Alternate What If

It was a normal day at Titans tower. It was a bright but cold day, but the living room was warm and Robin and Beast Boy were engaged in a video game that could very well hold the absolute worst thing for the loser: They would have to do all the winner's chores for the next month. Raven was reading, as usual, and as for Cyborg and Starfire, they were around the kitchen area, watching the others and talking, both about their friends' antics and recipes.

Yup, it was just another average day down at Titans Tower. Until the bright flash of light and the sudden lack of consciousness that occurred before any of their minds had time to register what was wrong.

When they woke up, Robin and Beast Boy were beside each other. They awoke at the same time and both seemed to be okay, which was a relief. What unnerved them was both where they were and that all their other friends were missing. It was cold here, with high metal walls and a grated floor that dug into their skin with every move they made. There were bits of meat hanging at regular intervals, but they were all rotten, and this certainly wasn't a freezer. Robin went to examine one, and with a jolt of terror and disgust, he found it was a human arm he was faced with.
"What is this place?" He asked aloud, going back to Beast Boy, who was stood stock still. "Why have we been brought here? As victims or help?"
"I think it might be the first one, dude." Came the shaky reply as an even shakier hand raised, finger pointing to what appeared to be a large clockwork clown with an assortment of sharp utensils. Not just one. They came for the two teens in the same jerky fashion, closing in from all around, forming a tight circle.

Beast Boy turned into a dinosaur, using his tail to take out a good portion of the clowns on one side, only to find many more behind them. They were everywhere. Robin seemed unfazed, throwing disks and birderangs and kicking clockwork legs, vaulting over chainsaws and axes, but soon there was no room to manoeuvre. There was a large opening up on the ceiling, if you broke the glass, and two things sat on opposite arches. They weren't gargoyles, but hidden in the shadows, it was difficult to tell what they were.
"What now?" Beast Boy asked as he transformed from kangaroo to human and Robin tried to dispatch a few more.
"Try and get to the sky light."
"What about you?"
"I might not make it, but if you do, at least one of us will."
A loud sound, like a clap of thunder, nearly deafened the teen heroes, and a shockwave of sound reduced clockwork clowns to cogs and metal. A man landed in the room and began trying to shut doors, and another man landed the other side, trying the same, but only using one clumsy arm. The two Titans realised it would stop the clowns entering and worked to close the doors as well, finding no clowns touched them when they did. The two newcomers were keeping them off them.
"Oh my God, dude!" Beast Boy gasped when the last door was closed. The two men were facing away now, huddled together as though discussing something secret. "What was that?"
"I don't know, but we'll find out. Starting with these two." He walked up to the men. They were tall and both had long hair and wore black. The smaller of the two men, the one who had been using just one arm, had both hands hidden by long, voluminous sleeves, and a thin black band around his head, just over the ears. He turned his head towards them slightly and Beast Boy gasped.
"Lightning?"
The elemental narrowed his visible eye suspiciously. "I do not go by that name at the moment."
"You're...older than I remember..." Robin muttered.
"And have we ever met?"
"You destroyed our city for fun, dude!"
He seemed to think for a moment, then suddenly jerked his head to the other man, who Robin and Beast Boy assumed was Thunder. "I know." He whispered, although his brother had said nothing. They both turned around fully, and that was the shocker.

