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The Q4D! Saga...
Winds of Fate: Teen Titans- The
X Factor
Chapter 1- Crossroads of Chaos
A maniacal chuckle erupted from the creature before them as he pulverized Cyborg, senting the mechanical young man flying into a parked car. The impact was rough, and the car was crushed with a loud crunching sound.
The laugh was high, quick, and frightening- but the Titans were anything but cowardly.
It's owner was a thin and lanky fellow. He had very skinny arms and legs, and a tall head. Long, thin locks of pale green hair dangled down over his face, each one reaching almost to his feet. They flew around crazily as he moved. His eyes were wide and insane, and his grin was equally so- though it was much dirtier looking than his eyes. He had a long, pointy nose, like a cone. His outfit was one made almost entirely of treebark, oddly enough.
He let out another psychotic giggle as Raven blasted a shadowy fire hydrant at him, which she had ripped from the sidewalk with her powers.
The villain simply lashed out one of his arms, which amazingly stretched out like a whip, and lashed the hydrant back at her with stunning force and accuracy. Raven was caught off guard at close range, and she, too, was knocked backward.
The other Titans were working on hacking away this creeps small army of freaks. Each one looked like a little tree- like him- but they weren't as tall, and much weaker than he. In numbers, however, they were becoming a nuisance.
"What's UP with these things?!" Beastboy cried as he transformed into a green and black panda, scarfing them down like snacks.
"I have not the slightest clue," Starfire admitted in a shout as she fried about five of them with a nicely aimed beam of energy. She shot it from her palms, and it exploded upon contact with the black pavement.
Robin was a little distant from them, and handling himself just fine. He'd kick one, punch another, lash out his boomerang at the next...They were small fry. But they were getting ANNOYING.
Just as his fist bashed into one's head, crushing it into a mushy gree pulp, Robin looked up when he heard a shrill cry.
It was the boss of these creatures, and he looked satisfied as a few of his odd, vine-like locks of hair joined together to form a thick rope, which wrapped around Robin, clutching his tight.
He couldn't break free, though he struggled. His body was lifted into the air, and he grunted in annoyance, helpless.
An innocent face stared in shock when it realized what had just happened, and a gasp erupted from its mouth.
"Robin!" a sweet voice cried in fright. "Do not worry, Robin, I am coming!"
As she sped through the air, her hands out sharply, her shining red hair flapped like mad. As she closed in on the target, green orbs of light and heat formed in her fists, and she prepared to let them fly. However, she didn't notice the pointy object that came whizzing straight at her until it was too late. A sharp dart of sorts struck her in the neck, and she cried out in pain as some strange substance seeped into her body. Whatever it was, it made her fall asleep in a matter of seconds. Her body was speeding through the air at a high velocity, but was snatched by one of the villain's vines like a frog's tongue on a fly.
Another squeaky snicker poured out from the oddball's mouth as he danced with glee, two of the five in his possession.
Robin continued to fight, but he could feel his body numbing, as well.
"DUDE!" Beastboy cried, nimbly leaping over some of the sproutling freaks and dashing at the creature.
"You're gonna be sorry, man!" he declared boldly, as he hunched over and tranformed into an emerald-colored bear, running as he did so.
"I ain't out for the count just yet!" came the booming voice of Cyborg as he, too, came rushing in, his arm extended in its cannon form.
As the two came dashing in, the lanky man had to think fast.
He came up with his strategy as large, neon blue beams of plasma came soaring at his face, directly from Cyborg's arm.
The clever woodland guy stuck out his odd nose, letting it absorb the impact in full.
"YEA, baby!" Cyborg cheered- but too soon. He skidded to a halt as he noticed the stranger's cone-shaped nose was glowing blue, and he looked unharmed.
"Aw, sh**," he mumbled to himself in dismay, as his own attacks were used against him, the power of all of his shots ramming into his body at once in a turrent of blue.
He twitched like crazy, his system scrambled, and collapsed to the pavement.
The half-man, half-tree whirled around to see this green bear lunging for him, but was prepared. As he had reflected Cyborg's attacks with his nose, his arms and dug into his huge mess of 'hair' and pulled out two large beehives.
