Suffer the Little Children: A Batman-Teen Titans Fanfic

[Grocer Man]

This is a crossover between Bruce Timm's Justice League and Glen Murakami's Teen Titans cartoons. It takes place almost immeadietly after the TT episode "Go."

~

I’m here.

It’s a wonder we didn’t respond earlier. But the damage has been done. And they sent me to clean up the mess.

They’ve set up shop in the wreckage. Probably to help with the clean up from the attack. Good. Better they’re all gathered in one place then scattered across the city.

Two hours should suffice. Until then…

…I’ll just watch…


…and wait.

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Robin surveyed the cityline from the bridge of the former dropship. The clean-up from the invasion was taking a good while…mostly because there had never been any metahuman activity of this scale in Jump City. So most of the others had agreed to assist with cleaning up property damage. Robin, in particular, was working on cleaning out the alien dropship that had been used to send out troops and the Commander’s holographic messages to the populace. There wasn’t much…just extra weapons and stuff that Robin assumed to be food. Shame, he thought. He had been looking forward to playing around with alien technology.

“Robin?”

Robin turned around to see his new ally and friend, Starfire. “Hey Star, what’s up?”

A look of confusion crossed Starfire’s face. “Well, it is usually associated with the sky, and the phrase is irrelevant in space due to perception, and-“

“No, no, Starfire. Just give me a status report.”

“Oh. Well, friend Raven sent me to tell you that they finished the reparation of the Video of Busting Blocks, and will be returning here shortly to assist in disposal of dangerous materials.”

“I’ve already gotten most of it. It’s a good thing you showed up, actually. All that’s left to check is the stuff with alien writing on it.”

A wide grin quickly spread across her face. “Glorious! I am most glad that my arrival was convenient for you. Where do we begin?”

“There’s a couple of things in the first door on your left down that hallway,” Robin pointed, “and then there’s some more on the third level.”

“Excellent! I shall begin ri-“ she was interrupted by a beeping sound.

Robin pulled a small beeper out of his utility belt. He cursed under his breath. “Something’s come up,” he announced, “I have to go check on something. You know what to do here, right?”

Starfire’s happy expression melted slightly. “I…suppose so. But before you depart, may I ask a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Er, Robin, I do not think that would be-“

“Yes, you can ask a question.” Robin made a mental note not to use too many figures of speech around Starfire.

“Do you know where I can acquire some sustenance?” Starfire rubbed her stomach, which growled in response.

Robin thought for a moment. “There was some chocolates delivered here earlier. You can have some…just be sure to leave enough for everyone else. I’ll be back soon.” Robin then left through the sliding door, leaving Starfire alone in the dropship.

“Choc-o-late?” she asked.

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He’s leaving.

Let him. I know where he’s going. I wanted to deal with him last, anyway.

Still…she is still the problem.

I won’t get a chance like this again.



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Raven was strongly tempted to just throw him into the water.

Why, she thought to herself, WHY won’t this stupid green boy just SHUT UP?!

No, she did not know Doctor Fate. No, she did not want to know how to beat a level-10 Space Samurai. And no, she did not want to hear some inane joke. Metrion, the jokes! It was like the simultaneous turning of every dead comedian in their graves accompanied by a big, green gorilla clubbing you in the head repeatedly.

At least she was finally back on the island. Maybe now, she’d be able to get away from him…or, at least, find someone intelligent to hold conversation with. (Granted, Cyborg wasn’t stupid, but he had a bizarre obsession with meat and agreed with Beast Boy on too many things for her liking.)

But I swear, if he says one more thing, I am going to…

“Hey, whose car is that?”

Raven whirled around, eager to throw him as far as her magiks could allow. However, the near-release of Rage was halted when she realized that there was no stupid punchline. “What?”

“Yeah,” Beast Boy said, pointing to a car parked on the other side of the landbridge. “That car right there. That yours, Cy?”

Cyborg glanced at the car, his mechanical eye zooming in. “No, my last car is somewhere in Mexico,” he muttered something about carjackers, “and even if it was, I would have painted it white by now.”

“I’m just going to go on ahead…”

“Hey, you guys want to hear why the chicken REALLY crossed the road?”

BOOM.

To Raven’s surprise, the sudden explosion did not come from her. Turning around, she and the others saw a plume of smoke coming from the tower.

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Two minutes ago.

Starfire had come to a conclusion.

There was nothing greater in this universe then chocolate.

(Though the Plorgasum of Zortak-47 came pretty close.)

The fact that chocolate was not the foundation of a religion was confusing to her.

Being confused made her want to eat.

And so she did.

Only after finishing did she turn around and realize there was someone else in the room.