Lightning's right eye was covered by an eyepatch, and down one side of his face ran a large scar. He was older, his hair was longer and he seemed to have a little more muscle mass, which really only made the furious scowl more intimidating. Thunder had a much calmer expression, but his face was criss-crossed and pocked with scratches, scars and open wounds. Again, he was older and had longer hair, but he seemed to have shrunk in size. He was still bigger than Lightning, apart from in terms of height, but he was definitely less bulky than he had been before.
"We have destroyed many things for our amusement, among other things." Lightning replied coldly, "And stop staring at my brother! He is not the worst off, you know."
Robin thought for a moment. "Where are we? And what do you mean among other things?"
The yellow elemental look a brief look around. There was a distant thump from behind one of the doors. "This is a butchery for those with superpowers. We are not exactly a popular breed, are we, brother? And you ought to know that by now, with your green companion."
Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably. "We're, uh, not from around here."
"Unless you have been living in a cave these past years, you ought to know. We lived in the clouds, cut off from society completely and even we know." He hesitated, exchanging looks with his brother. "Okay, fine, we do not know the exact mechanics behind the sudden distaste of supers, but we know that if you are one, you are hunted down and exterminated."
"So...they bring supers here..."
"And chop them into meat, and hang their carcasses up as trophies. It is sickening, yes, Green One, but...but it has been a while since it was different." He looked to his brother again. Their faces made it look like they were arguing, but they remained silent. Thunder extended his hand to help the Titans up, smiling kindly. Lightning huffed and spoke again.
"Although we are...destructive, we are no thugs, no hooligans. We just used to use extreme methods to take our minds off of ill circumstance. After all, living in the clouds is no picnic. I believe it classes us both as homeless, and we certainly got the downsides to homelessness. Cold and wet, and hungry, we were always so hungry...when it got unbearable, we played, tried to make ourselves feel powerful, and it worked, and we would enjoy ourselves, forget our plight...I remember us once promising to 'reform', not break to feel better. I shan't bore you with the details, but shortly after that, this hatred of supers began, and our powers became outlawed. Heroes and villains alike were rounded up and destroyed. We did not realise this was going on. We were used to being stared at, but...they caught us unawares, a man named Jonathan with a stun gun and a man named Dennis with a tranquilliser rifle. We awoke in here. This place...it belongs to Jonathan. He and his friend, they find it amusing to watch those with powers fight for survival. He believes none will survive. We were neither the first nor the last to escape." There was another sound. One of the doors began to buckle. Thunder summoned his cloud and pulled Robin and Beast Boy on as Lightning blasted the sky light.
"We break that every time and they never learn." He told them as they flew up, clear from danger.

-----

When Starfire woke up, she was tucked into a bed in a vaguely familiar room. It wasn't part of the tower. In fact, it looked like Red Star's house. There seemed to be nobody there but for another woman stood at a kitchen counter. She had long, brown hair and tanned skin, was very big and bulky, and wore jeans and a pink jacket. She turned her head, seeming to sense Starfire was awake, and the alien princess gasped. The woman was rather...pretty, but the fresh wound on her forehead and clearly broken arm was not a pleasant thing to see on one so lovely. The woman smiled to Starfire and came over. Her accent was Mexican when she spoke. "Bet you know how a piñata feels now, huh?"
Starfire blinked. "A what?"
"Uh..." The woman hesitated for a moment. "Never mind. Good to see you're awake. You have a name?"
"Uh, yes, I am called Starfire..." Her eyes travelled down and again she gasped. "Oh, you are with child!"
The woman self-consciously placed a hand on her belly. "It is my third..." She said somewhat sadly. Starfire chose not to press any further.
"What is your name?"
"Rosabelle."
Starfire pulled herself out of the bed and looked around curiously. "Please, where am I?"
"My home. You and your, uh, friend set off a proximity alarm. This place is supposed to be well-hidden and well protected, and it was clear to us you were like us. You were safe to let in, but ill."
"It is okay. My people are resilient."
There was a rather awkward moment before Rosabelle spoke. "You aren't just a super, you're an alien. You could get out of this nightmare any time you wish..."
"Please, what nightmare?"
Rosabelle sighed. "You know what nightmare."
She didn't, but again wished not to pry. It was clear this was something Rosabelle did not want to speak of. Suddenly, the large woman gestured for the alien princess to come with her, and led her to a different room, in which someone she recognised slept in an armchair, what she believed to be the toddler form of Wildebeest she had once encountered on his lap, playing with blocks.
"Red Star...?" She asked unsurely, beginning to realise why this home seemed so familiar. Red Star did not stir and Starfire took a seat before finding a newspaper and finding it had quite a horrific image on the front, of the entirety of Titans East hung by the necks. Naturally, the paper was in Russian, as most newspapers in Russia might be, but before the 17-year-old Titans had found themselves in this strange new world, she had once kissed a Russian boy. The more she read, the more horrified she became. The article was written by a man named Neil Richards and translated by an anonymous man simply going by the name of 'The Scribe', and the paper title was the Weekly Secret. 'Everyone's favourite underground paper for superheroes in hiding', it said. The article itself spoke of 'more senseless super killings under the premise of their danger and psychotic tendencies. This time the victims are heroes of Steel City and sprogs who never posed any danger to the working man, Titans East, who were sieged within their tower and hung from a tree. Although most members of this team were in their twenties, two members of the team were not yet past eighteen. Thoughts go out to the members of this fallen team and all friends or family out there, and hope that though their murders were brutal, they went with peace and little pain.'

