Teen Titans

Apart they're just sidekicks and illigitimate children; Together they're the TEEN TITANS! Proteges of the Justice League, whippersnappers to the JSA, and all around annoyances to the Outsiders!

Previously, Inertia, Impulse's evil cloned cousin, enacted a plan to destroy the Titan's speedster by capturing and killing Bart's friends and allies in front of him. Hiring several of the Titan's long time villains, including Deathstroke the Terminator, Inertia successfully captured most of the team. When questioned about how he aquired Deathstroke's assistance, Inertia revealed his trump card: The trapped soul of Deathstroke's son, Jericho!

Carol Bucklen was sitting with her fiance, Micheal Hunt, at a fancy restaurant where they went to dine almost weekly. Both were in their freshman year of college and deeply in love. It was Mike who healed Carol's broken heart after her breakup with her last boyfriend, Bart Allen.

"I wonder what's taking the waiter so long with our order," Mike said as he took a drink of his water. "When he comes back, let's ask him how much longer--"

"I think he's coming now," Carol replied as the waiter flew into the middle of the table, collapsing it under his weight. Carol screamed and Mike took her hand as the monstrous Mammoth stomped toward the couple, with Gizmo and Jinx hurrying behind him.

"That's her," Mammoth said as Mike stood in front of his girl. The young man took off his jacket and balled up his fists as he got ready to fight, the adrenaline rush hitting him hard. He knew he wouldn't walk away from this, but maybe he could buy Carol time to run.

"You're going to have to go through--" was all Mike could say before Mammoth simply swiped at him and, in a matter of seconds, Mike was thrown out the window into the shrubbery outside. Carol screamed as the trio went for her...

The UCLA Campus

Risk opened his eyes when the bucket of cold liquid hitting him in the face. He sat up, his hair soaked through as he spit out the liquid onto the grass.

"Why'd you dump cold water on me!?" Risk shouted as he saw a younger teenager standing next to him with a bucket in hand

"Yes... water," Offspring said innocently before tossing the bucket away. "You were passed out and I can't find any of the Titans."

"I was with Robin when something hit me," Risk said as he rubbed his neck where the dart had hit him. "Are we the only two left?"

"I guess," Offspring replied as he as he plastered a smile on his face. "We're the Teen Titans now!"

"Wrong, short shit," Risk said as he picked the younger boy up so he could stare him in the face. "I'M the Teen Titans and you're headed home while I find my team."

"Yeah, but…" Offspring started to say as Risk stretched him out like a rubber band and shot him into the air.

Robin struggled with the chains holding him as Inertia stood in front of the Boy Wonder holding a container that held the soul of Jericho, Deathstroke the Terminator's long thought dead son. Robin looked around the darkened room, trying to develop an escape plan. The only light came from a single fixture above him and there was a security camera on the far wall, keeping an eye on him. No doubt Inertia could be from the control room to him in less than a few seconds if he tried anything.

"How?" was all Robin could ask as he stared into the container. How could Inertia have the soul of Jericho trapped so easily?

"It wasn't easy," Inertia said as he put the container out of Robin's view. "I had to be very careful in doing this so as to not mess up the time stream. You see, I knew that at one point I might need... outside help. Sure, it's easy to hire lugnuts like Mammoth and Dr. Light, but for someone with an actual brain like Deathstroke? I needed something shiny to really catch his eye..."

Inertia came closer toward Robin and faced his enemy. "You see, the trip to this century was a one way ticket, so before I left, I used some 30th century technology to nab Joey Wilson's soul just as he'd been gutted by his dear old dad, much in the same way my grandmother Iris's parents retrieved her soul when my idol, Proffessor Zoom, had killed her*. I knew that if anyone in this time could do the job of taking Bart Allen down with no hassles whatsoever, Deathstroke could do it. I just needed something to hold over him in case he turned me down."

(*Strange, but true, kids! - TC)

"You know he's going to kill you for this, right?" Robin asked as he hung from his chains. "You're holding his kid hostage, and you think you're going to get off Scot free?"

"Oh, but I am," Inertia replied as he leaned on Robin with one elbow. "Because if he tries anything, I'm going to send Jericho to a place where his soul will never be retrieved."

Bart Allen grew up in a virtual reality environment in the 30th Century. He was taught to read, write and other things in the span of a few months. He was taught everything but two basic human qualities: Patience and intolerance.

The patience thing was definitely a minus, as Bart had taken the 'Look before you leap' angle to new dimensions. But not being taught mistrust, hatred and bigotry for those who were different, was something that helped shaped him into the hero he would eventually become and, ultimately, lead Bart to the current love of his life, Cody Wyatt, his boyfriend and Scrabble partner.

The fact that Bart Allen had learned that he was bi-sexual shortly after the breakup of Young Justice was the one thing that his cousin Inertia had completely missed when searching for ways to destroy the speedster known as Impulse.

As Bart floated in the tube of incapacitating liquid that he was trapped in, not realizing that Inertia had trapped his friends in the Teen Titans as well, the one thought that kept racing through his mind was that he got back to Cody.

