Teen Titans #23: "Not of This Earth"

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The Teen Titans

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Issue #23: “Not of this Earth” Pt 1
Written by: Jay McIntyre
Cover by: Ramon Villalobos
Edited by: Brian Burchette[/center]

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"That's the point....it isn't even remotely human."
--The Doctor, Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks


Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.
Bill Watterson (1958 - ),

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The Damocles probe had been a joint American/Russian effort in the mid 90s. Fueled by the relative cooperation of the governments in those days, its mission had been to follow in the footsteps of the Voyager probes. Not to study the planets, but to reach the Oort cloud itself, the theoretical sphere of asteroids that surrounded the solar system. It could not possibly reach the nearest star; that was a project for a later probe with much faster engines. Damocles' job was to study the Oort cloud, and see if it was an obstacle to such probes, or if any use could be gained from it.

Damocles, much faster than the Voyager craft, reached the Oort cloud in 2001. It had relayed back pictures at a distance, then abruptly cut out. NASA and the Russian Space Force had written it off as a collision and called it a day, contenting themselves to study what pictures they had.

Everyone was shocked when it came back.

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The sun had set about two hours ago at Titans' Tower. Dick Grayson sat in the common room unmasked, alone.

He was thinking about Kory, and Babs. He had a lot to think about these days.

"So introspective," came a voice.

Dick jumped, then relaxed. "Dagon, welcome back. How was your trip?"

"Most productive," said the vampire, coming around the corner of the couch. "Thank you for the access to the blood bank supply, by the way. So much easier than feeding selectively and carefully in Goth clubs in the city."

Dagon was relatively young as vampires go, but he, like all others of his kind, knew to feed selectively and carefully of willing victims, taking only enough to survive, always leaving the "donors" alive. Those that did not....were the sources of the legends, Dick suspected.

Allowing him access to a STAR labs-sponsored blood bank had eased matters considerably. Bruce had offered to help through Wayne Enterprises in the case of "a friend of his former ward who had severe anemia", but Dick had politely refused, both as a risk to his secret identity and as a matter of personal pride. Bruce had understood.

"So your back now for good?"

"For as long as you need me. Though, as always, I have to work the night shift."

Dick nodded. Dagon had been out and about a few times during the day; it had involved high collared trenchcoat, hat and glasses, or else a long flowing hood. Very inconvenient.

"Good to have you back. Things have been quiet for a few days, ever since the whole Godhead case. But it won’t last. It never does."

The vampire raised an eyebrow. "You think something's coming?"

"Something's always coming."

"But specifically?"

Dick nodded. "A hunch. I get the feeling there's something nasty and I can't figure out what it is."

"Not like Trigon or the whole Starro thing, I hope."

Dick shrugged. "Probably not, but whatever it is, it won't be good."

"How reassuring," Dagon said dryly.

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Wally sat in Rachel's room with her. They held hands, awkwardly.

"Rachel....I don't want to lose you," Wally said awkwardly.

Rachel gave him a sad, soft smile. "You won't, Wallace. Not unless you choose to."

"It's just....you let that shadow thing into yourself..."

"I had to. To stop Trigon."

"I know.....I just wish...."

She frowned. "What?"

"That you would let me into your heart the same way."

She stood slowly, and guided him to stand also. Then she wrapped her arms around him. Her cloak of her costume as Raven wrapped around him like wings.

"You are in, Wallace. You are part of me always. Never doubt it."

He held her tight.

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The probe had been to the Oort cloud...and been fundamentally changed by what it found there. Ostensibly, it should not have come back at all. If it had returned at the same speed at which it it had left, it still would have taken years.

But it had returned seven times as fast.

Scanners had picked up it's approach but it had not been recognized for what it was; scientists, for all their rationality, are often ready to discount any theory which does not fit their preconceived notions. It was assumed to be a meteorite, so small that it would burn up in the atmosphere, and no more official thought was given to it. A few amateur astronomers had noticed it and tried to warn the powers that be, but they were ignored, and in any case it was too late.

The probe entered the atmosphere and brightened and shivered, but did not burn. A glowing aquamarine sparkling aura surrounded it instead as it fell to Earth.

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Starfire floated above the Tower, staring at the stars.