Starfire put down the paper, stunned. Her friends of Titans East were dead...and in their twenties? That wasn't right. After thinking for a moment, she remembered the last time she time travelled and wondered if it had happened again. Perhaps she could prevent the deaths of her dear friends.
Rosabelle passed her a tissue. She hadn't realised she had been crying. "Why would they do that?" She asked tearfully, to which Rosabelle replied
"The planet Earth is a very messed up place, Starfire."
"They were my friends."
"In a way, they are saints. Martyrs to us. It sounds horrible, and it is, but they are neither the first nor the last to be killed like this."
"But why?"
Rosabelle shrugged and went over to Red Star and Wildebeest, picking up the latter and leaving the room. Starfire sobbed a little while longer and a comforting hand rested upon her shoulder.
"Oh man."
Starfire looked up. "Cyborg!" She threw herself at him, hugging him hard enough to cause damage. He patted her back once over the initial shock. He had read the newspaper as well, translating it with the software in his arm.
"It's okay, princess."
"How can it be okay?"
"I...don't know. But we're here now, we can stop anyone else from suffering.
"I doubt it." They both looked over. Red Star was awake, watching them both with cold but curious eyes. "There are too few people like us out there. I don't think the chances of us winning a fight are very high."
"You don't need to fight-"
"If we don't fight, we are killed."
"Won't that just prove to them everything they think about us being crazy dangerous?"
He shook his head. "It is only ever if we are attacked first."
"Self-defence."
"And we try not to cause extensive damage to them. Peaceful protest. If we are too violent, it will merely make matters worse for us."
"That's true."
Starfire spoke. "Red Star, please-"
"Red Star?" Red Star asked, laughing a little. "Well, I guess it is the best of the names I've gone by..." He sighed morosely and gestured to the paper. "That there is property of the resistance. Any member can put forward an article, and it never sees the light of homes of those against us."
Starfire flicked through, taking note of some of the names. None were names she recognised, as all contributors went by their real names. "You have contact with others hoping to fight this?"
"Not exactly. Our numbers are few. Since that issue's publication, we have lost Jade, Cameron and Charlie, and you'll find an article written by one under the name 'Roy Harper'. He is one of the ones hung on the front page. These articles are our way of keeping in contact. It is, regrettably, a risky method, and there will always be stories of death more often than of success, but we need to keep hope. It's all we have in these dark times."

-----

Raven sat up and paid little heed to the two teens sat on the nearby bench. The pale girl in the red hoodie and tanned boy watching the empath with glazed eyes. She took a brief look around, trying to get her bearings. She certainly did not recognise this part of the city, but she was still certain it was Jump City. She simply didn't remember the cineplex being across from a sex shop and two dry cleaners. Nor did she remember her favourite book shop being boarded up like that. She turned to face the other way, towards the two teens, a little surprised to find them both staring at her. "Uh...can I help you?"
At first the girl shook her head, shaking a little. The boy just kept staring, expression vague. Raven went to walk away and the boy spoke. Southern accent. "You don't wanna go down there."
She arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"My friend Mammoth died down there. It's definitely not safe for people whose powers are...obvious."
She walked back over. "So I'm in danger, am I?"
"We all are, super girl." He stood casually and the girl hesitated a few minutes before standing as well. "This is my girl, Jinx. She don't talk no more. Bad stuff went down. She's able, but she refuses."
"Jinx?" Raven asked, frowning curiously. She peered closer at the face of the girl in the hoodie, only to find the girl had a kerchief tied over the majority of her face. Still, few people had pink eyes like that. This was...different. She turned to the boy. "And you are...?"
"Billy. Just Billy. Call myself anything else and I am in deep doo doo."
There was just silence for a moment before the two grabbed the empath's wrists and dragged her along. Something in her mind told her to trust the two of them. For one thing, she was beginning to realise they were not teens, but were clearly in need of some help. She let them lead her to a seemingly abandoned building.

