Current Events > Teen Titans CYOA: Romance Resurrected part 5

(+) Yeah! (+)

"The Control Helmet also has voice recognition to know when Raven is about to use her signature spell, 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos'," he explains with a smug smile. "It gives her an electric zap not unlike a joy buzzer to stop her mid-sentence, which will also annoy and irritate her."

"Got that right!" Raven growls as she tries to use a push-up to get the helmet off the ground.

"I learned after much research that Raven's powers work on emotion, namely the control of her emotions," he continues. "If she can't keep her cool, she can't even use her magic. With her head anchored to the ground, and with her ace in the hole disabled, she is essentially dead weight."

"I'm not," you say as you attack with

A) Magic
B) Melee
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Cartridge88 posted...

B) Melee

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Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) Melee

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bump before going to bed
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scubasteve42 posted...

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) Melee

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B

"Whoa!" Control Freak says as he barely dodges your boot.

"Oof!" he lets out as you catch him with a back elbow to the stomach.

Control Freak is backed against the wall, you swing a roundhouse but he ducks, so you bring it back for a heel kick to catch him on the cheek.

"Ow!" he says. "Great, so you're a martial artist! Like some British Robin or something!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," you say as you thrust in a knee.

Control Freak ducks your attack and scrumbles around behind you. You turn around, he puts up his dukes. You stand still and wait for him to do something. He swings a wild right that you easily side step to send Control Freak staggering, *BUMK* and he runs face first into the store front window.

*BZZ* "OW!" Raven yelps.

"Raven?" you say in concern.

"Let me guess," Control Freak says while rubbing his forehead. "She tried whispering her signature spell. The helmet is capable of hearing even the quietest voice possible, you won't be able to trick it."

The moment he stands up, you sweep his legs!

"Hwah!" he yelps as he hits the floor; he then scrambles away while wailing incoherently.

"Get back here!" you say. "Raven, just hold on."

"Not like I can do anything else!" she says as you chase after the chubby chicken of a villain.

You make the turn around the corner and easily catch up to your out-of-shape prey. You kick him in the butt and cause him to fall on his face.

"Now you're going to unlock that cruddy helmet or so help me," you say as you wrench one of his arms behind his back, "I will turn you into Chunk from Goonies and make you do the truffle shuffle!"

"Excellent pop culture reference," Control Freak grunts. "But I'm not letting her out of that helmet until I get my remote back!"

"That's a meaningless bartering chip," you say. "Especially when I have your arm ready to pop out of its shoulder at a moment's notice!"

"Haaaaow, yeah, good point," he says as you put pressure on the joint. "But, I forgot to mention something about the Control Helmet. I need that right arm of mine for verification on the Helmet's remote."

"Verification? For what?"

"Well, you noticed how tightly that helmet is sealed, right?" he says. "If I don't put in the right combination, the helmet completely closes, and Raven's air supply will be limited! It was to be my ace in the hole against the other Titans, and now I get to use it on you!"

It doesn't take a genius to put together that you either give Control Freak his remote back or Raven will suffocate.

A) Call the Titans
B) Call his bluff
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A) Call the Titans
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Cartridge88 posted...

A) Call the Titans

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Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

A) Call the Titans

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A

You growl as you take out your communicator.

"Robin," you say.

"Rorek, what's happening?" he says quickly. "We saw Control Freak trap Raven in that giant helmet."

"I have Control Freak in my custody," you say. "But he won't release Raven unless we give him his remote back."

"We already agreed we can't give him his remote back," Robin says.

"If we don't, he's going to let Raven suffocate inside that blasted thing!"

"What?!" he and the others all blurt out.

"And you might want to hurry," Control Freak says smugly. "After Rorek smacked me around like a pinata, I lost count of how long its been since the Control Helmet activated. Raven could have as much as five minutes or as little as one before the helmet becomes airtight!"

Robin growls, same as you did.

"We're on our way," he says before hanging up.

You drag Control Freak up, keeping the hammerlock on nice and tight as you walk him back to where Raven is anchored.

"Raven, hang on a little longer," you say as you approach. "The other Titans are on their way to make the exchange of Control Freak's remote for your freedom."

"What!?" she snaps. "Why?! Just force the tub of lard to press whatever buttons he needs to!"

"Hey, that's hurtful," Control Freak protests. "I lost weight since last time we met."

"You did?" you say, having a hard time imagining his even chubbier form. "How much?"

"Two pounds, if you must know," he says. "I had to walk a long way after I made my escape from that ice box of a prison."