The beehives were launched liek bombs at Beastboy, who snarled in surprise as they exploded with insects. At first he continued, as if they ahdn't hit, but he quickly realized these weren't ordinary bees. The green and white striped bugs injected his body with the ame toxin that had struck Starfire and Robin, and he soon warped back to his neautral self, rolling into the ground harshly.
In utter joy, the madman scooped these two new trophies up, very pleased with himself, and let loose one of his insane laughs. But a slightly scratchy tone interrupted his fun.
"...A word of advice...Stop giggling like a child...And cut your hair while you're at it..."
It was Raven, who came gliding toward the beast, ready to avenge her fallen comrades, who were all knocked out cold.
The tree-man snorted in defiance and prepared to lash out his vines. But as they whipped through the sky, they smacked harslhy against the black barrier that raven had formed around her body.
"Nice try," she muttered, raising her palms.
She blasted the group of vines back with a little effort, and swerved around the creature, ready to strike.
But this criminal was not ready to give up just yet. He still had some more tricks.
His nose- that odd and bulbous monstrsity- began to pulse a purple color, and he focused his sights on following this pale-skinned girl as she came in for the kill.
But when Raven was about to dish out her power, a purple missile punctured her forcefield, shattering it like glass. Her foe's flying nose exploded in a cloud of purple dust, and Raven fought to stay in control of her body. But her eyes were blinded, they stung...She felt herself give in to this strange poison...
And the last of the Titans fell to the clutches of this psychopath.
He screamed in delight at the task he had accomplished. For months he'd developed his tactics, ready to annialate the Teen Titans. It had paid off.
"MREHEHEEEEEHEEEEEE!!" he wailed joyfully. "The pathetic Titans have fallen to the hands of the WHOMPING WILLOW!!"
As a barrage of frightening laughed flew into the air, the man danced around, waving the teens in the air within the grip of his long hair.
"Dammit, do I hate it when they talk in third person like that," someone muttered to himself as he stormed onto the scene.
It was the strange waiter from the 'Pie in the Sky' pizza parlor, garbed in his unique outfit.
He landed on the pavement nimbly, absorbing the fall with ease. As he rose up in an erect position, he straightened his red cap, which looked maroon in the early night's dim light.
He stood tall, his fists clenched, about twenty feet away from the Whomping Willow. His eyes were slightly glazed, and righteous justice emitted from him. Some of his fluffy brown hair poked out of the back of his hat, and it rustled in the air gentley.
The 'gifted' tree glared at him in utter surprise and confusion.
"What is this?!" he shrieked. "Who are YOU?" The bark-covered man crouched slightly in a defensive position.
The teen before him put up his fists before his face, stared him down cooly, and responded with a calm grin about him.
"My name's Mario...And I'm your worst nightmare, pal..."
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Pain. It burned through his whole body as it woke up groggily. The pain was unbearable, coarsing all around him. He let out a moan and tried to open his eyes. But when he did, light began to flood in, which caused even more irritation. He squinted them shut again in agony, and growled slightly.
His ears were functioning fine, though, and he could make out voices coming from around him. The first one to meet his eardrums was very sweet, gentle, and sounded a little timid.
"They'll be fine...I'll do what I can..."
Another one responded from a little farther away. This one was kind of cocky, almost. It had spunk and attitude to it, but also a firm sense of justice and freedom.
"Don't worry too much. You look too tense. Just relax, and do what ya do..."
She hummed shyly back, "Mm hm..."
Suddenly, Robin felt a warm breeze blow by him, and he felt his pain begin to melt away. It was gradual, but he could definitely feel it. He was dying to open his eyes, but he did so slower this time. They adjusted to the light well, and he could make out figures standing around him, though it took a while to see the details, as everything was still blurry.
As it turned out, Robin was laying on a carpeted floor in a warm and oddly familiar room. His good pals were sprawled all along the floor of the room, slowly gaining conciousness. Robin was finally able to sit up, but not too fast. Pain was still clear and present, but not so much so, and the memories of what had just happened flashed through his brain like lightning. As quickly as these thoughts flew into his brain, his body was up on its feet, and he was scanning his environs frantically.
In amazement, he soon realized exactly where he was...The living room of Titan Tower. Cyborg was hunched over the round coffee table. Starfire was lying on the red couch. Raven was in the recliner off to the side, and Robin could only see her chin, as her head was propped back. Beastboy was on the ground beside Robin, and the leader of the Titans was now standing in shock, staring at the big screen before him. He was breathing heavily, and realized he was still pretty worn out from his previous fight.