She was happy here, to be sure. But part of her spirit would always be amongst the stars, the vastness of the Universe, the sheer freedom of it. That was something none of them understood. Not even Dick. Nor Raven, for all her empathy.

Then she frowned, curiously. Was that a falling star? A meteor?

It was coming. Coming right down towards New York. A bright blue green light. A blaze of power.

She was already flying towards it as she said into her communicator, "I think we have a problem."

She shot towards it, but she felt she would not be fast enough.

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Wally was fast enough, but he could not fly. He raced to the spot where they calculated it would impact. Getting there was easy. A blur of motion, no time at all.

Almost instantly, he was standing in a relatively deserted street on the Upper West Side.
But all he could do was set up an air cushion if the others failed. But really, what could that do against a meteorite?

He would do all he could. However distant and displaced he felt these days, he would do what he could. That's what he always did. The one certainty in his life.

So he began to run around in circles, faster and faster, on this dim deserted street.
It was all he could do.

Is this what it's like for Barry? What it was like for Jay? He wondered, fleetingly

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Raven, on the other hand, could just teleport there. Her soul self had limits she herself did not yet know. Surely she could contain this thing...whatever it was.

Thoughts of Wallace still heavy in her mind, she extended her soul self and waited in the path of the meteorite.

Close.....closer....closer....brighter....brilliant blue green furnace.....closer....too close!

It plunged into her soul self.

It was nothing like Trigon. Nor any other power she had encountered. It was alien, but not like Starfire was. It was magical, but not like she was. It was strange in a way she could not fully understand.

Yet she was more powerful than it was; she understood that. All she needed to do was use her power and smother it.

But it apparently understood this too, in its own strange way. And it moved quicker than she could. Almost quicker thought. Almost as fast as Wallace.

Before she could utilize her full power, it struck from within. Within her soul self. Her seat of power, but also her vulnerability.

Raven screamed!

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Cyborg and Beast Boy had arrived just beyond what would be the impact point. Kid Flash was still spinning around at speed.

"Don't burn a hole in the street," Beast Boy called.

"Don't distract him, salad head," Cyborg chided. "Not now."

"What can we do?" Beast Boy complained.

"I can blast it, maybe. But so can Starfire. We gotta try, if Raven fails."

"She'll get it," Beast Boy said.

"Maybe," Cyborg said.

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Starfire closed in, seeing that the meteorite was still falling.....and Raven was falling with it, unconscious and helpless.

Starfire swooped in and caught her friend, then grit her teeth. Green eyes blazing with fury, she blasted the meteorite with star-bolts, again and again. She didn't think that she might knock it off target and endanger more of the population. Like all Tamaraneans, she was acting out of passion.

But it was a moot point. Because the blue green flare of fire that surrounded the falling probe absorbed her blasts as though they were nothing.

"X'hal...." Starfire whispered, and followed it down, an unconscious Raven in her arms.

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Nightwing was already gone; he had put his mask on and completely suited up.

Dagon followed him out, shifting to mist form and heading towards the potential impact site. It was impossible to describe what he saw while in mist form to a mortal. Looking underwater at the surface came closest, but that still wasn't right. Wavering, shifting patterns of light; living beings were brighter.

Something was there....in the meteor. He could sense that already. Some form of intelligence. He wasn't sure what it was....but it seemed to be calling to him. He couldn't see or "hear" that far, of course. But he could feel it. Of that he was certain.

That alone troubled him. That other vampires might also hear the call troubled him even more.

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Wonder Girl had been away from the Tower. She had gotten the call and came as fast as she could.

Flying at full speed, she arrived to see Starfire carrying an unconscious Raven with one hand, and blasting the meteorite with the other. Her star-bolts were absorbed by the eldritch flame surrounding the meteor.

Wonder Girl briefly considered trying to wrap her lasso around it and try to control its fall with her strength; but she abandoned the idea quickly. She put her head down and fists out, and flew in at full speed.

CRAKK!!!

The aquamarine flames hurt her, trying to burn her skin. Her strike hurt it, as well; the probe at the center of the flames broke in half. But the halves stayed together, more or less. And a shockwave of power knocked her back.