"Just shut up and free me!" she shouts as she swings a leg wildy, in a truly blind attempt to hit Control Freak.

The weight of the helmet keeps her stuck in a bent over position, so she stumbles and staggers in a semi-circle around the metal construct.

"Raven, just calm down," you say as she forces the helmet to revolve. "You only have to wait a little while longer. Try and meditate."

"I don't think I can with this thing keeping me from sitting upright," she says as she stops moving around.

"You've never tried meditating just lying down?" you ask.

"Nope," she says.

"How did you two even meet?" Control Freak asks. "I thought all the teen heroes in the world were found already."

"That's not something you need to know," you say.

"But Raven's icy heart was never supposed to melt!" he says. "All the evidence pointed to her never accepting anyone again after what Malchior did!"

"Evidence?!" you say.

"How do you know what Malchior did?!" Raven asks.

"Uh, did you forget how the Brotherhood of Evil gathered all the Titans' villains in one place?" he says. "Obviously we swapped stories."

Raven grumbles.

"But, the odds of Raven finding love were astronomical!" he continues. "You're more likely to be struck by lightning! Or winning the lottery!"

"This isn't fiction," you say. "People grow and change in real life, the status quo doesn't stay the same forever. She was going to find someone eventually, I was just that fortunate to be the one."

"Pff, whatever, Gary Stu," Control Freak mutters. "Also, I need the arm you have trapped to do this anyway, so could you let go already?"

"Fine," you say as you let it go.

Control Freak rolls his arm and rubs his shoulder, you grab the other arm and put it in a hammerlock.

"Ow!" he whines.

The Titans arrive in the T-Car, which parks on the other side of the street. The others file out and cross the street, Robin holding the remote.
---

"Free Raven from the helmet," he orders Control Freak.

"Give me the remote first," Control Freak counters. "I have no guarantee that you won't rescind on the deal."

"And we have no guarantee you will not retreat to the TV realm once you get your remote," Starfire counters back.

*CHNK*

"Um, what was that noise?!" Raven asks.

"Well, guess it was only a minute," Control Freak says with a smug smirk.

A) Give him the remote
B) Make him unlock the helmet
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B. No mercy either
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Cartridge88 posted...

B) Make him unlock the helmet

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Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) Make him unlock the helmet

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B

"Open the helmet!" you growl as you wrench his left arm.

"Ow ow ow!" he whines. "Not until you give me my remote!"

"Which would you rather have? Your remote or your arm?!"

"Okay, okay!" he says. "Ease up!"

"Guys," Raven says. "Is... Is something going on with the helmet? It's starting to feel a bit stuffy in here."

"Try not to talk too much, Raven," Robin says. "The helmet sealed itself, to limit your air supply."

"What?!" she shouts.

"Just stay calm, Raven," you say. "I'll have this twit release you in a moment."

"Only if you give me my remote!" Control Freak shouts. "Owwww...!!"

You wrench the arm as deeply as you can without popping it out of the shoulder.

"You aren't getting your remote if Raven suffocates!" you growl.

"Jeez, okay! Okay!"

He brings out the weapon that launced the Control Helmet and scans his right hand.

"Access granted," a robotic version of his voice speaks from the device.

Control Freak frantically types keys on the pad.

"Invalid code," the voice says. "Phase 3 to begin in, 30, seconds."

"The blazes did you do!?" you shout.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Control Freak pleads. "I messed up because you're scaring me!"

"Just do it again!" you say, not easing up on his arm.

Control Freak quickly types away again.

"Phase 3, cancelled," the robot voice says.

Control Freak keeps typing.

"Control Helmet, deactivating," the robot voice says.

*CLMK* You hear latches unlock, and the helmet recedes back into the original object. Raven tosses it away as she gets back on her feet. You let go of Control Freak's arm and rush to her side.

"Are you alright?" you ask.

"Yes," she says. "My neck and back are a bit sore, but meditation can take care of that."

"Contol Freak," Robin says. "Catch."

He tosses Control Freak the remote, and Control Freak frantically fumbles with it before actually catching it with both hands. Control Freak sighs, but then Robin cuffs him.

"Hey!" Control Freak protests. "You can't arrest me, I didn't even do anything!"

"You trapped Raven inside an airtight helmet," Robin counters.

"Oh. Good point. But now that I have my remote!"

Control Freak grins as he presses the big red button, but nothing happens.

"Huh?"

He presses it again and again, but nothing happens.

"You said you wanted your remote back," Robin smirks. "But you forgot to ask for batteries."

Control Freak is stunned silent, and silently surrenders.

