One Piece Fan Fiction / Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Cruise ❯ The Final Stage - One Step Ahead in Time ( Chapter 24 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece, Teen Titans, or any characters or elements contained within. I believe these can be credited to the geniuses Eiichiro Oda [author and artist of OP], Marv Wolfman and George Perez [respective author and artist of The New Teen Titans comic of the eighties], and Glen Murakami and his talented crew [the staff of the Teen Titans animated series, the Titans version which this story is based off.] Thanks for developing these wonderful characters I have the pleasure of using in this story!

 

Any original characters, however, belong to Pivitor. Remember it!

 

 

The Ultimate Cruise:

One Piece meets Teen Titans

 

Chapter 24: The Final Stage—One Step Ahead in Time

 

Mother stood with a smug look pasted across her rejuvenated face, her shapely hips providing a perfect place for her hands to rest. Those present still looked on in amazement at the Iso-jin founder's new appearance.

 

The old woman was no longer old. A flash of crimson energy had seemingly transformed her into a younger, more beautiful Mother. She was relishing the shocked expressions of her opponents, confident that it was only the beginning of the surprises.

 

Cyborg's mouth was wide open, his eyes twitching a bit. “She's…hot!” Suddenly he squirmed as if trying to rid himself of the thoughts. “That's just not riiiiiiiiight!”

 

Starfire's glowing eyes revealed a very different reaction. “You are that evil woman that made my friends fight us!” As memories of her battle with Tank and Swifty passed through her mind the Starbolts on her hands grew even larger, green sparks sizzling from them. “You shall pay for your treachery!”

 

The alien girl's arm sped forward in a blur, unleashing a small volley of deadly green energy blasts. However, Mother countered in one decisive motion; the Starbolts collided with a wall of white, and the explosions from the opposing forces ripped through the room.

 

A white flame burnt in the palm of the Iso-jin's hand; her curved fingers resembled a hawk's talons as the embers whipped about them. Starfire's next round of bolts fizzled out in her hand as she gasped in shock. Cyborg, meanwhile, was already scanning through his databanks, trying to match the frequency of her energy.

 

“What was that?” The mechanical man asked as his search came up blank. Chuckling, Mother clenched her fist; the flame extinguished, leaving only a faint halo surrounding her hand.

 

“It goes by many names,” the Iso-jin began as she pulled at a lock of her hair, “but I believe you'll be most familiar with the Chinese term: chi.

 

“Every action we take, from the faintest of breaths to the highest of leaps requires energy. This energy is our chi. We don't even realize this force behind all of our actions, but those of us who are more perceptive, diligent, powerful, we've learned to manipulate our chi.”

 

Mother moved her stance sideways, lashing her arm before her. “We can focus it to an arm to enhance our punches, channel it through our legs to supercharge our jumps, even…”

 

Suddenly those same white flames erupted down the length of her arm.

 

“The most talented of us can even expel our chi from our body, focusing it into a beam.” A wry grin crossed across Mother's lips. “I'd wager it's more powerful than even your blasts, girl.”

 

With a chiming sound Starbolts leapt to life on the Tamaranian's hands. “I do not believe any wager coming from you. You are lying, as you always do!”

 

“And even if you aren't, you're still overlooking one major flaw.” Cyborg grinned as he continued. “If every action we take consumes chi, then I'd assume that the more you use up the more tired you get. You can't fight long at all, can you?”

 

Mother lowered her head, still not losing her grin. “Very true. And focusing chi into a physical entity consumes even more. Quite a good observation, Cyborg.”

 

“Then this won't last long at all.” The Titan aimed his Sonic Cannon forward, the whir of his sound waves filling the cavern as it charged. “So I'll just get it out of the way now: Booyah.”

 

“Such a confident boy.” Mother next stretched both arms to the side, never raising her eyes. “Too bad it has no basis. You should know the best fighters know their weakness and find a way to cover it!

 

“Long ago I ate a Devil's Fruit called Yoken Yoken. With it I can see the future, as far ahead as I like. I already know everything that is going to happen. I've been capable of manipulating all of you, because I've seen everything that you'll do! I guarantee you, everything that happens in this fight happens because I want it to!

 

“Yoken Yoken: Thirty Seconds…”

 

Suddenly she crossed her arms and snapped her palms back, finally raising her head.

 

“…PARALLEL RUN!”

 

Both Titans braced themselves, but over their crossed arms they noticed that nothing had happened. The Iso-jin was unaffected.

 

A laugh exploded from Cyborg's lips. “What? Did your brain stay old and senile while your body got younger?”