The figure was largely obscured, largely as his dark clothes blended in well with the shadows. Starfire’s first thought was that Earth was under attack by the Umbrans, but this thought was quickly put aside. The Umbrans had no way of getting to Earth, and besides, this intruder carried about him a grace the brutish Umbrans could not hope to match.

She quickly formed a starbolt, aiming it at the intruder. “Who are you? Are you friend or foe? If you are an enemy, I will use force. I do not wish to fight you.”

The light of the Starbolt illuminated the room enough to get a view of the intruder.

Had she recognized him, she might have had a chance.

Might have.

The figure hurled a projectile of some sort at her. Instinctively, she opened fire, the blast evaded with surprising speed. In seconds, a second projectile was thrown, this on impacting against her skin. The small, ball-like substance immeadietly expanded, enveloping her entire body. Starfire’s sight was completely and totally covered in darkness. The substance, allowed no light through, not even solar energy, the source of her powers. In seconds, the strength of the alien warrior was reduced to that of an average schoolgirl.

The shadowy figure looked in the direction of her blast. A large chunk of the wall had been destroyed, revealing the island below. He had to get her out of here. He had 22 hours left and-

A bright light shone on him, originating from Cyborg’s shoulder-mounted flashlight. Raven and Beast Boy stood at his side, poised for action. “I don’t know who you are, but you better have a good reason for that, ya goddamn-“

Cyborg stopped dead, realizing just who this was. Raven and Beast Boy had similar reactions.

“Batman.” Beast Boy finished.

 

[Grocer Man]

Several hours ago.

Aboard the Justice League Watchtower.

Batman entered the Conference Room. The rest of the founding members of the Justice League were already there, seated around the conference table. “You’re late,” noted Wonder Woman. “That’s a first.”

“I’ve been busy with something. What’s the situation?”

J’onn J’onzz, better known as the Martian Manhunter, clicked a handheld remote, causing a large window to become a television screen, the vastness of space immediately replaced by a grim-faced man at a desk. “Hello, Justice League. I trust you are all aware of the situation.”

“I think so,” stated Hawkgirl, “something about teenage metahumans in California?”

“Correct,” replied the man, General Wade Eiling, “which means you probably know that a lot of people in Washington, myself among them, aren’t happy about it.”

The Flash, the Fastest Man Alive, raised an eyebrow behind his spandex suit. “Superpowered teens fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way? What’s wrong with that?”

“A lot. Frankly, we do not intend to give kids the right to decide right from wrong and protect the West Coast. Only two of them are above driving age (Batman would later ask himself how they knew Robin’s age) and they’re all virtual unknowns.”

“And what does this have to do with us?” queried Green Lantern. “Granted, we’re the biggest group on the planet, but we don’t police anyone…save the bad guys of course.”

“We want to know if they’re connected with you in any way, shape or form.”

“No,” replied Hawkgirl, “what gave you that idea?”

“This, perhaps,” said the Martian Manhunter, again pressing the remote to reveal a second screen, hidden in the wall. It displayed an image of 5 young men and women, one of which particularly stood out.

Robin, the Boy Wonder.

In seconds, Batman was the center of attention of the entire room.

“Hmm…California, you say.”

“Yes, California.”

“To answer your question, Robin is there without my jurisdiction.”

“Is that the only reason you called us?”

“No. Since witnesses sighted Robin, we weren’t sure if we should take action. Thanks to your confirmation, we are now prepared to take action. At midday tomorrow, we will march our soldiers into Jump City for the express purpose of ensuring that this motley group will never come to exist.”

An enraged Superman slammed his fist on the table, shaking the entire Watchtower. “You intend to use capital punishment on children?!”

“No, no! But as long as they remain in contact with each other, the more likely it will be that they will become a supergroup. And Washington has no intention of letting unsupervised teenagers play superhero.”

“I see.”

Batman stood up from his seat.

“I have a request of you, General.”

General Eiling was taken aback by this. “Excuse me?”

“From what I can tell, this so-called motley group is organized by Robin. Had he not been in Jump City, it is quite likely that they never would have banded to stop the invasion, which then would have been handled by us. And the only reason that Robin is there is that we…had what you might call a falling-out. In addition, I doubt the civilians of Jump City would appreciate you turning their saviors into martyrs.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I’m asking you to allow me to handle this. It is my mess. I’d like to clean it up.”

“Are you asking me to hold back a military operation just so you can settle your own agenda?”

“No. I’m asking you to let a father discipline his son.”

The room was silent. A stare down occurred between the battle-hardened general and the Dark Knight. In the end, the general relented.

“…Very well. At the most, I can suspend the operation by 24 hours. You have until then.”

“Much obliged, General.”

“Do you realize that I’m jeopardizing my career for your screw-ups?”