You all wait for police to come, they take Control Freak into custody, but the remote returns to the Titans.

"Alright," you say to Raven. "What would you like for lunch?"

"Hold on a minute, guys," Robin says.

"What is it?" Raven asks.

"Rorek, you were careless with how you dealt with Control Freak," Robin says. "You caused him to make the situation worse."

"Are you serious?" you say. "He wouldn't have conceded if I wasn't about to unplug his arm from his shoulder!"

"Robin, it's fine," Raven says. "Rorek got Control Freak to release me."

"But what if Phase 3's countdown was shorter?" Robin says. "Or if Control Freak manually activated it? We don't even know what Phase 3 would've been!"
---

"Yeah, for all we know, that helmet could've exploded and taken your head with it," Cyborg adds.

"Control Freak wouldn't have had time," Raven says. "I was using my Empathy to keep track of Control Freak's emotions. If there was even a hint of dishonesty, I would've shouted and Rorek would've--as he put it--unplugged his arm."

"Intimidation isn't the only way to defuse a situation," Robin says. "*sigh* I can't believe I'm having an argument like this again."

"Robin has a point," Cyborg says. "We took out the remote's batteries, so if we'd given Control Freak the remote first, he would've agreed to our terms."

"You don't know that," you and Raven both say.

"He might've wasted those 30 seconds trying to get away with his remote," she says.

"And in that time, that Phase 3 would've activated, doing only Control Freak knows what to Raven," you add.

"There wouldn't have been a countdown at all if you'd eased up on him!" Robin retorts.

There is a tense stand-off, Robin and Cyborg against you and Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy feeling uncomfortable in the middle.

"Umm..." Beast Boy speaks up. "Well, the important thing is that she's out of the helmet, and we're hungry! Let's eat!"

A) Have lunch with all the Titans
B) Have lunch as just you and Raven
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B. I forget Robins a control freak himself
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A
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Cartridge88 posted...

B) Have lunch as just you and Raven

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B

"Yes, let's eat," you say. "Raven and I will meet everyone back at the Tower, after we've had lunch."

"Alright," Robin says. "We'll see you two later."

Robin and the others return to the T-Car, you and Raven return to Shadowfax. They drive off back the way they came, you cruise around looking for something to eat.

"How about we just have some burgers?" she suggests. "Nothing special, just fast food or whatever."

You nod and find a Burger King. You pull into the drive-thru, order a Whopper for you and a Whopper Jr. for Raven, with fries and sodas. You then drive off and park near a park to eat your meal on a bench. You unwrap your burger and take a big bite, Raven starts with fries.

"Has your 'fearless leader' always been so... uncompromising?" you speak up.

Raven chuckles.

"He's not that bad," she says. "But he could learn to see things from both sides more often."

"Right?" you say. "What if it were Starfire trapped in the helmet and he had to negotiate her release?"

"Well, Starfire wouldn't have to worry about running out of air, or being inside an explosion," Raven says. "She can survive in space without breathing even once, and literally survived a megaton bomb in space, too. But I get what you're saying. If there was something threatening Starfire, Robin might have gotten as aggressive as you."

"Exactly!" you say. "I'm not going to apologize for being concerned for your safety."

"Well, it's not really fair to put it that way," she says. "Sure, Robin loves Starfire, but it's not like he wasn't worried about me. He'd be worried about you if you were stuck in that thing."

"Well, it's also not fair that he didn't have a way to let me in on his plan," you say. "I wouldn't have been so worried if I knew he was bluffing."

"Okay, just calm down," she says.

"I AM calm," you say. "How am I not-- Ow... Agh..."

"What's wrong?" she says.

"My arm," you say. "The scar started burning."

You check inside your shirt but the scar doesn't appear to be doing anything.

"I didn't even swing my arm that hard fighting Control Freak," you say. "Why is it acting up now?"

"Rorek, calm down," Raven says.

"Bloody Isabel," you growl. "Underhanded bi-- OW!"

The scar burns even stronger, and you double over in your seat.

"Rorek!" Raven says in concern. "You need to relax! I think the scar is responding to your anger."

"What?" you say as your mind races for reasons why. "But it's toxic magic."

"Which could have been laced with something worse," she says as she looks into your shirt. "This is the first time it's ever felt like this?"

"Yes, which is why it's so strange," you say.

"Okay," she says as she holds your face in her hands. "Just, keep, calm."

You want to retort that you are calm, but perhaps it isn't coming off that way. Is the lingering toxic magic affecting your mood?