 

The woman didn't flinch. “Laugh while you can, Cyborg.” Mother could see that her mechanical opponent wasn't worried at all; however, at the same time she could already see him shocked at her abilities. “In thirty seconds there will be nothing even remotely funny! The fight starts now!”

 

Dust exploded from behind the Iso-jin's heels as she shot forward. However, her charge only lasted a moment as she was intercepted by a flurry of Starbolts. The Tamaranian swept down low, launching her luminescent projectiles at nearly point-blank range.

 

Never losing the smug smile planted bluntly across her face Mother swerved like a drunk driver, only her erratic movements were actually brilliantly planned and executed. The green blasts all missed her, zooming past her with only millimeters between them.

 

Starfire screamed in frustration, unleashing a powerful Starbeam from her eyes. Mother clapped her hands, intercepting the Titan's attack with a wall of chi. As she retracted her energy she wasn't surprised to see the alien girl's leg arcing through the air, a kick aimed for her neck.

 

The ground cracked beneath the two femme fatals; however, Mother's neck didn't follow suit. Starfire's leg was held firmly in the elder woman's hand, immobilized. The Titan gasped, struggling to free her leg.

 

“Surprised? After all, you have the most strength of any Titan, yet here I am holding you back like you're a baby.” White sparks flew from the woman's arm. “Just a benefit of being able to focus my chi, I'm afraid. Told you this would be your downfall.”

 

Suddenly the Iso-jin flipped, ironically plowing her foot into Starfire's neck and downing the warrior. As she landed she held the sparking arm to the Tamaranian's face. Star didn't even have a chance to react as she was swallowed up by a billowing explosion of chi.

 

Not even moving her gaze from the wreckage Mother back flipped; a blue and white beam of sound waves ripped through the spot where she had stood. Cyborg charged from behind, but as his opponent landed she simply pivoted on her heel, catching the mechanical Titan's punch in her palm.

 

“I wanted a high five,” she quipped, “not a pound.” The Iso-jin twirled into a punch, and despite Cyborg's best attempt to block it, she somehow completely bypassed his guard and plowed her fist into his chest.

 

The half-robot reeled backwards, stunned at the formerly old woman's strength. She had dented his chest-plate! However, this only intensified his desire to pound the pretty out of her—after all, it didn't belong there in the first place! Boosters on the soles of his feet flared, propelling him back into Mother's personal space.

 

Using the force from his boosters Cyborg span into several stupendous punches, but they were to no avail. Mother easily weaved beside several before somersaulting above the final punch. She chuckled as she hit the ground with one sparking leg—the force of her supercharged leg pushing against the floor sent her soaring towards the ceiling.

 

The floor exploded where Mother's chi-backed leg had torn into it, buffeting Cyborg in dirt and debris. With her opponent distracted, the soaring Iso-jin had no problem going on the offensive; with pinpoint accuracy she lashed her arms, and several small shots of energy leapt from her palms and tore into the ground below.

 

Meanwhile, Starfire finally managed to pull herself to her feet. Steam poured from the young fighter, who was still winded from the massive explosion of chi she had endured. As her blurred vision finally began to focus she watched her opponent land gracefully, and again start pulling at a strand of her black curls.

 

“What sort of trickery are you using?” Starfire demanded. “There is no way you can dodge all of our attacks like this!”

 

Suddenly a boulder was tossed aside as Cyborg emerged from the damage the Iso-jin had created. “Not only that, but you knew exactly where I was going to block and managed to get around it!”

 

The hair fell from Mother's fingers as she instead pulled on the crimson crystal suspended around her neck. “This stone grants me direct access to the Great Power stored within the Stone of Iso Toa. With that power I was able to restore my body to its youth, when my energy was nearly boundless!

 

“With this renewed stamina comes increased chi! Now my greatest weapon is available to me in abundance!

 

“However, as Cyborg mentioned, using my chi in this manner also puts me at risk of completely running out of energy! Therefore, I use my Yoken Yoken ability to get around my weaknesses! Using my Devil's Fruit powers I gazed thirty seconds into the future, then set a parallel run! I am seeing both the present and thirty seconds forward at the same time, allowing me to avoid getting hit and land my attacks with the utmost efficiency!

 

“This is the three part fighting style that allows me to win any battle—the fighting style I developed for my love! There's no way you can defeat me now!”

 

 

 

Nami again peeked her head from behind the rock she was using as a shield, and again cringed as another white flash immobilized one of her friends.

 

`Damn you Nami!' she yelled in her mind. `Your friends are getting pulverized and you can't do a thing to help them! You told yourself you would do something to help today, and there's no better time than now!'