Inside, a group of youths were gathered around a dying fire. Raven was pretty certain some were dead. Heck, it appeared some survivors had eaten the deceased out of desperation. The only one sat up was a very pale blonde boy. He was cuddling the remains of a girl close. With a soft sigh, Jinx lowered her hood, showing scars across her scalp, her pink hair cut to the thinnest fuzz. It looked like it had been roughly sawn away a while back with a straight razor. She sat beside the blonde boy and curled up. Billy shook his head out of pity. "We used to call ourselves the H.I.V.E 5...we were hella badass."
She looked at Billy properly, realising the others in the room were somehow damaged. Her eyes were drawn to one bandaged hand and the way he was careful not to put weight on one leg. It was clear he had fingers missing, and his injuries seemed rather severe.
"And what happened?"
"Well, after people started fighting back against us with the powers, things just fell to hell. Didn't bother to try and distinguish between you goodies and us baddies. Kid Flash used to hole up with us, but he ain't around no more." He ran a hand through his chestnut curls with a sigh. The lank, filthy hair parted easily and some came out in his hand. "It's a fine life." He muttered bitterly.
"I can imagine. Doesn't look like you're doing too well here."
"No, but you look healthy. How are you surviving? You can help us!"
Raven thought for a moment. "This isn't the world I'm used to. I came from a time of peace between superheroes and civilians. I think the reason I was brought here was to help you. I need all the facts I can get about this world first though...you used to be Billy Numerous, didn't you?"
Billy nodded after a brief pause.
"I think we have some things to discuss, Billy. This distrust of supers comes from misbehaving villains?"
He nodded again. "People got sick'a bein' helpless. Struck out at anyone they could, decided the world would be a better place without super powers. They have something called the Hero's Butchery, where they, like, kill us for sport and turn us into prime rib."
He looked away, and suddenly, even as an adult, Billy Numerous looked like a helpless, almost desperate, little kid.

-----

Some parts of Jump City provided a veritable maze of alleyways for the homeless to tuck themselves away for a relatively safe sleep, away from prying eyes and in a place where their makeshift fires are bothersome to naught but the nearest nocturnal wildlife.