Raven returns to looking at the scar.

"The physical form doesn't seem to be changing, so that's good," she says. "Nothing gross and-or sentient isn't going to burst out of it. However, I can sense something going on inside."

"The burning is a good indication of that," you say. "... I apologize if that came off rudely."
---

"It's alright," she says. "Honestly, I think I can understand how I come off talking to Beast Boy sometimes."

Raven slips a hand inside your shirt to touch the scar.

"Well, I guess I'm getting Healing magic training on the fly, too," she says. "This really is some serious toxic magic."

"I tried my best on it, but I'm not that strong in Healing magics myself," you say.

"You still did a good job," she says. "Especially since you said you were bleeding pretty badly, right?"

"I suppose so," you say.

You take a bit of your burger since you don't really have anything else to do as Raven magically analyzes your scar.

"Okay, I think I have something that can work," she says. "It won't do much for the scar on the surface, but whatever this burning core is should be gone."

"What's your idea?"

"I use Intangibility to reach in and pull it out."

"That sounds... really nasty," you say.

"Yeah..." she says. "But, I don't think there's any other way, unless you want me to first open you up for surgery."

"You can use Intangibility," you say.

Raven nods and uses the same magic she used to bring you through walls to make her hand like a shadow. She slips it into your shoulder, much like how she made it so the two of you could go through the walls at the planetarium.

The sensation of her hand phasing through your shoulder is warm yet cold, and pulses with your heartbeat. You then feel a tugging at the same spot as the burning, which must be from Raven grabbing hold of the thing inside.

"Okay," she says, "you might not want to be chewing on anything right now."

"Why's that? OW!"

She yanks her hand back, pulling the thing right out of your shoulder!

"Owwww...!" you groan.

"Now we can use regular healing on the gap left behind," she says.

You put your burger down to do just that. And to your surprise, the area heals perfectly, aside from the scar on the surface.

"Wow," you say as you more your arm. "No more soreness or stiffness. Thank you."

You give her a peck on the check.

"You're welcome," she says with a smile. "But, what're going to do with this?"

She holds up what she pulled out of your arm.

"Oh..." you say as the two of you look at it with a bit of disgust. "It's like a slug from Hell..."

A) Dispose of it
B) Study it
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Cartridge88 posted...

B) Study it

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Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) Study it

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scubasteve42 posted...

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) Study it

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b
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B

"Let's study the awful thing," you continue.

"Seriously?" she says. "I'd rather just destroy it."

"No, it might hold clues to Isabel's whereabouts. She still has the Magdalene Grimoire, we need to catch her and confiscate that book."

"She still has it?"

"Yes, she got away with the book after stabbing me," you say. "Going after the book should've been reason enough to chase after her, and with the months she's had, perhaps she's found something in it she can use."

"Well... Alright, we can use it to track her down and get the book back. Then we destroy it."

"Agreed."

Raven keeps the gross lifeless slug contained with her magic, cleans off her hand and then returns to eating, as do you.

"What does Isabel even look like?" Raven asks.

"What does that matter?" you ask.

"It probably doesn't," she shrugs. "But I just want to know."

"I believe she is a gypsy, in the ethnical sense," you say. "She is a mysterious mix of various European nationalities, such as Romanian, Italian, Spanish and Greek. She has naturally dark skin and thick black hair, but her hairstyle may have changed since last we saw each other. And while she's shorter than me, she's still taller than you."

"Alright," she says. "So she could easily have gone anywhere in Europe or the world since you last saw her."

"Yes, that's true," you say. "Why do you bring it up?"

"Well, tracking her down would obviously mean another plane trip," she says. "Maybe you should call Ferris Air ahead of time and rent that plane for another $30,000,000."

"Oh ha ha," you say.

You two finish eating your lunches and make your way back to Titans Tower, gross slug in tow. You park Shadowfax in the garage and head upstairs in the lift. When the doors open up on the top floor, Robin is there.

"Oh," he says. "Hey."

"Hello," you say.

"What's that?" he asks as he points to the slug thing.

"Raven pulled it out of the scar on my shoulder," you say. "We're going to dissect and analyze it, to see what we can learn about the woman who gave me the scar. It's a long story, really."

"Oh. Alright."

You and Raven exit the elevator and head for her room.

"Um, hey," Robin says. "About earlier. I--"

"It's alright," you say. "The important thing was that we were both thinking of Raven's safety."

"I think that's supposed to be my line," Robin says. "But, you're right. We'll both have to be more considerate from now on."

"Agreed," you say. "Now, if you'll excuse us."