 

The pirate's fist clenched. `After all, I may be not be a fighter, but that doesn't mean I'm useless!'

 

Nami's skill as a navigator came naturally, and thus her abilities in mapmaking and weather predicting, but her adeptness as a thief was self-taught. She learned to steal by necessity, forced by tragedy, but in time it came to be something she truly enjoyed; and when the Straw Hat Pirates weren't on a ship, it became her greatest asset.

 

The girl became a barely visible streak of orange and white as she dashed into the cavern and behind another rock. There she paused for a few seconds, bouncing lightly on her toes as she waited for her friends' movements to again distract Mother. Sure enough, a blast of chi soon lit up the cave and again Nami was off.

 

With the intensity of the fight between the Iso-jin and the Titans there was no chance of Nami being noticed; in a matter of minutes the shapely pirate was only feet away from the pedestal holding the Stone of Iso Toa. She paused for a second, stunned by the beauty of the red light shining from the gem.

 

`Come on Nami!' The navigator slapped herself, snapping the trance the jewel had put on her. Then she simply stared at her hand, stunned. `No wonder Luffy and the others are so scared of me! That hurt!' Of course, she didn't let the thought linger, and as the red handprint on her cheek faded she inched closer to the relic that had caused all this trouble.

 

`But then again, if this stone hadn't caused all these problems we never would have met the Titans,' she thought with a sigh. Her tiny hand moved until finally the Stone of Iso Toa was within the thief's grasp. `I don't want us to split up.'

 

“Somebody thinks they're better than they are.”

 

The navigator gasped loudly, leaping backwards in shock. Her grip on the stone lost she landed on her butt, staring up into the one glinting eye of evil incarnate.

 

“S…s…s…”

 

Slade walked past the Iso Toa's pedestal with a slow, menacing pace. “A master thief is nothing against a criminal mastermind!”

 

Even as she hopped to her feet Nami's eyes were wide in fright, so large they seemed disproportionate to her face. In an instant the middle segment of her staff was spiraling through the air—with the other two parts already in her hands—and she snapped the three together, sliding her grip down the weapon until she was holding it like a baseball bat.

 

Still, no matter what offense she put up it couldn't hide the fear in her eyes.

 

“Amusing.” Slade's hand passed his belt, pulling his staff from its pouch. As it extended to its full length he tapped it in his palm, the slow monotonous sound eerily resembling a metronome. “Humor me some more.”

 

Gritting her teeth so hard that sparks almost flew—leaving her to hope Chopper knew dentist skills as well—Nami span like a helicopter blade. With a small movement of his wrist Slade twirled his staff in the path of his opponent's, perfectly parrying the assault.

 

Despite the fact that Slade barely moved, the force of his block still sent the navigator reeling backwards. Cocking his head to the side the madman simply sighed, “Disappointing.” Suddenly he tossed his staff into the air, and caught it between two fingers, like a cigarette.

 

“This should even the odds.”

 

Nami growled as she regained her footing, a strand of disheveled orange hair falling across her face. “Man, you're such a bastard!”

 

Then she was off. With a scream she appeared above the fiend, but her vertical attack just bounced off his defense. Despite Slade's staff being held in only the slightest of grips, his monstrous battle prowess didn't drop at all.

 

“You think you're so tough, but I'm just a weak little girl!”

 

Dust exploded from behind the pirate's feet; pushing forward as soon as she landed, Nami now targeted Slade's legs. Again staffs met, but they squared off only for an instant before she was pushed to the side. Bouncing slightly on her heels the thief suddenly thrusted her weapon forward, its edge aimed for her opponent's crotch.

 

“All men are the same! There's always one way for a woman to take you down!”

 

However, Nami could only utter a startled cry as her staff was caught in Slade's palm.

 

“This isn't even funny anymore.” Slade moved his arm forward, the force of it literally blowing his opponent away. Before the girl could recover the villain exploded into a prodigious dash. He swung his weapon three times; each swipe was faster than the eye could see, leaving Nami to witness what looked like her staff shattering completely on its own. The three portions of her collapsible pole spiraled out of her line of vision.

 

Slade returned his staff to his belt, leaving Nami's knees to grow weak as her shapely legs slumped outwards. With a whimper she collapsed to her knees, folding her hands before her face as if offering a prayer.

 

“Please don't hurt me! I'm just a weak, defenseless little girl! I don't even have a weapon!”

 

The eyebrow of the Titan's archenemy just arched as his one eye stared at the girl disdainfully. “Exploiting your sex appeal to confuse your opponent or win his sympathy. I can see how your fighting style would be effective against some, but it's useless against me!”