"Whoa, there, buddy," came the male voice Robin had heard. He felt two firm hands latch onto his shoulders, which made him twirl around in fright with a cry.
The figure before him was a teenage boy, about his height. Robin didn't focus on details at the moment- all he knew was that a stranger was in his house.
"Geez, cool yer jets, bro," the kid eased him, sticking his palms out like a sheild. "You still look kinda banged up. Might wanna sit down a bit, huh?"
"Who are you?!" Robin spat out suddenly, backing away a little bit in alarm.
The stranger sighed with a smile, shaking his head slowly.
"Dude, just chill, OK?"
Robin paused, calming slightly. Something about this kid let him know that they were on the same side. It was his face, his sharp expression. The jade eyes that radiated attitude.
The leader sucked in a deep breath, noticing that everyone else was still out of it, and returned his gaze to this odd teen. He didn't look familiar...
Beside his eyes and his arrogant smirk, Robin also noticed he had some small, blach hairs coming out of the bottom of his chin. Poking over his forehead were a few spikey bangs of various sizes. And running down the back of his head was a smooth set of spiney hair that pointed downward, mostly. All of that hair was blue.
He wore a light jacket that was white with puffy blue cuffs. Small yellow lightning bolts ran up his sleeves. In the middle of his chest was a nifty design- a buzzsaw like shape that was a deep blue. A zipper ran down the middle of it. There was no shirt underneath the jacket- not that Robin could notice.
He had sky blue windpantswith white stripes down the sides. On the front of each leg, running lengthwise, the words 'Gotta Jet' were printed in white, block-ish writing. Traces of white socks poked up out of his sneakers, which looked very snazzy.
They were red, with white lines intricately running down them. The heels had glowing greenish circles on their outside.
Robin's breathing was still deep, and he still looked slightly unsure.
The teen rolled his eyes, his arms folded across his chest.
"Listen, buddy, I just helped save your @$$ from that gay tree, and ya don't trust me?"
Robin blinked in confusion. RIGHT! That's what happened! They were getting their butts kicked by that freak...
"Wait," he mumbled, puzzled. "YOU beat that guy up?"
The figure shrugged and nodded. "Well, yea, I helped."
Robin blinked a few times, staring at him in awe.
"You mean, after he beat us up, you came in and finished him off...?" Robin felt strange saying that. Since when were there other other heroes in town?
The blue-haired boy nodded slowly, his eyes wide, as if he thought Robin was a moron.
"Yea, pretty much..."
Robin sighed deeply, abosorbing it in. He glanced at all of his comrades, feeling their were all OK. He crossed his arms and paused in thought.
"So..." he began slowly. "Uh...Who are you? Why did you save us...?"
The kid nodded, flashing a cocky grin. He put his fists on his hips and announced his answer boldy.
"I'm Sonic. And I don't need a reason to help people, do I?"
Robin shrugged, feeling that this guy had strong beliefs in justice.
"I guess...W-Wait...So..." He shook his head, sorting all of his thoughts.
"You beat up the villain, and brought us all back here, all single-handedly...?" There was suspicion in his tone.
Sonic chuckled at him and tossed his right arm.
"Psh! I wish! Nah. I've got groupies, ya know!"
Robin froze and quickly searched the room, but they were the only ones there.
"Groupies...? Where are they?"
This Sonic character tapped his fuzzy chin a little and glanced around the room. Sounding a little unsure, he replied.
"Ehhh...Well, I'll bet they're all lookin' for somethin' to eat." A laugh came out. "Yea, especially Mario..."
Robin cocked his head, curious.
"Mario...?"
Sonic turned his head back to Robin and muttered, "Oh, yea. He's our leader and everything..."
Robin grinned in realization.
"So you're telling me you're part of a team of crime-fighters, too?!" he asked eagerly.
Sonic shrugged, and as he answered, he slicked back his hair with his left hand, which was encased in a black biker's glove.
"Guess you could say that..." The spikey-headed kid seemed a tad confused as he pondered the thought. Robin's averted to other matters.
"Allright, so...Everybody's gonna be OK, then?" he checked hastily.