"See you guys later," he says as you and Raven resume walking to her room.

You two enter inside, you sit on the bed as Raven pulls out various books from her collection.

"This one is about the forms of toxic magic and magical toxins," she says, "this one is about gypsies and the kinds of magics they're known for, and this one is for how to track people using magic. You read up on those while I pick apart this thing."

"Alright," you say as you pick up

A) Toxicity and Magic
B) Magic Gypsy Genealogy
C) Tracking with Magic and of Magic
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C
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A.
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A.
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A

You flip through the pages as Raven focuses on the evil slug thing.

Toxic Magic is the polar opposite to Healing Magic, having several differences while still having many similarities. Both can be cast as a spell, and both can be in the form of a potion or elixir. Therefore, both can vary in strength, effect, duration, potency and required level of skill.

Similar to Healing magic, Toxic magic can only affect humans and animals. Opposite to Healing magic, Toxic magic periodically eats away at the target rather than restore it. Similar to Healing magic, Toxic magic relates to the user's affinity to another element; Healing comes from Light magic, so therefore, Toxic comes from Dark magic. The stronger a Dark Mage, the stronger they can be in Toxic magics.

At its core, Toxic magic is a poison. It will corrode and taint whatever it touches, in whatever sense of the word you wish. Physically, it can cause illness, paralysis, rot, necrosis, or even death. Spiritually, it can cause sadness, depression, ill-temper, rebellion, rage, immorality, corruption, and the like until the soul is gone and the physical vessel is but a husk.

"Well, I'm only reading the general description and I'm far more frightened by that thing now," you say.

"I have a general recollection of that book," she says as she stretches out the slug. "Toxic magic being dark magic, I've never used it myself."

"Same here," you say. "It just seems too frightening, what it can do, and how that'd affect the user, not just the victim."

"Yeah... Malchior tried to convince me using Dark magic wasn't necessarily evil, just misunderstood. Obviously after finding out the truth of who he was, I swore that almost everything else he said to charm me was a lie."

"Almost everything else?"

Raven looks awkward and embarrassed as she glances over at you.

"He... was the first person to call me 'beautiful'..."

"Oh... Well, that definitely wasn't a lie, no matter how you look at it."

Raven smiles and blushes, then returns her attention to the slug.

"Hurry up and find something about solid manifestations of the Toxic magic," she says. "I want to be sure cutting into it is not a horrible idea."

"Hold on, let me check an index."

You go to the back of the book and find the alphabetical index. You go to "S" for "slug", but that's not there. That should've been obvious, really, but it was worth a check. You go to "M" for manifestations, and have better luck. You go to the earliest mention of the word and read.

Magical Toxins are not the only tangible form, either. Toxic magic can be made physical when combined with Toxins, or with the right adjustment to the incantation. Making Toxic magic solid in such ways always results in a manifestation that resembles sludge, ooze, slime, tar or other such viscous substance.

"Oh, okay, this sounds like it," you say. "This description means it isn't so much a slug, as it is a glob of sludge."

Such a physical manifestation can itself then become the foundation of a new and more powerful Toxin, multiplying the attributes of the original many times over.

That's not relevant. You skim around and look for anything about dissection, vivisection, or autopsy.

A word of warning before using this method

"Okay hold off on the surgery!" you say to Raven.

Raven stops suddenly, her face frozen wide-eyed as she looks over at you.

"As it is a Dark magic," you read aloud, "Toxic magic will prove unruly if its master is weak of will. Solid manifestations--whether it be sludge, slime, or solution, whether it be as much as a lake or as little as a puddle--can easily find a way to harm anyone or anything they consider prey."
---

"So what does that mean?" she asks as she gives a sideways glance at the sample she has before her.

"Well, in a way it is still a sentient being, so calling it a slug wasn't exactly inaccurate after all," you say. "With a mind of its own, the moment you cut it open, it could likely release toxic fumes, spray acid, or burst like a water balloon to splatter its poison all over the place."

"Great, so we thwart Control Freak's attempts to harm me, only to bring something even more dangerous home with us," Raven says.

A) Abandon using it to track Isabel
B) Continue on, with precautions
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Cartridge88 posted...

B) Continue on, with precautions

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Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) Continue on, with precautions

---

scubasteve42 posted...

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) Continue on, with precautions

---

B

"No, no, we're more than capable of keeping this wicked worm contained."

You put three layers of barriers around the Toxic magic manifestation, making each one stronger than the previous.

"Three all-purpose containment spells," you say. "These should hold whatever the toxin might try."