Tavis Williams tiredly threw another few sticks onto the fire. He wanted to sleep, but it would never be safe to sleep until daytime, when they could return to the clouds without fear of the cold and sleep in warm sunlight. Gan was checking a nearby bin bag for more kindling and possibly something edible. Life may have been tough before, but now the vast majority of surviving supers were driven to scavenging for scraps to survive. Robin and Beast Boy stood aside and watched the twins working to sustain themselves over the night. "The fire is going out, Gan. The bin bags themselves should burn, but if we have to poke it we may need to switch jobs."
Thunder looked up, frowning. He heaved an unopened bag over his shoulder and wrapped a strong arm around his brother's shoulders as he noticed his twin's shivering. They seemed able to communicate silently.
"How are you doing that?" Asked Robin eventually.
"Doing what?" Lightning, or Tavis as he had asked to be called, replied, frowning, but with his eyes fixed on the fire.
"You're communicating. I know you are."
"We're twins. We have a psychic link."
Beast Boy spoke up. "How come Thunder never speaks? He used to be as much of a chatter box as you."
Thunder was stood to Lightning's left, which made it seem odd when the younger brother reached across with his right hand to tug down his twin's neckline, showing another scar. "He cannot. Naturally we have not gotten through this without some...losses."
Gan's hand rested on Tavis' shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. The yellow elemental smiled almost proudly at something his twin told him in his mind.
"Is...your arm hurt?" Robin asked uncertainly, gesturing to Tavis' left. "You haven't used it once since we met you..."
"I...only have the one arm...awkward, since I am left handed..." Carefully, he rolled up his left sleeve. Quite a lot of his arm was gone. He had most of his upper arm, but half of that had old scars, pits and gashes. It was in no way a clean cut. However long he had had it, it was still trying to heal over. It was a mottled scab with small splinters of bone still sticking out, lumps and ditches that really showed the uneven cut, a flap of scabby skin hanging down loosely. Beast Boy made a sound like he was about to throw up and Tavis dropped his sleeve. "Been there, done that, Green One. You say you're not from around here, so a word of advice: Hang on to your lunch, it might be a while before you can replace it."
He nodded quietly and Robin frowned, taking out his communicator. "You say you reformed? Were you ever given one of these?"
Tavis' eye had gone wide. He turned to Gan, who wasn't paying attention to the goings on around. He appeared to be trying to kill a fox. He had a knife in his pocket and food was food. They had a brief conversation in their heads.
"Where did you get that?"
"I was one of the original Titans, at the very least in my own time. I was snatched out of my own time, and I think we might be here as a result of some kind of distress signal. Thanks to you two, and that place with the clowns, we know the true horrors going on here..." Robin pressed a button, "and we can band together the Titans that remain and save this world."
Beast Boy's communicator began beeping instantly. There was a fizzling, weak sound from Gan's pocket and he pulled out a communicator shared between him and his brother, staring at the beeping contraption in a hopeful wonder. He pointed to it, looking to his brother, who smiled.
"Do you have a plan, Robin?" Robin and Beast Boy had not spoken their names to these versions of the storm twins, but they were clearly recognised.
"I do, but it depends on who answers this call."

Red Star seemed startled when the device beeped and gazed at it sorrowfully. Neither Starfire nor Cyborg had noticed the wheelchair in the corner, an addition to the house due to recent circumstance. He was clearly in no fit state to answer this call, and so he stayed there and looked after Wildebeest after explaining his situation. He bid goodbye to Starfire and Cyborg, and called for Rosabelle. There was no answer. He called a few more times, worrying, but still there was no answer. Rosabelle had gone with Starfire and Cyborg. Gone to answer Robin's call.

Being the only Titan there, Raven took it upon herself to bring the three survivors. Jinx, Billy and a boy who used to be Kyd Wykkyd. She flew them all to the meeting point, aware that, as they were, they looked rather...unwell.

Elsewhere, where wind howled relentlessly and sand stung the skin, a young man found his eyes drawn to a flashing communicator that had been out of use for years. He reached for it, grasping it with a skeletal hand. He wasn't much of a fighter any more, but there was bound to be something he could do to help. He could still fly and use his powers, and he could still get to where he needed to go.

Thunder  and Lightning as they were willing to call themselves should the Titans regroup, watched the sky in an amazed wonder as Raven arrived with the three sickly teens, Starfire streaked across the skies in a green and gold blaze of glory, holding two others in her grasp, and a boy of fire sailed overhead. It may not have been many people, but goodness was it a brilliant sight. It instilled hope in their hearts, hope for survival. Lightning stepped back to give room for others to land, grinning. It was quite a sight to say the least, and when it appeared all had landed, Robin spoke loud and proud to gain the attention of the gathered Titans.
"You are what remains of the Teen Titans in this twisted world. I understand the situation you're in, and I am here to help. We will get what we truly deserve, the decent life and fair treatment we have sought after our whole lives, no matter disabilities, illnesses, powers or no, no matter who we are or how we came to have our powers, no matter what drove this world to this madness, we will fix the wrongs here!" There were no big cheers or displays, simply smiles and a few tears of joy and hope.

