he saw the girls had put shirts on.

In a hidden cove, Felix Faust was looking at the three trapped Titans encased in solid sand prisons. He turned his attention to a cauldron and tossed more ingredients in.

"I was hoping to use this spell on the Justice League," Faust said as he added the fish scales. He pulled out a necklace with a rectangular ruby attached. "But I suppose I should test it out first, just to make sure it works. When I speak the incantation at midnight, I'll transfer the Titan's powers and abilities into this gem, granting me their powers."

In a small pool hidden within the cavern, Seren surfaced, watching Faust work on his spell.

Back at the beach, Andy and Terry were heading back to the bonfire.

"I got the pictures," Andy said as he held the camera in his hands. "Looks like you've got your cover story for the next edition."

"Yeah, let's enjoy the rest of the party," Terry said as Andy looked out over the water. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's- it's my friend," Andy told him. "He loved the beach. He would have had a blast here tonight."

"Want to talk about it?" Terry asked as Andy looked down at the camera.

"No, I think I'm just going to head home," Andy said with a sigh .He handed Terry the camera. "I'll see you Monday morning."

Andy walked away as Terry watched him, wondering what had happened to Andy's friend and Cody's brother.

"We need to sober Tim up," Connor said as he walked Tim along the beach with Bart. "Maybe we should get some coffee in him or get him a cold shower."

Bart sped off and returned with a water gun and started shooting Tim with a shower of cold coffee.

"Okay," Connor said as Tim laughed at Bart's efforts. "Let's try something else."

Connor smacked Tim as hard as he dared. "Sober up, damn you!"

"That looks like fun," Bart said as went to smack Tim as Connor grabbed his arm.

"We don't have time for this," Connor told him, not wanting Bart to know how much fun smacking Tim was. "Go find where Faust took the others while I try to get Tim sobered up."

"Right," Bart said as rushed off. Connor looked at Tim and sighed.

"I can't believe I'm the responsible one here," Connor told him. "What's the world coming to?"

Connor smacked Tim again just for the hell of it.

"You know I'm going to kick your ass after this, right?" Tim drunkenly asked.

Grant, Cameron and Cassie had been released from their sand prisons, but were now restrained by magical chains, holding them down so they couldn't escape.

"The three of your powers combined will make me more than a match for the Justice League," Faust told them. "They won't stand a chance against me, especially since I'll have the ability to use their own powers against them."

"Why couldn't you have a more useless power?" Grant asked as he looked at Cameron. "LIke spider-sense or something?"

"Don't worry, the others are still free, they'll come for us," Cassie told them. "Connor, Tim and Bart will come any minute."

They watched the cave entrance for a few minutes, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Any minute.... NOW!" Cam said, pausing briefly, expecting them to show up.

"At exactly midnight, I can cast the spell and steal your powers," Faust said to the teens as he looked at Grundy. "Guard the entrance. I don't want any distractions."

Seren watched from the small pool as Grundy stomped toward the entrance. He dived back under the water and swam back out toward the ocean through a small underground tunnel.

Bart returned to the beach with Tim and Connor's costumes.

"Couldn'tfindtheothersbutIgotyourcostumes," Bart said as she zipped around Connor and Tim to get their costumes on, then realized he'd gotten them mixed up.

"BART!" Connor shouted as he stood there in Robin's costume, while Tim was wearing Connor's trademark black 'S' t-shirt and jeans.

"Sorry," Bart replied, but before he could change their costumes, a starfish hit him in the back of the head. "What the-"

He turned his attention to the water, where Seren was watching them.

"I know where your friends are," Seren told them. "You must hurry."

"Who are you?" Connor asked as he looked at the merman.

"My name is Seren, and Felix Faust has violated my home," Seren replied angrily. "I can lead you to your friends, then I want Faust for what he did to my brothers."

Connor picked Tim up and slung him over his shoulder as Bart opened his Flash ring and let his Impulse costume jump onto his body. Connor flew off over the water as Impulse ran over it.

Meanwhile, Terry was enjoying a beer at the beach party when he saw Robin flying over the water with Superboy over his shoulder. Terry looked at his beer, then looked back at the Boy Wonder.

"Either I've had too much to drink, or I haven't had nearly enough," Terry said to himself.

Cody saw Impulse running across the water and sighed. "So much for a nice night out."

Cody finished his beer and tossed the can into the garbage can before starting his walk home.

Seren led Superboy, Robin and Impulse to the cavern, where Solomon Grundy was standing guard.

"Bart, do you mind?" Connor asked as he looked over at Impulse, who just sighed as he quickly switched Superboy and Robin's costumes, putting them on the right person. Superboy cracked his knuckles as he saw Grundy. "Much better."

"Solomon Grundy crush Super baby!" Grundy shouted as he rushed toward Superboy.

"BABY?" Superboy asked.

"Uh oh," Impulse said as he saw the fire in Superboy's eyes. He grabbed Robin and rushed inside the cave while Grundy and Superboy were distracted.

Grant continued to struggle with his chains as he looked over at Cam.

"You can mimic powers," Grant told him. "Can't you tap into one of the powers I haven't used yet and break these chains?"

"I don't know," Cam told him as he closed his eyes. He pulled as hard as he could on the chains, and managed to phase through them until he was freed. "Wow."

"I'll say," Grant said as Cam broke him and Cassie out of their chains. "What other powers don't I have access to?"