"No, let me go!" a woman's voice eventually caught his attention as a college aged girl with black hair and glasses was forced into the room by Jinx, Mammoth and Gizmo and thrown in front of the cylinder. Carol looked up into the tube, seeing her ex-boyfriend helplessly floating in front of her.

"Bart?"

UCLA
The apartment of Grant Emerson and Cameron Weinberg

The window crept open as the pair of dark green boots with light green leggings climbed in. The intruder stared around the apartment in disgust. It was obvious two men lived here because of the horrific mess: piles of clothes all over, the dishes in the sink, the Star Trek DVD sets on the coffee table, etc.

The intruder made their way to the open window just three feet away from the one that the intruder had just spent twenty minutes jimmying open. They picked up the potted plant on the windowsill and smiled before exiting with their prize...

Inertia's secret lair

"It's all fallen into place," Inertia said as he looked at the traps he'd designed for the Titans:

Superboy was being kept unconscious in a tank like Bart's, only filled with kryptonite laced liquid to keep him weak.

Wonder Girl and Damage were trapped in large domes, where the gravity had been turned off, rendering their superstrength worthless as they floated around helplessly.

Omni was stuck in a locked broom closet, where without anyone to draw power from he was just a regular powerless human.

"When do we get to kill the Titans?" Mammoth asked anxiously.

"Soon," Inertia promised as he looked at them. "I just need to...run a few errands first. Keep an eye on Bart's little girlfriend. Jinx, come with me, we need to pick some supplies for when I go after the Flash. The rest of you...behave."

Inertia and Jinx left as Mammoth and Gizmo grinned evilly at each other.

Deathstroke walked into Robin's cell and smirked under his mask. The great Robin, all chained up and helpless. He'd fought the two previous Robin's and enjoyed the challenge of facing both of them. Now here was the next one. Given enough time, he could truly give the great Deathstroke the greatest fight of his career. At any rate, he definitely deserved better than dying at the hands of that punk Inertia.

Under no other circumstance would Deathstroke associate with such a lowlife, but he was doing this for Joey. He could care less whom destroyed whom in this game, he just wanted his son to get the peace he deserved so greatly.

"Hello, Robin," Deathstroke said as he approached. "It's such a shame it must end this way. I really wanted to face you in a better setting to really test your skills."

"We can get your son back," Robin told him as he continued looking down. "You just have to trust us."

"I trust no one, boy," Deathstroke coldly replied as he got closer. "Not even Inertia. I know he'll double-cross me at some point. I am prepared for his treachery. I will have my son's soul returned."

"And then what?" Robin wondered as he looked up.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out," Deathstroke said as their eyes locked in a cold stare that both masked men could feel.

"How can you do this?" Robin asked as he continued their death stare. "This group of Titans has no grudge against you."

"This is true," Deathstroke replied as he punched Robin as hard as he could, his fist plowing into Robin's jaw and mouth, the blow rendering him unconscious. Deathstroke eyed the security camera, having done what he needed to not arouse suspicion as he walked out of the cell.

Twenty years ago, Arthur Light held his first job, managing a karaoke bar. Night after night the young man was forced to listen to the most horrible singers humanity had to offer, each one mangling classic songs in new and horrific ways. What really irked Arthur was when someone messed with his favorite group, Hall & Oates, which brings us to this particular moment.

For the last hour, Dr. Light had to put up with Omni singing to himself in the broom closet to keep himself occupied, mangling each and every song that came out of his mouth. Then came the breaking point...

"You're out of touch, I'm out of time, But I'm out giving head when you're not around-"

You could hear Light's sanity snapping as he pounded on the door. "SHUTUP! SHUT! UP!"

A momentarily silence came as Light sighed as he leaned against the door, just before Omni started humming the theme to Bonanza.

"Da da da dad da da da BONANZA!"

Light couldn't take anymore as he yanked open the door, ready to hurt the Titan who was annoying him so, when a quick punch knocked Light out cold.

"Any longer and I was going to have to get into the Hannah Montana catalogue," Omni said as he cracked his knuckles.

Carol's ankle was chained to the floor as she put her hand on the cylinder that Bart Allen was floating in. He was wearing just the bottom half of his Impulse costume, with heart monitors and wires attached to his arms and chest to keep him sedated, as well as a breathing mask over his face.

"Oh, Bart," Carol said tearfully as she looked up at him. "What have they done to you?"

"That's nothing compared to what's going to happen," Gizmo said with an evil grin as he walked in with Mammoth.

"What do you want with us?" Carol asked, fear filling her voice.

"The speedster? Nothing," Mammoth said as he approached her. "That's Inertia's prize. You, however..."

"We're not going to kill you," Gizmo giggled as he got closer. "But we're going to have a little... fun."

"No!" Carol shouted, trying to fend them off as the door slammed open.

Deathstroke was standing there, his visible eye shrunk to a slit as he looked upon the scene. Killing masked men for money, taking out superpowered people who had at least a slight hint of self defense was one thing, but to attack an innocent girl whose crime was nothing more than loving a masked freak...