 

Nami's head snapped up, tears flooding her cheeks like her eyes were Niagara Falls. “Please! Don't you have any mercy?! At all?!”

 

Slade wasn't a man to be swayed by the words of others, but he had to admit she had her uses. “There's no reason to kill you yet. You'll be more useful to me alive.”

 

Suddenly Nami's sorrowful expression snapped into a grin as her fingers curled eagerly into a fist. “Sucker!” In a streak her fist flew forward, landing between Slade's legs with a truly sickening crunch.

 

However, the target of every man's nightmare didn't even flinch. “You were right. You are weak.”

 

With a grip like a vice Slade took hold of her arm, pulling Nami to her feet and pulling her arms behind her back so that she was facing away from him.

 

Despite her situation, Nami couldn't give up. Her hands were amazingly close to Slade's belt. There was still a chance she could help somehow!

 

Her eyes shot even wider as Slade's fingers dug into her arm, leaving marks that would likely last for weeks. “Now, I have to prepare my bait.”

 

 

 

The two Teen Titans stared with jaws agape at the explanation of their opponent's fighting style.

 

“The fighting style you developed for your love?” Cyborg echoed, stupefied. “Please tell me you weren't old at the time.”

 

Meanwhile, Starfire's memory brought to her attention her own adventures in visiting the future. “Again with the lies! I know the future can be changed. Every time we make the decisions we change our future! You cannot predict the path we will take!”

 

This elicited a laugh from the aged Iso-jin. “My dear, sweet, naïve child. You know nothing of the future, of the world around you! We may think we control our own destiny, but the decisions we make and even those perceived futures we see are all fated to happen!

 

“Everything that will happen can be predicted through my Yoken Yoken! There's nothing I've ever seen that hasn't come to be, even in my decades of life! This unyielding line of fate is what's allowed me to manipulate you all to this point we find ourselves at today!”

 

Cyborg waved his arms in front of him, exclamation points leaping to life in his bionic eye. “Wait wait wait wait wait. If everything we do has been fated, why do you need to manipulate us? You're not making any sense.”

 

Raising an eyebrow, Mother countered, “It's perfectly logical. Maybe your metal brain just can't comprehend it. I was fated to know of the future so that I could bring it into being! I am the catalyst the fates chose to restore the Great Power!”

 

The mechanical Titan rolled his eyes. “Ugh. You're as deluded as Warp.”

 

Starfire's eyes again lit up as she processed the information; she quickly appeared at Mother's side leaving a trail of green behind her.

 

“On my planet we do not believe in this `fate.'” The Tamaranian began. “We believe in `dremkas': We follow our first instinct, knowing that it is what we truly desire. This does not allow us the luxury of blaming the `fate' for our mistakes; the only blame lies on our actions!”

 

Mother tilted her head, allowing her raven colored locks to fall across her face as she laughed at her opponent's philosophy.

 

This, of course, only served to enrage Starfire. “Was it this fate that caused you to make our friends attack us? To lie to us?!” Balls of shimmering green energy leapt to life in the palms of her hands. “This is no reason be doing these evil things! I no longer want to hear your nonsense!

 

“You are a chlorebag and you will be defeated here!”

 

With a scream of rage and Tamaranian insults Starfire unleashed a line of Starbolts; seemingly never off guard, Mother weaved past them and leapt above a beam from her opponent's eyes. Chi sparked around her feet, allowing her to momentarily slide down the projectile.

 

Having used the Titan's own attack to draw herself close, the Iso-jin gathered energy about her fists; Starfire followed suit, using her natural weapons instead as brass knuckles. Sparks flew as they exchanged blows, the force behind their attacks keeping Mother airborne, but just as the elder woman moved to take advantage of an opening she was hit point-blank by another eye-blast.

 

However, this time the attack was rendered useless by a body-hugging shield of energy Mother had erected around her tiny figure. She seemed almost weightless—floating like an astronaut—as the Starbeam pushed her across the room. With a snicker the formerly-old lady flipped upside-down, unleashing a small burst of chi from her feet that easily propelled her to the floor.

 

“Still firing your silly beam?” Mother asked the shocked Tamaranian. “I knew it. Looks like you'll never be able to escape my next attack!” Holding both arms into the air, the chi surrounding her body exploded like a cannon and hit Starfire like the nuke did Hiroshima.

 

Not even taking her sights off the other girl, Mother's aura flared to the side and deflected a blast from the other Titan's Sonic Cannon.

 

“You can't really believe this fate nonsense, can you?” Cyborg asked as he hurled punches. With her usual panache and style the Iso-jin founder whirled between them, not letting allowing a grazing blow.