The cold, crisp darkness had fallen, and atop a tall building, a lone man stood. "Hey!" The man looked around to see a few people coming up from a rooftop door and he took a few tentative steps back. It was clear the lone man was a super. The building had a large rooftop width to cross and nothing to jump to, and Lightning couldn't fly as well as he used to. He turned and walked away calmly, slowly picking up the pace as he heard the men hurrying to catch him. He was well aware that his coat was billowing out behind him, providing an easy vantage for his pursuers. He didn't notice anyone grab on to his sleeve, the one with no arm, until it caused him to jerk back and fall. Twisting out of his coat, the boy had long ago mastered getting up with just his right hand, but he HEYEYEYEYEYEAH, HEYEYEEEY, I SAID HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON? still had not mastered looking to the right with no right eye. He felt something collide with him, only seeing the large brute of a ma charging him when it was too late. The next thing he felt was the cold, hard roof of the building. He offered no real struggle. Shivering in his thin, white T-shirt, a man's fist closed around that one bit of exposed bone HELP US, he didn't really want to aggravate him. Less pain was better, really. The man was suddenly lifted away. "You leave him alone!"
Pantha set the man aside gently. She looked like any normal woman, but as she helped the elemental boy up, odds were turned against her favour. They both stared indifferently at weapons slung around their throats. That was what they had Billy for. He separated and knocked the weapons away, allowing the two to run on.

Meanwhile, Robin and all the others had located the way into the broadcasting tower the three supers were on top of. It was simple enough: Get everyone out, lock them out, which one of Billy's clones had taken care of, and broadcast a simple message. Unfortunately, they didn't know all the facts until they heard the tapping on the glass when  they had already broken into the broadcasting room. It was locked, annoyingly, but Jinx hexed it as soon as the others stood clear. That was when it appeared to be a mistake. The room was bare but for a few large, flatscreen televisions and a bit of lighter, less dirty wall where all the equipment used to be. One of the televisions flickered on and on screen appeared a strange man with long dark hair beneath a top hat. He was tanned and muscular, but the muscles were well hidden beneath the army jacket, neon orange turtle-neck jumper and baggy jeans. He was holding a sword in one hand, and his other arm was wrapped around Lightning. Beside them were two Billies and Pantha, each with what appeared to be a floating sword at their throats, pinning them to the walls. The man smiled.
"You've done well, Titans. Unfortunately, I can't let you win that easily. You wanted to save all of these pathetic excuses for Titans, yes? Well, not gonna-!" He cut off with a scream as a large red hand came crashing through his display. A girl landed in front of the camera and spread her arms wide. She had long black hair covering her face, red eyes barely shining through.
"Argent..." Robin muttered in disbelief.

Argent turned to the Billies, Pantha and Lightning. Lightning had his hand to his throat, and was on the floor after the girl's strike. It was as if the sword had struck his neck, but he wouldn't move his hand, not even to help himself up. In the end he had to be dragged up by his collar because he just wouldn't move.

One of the Billies was lying very still, blood pooled around him. The other had drawn himself awfully close to Pantha, who looked absolutely fine, physically. It wasn't a nice sight, and everyone around the are was awfully quiet. The skinny girl with the long black hair walked to the edge of the stage. She raised her hand and silently gestured for those gathered in the broadcasting room to come to her.

"Isn't this just a little nuts?" Beast Boy asked as they approached the stage. The people around them seemed to be frozen in place.Argent gently moved the hair out of her face and spoke. Her voice sounded raspy, like she hadn't had a drink for quite some time. "There isn't much time.  You have to stop that guy before he can do any more damage. He's going east, look!" She pointed.
Robin frowned. He had quite a head start. The Titan would feel better if he had a vehicle or something.
"Starfire, Raven, go after him through the sky. Beast Boy, see if you can track him down in the streets. Cyborg, we're going to try looking for a vehicle to use-"
"I have a car." Billy stated almost instantly.
Hotspot held out a set of keys. "I know where you can find your old bike, Robin."
But as they took a step towards him, a light seemed to engulf them. The crowd was moving again, coming to life and surging towards the supers on stage. Naturally the supers, in varying states of illness and injury, looked worried. "No!" Robin yelled. He had to stop this twisted world, he had to help these people. He had to save everyone before it was too late. He reached out, trying to hang on to this world. He had to help. He had to...

He woke up in Titans Tower, his team around him. He had something in his hand. A red piece of cloth. Argent's shirt. "No..." He muttered bitterly, hitting his fist against the floor. That was it. They couldn't help. Not from that point on.