She did not lose consciousness as Raven had, but she did fall, dazed and confused, to impact painfully in a tree in Central Park.

Groaning in pain she half leapt, half fell from the tree and landed on her knees on the grass.

Getting up was a chore. Flying back up, or even to join the others, was not something she could seriously consider.

Woozy and in pain, she stumbled away, looking up. Blearily watching the meteorite as it fell.

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Nightwing and Dagon arrived. The meteorite had been just close enough to the ground for the group to see Wonder Girl's strike and fall. They could see Starfire blasting the meteorite still, carrying Raven on one arm.

Kid Flash looked and almost faltered for a moment, seeing Raven's condition, then he resumed his circle running all the faster. He had whipped up quite a cyclone now.

Cyborg's right arm transformed into a white noise cannon with a whirring and a clunking. He aimed it upwards and added his blasts to Starfire's. Beast Boy shifted into a bird and flew upwards.

"No, Beast Boy!" Starfire shouted. "You'll be hurt worse than Wond--"

That was as far as she got, because at that moment the meteorite reached the ground.

Impact.

Kid Flash's whirlwind helped slow it down a little, maybe. The impact resulted in a flare of blue-green fire. All of them went flying except Dagon, who shifted to mist; and Beast Boy and Starfire (carrying an unconscious Raven), who were still in the air.

Perhaps they had weakened it, some. There wasn't much of an impact crater; just a nasty crack in the street, that led straight down into the sewers. The broken probe was laying there in the muck, still letting off a faint aquamarine light.

None of them had been badly hurt, and Kid Flash healed faster than the norm anyway....but Raven was out cold. And this was clearly no small concern.

"Call STAR Labs," Nightwing said, his voice grim.

"Already on it," Cyborg assured him, sending a signal from his own internal workings.

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STAR Labs was secure. The meteorite was taken to a room on the sixth floor, in the hazardous containment wing.

"Those government goons Checkmate tried to get in here," Beast Boy said. "Men in Black, they ain't."

"I heard. Speedy is taking care of it," Nightwing said.

"Archer boy?" Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "What does he have to do with it?"

"He has a lot to do with them, these days. Long story."

Starfire, Cyborg and Dagon were standing around in front of the containment field the meteorite was in. The broken probe could clearly be seen, in two pieces. Around it, within the containment field, the aquamarine energy still glowed.

None of them had wanted to touch it, and not because of the filth it had landed in. They had let the STAR labs techs handle it.

Raven was two floors down, in intensive care. From what the Doctors could tell, she was simply unconscious. Not a coma. But who could tell with Raven, really? Kid Flash was still down there, by her side. Wonder Girl had come limping in a few minutes later, insisting she was fine and waving off medical assistance.

They could all tell it was a probe of some kind, and the STAR scientists had already figured out which probe it was. The question now was how it had gotten back so fast; indeed, at all. And what the blue green energy around it was.

After checking on Raven, Starfire had come up here, joining Cyborg and Dagon in staring at the probe. Cyborg had looked askance at her for a long moment, sadness in his eyes, and then looked away. None of the others had noticed.

Now the three of them stood in a row, seemingly mesmerized. The alien, the half-machine, the vampire.

"So why are you three such eager spectators then?" Beast Boy asked.

For a long moment, none of them spoke.

Then Dagon said, almost hesitantly," There's something.....strange about it...."

"Well yeah, it's a space probe that these STAR eggheads tell us was launched in the nineties, and stuff...." Beast Boy began.

Nightwing cut him off. "Yes, and somehow it came back, surrounded by that energy field that they can't seem to analyze."

"It has been touched by some kind of alien power," Starfire mused. "It isn't familiar, but yet I feel I should recognize it somehow."

Cyborg just stared at it. "It's the technological part of it that calls to me, couldn't tell you why."

"Calls, yes," Dagon agreed. "That's exactly the right word."

"What can you guys hear it speaking or something?" Beast Boy asked, half joking and half worried.

"Or something," Dagon agreed. "It disquiets me."

"The technology fascinates me," Cyborg said. "I want to know what happened to it."

"The alien energy is what interests me," said Starfire.

"Ooookay," Beast Boy said, exchanging a worried glance with Wonder Girl. Nightwing only frowned.