 

“What do you think?” Mother panted as she sidestepped out of the way of a straight. “Isn't it obvious?”

 

Grunting, Cyborg span into a low sweep that—of course—his opponent easily leapt above. “Okay, let's say you do, and you really can see all. How does this battle turn out in the end?”

 

Pulling herself out of the mechanical man's range of attack, the Iso-jin again laughed. “The end? In the end…you're all dead, of course!”

 

“Wrong answer!” Cyborg exclaimed as a hatch in each shoulder popped open, revealing a twin set of flood lights. Beams of light capable of illuminating an entire ocean flashed from each; they only shone for a moment before the bulbs burnt out, but that was more then enough for the Titan's desires.

 

“I see. Blinding me. That would normally be quite unexpected, if I do say so myself.” Unfortunately, as Cyborg finally saw his opponent again it was only he who was surprised. Mother held her hands over her closed eyes, completely shielding herself from the flare. “If you don't believe me yet then you're more thick-headed than I thought.”

 

The stunned disbelief of the Teen Titan was just what Mother needed, and a duel blast tore into the metal man. However, his right forearm blew past the wreckage, propelled on its own by rockets. Mother twirled into the air and finally gripped the hand in her own—with her chi-supercharged grip, however, she was easily crushing Cyborg's limb into scrap metal.

 

With panic evident the end of his fingers folded back, boosters flaring to push the flying arm out of her reach. Only a second later, however, Cyborg's other hand latched onto Mother's arm; only this one was still attached to its owner by a long steel cable.

 

The wire retracted with a whir, pulling the Iso-jin closer to her opponent. Meanwhile, Cyborg's shoulders popped open, revealing a full arsenal of missiles. Of course, Mother was ready for it. She grabbed the cable and pulled herself forward while kicking off the floor, and almost instantaneously she was above him.

 

“Let's see how thick that head of yours truly is!” The woman's forehead started to shine as chi collected in it, and with an almost literally skull shattering thud she head butted the half-robot. A mixture of blood and oil exploded from Cyborg's throat as he reeled backwards into the cavern's wall—which collapsed around him.

 

Mother stood alone, proudly unharmed, staring at the chaos around her. “C'mon, who's going to get back up first?” Suddenly she laughed. “Wait, how stupid. I already know the answer, of course!”

 

 

 

The flight of Luffy and Robin had not yet ended, so of course the Boy Wonder was still screaming.

 

They still soared up the massive shaft, the rubberman's arms flailing behind him and drool falling from his mouth from the force of their flight. Still wrapped between the pirate's legs, Robin finally managed to force one of his eyes open—only to be greeted by the sight of the ceiling barreling dangerously close to them!

 

Suddenly he was flailing like a fish until, gaining his composure, he noticed that the wall on one side had opened into a doorway. Grabbing the rubber legs of his companion Robin pushed out of his grip and through the hole. The Titan tumbled as he hit the floor, and upon regaining his footing turned to see what happened to Luffy.

 

He could see rocks falling down the tunnel, but Luffy wasn't with them. “Luffy?” Knowing he wouldn't receive a response almost as soon as he asked Robin peered into the shaft, and upon looking up noticed the pirate hanging from the ceiling, his head firmly stuck in the rock.

 

“Brilliant,” Robin sighed as he grabbed the rubberman's legs. He pulled with all his might until finally, with an odd pop, Luffy was freed. The rest of his rubber body retracted, sending both boys soaring backwards.

 

For the second time in mere minutes Robin pulled himself to his feet while Luffy, still on his butt, simply fiddled with his hat until it was to his liking.

 

It was during that one moment of relative peace that several explosions rocked the cavern. Both heroes leapt backwards to avoid the falling boulders, and as they saw through the barrage the sight of Starfire and a stunning young woman exchanging blasts greeted them.

 

Robin's eyes shot open as one of those white beams tore into his teammate. “Starfire!” he cried as he rushed forward, but his charge was cut off by several explosive disks whirling to the ground in front of him. A few more exploded besides Luffy, completely boxing them in.

 

“Robin,” Slade cooed as he landed before the two. “It's about time you arrived. I was growing bored.”

 

The Boy Wonder's demeanor changed completely as he laid eyes on his arch-enemy. “Slade,” he growled as his pupil-less eyes arched into angry slits, “this ends now.”

 

The masked man sighed. “What? No puns? I sent you an invitation; I thought you might say something about `crashing my party.' You're too serious for your own good Robin.”

 

Teeth clenching, Robin moved forward, but was interrupted as Luffy rose to his feet. “I remember you!” the pirate exclaimed. He smiled as he cracked his knuckles. “I still have to kick your ass.”