"Oh, sure. Everybody's good. Just need a lil' sleep, ya know?" His green eyes narrowed at Robin's white spaces for eyes. "Speakin' of which, you look like you're really missin' out...You need to take a chill pill and nap, dude."
Robin shook his head, frowning.
"I'm good, don't worry. Listen, you need to show me where these other guys are..."
Sonic let his arms drop and tilted his head a little.
"Sure, man, whatever." A devilish smile crawled across him. "Hope you can keep up."
Robin stared at him strangely. "What are you talking about? I LIVE here."
By the time he'd finished his sentence, the kid had whizzed out of the room in a blue blur, yet leaving everything in tact as well.
Robin blinked in amazement for a few seconds before another thought came to his attention.
"Wait a minute...This is OUR HOUSE!! Who invited you in here?!"
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The cool air slowly wafted by the teenager's face, which had traces of bristles under the nose. He sniffed the crisp air, his cautious eyes glancing around alertly. A soft hand creeped up to his face and scratched his chin roughly, then disappeared.
A figure was staring at him from behind, unbeknowest to the boy. She was a little younger than him, and was smiling warily.
"Hey," she said calmly.
"Whoa!" the kid jumped, banging his head into the white door of the refridgerator. He yelped quietly, and rubbed his hand through his messy, light brown hair. He spun around slowly to see one of his friends, and he smiled smugly.
"What?" he asked, smiling, as he slowly stood up and closed the door, still tending his 'injury'.
The dark-skinned girl was grinning at him dully.
"Mario..." she mumbled. "This isn't our home...Are you sure it's right to be snooping around their food?" Her eyes were sad and a dark, deep blue.
Mario chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his bare hand.
"Well, uh...I mean, ya know, if it weren't for us, they'd be screwed. Besides, we've already made ourselves at home, right?"
The girl shook her head slowly and sighed, crossing her thin arms over her chest as she leaned her back against the island that rested in the middle of the kitchen.
"Mario, we did the right thing, but...We shouldn't be poking around their things, ya know...? Besides, I don't feel like I'm at home..." Her depressed blue jewels wandered around the room nervously.
Mario glanced at her from head to toe for a few seconds before he answered calmly, "You've already got your shoes off..."
The brown-skinned young woman tossed her head back in frustration and growled, "Mario, I NEVER wear shoes!"
Mario shrugged lightly, smiling in a bit of embarrassment as he stared at her cute, bare feet.
"Meh, whatever," he mumbled casting the thought aside. His face took on a solemn tone suddenly as his eyes soared around thoughtfully.
"Hey...Tenochtitlan," he mumbled shyly.
She let one smooth arm drop, while the other clung to it gracefully. "Mm...?"
"Do you think...that everything's gonna work out...?" He sounded a little unerved.
As he returned his gaze to hers, he saw the worry in her icey, white eyes.
She let her head bob a little, unsure. She had to think a moment before she could respond.
"Um...Wh-what do you mean...?" she inquired quietly, her gaze gradually returning.
Mario sifted his hand through his puffy maple hair a little, trying to relax his brain as he mumbled, "Well, ya know...Ya think they're gonna accept us...?"
Tenochtitlan's eyes were now furrowed and a dark brown.
"I don't see why not..." she murmured firmly. "We DID save them, afterall. I'm sure that they could use our help...Why else would we be here...?"
Mario nodded slowly in agreement, letting his arm flop over to his side again.
"Yea, I know...I'm as confused as you are...I was just wondering what you thought...You seem to always be right, after all." A smile crept over his face as his sight met hers.
She was smiling warmly back at him, her golden yellow retinas half covered by her eyelids.
Her soft, dark hands wandered onto the counter to gently scoop up the big red cap that had been sitting there. She ran her fingers over it, almost mesmerized, then slowly raised her hand and went to pass it to her friend.
He stepped closer to her and reached out for it with his big, sculpted hand. Much to Tenochtitlan's surprise, he playfully slapped it on her head, messing around her long, braided locks of soft, black hair.
She giggled and pushed him away roughly.
He chuckled a little and countered by shoving his hat down over her beaming, pink eyes and her shining, white grin. He always seemed capable of making her laugh. A familiar voice interrupted them, and they almost jumped. When she realized who it was, though, Tenoch smirked and roughly shoved Mario away, sending him bumping into the refrigerator.