Cam was about to tell him when Grundy and Superboy crashed through the wall. Superboy kept punching Grundy, knocking him further back.

"You like that, BI-YOTCH!" Superboy shouted as he kept punching Grundy. "Who's the baby now!?"

Grundy caught Superboy's face is his giant hand and slammed the Teen of Steel into the wall, and continued to pound him into it as if he were pounding a nail.

"Alright, guys, Superoboy's keeping Tall, Dark & Dead busy," Impulse said as he arrived with the still drunken Robin. "Let's get the hell out of-"

A bright flash of light appeared as Felix Faust blocked their escape.

"None of you are leaving this cave alive," Faust told them.

"If I were wearing what you're wearing, I wouldn't want to leave alive either," Tim laughed.

"It's six-," Damage started to say as he saw Grundy pounding the hell out of Superboy. Five-," Damage started to say as he saw Tim slump against the wall. "Four-"

"Hey, a shiny nickel!" Cam shouted as Grant sighed.

"-Three against one. I think we can handle you."

Faust held up an amulet as the clock struck midnight, and he started to chant in Latin. The Titans started feeling weak as their collective energy started to flow into the amulet. Just as the last of their power was about to be drained, Seren jumped out of the pool and struck Faust in the back with his trident, causing him to drop the amulet, shattering it on the ground.

"NO!" Faust shouted as the Titans regained their powers. They were about to surround Faust when they saw Superboy's unconscious body fly past them.

"Grundy stomp children!" the zombie shouted as he stomped toward them. The four Titans rushed toward him as Tim just looked at the unconscious Superboy.

"So," Robin said with a laugh. "This is way better than a bonfire. Too bad there's nothing to drink, though."

Seren was trying to crawl back toward the pool, but Faust grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air.

"You have ruined my plans, boy," Faust told him bitterly.

"I'm not a boy, I'm a merman," Seren told him as he struggled to breathe.

"Prepare to suffer the worst fate you can possibly imagine," Faust laughed as he started chanting in Latin as Seren's body began to feel intense pain, causing him to lose consciousness. Faust just dropped his body back into the pool before turning his attention to the Titans that were fighting Grundy.

"This guy's not taking any of our punches," Wonder Girl said as she worked his chest, while Impulse and Omni worked his legs.

"Grundy, come!" Faust shouted. Grundy grabbed Grant by the leg and swung him into the others, knocking them off and to the ground. He swung Grant once again to hit Impulse, accidentally causing Grant's blue jean shorts to tear off, sending him crashing head first into the wall.

Grundy stomped off as he disappeared with Faust in a burst of light, teleporting them both back to Faust's secret lair far away.

"This isn't over," Faust said angrily. "I will have my revenge on the Teen Titans."

"Grundy knows what Grundy want now," the zombie said as he looked at Grant's shorts, finally discovering what all undead giant zombies long for.

"What is that, my undead friend?" Faust asked.

"Solomon Grundy want pants!"

Everyone returned to the bonfire, with Grant wearing a towel around his waist. Bart immediately looked for Cody and couldn't find him anywhere.

"Cody went home," Terry told Bart as he passed by. "Can't blame him, you've been gone for two hours."

"It was an emergency," Bart replied in self-defense. "Some friends needed me."

"Dude, you're in a relationship now," Terry said with a laugh. "What could have been more important than spending the evening with your man?"

"Bart, I'm heading home, I'm worn out from that pounding I took," Connor said as he put an arm around Bart's shoulder, his face flushed and red from the beating he took from Grundy. "Great party, we should do this again sometime."

"Ah, I see," Terry told him before coldly adding. "Cody deserves a hell of a lot better than you."

Terry threw his drink in Bart's face and stormed off, angered that was one of his best friends was dating a cheater.

"What was that all about?" Connor asked as he looked at Bart.

"Nothing," Bart replied as he realized he had a lot of explaining to do.

"He is going to wake up with one hell of a hangover," Cassie said as she carried Tim toward the car. "How much did he have to drink?"

"Half a beer," Cameron replied as he shook the can Tim was drinking from earlier. "Some people can't hold their alcohol."

"Wait a minute," Grant replied as he looked at Tim's beer can. "There's powder on the edge this beer can. Unless Tim was having a doughnut with his beer-"

"Someone here was out to have a good time at the expense of someone else's good time," Cassie told them. "I'm going to scout around the beach to make sure there's no foul play. Get Tim home."

Cassie flew off as Grant put Tim in the back of his jeep.

"So, do you think we'll see that merman again?" Cameron asked as he got into the passenger seat.

"I don't doubt it," Grant replied as he got behind the wheel. "I just wish we knew if he was alright. It looked like Faust had done something to do him, but what?"

The next morning

Seren opened his eyes and realized the sunlight was hitting his body, but he wasn't feeling dehydrated like he normally was when he was out of the water for so long. He wondered how long he'd been out in the open.

Seren groaned as he sat up and realized immediately that something was wrong as he looked down at the lower half of his body, which was no longer emerald green and scaly, but instead pink and smooth. Instead of a tailfin, he had two long legs, leading to two human feet with five digits apiece. And just below his waist was something else that he knew shouldn't be there.

The young man just sat there in stunned silence for a few seconds before a loud scream was heard for miles.

To Be Continued...

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