 

“As yes, the rubberman. There's no way I could ever forget you either.” Slade's fingers passed a button on his belt, and lights flashed to life in an alcove far above them. “Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. With such great prospects ahead of me, I can easily forgive your earlier impediments to my plans. I can't afford another fight that I can't win.”

 

Waving his arm towards the alcove, both Luffy and Robin were shocked to see Nami, bound and tied to a strange device. Two poles rose from the ground, a gear attached to each; Nami's arms were bound to the top gear, which was turning right, while her legs were tied to the left-turning bottom gear. The girl started screaming, but her panicked cries were only masked by the gag in her mouth.

 

“You bastard!” Luffy roared as he charged forward.

 

“Now now rubberman, mind that temper.” Slade lashed his other arm to the side, an ominous button emerging on a switch from his glove. “If you lay a hand on me I'll detonate that device. Right now you have the chance to save her from being ripped in half, but you'll never be able to put her back together after she's blown to bits.”

 

Luffy moved to say something, but was pushed aside by his friend. “Go save her, Luffy,” Robin said solemnly. “I can take care of this guy.”

 

The Straw-Hat Pirate was off in the lash of a rubber arm, leaving the Teen Titan and the criminal mastermind in a fierce stare down.

 

“Now Robin,” Slade began in his eerily calm voice, “since when have you ever been able to `take care' of me?”

 

“Since you gave me time to prepare,” the Titan said as both hands lashed past his belt, sending half a dozen silver balls bouncing across the floor. They detonated, and the smoke contained within consumed the two fighters.

 

Slade was only left to ponder his opponent's position for a few seconds before several explosive disks soared towards him. He readied his staff and, using his super-human abilities, swatted each projectile from the sky. The force of the menace's swings blew away Robin's smokescreen, revealing the boy hurtling towards his opponent from the air, staff raised far above his head.

 

With a tremendous scream Robin attacked, but his assault was simply blocked. Staffs squared off for a second, but as he pushed himself backwards and away from the stalemate he dropped a blue disk. There wasn't a chance for even Slade to intercept it, and as it landed it covered the floor with a coat of shimmering ice.

 

The ground beneath him was frozen, leaving Slade with no way to safely make a move. Snapping his staff in half he jammed its splintered edge into the ice—hoping to vault his way out—but by then two Redbird projectiles had already whizzed past his head and into the wall.

 

Those Redbirds were connected to powerful grappling launchers via zip lines, and as the launchers retracted their ropes they pulled Robin airborne. Two steel-toed boots tore into the face of the immobilized terror with a tremendous crack. The leader of the Titans landed with a smug smile on his face and turned to see his opponent's response.

 

Slade turned to show Robin his face; a giant crack ran diagonally across his entire mask, nearly severing it. However, unlike the last time Robin had damaged his mask, Slade seemed unaffected.

 

“So, you put your preparation time to good use,” Slade said, almost sounding like he was smiling. “However, so did I.”

 

Suddenly Slade was in the air, and Robin had no time to do anything but block. Somersaulting, the fiend's outstretched leg tore through the boy's crossed arms and sent him stumbling backwards; his opponent was already rushing into more attacks, tagging Robin's shoulder and side with two punches.

 

Robin winced in pain, unusually hurt for somebody so used to Slade's techniques. More punches soared towards him but this time the Boy Wonder was able to go on the offensive, swiping several aside and ducking below a spinning kick. As he leapt out of his squat he unleashed a kick of his own, but Slade turned aside and instead grabbed the boy's leg.

 

Even though he was still stumbling after being tossed aside like garbage, Robin had the opportunity to throw a few punches. Slade's hands were a blur as he knocked them aside, until he finally caught one in his palm. Using this to his advantage Robin charged forward, and with a scream worthy of a martial artist of his caliber hurled a hook into the gut of his enemy.

 

Blood shot from the slits in Slade's broken mask, but the damage certainly wasn't enough to stop him. His fist too found itself in its opponent's gut, twisting as it pushed upward, sending the young hero flying and leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

 

He slammed into the far wall before tumbling to the floor, landing on his knees. Some of his spiky hair drooped over his face as he looked towards his taciturn opponent nearing.

 

“You've never been this strong before!” Robin growled as he struggled to get to his feet.

 

“Of course not.” Slade agreed. “This crystal around my neck is providing me a link to this so-called `Great Power' stored within the Stone of Iso Toa. It's amplifying my power.” He stopped to laugh at the situation. “You've never beaten me before—now that I'm even stronger it's impossible!”

 

Of course, Robin was not one to be stopped with mere words. “Nothing's impossible. I will defeat you—once and for all! You will go to jail, and we will win!”