Raven nods and begins dissection with her magic. She cuts into the sludge and *SPLAFT* it pops! It splatters itself all over the inner layer, and then fills the sphere with thick smoke.

"It appears to be holding," you say about your barrier. "Let me flip through the book to see what this means."

You skim the pages for anything relating to splattering and smoke.

"Based on all it did just now," you say, "the type of Toxic magic Isabel used just might be a form of spiritual corrosion Toxic magic."

"Really? So, it was affecting your personality?"

"Not that I can think of," you say as you turn back to previous pages. "Spiritually, it can cause sadness, depression, ill-temper, rebellion, rage, immorality, corruption--"

"Aha!" she says. "Immorality."

"What? How can our 'alone time' be immoral?"

"Not our time," she says. "The time you let Jinx join in...!"

"Oh... Yes, that's a possible sign. That was... very naughty of me."

"Yes, very naughty," Raven smirks. "But that's besides the point right now. What're we supposed to do with the Toxic magic now that it's all liquid?"

"Well, we first need to consult the tracking text," you say as you pick up that book.

You skim through a section about using magic residue to track the caster.

"Alright, here's something," you say. "We simply need to take a small sample, then use... Well, this book is rather old, it describes using a plumb line to divine where the caster's location is. I'm sure we can find a more high-tech and modern alternative to that, because I wouldn't even know where to get a plumb line."

"Is it really that easy?"

"Seems so," you say as you check other pages. "Can you isolate just a few drops of the stuff? The instructions say to put that inside the plumb weight itself."

"Alright," she says as she returns to the contained Toxic magic.

Raven scoops a tiny bit of the liquid with her own magic, and you carefully let her pass the sample out through the barriers, layer by layer. You open a gap in the innermost, Raven passes the sample through, then you close the innermost before letting the sample pass through the others. Otherwise, the source might attempt a jailbreak.

"Our sample is secure," she says. "We could probably just make a plumb ourselves. And then, we obviously dangle it over a map of the world, right?"

"Yes, and I'd imagine a very big one for the sake of accuracy," you say.

A) Do all this by yourselves
B) Ask the Titans for help on this
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Cartridge88 posted...

A) Do all this by yourselves

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A.
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B
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A

"We can easily project the map of the world on the floor. Perhaps in the training room, that's the biggest room with the most open floor."

"Alright," she says. "And we can make the plumb out of anything if we use Alchemy and Transmutation."

You double check the book.

"This suggests the plumb be copper or bronze," you say. "With a screw top so we can open it up and pour in the sample."

Raven nods as she takes out some paper and makes a small cone. She then makes it all one solid piece of bronze. She uses more paper to be the cap, and checks her work by screwing the cap into the cone.

"One plumb, ready to go," she says.

"We'll need some string for that," you say.

"I'll find something," she says. "Go ahead and check if we can use the training room."

"Alright," you say.

You head to the elevator with the tracking magic book and ride down to the training room. When you arrive, you find Cyborg and Robin combining attacks to blast apart targets with sound and ice.

"Afternoon, gentlemen," you say.

"Oh," Robin says. "Hey there. What's with the book?"

"Well, to make a long story short, Raven and I are on the verge of finding a dangerous individual with a dangerous book of magic in her possession."

"In 'her' possession?" Cyborg says. "And who is 'she'?"

"Not exactly an ex but close enough," you say. "Is there a way to project a map of the world on the floor here?"

"Uh, yeah, we can do that," Cyborg says.

A device flips up from Cyborg's shoulder, and he projects on the floor.

"Like this?" he asks.

"Could we get it bigger? Like, almost the entire floor."

"Why do you need it that big?" Robin asks.

"For precision and accuracy," you say. "If the plumb points to a country, I want to be sure it points right down to the very city."

"Plumb?" they both say.

Raven arrives with the plumb on a string.

"Oh," she says upon seeing Cyborg and Robin. "Hey."

"Hey," they both reply.

"You're helping Rorek track an evil ex?" Cyborg asks.

"Yes," she grumbles. "So, wait, is the projection only going to be that big?"

"Well, I could project a bigger image," Cyborg says, "but I'd have to be farther away. Farther away from the ground means up in the air."

"I'll give you a lift," she says.

Raven creates a platform, Cyborg climbs aboard and she lifts him up towards the ceiling. His projection grows in scale, covering roughly 90% of the floor.

"There we go," you say as you find yourself in the middle of the Atlantic. "Now, let me take the plumb and activate the tracking spell."

