The night was so quiet it was eerie. Like a stadium filled with fans who dare not breathe as the clock ticked down in the final seconds of a close game. The factory the Titans had followed Terra to, seemed completely lifeless. It seemed as if no living soul had entered the building since the industrial revolution. Composing their fear, the team started to make their way in preparing for war.
After the creature had picked Terra up and ran with her from building to building she fainted. The pain of her injuries were too intense to handle under that kind of stress and her mind shut down as a way to evade the pain. When she woke, her cracked ribs ached more than usual from the the creatures unnatural and wild movements. She winced and let out small cries of pain as she looked around at her surroundings. Panic started to settle in around her following the agony she was was feeling.
Terra found herself bound to a steel chair in a dimly lit room with a single light that shined down above her. This consealed the rest of the room in darkness. The cast she wore was tied to the arm of the chair uncomfortably, causing her pain to be more intense. Her good arm was bound to the other arm of the chair so thight that it nearly cut off circulation. Her feet were also bound tightly to the legs of the chair. She was helpless and could barely move.
She could hear footsteps approaching from the darkness. It seemed to be only one pair of footsteps from what she could tell. Her panic rose and she started to struggle for her life, causing more pain and discomfort.
"Don't bother," a calm voice from the darkness around her said. It sounded gentle as if a woman was soothing her child, "in your current condition its useless, not to mention you'd have nowhere to go."
Terra's eyes went wide in terror. Her gaze began darting in every direction looking for the source of the voice but everywhere she looked she only saw darkness just outside the ring of light surrounding her.
"Please..." Terra began to plead to the darkness, "let me go. I have nothing you want..."
"You're right," the voice respond, "but you seem to be of value to someone else."
"So... is that what this is?" Terra asked trying to figure out what was going on, "you're holding me for ransom?"
The voice chuckled as if entertained by this girls fear, "you could say that... however, it's not money we want."
Terra started to recognize the voice the more she spoke. But she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.
"What do you want?" Terra said. Her voice started to crack. She was so scared she wanted to cry.
"You want to know what we want?" A second voice appeared behind her. A voice that chilled her to the bone. A much more familiar voice. But again she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.
The hooded figure stepped into the light behind her and Terra was frozen stiff facing forward with her eyes still wide and her jaw loosely hanging from her mouth. She bore a face of sheer horror and she dared not turn her head to face this second voice.
"It's ok, my dear," the voice said standing directly behind her. He stood uncomfortably close to her invading her personal space, "if it were you I was after, you'd know."
Terra's gaze slowly shifted to the corner of her eye and her head slowly turned. She looked up behind her as the figure stood over her. She couldn't see his face. The light cast such a dark shadow from his hood that all she could see was a black shapeless face in the dark shadows.
"Hello Terra," he said calmly, "it's been a long time..." he paused to gauge her reaction. When her reaction wasn't what he was expecting he spoke again, "you don't remember me, do you?"
Terra slightly shook her head as her horror still covered her face.
"Hmm..." He said a little disappointed. He stepped to the side and walked past her with his back facing Terra before stopping at the edge of the darkness where the light barely reached, "but you seem to remember the Titans now... is that so?"
Terra could tell something was familiar about this person and whatever it was, it was nothing good. She felt like this before but she couldn't remember where. It was triggering something inside her that was buried deep in her subconscious. Like a small voice lost in a massive crowd was crying out, telling her to run.
"I..." Terra began, "I... have dreams of them," her voice left her. She didn't know what to say and she completely shocked herself that she could manage to say anything at that moment.
"Interesting..." The cloaked figure respond. He turned sideways and began to circle her chair, "I have been keeping a close eye on you, girl. You hadn't shown any signs of getting your memory back for months. However..." he stopped right behind her again and looked down at the back of Terra's head, "I knew of one thing that might change that... or rather... one person."
Beastboy was at the back of the team as they moved into the darkness of the building. Cyborg had a flash light flipped open from his shoulder, lighting the path in front of the team. Robin was at the front ahead of Cyborg as Statfire and Raven stood at Cyborg's left and right.
"Stay close. No one goes off alone," Robin said sternly. He knew this was some kind of trap and the worst thing that could happen was the team getting separated.
"I do not like this unpleasant place," Starfire said with a chill.
"Tell me about it," Cyborg said looking down at his arm, "this place is giving off such a strong electromagnetic field its throwing off my sensors," his arm kept showing a screen with 5 red dots on it representing himself and the other Titans. But every few seconds it would appear fuzzy like static before returning back to normal.
"Where do we even start looking?" Raven asked trying to form a plan, "this place is enormous."
"We'll search from top to bottom," Robin said as they came to a staircase.
Terra looked on in terror as the hooded figure walked past her once more and stepped forward into the darkness out of her sight. She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was she was captive to someone evil. Someone she had apparantly encountered before in her past.
"Why..." Terra thought twice before asking, "why are you doing this?"
"Worry not, child," the voice said from the darkness, "it'll all make sense soon."
"Our guests have arrived," the first voice said. Terra had completely forgotten all about her. This woman just seemed to stand in the darkness quietly while the hooded man spoke to her, "shall I go greet them?"