“I’ll send you a fruit basket.”

And so, the World’s Greatest Detective left for the Golden State.

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And so, that was how Batman came to find himself in the ruins of an alien warship cornered between a cyborg, a green-skinned changeling, and a cloaked sorceress while holding an alien princess captive.

In California, no less.

“I don’t know who you are,” threatened the Cyborg, his arm transforming into a glowing cannon, “but you better have a good reason for that, ya goddamn-“

He stopped in mid-sentence. He had that effect on people.

“Batman,” finished the changeling.

“…Wait…Batman! Sweet! I’m your biggest fan! Can I get an autograph?” He pulled out a napkin and pen from God-Knows-Where.

Well, most people anyway.

Using surprise to his advantage, Batman threw a specially prepared Batarang at Cyborg. Thrown with pinpoint accuracy, it firmly embedded itself in Cyborg’s chest. Shaking the pain off, he began to charge his cannon, the bright light swiftly expanding…and then dying away. Cyborg then found his systems being hacked from an outside source: the Batarang, this one made for the specific purpose of shutting down his systems. Though Cyborg had defenses for this sort of thing, he was unable to bring them online in time, as the batarang finally shut down all but his life-support system. His armor losing its bluish glow, his red eye fading, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Starfire. Cyborg. 2 of their best. Down in seconds.

It was then that Beast Boy finally got over the sensation of his childhood hero in the room as instinct kicked in. Deciding it was best to ask questions later, he near instantaneously turned into a tiger, and launched himself at the Dark Knight. Batman swiftly crouched down as the green-and-black tiger leapt above him. His leg shot out into Beast Boy’s abdominal region, which was hurled across the room, narrowly missing the gaping hole in the wall.

Suddenly, Batman was enveloped by various panels and cables that were ripped from the wall by some sort of black energy. In seconds, Batman was cocooned by the dark panels, as Raven, her hand extended and bathed in the same energies, approached the immobilized detective.

“So…Batman. I thought you’d be taller.”

Batman remained silent, only glaring at his “jailer.”

“Care to explain yourself?”

“I’m here to bring you home. It’s past your bedtime.”

Underneath the paneling, Batman pressed a secret button in his glove.

“Witty banter. Joy. And here I thought you were a silent avenger of the night.”

It was at this point that Beast Boy got to his feet, relatively okay, though there was a large bruise on his scalp. “Ow…what’s that ringing…”

Ignoring Beast Boy, Raven continued her interrogation. “You know, when I look at you up close, you’re rather unimpressive. When it comes down to it…you’re just a man. A man with an admittedly very nice cape, but still just a man.”

Famous last words.

At the base of the makeshift tower, countless bats erupted from the caves beneath it. Coming in through a large hole at the base, they swiftly reached the site of the confrontation, attracted by the hypersonic sounds emitted from a device in Batman’s utility belt. The sudden shock caused Raven to lose her concentration, and the dark energy dissipated, the panels and cables crashing to the floor. Batman swiftly removed the hypersonic device from his utility belt, ensuring that the bats would not impede his progress in their desperation to find the source of the sound.

The sound in question was beginning to affect Beast Boy, whose sensitive hearing could pick it up, though not in a bat form. Batman used to his advantage, knocking him out with a swift chop to his collar.

Raven, meanwhile, was desperately trying to keep calm, creating a shield around her to force the bats away from her. However, the second after the shield faded away, a Batarang grazed her head, sending her reeling. Mind spinning, head throbbing, her senses assaulted by shrieking bats, she did the only thing she could think of:

“AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!”

A bright flash enveloped the room, blinding the bats, as they flew away through the gaping hole in the wall to parts unknown, the sound forgotten. Batman shielded his eyes, but he was able to glimpse a giant, black bird of sorts at the center of vision, which swiftly vanished taking the light with it.

Batman surveyed the room. With the exception of a few stray bats, the room was empty. Raven, and the unconscious forms of Cyborg and Beast Boy were gone.

"I didn’t know she could do that."

Batman began to leave the room when his foot came in contact with something. Glancing down, he noticed the black substance he had used to capture starfire, still struggling within. “It’s a start.” He picked up the black substance, threw it over his shoulder, and left the tower. Outside, he made his way to a nondescript car at the other side of the landbridge. The car faded away to reveal the sleek, awesome sight that is the Batmobile. Unceremoniously dumping the black form that trapped Starfire into the passenger seat, he hopped inside, started the car, and left for his temporary headquarters.

To Be Continued…

Constructive critisism is greatly apprechiated.

 

[Iceshadow]

Not bad at all, my only criticism is that JL actually comes after the Teen Titans ended, but no biggie, I can ignore it. Keep it up!