Raven hands the yarn over and you hold that, letting the plumb dangle around your knees. You use your other hand to flip through pages and find the activation spell.

"Oular, Falor, Cynin, Ildor," you recite as you pass mana through the string and into the plumb. "Yeno, Erso, Seli, Alno."

The plumb suddenly gravitates towards Europe. That makes sense, you last saw her in Ukraine. You walk to Ukraine based on assumption, but the plumb wants to go further East. You follow it across part of Russia and over the Caspian Sea.

"Kazakhstan?" you say. "What are you doing in Kazakhstan, Isabel?"
---

You continue to follow the plumb across the entirety of Kazakhstan, letting it hang lower so as to be closer to the map.

"Oh, so this is where you've gone," you say.

The plumb touches down on the borderline between Kazakhstan, Russia and China.

"Russia, huh?" Robin says. "Red Star of Titans North might be able to help with that area."

"Yeah, we can give them a call and we can head out," Cyborg says.

A) Yes, fly out with Titans West & North
B) Fly out with just Titans North
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A.
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A
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A.
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A

"Yes, the more of us searching, the more likely we can find her," you say.

"Then let's get going!" Cyborg says.

"Hold on, let me take a picture of where we're heading," you say.

You take out your phone, move to the South side of the borders so that right-side-up is North, and take a picture.

"Okay," you say, "let's go."

You four enter the elevator as Robin takes out his communicator.

"Starfire, Beast Boy," he says. "Where are you?"

"I'm in Ops," Beast Boy says. "I had seconds."

"I am putting Silkie down for his nap," Starfire says. "What is the emergency?"

"Just meet us at the elevator on the top floor and we'll explain," he says. "See you in a minute."

Robin hangs up then presses the button for the top floor.

"What does this 'Isabel' even look like?" Robin asks as the elevator starts moving.

"A gypsy, in the ethnical sense," Raven says. "Naturally dark skin and thick black hair, shorter than Rorek but still taller than me. At least, that's what Rorek's told me."

She smirks at you as you put on a flat expression.

"Well we need more than that," Cyborg says.

Robin gives Cyborg a sketch pad and Cyborg turns a finger into a pencil.

"You're a forensic sketch artist?" you ask.

"I am thanks to my robotics," he smiles.

"Well, alright," you say. "I suppose you can say Isabel is beautiful. She has a pointed chin, with a little mole on the right side. Her right side, to be specific. A long but slender nose, groomed eyebrows, almond shaped eyes with full eyelashes, and full lips."

"Full lips?" Raven repeats. "Like, as full as mine?"

Raven awkwardly looks down at her own mouth as she smooshes her cheeks with her hands.

"Um, perhaps a touch fuller," you say. "We never kissed, though. And I'm fine with that, given she turned out to be a literal evil witch."

"How's this?" Cyborg asks as he shows you.

"Thinner eyebrows than that," you say, ignoring how hilarious Isabel looks without hair. "For hairstyles, you might want to make up several copies with various styles. The last time I saw her, she had wavy locks that went just past the shoulder, but she could have straightened it, shortened it or styled it since."

"Alright, I'll make a few different styles and make them in triplicate. Then we'll figure out teams when we arrive so that each group has a complete set."

The elevator arrives at the top floor, Starfire and Beast Boy join in, and then the elevator goes down to the garage while the situation is explained.

"Whoa, we're going after one of Rorek's exes?" Beast Boy says.

"I don't have plural ex-girlfriends," you say. "Just the one."

"Who is evil," Raven adds.

"Yes..." you grumble.

"Hello, Cyborg," a young man with a Russian accent says from Cyborg's communicator. "Is there an emergency you need assistance with?"

"Not exactly an emergency, but we could use help from you and Titans North," Cyborg says. "We're going to be tracking down a criminal, but she's somewhere along the border between Russia, China and Kazakhstan."

"Ah, I see," the Russian replies. "I shall gather the others. Are we to be meeting you in Russia or somewhere before hand?"

"Actually I was just thinking," Beast Boy says, "where's Rorek gonna sit in the T-Ship? It was only made for five."

You keep yourself from even jokingly suggest you'd sit with Raven in her seat.

A) Do you best to follow using Shadowfax
B) Wait for Titans North to arrive in Jump City and ride with them
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Cartridge88 posted...

A) Do you best to follow using Shadowfax

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B) Wait for Titans North to arrive in Jump City and ride with them
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A.
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A

"I can just ride the water on Shadowfax," you say. "For as long as I can, at least."

"Are you sure?" Raven asks. "Can Shadowfax even go that far?"