"No," he replied back to her, "keep our friend here company," his voiced seemed to grow more and more distant as if he was leaving the room, "I'll go bring her an old friend. After all he is the guest of honor."
The Titans reached the top of the stair case on the third floor. It had a long hallway with six doors that lead to offices. This could only be where the factory leaders worked. The "big-shots" at the head of the company for whatever this building used to run. They searched every room preparing for some kind of trap or fight but found nothing. Rooms at the back of this hallway had windows that over looked a massive open room that was too dark to really see what was in it. The only thing they found on the top floor, was an empty room with an old TV and a single chair in front of it. The window of this room over looked the front of the factory where the Titans had just been standing moments earlier. When they were satisfied that there was nothing to find on the top floor they began to head back to the staircase to search the next.
Raven looked over at Beastboy as they began walking to the staircase. He seemed much quieter than usual. She knew Terra defending them was a very emotional moment for him but he was handling it completely different than how Beastboy used to do. He seemed composed and diligent. Like he wasn't about to make some rash decision that could end up getting himself killed. However, the energy he was giving off was extreme. He was furious and anxious. But on the surface he looked calm and steady. She had a hard time figuring out what he would actually do when they found Terra.
Beastboy looked up at Raven and caught her staring at him, "what?" He asked quietly with curiousity.
Raven quickly looked away trying to focus back on the mission, "it's nothing," she said unconvincing, "you're just quieter than normal is all."
"Don't worry," he said as if reading her thoughts, "I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice," Beastboy looked forward and his face had a look so intense, it could move mountains, "not this time."
Raven went deep into thought as she looked back at beastboy from the corner of her eye. Same mistake? What does that mean? Does he know something we don't?
They came to the second floor where Beastboy and the girls had seen the creature jump to from the outside. This floor was a wide open space where desks and small cubicles used to line the floor from front to back. It was most likely an administrative floor that took calls from customers but now it was vast empty room with trash strung everywhere. It didn't take more than a quick look around to see there was nothing in the room.
"Man," Cyborg said frustrated, "how do even know that thing is still here? What if it left and we've been wasting our time searching for her in this dump?"
"We won't know for sure unless we search every last bit of this place," Robin shot back as turned to face the team, "Terra is our friend and no matter how long it takes to find her, we won't rest until we do," he sounded serious and firm like this was a do or die mission.
The team felt his seriousness and it was inspiring. It fired them up. They weren't leaving with out finding her. They moved back to the staircase to head back to the first floor.
When they reached the first floor, they found themselves in the same hallway they first entered. Across the hallway was a pair of double doors which held a sign that said Caution: No Personnel Past This Point Without Proper Protective Equipment. It was clear they were about to enter the actual factory.
Robin looked at his team and made a hand signal that told them to be ready.
Starfire's hands glowed green as Cyborg equipped his sonic cannon. Raven levitated and Beastboy took a steady fighting stance ready to change into what would best fit the coming conflict.
Robin nod his head and he drew his staff with a hand full of circular devices in the other. He kicked the door open landed on the other side prepared to fight. But what they found was a massive room with a ceiling higher than the third floor as if it were the roof. Robin looked up behind him. There were windows over looking this room from the floors they were just on. It was clear now this was the labor floor where all the items this building used to manufacture were made.
Cyborg lowered his sonic cannon and Starfire's glow had faded. Raven gently floated down to the floor and Beastboy relaxed his stance. They were faced with yet another empty room. Frustration came over the Titans. They had searched the whole building and found nothing. Maybe Cyborg was right.
Cyborg threw his arm out to his side slamming the bottom of his fist against the wall next to him, "I knew it!" He said angrily, "we've just been wasting our time!"
Once he removed his fist from the brickwall and pair of red eyes opened in its place. A creature made of the same bricks as the wall emerged from and swung the same fist Cyborg sent at him.
Cyborg drew his sonic cannon but the strike landed on him before he could get a shot off and he was knocked off his feet sending him flying from the doorway into a near by machine the factory hadn't used in years.
Starfire wasted no time and leaned forward with her eyes glowing green. She fired a powerful starbolt from her eyes sending the creature flying in the other direction landing in a pile of old unused sheet metal.
Cyborg got up out of the machine he had just crushed and was about to go charging into the fight when another pair of red eyes opened from the machine he just got out of. A creature then came out of the mahince made of the same metal and Cyborg ducked under its strike this time landing a powerful counter punch to its chest knocking it back away from him.
The creature that Starfire had shot got up and remained in its brick form but yet another pair of red eyes opened and another creature stepped out of the sheet metal the first one had landed on.
Robin started to realize what was happening and what kind of trap they just walked into. He turned around to the open room of the factory and his eyes stretched wide as the sight he was seeing.
Red eyes stared opening from everywhere. Creatures made from every material in the factory started to take from and move towards them. This was a fight he knew they couldn't win.
"Titans, RUN!" He shouted as he turned to head for the door. The rest of the team looked in the direction Robin was and they all fell into a terrified shock. They barley survived fighting one of these things... now they faced an army.