"Whew! I was HOPING you guys didn't chomp all the grub!" Sonic had called out, just before Mario hit the fridge.
As the smooth acting guy slickly walked into the room, he glanced at Tneochtitlan, then at Mario.
"Psh. Get a room, guys," he muttered with a grin, knowing exactly what kind of reaction he was about to get.
"Hmph. Get real, Sonic," Mario protested smugly. "You know nothing's going on..."
Sonic chuckled warmly as he punched Mario on the shoulder, easing him to get out of his way.
"I know, man, I know...I'm just jokin' with ya," he mumbled warmly, reaching his arms into the array of food.
Tenoch was suddenly quiet, her eyes a dark blue. Neither of them noticed, and she let the thought go, her retinas changing into an emerald green before Sonic noticed her standing there, staring at the ground, holding an apple in his hand.
"What's up with you...?" he murmured curiously.
Her head jerked up, her dreadlocks flipping around. She slowly removed the red cap on her head and tossed it to Mario, who caught it with ease.
"Uh...I'm just...-" her kind voice trailed off, not really sure what her problem was.
"We're a little worried about what's goin' on," Mario admitted as he slipped his hat back on, feeling at one with himself as he did so.
Sonic had swallowed a bite, and just before he munched into it again, he responded.
"Ahhh...Yea..." His teeth sank into the sweet, red fruit. He added more, his mouth full. "Ah ohh hut ya mean," he attempted.
Tenochtitlan finally spoke, fiddling with the object wrapped around her forehead.
"Mm hm. I'm a little nervous, I guess..." Now that she thought about it, she was losing confidence. She blanked out for a minute, not paying attention to their conversation, wandering through her thoughts.
Why am I here...? Where did I COME from...? Who AM I...?
She became frightened for a moment when she realized the truth- she didn't have a good answer for ANY of those questions. At least not an answer she knew was correct. She felt she KIND OF knew the answers...She wanted to get out of these thoughts, and she didn't realize her eyes had turned black. As she awoke from her fear, she realized her hands were playing around with her hair, and she hastily dropped them, hoping the other two hadn't noticed. She felt much more comfortable when she noticed they were scarfing food out of the fridge like animals. Then again, they hadn't really eaten all day.
They didn't have any money to get food WITH. They didn't have any home to go to...It was as if they just arrived there out of nowhere...
Tenochtitlan was hoping with all her heart that these 'Titans' would accept her and her friends. They didn't have anywhere else to go...
It suddenly snapped in her brain that this wasn't their place, as much as she wished it WAS, and she scolded, "Guys! What are you doing?!"
Mario poked his head out of the fridge and grinned, his mouth empty for once, and he tossed a banana at her.
"Your favorite, right?" he mumbled as he dug back into the pile of consumables.
Tenoch's stomach growled as she stared at the yellow fruit in awe between her delicate looking fingers. She had to force herself to place it on the island she was next to, wincing from her hunger.
"Yea...Thank you," she murmured back sadly, still not comfortable here. Now that she thought about it...How did he know that...? Ugh...Things were SOOO confusing right now...Maybe it would be best to just forget all the complicated stuff and try and relax.
"Hey...Where's Link...?" she suddenly inquired, her eyes narrow with curiosity.
Mario laughed and muttered, "I dunno...But he better haul @$$ if he wants some food!"
Tenoch placed her palms on her hips and snapped, "Guys! Stop being pigs!"
"Don't WORRY," Sonic assured, removing himself from the cold storage box, traces of color on his face.
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End Transmission
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So...What do ya think? Seeing some tie-ins there...? Hehe...YES, it DOES connect, Q4D! fans...TRUST me, I know what I'm doing...Oh, yea, the next Chapter will introduce the other two new characters, and I'll have to get down to describing their full appearences, as well as Tenoch's, in that Chapter. I like to gradually paint a picture in a person's mind, leading you into the story one step at a time.
By the way, it's pronounced [TAY-NAWSH-TEET-LAHN] But I sorta slur it a bit when I actually say it, so...Nevermind.
Bah. The name derives from the capital city of the Aztecs.
And yea, she's supposed to look like she's African.
Well, gotta jet!