"Well, with your T-Ship flying with me, you can help me in case Shadowfax starts to sink."

"So it's decided," Robin says. "We'll all head right to Russia, meet there and go to the border together."

"Okay," Red Star says. "We shall see you across the sea."

The communicator call ends, you go to Shadowfax while the Titans go into another lift to go down into a hangar. You drive out of the garage and watch as bay doors open from the ground. A large platform lifts an orange, almost squid-like vehicle up above the water.

"Impressive," you say. "Aim me towards Russia and we'll head out."

The T-Ship takes flight, lines up with you, and then points like a compass needle. You bring Shadowfax around to point at the same direction, and ride out onto the water with the Levitation Drive. The T-Ship follows behind as you magically bind your communicator on the middle of the handle bars.

"This is going to be a long drive," you say into the communicator. "I'm going to shave off some time, try to keep up."

"What?" the Titans all say.

"Shadowfax," you say, "Full Gallop!"

The engine block glows white, the headlight turns on as bright as possible, and you rocket across the water at almost 190 km/h!

"Holy moly!" Beast Boy says as the T-Ship follows behind. "How is he going that fast?!"

You'd answer but it's taking all you've got to hold on.

"Rorek," Raven says. "Are you good?"

You nod once.

"Okay," she says. "Just let us know when Shadowfax is slowing down."

You nod once, again.

You ride on for what feels like a long time, but you're the one tiring out first. You're sure Shadowfax is nearing his limit, too, but you're only human.

"Shadowfax," you say. "Slow down. Slow down, boy!"

Shadowfax downshifts to a more reasonable 120 km/h, but that's still pretty fast.

"Sorry to say this, Rorek," Cyborg says, "but I don't think you on Shadowfax is going to be enough to make this a quick trip."

"I concur," you say as you put Shadowfax on autopilot. "In fact, I think I'm slowing us down."

"Don't feel too bad about that," Cyborg says. "I think I have a solution."

The T-Ship moves to be above you, and from a spot near the rear, a compartment opens to let out some kind of clamp.

"This was meant for grabbing something up, so using it as a towing hitch should work," Cyborg explains.

"Alright then," you say. "Shall we give it a try, Shadowfax?"

You line up with the clamp, pop a wheelie, and set the tire in place. The clamp clutches around the rim with a grasp that's firm but not harmful to the wheel. You let the rear tire spin in idle, and rest against the fuel tank, feet resting on the rear wheel well.

"Not much of a view under there, is it?" Raven says.

"The water looks nice," you reply.

"You might want to hold on tighter," Robin says. "We're gonna speed up."

"Is this the right time to ask if I could squeeze in with Raven?"

"You're not joining me in here," she says. "Take Beast Boy's seat. He can just change into a small animal."

"... Why didn't anyone suggest this sooner?"

"Because it's my seat," Beast Boy grumbles.
---

You swing yourself up and over to the top side. Beast Boy opens his pod then becomes a squirrel. He holds onto the seat's headrest as you sit inside. He points to a button with his little squirrel paw-hand, you press it, then the pod closes back up.

"Oooh. Rather plush for part of a combination submarine, spaceship and jet plane."

"Alright, Robin," Cyborg says, "punch it!"

At that, the T-Ship flies at full speed, which is even faster than Shadowfax at Full Gallop! You all cross the International Dateline and the Pacific Ocean in no time at all! And when you arrive at the Eastern coast of Russia, you see a green T-Ship already waiting. The orange T-Ship parks, you return to Shadowfax and help him down from the clamp.

"Good morning, Titans," Red Star greets as he stands with Argent, Jinx and two others. "Ah, is this Rorek?"

"Indeed I am," you say. "And that makes you Red Star."

You two shake hands.

"You already have met Argent and Jinx," he says. "These are our other members, Kole and Gnarrk."

"Hi!" Kole the girl with bright pink hair and antennae waves.

"Gnarrk," the obvious caveman says.

"Hello," you say.

"On to why we're here," Robin says. "We're to track down an evil witch by the name of 'Isabel' who possesses a book of dark and evil magic. Once we arrive at the border between Russia, China and Kazakhstan, we'll divide into three teams and begin a search."

"Dibs on searching with Rorek!" Jinx says as she raises her hand.

"Hold on, hold on," Cyborg says. "We have 11 people, which means one group is going to be only three and the others will have four."

A) Be in a three man unit with Jinx & Raven
B) Be in a four man unit with Jinx, Raven & one other
C) Be in any unit, with Raven but not Jinx
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C.
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