 

“Foolish boy, I will never see the inside of a jail cell.” He pulled at the crystal around his neck. “And even if you defeat me, you still cannot `win.' This stone works both ways; it's also been collecting the energy we've put forth in every blow of this battle and using it to release that Great Power!”

 

Robin's jaw dropped as the realization hit him. “So, Boy Wonder, this really is a lose lose situation. Fight and help us, don't and die.”

 

“Or,” Robin began with a sparkle in his eye, “Beat you and make sure nobody gets to use whatever's trapped in that stone.”

 

Suddenly the Titan shot forward, and his opponent responded in kind, their vicious attacks almost looking like a dance as they traded blows one after another, each knowing what hung on the line—while that thought invigorated one and only drove the other further and further.

 

 

 

A shot from the Sonic Cannon exploded through the top of the rubble like lava shooting from a volcano. Cyborg crawled from the hole he had created, sparks flying from scratches and dents in his metallic body. As he wiped the mixture of blood and oil from his chin he looked for the witch that had done this to him, finding her again exchanging attacks with Starfire.

 

The Tamaranian warrior weaved through several glowing beams of chi, hovering to a stop only to lop off a line of Starbolts. Grinning as she thrusted her arms to the side, energy erupted from Mother's body and surrounded her in a shimmering ball. The Starbolts connected, pushing her backwards but bringing no harm to the Iso-jin, as they only depleted her field of chi.

 

“Your attacks are worthless!” Mother exclaimed as a beam lashed forward, zagging like lightning through the field of green projectiles.

 

“Eeeeeep!” Starfire gasped as the chi loomed only inches away from her face. In a flash the Starbolts on her hands expanded until they surrounded her just as Mother's shield did. The aforementioned Iso-jin's attack only served to push the Titan to the ground, where her shield of Tamaranian power incinerated the ground beneath her.

 

Mother landed nimbly, her field remaining around her as well; she knew she still needed it. With a scream her opponent thrusted her arms forward and a Starbeam bigger than the Titan herself exploded from the ball of energy and roared towards the Iso-jin like a bullet train.

 

Just smirking, the old woman pointed her hands forward in the shape of a `v'; a beam similar to Starfire's erupted from the shield of chi, only the front of the blast was pointed into a blade. It tore through the Starbeam, diverting the translucent power as easily as if it was water, and collided with the Teen Titan.

 

Starfire soared backwards, her flight only coming to a stop as she plowed into the wall beside Cyborg. “Starfire!” he exclaimed as he dashed to his teammate's side, catching the girl in his mechanical arms. “Are you okay?”

“I am…fine,” she sighed as she recovered. “But I do not know how we will win this fight! She does not name her attacks like the other ones do, so we cannot tell what she will do, but she knows everything we plan!”

 

Suddenly an exclamation point lit-up in the half-robot's mechanical eye. “But even if she knows what we'll do, it doesn't mean she can stop it! Star, I've got a plan!”

 

The beautiful woman sauntered casually towards her opponents, knowing full-well what they were doing. A ball of chi sparked in her palm, but she was in no hurry to launch it; after all, everything was working according to plan so far.

 

Finally as she saw Starfire nod she made her move. “Enough!” The beam of chi zoomed between the two Titans, sending rock flying. “I know as well as you do that you don't want to play around anymore! Quit licking your wounds and fight!”

 

Cyborg nodded, and Starfire exploded forward in reply. “I shall!” she screamed, sending a Starbolt zooming into the Iso-jin leader. Deflecting it to the side Mother leapt into the air and unleashed a barrage of energy—the alien girl neutralized most of it with blasts of her own.

 

With his opponent distracted Cyborg dashed to a corner, and the back of one of his legs opened with a hiss. The mechanical man pulled a small device from the inside of his limb and set it on the ground; it began to glow blue. After placing an identical device from his other leg parallel to the first, he moved to a third corner and put another machine from his stomach there.

 

Somersaulting as she landed Mother—finally feeling fatigue from the chi she was consuming—retracted her fields and instead focused energy to her arms. With amazingly accurate swipes she deflected Starbolts with her forearms.

 

Standing in the fourth corner, Cyborg's shoulders popped open, missiles preparing to launch in each. A similar hatch in his chest held one poised missile. “And now to see if my upgrade works,” he smiled as he pointed his arms forward; both limbs unfolded into powerful Sonic Cannons.

 

As Mother knocked aside a bolt Starfire appeared behind it; her leg met the woman's forearm, and the recoil sent both reeling. Mother's heels dug into the ground but her opponent kicked against it, propelling herself above the Iso-jin.