"Leave her alone," the assassin said, his voice calm. "She is not to be harmed, let alone touched by you savages."

Gizmo laughed as he approached Deathstroke and faced him down. He poked his finger hard into the man's armored suit.

"And what are you going to do abou-"

KA-RACK!

Gizmo was cut off as a sickening crunch, like that of a celery stalk being snapped, came from the man's body. Mammoth stared in shock as Gizmo's lifeless body fell to the ground, his head having been turned completely around.

"Does anyone else wish to go against me on this misguided attempt of idiocy?" Deathstroke asked, his voice still calm and collected.

"That was my little buddy!" Mammoth shouted as he charged forward. Deathstroke just stood there, waiting for just the right moment...

Robin woke up, Deathstroke's hit having knocked him out for a good twenty minutes. His jaw was swollen and bruised, but there was something else wrong. There was something in his mouth leaving a bad, metallic taste. He slid a key out from between lips that hadn't been there when he was knocked out...

Mammoth's body was halfway through the wall, his legs kicking, having been beaten within an inch of his life, while Deathstroke hadn't even broken a sweat. Carol was huddled next to Bart's cylinder as Deathstroke approached.

"I will not harm you," the man assured her as he stood over Carol, "but I can't say the same for Inertia."

"Why are you doing this?" Carol asked, her voice shaking.

"You remind me of my own daughter," Deathstroke replied as he stood there.

"What in the hell is going on in here?" Inertia asked as he walked in, seeing Gizmo dead and Mammoth stuck in the wall. "I leave for an hour and you kill my lackeys?"

"I killed one lackey," Deathstroke corrected him, "and my job ended once I brought you Robin. I will take my payment now."

"What, you mean this?" Inertia asked as he held the container with Jericho's soul. "I don't know, Slade, I kind of like your company. I might just keep you on the payroll for a while longer. There are other heroes I'm going to need to take down before I off my cousin."

"Fool," Deathstroke angrily said as he pulled out his gun and fired as Inertia zipped around him. The bounty hunter simply smirked under his mask; it wasn't about shooting your target, it was--

BLAM!

Inertia fell to the ground in pain, his kneecap blasted clean off.

--shooting at where your target was going to be.

Deathstroke kept his gun aimed as he approached the villainous speedster. As he got closer, Inertia's cries turned to laughter. As he got close enough, Inertia's body started flickering, revealing it was just a hologram.

The man's single eye widened in shock as a tap came on his shoulder. Several hundred punches landed on him, knocking Deathstroke backward onto the control panel, turning off the sedatives being fed into Bart.

"You're the fool," Inertia said as he held the container with Jericho's soul. He quickly pushed a bunch of buttons at superspeed on his computer, opening a small vortex. "See this? It's a time portal. Not big enough for a real human, but just big enough for small objects. Weapons…messages...human souls."

Robin had retrieved his gear and was heading to find the others, seeing that Omni was releasing Superboy from his prison.

"Omni, you got free before I did?" Robin asked in shock, his voice filled with a little disappointment.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" Omni said, smiling, with Superboy's arm around his shoulder. He looked at Robin, pleased to have been the first to free himself.

"N- no," Robin nervously told him as Omni just stared at him. Finally, a tiny bead of sweat formed on Robin's brow, noticeable only to someone with supervision…or the ability to copy supervision. "Well... maybe a little."

Three seconds of deadly silence filled the air between the two Titans before Omni broke the void.

"HA!" Omni shouted as he pointed at Robin. "You admitted it!"

"Let's just free the others," Robin muttered as he headed toward the traps holding Wonder Girl and Damage.

"If you do this, make no mistake...I WILL kill you," Deathstroke promised as he moved for his gun, which was quickly knocked out of his hand, as Inertia zipped back to the portal.

"Maybe you're right," Inertia realized with a sigh. "Maybe I should just give you your pay and let you go. I still have plenty of other people to torment."

Deathstroke got up as Inertia grinned evilly. "But then again, I always hated Jericho's mutton chops. Maybe, with luck, the poor bastard's soul will end up in the 70's."

Before Deathstroke could react, Inertia tossed the canister into the vortex. It closed before he could get to it as Inertia zipped around him, landing several punches.

"You're getting old, Slade," Inertia laughed as a larger portal back to the outside world opened behind Deathstroke. "See you around, old man."

The speedster pushed Deathstroke through as the portal closed, not realizing that Bart's eyes were slowly opening.

"Now for you, my dear," Inertia said as he got closer to Carol, taking her hand, as the cylinder started cracking from Bart's vibrations. "I have so many plans to torture you and Bart that I don't know where to begin. Seeing his girlfriend slowly die will be his worst nightmare."

"I'm not his girlfriend," Carol corrected him. "Bart's g-"

Just then, a loud shatter was heard as Bart stood in the broken cylinder, dripping wet as he leaned on the wall for support.

"It's over, Inertia," Bart said as he raised his head, lightning bolts of anger flowing from his eyes. "This time, we end this for good."

To Be Continued...

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