"I'm going to go check on Raven," Wonder Girl said.

After she left, Nightwing stepped up to Cyborg. "Can you analyze the energy fields?"

"No better than the scientists can," Cyborg said.

Nightwing nodded. "Try anyway. Maybe you'll come up with something they haven't. And show me the results."

"Which the scientists won't do," Cyborg realized.

"Exactly." Nightwing turned to Starfire. "You okay?"

"I....I will be." Starfire shook her head. "I can't help feeling there's something about this I should know. But I don't."

"Well, keep thinking about it. Something from Tamaranean lore, maybe?"

Starfire shrugged. "I don't know. It could just be something I've seen in my travels."

Nightwing touched her hand. "You'll figure it out. I have faith in you."

Starfire smiled at him. Beside them, Cyborg shifted uncomfortably, but neither of them noticed.

Finally, Nightwing turned to Dagon. "And what 'vibe' are you getting?"

Dagon looked uneasy. "I'm getting the vibe I shouldn't be here with.....with it. Whatever it is."

Nightwing frowned. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. Excuse me." Dagon stepped out.

"Actually, if you've nothing else to contribute," one of the STAR scientists said, "We would ask all of you to leave. Thank you for bringing it to us."

"You're welcome," Beast Boy said, wide insincere smile on his face, eyes bugged out…

"C'mon," Nightwing said. "Let's go check on Raven."

They filed out, Cyborg and Starfire each puzzling over the mystery in their own ways.

The lead STAR scientist, Dr. Ferell, frowned after them. "Ungrateful spandex wearing vigilantes. They should be thankful we're looking after their friend."

"They're thinking with their fists," his assistant said. "It's what they do."

"True, and there is a use for them," Dr. Ferell agreed. He was not so foolish as to hate superheroes or think there was no purpose to them; he had seen things, especially back during the Apokalips invasion. But he thought they were irresponsible and uncontrolled. Those Checkmate fellows had the right idea, he thought, but they were too low profile; officially they didn't exist, and had too many of the meta-humans amongst their own number. What was needed was more direct authority....

His musings were cut short as his assistant began to scream.

The assistant had wandered close to the field around the broken probe, pondering his instruments, but now the blue green light from inside it was all over him. Somehow it had gotten through the containment field. Dr. Ferell didn't even know how that could be possible.

The assistant dropped to his knees. He seemed to be choking.

Dr. Ferell approached cautiously. He wanted to help, but if he was attacked by the energy too, what would he accomplish?

Then the assistant looked up. His eyes were strange. They were dark, yet full of tiny blue-green sparks...the same color as the energy field.

Dr. Ferell turned and ran. He hit the alarm just before something cold yet powerful tore into his back. He was flung into the air, and smashed hard into a wall.

As he lay there helpless, the last things he heard were the wailings of the alarm, and his assistant, speaking in a strange, dual-toned voice....

"A pity you would not join us."

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All the Titans (save Dagon) were crowded around Raven's bed. She was stable, but utterly unconscious. As far as the STAR med-techs could tell, she was fine; just out cold. Her vital signs were stable. They didn't think she would be comatose, but with Raven it was hard to tell. They just had to wait until she woke up.

Kid Flash was down on one knee by Raven's bedside, holding one of her hands in his. It was awkward. No one spoke. Even Beast Boy was quiet, for a change.

Eventually Nightwing drew Cyborg to one side. "I know this isn't a good time, but do you have a reading, yet?"

Cyborg understood. What they were trying to do was solve the problem. Worrying over Raven would not help. But even so he though Dick was being too detached. But he did not say so. Instead he raised his right arm. "Let me see if I can bring it up..."

They were interrupted as the alarm began to bray. There was no conversation; there was no need. They all ran for the lab.

Only Kid Flash hesitated. He stood up and stared down at Raven's face for a long moment.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, then vanished from the room in a blur of speed.

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Dagon was perched on the top of the STAR building. But even up here, he could feel the panic amongst the humans below.

Whatever it was, it had begun. And however much he might not want to face this strange temptation, he knew he must. He had made his choice long ago.

He dove off the top of the building, mouth set… eyes grim.

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To Be Continued...