 

“Give up!” Starfire commanded as energy leapt to life in her hands and eyes; it surrounded her body until she shone like a star in the cavern's sky. “There is no way for you to win now, and you know it!”

 

“After all,” Cyborg smiled, “Myself and my backup generators have you surrounded on the ground, while Starfire has any exit through the air blocked. If you really knew this was coming you should be kicking yourself—”

 

“For not being able to prevent it?” Mother intervened. “I suppose so. This does seem a hopeless situation.” Strangely enough—sickening enough—the smile never left her face. “But my Yoken Yoken allows me to accept the strands of fate that led me to this choice—so do as you must! I have no regrets!”

 

The eyebrows of both Titans arched—though they were in a superior position, they were the ones frustrated. Cyborg screamed as his entire arsenal fired, a blizzard of missiles and two streaming shots of sound waves along with three sparking beams of energy from the backup generators Cyborg had placed around the battlefield.

 

Meanwhile, green streaks exploded downwards from the hovering Tamaranian, filling the air like a fireworks show. Starfire strained as all her power was focused into the continued fire of her Starbolts.

 

Mother was the calmest of the three, her expression resigned as she swung her arms aside, every last remaining bit of chi in her body exploding around her. However, the missiles pounding into the sides quickly took chunks from her shield—and while Cyborg's beams slowly drove back her defenses, the Starbolts monotonously battered atop her like hail.

 

`This fight already took much of my energy,' the Iso-jin thought, `and with the intensity of these attacks it's not going to last long enough to save me from taking the brunt of it! Still, my sight is never wrong. My place in history will be glorified—my plan is going to succeed!'

 

Finally the last shreds of energy contained within Mother vanished, and the remaining force of the Titans' power hit the Iso-jin head-on. However, even as her delicate body took damage for the first time her smile only grew bigger. She could feel the same power searing her flesh radiating from the jewel around her neck.

 

`As I told Slade: only I can defeat these children properly! Their narrow-minded focus only on this battle blinds them to my true objective! They've performed exactly as I knew they would!'

 

Suddenly the force of the powerful attacks exploded around the Iso-jin, sending both Titans reeling backwards. Starfire landed with a thud next to one of Cyborg's generators, and as she returned it to him he was already refitting the others.

 

“It looks as if we have had the victory,” Starfire said sadly, looking over her shoulder, “But I feel bad having to kill—even somebody as evil as her.”

 

“She forced our hand Star.” Cyborg solemnly stated. However, their melancholy state was broken as a coughing figure emerged from the smoke of the wreckage, barely even managing to limp.

 

Mother emerged, bruised and bloody. Between the severe loss of energy and the horrible beating she had endured she had nearly reverted fully to her older form, and only a shred of beauty still remained within the Iso-jin.

 

“She is…alive?” the Tamaranian said, not only stunned, but also partially relieved and disgusted.

 

“Good,” Cyborg snapped. “Now she can rot in jail.”

 

“Nonsense Cyborg,” Mother said in a raspy, feeble voice. “We're not going anywhere—not yet. You won this battle, but what I predicted to you will still come true. In the end, you will all die.”

 

Cyborg almost laughed. “Come again, lady? You're almost dead. I don't think you're in the state to threaten us.”

 

“Not with my own power, no,” she began. “But defeating you—this battle—were never truly important. You made a mistake when you said it no longer mattered why I manipulated you all—if you had thought about it more perhaps you could have had another fate.

 

“You see, all of your friends and yourselves were brought here to fight for your lives. By defeating my followers and myself, you have only contributed all the energy you used to defeat us to the Great Power resting within the Stone of Iso Toa!”

 

Starfire gasped. “It cannot be true! No more with your lies!”

 

“It's no lie, girl,” Mother cooed evilly, her tone both demanding and menacing despite her condition. “In fact your final blow against me was just what the doctor ordered. Finally, the Great Power has enough power to emerge once again!”

 

Holding her crystal into the air it shone radiantly, but then all trace of life in it disappeared. However, the Stone of Iso Toa suddenly floated into the air, a blinding crimson light emerging from it and filling the entire cavern. Slade's lair began to shake until finally the Stone exploded, the fragments of crystal enveloped by the pure energy washing through the cave like a tidal wave.

 

The crimson energy rushed past Mother, who was relishing it. She soaked up the power, her body again regaining its vigor and youth as if she had never fought.

 

“That's it my love!” she cried as tears trickled down her cheek. “Finally the Great Power has returned! Rejoice, for a new life awaits you all!”

 

Next time: The Great Power—Fruition of the Manipulation